13th Mar2023

Friday Night Smackdown – Mar 10th 2023: Results & Review

by Phil Wheat

Welcome to this review of this past Friday’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown, right here on Nerdly. Let’s see what went down on the show!

Match #1: Fatal 5-Way Intercontinental Title chance Match – Winner(s): Drew McIntyre & Sheamus

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Karrion Kross, Xavier Woods and LA Knight collided in this Fatal 5-Way Match for a chance at Gunther’s Intercontinental Title. The match broke down almost as soon as it began, with all five competitors taking the action to the outside. With five competitors, it was no surprise that alliances were quick to occur with Knight and Kross combining to make a unique combo. Much like Survivor, the alliance was over fairly quickly as Knight struck Kross while his back was turned. Woods, who had some umbrage with being called the underdog had a great showing with dynamite offense as he hit Knight with a gut buster, before hitting a huge elbow drop. An incredible tower of doom moment led to McIntyre, Knight and Kross being left stunned on the mat. The Celtic Warrior seized the swinging momentum by hitting the Beats of the Bohdran on everyone apart from McIntyre. In the closing moments, both McIntyre and Sheamus hit a Claymore and Brogue Kick on Knight and Woods, respectively. McIntyre and Sheamus then pinned both of the competitors, leading to a chaotic ending, with no clear victor.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #2: The Judgment Day def. Legado del Fantasma

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

As Rey Mysterio was announced to be the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2023, Dominik Mysterio and the rest of The Judgment Day interrupted his moment in the ring. Legado del Fantasma disapproved of this, coming to the aid of The Master of the 619, leading to this matchup. Legado isolated Bálor from his teammates early, utilizing their lucha libre style to wear down The Prince. The upper hand for Legado was short lived, however, as The Judgment Day gained the momentum by using quick tags. The pace quickened with Legado hitting high offense moves before Rhea Ripley got involved, tossing Zelina Vega into Legado. In the fracas that followed, Dominik would snap up the victory by getting a quick pin on Cruz Del Toro.

My Score: 1.5 out of 5

Match #3: The Viking Raiders def. Braun Strowman & Ricochet

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Braun Strowman and Ricochet started the match with a bang, as The Monster Among Men utilized Ricochet as a human dart, tossing him over the top rope onto Erik and Ivar, who were stationed at ringside. The Viking Raiders would get back into the match, sequestering Ricochet from his partner. The Viking Raiders were able to continue their strategy as Erik hit a cross body onto Strowman on the barricade. Ricochet would fight back, however, muscling up and lifting Erik before Ivar hit a tremendous powerbomb. Strowman would eventually storm his way back into the ring, smashing into Erik with the Strowman Express but Valhalla pulled Ivar out of harms way, which sent Strowman over the announce table. Valhalla then stared daggers into Ricochet as Ricochet missed a 450 Splash. The crash and burn led to a huge splash from Erik to seal the tag team win.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #4: Charlotte Flair def. Shotzi

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

As SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair was taking on Shotzi, her challenger at WrestleMania, Rhea Ripley, came down to have a closer look at the proceedings. Shotzi put up a good fight before being clobbered with a Spear. Flair locked up the match with a Figure Eight, forcing Shotzi to submit.

My Score: 1.5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 2/5

This was, honestly, a pretty bad episode of Smackdown. Poor to average matches, relying on the Bloodline stuff yet again and a total lack of a main event hurt this week’s episode IMHO. This is the kind of show you could either a) completely skip; or b) watch clips of social media. There really is no need to sit through all two hours of this thing!

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