This was a good episode of SmackDown that featured some good matches and a great promo segment. The highlight of the show was Santos Escobar’s promo. He gave a reason for betraying Rey Mysterio and generated a ton of heat by turning on the other members of the LWO. The low point was the match between Grayson Waller and Cameron Grimes. The match was decent but not a ton of story in a pretty short match.
Matches were all good with one great but none were higher than that. The show was easy to watch but the last segment felt a little rushed, hurting the overall score. The atmosphere was pretty good but the crowd noise was inconsistent. Stories were advanced mostly through promos and we did get new challengers for the tag titles. The production level was good but nothing that set apart this episode from others.
On tonight’s SmackDown: Solo Sikoa returns to address his big victory over 16-time world champion, John Cena. LA Knight takes on Jimmy Uso. Will the Megastar get revenge on the man who cost him the title? And a triple threat match to determine the next challengers for the tag titles. Who will seize the opportunity between the Street Profits, Pretty Deadly, and the Brawling Brutes?
GOOD Damage Control:
Bayley opened by hyping the addition of Asuka to Damage Control’s ranks. Although she thinks Damage Control is better than ever, the other members of the group disagree. Dakota Kai tells Bayley someone in the ring is not a member of the group, implying Bayley is out but then saying Asuka is not officially part of the group. After officially welcoming Asuka, the group challenges Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Shotzi, and a fourth member to a Wargames Match. The two groups then brawled to end the segment.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD The Street Profits vs Pretty Deadly vs the Brawling Brutes for a Tag Team Championship opportunity:
The Street Profits controlled the match early on but this one quickly turned into a match where anyone had a shot of winning. Ford and Dawkins broke up ten beats of the drum but that move backfired when they found themselves on the receiving end of the beats. Pretty Deadly nearly scored the win after Montez Ford and Elton Prince hit Ridge Holland with a frog splash and a leg drop. However, Butch broke up the pin attempt. At the end of the match, Butch accidentally hit Holland with a Brogue Kick before the Street Profits finished off Holland with the Revelation.
Results: The Street Profits by Pinfall via the Revelation
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Backstage, Bianca Belair was seen recruiting Mia Yim to join her team for Wargames.
GREAT Dragon Lee vs Axiom:
This match showed off the athleticism of two top-notch high flyers, each man trading high spots outside the ring. Axiom showed toughness after kicking out of Lee’s double stomp from the turnbuckle. Later, Dragon Lee showed off his own toughness after he kicked out of a Canadian Destroyer. The highlight of the match came when Axiom hit Dragon Lee with a Spanish Fly off the turnbuckle. Lee finally secured the win after hitting Axiom with Operation Dragon.
Results: Dragon Lee by Pinfall via Operation Dragon
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
AMAZING Santos Escobar addresses his betrayal of Rey Mysterio:
Never meet your heroes. That is the message Escobar has after spending the past few months under Rey Mysterio’s tutelage. After seeing Rey as a father figure, Santos Escobar now believes Dominik was right about Rey. After stealing his shot at the US Title, Rey siding with Carlito over him was the last straw for Santos. Escobar drove Zelina Vega to tears after more harsh words about Mysterio and disowned Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde for siding with Vega. Only the arrival of Carlito prevented Escobar from doing serious damage to his former friends.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Grayson Waller (w/Austin Theory) vs Cameron Grimes:
Grimes was on the lookout for revenge as he controlled most of the match. At one point Grimes hit what appeared to be a side effect of some sort. Not surprisingly, Theory played a role in the outcome as he took a kick to the face after Grayson Waller moved out of the way. This unexpected result allowed Waller to hit Grimes with what Road Dogg described as a Dingo Driver to pick up the win.
Results: Grayson Waller by Pinfall via Dingo Driver
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GOOD Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa:
Heyman hyped up Sikoa’s victory over Cena at Crown Jewel and also said Cena will never come back as a result of the damage. The Wise Man went on to say that Cena would normally come back to face Sikoa, but the damage to his throat means he can’t talk for himself. LA Knight then entered and said he will take down every member of the Bloodline, starting with Jimmy Uso.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GREAT LA Knight vs Jimmy Uso:
LA Knight sent Uso into the announcers’ table early in the match. Later, Uso looked for a high spot for Knight to move out of the way. A BFT from LA Knight and the Megastar was victorious. After the match, Solo Sikoa and his brother teamed up on Knight. Cody Rhodes then came to Knight’s aid, signaling he is coming after the Bloodline again.
Results: LA Knight by Pinfall via BFT
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
Nick Aldis kicks Cody out of the building after his unannounced appearance on the blue brand.
GOOD Charlotte, Bianca Belair, and Shotzi announce their teammate:
Before Charlotte could announce their partner, Bayley interrupted to point out Damage Control took out all potential partners. Just as things looked bleak for the baby faces, Becky Lynch snuck into the ring. The Man is the fourth member of the team. The two sides fought to end the show.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Overall…
This was a good episode of SmackDown that featured some good matches and a great promo segment. The highlight of the show was Santos Escobar’s promo. He gave a reason for betraying Rey Mysterio and generated a ton of heat by turning on the other members of the LWO. The low point was the match between Grayson Waller and Cameron Grimes. The match was decent but not a ton of story in a pretty short match.
Matches were all good with one great but none were higher than that. The show was easy to watch but the last segment felt a little rushed, hurting the overall score. The atmosphere was pretty good but the crowd noise was inconsistent. Stories were advanced mostly through promos and we did get new challengers for the tag titles. The production level was good but nothing that set apart this episode from others.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.5/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
