Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 11.29.24

A slightly late Happy Thanksgiving to the American assembly, and a very belated Happy Thanksgiving to any of the Canadian crew who happen to be here, as we tackle the go home episode of WWE Smackdown. So everyone knows this episode was taped last week and if you want the spoilers they can be found HERE. This is the final sell job for Survivor Series on Saturday, and you can find me covering that event as well. The men’s War Games advantage needs to be decided, odds on the heels per usual as the only time I think the faces winning the advantage worked was two years ago because of the Sami Zayn and Bloodline story. This time, bet on Solo’s crew to be a man up. Shinsuke Nakamura returned over the last few weeks and has clearly set his sights on US champion LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes and Cody Rhodes got into a scuffle last week so they’ll wrestle tonight, the women’s US title tournament continues to roll on as well. There’s a lot of drama between DIY, the Motor City Machine Guns, and the Street Profits so we’ll see what might come of that. Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes had their promo segment last week but we’ll see if Owens has anything to say this week as well. Last week Jade Cargill got jumped and taken out of the War Games match, Bayley looks to be the replacement which should lead to some interesting tension as she and Bianca Belair still don’t exactly get along. Anyway that’s the preamble, let’s get to the action and all the video packages that these kinds of pre-taped go home shows usually produce.

There’s a recap of the Bloodline stuff from last week including CM Punk being brought into this whole thing by the returning Paul Heyman.

Tonight we’ll get some kind of taped face to face between Roman Reigns and CM Punk moderated by Paul Heyman.

To the ring and here comes Bianca Belair. She’s followed in short order by Naomi, Iyo Sky, Bayley, and Rhea Ripley. The faces for women’s War Games head to the ring while commentary run down how Bayley wound up joining the squad. Everyone of them has a mic and Ripley starts by saying they may not be the best of friends here but it doesn’t matter because they’ve come together for War Games and they’ve all got someone they want to get their hands on. Tomorrow this ends and they’ll brutalize the women across from them. She runs down the opponents. Naomi takes over to promise Nia Jax and her lap dogs will get what’s coming to them. Belair brings up how one of them took out Jade last week and and all five of them will get it tomorrow. Ripley promises Liv Morgan that she’ll wish she never met her. Iyo adds that they’ll destroy them before the heel team comes out to Morgan’s music. Morgan and Jax have mics on the entrance stage. Jax brings up that Bayley and Iyo tortured Belair for years, or that Iyo stabbed Bayley in the back. They’re going to implode before that match even starts. Bayley brings up Jax manipulating Tiffany Stratton and also warns that Candice LeRae is too smart to fall for Jax’s schtick. Morgan says they’re united but brings up Bayley getting on the team now that Jade’s out of action. Ripley asks for everyone to stop wasting time, soon enough Morgan will have no one to hide behind, and in War Games there’s no where to run. Morgan admits that’s true, and promises to break her face again on the cage. Ripley laughs, and promises to cave her face in so badly that even Dominik wont look at her. The heels go to leave, Ripley isn’t waiting though and we get a big brawl on the entrance ramp and stage. Everyone fights back towards the ring as officials come out to separate everyone and restore some semblance of order.

After this break we’ll get Andrade taking on Shinsuke Nakamura.

Post break Andrade heads to the ring. Nakamura follows and has a slightly tweaked version of his theme, it’s a little slower and has a bit more evident base to feel just a bit more heelish than usual.

Match #1: Andrade vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura with a quick knee to the body and Andrade rolls away from a stomp. They tie up, Nakamura backs Andrade into a corner and lands strikes. Andrade fights back and hits a top rope cross body for 1. More corner work from Nakamura including some face washes, Andrade hits the ropes though and then hits a hurricanrana but when he tries a suicide dive Nakamura intercepts with a head kick that looked pretty nice. Nakamura heads to the second rope but Andrade with a dropkick to send him to the floor. Andrade then up top for a moonsault to the floor and we head to break.

We come back to Andrade fighting out of a headlock. Nakamura with a knee but Andrade flips out of the reverse exploder suplex and hits a Dragon Screw then follows with a flying forearm. Nakamura sends Andrade to the apron, Andrade up top but Nakamura intercepts him and climbs up with him looking for an avalanche reverse exploder but Andrade elbows him down then does the moonsault to his feet followed by a standing moonsault all for a 2 count. Andrade tries The Message but Nakamura avoids him and hits a misdirection elbow only for Andrade to avoid a kick then hit his own spinning back elbow for a 2 count. Suplex from Andrade, he’s going for the 3 Amigos and hits the third into the corner. Andrade tries the double knees in the corner but Nakamura avoids it and Andrade wipes out after Nakamura also removed a turnbuckle pad. Nakamura takes his time stalking the downed Andrade then hits a sick Kinshasa to the back of the head to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Shinsuke Nakamura won in 10:35

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Bordered on 3 but the crowd was a little slow to get into this one and the commercial break didn’t help it. That said a decent reintroduction for Nakamura.

