Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 12.23.22

Hello everyone, we’re almost at the last Smackdown of 2022. We made it, one more revolution of the earth around the sun. Tonight’s action was taped last week so expect the usual amount of filler material. But the action we know we’re getting, there will be a gauntlet match for a shot at Ronda Rousey’s title at some point in the future. The Bloodline will be talking, the Usos will defend their tag team titles against Hit Row (lol) and our main event will be a Miracle on 34th Street Fight between Imperium and the duo of Ricochet and Braun Strowman. I’d be that we get some advancement for Bray Wyatt and LA Knight’s growing issue as well. Well that’s the preamble, let’s get to the action.

Up first, here comes The Bloodline. The entire group is here led by our UwU champion and tribal chief Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman introduces himself and everyone else once they’re in the ring. Heyman is here to hype us for back to back weeks regarding the greatest faction in WWE history, The Bloodline. First the Usos will defend their titles against Hit Row, and that’s not a prediction that’s a spoiler (0 reaction for that by the way). Next week in the lovely warm city of Tampa, the enforcer Solo Sikoa will take out Sheamus once and for all. Then the biggest televised match of 2022 when Kevin Owens teams with John Cena to get smashed by Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns. Roman gets the mic from Heyman, he’s going to smash someone on the 30th. He made millions of dollars beating Cena and Owens, because he’s the man. But he’s curious about what Sami Zayn is going to do, see right now Sami doesn’t look like himself, so Sami get it off your chest. Sami has a mic, he should be on top of the world right now since it’s the holidays and he’s getting the respect he deserves after all these years in the business. He should be on top of the world, but there’s a black cloud hanging over his head in the form of Kevin Owens. The name of Kevin Owens has been tied to Sami for his entire career, and he’s sick of it. Owens can claim they’re done but we all know that’s not true. Now of all things he’s doing he’s bringing back John Cena to try and upstage Sami and the Bloodline. But the Bloodline is the show. He warns that they’re going to destroy Owens and Cena, leave them mangled because that’s what happens when you step to the Bloodline. Next week Owens and Cena can do what everyone else does, acknowledge the Tribal Chief. Decent little promo from all parties.

After this break we’ll get our first match.

Post break here come Hit Row to no reaction.

Match #1 – WWE Tag Team Title Match: (c) The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) w/ Sami Zayn vs. Hit Row (Top Dollah and Ashante the Adonis) w/ B-Fab

Jey and Ashante start us off, Jey grabs a side headlock then they hit the ropes and Ashante hits a really ugly arm drag. Dollah tags in and Jey takes some corner offense then a boot from Dollah. Jey slips behind Dollah and hits a chop block then tags out, we’ve had some weird camera cuts already. Jimmy with some stomps and Jey lands a cheap shot. Jey tags back in and super kicks Dollah in the gut. Dollah tries to fight out of the corner but we basically miss another chop block from Jey to send us to break. Seriously, who in the world is responsible for the God awful editing going on?

Jey is still in control of Dollah as we come back. Dollah fights back with a spinebuster and both men are down. Dollah can’t quite remember which knee to sell, but he’s able to crawl over and both men tag out. Ashante with an awkward flapjack then a kick to Jimmy and a float over DDT. Now Ashante heads up top and hits a cross body for a 2 count. Jimmy blocks a super kick, then Jey with a distraction so Jimmy can hit a pop up Samoan drop, which looked ugly as sin. The timing on that one was very off. Jey tags back in, but Dollah pulls Jimmy out of the ring and shoves him into the ring steps. School boy from Ashante gets a 2 count, then he “lands” a super kick and tags out. Dollay sets for the Heavy Hitter, which connects but Jimmy breaks up the pin. The obvious crowd sweetning is getting annoying. Jimmy super kicks Ashante out of the ring. Dollah sort of picks up both Usos but his leg gives out. Super kick from Jey, Jimmy tags in and they hit him with a double super kick then the 1D to end things.

