Friday Night Smackdown – Oct 7th 2022: Results & Review
Welcome to this review of this past Friday’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown, right here on Nerdly. This is the go-home show for Extreme Rules 2022 AND the “season premiere” for Smackdown (though it’s never off TV), which means something of a reboot for the show… so let’s see what went down this week!
Match #1: Solo Sikoa def. Ricochet
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa racked up another tough victory by catching his highflying opponent Ricochet as The One and Only was coming off the top rope with the 450 Splash, hitting the Spinning Solo to earn a hard-fought pinfall.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi def. Sonya Deville and Xia Li
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Unlikely partners Raquel Rodriguez & Shotzi took down the devious forces of Sonya Deville & Xia Li. After working together with perfect tag team precision to neutralize Li, Rodriguez hit Deville with the Tejana Bomb to get the win for her tandem.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #3: New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) and Braun Strowman def. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) and Sami Zayn
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Braun Strowman emerged as the surprise tag team partner of Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods against Sami Zayn & Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos in a Six-Man Tag Team Match. After The Monster of All Monsters took out Zayn and Jey Uso as they bickered outside the ring, The New Day took advantage of a distracted Jimmy Uso and used a double team to pick up the victory.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Intercontinental Title Match – Gunther def. Sheamus
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a slugfest of a rematch pitting Gunther against Sheamus for the Intercontinental Title, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci and Ridge Holland & Butch emerged to brawl with each other at ringside. As chaos took over, Kaiser slipped Gunther a Shillelagh, and The Ring General used it to overcome The Celtic Warrior. The victory gives the titleholder and his cohorts the upper hand heading into the brutal Six-Man Tag Team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match between The Brawling Brutes and Imperium at WWE Extreme Rules on Saturday.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
A decent go-home show AND season premiere this, for me, suffered from one too many promos/vignettes – even if they did move the storylines for Extreme Rules and future matches forward in decent fashion. The main even t was stellar and only made the excitement for the trios match between the Brawling Brutes and Imperium at Extreme Rules even more palpable. I’m digging the new commentary team of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett too!
