Friday Night Smackdown – Oct 23rd 2020: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I could eat a whole Fred Savage right about now. We’ve got to talk about Kevin…Owens! Did you think I was gonna that about the movie where what’s-his-face killed what’s-their-names? You mean the one where the son killed his dad and sister, because they ate all the f—kin Cherrios? …’cuz that was sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Anyway, Spin City is what my crotch looks like and SmackDown starts…Australia.
Match #1: Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens & The Street Profits def. Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In the aftermath of a chaotic “KO Show,” the most powerful tag team combinations on the post-Draft SmackDown landscape faced off in the hopes of establishing themselves at the top of the blue brand. Fighting through a knee injury in the middle of the contest in heroic fashion, Daniel Bryan kept the match alive. And amidst all-out bedlam between the eight Superstars, Montez Ford launched himself off the top rope to hit his gravity-defying Frog Splash on Cesaro for the victory.
My Opinion: 3.2 out of 5 – Despite all of this talent, this was a dull match. While technically proficient, this was just guy A and guy B switching places with C and D while E and F got ready to work G and H. If ever there was a paint-by-numbers match to come along this week, this is the one. It’s a shame this went the way of Sarah Michelle Gellar putting a rat-trap on her nipples, because there was a lot of promise with this match, based on the amount of skill on display. Some of this had a good flow to it, especially when we got to the final leg of the fight, but this was like watching a dog sniff its ass and just shrug its shoulders. Well, at least this didn’t make the show start off lame…
Match #2: Bianca Belair def. Zelina Vega
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
With a volatile history already established from earlier this year, Bianca Belair and Zelina Vega arrived on SmackDown ready to square off and write a whole new chapter to their rivalry. The EST of WWE once again proved that she deserves her namesake, overcoming Vega with the earth-shattering K.O.D. Indeed, Belair has already taken the first step to establishing herself on the blue brand.
My Opinion: 2.4 out of 5 – Belair had a good showing against an equally game Vega, but the match was just a squash with some salsa con queso…ole!
Match #3: Lars Sullivan def. Shorty G. (Chad Gable)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Since returning to SmackDown, Lars Sullivan has done nothing but viciously tear through any opponent who crosses his path. But harboring a growing resentment as a result of not being drafted by Raw or SmackDown, Shorty G decided to take on The Freak and prove that he can demolish a rival of any size. Despite his determination, Lars continued his unrelenting destruction by laying waste to his outmatched opponent before finishing him off with the Freak Accident. When Kayla Braxton approached Shorty G after the match to ask how he felt, the war-torn Superstar responded with a simple “I quit.”
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was another dirty, stinkin’ squash. Gable looked good putting over Lars, who is better than many give him credit for, but still shouldn’t be on TV yet.
Match #4: (Main Event) Seth Rollins def. Murphy
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
“The SmackDown Savior” Seth Rollins went to war against his former disciple Murphy in a personal showdown, with Aalyah Mysterio watching closely backstage. Despite Murphy heroically fighting through an injury, Rollins emerged victorious with a Stomp.
My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – This was a fine little main event with a lot of aggression that featured a meaner, nastier version of Seth that I liked, but I was a bit annoyed by as well, like Alfred Hitchcock and his mini-dick mentality. I’d call this a very athletic brawl with a lot of kinetic action, but there was also a lot of pauses in the action so Seth could be a heel and it just kept what could have been a classic from reaching the promised land. In any case, I’m Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ and this match was Lana Turner with a polka dot cigar.
News Of The Night:
- The Miz emerged victorious in Law & Otis trial, which means Otis must defend the Money In The Bank contract against The Miz at WWE Hell in a Cell.
- Shorty G rebelled against his latest moniker and has chosen to be called Chad Gable again, citing his Olympic history and raw wresting skills as what makes him great (possible heel promo).
- Jey used his brother Jimmy Uso to attack Roman Reigns by tricking Roman into thinking that Jey was in Reigns’s suite.
- The Uso family will be out of the A’noai/Fatu family if Jey loses at Hell In A Cell and refuses to relent to Roman Reigns.
- Aalyah Mysterio came to Murphy’s aid after
- Sasha Banks put Bayley into a chair submission to get her to sign the contract for the Hell In A Cell Women’s Title match at Hell In A Cell.
- Kevin Owens wants to be a tag team champion with Daniel Bryan.
- Sami Zayn taunted Daniel Bryan to continue the rivalry over the Intercontinental Title, which started anew over Bryan’s claim that the Intercontinental Title should be defended every week.
My Opinion: 3.2/5
This show wasted a lot of time, but there was also a serious focus on the important things, so this was mostly just a good commercial for what is coming down the pipe.
