Friday Night Smackdown – Sept 24th 2021: Results & Review

Welcome to this week’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a prize fight and a big night for Montez Ford, who gets to fight Roman Reigns because he insulted the Anoi/Fatu family. Wouldn’t it be great if life worked like that? Somebody pisses you off and you get to fight them for money? Actually, I might not be into that, but it would be a good option for some of the more violent people out there. Chevy Chase: I hate people! Me: Oh s–t! It’s Chevy Chase! Chevy: I hate people! GAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! Me: AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! SmackDown starts now! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Match #1: King Nakamura def. Apollo Crews – WWE Intercontinental Title Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

In the final moments of a tremendous Intercontinental Championship rematch, Rick Boogs picked up the gigantic Commander Azeez and hurled him upside down and onto the hard ringside floor. This jaw-dropping maneuver paved the way for King Nakamura to twist Apollo Crews and retain his title with a quick pin on The Pride of Nigeria.

The Verdict: 7 out of 10 – It was over almost as quickly as it began, but it was over with the crowd, so that’s just a good thing going short. Nakamura was great here in the small ways he was allowed to be. The champion didn’t get to indulge his full skill-set, nor did he get to wrestle at quite the level he can altogether, but he was allowed to shine brightly nonetheless. Crews worked hard to get the finish some heat, since he had to sell losing so quickly as possible for a multi-time former champion. This was not a lazy match in the ring, but the bookers were a bit lazy in just throwing these guys on TV for a few minutes. Still, a good match is a good match and this one was very good for what little time we got to savor it.

Match #2: Zelina Vega def. Liv Morgan

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Before Liv Morgan battles Carmella at WWE Extreme Rules, she had to go through Zelina Vega with “The Most Beautiful Woman in All of WWE” sitting in on commentary. Carmella stepped up to the ropes and caused a distraction on Morgan. This paved the way for Vega to deliver a fierce kick to her opponent from behind and pick up the three-count.

The Verdict: 3 out of 10 – This wasn’t much, either in length or quality. These two fighters didn’t get much time to do anything. Plus, Liv lost a match she definitely needed to win.

Match #3: Nikki A.S.H. def. Natalya

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

After Rhea Ripley stopped interference from Tamina by pulling her off the apron, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Nikki A.S.H. reversed a pinfall attempt from Natalya to defeat The Queen of Harts.

The Verdict: 3 out of 10 – Do you see the review above? Take that sumb–ch and put it on down here, because I’ve got the same thoughts here for this as above. Christopher Walken: Wow! Me: Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! Zombieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Walken: Ow! My face! You, like…hit it! Me: You can’t have my braiiiiiiiin!!!!!!!! Walken: I…I don’t think that will be a problem. Me: What a lame match. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Hansonnnnnnn!!!!!!! Hanson: MMMMMBOP!

Match #4: (Main Event) Roman Reigns def. Montez Ford

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Following some comments earlier in the night that insulted The Bloodline, Roman Reigns wanted a match against Montez Ford just two days before The Head of the Table battles “The Demon” Finn Bálor in an Extreme Rules Match. Despite a hard-fought effort from Ford, Reigns finished off his punishing offense by raising his knees and catching his opponent as he was coming off the top rope before making him tap out to the Guillotine.

The Verdict: 8 out of 10 – Hey! Now this issa spicy meat-a-ball! Mr. Mada Faka: No food! You fired! Me: Whatta yousa talkin’ abotta?! BANG! MF: I take over review! Rome and Chevrolet fight with honor! Not assholes! Rome used great tower power to block upstart Chevy! Chevy took it to the levy! Chevy to the levy until the levy was dry! Rome aqueduct out of water, but citizens fight back with tower power offense! Chevy start to run out of gas while driving! Oh s–t! Patrick Swayze: Road House! WHAM! PS: This was a good match. Roman and Ford had a match that was firmly entrenched in the camp of star and upstart. MF: I said same thing! WHAM! PS: Road House! Roman worked over Ford as Ford would recover and rebound out of Roman’s offense. The idea that Ford was gloriously fighting a losing battle was a great angle for this, as Ford winning would have been great, but it is reasonable to not have him get a surprise victory over the champ. How cool would that have been Road House for him to get the game-changing win over Roman? There would have been so much momentum for Extreme Rules with Ford having already gotten a win over the champ that Finn would have gotten a shot in the arm as a challenger. MF: I used to date a midget! I was nuts over her! WHAM! PS: Road House! I think this was a home run. Why don’t you give this a watch and let me know what you think? MF: You dead! WHAM! PS: I know what you are, but what am Road House!

Final Verdict: 6/10

I’ve been slappin’ my clown thinkin’ about this show and I think a 6 is accurate. The main event was the first time that this show felt like it was living up to its potential. The show was too focused on promos, as usual. Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair were in a promo where Bianca complained about losing quickly in a match that had already started. I get that the angle is that Bianca wasn’t expecting Becky to just blast her without warning, but it still makes Bianca look spoiled and arrogant that she thinks she’s above losing that way. Becky worked hard to get heel heat and only got half as much as a real heel would get. Becky is the star of the show and making her a heel is a difficult task that offers very little in return. Seth Rollins challenged Edge to come to SmackDown next week and Edge said he will. Finn Balor brawled with Roman Reigns to close the show. You get all the usual suspects casing the joint, but since this is a wrestling card, you’d think…eh. Vince does this every week. If he wants to run himself out of professional wrestling, then I guess that’s what he’ll do. I just hope Vince sells it to The Rock while he has a chance. Well, The Rock could wait until Vince ruins the momentum of the league and just buy it for cheap. What’s that? The Rock buying the WWE? It sounds stupid? Who do you want to buy the company…Donald Trump? Comcast? Rupert Murdoch? I’ll take The Rock over those f–kers, because The Rock is a wrestler and… Wait. I’m not talking about this any more. I’m on the toilet. My point was that Vince is offering the bare minimum to the audience and yet he expects big ratings and big money. Vince acts more like a millenial than a lot of the millenials do. Anyway, I just copied this review off of Gene Shalit. Gene Shalit: No you didn’t! I’m not Happy Gilmore with your not True Lies! Something’s Got To Give with these Terms Of Endearment! Don’t make me William Hurt you so hard you get a Scarface! Me: What? GS: Rollerball! Me: Okay. I’m done here. I’ll see you next time. GS: Meatballs!