Friday Night Smackdown – Apr 7th 2023: Results & Review
Welcome to this review of this past Friday’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown, right here on Nerdly. Let’s see what went down on the show!
Match #1: The Brawling Brutes def. Imperium
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Only six days after his brutal Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania, Intercontinental Champion Gunther once again squared off with one of his opponents that night, Sheamus. Butch, like always, started like a house on fire, lighting up Giovanni Vinci with strikes. Butch did not let up on Vinci, using joint manipulation to pick apart Vinci with ease. As Gunther and Sheamus were jaw-jacking, Butch became distracted, allowing Ludwig Kaiser to assist Vinci in dropping Butch with a tremendous suplex. As the match broke down, Holland bouldered through Kaiser, lifting him up and dropping him with an Alabama Slam. The strength from Holland backfired as all three members of Imperium connected with a gruesome triple-team attack using the ring post. Gunther kept hitting Sheamus with cheap shots, leading to an almighty powerbomb from Gunther to Holland, but Butch broke up the count. Locked in the Boston crab by Gunther, Holland ignited the WWE Universe by tagging in Sheamus. Sheamus hit 10 Beats of the Bodhran on The Ring General. Sheamus nearly had the Intercontinental Champion beat after a White Noise, but Gunther kept the match going. Sheamus ended the match with a brutal Brogue Kick on Vinci, gaining some retribution for the WrestleMania loss.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #2: Ricochet def. Ivar
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Ricochet faced off against Ivar, with the tag team partners of both competitors banned from ringside for the matchup. In a test of speed and agility against pure strength and power, Ivar seemed to have Ricochet scouted, manhandling him after Ricochet attempted a dive to the outside. Ricochet attempted to showcase some of his own strength by lifting Ivar, but he collapsed under the weight. Ivar then connected with a spinning heel kick for a close two. With Ivar on the top rope, Ricochet exploded to take out the big man with a hurricanrana. Ricochet wrapped up the fight by hitting the Shooting Star Press.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #3: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez def. Natalya & Shotzi
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a test before their WWE Women’s Tag Team Title clash against Becky Lynch and Lita, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez took on Natalya and Shotzi. These teams were two of the four teams that battled on WrestleMania Sunday in the WrestleMania Showcase Match. Shotzi connected with a huge dive to the outside to Rodriguez. Natalya and Shotzi hit Morgan with a great double-team move before setting up the Hart Attack. Before Natalya could connect, Rodriguez barreled her way through The Queen of Harts. This allowed Morgan to catch Shotzi in the Oblivion, earning the much-needed win before their title fight.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: The Judgment Day def. LWO
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar of The LWO took on Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day just days after the father and son clashed at WrestleMania. Mysterio and Escobar looked great for their first match together as The LWO, rolling through their competition. Continuing from the fight at WrestleMania, Dominik hit his father with a Michinoku driver, but Rey responded with a springboard moonsault. Before Rey could hit the 619, Rhea Ripley took Dominik out of harm’s way. Zelina Vega responded by hitting a huge hurricanrana, sending the two Superstars fighting to the backstage area. As LWO were about to wrap up the victory, Priest hit a blind tag on Dominik, blindsiding Escobar with a South of Heaven to earn the hard-fought victory.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Jey Uso def. Sami Zayn
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Before the match, Kevin Owens was attacked backstage by Solo Sikoa, leaving Sami Zayn by his lonesome to take on former friend Jey Uso. As Zayn was getting going in the match, Sikoa sauntered his way down to ringside. After a missed Helluva Kick, Zayn caught Jey with the Blue Thunder Bomb but could only garner a two-count. The same move that saved Roman Reigns’ title at WrestleMania, the Samoan Spike, took out Zayn behind the referee’s back. This allowed Jey Uso to capture the victory. After the match, Jey Uso and Sikoa engaged in an attack on Zayn, but Matt Riddle came out to make the stunning save.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
Well, you can say one thing about this week’s episode of Smackdown… It was a hell of an improvement over Monday’s Raw! That’s not to say this show didn’t have issues; er, the Draft? Oh WWE, this reeked of “we need to do something intriguing” so let’s try to generate interest in the draft we don’t really care about! The matches ranged from OK to good, with nothing really generating any excitement. But that might just be general WWE fatigue following the terrible over-hyped and under-delivering “Raw After Wrestlemania” this year!
