Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 10.21.22

Hello everyone, it’s Friday and earlier this week I turned 37 so now that I’m officially old and washed up the quality here is going to decline while I yell at kids to get off of my lawn. Tonight Logan Paul is back, so there’s that as they continue the build to Sweet Saudi Blood Money. Solo Sikoa takes a step up in class when he battles Sheamus in the wake of the fight last week between the Bloodline and Brawling Brutes, I’m curious to see what Sheamus can do with Solo. Liv Morgan will battle Sonya Deville as we hope to get some direction for Liv’s character now that she’s showing off “extreme” aggression. We’ve got a women’s tag team title match when Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky defend against Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi. Last week Rey Mysterio moved to Smackdown and earned a shot at Gunther and the Intercontinental title, so they’ll need to start that build sooner rather than later. Also last week Drew McIntyre pulled a Jimmy Uso and crashed his car into the car of Karrion Kross and Scarlett, so that feud must continue and we could get the next chapter tonight. The Viking Raiders continue to hint at returning, LA Knight debuted that character last week, and there’s been some hinting that Bray Wyatt will be here with his Uncle Howdy devil mask character so we’ll keep an eye out for that. Anyway that’s the preamble, let’s get to the action.

Up first, here comes Sheamus to take on Solo Sikoa. So there’s a decent chance we get shenanigans and this turns into some kind of tag team match (playa). During the entrance we get a brief Bray Wyatt video interruption, just a collage of images and a replay of Wyatt’s “I’m here”. OK, I can dig it.

Match #1: Sheamus w/ Ridge Holland and Butch vs. Solo Sikoa w/ Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso

They tie up, and fight for position in the ropes and corner before they aggressively break apart. Another tie up, this time Sheamus goes for an arm wringer but Solo gets free with an elbow which amuses Sheamus. Now they’re trading elbows, then chops and Solo eventually has to rake the eyes to try and take over. Clothesline from Sheamus and he unloads with strikes in the corner. Solo fights back with strikes of his own, including a headbutt but Sheamus blocks a hip toss and clotheslines Solo down hard. Sheamus grabs a rest hold, then Solo fights free and hits a running wheel kick. Solo gets sent to the apron then Sheamus sets for the Bodhran Beats, but Solo fights free and snaps the arm of Sheamus over the top rope. Sheamus gets sent to the floor and Solo “hits” a hip attack against the ring steps, poor direction there as we clearly saw Solo hit only the steps because of a last second camera switch. That sends us to break.

We come back to Solo still in charge and hitting a hip attack. Solo wants another hip attack, but Sheamus explodes up and intercepts him with a clothesline. Sheamus fires up with clotheslines in the corner then White Noise connects for a 2 count. Now Sheamus goes up top, but he’s hurting to the arm and takes too long leading to Solo intercepting him. Solo heads up top for a second rope Samoan drop for a near fall. Sheamus fights off a Spinning Solo with elbow strikes then catches a running Solo with a tilt a whirl slam. Solo rolls to the apron to recover, and Sheamus instead ties him up for Bodhran Beats, this week we get 12 or so before Solo collapses onto the apron to avoid the punishment. Sheamus sets for the Brogue Kick, but Solo avoids it and lands a super kick but Sheamus comes off the ropes with a knee to the face and the visual win but Sami Zayn distracts the ref. Things break down on the outside but the Usos take out Butch and Ridge then bury them under the announce table, but Sheamus comes off the top rope to wipe the out with a double clothesline. Sami grabs at Sheamus on his way back into the ring leading Solo to land a knee lift, then the Spinning Solo to get the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Solo Sikoa won

Rating: 3 stars

Good physical match, Solo still has pacing and mobility issues but he and Sheamus matched up pretty well.

Post match Sheamus tries to fight off the Bloodline members but the numbers are too great. Sami and Jimmy get chairs, then they look to Pillmanize the bad arm on the ring steps and Jey does crush it several times before Sami halts Jey’s assault.

A message from Bray Wyatt will be up after this break.

Post break we recap Rey Mysterio moving to Smackdown from last week and winning a shot at the IC title. Gunther vs. Rey has legitimate potential, both men know how to play the David vs. Goliath style match. Back to the broadcast, and earlier tonight Rey arrived at the venue and was verbally accosted by Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser tells Rey this will be the end for him. Rey counters, this is his new beginning, he’s not looking for trouble but doesn’t appreciate being disrespected. So if either of them have the balls to get in the ring they can fight tonight. Kaiser promises to punish the disrespect, Rey just smiles and says he’ll see him in a few minutes.

