Friday Night SmackDown – Nov 13th 2020: Results & Review

Welcome to this week’s Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the finale of the Rey Mysterio/Seth Rollins feud…hopefully. As we prepare for this momentous broadcast, let us read an excerpt from the interview between Ric Flair and D’Hootie, The Horny Owl.

Ric Flair: WOOOOOO!
D’Hootie: HOOOOOOOO!
Ric Flair: WOOOOOOOOO!
D’Hootie: HOOOOOOOO!
Ric Flair: WOOOOOOOO!
D’Hootie: HOOOOOOOOO!
Ric Flair: I’mma pound that ass! WOOOOOOO!
D’Hootie: HOOOOOOOO!
Ric Flair and D’Hootie: WOOOOO! HOOOOO! WOOOOO! HOOOOO! WOOOOOO! HOOOOOO!

What the f— was that?! Were they…never mind. We’ve got some big matches to get to, so…what the…? Ric Flair: It’s bitchin’! D’Hootie: HOOOOOOO! Ric Flair: WOOOOOO! D’Hootie: HOOOOO! Ric Flair and D’Hootie: WOOOOO! HOOOOOO! WOOOOO! HOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOO! HOOOOOO! Nathan: I think I’m gonna hurl! SmackDown starts…BLAGH!

Match #1: Sami Zayn def. Apollo Crews – WWE Intercontinental Championship Match (Count-Out)

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Before battling United States Champion Bobby Lashley at Survivor Series, Sami Zayn set out to prove his dominance against Apollo Crews in an Intercontinental Title Match. In a somewhat less than dominant effort, however, Zayn trapped Crews’ leg underneath the exposed area below the ring and climbed back into the squared circle to steal the victory by count-out.

My Opinion: 0.2 out of 5 – They wasted these two guys here. This went a minute or so and ended with one guy being tied to the apron. Blow me.

Match #2: Otis def. Dolph Ziggler

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode made fun of Otis in the backstage area, Otis took out his recent frustrations on The Showoff in one-on-one action. After fighting through Roode’s interference and kicking out of the Zig Zag, Otis overcame Ziggler with the Caterpillar/Splash combination.

My Opinion: 1.2 out of 5 – This was a squash match. Do you wanna watch a squash match? There you go then.

Match #3: Rey Mysterio def. Seth Rollins – No Holds Barred Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio agreed that their No Holds Barred Match on SmackDown would serve as the final chapter in their intensely personal and often barbaric rivalry. The two Superstars tore each other apart, incorporating everything as an implement of destruction, including the ring apron, a table, a steel chair, the announce table and the steal ring. Then, just when it looked like Murphy was about to help Rollins, he suddenly drilled him with a knee to the head, paving the way for Mysterio to hit the 619 and pay homage to the late great Eddie Guerrero with the frog splash off the top rope for the victory. In the wake of the action, Murphy finally found acceptance in the eyes of Rey Mysterio and the Mysterio family.

My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – Rey and Seth got to work on making this a big deal and were largely successful. This match was all about putting this feud to an end, so seeing Seth get betrayed by Murphy is meant to be a climax, rather than a twist. Before we got to that twist, this was hard-hitting wrestling that made big strides in the right spots. Seth payed the roll of bastard well, never doing any-thing remotely heroic or pleasing. Rey was able to get the victory over a proper heel and it made the whole thing come together like Laura Bell Bundy and her whole name phonetically. Isn’t that a lovely name…Laura Bell Bundy? My name is Steve…Steve Steveson…it sucks. Rey looked great in triumph and that’s what this match was built on.

Match #4: Liv Morgan def. Natalya, Tamina and Chelsea Green – Fatal 4-Way Survivor Series Qualifying Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Chelsea Green became a surprise entrant in a match against Liv Morgan, Tamina and Natalya, turning the scheduled Triple Threat Match into a Fatal 4-Way Match to see who would qualify for the SmackDown Women’s Survivor Series Team. In the final moments of the free-for-all, Morgan seized the opportunity and picked up the win to punch her ticket to WWE’s Fall Classic.

My Opinion: 1.3 out of 5 – Green got hurt at one point, so the match came down to Liv and Natalya. I wonder if Green was going to win this match? Well, Liv and Natalya made the last few minutes work, but the match wasn’t much before that, so there you go.

Match #5: (Main Event) Drew McIntyre def. Jey Uso – Unsanctioned Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After he overstepped against the indomitable Drew McIntyre and embarrassed his cousin Roman Reigns earlier in the evening, Jey Uso faced off against the Scotsman a special cross-brand Unsanctioned Match. In the final moments of the hard-fought matchup, The Big Dog emerged and ordered Jey to make his opponent understand. In response, Uso raised his aggression and unleashed a barrage of rights and lefts on his prey. Nevertheless, when he turned around a brief moment, he left himself open for the Claymore Kick, which gave McIntyre the victory. After a post-match faceoff with Reigns, McIntyre is clearly determined to defeat Randy Orton for the WWE Championship on Raw.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – Drew and Jey were knocking each other around like skanks over the one guy in the bar with a job. For an unsanctioned match, this didn’t have a lot of brawling or mayhem, but that worked fine for me. Drew brought the pain and Jey took it with a grin, which was a lovely dynamic. Jey eventually became a violent menace, which added a lot to the ending, because Drew conquered a wild maniac, instead of another wrestler. These guys have some chemistry together, that’s for sure. John Wayne kissed a walnut and this match kissed the sky while reaching for it, which was kinda cool.

News of The Night:

1. Bayley helped Carmella attack Sasha Banks.
2. Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns may be teasing a Wrestlemania match between the two, thanks to their promo opening the show.

Final Verdict: 3/5

There was no build toward the male Survivor Series match at all, so what the hell is up with that? There were two good matches and a feeling of importance with this card, even if it didn’t quite live-up to the expectations.