Post match LA Knight runs down to attack Nakamura but Nakamura just hits him with Black Mist with an incredibly casually air, the man looked like a total boss.

In the back Solo hypes up Jacob Fatu but Nick Aldis comes over to tell them that everyone is banned from ringside for Fatu vs. Jey. And Aldis does mean everyone. Solo says he understands and goes back to helping Fatu warm up.

That sends us to break.

We come back to find Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano arguing about Ciampa’s new attitude and Ciampa makes the case for them getting title shots. Johnny says things have changed, but Ciampa disagrees. Ciampa doesn’t care about the Guns being here, Johnny is letting friendship be more important than the titles. Ciampa is going to play this his way and Johnny has a week to figure things out or they go full bore on Ciampa’s way.

Next a Kevin Owens video promo. He’s here to explain why he’s right. This leads to a long recap of the history that Owens has dating back to 2021 with the Bloodline. That includes Cody being in the building for the Rumble when Roman beat Owens into the mat. They’ll fight at Saturday Night’s Main Event and he’ll be turning the American Nightmare into the Canadian Dream.

Back to the ring and here comes Cody Rhodes, after this break we’ll get him vs. Carmelo Hayes. Very short time between breaks.

Post break Carmelo Hayes makes his way to the ring. Hayes has a mic as he walks to the ring and says Owens was right, Cody turned his back on him. Pretty weak overall promo from Hayes as he reiterates that point a few times.

Match #2: Cody Rhodes vs. Carmelo Hayes

A few evasive moves from Hayes then they tie up and Cody pushes things into the ropes and gives a slightly condescending clean break. Hayes grabs a side headlock then they trade roll ups but Hayes avoids a right hand. Cody follows through a roll up and lands a right hand. Hayes with a slap then tries to hide in the ropes but just gets clotheslined out of the ring by Cody. Cody hits a suicide dive then they head back into the ring where Hayes lands a dropkick to the leg. Disaster kick from Cody though and we head to break.

We come back to both men fighting on the top rope, Cody is after a superplex and hits it. Cody with punches then a shoulder block. Hayes is able to hit the La Mistica facebuster out of the corner though to halt Cody’s momentum. Hayes tries his weak Black Crush but Cody counters and hits a running powerslam then locks in the Figure Four but Hayes is able to get to the ropes pretty quickly. They start trading strikes then Hayes blocks a Cody Cutter and sort of hits the Fade Away leg lariat then follows with Black Crush which he’s just not big or strong enough to make look good, all of which only gets him a 2 count. Hayes heads up top but misses a flying nothing then Cody tries a back suplex but Hayes flips out only to get caught in a Cody Cutter. Cross Rhodes connects, Hayes does a lovely bump on that, and that’ll do it.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Cody Rhodes won in 11:16

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: These two will get to a great match together at some point but there still seems like a little disconnect between them in the ring. This also probably didn’t need quite as long as it got.

The sit down video for Roman and Punk is up. Roman and Heyman are seated at a table and waiting for Punk. Heyman isn’t sure why Punk is late. Roman is about to leave when Punk walks in. Punk doesn’t have a lot of time, and says he’s here for Heyman not Roman. Roman appreciates that, but wants to make clear he doesn’t need Punk’s help. Punk doesn’t want to help Roman, he wants to help Heyman. Roman is happy for both of them, but doesn’t like Punk or pretty much anything about him, and doesn’t want to team with him in War Games. Heyman makes the case that Solo has been a step ahead since after Mania and without Punk’s help it will be over. He slips to Punk to mention that it Solo ends Roman and the Bloodline then Punk will be next and Solo will bring all of his new crew to Punk and end him. Respectfully, to both of them, divided they will fall to Solo but united they might survive. Punk doesn’t care if Roman likes his attitude, he doesn’t like Roman either, but he’s here for Heyman. He wants revenge for what Solo and his crew did to his friend. If they survive War Games and Roman wants to revisit this conversation then Punk is all ears. Roman says he’ll do this one time, Punk says his friend Heyman will owe him a favor after this though. Punk walks off. Roman asks Heyman what favor Punk wants, Heyman says they should get through War Games then they’ll have all the time in the world to talk about it. Roman gives Heyman a cautious and slightly predatory look but seems willing to go along with that logic. Not quite as over produced as the Roman and Cody face off but they played way too much with depth of field focus for my taste. Punk was more than a little repetitive as well, this got the relevant points across for all parties but clearly had some hiccups.

That sends us to break.

Post break Piper Niven heads to the ring.