Commentary then remind us that Bray Wyatt returned last week. In the back Bray is walking, he apologizes for last week and didn’t get to finish what he was saying. He’ll finish now, he used to say revenge is a confession of pain, which it is. But he feels like confessing some things to us, so here it goes. He confesses that he has problems, and always has, they’re not hard to see. But a few, like anger, take him to places he doesn’t want to be, places he shouldn’t come back from. Yet here he is, getting another chance. He was OK with it being over, he wanted us to leave him alone, but he’s glad we didn’t. He needed us. We pulled the spears from his body and pulled him up, showing him what he’s supposed to do, and he’s thankful for that. Now he can see. He knows who we are, what we want, and what we’re trying to do. But it wont work. Along this journey he’s going to do horrible, horrible things that he’ll never feel bad about. He’s just a servant now, and goes where the circle takes him. OK, playing what’s about to happen as the will of the fans is a good twist and Bray does sinister incredibly well.

In their locker room the Bloodline celebrate crippling Sheamus, and Jey and Sami pump Solo up. This was a message to the entire roster, no one messes with the Bloodline. Sami thinks their work is done tonight. Jey says when Logan Paul shows up they’ll get him too. Sami says Roman told them not to engage Logan Paul at all, and tries to talk things down. Jimmy supports Sami with a “my dog”, and Jey seems to cool down before reminding us that he’s a hot head. And by the end of the night we’ll see what really happens. Sami thinks Jey was serious, Jimmy: “My dog”, and that sends us to break.

Here comes Liv Morgan as we come back from break, she’ll be wrestling Sonya Deville who actually gets an entrance as well.

Match #2: Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville

They tie up, hit the corner and Sonya breaks then Liv gives a “creepy” smile. Roll up from Liv, that’s only 2 then Sonya shoulder blocks her down. They hit the ropes then Liv hits a shotgun dropkick for a 1 count. Sonya begs off in the ropes, then Liv catches her with a Backstabber. Some corner offense from Liv then a backslide but Sonya rolls through and lands a knee to the head for a 2 count. Sonya with corner offense, to no reaction, and Liv starts with the laughing in response. Liv fires up with strikes then hits a kick to the face but misses ObLIVion and Sonya kicks Liv to the floor as we head to break.

We come back to Sonya working a rest hold. Liv fights free then lands a back elbow and a kick to the body. More kicks from Liv then she yells and lands a few corner strikes. Liv heads up but her flying nothing results in landing on a knee from Sonya for a 2 count. Kicks from Sonya now but Liv asks for more, Sonya obliges and kicks her down for a 2 count. Liv laughs at Sonya, then demands she hit her and Sonya with some weak slaps, then Liv hits a double leg and unloads with her own weak looking strikes while Sonya rolls out of the ring. Liv follows Sonya to the ringside area and batters her around the barricades and ring steps heedless of the count so we get a double count out.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Double Count Out

Rating: 2 stars

This didn’t need to be as long as it was to get this point over, frankly I think going longer probably hurts as Liv going bonkers faster might have served her better than this layout did.

Post match Liv tosses chairs into the ring as the crowd chants for a table. Sonya tosses herself into the ring while Liv finds more chairs to put into the ring. Liv puts Sonya on the top rope, then follows her up and hits a superplex onto the pile of chairs. Sonya writhes in pain, Liv laughs.

Video for LA Knight now, it uses a lot of his NXT footage.

After this break we’ll get a face to face between Braun Strowman and Omos.

Viking Raiders video, Sara Logan says the god preach patience and they obey. Valhalla awaits.

To the ring, and here comes Braun Strowman. Braun gets a mic, and tells us to look at him. Clearly he’s not someone easy to miss, and he promises he’s not hard to find if you’ve got a problem with him. Well he heard MVP run his mouth on Monday and calls out MVP and Omos to come look in the eyes of a real monster. MVP obliges but talks while walking to the ring. He’s never referred to Braun as anything other than a monster, Braun’s always been the biggest and strongest, well at least until last week when Braun was in the vicinity of the 7’3 inch 403 pound Nigerian giant Omos. The people believe that Braun is the monster of all monsters, and if Braun wants to maintain that he should stay away from Omos, because that would expose Braun. Braun doesn’t need MVP’s advice, and if Omos wants to prove that Braun is normal he should try it at Crown Jewel. MVP accepts on behalf of Omos. Braun then interrupts MVP talking and calls for action, and since MVP is out here by himself. . . MVP cuts that off and says Omos is in fact here. That brings out Omos in a suit. Omos and Braun stare at each other, and Braun is visibly a lot shorter, then Omos shoves Braun all the way out of the ring. MVP gets Omos to leave after that, Braun smiles and seems happy to finally have a challenge. Braun and Omos yell at each other across the ring as MVP escorts Omos to the back.

