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Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 11.26.21

November 26, 2021 | Posted by Robert Winfree
WWE Smackdown Sami Zayn Image Credit: WWE
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Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 11.26.21  

Another Friday night, another episode of WWE Smackdown. With Survivor Series in the rear view mirror it’s time to start building towards *checks notes* Day 1, and subsequently the Royal Rumble. Day 1 will be replacing TLC and will be January 1st, 2022. To that end, tonight will feature a Battle Royal with the winner getting a shot at WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns so that will be rather informative. Tonight will also feature a tag team match when Drew McIntyre teams with Jeff Hardy against Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss, and Ridge Holland makes his in ring debut when he takes on Cesaro. Charlotte Flair will probably be here, and will probably squash poor Toni Storm since Charlotte lost at Survivor Series. We’re also about due for Xia Li’s debut, Shinsuke Nakamura and the Intercontinental title could use some actual programming, and we’ll see what’s in store for the tag team champion Usos. That’s enough preamble from me, let’s get to the action.

We open with Kayla in the ring welcoming everyone to the show, then starts to talk about Brock Lesnar’s suspension but she’s interrupted by the music of Roman Reigns. Roman is here with Paul Heyman, no Usos though. As Roman heads to the ring we get a recap of Roman and Big E’s match from Survivor Series which saw Roman emerge victorious. Kayla is still in the ring and Heyman asks for her mic, she gives it up then Heyman brings up the rumors about Brock Lesnar and asks if that’s really the best Kayla has. We don’t do rumors on the Island of Relevancy, and Heyman berates her faux journalism and rumormongering. Heyman tells the fans to not boo Kayla, none of them are worthy of delivering judgement to anyone in the ring. He then tells Kayla to do her job, and next time she’s around Roman she should be dealing in facts, not rumors. Heyman runs Kayla down a bit, and says until she’s a legitimate journalist she should leave the ring of Roman Reigns. Kayla powders, that was nice work from Heyman, and the crowd gives us a moderate “We want Brock” chant. Heyman hands his mic to Roman, Roman asks if Heyman wants to know the problem with rumors. Rumors give losers false hope. And compared to Roman, everyone’s a loser around here. Because he’s beaten them all, and Brock Lesnar is the number one loser around here. Roman beat Brock under less than ideal conditions, so he’s happy to repeat that Brock is a loser and that’s just a fact. Big E is also a loser, because Roman smashed him at Survivor Series. But those are just the most recent in a long list of people he’s beaten, Roman has lapped the roster at this point and management is desperate to find someone for him, so desperate they made the Battle Royal tonight. Gauntlet matches, Battle Royals, doesn’t matter. Roman says you could let three people win tonight and it wouldn’t matter, he’d smash them all because he’s the best. He calls himself the greatest of all time in addition to his other titles, and says when his days are finally done, which could be sooner rather than later, the whole world will acknowledge him. Not Roman’s strongest stuff but that’s a very high bar these days.

We get a video recap of Jeff Hardy and Madcap Moss from last week and the related shenanigans, then Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre head to the ring. Their tag team match will be up after this break.

Post break here come Corbin and Moss.

Match #1 – Tag Team Match: Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss

Corbin and Hardy get us going, Corbin jumps Hardy at the bell. Hardy avoids a corner splash, hits an inverted atomic drop then the double leg drop and drop kick. Corbin tags out and Moss hits a shoulder block. Hardy hip tosses Moss then tags in Drew. Some tandem offense from Drew and Hardy then Drew lays in a chop. Moss fights back with strikes but Drew levels him with a clothesline and tags in Hardy. Hardy starts going for the arm of Moss, Moss gets sent out of the ring and Hardy drop kicks him then guillotines Corbin off the apron. Hardy dives onto Corbin but gets wiped out by Moss on the floor as we head to break.

We come back to Corbin working over Hardy with punches in a corner. Corbin does his usual around the ring post spot then cheap shots Drew so Moss can get some dirty blows on Hardy. Moss tags in, avoids a Twist of Fate and we get a double clothesline spot and both men are down. Both men tag out and Drew runs wild on Corbin for a bit, then Moss gets some offense as well. Neckbreakers from Drew to both men, he sets for the Claymore but Moss disrupts things and allows Corbin to hit a Deep Six for a 2 count. Moss tags back in but Hardy breaks up a double team attempt. Corbin takes out Hardy, Drew deals with Corbin then headbutts Moss and kills him with a Claymore but tags in Hardy rather than pin. Hardy heads up top, Swanton Bomb and pins to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Drew McIntyre and Jeff Hardy won

Rating: 2.5 stars

Perfectly average match, it was nice to see the hometown guy go over for once in WWE.

Aliya and Kayla talk in the back, and Heyman moves up leading to Aliya heading out. Heyman asks if Kayla has any updates, she needs confirmations or denials, and says Brock got himself suspended on purpose so he could hide behind it. If Kayla doesn’t have some confirmation or denial about Brock by the end of the night she’ll be gone. At least that’s what Heyman is pushing for, then again that might just be a rumor.

To the ring, and here comes Sheaums, because Ridge Holland doesn’t have music I guess. After this break Cesaro will take on Ridge Holland.