OFFICIAL RESULT: The Usos retained the titles

Rating: 2 stars

That wasn’t good. Hit Row are still incredibly hit and miss in the ring, and the absolutely terrible video editing made everything pre break almost impossible to watch.

Next is a recap of Gunther vs. Ricochet from last week and Braun showing up after the match. Gunther vs. Ricochet last week was one of the best TV matches WWE put on all year.

In the back Kayla interviews Giovani Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser about wrestling Braun and Ricochet. Kaiser objects to having to wrestle freak shows. They wont spread holiday cheer, but will restore the honor of their sacred match.

The number one contender’s gauntlet match is up next after this break.

Post break here comes Xia Li, which provides an excuse for a recap of Li potentially costing Tegan Nox and Liv Morgan their title shot last week.

Match #2 – Gauntlet Match: Emma vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Xia Li vs. Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville

Emma and Li get us going. They tie up, then Li attacks the throat of Emma. Emma hits the ropes and lands a clothesline. Another clothesline from Emma then a butterfly suplex. Emma with some corner offense including the seated cross body for a 2 count. Li drops Emma on the second rope, then lands a few kicks to Emma and a spike elbow to the head. Tornado kick from Li connects and she pins Emma.

Out comes Tegan Nox. Nox goes after Li with strikes and some fake crowd noise. Sit out gordbuster from Nox, then a senton in the corner. Nox goes up top and hits a cross body for a 2 count. They head to the apron where Li kicks Nox into the ring post then lands a jumping knee strike. Back in the ring Li hits another tornado kick to get a pin.

Raquel Rodriguez comes out next and I suppose it’s time to start caring. Raquel is wearing a brace on her left arm as she comes out, she’s also not smiling as we head to break.

Post break Raquel gets sent out of the ring by Li. Li kicks the arm of Raquel. A knee strike from Li connects and they head back into the ring. Raquel avoids a corner attack, then lands a back elbow. Big boot from Raquel then the Scott Hall special, the fall away slam. Twisting Vader Bomb from Raquel gets a 2 count. Li lands a back kick, then lands a spike elbow but misses the Cyclone Kick and eats a Tejana Bomb and Raquel gets the pin.

Up next, Liv Morgan. Morgan charges the ring, but Raquel slams her into the corner right away. Morgan avoids a big boot but Raquel catches her on a Code Breaker, misses some punches then Morgan lands a drop kick. Corner attack from Morgan then a knee strike. Raquel stalls out a hurricanrana, Morgan tries a Victory Roll for 2. More roll ups from Morgan, but she can’t keep Raquel down. Morgan tries a sleeper hold, Raquel starts to fade but rallies and slams free. That sends us to another break.

We come back to Raquel hitting a second rope superplex and both women are down. Raquel fires up with some strikes then a side slam. Stinger splash from Raquel but Morgan fights back with a Codebreaker to the bad arm. Double stomp to the arm from Morgan, then she heads to the second rope for a drop kick but only a 2 count, and Raquel turns the kick out into a modified Rings of Saturn. Raquel wont give up, and she powers to her feet with Morgan now on her back, but Morgan turns a spinning move into a Codebreaker for 2. That brace on Raquel’s arm is falling apart. Morgan hits the ropes but is caught with a fall away slam, another twisting Vader Bomb from Raquel but that only gets 2 again. They start trading strikes, sort of as neither is really landing, then Raquel lands a big boot. Morgan avoids a fall away slam with a crucifix driver for another 2 count. Raquel blocks ObLIVion, then tries the Tejana Bomb but Morgan slips free and tries another ObLIVion only to be countered into something approximating a Tejana Bomb and Morgan is gone.

Sonya Deville comes out “last”. Sonya goes right after Raquel with strikes in the corner. The crowd is still pretty dead for all of this. Raquel hits a headbutt then a shoulder block. Sonya snaps the arm down of Raquel then a running knee strike for a 2 count. Next Sonya posts Raquel and starts wrapping the bad arm around the ring post. Raquel with some shoulder strikes, then a scoop slam and a flap jack. Sonya with a weak looking top wrist lock, but gets caught up talking with the ref and then eats a Tejana Bomb and Raquel pins her.