Commentary gives us an update on Sheamus, Sheamus has been taken to a hospital (they actually used the word), then we get a recap of the brawl between Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross last week. In the back Kayla talks with Drew McIntyre. Upper management isn’t happy with Drew, Drew says Kross pushed him past his breaking point at Extreme Rules and he’s been called to task by management. The long and short of it is if he and Kross start throwing fists at each other there will be severe consequences. But all parties agree that this has to end, so at Crown Jewel Drew will meet Kross in a Cage match. Fair enough.

We then see Logan Paul arrive at the venue, and he’s booed pretty heavily. Did anyone seriously think Roman would be the heel in this equation?

Back to the ring, here comes Damage Control for their title defense. Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi make their way to the ring and we head to break.

Match #3 – Women’s Tag Team Title Match: (c) Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky) w/ Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi

The match begins as we come back. Iyo and Raquel start us off, commentary reference their history in NXT, then Iyo counters a chokebomb into a roll through double stomp. Kai tags in and kicks Raquel in the chest. Raquel blocks a scorpion kick and tries a Stretch Muffler, then tags in Shotzi to hit a double team Samoan drop into a neckbreaker. Shotzi with some corner offense to Kai then heads up top but Iyo pulls Kai away from a Ball Pit. Raquel picks up Iyo and tosses her into Kai, then Raquel tags in and helps Shotzi hit a dive onto both of them. Back in the ring Raquel gets a 2 count on a cover to Kai. Shotzi tags back in, a Doomsday dropkick follows for a near fall. Raquel tags in, and lands shoulder strikes in the corner then tags in Shotzi. Elbow drop from Shotzi, then Kai fights back with a jawbreaker and tags out. Shotzi didn’t see the tag and chases Kai before running into a drop kick from Iyo to send us to break.

Shotzi starts fighting back as we come back to action, she kicks away both Iyo and Kai before sending Kai out of the ring. Iyo gets kicked free and Raquel tags in. Raquel runs wild on Iyo and Kai for a bit, fall away slams for both of them then a twisting Vader Bomb is interrupted by Iyo, but Raquel dead lifts her up for a superplex, Kai gets involved then Shotzi takes out Kai and we’re left with Iyo hitting a diving tornado DDT onto Raquel for a great near fall. Lovely spot there. Raquel avoids a moonsault and turns Iyo inside out with a clothesline. Shotzi tags in, an assisted back suplex follows but Kai is able to flip out of a Tejana Bomb and then break up the pin. Raquel and Kai fight to the floor, Bayley eats a shot from Shotzi but that allows Iyo to hit an Air Raid Crash, then the follow up moonsault connects and the champs retain.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Damage CTRL retained the titles

Rating: 3 stars

Without the commercial break this might have hit 3.5 but we lost some momentum because of it. Still a good match from these teams, one of Shotzi’s better in ring outings in quite some time.

In the back Kayla talks with Ronda Rousey. Ronda mocks the fans expecting an open challenge, Ronda does those when she wants to, not because the fans want them. She’s gotten nothing but hate from the fans, and is done chasing their approval. The fans don’t want the best, they just want their favorites, well now they’re stuck with the best. Next week Ronda will make her challenge, when she can get the hell out of Ohio.

Bray video interrupts us, Uncle Howdy reminds us not to lie to the ones we love, then we get a “Howdy” to end the video and send us to break.

We come back to seeing Santos Escobar explaining Legado Del Fantasma. Business grow through mergers and acquisitions, and their latest acquisition is blonde Zelina Vega. Vega calls herself successful at everything she’s done, their group has no peers. Santos calls them an unbreakable force. Their legacy on Smackdown begins with destroying Hit Row. Elsewhere Hit Row watch that on TV and Dollah says none of their heads even reach his shoulders so they shouldn’t claim to be head and shoulders above everyone. B-Fab says she’s got an idea and they walk off.

Back to the ring, here comes Rey Mysterio. Rey and Gunther’s title match will be in two weeks, so we’ve got time for a little build.

