wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 12.09.22
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey there people, it’s Friday and we’re all back here for another episode of WWE Smackdown. Tonight we’re celebrating Kurt Angle’s birthday in his home of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also tonight Shanya Baszler will take on Shotzi with Ronda Rousey and Raquel Rodriguez in their respective corners, Gunther and Ricochet will probably hype up their match for next week, Bray Wyatt and LA Knight are continuing to build their issue and now would be a good time to let that take a step forward, Karrion Kross has set his sights on Rey Mysterio so they should be building that feud, and in our presumptive main event the Usos will defend their tag team titles against Sheamus and Butch. Drew McIntyre was originally supposed to be Sheamus’s partner but Drew’s dealing with a minor injury so in steps Butch. It’s a relatively light show in terms of what’s been advertised but Smackdown has had a couple of solid episodes so let’s hope they can keep the momentum going. With that preamble out of the way, let’s get to the action.
Up first here come the Brawling Brutes. Guess I was wrong about what might have been our main event, my hunch now is that Kurt Angle’s celebration is our closing segment. But the trio head to the ring.
Match #1 – WWE Tag Team Title Match: (c) The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) w/ Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa vs. Sheamus and Butch w/ Ridge Holland
Sheamus and Jimmy start us off. Jimmy avoids Sheamus at first, then they tie up and hit the corner where they fight for position. Jimmy shoves Sheamus, but eats a headlock takeover. Sheamus drops Jimmy with a shoulder block and Jimmy takes a powder to regain himself. Back in the ring Jimmy starts striking then they both fail hip tosses but Sheamus levels Jimmy with a clothesline. Finlay Roll from Sheamus then he tags in Butch and slams Butch onto Jimmy. Butch with a knee drop but Jimmy pushes things to his own corner and tags in Jey who lands a flying forearm. Butch with a flurry of offense, then Jimmy makes a blind tag to set up an assisted Stun Gun as we head to break.
Butch is fighting to get to tag in Sheamus, but Jey is keeping him from doing so as we come back. Jey sends Butch into the Uso’s corner to stop the momentum of Butch. Jimmy tags in and Butch takes a double team move for a 2 count. Stomps from Jimmy send Butch out of the ring. Ridge tries to pump up Butch. Jimmy follows Butch and eats a chop then Butch goes for a tag, he hits Jimmy with an enziguri but Jimmy falls close enough for Jey to tag in and Jey cheap shots Sheamus to prevent the hot tag. Jey and Butch start trading some strikes, but butch avoids a hip attack with a boot then a rebound German suplex. Both men tag out and Sheamus gets to run wild on Jimmy for a bit, including a tilt a whirl slam. Sheamus goes for the Bodhran Beats, Butch grabs Jey as well and we get stereo beatings for a bit and Butch goes for a lot longer than Sheamus. On the outside Butch and Jey fight for a bit, back in the ring Jimmy rolls up Sheamus for 2 then avoids a charging Sheamus and Sheamus posts himself. Jimmy goes up top, Sheamus intercepts him and climbs up there with him to hit a second rope White Noise for a near fall as we get another break.
We come back to Butch yanking the fingers of Jey which causes Jey to fall off the top rope. Butch misses a flying nothing then walks into a pop up neckbreaker and Sheamus has to break up the pin. Jimmy and Sheamus fight to the apron, where Sheamus hits an apron White Noise. Jey with a suicide dive onto Sheamus, then Butch heads up top to hit a moonsault onto both Jimmy and Jey. Back in the ring now Butch hits a diving tornado DDT for a near fall. Butch stomps on the hands then lands a Busszaw kick but he’s caught in the corner and Jey tags out. Jimmy and Jey double team Butch, and set for a top rope 1D but Sheamus pulls out Jey and tosses him into the barricade. Butch rolls through on Jimmy and hits a sit out powerbomb for a 2 count. Butch tags in Sheamus now. Sheamus looks for a Razor’s Edge, and Butch assists with a neckbreaker on the way down and Jey has to come in at the last second to break up the pin. Jimmy and Sheamus start trading strikes, Jey makes a blind tag, Ridge attacks Sami when Sami tries to get involved and Sheamus lays out Jey with a running knee lift but that gets a 2 count. Ridge and Solo start brawling and Solo dumps Ridge over the barricade with a Spinning Solo. Sheamus sets for the Brogue Kick, but Jey intercepts with a super kick. Butch tags in and unloads with kicks, Jimmy with a blind tag, Jey avoids a Bitter End and the Usos hit a 1D as Sami stops Sheamus from breaking up the pin and the Usos retain the belts.
OFFICIAL RESULT: The Usos retained the titles
Rating: 3 stars
It took this one too long to get going, and the commercial breaks didn’t help, but when they reached the final stretch you got to see what all four men could do.
In the back we see Kurt Angle walking with Gable Steveson, they run into Braun Strowman. Braun tells Gable not to take too long in the PC because they could use him on Smackdown.
Back to the ring and here comes LA Knight. Knight will have words for Bray Wyatt after this break.
We come back to news that John Cena will appear on the final Smackdown of 2022 on December 30th. Well, that’ll be interesting.
LA Knight is in the ring and wants to talk to us. Pretty loud boos for Knight. He insults the crowd before saying he’s struck some kind of a nerve in Bray Wyatt, maybe even fear. Let’s think about that for a second, he’s been blindsided week after week while Bray denies involvement. Well Knight is here to call Bray’s bluff, he’s gotten back up after each attack then shows video footage from a few weeks ago of the aftermath of him being attacked. Well he’s got footage from right before that, and replays video of him leaving the building and the ominous little mask shot. Knight calls that mask one of Bray’s toys. Well a week after that we can see Knight being pinned under cases backstage and again you can see the devil mask lurking in the background. The video feed is interrupted by Uncle Howdy. Howdy wonders what is being waited on, he deserves to be punished, and we get a lot of “Do it” repeated while Howdy reminds us that Knight deserves to suffer and warns that the door is closing. Knight is a little unnerved by this, but says if you need any more evidence you’re a cross eyed half wit. Well Knight is going to do something about this right now, yeah! OK, using the Uncle Howdy bit as a manifestation of Bray’s darker impulses works, and thankfully we’re working this angle forward.
We get a video from some earlier digital material when Legado del Fantasma was being interviewed and we see Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler attack Shotzi in the background. That transitions to a backstage interview where Megan asks Ronda and Baszler if they’ve taken things too far. Baszler deflects saying that could have been anything. Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox walk up, Morgan brings up the injuries they’ve doled out but Nox and Liv are here and looking for a fight. Baszler stretches the metaphor, and Ronda claims that Liv and Nox don’t understand metaphor before they walk off.
Back to the ring, here come Legado del Fantasma. Cruz Del Toro and Joaquim Wilde will take on the Viking Raiders after this break.
Post break we get the news that Roman Reigns will be on Smackdown next week. Zelina Vega has joined commentary as the Viking Raiders make their entrance.
Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Legado del Fantasma (Cruz Del Toro and Joquim Wilde) w/ Zelina Vega and Santos Escobar vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) w/ Valhalla
Erik and Wilde start us off, Wilde with some evasive moves then Erik drops him with a shoulder block and follows up with a kitchen sink knee lift. Ivar tags in and Wilde gets clubbed on for a bit. Erik tags back in and some shoulder blocks to the body of Wilde. Hit Row show up to ruin a potentially good match, B-Fab sits on a chair on the entrance stage and here come Ashante and Dollah to attack and get the match thrown out.
OFFICIAL RESULT: No Contest
Rating: DUD
Not enough action to give it anything else, but this was an angle not a proper match.
Dollah with a chair and lands strikes to a few people, then Ashante barely succeeds on the float over DDT. B-Fab with a terrible looking kick to Valhalla then she throws Valhalla into Zelina. Wilde dives at Dollah, he’s caught and eats a Death Valley Neckbreaker. Hit Row pose to a silent crowd. You’d think the reactions would speak for themselves at some point.
In the back LA Knight wanders around looking for Bray Wyatt. He finds a Bray shirt then the lights go out. Knight gets his phone out and finds Bray in his devil mask as we cut to break. Not the highest quality work there, but I appreciate whenever wrestling production can step a little outside the box like that.
Post break we see the party for Kurt Angle in the back, and Jason Jordan walks up with a card that says “Number 1 Dad” for Kurt.