But here comes Ronda Rousey with a mic. Ronda says Raquel hasn’t won anything yet, and here comes Shanya Baszler as the last entrant in the gauntlet match. Baszler goes after Raquel with kicks then tears off the brace, it was falling off anyway. Some stomps to the bad arm from Baszler, and a lot of camera cuts to Ronda on the entrance stage. Baszler poses with the arm brace, allowing Raquel to grab a school boy and the 3 count on Baszler.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Raquel Rodriguez won

Rating: 2.5 stars

The camera issues were real here, and the outcome was a bit too predictable for as much time as this got. I also don’t think Raquel has the move set to really pull this kind of a run off, there’s a ton of repeated spots with her.

Next, a recap of Bray Wyatt and LA Knight from last week which included the revelation that Uncle Howdy is a separate person from Bray Wyatt. After this break Bray Wyatt will talk.

Post break, here comes Bray Wyatt. Bray gets a mic after turning off his lantern. Pretty decent reaction from the crowd, and doesn’t seem sweetened. Bray says one of the hardest things to do is come out here and talk to the people with the whole world watching. It’s a surreal feeling, and he’s not sure he’ll ever get used to people being excited to see him. He doesn’t look at himself like that, he’s just trying to be the realest me he can, but he’s no longer sure there’s a real him. He knows LA Knight owes him an apology though, no one believed Bray when he said he wasn’t Uncle Howdy, and the fans didn’t believe him either. But the truth is he’s not Uncle Howdy, he never was. The light changes a bit towards red as Bray “loses” his train of thought. Bray drops his mic as he goes into a crouch, then he attacks one of the camera men. Bray slams him down and puts on the Mandible Claw as officials run down to try and save the poor camera operator. Bray gets his thousand yard stare going as we head to break. OK, that was different, but it’s also nice to see Bray actually get physical. I appreciate the little production tricks they use with Bray, the lighting change whenever he brought up Uncle Howdy hinting at what’s going on before he snapped. I’m still interested, but once again they’re still moving forward and that’s key here. They can’t tread water with this, we need the next step pretty soon and Bray vs. LA Knight in some physical capacity should be set for the Rumble sooner rather than later.

Post break we get a recap of what just happened, then see Angel in the ring for a match. And here comes Rey Mysterio as his opponent.

Match #3: Rey Mysterio vs. Angel w/ Humberto

We see Karrion Kross and Scarlett in the crowd as the match starts. Angel asks for a hand shake, Rey does so then slaps Angel and grabs a side headlock. They hit the ropes and Rey then hits a roll through drop kick. 10 punch in the corner from Rey, but it’s interrupted as Angel tries an electric chair only for Rey to counter into a hurricanrana. Angel avoids a springboard cross body and then the pants come off. Double under hook backbreaker from Angel. Angel with some control work, tossing Rey into the corner and then gets sent into the ring post by Rey. Rey heads up top, seated senton then a head scissors to set up Angle for the 619, but Humberto pulls Angel away only for Rey to dive onto him. Back in the ring Rey lands a kick but Angel tosses his pants at Rey to distract him then lands a super kick. Angel bails on a Wing Clipper to try a 619 of his own, Humberto lands a cheap shot to set it up and Rey counters to set up Angel and hit the 619. Flying DDT from Rey to follow up and that gets the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Rey Mysterio won

Rating: 2 stars

A slight botch from Angel on the first 619 set up hurt this, but I like that diving DDT from Rey as an alternate finisher after the 619. Post match Rey gets on the ropes and calls on Kross to the ring, Kross declines and just warns him time is running out.

In the back Ricochet and Braun Strowman talk, they mock Kaiser and Vinci. Braun and Ricochet head to the ring for our main event, which will be up after this break.

Post break Scarlett and Karrion Kross walk in the back, they run into Emma. Emma objects to Scarlett and Kross and their behavior, then slaps Scarlett. Kross holds Scarlett back, then tells Emma she doesn’t know what she just did before walking off.

