Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 26, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricochet def. Happy Corbin

I thought for sure Corbin would avenge his loss to Ricochet from a few weeks ago, but I was pleasantly surprised that was not the case. I'd keep this Corbin losing streak going and slowly transition him back into Bumass Corbin or regular Baron Corbin (preferably the NXT version). This was a quality opener as they have nice chemistry together. We'll see if this translates to a renewed push for Ricochet or if the aftermath will be more about Corbin's fall from grace.

​Sonya Deville & Natalya def. Nikki A.S.H. & Doudrop, 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke & Tamina, and Xia Li & Shotzi in a Second Chance Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to Advance to the Semifinals of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament

This had to be added to the show after Gigi Dolin got hurt, forcing Toxic Attraction to be pulled from the semifinals. None of these teams mean anything, so that combined with them not getting any time led to this being a nothing match. Nikki looked like she was hurt on a spot right before the finish, so hopefully she's okay. Interestingly, she and Doudrop were spotted arguing in the background during a backstage segment afterward. I don't know if they're splitting up or not, but a return to Doudrop's Piper Niven persona would be ideal.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther and Sheamus Faced Off While Butch Brawled with Ludwig Kaiser

I was already hyped for this Intercontinental Championship match at Clash at the Castle and this was simply the icing on the cake. Gunther and Sheamus had a very good verbal exchange and I liked how they didn't even flinch while Kaiser and Butch brawled in the background. This was a solid segment despite everyone involved being heel. Expect Gunther and Sheamus to steal the show come Clash at the Castle.

Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah def. Sonya Deville and Natalya in a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

The SmackDown side of this bracket has been a total mess, but they made the most of the unfortunate circumstances. Deville and Natalya already competed earlier in the evening, not to mention that Dakota Kai and IYO SKY are heels, so it was clear Rodriguez and Aliyah were winning here. They had a perfectly fine match, but it wasn't exactly a barn burner. I'm pulling for Kai and SKY to win the tag titles on Monday's Raw.

The New Day Tricked The Viking Raiders

As soon as Woods was shown in the ring sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket over his "injured" leg, it was obvious he was pulling a Kevin Nash (from his WCW days) and that's exactly what happened. Thus, the segment played out predictably, but it was serviceable. These two teams will meet once more next week in a "Viking Rules" match, which means there will be no rules. Fingers crossed that will be the blow-off.

Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn

This gave me flashbacks to the mini feud these two had in the spring where they faced each other four weeks in a row on SmackDown and McIntyre won by count-out the first three times. I wasn't huge on them running it back so soon after that, but it did make sense given how Zayn has gotten himself involved in The Bloodline's business with McIntyre. It was a well-worked main event and an effective post-match angle that put heat on Roman Reigns before Clash at the Castle. Zayn getting in on it as well was a nice touch.

Overall Show

SmackDown has been a much more bearable show over the last month, but this wasn't one of the stronger shows. In fact, it was fairly dull on the whole. Honestly, the best parts in my opinion were the video packages on Drew McIntyre and Shayna Baszler as well as the backstage segment with Reigns and Zayn. The continuation of the tag tournament wasn't interesting and none of the matches stood out in a major way, though I did thoroughly enjoy the Gunther and Sheamus confrontation. They announced a complete card for next week, but don't get used it. They only did that because next week's show is being taped tonight since they'll be overseas for Clash at the Castle. I'm not looking forward to that dead crowd.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews