Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 27, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Becky Lynch Addressed Her SmackDown Women's Championship Victory

Lynch may not be a full-fledged heel yet, but we're definitely headed in that direction based on how she came across here. I'm still not sold on that, by the way. We know she can play a convincing heel after what happened in late 2018, but much like back then, the crowds are going to want to cheer her regardless of what she does. That's the problem. I understand if she wanted to turn heel, but I would have waited to pull that trigger until later on. I don't think it's the same situation as Roman Reigns from last year. At any rate, she cut a good promo that brought out most of the other women in the division (except for Toni Storm and I have no idea where the hell she's been). That set up the subsequent Fatal 4-Way and I liked the back-and-forth between Bianca Belair and Lynch.

Bianca Belair def. Liv Morgan, Carmella and Zelina Vega in a SmackDown Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match

Carmella and Vega mean nothing at this point, so getting them out of there quickly was the right call. Vega is an enhancement level talent in the ring (at least in my opinion), but Carmella has improved with her current character and should be winning more matches than she does. She and Vega have lost so frequently that it's impossible to care about them at this point. The final stretch of this match with Belair and Morgan was strong stuff. This was the most impressed I've been by Morgan in a while and it was cool that she got to look credible in defeat. Belair vs. Lynch looks to be a lock for Extreme Rules next month.

Cesaro def. Chad Gable by Disqualification

Alpha Academy attacked Cesaro over a month ago on SmackDown. Why did it take Cesaro so long to seek revenge? It's clear the company has no idea what to do with him now that his rivalries with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are over. I don't know what you do with him, either, but this felt like filler. Don't get me wrong, this was a well-wrestled affair while it lasted, but I don't know what the endgame is supposed to be other than a possible Otis vs. Cesaro feud which doesn't sound too enticing to me, personally.

Happy Corbin Offered to Buy Big E's Money in the Bank Contract

Like everyone else, I was skeptical when I saw that WWE trademarked "Happy Corbin" earlier in the summer, but consider me a fan. The broke character he was portraying was arguably one of the best parts of SmackDown and now it's evolved into something equally entertaining. He's getting a chance to show more personality and is knocking it out of the park. This was a fun segment and I have no problem with him and Big E continuing to feud for a little longer.

Intercontinental Champion King Nakamura and Rick Boogs def. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode

As I say every week, it's wild how over Nakamura and Boogs are at the moment. Then again, if you push people aggressively and they're actually talented, they're bound to get over. What a concept, I know. They continue to roll as they racked up another win here. I was pleasantly surprised by how much ring time Boogs got. He's wrestling more on SmackDown than he ever did on NXT TV. This was a fun match that the crowd was into. That mini promo from Apollo Crews confirms his pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship isn't over yet and I have no clue why seeing as how he hasn't won a single match since May.

Sami Zayn def. Dominik Mysterio

In almost any other instance, I'd be disappointed that Zayn was revealed to be the mystery opponent for Dominik after being off TV for only a month. However, I was actually relieved that it wasn't a debuting Adam Cole, whose future is still very much in doubt. They had a pretty good match in the time they were given. Dominik teased tension with Rey afterward, so it looks like he'll be going heel. I'm not sure how to feel about a son vs. father feud, but we'll see how it goes. Can Dominik make a believable heel?

Finn Balor and The Street Profits Attacked Universal Champion Roman Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos

I'm glad WWE is going back to Balor and Reigns and didn't forget about their run-ins prior to SummerSlam. I know that sounds stupid, but this company overlooks so much stuff that I appreciate it whenever they actually acknowledge something that they should. The only downside to their feud is that it's obvious Reigns will retain before he faces Brock Lesnar at some point (probably at Crown Jewel in October), but oh well. This was a solid segment and the babyfaces getting one over on The Bloodline was needed. The tension teased throughout the night between Reigns and Paul Heyman was masterful storytelling as well.

Overall Show

This is nothing new, but SmackDown is a far easier show to sit through each week than Raw. This was a thumbs-up episode as there's a lot I like about the blue brand at the moment. Reigns vs. Balor will be a nice placeholder program before Lesnar comes back again in time for Crown Jewel, Belair vs. Lynch is fresh (despite my issues with the booking), the story with the Mysterios has me intrigued, Happy Corbin is hilarious, the follow-up to Seth Rollins vs. Edge was excellent, Naomi finally returned, and Nakamura is a rock star. It's not a perfect show by any means, but I'm baffled that the same people who write Raw also write SmackDown. This was a very entertaining edition.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews