Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 10.29.21

Hey there everyone, it’s Friday so here’s more Smackdown. Tonight we’re getting the Halloween treatment, most notably in the Trick or Street Fight when Rick Boogs and Shinsuke Nakamura team up to battle Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss. There’s a bunch of talent new to the roster that could debut, Ridge Holland, Aliyah, Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo, and of course Sheamus. We’ll probably get more of Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair sniping at each other for their program. The big question right now centers around the Universal Title, with Brock Lesnar now suspended (probably until around the Rumble, certainly no later than WrestleMania) there’s a visible gap in the title picture. There’s a bit of a stopgap in place as WWE likes to do the brand supremacy thing for Survivor Series so Roman Reigns will be meeting Big E at the PPV, but if there was ever a time for someone to make a run at the champion the field is pretty wide open currently.

We’re reminded of the Street Fight coming up. And we’re opening with Poochie, guess Roman will be closing the show. Charlotte Flair ambles to the ring then gets a mic. She mentions the more things change the more they stay the same. You don’t have to call out the booking like that. She reminds us that no one can do what she does, she’s the face of this division and this whole company as well as the most decorated woman in sports entertainment history. Whenever anyone else wins a title it’s the biggest day of their life, for her it’s just another Friday. That woman still can’t wink. The women here need a real leader, someone to bring out the best in them, and that’s her. That brings out Sasha Banks. Banks gets a mic, then does a fake laugh and mocks Charlotte’s claim of leadership. The only thing Charlotte cares about is holding down everyone else, then Banks wants a title shot. Charlotte says this is the new era of Smackdown, Banks has had chance after chance to beat Charlotte and can’t get it done. Instead a new face deserves a contender opportunity. Banks accuses Charlotte of being afraid, but here comes Shotzi in her tank because we really needed another revolving door promo segment. Shotzi has a mic, and says if Charlotte is looking for someone new she’s right here. Charlotte mocks Shotzi but does grant her a match, that’ll be up after this break.

Match #1: Charlotte Flair vs. Shotzi

Sasha Banks is still lurking at ringside. They tie up, Charlotte out wrestles Shotzi, and takes plenty of time to jaw with Banks. Shotzi lands a kick then a sunset flip for a 2 count. Charlotte misses a big boot and Shotzi mocks her. Some slow motion rope running ends with Charlotte landing a basement drop kick. Shotzi flips out of a back suplex, lands a jawbreaker then a swinging hurricanrana for a 1 count. Some rapid fire elbows from Shotzi, but Charlotte yanks her off the second rope and Shotzi bounces her head off the turnbuckles on the way down. Charlotte is in control, but gets caught in a small package for 2 before flooring Shotzi with a clothesline. Charlotte lands a kick from the apron, sort of, then a really awkward return from Shotzi. Shotzi with an enziguri then a running splash in the ropes for a 2 count. Charlotte rolls out of the ring, so Shotzi tries to dive onto her but is intercepted with a right hand. Banks and Charlotte trade more verbal barbs, but Shotzi recovers and tries a suicide dive, she gets visibly hung up in the ropes but technically connects on Charlotte to send us to break.

Charlotte is in control as we come back, she climbs the ropes for a moonsault but Shotzi cuts her off and climbs up with her. Top rope hurricanrana from Shotzi gets a 2 count. Charlotte misses a big boot and gets dropped with a right hand. Charlotte avoids a charging splash and kicks Shotzi to the floor. Shotzi lands a super kick as Charlotte heads out of the ring. Who’s responsible for this layout, because it’s all over the place. Back in the ring Shotzi gets a 2 count on a cover, then rolled up by Charlotte for 2. Charlotte avoids an enziguri, tries the Figure 8 but Shotzi counters into a roll up for 2. Shotzi avoids a big boot and this an awkward as heck looking Tiger suplex for another near fall. Charlotte with a backbreaker out of the corner then climbs up top, misses a moonsault but lands on her feet and hits a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Banks up on the apron, this stalls everything and allows Charlotte to hit a Natural Selection and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Charlotte Flair won

Rating: 2 stars

I get what they were trying to do here in some respects, but Shotzi is sloppy in the ring and Charlotte isn’t exactly the kind of wrestler to smooth that kind of work over. It doesn’t help that Charlotte has an almost Okada like insistence on “epic” matches and it gets tedious very quickly.

Post match Shotzi snaps and assaults Sasha Banks for costing her the match. I mean, she’s not wrong as Banks had no business on the apron. Shotzi calls on Banks before drilling her with an enziguri. Banks is on the apron, and Shotzi drop kicks her to the floor. Shotzi tosses Banks around the ringside area for a bit before tossing her back into the ring so she can hit a Ball Pit.

Kayla is in the back and welcomes Jeff Hardy to her interview space. She asks Hardy what he’s most looking forward too. Hardy wants to make new friends and face new opponents, maybe challenge for a new title. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss crash the party. Corbin introduces his gimmick and reminds us again about his match with Nakamura and Boogs. Moss offers a joke about witches not having kids because their boyfriends have “hollow weenies”. Hardy no sells all of this, and just reiterates it’s nice to be back on Smackdown.

Apparently there are additional sanctions coming to Brock Lesnar, we’ll get an update after this match.

We get a recap of Brock Lesnar’s path of destruction last week, and his resulting suspension. When we come back we get a video from Adam Pearce. He calls Lesnar’s actions cowardly. Pearce gives every bit of himself to this company, he will not be disrespected like this ever again. He’s fining Lesnar 1 million dollars in addition to the suspension. Paul Heyman watches this, and begins scheming as Kayla walks up to interrupt him. Heyman plays nice as she ask about Lesnar’s reaction to this. He’s amazed Kayla’s still employed, and mentions that Roman would show up even if suspended to smash people but doesn’t have to because Roman already beat Lesnar. Kayla repeats her question about Lesnar, then butters him up, and Heyman says Lesnar would show up and wreck people including Adam Pearce. Heyman goes on for a bit about Lesnar, then catches himself and reminds us he hasn’t spoken to Lesnar then walks off. Solid stuff from Heyman, Pearce is clearly being directed to do a Vince impression to very mixed results.

Back to the ring and here’s Drew McIntyre. After this break McIntyre will issue an open challenge.

We come back to Drew McIntyre in the ring, and he gets a mic. To the shock of no one Drew is in an ass kicking mood. He’s sure everyone doesn’t want open mic night (tell that to Charlotte), but open challenges are another matter. Drew calls on anyone in the back to step up and fight him. Mustafa Ali’s music hits and here he comes with a mic of his own. Ali mocks Drew for being big and bad, but he’s better than Drew. He’s got more athleticism in his pinky than in Drew’s entire body. A few attributes follow with Ali putting himself over as he gets into the ring. Ali will be the one to beat him tonight.

Match #2: Drew McIntyre vs. Mustafa Ali

Drew grabs Ali and tosses him into the corner, Ali then lands a chop that just annoys Drew. Another Ali chop, Drew returns it and floors Ali with it. Ali battles back with kicks but Drew shoves him down then catches him in an overhead throw. Drew takes over with strikes in the corner then tosses Ali across the ring and follows up with a neckbreaker. Ali avoids the Future Shock DDT then Drew posts himself trying to follow up. Ali up top, misses the 450 splash but avoids a Claymore kick. Drew stalls out an around the world DDT then locks up the kimura and Ali taps.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Drew McIntyre won

Rating: 2.5 stars

Perfectly average match, Ali bumped like a mad man for Drew and God bless him for it. Post match Ali gets a mic after Drew has left. Ali has to get something off of his chest, and gets after the crowd for cheering for Drew McIntyre and against him. The only reason we choose to root against him is because his name is Mustafa Ali. Are we seriously doing this again?

We get a recap of last week when Xavier Woods was crowned King of the Ring. Woods will be knighting Kofi Kingston shortly. In the back Kofi does the herald bit as Woods walks around. They run into Hit Row, Woods puts them over and is happy to see musicians doing the damn thing. They do the “We’re not worthy” bit. Kofi asks them to spit some fire for their King. We get a “King Woods” to the tune of their “Hit Row” bit. There’s not enough autotune in the world for this.