To the ring and here comes Ricochet, he’s got a contract signing with Gunther. After a video recap of Ricochet winning the Smackdown World Cup Gunther and the rest of Imperium head to the ring. The contract signing is about to start, when the New Day show up for some reason. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have mics, they’re sorry to interrupt (I doubt that) but they wanted to make sure they got a front row seat for all of this. We all know contract signings end in violence, and they’re here to back up Ricochet when things go sideways. Woods reminds us to watch the New Day win the NXT tag team titles tomorrow. But they’re here just to make sure all violence is done on equal terms. Adam Pearce says not every contract signing has to go that way, Kofi asks if he’s ever watched wrestling, Pearce: Good point. Gunther gets a mic, he wants Ricochet to remember that he took the belt from him and has beaten him twice. Come next week he’s going to beat Ricochet again and do it in the worst way possible this time, there’s nothing to save him. Imperium respects this great sport, they’re wrestlers not performers. Gunther signs and passes the contract to Ricochet. Ricochet makes some performance jokes then he signs the contract. But seriously, Ricochet wants to set aside their personal issues. Next week Ricochet will reclaim his title. He and Gunther start yelling as Pearce asks for someone to get the ring cleared, Gunther just tosses the table out himself as Pearce confirms this match. We get a brawl and the babyfaces hit a big triple dive then pose in the ring.
Match #3 – Trios Match: Imperium (Gunther, Giovanni Vinci, and Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Ricochet and New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
Kaiser and Ricochet start us off once the bell rings. Some evasive moves from Kaiser then he tries a head scissors but Ricochet flips through it and lands a drop kick. Woods tags in and drops Ricochet onto Kaiser for a 2 count. Drop kick from Woods, but Kaiser fights back only to eat a roll through clothesline. Vinci tags in and hits an arm drag and starts working the arm of Woods. Strikes from Vinci now then he kicks Woods out of the ring as we head to break.
We come back to Woods fighting out of a Vinci headlock. Vinci blocks a tag attempt from Woods then counters a rolling clothesline with a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Gunther tags in and goes to work on Woods. Scoop slam from Gunther then he boots Ricochet off the apron just because he could. Kaiser tags back in and starts stretching Woods. Woods again tries to fight free, but Kaiser lands strikes in the corner. Kaiser puts Woods on the top rope and kicks him back to the mat. More strikes from Kaiser as he isolates Woods in the Imperium corner. Woods fires back with strikes but Kaiser lands a pretty slick chop, wasn’t quite a Gunther chop but it looked good. Woods fights off of the top rope and hits a flying drop kick and both men are down. Kofi and Vinci tag in and Kofi gets to run wild for a bit on Vinci including a high cross body for a 2 count. Boom Drop from Kofi and he wants the Trouble in Paradise but Kaiser distracts him allowing Vinci to avoid him. Kaiser yanks on Kofi then Vinci snaps him over the top rope and Kaiser follows on the floor with a running uppercut. Vinci then comes out and launches Kofi over the announce table as we get another break.
Kaiser is abusing Kofi as we come back, then he cheap shots Woods but that delay allows Kofi to hit a back body drop. Gunther and Ricochet both tag in and we get a stare off between them. Ricochet fires strikes but Gunther chops him down to his knees then kicks him down. Enziguri from Ricochet then a knee strike and a flurry of punches to follow. Gunther covers up in the corner then misses a big boot and Ricochet lands an enziguri. Ricochet walks into a stiff chop, but he counters a powerbomb with a Code Red for a 2 count. Both of them tag out now and Vinci squares off with Woods. Woods lands a kick then a diving DDT. Kofi tags in, they set for Midnight Hour but Kaiser breaks it up. Kofi tries an SOS but Vinci counters into a Finlay Roll, Kaiser tags in and Kofi nearly takes an Imperial Bomb but Ricochet is here for a top rope hurricanrana onto Kaiser. Woods dives onto Gunther and Vinci as Kofi hits a Trouble in Paradise. Ricochet tags in and follows up with a Shooting Star Press to get the win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Ricochet and New Day won
Rating: 3 stars
I’m not terribly thrilled with Imperium losing all the time, the group should be winning matches like this. That said this was a nice tease for Gunther and Ricochet. I’d also like to give props to Kaiser, who has become an incredibly expressive worker since moving to the main roster and probably deserves better than just being the fall guy for Imperium.
In the back Alpha Academy aren’t on the list for Kurt Angle’s party. The Street Profits show up, and they are on the list. I’m not sure that warranted air time. That sends us to break.
