25th Sep2023

Friday Night Smackdown – Sept 22nd 2023: Results & Review

by Phil Wheat

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 this week’s episode!

Match #1: Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar def. The Street Profits

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

All is not right between Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits. Though the group seemed primed to potentially take over SmackDown, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford suffered a loss to United States Champion Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar to cause a rift in the group. Lashley’s cheap shot on Mysterio late in the match caused Dawkins to lose focus, allowing Mysterio to pick up the victory via rollup. The All Mighty admonished the former tag team champs after the loss, walking out on them in frustration.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: WWE Women’s Championship – Asuka def. IYO SKY

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

In a battle of generational talents, WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY took on fellow Japanese wrestler Asuka, with the history between the two supremely rich outside of WWE. Just as the match was to begin, The Queen of WWE made her way down to the ring to get a front row seat to the awesome action. The two put on an impressive display, with Asuka taking it to the champion with vicious kicks and back strikes. SKY made good on her Genius of the Sky moniker, blitzing Asuka with a tremendous dropkick that sent The Empress of Tomorrow tumbling from the top rope. Asuka applied the Asuka Lock on multiple occasions, but SKY kept fighting. Just as SKY seemed to be fading, Flair took out Bayley at ringside. The commotion allowed SKY to hit her Over the Moonsault and retain the title.

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #3: Austin Theory & Grayson Waller def. Brawling Brutes

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Fight Night came to Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, but the newly minted tandem found a way to escape the beating with a win. The Brutes were all over Theory and Waller with Ridge Holland once again showcasing his brutish strength as he spun Waller around like a sack of potatoes. Butch and Holland obliterated Waller and Theory as they combined for 10 Beats of the Bodhran with Butch hitting the arithmetic assault on Waller by the timekeeper’s area. Despite the Brute’s demolishment of A-Town Down Under, Waller and Theory kept escaping the L. As Holland had Theory in a submission hold, Waller used lightning speed to hit a devastating Rolling Stunner to clinch the win for his team.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3/5

This was a weird episode of Smackdown, we got a good opening match and a REALLY good women’s title match – one of the best matches on Smackdown in recent memory. Period. But the rest of the show was a bit of a shambles… Apparently, there were issues with LA Knight’s health that prevented him getting involved in the AJ/Cena/Bloodline angle which made the end feel “off.” What else felt off was the Lashley/Street Profits fallout at the end of the first match – they’ve only just started this angle between all these guys and for it to feel concluded already… Odd. I wouldn’t normally recommend an episode like this but it’s worth watching the first two matches for sure.

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