Woods and Kofi head to the ring, Kofi’s knighthood will happen after this break.

King Woods and Kofi are in the ring as we come back. Kofi introduces Woods, Woods then introduces himself and Kofi tries to get a “Hail King Woods” chant going to moderate success. Woods then runs down Kofi crowning him last week, but a king is only as strong as the company he keeps. We get another “You deserve it” chant and I ask again if that chant has ever meant less than it does right now. Woods puts over Kofi as his most trusted confidant, and then knights Kofi so that Kofi’s example might show the WWE Universe how to behave in his kingdom, naming him Sir Kofi Kingston, the Hand of the King. Woods even has a badge for him and pins it to his ring vest. Kofi is happy about this, and we get a “New Day Rocks” chant before the Usos show up to interrupt things. A lot of “Whoa”‘s from Jimmy. The Usos make their way to the ring, they warn them that this might as well be the Bloodline show, they’re the ones. Jimmy mocks the regalia of Woods and Kofi, then Jimmy threatens to kick the crown off of Woods’ head. They go back and forth before Woods demands silence. Woods then makes a tag team match between the two teams. Jey accepts the challenge, and asks to touch the royal scepter. Kofi stops him, so Jimmy punches him down and the Usos bail.

We then get a recap of Monday, where the entire tag team scene from Smackdown resumed doing what they’d been doing on Smackdown for over a year, Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair ported their Smackdown issue over to RAW, and Seth Rollins won a ladder match to become the next contender for Big E’s WWE Title.

After that here’s Rick Boogs to introduce Shinsuke Nakamura, their tag team match against Corbin and Moss will be up after this break.

Post break we’re informed that the Usos and New Day tag match is official. There are a lot of pumpkins set up in the ring for our next match. Here come Corbin and Moss.

Match #3 Tag Team Trick or Street Fight: Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs vs. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss

No tag format, so we get a brawl right away. Boogs gets his guitar and plays a bit before Corbin drops him with a kendo stick shot. Moss and Nakamura brawl on the outside while Corbin and Boogs are in the ring. Oh God, here comes Reginald and the 24/7 goons for a brief run in. That distracts things and allows Boogs to drop Corbin with a clothesline. Moss and Boogs outside the ring and Boogs dunks Moss in the apple bobbing barrel. Some kendo stick shots from Nakamura, then he and Boogs toast with an apple along with Pat McAfee as we get a break.

We come back as Corbin and Moss wear out Boogs with kendo sticks. They head out of the ring, and there’s a “We want pumpkins” chant. Nakamura kicks a candy bowl out of Corbin’s hands then kicks him. Moss avoids a kick and Nakamura kicks the ring post, then clotheslines Nakamura down. Corbin gets a pumpkin, but he just drops it after teasing the crowd. Moss and Corbin want to put Nakamura through a ringside table but here’s Boogs with the pumpkins. He beats up Moss and Corbin with pumpkins then gets a skeleton and whacks them with it. Into the ring and Nakamura is in with a kendo stick to run wild on the heels. Boogs has a kendo stick now and they abuse Moss until he’s driven out of the ring. Corbin takes a gutwrench double team, but Moss saves the match on the pin. Corbin hits a Deep Six on Boogs but Nakamura comes in and goes to Kinshasa Corbin but a pumpkin crown from Moss stops that. Boogs avoids a charge from Corbin and Corbin posts himself. On the outside Nakamura and Corbin fight into the timekeepers area. Boogs with an exploder suplex to Moss, but as he goes to finish it a couple of masked camera men hit him with a kendo stick and that allows Moss to hit his weird neckbreaker to pin and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss won

Rating: 1.5 stars

If this humor worked for you you probably enjoyed this. Personally, not so much.

The ghouls unmask to reveal Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza, to no reaction.

Sonya Deville gets interviewed in the back about her abuse of power keeping Naomi down. She deflects, but here’s Sami Zayn to interrupt things. Sami thinks it’s a mistake to leave him off the show, and tries to advocate for some kind of advisor position for himself as we cut to ringside so we can see Naomi’s entrance. After this break Naomi will have a match with Shayna Baszler.