Next, a hype job for John Cena ahead next week marking the end of his second decade of competing at least once a year in WWE. Man this makes me feel old, I was watching during Cena’s debut. Fittingly it also focuses a bit on his tremendous Make A Wish work.

Commentary then runs down next week’s card to close out the year.

Now the ring and ringside area is appropriately decorated for the gimmick fight. Then, here comes Ricochet. Bless him for doing this match in such close proximity to that certified banger he had with Gunther at this taping. Braun, in a Santa hat, follows and they head to the ring together. Our main event will start after this break.

Post break and here come Imperium. There are a couple of conspicuous presents on the stage with visible openings for people to pop out of.

Match #4 – Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Imperium (Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Braun Strowman and Ricochet

We get a brawl right away, Braun winds up alone with Vinci. Braun with strikes, then Ricochet with an assisted drop kick. Kaiser pulls Ricochet out of the ring and slams him into the ring steps. Now Kaiser and Vinci attack Braun, but Braun gets the best of things before Kaiser lands a chop block, then Vinci follows with one of his own. Braun fights back and ejects both men to set up Ricochet for a Jeff Hardy run along the barricade then he hits a hurricanrana to Vinci which sends us to break.

Se come back to Braun getting posted on the outside by Vinci then Vinci throws Braun into a Christmas tree. Ricochet tries a dive, but Kaiser counters into a Fujiawra armbar and Vinci follows with some kendo stick shots. Kaiser gets a chair and whacks Braun with it, then hits Ricochet in the gut. Braun comes out of frame and punches the chair into Kaiser before breaking Vinci’s kendo stick across his knee. they fight back onto the stage, and Braun tosses Vinci and Kaiser into more trees. Double lift from Braun, but Kaiser and Vinci slip free and Vinci got cut open around the left eyebrow, and they hit a double suplex onto Braun. Ricochet comes back into the scene with a knee to Kaiser then starts trading with Vinci. Vinci and Ricochet head into the ring, but Kaiser crushes Ricochet across the back with the chair. Ricochet is down holding the back of his head, this would be the spot where Ricochet was reported to be down for a bit I guess. Kaiser and Vinci head up to the stage and mess around with Braun to give people time to check on Ricochet. Now out of the big present comes a ballerina, she dances across the stage. Out of the second large present come Kofi Kingston and Xaveir Woods dressed as nut crackers. Kaiser takes a a kick to the groin, as does Vinci, as Cole loses it over a “nut crackers” line. Braun recovers and charges down to run over Vinci and Kaiser a few times. Ricochet is still down, and there’s a small cut on the back of his head, then he uses mistletoe to get Samantha Irvin to kiss Ricochet, which revives Ricochet. Now Ricochet runs wild, Braun powerbombs Kaiser through a table, Ricochet hits Vinci with a Recoil to set up a running powerslam from Braun, then Ricochet follows with a splash off the shoulders of Braun to get the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Braun Strowman and Ricochet won

Rating: 3 stars

There was a time when beating Imperium actually meant something, sadly we’re not there. That said, everyone involved made the most of this, and Kaiser in particular has become such a wonderfully expressive performer that I think he could get something out of pretty much anything. Ultimately this was more fun than it had any right to be, and I credit the wrestlers for that.

The good guys celebrate with the fans to end the episode.

5.7

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

I ultimately can't say too much positive about this episode. We had just a ton of filler, recaps and hype packages were all over the place, and there wasn't anything all that compelling wrestling wise either. Hit Row should still be in developmental, the women's gauntlet match was incredibly uneven with a totally dead crowd, and there was a real lack of flow to the show. Positives would be Bray going a little unhinged, though they might want to accelerate that story just a bit because while I think we're willing to be patient there's such a thing as dragging and they're getting a bit closer to dragging than I'd like, and a main event that was way more fun than it had any right to be. Ultimately a step down from the last string of pretty darn good TV that Smackdown has been producing.