Friday Night Smackdown – Jun 30th 2023: Results & Review
Welcome to this review of this past Friday’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown, right here on Nerdly. This week’s show emanated from the O2 Arena in London, so let’s see what went down on this international episode!
Match #1: Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship – Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Pretty Deadly
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In front of a sold out O2 Arena in London, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn took on Pretty Deadly in Pretty Deadly’s neck of the woods. KO was a house on fire, plowing through Elton Prince and Kit Wilson at ringside with clotheslines before bringing Prince into the ring to hit a huge cannonball. However, the move cost Owens, as he appeared to hold his left ankle. Pretty Deadly immediately attacked the injured ankle, nearly becoming new champs after an assisted codebreaker. Zayn barely saved the matchup after Pretty Deadly hit Spilt Milk that might have spoiled KO and Sami’s tag team reign. KO was able to hit a Stunner, even with a dodgy ankle, and Zayn hit the Helluva Kick to retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Austin Theory def. Ridge Holland
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Wanting to compete in his hometown, Holland took on U.S. Champion Austin Theory in a Championship Contenders Match, exploding out of the box. Holland used a spinning guillotine impressively to discombobulate Theory. After some back-and-forth, Theory attacked the throat that Solo Sikoa had spiked last week. Theory hit an awesome dropkick right to the throat to claim the victory.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #3: Bayley def. Shotzi
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
With Bayley’s Money in the Bank spot on the line, Shotzi attempted to gain entry into the life-changing matchup. The WWE Universe were in full force, serenading Bayley with “Hey Bayley,” much to Bayley’s chagrin. As IYO SKY was distracting the referee and Shotzi, Bayley took advantage by raking The Ballsy Badass’ eyes, allowing her to hit the Rose Plant to maintain her place in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Butch def. Santos Escobar & LA Knight
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In a high-stakes Triple Threat Match, Logan Paul watched as Butch, Santos Escobar and LA Knight collided one night before the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. It didn’t take long for Paul to get involved, as Escobar hit a huge dive onto The Social Media Megastar while Knight and Paul were jaw-jacking. As Escobar was getting back into the ring, Butch took advantage and hit Escobar with the Bitter End to win the match.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: WWE Women’s Championship – Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair (No Contest)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Despite being barred from ringside by Adam Pearce, Bianca Belair bought herself a front-row ticket to watch Asuka defend her WWE Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair. The two veterans had an incredible match, with The Queen hitting a Spear and a moonsault, though she still could not become new WWE Women’s Champion. Just as the two competitors were getting into it, The EST of WWE attacked Asuka, causing a disqualification.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
As a go-home show for Money in the Bank, this episode of Smackdown did its job – its especially seemed to rile up the UK audience in preparation for the following day’s “Premium Live Event” but in terms of wrestling the show was pretty average… Though I don’t think you’d want to go all-out crazy with the wrestling and have a ton of spot-fests when everyone needs to stay healthy for MITB – where there’s guaranteed to be a bunch of spot-fests in the titular matches! The opening tag match was great and that was about it. Ridge Holland should have won his match against Theory given he’s wrestling in front of his home crowd, whilst Bayley versus Shotzi felt like the duo were holding back (again a given that either could have been in the women’s MITB match the next night). As for the show’s other women’s match… that was totally ruined by Bianca Belair’s interference IMHO. I get the feuding but a main event match shouldn’t end that way!
Vince is back, you could tell it was boring and predictable again