Shayna Baszler heads to the ring as we come back. Before the match can start, there’s no ref so here’s Sonya Deville with a mic. She understands there’s an issue, but she’s out here to deliver the news that the ref is injured because of Brock Lesnar’s attack last week so she’ll be taking over as ref. Are we really that desperate to stretch time tonight?

Match #4 – Special Guest Referee Sonya Deville: Shayna Baszler vs. Naomi

Baszler goes for the Kirifuda Clutch several times, then goes for a heel hook but Naomi kicks free and lays in elbow strikes. Running hurricanrana from Naomi then she drives Baszler’s head to the corner. A head kick from Naomi but she slips trying a dive, and she hits an enziguri but Deville wont make the count. Baszler counters into a lateral press and gets an absurdly fast 3 count.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Shayna Baszler won

Rating: DUD

This is tedious, Sonya does not have the personality or acting chops to make this interesting, and the writing isn’t helping. Naomi gets in Sonya’s face post match, and Baszler locks in the Kirifuda Clutch to put her to sleep.

New Day are at gorilla, Kayla asks Woods if he’s worried about his rule already being threatened. Woods isn’t worried, because nothing can go wrong with Kofi as his Hand. Now it’s time for them to dole out their very first royal ass whipping. They head to the ring, their match with the Usos will be up after this break.

Naomi walks in the back, and gets ambushed interviewed. She tells Sonya that if she ever wants to set aside her corporate suit she’ll be waiting, and tells Shayna Baszler to step to her one on one.

Back to the ring, and here come the Usos.

Match #5 – Tag Team Match: The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) vs. New Day (King Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston)

Woods and Jey start things off. Jey with a knee strike but they wind up running the ropes with Woods getting the edge. Kofi tags in, but Jimmy makes a blind tag and they double team Kofi coming off of the ropes. Jimmy lays in chops, but Kofi comes off the second rope with a drop kick then clotheslines Jimmy out of the ring. Jey had made a tag, but the New Day send him out of the ring too. Kofi up top for a trust fall to the floor, but Jimmy and Jey just catch him and toss him into the time keepers area to send us to break.

We come back as Kofi takes a double team back breaker into an ax handle. Jey plays with the crowd and lands a running hip attack in the corner. More rights from Jey in the corner, but he runs into an elevated stomp and both men are down. Both men tag out and Woods gets to run wild on Jimmy for a bit including a Russian leg sweep and a basement drop kick for a 2 count. Woods lays in chops along the ropes, but Jimmy cuts him off with a right hand. Super kick from Woods, then a suplex into a Codebreaker for a 2 count. Jimmy lands an enziguri then tags out. Jey drops Woods with a back suplex into a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Jey with some pie faces for Woods, who fires up with a right elbow. They trade running elbows before Kofi makes a blind tag. Jimmy tags in as well, Jey and Woods are sent out of the ring before Jimmy hits a pop up Samoan drop for a 2 count. Kofi takes a sandwhich super kick for a 2 count after Jey tagged in. Jimmy back in, they set for stereo splashes but Woods cuts off Jey and Jimmy runs into the knees of Kofi. Kofi drops Jey then gets rolled up but Jimmy for a 2 count. Woods tags in, Jimmy didn’t see it and super kicks Kofi but as he covers Woods gets him with an Oklahoma Roll to pin and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: New Day won

Rating: 3 stars

These two teams work incredibly well together, and this was no except. New Day celebrate as the episode ends.

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

No Roman Reigns this week, and that's a problem since he's far and away the most interesting thing on Smackdown. This was designed to be more of a light episode, pretty clearly WWE insulating itself from doing anything of substance on a week they're on a much lesser known and less available channel. The quality of the wrestling was a bit lacking, especially our opener, and if you don't like the kind of comedy stuff that comes from heavily gimmicked Halloween themed matches then the Trick or Street Fight was a total dud. New Day and the Usos had a good match, but ultimately this episode felt like they stretched a bunch of stuff out and wanted to avoid doing anything that truly matters in case a giant chunk of the audience doesn't have access to the show.