Match #4: Rey Mysterio vs. Ludwig Kaiser w/ Gunther and Giovanni Vinci

Kaiser with some kicks early then a side headlock into a takeover. Rey fights back to his feet, then hits the ropes and lands an enziguri. Kaiser sends Rey into the corner, but Rey fights back with kicks but jumps into a right hand from Kaiser. Punt kick from Kaiser connects. Rey fights back with strikes, then lands a kick off the ropes and follows up with a head scissors to set up a 619 but Vinci distracts Rey. Gunther and Rey trade some words, then Rey with a baseball slide to drop Kaiser but Kaiser avoids a rolling attack from Rey on the floor then drops him with an uppercut to send us to break.

We come back to Kaiser still in control. Rey avoids a kick in the corner, lands a right hand then climbs up top but Kaiser meets him up there with punches. Kaiser sets for a superplex, but Rey blocks that with strikes then headbutts Kaiser to the mat. Rey hits a seated senton, then fires up with a springboard crossbody for a 2 count. Kasier tries a sunset flip but Rey rolls through and hits a kick then a picture perfect Lionsault for a 2 count. Rey goes for a 10 punch in the corner, he gets them then does an Eddie taunt. Kaiser hits an uppercut and climbs the ropes, now Rey meets him up there while Wade Barrett reminds us that Rey debuted in 1989 and claims Kaiser wasn’t even born then, which I can believe and makes me feel incredibly old. Top rope hurricanrana from Rey gets a near fall. Rey heads up top but Kaiser blocks him then sets for a powerbomb but Rey fights out and head scissors Kaiser to the floor. Kaiser avoids a jump from the apron and Rey crashes into the barricade. Gunther and Vinci menace Rey, but Rey has a chair, which he tosses at Gunther, Gunther swats the chair down but Rey drops like he got it. The ref sees that and ejects Vinci and Gunther, I loved that spot when Eddie would do it and it’s still darn good. Gunther and Vinci leave, Rey hits an enziguri then heads up top for a Frog Splash but Kaiser blocks with the knees and covers for a near fall. Kaiser tries his leg lace DDT but Rey fights free, sets Kaiser for a 619 which he hits, then a top rope splash and Ret gets the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Rey Mysterio won

Rating: 3.5 stars

Rey’s ability for his age and injury history is still remarkable and Kaiser was a very good dance partner for him. Kaiser is a very expressive wrestler and performer, just needed to acknowledge it because I think he gets a little overshadowed.

In the back Logan Paul walks towards the ring as we go to break.

Post break we’re reminded that Smackdown will be on FS1 next week, Ronda will make her open challenge, Hit Row finds a mystery partner to battle Legado Del Fantasma, and Roman Reigns returns to TV in addition to Butch and Ridge Holland taking on Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa. We get a replay of the end of Sheamus vs. Solo Sikoa and the resulting attack on Sheamus. We do get a “local medical facility” line and Sheamus has a “non-displaced fracture near the elbow”.

Logan Paul heads to the ring, to a chorus of boos. Logan gets a mic and plays with the crowd, he knows he should address the hard cam but he needs to take a minute to say how good it is to be back in Ohio. Back to the hard cam he knows we all doubt him, but he’s been doubted his whole life and just look where he is now. He runs his mouth a lot, but he’s confident in his abilities and doesn’t need a penguin looking Paul Heyman talking for him, or two guys who are just the same guy protecting him, or a guy who calls himself Solo but can’t ever be found alone, and he definitely has no one around him who looks like Sami Zayn. What’s with that guy anyway? Logan does have a desire to be the best, and he’s the deserving underdog. But a kid of social media, stepping into the ring with the GOAT, he’s not supposed to win. But what happens if he does? What happens when he turns Roman’s little tribe into a clean up crew. This is interrupted by a run in from Jey Uso, to a pretty good face pop. Jey unloads on Logan and floors him with a super kick. Hip attack from Jey connects and the crowd finally boos when Sami Zayn shows up to talk Jey down. Sami tries to calm down Jey with threats of Roman being unhappy with this, Jey starts to leave but tries another hip attack only for Logan to move then drop Jey with a right hand. One lucky shot is all it takes. Logan heads out while Sami looks shocked. Feels like there was a timing issue here as commentary winds up vamping for a fairly long period of time before the show ends.

7.8

The final score: review Good

The 411

Pretty good show this week, Bray Wyatt revealed a bit of his character motivation and I can always appreciate a "be careful what you wish for" narrative. Rey Mysterio and Ludwig Kaiser had a good match, Sheamus and Solo Sikoa had the predictably fun physical battle, while Raquel and Shotzi had no shot at taking the belts off of Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky they turned in a good TV match. The only downside was the presentation of Liv and Sonya, in this case mostly a layout issue more than anything technical or chemistry related. This flirted with Very Good territory, we got story advancement, some solid promos, solid wrestling, no major complaints from me this week.