Post break Sheamus has joined commentary and here comes Cesaro.

Match #2: Ridge Holland w/ Sheamus vs. Cesaro

They tie up and Cesaro blocks a cheap shot then starts laying in uppercuts. Cesaro and Sheamus jaw at each other allowing Ridge to take over with an awkward chop block. Ridge lands a short arm clothesline. Apparently they’re recycling Cesaro’s initial gimmick for Ridge in terms of getting banned from rugby for aggression/recklessness. Ridge hits a double overhook suplex then a tilt a whirl slam. Cesaro with an Oklamhoma roll and pins to win out of nowhere.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Cesaro won

Rating: 1.5 stars

Ridge Holland looked a little rough here, there were several spots only saved by Cesaro’s abilities.

In the back Drew McIntyre lobbies to be in the Battle Royal, neither Sonya Deville nor Adam Pearce have the full list of participants apparently. What kind of rinky dink organization is this? Drew expects to be in that match tonight.

Back to the ring and here’s Rick Boogs to introduce Shinsuke Nakamura, Nakamura’s left hand is in a partial cast. After this break Boogs will be in a gimmick match with Angel.

Match #3 – Thanksgiving Leftovers Throwdown: Rick Boogs w/ Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Angel w/ Humberto

There’s a ton of food set up around the ringside area. Angel immediately removes the pants and tosses them at Boogs then gets on offense. They head out of the ring and tease going into the food table. Boogs fights back, and goes for a military press but Angel slides into the ring to avoid it. Angel hits a drop kick in the ring and slows things down with a rest hold. The crowd gets restless, a “We want tables” chant breaks out. Boogs powers out and hits a spinning slam then does his series of gut wrench tosses. Humberto gets hit by Boogs, then Boogs resumes the gutwrenchs to Angel then drills him with a powerbomb for a near fall. Boog wants his finish but Humberto has his guitar and distracts him with it. Nakamura comes over and kicks Humberto through a table. Angel hits a super kick then the Wing Clipper to pin and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Angel won

Rating: DUD

Angel and Boogs actually had decent chemistry when allowed to work, but this was poorly thought up, poorly laid out, and seemed like nothing but a set up for Humberto to take a table bump.

We get a recap of Becky Lynch beating Charlotte at Survivor Series. That leads to Charlotte heading to the ring. After this break she’ll do her best Seth Rollins impression, by which I mean having the same promo with the same beats as she’s done for years.

Post break Kayla talks with Adam Pearce about Brock Lesnar, Pearce calls Brock a menace and he’d be shocked if that suspension is lifted any time soon then heads out to deal with the Battle Royal.

To the ring where Michael Cole talks with Charlotte Flair in the ring. Charlotte isn’t disappointed about the loss, only in the poor officiating. The only way Becky could beat her was by cheating and calls Becky’s win hollow. Becky isn’t the better athlete, she just got lucky. All that match proved is that Becky is everything Charlotte ever said she was. Becky’s success is thanks to Charlotte. Cole then asks what her plans for the future are. Charlotte says in reality she’s still the most dominant woman in sports entertainment. That brings out Toni Storm. Toni knew Becky was in Charlotte’s head, and she called it last week that Charlotte’s obsession would cost her the match. So what happens next, Charlotte comes after Toni because Toni stood up to her. Toni’s right here, to make it easy for Charlotte. Charlotte calls that cute, and says she barely even knows she exists and says there are levels to this. She asks how Toni wants to be embarrassed tonight, tries a cheap shot but Toni tosses her out of the ring. Toni heads out after Charlotte but gets a pie in the face from the leftovers table. Charlotte mocks Toni, then baits her into another pie shot before heading out. Who thought that was a worthwhile use of air time?

We get a recap of the women’s team at Survivor Series imploding, including that awful count out spot on Sasha Banks. Sonya Deville is in the back, Sasha talks to her and complains about being given a team full of traitors and blames Deville for the loss. If Naomi had been on her team she would have won. Deville gets pissy, and claims she has no issue with Naomi. Banks calls her on that BS, runs down all the ways Naomi is better than Deville, Deville then makes Sasha Banks and Naomi against Natalya and Shayna Baszler. Again, Sonya Deville does not have the acting range to pull this character off.

To the ring, and here comes Naomi and Sonya Deville has joined commentary. We’ll get that tag team match after this break. Also it seems Shayna has joined the ranks of the mono-names.

Another comic style hype package for Xia Li, this time talking about her beating up a bully to defend her brother. A reminder that she hates vultures, despite them serving a valuable ecological purpose. Li is coming soon.

All three participants are in the ring, but here comes Sasha Banks. Banks heads to the ring.

Match #4 – Tag Team Match: Sasha Banks and Naomi vs. Natalya and Shayna Baszler

Banks and Baszler start us off. Baszler and Banks start slapping, Banks heads to the apron while Deville and Pat McAfee bicker about the hierarchy of the WWE bureaucracy. Naomi tags in, as does Natalya. We get double kip ups, Naomi lands a few drop kicks to Natalya and sends her out of the ring. Naomi misses a baseball slide, Baszler tags in and lands a knee to the downed Naomi. Back in the ring while Natalya misses a shot on Banks and Banks hits a Backstabber on Baszler as we head to break.

