‘Friday Night Smackdown’ Review (Jan 26th 2024)
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: Santos Escobar def. Carlito
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Following months of tumultuous blindsides and sneak attacks, Carlito and Santos Escobar finally squared off one-on-one. Former Legado del Fantasma member Elektra Lopez shockingly made her debut, attacking Zelina Vega and distracting Carlito. This allowed Escobar to take advantage, rolling up Carlito for the win.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #2: WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – The Kabuki Warriors def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Dialing the clock back to 2019, The Kabuki Warriors are once again your new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Chance and Carter threw caution to the wind in their defense but were unable to vanquish Asuka and Kairi Sane. Chance and Carter nearly had the victory following a Keg Stand, but Sane kept the match alive at the last second. With an Assisted Insane Elbow, The Kabuki Warriors became WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions for the second time.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: Austin Theory def. Carmelo Hayes
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Continuing his journey on the blue brand as an NXT Superstar, Carmelo Hayes once again faced off with Austin Theory. Hayes had his back against the wall for most of the match, with Grayson Waller repeatedly getting involved. Theory got the win by holding onto Hayes’ tights. After the match, Trick Williams saved Carmelo Hayes from a beatdown, much to the Miami WWE Universe’s delight.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: LA Knight def. Solo Sikoa (DQ)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Megastar’s gameplan for dealing with The Bloodline’s “Tribal Heir”? Attack Solo Sikoa’s hand to the point where he can no longer use the dreaded Samoan Spike on Knight’s throat. This gameplan largely worked, but The Megastar didn’t plan for the appearance of AJ Styles. Jilted after being looked over, Styles attacked Knight with the Phenomenal Forearm, gifting The Megastar a win by disqualification.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
Whilst this was your typical “keep the status quo” kind of go-home show, it was actually a HUGE surprise to see a title change hands before a pay-per-view rather than on it and it actually gave this show more of an interest than normal but the rest of the episode was, unfortunately, decidedly average. And only four matches? I get it, time is needed for pre-PPV storytelling but we could’ve got a least ONE more match!
