Friday Night SmackDown – Sept 25th 2020: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and Verne Gagne hated the gays. That’s a fact, precious. Give us a kiss. BAM! We’ve got the final build toward Clash Of Champions on this show, with Ric Flair gearing-up for the latest chapter in his competitive rivalry with Barry Windham a…whoops…wrong era. That sounded good though, didn’t it? MMMMMMMMMM…Windham…ughuuguhuguhughguhughuhg. I’ve got bigger magombos than Jenny McCarthy and SmackDown begins…IN THE BEGINNING!
Match #1: Sami Zayn def. AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy – Triple Threat Match
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
True to form, chaos erupted once again between Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn and AJ Styles during the Intercontinental Championship Ascension Ceremony. As the titles were raised toward the rafters, the three competitors brawled, and Styles was added to the scheduled match between Hardy and Zayn. After the pre-match fireworks, the mayhem continued as each competitor gained control during stretches of the match. Styles landed a huge attack when he launched himself over the ropes for a Phenomenal Forearm on The Great Liberator. Following a wild sequence of kicks, Styles landed another flying Phenomenal Forearm on Hardy. As Styles went for the pin, Zayn snuck in and threw him off to steal the win for himself. Styles didn’t take the loss lightly, as he took out both his WWE Clash of Champions opponents and climbed the ladder to get his hands on the two titles above the ring. The message was officially sent by The Phenomenal One.
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was standard fare for much of the duration of the bout, but when this got good, it was very exciting. The tease of what sort of action you can expect from these three for the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match was enough to give this match an aura of importance. You’ll get some thrilling spots from each fighter, including a rim-job to make your ass hum “Free-Bird” like it was a lubed-up tuba. Nothing in here was too fast to catch with your naked eye, but my naked butt doesn’t blow chunks too fast to catch in the first place, so…Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I forgot what was going on. Oh, right…Sami winning was the right call, because he needed it and his heel shtick is really doing well lately. I thought this went quite well for twelve minutes of wrestling action and that is just fine to me.
Match #2: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Gran Metalik
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Before their respective teams battle for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at WWE Clash of Champions, Shinsuke Nakamura and Gran Metalik went to battle on the blue brand. Nakamura showed some trademark aggression, as The Artist buried Gran Metalik’s head into the turnbuckle. The King of the Ropes earned an advantage with a jaw-dropping aerial assault but was unable to secure the pin over Nakamura. After a flurry from The King of Strong Style, Nakamura connected on a devastating Kinshasa to finish off the match. Cesaro then took out Lince Dorado, as Kalisto remained unscathed on the outside. Tensions boiled over with Lucha House Party once again as Dorado shoved Kalisto in disagreement after the match.
My Opinion: 2.9 out of 5 – This didn’t quite get to the level I was hoping for, but the evidence that it could have was there. Shinsuke, even when he is not at his prime performing level, is still incredibly engaging and this match is proof of that. Gran added a bit of intrigue with his lucha offense, but it paled in comparison to Shinsuke’s charisma, let alone his fighting style. I used to participate in cow-tipping and had a hard-time getting back up…and this match was okay.
Match #3: King Corbin def. Matt Riddle
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
King Corbin had been biding his time for another opportunity to humble Matt Riddle, and the royal Superstar made the most of his latest showdown with the blue brand newcomer. The Original Bro defeated Corbin at WWE Payback and started tonight’s match as if he was shot out of a cannon. The strength of Corbin proved too much, as a Powerbomb reversal of Riddle’s triangle appeared to swing the match. Riddle authored a huge rally, but the King reigned supreme with an End of Days to defeat The Original Bro.
My Opinion: 3.2 out of 5 – Corbin and Riddle meshed well together, unlike Riddle and the legal system (HA!). After the first few minutes, this turned into a steady, even match that never fully favored one fighter over the other… There’s some good, old-fashioned back-and-forth here and, while it was nothing special, it was thick with stocky action that gave me a mild chub.
Match #4: (Main Event) Alexa Bliss vs. Lacey Evans (No-Contest)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Alexa Bliss and Lacey Evans met in the ring after last week’s Sister Abigail attack on The Sassy Southern Belle. Bliss appeared to have her usual energy early, but after the laughter of The Fiend rang through the WWE ThunderDome, her demeanor appeared to start changing. Evans took control of the match, until the chilling image of The Fiend appeared throughout the screens surrounding the ring. HIS presence brought a vacant look to Bliss’ eyes, and the Superstar brutally attacked her opponent until the official stopped the match. Before exiting, Bliss landed one more Sister Abigail to Evans and delivered an eerie glare to Roman Reigns.
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – Evans worked hard to look like an ass-kicker and Bliss was able to show just how far she’s actually come in just a few years. I was pleasantly surprised at how physical this was, especially with Bliss’s side of the ring being taken into account. Even with the wonky finish, this had a certain heft to it that felt like a real main event, even when this veered into angle territory. Hey, I licked a girl and she hated it…and this was a fine final fight for the card.
News Of The Night:
- Roman Reigns attacked Jey Uso to seal his heel turn.
- Alexa Bliss was possessed by Bray Wyatt and stared a hole in Roman Reigns’s head to tease the prize fight between Wyatt and Reigns.
- Lucha House Party is still being teased as breaking-up.
- Bayley taunted Nikki Cross ahead of Clash Of Champions.
Final Verdict: 3.3/5
Two good matches and a few strong promos went well with a closing angle that may not have provided the best two hours of wrestling ever, but it was effective build with some major heat at the end to sell the Universal Title match as being important.