We come back to the Bloodline celebrating in the back. Everyone’s feeling ucey, except Solo he looks like he usually does. They all go to head out, but Jey holds Sami back. Jey reminds Sami that Roman Reigns is coming back next week and says it might be a good idea for Sami to trim his hair and beard, because next week Sami might have a real big night and should look the part. Hm, they’re really getting Sami’s hopes up for the next few weeks while Kevin Owens gets his shot.
Rey Mysterio is with a trainer in the back when Scarlett and Karrion Kross show up. Kross isn’t here for violence, he’s here to talk. He brings up the heartbreaking situation Rey’s in with his kid, but Rey has demonstrated restraint, he’s tried to find new beginnings, but has only had injuries. He brings up that Scarlett is Romanian, and that life could be hard over there. When Scarlett was a little kid they had a horse, a champion, but over time the horse couldn’t do what used to and they turned it into a workhorse. Well eventually it couldn’t even do that, and Scarlett could never forget the look in the horses eyes when it was too broken to be of use. Kross says it’s always sad when you see an old animal that has to be put out of its misery. Security shows up but Kross says there’s no problem, he’s willing to leave but warns Rey to look at the clock. Tick tock. OK, that was pretty good, Kross actually does quietly menacing pretty well.
Liv Morgan heads to the ring, then she’s followed by Tegan Nox and we get a video hype job for Nox which references her multitude of knee injures. That sends us to break.
Post break we get another of those Lacey Evans repackaging videos focusing on her doing more Marine Corps training.
Back to the ring and here come Baszler and Ronda.
Match #4 – Tag Team Match: Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler
Baszler and Nox start us off, they tie up then Baszler goes for the arm of Nox. Nox escapes an arm wringer, then Baszler shoves her into the corner and trips her down. Now Nox tries to fire up and hits a couple of arm drags. The crowd could not care less about this. Nox with a combination of strikes in the corner then a senton to follow up. Nox goes up top but Baszler kicks her in the head to take over. Ronda tags in and hits a few arm throws and mocks Liv on the apron. Ronda grabs an Ankle Lock on Nox, Nox tries to kick free but Ronda holds on and cranks the hold. Nox finally rolls free and both women out. Liv sort of runs wild then screams to a tepid crowd reaction. Stomp from Liv gets a 2 count. Around now Raquel Rodriguez storms to the ring as a bunch of officials stop her from getting involved physically. Ronda gets in Raquel’s face as in the ring Liv avoids a Kirifuda Clutch and Nox hits a Shiniest Wizard then Liv gets the pin.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Tegan Nox and Liv Morgan won
Rating: 1.5 stars
Mostly competent though Liv is still a little sloppy and Nox could have been literally anyone on the roster and got a better reaction. The crowd was just dead for this and it hurt the overall match.
In the back Kurt Angle tells Gable Steveson to hang in the back and enjoy the party while Kurt goes to the ring after this break.
Post break commentary runs down next weeks Smackdown for us, we’re getting a triple threat tag team match between Hit Row, Legado del Fantasma, and Viking Raiders.
To the ring and here comes Kurt Angle to the predictable affectionate and loud “You suck” chants. There’s a table with a birthday cake set up in the ring. That’s not ominous. Angle gets a mic and thanks the crowd, this is interrupted by Chad Gable and Otis. Gable with a “shuush” to Angle. Gable objects to not being invited to the party. Otis even wore a tie for the occasion, and Otis doesn’t have a neck so that’s a heck of a feat. Gable knows Angle didn’t want Gable to show up and outshine him. For once Gable has to agree with the crowd though, they’re right that Angle sucks. Otis and Gable are in the ring now. Gable knows Angle has no integrity, has lost his intensity, and if he’s got any intelligence left he’ll get out of the ring right now as Otis is going to eat that cake. The crowd actually want Otis to eat the cake. Angle does leave the ring and walks up the ramp, where he tells Otis and Gable that they’ll need milk to go with all that cake. Cue the milk truck along with Gable Steveson. Angle and Steveson toss milk jugs at Gable and Otis, then Angle gets the hose and hoses them both down with milk. There’s enough pressure on that hose to get over the ring and hit the commentary team while Michael Cole drops every pun he can think of. Angle and Steveson head into the ring and drink milk while standing tall to close the show.