We come back to Natalya eating a Naomi hip toss. Baszler tags in and takes out Banks with a cheap shot. Baszler starts working the leg of Naomi. Natalya tags back in, they hit a double suplex on Naomi for a 1 count. Baszler tags back in after a bit and they hit a wishbone splitter. Naomi misses a punch, Baszler sells it anyway then tags out and Naomi hits a double springboard stunner to Naomi and Baszler. Banks and Baszler get into it on the outside, Banks hits a meteora against the barricade. Naomi rolls up Natalya, they trade rolls ups then Natalya hits a discus clothesline for a 2 count. Michinoku Driver from Natalya only gets a near fall. Naomi to the apron, kicks Natalya then gets a sunset flip for the pin and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sasha Banks and Naomi won

Rating: 2.5 stars

Decent match, parts in the middle got slow but that’s not unusual. Naomi gets in Deville’s face post match but nothing comes of it.

In the back we see the roster list for the Battle Royal. Sheamus tells Drew that his name isn’t on the list, not sure if that’s true or not but it wouldn’t shock me.

To the ring and here come the participants for the Battle Royal, Sami Zayn gets his own entrance as do the Viking Raiders. That sets us up for a commercial break, the match will begin when we come back.

Before the Battle Royal we need the RAW Rebound and get a recap of the action from Monday Night.

Ricochet heads to the ring, I believe he’s the last man. Just before the match starts here comes Drew McIntyre. It’s been confirmed that Drew isn’t in the match. Drew clears the ring with his sword and dares anyone to get in the ring with him. Adam Pearce heads down and tries to make peace, that sends us to another break. OK, very odd layout here in terms of the overall show.

We come back and Drew is no longer at ringside.

Match #5 – Battle Royal

The usual start as people do some brawling. The Bloodline watch the main event in their locker room, and Adam Pearce has remained at ringside. I think we missed an elimination to Jinder Mahal but I’m not sure. Cesaro lays in uppercuts to Drew Gulak then Sami Zayn Helluva kicks him out. Mansoor gets eliminated by Sheamus and Ridge Holland. Mace gets tossed by Madcap Moss, then Moss eliminates Shanky before Cesaro goes after him. Sheamus and Ridge work together but Cesaro fights them off and tosses Ridge out of the ring but Moss then tosses Cesaro. Cesaro deserves better. Moss tries to eliminate Corbin, plays it off as a joke then Corbin tosses Moss. Those two both laugh about it as we get another break.

We come back and Kayla has joined the crew at ringside, she’ll interview the winner. We cut to the Bloodline again, and actually get a shot of the boom mic before the production adjusts. Ricochet avoids elimination, Sheamus stares down Sami and beats him down in the corner. Sheamus can’t eliminate Sami, Boogs is taking on both members of Los Lotharios and gets eliminated because of it. Eryk and Ivar take on Los Lotharios and eliminate both of them with relative ease. Sami takes tandem offense from the Raiders but falls through the ropes and powders to probably steal the win at the end. Sheamus eliminates the Viking Raiders then squares off with Ricochet. Ricochet gets to run wild for a bit but is clotheslined down by Corbin. Our final 5 are Corbin, Ricochet, Sheamus, Jeff Hardy, and Sami Zayn on the outside. So Sami’s taking out Hardy at the end, got it. Corbin drills Ricochet with a chokebreaker but Ricochet fights back with a drop kick. Sheamus Brogue Kicks Ricochet down then tosses him out. Corbin and Sheamus start trading blows, Sheamus goes to eliminate Corbin but Corbin fights back with an elbow. Hardy gets to run wild but is cut off by a Sheamus elbow. Hardy up top out of the corner for a Whisper in the Wind that connects to Sheamus. Corbin gets a Twist of Fate but Sheamus flattens Hardy. Sheamus and Corbin team up to deal with Hardy, but Corbin double crosses Sheamus then Hardy eliminates Corbin. They pretend this is the end, but naturally here comes Sami to eliminate Hardy.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sami Zayn won

Rating: 1.5 stars

Battle Royals are always hit or miss, if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.

In the back Roman actually laughs at this outcome, as do we all. Here comes Kayla to interview Sami, but she gets word via her earpiece that the suspension of Brock Lesnar has been lifted. Next week Brock Lesnar will be here on Smackdown. Adam Pearce isn’t happy about this, neither is The Bloodline and Heyman looks like he’s seen a ghost. We end the episode with a “We want Brock” chant.

6.0
The final score: review Average
The 411
This was a building episode, and in that respect I think it squeaks into the positive side of things. We got development about Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, a nice little narrative through line about Kayla earning her stripes, the addition of Sasha Banks to whatever they're trying to do with Sonya Deville, set up Charlotte and Toni Storm (badly but it was still a set up), and have teased that someone's keeping Drew McIntyre down. Not a great episode wrestling wise, which is a shame given the overall level of talent but their time allocation is all over the place, but overall good enough at setting up for the immediate future.
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WWE Smackdown, Robert Winfree