Match #3 – Triple Threat Match: Piper Niven w/ Chelsea Green vs. Michin vs. Lash Legend

Michin head kicks Piper then Lash elbows Piper and Michin with strikes to Lash. Piper holds Michin so she kicks Lash but Piper follows with a low crossbody to Michin and Lash breaks up the pin. Piper with a headbutt to Lash but Lash then picks up Piper and Michin dropkicks Piper into Lash and they fall. Michin grabs at a chin lock then kicks Lash out of the corner, Michin up top and hits a leaping hurricanrana. Everyone’s on the floor now and Michin kicks Piper then hits an asai moonsault onto Piper and Lash. Green pulls Michin off the apron and kicks her but out comes B-Fab to attack Green and chase her into the back. That bothers Piper and Lash is able to floor her with a pump kick as we head to break.

We come back to Piper hitting a cannonball senton then a Piper Driver on Michin and Lash has to break up the pin. Lash tries to lift Piper but can’t and Piper then hits a running avalanche to drop Lash. Piper sets for a Vader Bomb and hits it on Lash but Michin breaks up the pin. Michin with strikes to Lash but Lash catches her with a Catatonic backbreaker. Piper gets chokeslammed by Lash but only a 2 count. Lash complains to the ref about the count and Michin kicks her in the head then tries a hurricanrana, Lash blocks that and hits a powerbomb for a 2 count. Piper hits a senton on both women but Michin breaks up the pin on Lash. Michin boots Piper out of the corner then climbs up but Piper whacks her. Piper climbs up with Michin for an avalanche Piper Driver but Lash gets involved and Michin falls to the floor. Lash gets headbutted by Piper who then misses a second rope senton. Lash hoists Piper up for the Lash Extension, she hits it but Michin then “lands” a top rope senton onto both of them and covers Piper to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Michin won in 10:16

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: A few sloppy moments kept this from 3 star territory including the finish being not exactly clean. Still Lash looked better here than prior Smackdown outings.

That sends us to break.

Post break we see LA Knight getting attention in the back, Byron wanders over to talk with him. Knight can barely see but let’s talk about Nakamura, a guy who’s been gone and came back to have a problem with Knight. Well tomorrow he’s going to have a real big problem, Knight will continue to be US champion and he’ll look Nakamura dead in the eyes and drop him on his head for 3 the hard way.

Commentary runs down War Games for tomorrow.

At gorilla Jimmy Uso and Sami Zayn hype up Jey Uso, Aldis reminds them that everyone is banned from ringside. They still hype Jey up and Jey heads to the ring and we head back to break.

Post break here comes the Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu.

Match #4: Jey Uso vs. Jacob Fatu

They circle then tie up, Fatu gets Jey into the corner and we do get a break then Fatu shoves him. Jey starts landing punches and grabs a side headlock but Fatu launches him into the ropes then drops the charging Jey with a shoulder block. Control work from Fatu including some nice looking corner strikes and he trash talks Jey the whole time. Headbutt from Fatu but Jey then fights out of the corner with an enziguri then clotheslines Fatu out of the ring. Jey sets for a dive but Fatu catches him and launches him into the ring post then over the announce table and we head to break.

Jey with some punches as we come back but he runs into a jumping back elbow from Fatu. Fatu with the dreaded nerve hold to slow things down. Headbutt from Fatu but Jey fights back and posts Fatu then avoids a charging Fatu who posts himself. Jey with punches to keep Fatu off balance then lands an enziguri. Jey sets for a hip attack and hits it but only a 2 count. Undeterred Jey continues the fight but jumps into a Catatonic from Fatu who follows with a handspring moonsault. Fatu with his own hip attack then sets to finish but Jey with a superkick only to run into a pop up Samoan Drop for a 2 count. Fatu looks to climb the ropes, he’s up top but Jey blocks a Swanton Bomb with the knees. Spear from Jey then he goes for the Splash and hits it but Fatu kicks out. Fatu rolls to the floor, Jey then hits a suicide dive to send Fatu over the announce table. Jey dismantles the announce table before rolling back into the ring to break the count, then he charges into a superkick on the floor from Fatu. Fatu puts Jey on the table and hits a Samoan Drop on the table which does not break. Fatu sends Jey into the ring, hits the Implant DDT then follows with the sick double jump moonsault to get the win and the advantage.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jacob Fatu won in 13:49

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Appropriately hard hitting affair, Fatu also managed to curb some of Jey’s excesses as a performer which led to better stuff than usual from both men. Fatu looked great, which isn’t surprising, and the heels got the predictable win.

Fatu celebrates with the new Bloodline on the entrance stage as the episode ends.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

A lower energy outing this week, not surprising since it was taped last week but still needs to be noted. This was a pretty forgettable episode in general, the usual opening promo segment devolving into a brawl, a slight preponderance of backstage stuff and videos, but with some pretty solid overall actual wrestling. The downside to the wrestling was the understandably fatigued crowd, Nakamura vs. Andrade in particular felt like it suffered from the crowd fatigue, but Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu delivered a solid main event for us. Not the best go home show, but not the worst either and on the back of a strong main event I'd say this sneaks into Good.