Friday Night SmackDown Review - April 14, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Matt Riddle Helped Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Fend Off The Bloodline

Owens and Zayn went back and forth with The Usos about the usual stuff, but it was a solid segment designed to further their feud and set up Solo Sikoa vs. Riddle in the main event. Zayn brought up the looming downfall of The Bloodline again, so that's clearly the direction they're still headed in. It's just more a matter of when and not if it's going to happen, but they appear to be taking their time with it and that it won't be imminent.

Xavier Woods def. LA Knight

This was set up in a backstage segment last week when Knight broke Woods' videogame controller. Listen, Edge and Booker T once feuded over a shampoo bottle commercial going into WrestleMania 18, so why not? This was a rematch from last month when Woods inexplicably beat Knight clean in a matter of minutes. I thought Knight would get his win back here, but I'm fine with Woods winning now that he'll be challenging Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship next week. I hate that Knight continues to lose and he desperately needs direction, but maybe he's headed to Raw in the Draft. This was a good match, though.

Damian Priest def. Santos Escobar

Escobar and the rest of LWO/Legado del Fantasma are definitely benefiting from their alliance with Rey Mysterio, but man, Escobar just can't buy a win at this point. If this isn't leading to him snapping on Rey eventually and going back to being a heel, then I question this booking. On the bright side, Priest is being built up for the likely tag team match pitting him and Dominik Mysterio against Rey and Bad Bunny at Backlash, so there was a reason why Priest won. This was the quality contest you'd expect from these two.

Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green Challenged WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

Morgan and Rodriguez just became champions a few days ago on Raw, and considering they came off like afterthoughts due to Trish Stratus' heel turn, this was a necessary segment to establish that their reign won't be completely irrelevant like reigns most teams have had in the last four years. It was a basic segment with Deville and Green stepping up as their first challengers, but I appreciated the simple setup for their tag title match on next week's SmackDown.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Madcap Moss

We haven't seen Nakamura on WWE TV since November, and I don't believe he was hurt because he had that one match against The Great Muta in Japan back on New Year's Day. I just assume WWE had nothing for him creatively, but he's still super popular and I'm glad he's back. He straight-up squashed Moss and you'll get no complaints out of me because Moss is boring as a babyface. Post-match, Karrion Kross was teased as Nakamura's next rival, which I think is a good use of both guys.

Solo Sikoa def. Matt Riddle

I'm surprised this was given away on SmackDown since I felt this could have been the Backlash match, but with Paul Heyman announcing before this bout that The Usos will get an Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship rematch with Zayn and Owens in two weeks on SmackDown, it looks like they're doing the six-man tag team match at the pay-per-view instead and that's fine by me. This was an enjoyable and well-worked main event. I expected at least a non-finish given this was Riddle's first matchup back, but I guess they really want to protect Sikoa and put more heat on The Bloodline.

Overall Show

We now know that the Draft will kick off in two weeks on SmackDown and resume that Monday on Raw. It's clear both brands are in a holding pattern until after it's over (along with Backlash), but I appreciated that they set up several matches for next week's show, including two title matches. This was another entertaining effort from the blue brand on the whole with everything serving a purpose and holding my interest.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews