This was a mediocre episode of Friday Night SmackDown. The Kevin Owens show was great, it heightened the tension within The Bloodline, specifically between Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns. The lowlight was the women’s tag match in which Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi defeated Damage Control. The ending was chaotic and confusing.
There were a couple of decent matches but overall nothing special. The show structure was hurt by some average to above-average segments towards the middle. The atmosphere was hurt by artificial crowd noise getting pumped in. Aside from the Bloodline segment, some ok storylines. Production was good but no specific theme.
Tonight on Friday Night SmackDown: Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa on the Kevin Owens Show. will they stick to talking or will chaos break on set? Austin Theory defends the US Championship against the Celtic Warrior. Will Sheamus end Theory’s title reign? AJ Styles battles Karrion Kross ahead of his title match with Seth Rollins. Will Styles pick up the victory or will the match wear him out ahead of Night of Champions? And Damage Control takes on Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi. Will Raquel continue to win now that she has a new tag team partner?
GOOD Sheamus vs Austin Theory for the US Title:
Sheamus controlled the match early on but Theory turned it around with a dropkick. He got a little big for his britches in trying to hit Sheamus with ten beats of the drum, but he eventually side-slammed him on the ring apron. Later on, Austin Theory tried to use a steel chair but Butch and Ridge prevented that. Sheamus responded with 25 beats of the drum. The critical moment came when Pretty Deadly snuck in to attack Ridge and Butch. This distracted Sheamus and allowed Theory to roll up Sheamus to retain.
Results: Austin Theory by Pinfall via Rollup
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
A tense moment occurred after Roman Reigns told Jimmy Uso to sit down and Jimmy wouldn’t listen. Reigns told his cousin he whooped him when they were kids and he would do it again.
AVERAGE Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi vs Damage Control:
Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi controlled this match early on, Shotzi landing a suicide dive through the legs of Raquel. Later on, Damage Control turned the momentum after double-teaming Rodriguez. The ending was messy, as Iyo Sky jumped over Raquel Rodriguez to hit Shotzi. Meanwhile, Raquel pinned Bayley.
Results: Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.25 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis vs Cameron Grimes:
Cameron Grimes had the early momentum, prompting interference from Top Dolla. Ashantee Thee Adonis had brief control of the match, but it wasn’t enough to stop Grimes. He hit Adonis with a Cave In to pick up the win. After the match, a still bitter Baron Corbin attacked Grimes from Behind.
Results: Cameron Grimes by Pinfall via Cave In
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Bianca Belair:
The champion called out Asuka for the repeated mist attacks. Nevertheless, this inspired Belair to fight more aggressively than ever in defending her title. To end the segment, Asuka snuck into the ring to attack Belair, narrowly escaping a KOD from the champion.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GOOD LA Knight vs Rick Boogs:
Prior to the match, the Street Profits surprisingly showed up to join the commentary table. Boogs dominated with his immense strength early in the match but LA Knight worked his way back. In the finish, LA Knight clawed Boogs’ eyes and landed a BFT to pick up the win. After the match, LA Knight called out the Street Profits.
Results: LA Knight by Pinfall via BFT
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
GOOD AJ Styles vs Karrion Kross:
Scarlett interfered to help Kross, distracting AJ Styles and leaving him vulnerable to a superkick. Later, Styles nearly got the pin after a ushigoroshi neck breaker. Karrion Kross nearly made a pin of his own after a fisherman’s suplex. In the finish, Styles landed a Phenomenal Forearm to pick up the victory. We’ll see if he carries this momentum over to tomorrow night’s match with Seth Rollins.
Results: AJ Styles by Pinfall via Phenomenal Forearm
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
GREAT Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa on the Kevin Owens Show:
After KO invited Roman Reigns to the ring, Paul Heyman walked out and said Reigns comes out when he wants to not when others want him to. Then, the Usos came to the ring, much to the surprise of Paul Heyman. Owens told the Usos that Roman has been using them and they are the heart of the Bloodline. At this, Jimmy Uso snapped and referred to himself as the tribal chief. A furious Roman Reigns then made his way to the ring. When he arrived, Sami Zayn told him the Bloodline is collapsing and it is all Roman’s fault. KO then hit Roman with a stunner and the brawl was on. Once the dust settled, Jey Uso handed Roman Reigns two of the tag titles but Jimmy refused. After Jey pried the belts from his brother, the Bloodline put their ones up…except for Jimmy.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Overall…
This was a mediocre episode of Friday Night SmackDown. The Kevin Owens show was great, it heightened the tension within The Bloodline, specifically between Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns. The lowlight was the women’s tag match in which Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi defeated Damage Control. The ending was chaotic and confusing.
There were a couple of decent matches but overall nothing special. The show structure was hurt by some average to above-average segments towards the middle. The atmosphere was hurt by artificial crowd noise getting pumped in. Aside from the Bloodline segment, some ok storylines. Production was good but no specific theme.
Matches: 0.25/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 2.5/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
