Friday Night SmackDown Review - April 5, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens Appeared on The KO Show Before Chasing After United States Champion Logan Paul

I thought this would be where Owens and Orton finally teased tension heading into the United States Championship match at WrestleMania 40, but apparently not. Don't get me wrong, it's refreshing that two babyfaces aren't forcing an issue with each other just because they're both after a heel champion, but it did cause this segment to end anticlimactically with Orton and Owens fleeing the arena to find Paul in Lincoln Financial Field (the site of 'Mania) next door.

Bronson Reed Won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

This was basically every Andre Battle Royal we've seen since it started a decade ago. There were some fun spots (including that accidental Omos botch), but there really weren't a lot of options for who could realistically win other than Reed, so I'm glad he got his moment. The question is if WWE will actually capitalize on this and do something of note with Reed for a change coming out of WrestleMania.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens Attacked United States Champion Logan Paul

This was obviously an extension of what we saw to the start the show with Orton and Owens getting their hands on Paul and leaving him laying. Bouncing between this arena and Lincoln Financial Field was creative, but it didn't make for the most exciting segment(s) when the live crowd was watching a majority of it on the screen. The babyfaces standing tall does make me think Paul will retain the title at WrestleMania, though.

Elektra Lopez def. Zelina Vega

This match has been over two months in the making since Lopez made her main roster debut attacking Vega on the SmackDown right before Royal Rumble. It was fine but too short to be anything out of the ordinary. The focus was largely on the post-match angle that saw Andrade come to Rey Mysterio's aid, revealing himself as Rey's new WrestleMania partner in the process (Dragon Lee was "mysteriously" attacked backstage beforehand).

Bianca Belair, Naomi and Jade Cargill Addressed Damage CTRL

This was a logical follow-up to these three joining forces at the end of last week's SmackDown. They didn't say much other than put Damage CTRL on notice ahead of the six-woman tag team match at 'Mania, but hey, they looked fantastic in their cowboy-themed outfits and the crowd ate up everything they said. I was pleasantly surprised Damage CTRL didn't show up to brawl with them.

New Catch Republic def. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller

This served as a small preview of the Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Tea Championship at WrestleMania where these teams will be representing SmackDown. It was a good match for the time given, but nothing you need to seek out and the result was irrelevant. The Judgment Day laid out both teams afterward to give them a bit of a momentum boost heading into Saturday night.

LA Knight Addressed AJ Styles

This was similar to the segment with Belair, Cargill and Naomi in that Knight simply addressed Styles for a few minutes without Styles coming out to interrupt or get physical with him (they already did that at the WWE media junket earlier in the day, which I witnessed firsthand). It won't go down as one of Knight's most memorable promos, but it was effective enough and the crowd was super behind him throughout.

Jey Uso def. Solo Sikoa by Disqualification

This same match headlined the final SmackDown before SummerSlam (where Jey challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship), though that had a clean finish and this didn't. Jimmy got involved here to cause the disqualification, which was logical. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins showing up to help Jey fend off Jimmy and Sikoa was cool and closed the show on a high note.

Overall Show

I'll take these pre-WrestleMania SmackDown shows before the ones we used to get years ago that consisted of nothing but video packages. That was the case at certain points during this episode, but a majority of it was original content. All in all, it was a throwaway show and I doubt it did much to move the needle for anyone on the fence about WrestleMania, but it was a lively crowd that didn't really seem to mind that what they were watching hardly mattered.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews