Friday Night Smackdown – Jun 23rd 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 this week!
Match #1: LA Knight def. Rey Mysterio
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a big boost of momentum ahead of Money in the Bank, LA Knight defeated the legendary luchador and WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio. Mysterio looked fantastic early on and even hit a quick 619, but Knight weathered the storm and settled into the match. As the two Superstars battled, Mysterio once again went for his signature move but Knight countered into a BFT and picked up the major victory.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship(s) – Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler def. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The team of Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler systematically took out Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn to unify the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Fyre & Dawn used their chaotic offense to take control early, but a cheapshot from Baszler turned the tides in a major way for her team. Baszler locked in the Kirifuda Clutch on Dawn, but Fyre nailed a Swanton Bomb to break up the pinfall, albeit only for a bit. Baszler and Rousey continued to press forward and ultimately managed to lock in the Kirifuda Clutch and an armbar simultaneously, unifying the tag team titles in the process.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: Pretty Deadly def. The Street Profits
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
More shenanigans allowed the team of Elton Prince & Kit Wilson to defeat Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins in a matchup of two of SmackDown’s best tag teams. After an incredible stereo splash from the Street Profits, Prince found himself in a lot of trouble as Dawkins put together an impressive offensive display, followed by an incredible uranage from Ford. However, the sneakiness of Pretty Deadly became too much to overcome as a roll up from Prince was aided by Wilson holding his feet on the ropes, further infuriating the Street Profits.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Charlotte Flair def. Lacey Evans
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
“The Queen” Charlotte Flair reaffirmed her status as one of the greatest Superstars in all of WWE by submitting Lacey Evans. Flair was her usual dominant self, tossing Evans around the ring before finally locking in the Figure Eight and forcing Evans to tap out.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #5: Solo Sikoa def. Sheamus
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Enforcer of The Bloodline, Solo Sikoa, came through for Roman Reigns and The Island of Relevancy by defeating one of the toughest Superstars in WWE history, Sheamus. The leader of the Brawling Brutes demanded the match after Sikoa delivered a Samoan Spike to Ridge Holland earlier in the night, and he took his rage out on the Samoan monster to begin the match. The two Superstars battered each other and after a while their bodies began to break down, and Sheamus’ hesitation allowed Sikoa to deliver a Samoan Spike, a uranage onto the announcer’s table, and a hip attack through the barricade that forced the official to end the match.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
What an odd Smackdown this week’s show was… We got two good matches, two average ones and a terrible squash match. So two good matches? That should make for a great show, shouldn’t it? It didn’t. The overall show was dull as dishwater to be honest. There was no real excitement to proceedings, even when the matches were good. Maybe the rumours about Vince tearing up the script for this week’s show are more than rumours? Certainly felt like it.
