This was a good episode of SmackDown. The crowd was absolutely on fire the entire, helped by appearances from Bad Bunny and Zelena Vega, both with at least family ties to Puerto Rico. The mixed tag match was the highlight of the night with good action and solid storytelling in the form of hyping a number of storylines. The lowlight was the Imperium vs Street Profits match, only because the match was short and there wasn't much story there.
The matches were good but none reached the level of great or above. The show structure was good, as it led up to the main event, but not everything was great and this slowed down the show. A few storylines were advanced but a few matches happened without a story to them. Production was good but not really a unique theme to the episode.
On tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown: the OC battles the Viking Raiders. Will Gallows and Anderson pick up the victory in their return to tv? Shinsuke Nakamura goes one on one with Karrion. Will Nakamura be Kross’ latest victim? And Bad Bunny will appear as SmackDown comes to his home of Puerto Rico.
GOOD Judgement Day confronts the LWO:
Rey Mysterio and the LWO started out in the ring and addressed the people in Spanish. As Rey thanked the crowd, Dominik Mysterio came to the ring with Rhea Ripley and Finn Balor. As Dom called out Rey’s parenting skills, his father asked for a Wrestlemania re-match. Rhea Ripley countered by offering a mixed-tag match.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD Gallows and Anderson vs the Viking Raiders:
Gallows dropped Ivar with a big boot but Karl Anderson couldn’t make the pin. Later, Gallows landed a sit-down powerbomb but Erik kicked out. A key moment came when Valhalla tried to interfere, prompting an attack from Michin. This distracted Ivar and allowed the OC to pick up the win via the Magic Killer.
Results: the OC by Pinfall via Magic Killer
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Bianca Belair and Damage Control:
The Raw Women’s Champion talked about how she will have the longest women’s championship reign in the modern era if she wins tomorrow night. Damage Control then entered the ring, with Bayley saying Bianca wouldn’t have gotten big without her. They started to fight with Belair until Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan came to her aid.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
Karrion Kross warns Shinsuke Nakamura of what is to come.
Solo Sikoa told the Usos they better do their part during tomorrow’s match.
ABOVE AVERAGE The Street Profits vs Imperium:
Giovanni Vinci was flying high from the start, a cross body from the turnbuckle and a moonsault to Montez Ford. This was part of the domination Imperium showed at the beginning of the match. However, Ford eventually tagged in Angelo Dawkins and turned the match around. The Street Profits won with a big frog splash from Ford.
Results: the Street Profits by Pinfall via Frog Splash
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GREAT Cody Rhodes:
Quoting his mentor, Arn Anderson, Rhodes acknowledged Brock Lesnar as a gatekeeper to superstardom in WWE. He also said that he will beat the answer out of Brock Lesnar as to why Lesnar attacked him. He ended with a passionate cry that he will take down the Beast and get the keys to his kingdom.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
Sami Zayn tells Riddle that he and Kevin Owens have nothing left to say about the Bloodline.
GOOD Shinsuke Nakamura vs Karrion Kross w/Scarlett:
Kross took an early advantage, throwing Nakamura into the ring corner outside the ring. Later, Nakamura navigated different submission holds which greatly weakened Kross. He tried to finish Karrion Kross with a Kinshasa but Kross countered with a lariat. After countering a move by Kross, Shinsuke Nakamura finally converted a Kinshasa to pick up the win.
Results: Shinsuke Nakamura by Pinfall via Kinshasa
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Baron Corbin and Cameron Grimes trash-talked each other about their draft status. Adam Pearce scheduled a match for them next week.
GOOD Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega vs Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley:
Vega took advantage early on as she and Rey had Dom set up for a 619. However, Rhea Ripley hit Vega with a big boot before she landed the 619. Dominik tried to hit his dad the Three Amigos, but Rey Mysterio put him in an inside cradle to win the match. After the match, Dom was joined by Finn Balor and Damian Priest in an assault on Rey Mysterio. As the attack was about to get really bad, Bad Buddy’s music hit as the Puerto Rican native came to the ring accompanied by the rest of the LWO. He and Priest stared each other down as the show came to a close.
Results: Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Overall…
This was a good episode of SmackDown. The crowd was absolutely on fire the entire, helped by appearances from Bad Bunny and Zelina Vega, both with at least family ties to Puerto Rico. The mixed tag match was the highlight of the night with good action and solid storytelling in the form of hyping a number of storylines. The lowlight was the Imperium vs Street Profits match, only because the match was short and there wasn’t much story there.
The matches were good but none reached the level of great or above. The show structure was good, as it led up to the main event, but not everything was great and this slowed down the show. A few storylines were advanced but a few matches happened without a story to them. Production was good but not really a unique theme to the episode.
Matches: 0.25/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 1/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
