Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 30, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

United States Champion LA Knight def. Ludwig Kaiser

Yes, Kaiser is a Raw Superstar, but Brand Split be damned. If Kaiser wasn't going to have a match in Germany (his home country) at Bash in Berlin, the SmackDown go-home show in Berlin was the next best thing. It felt like the crowd didn't know who to cheer for as they liked both of these guys, but it was a well-worked, quality contest, nonetheless. Kaiser continues to look impressive in defeat.

Los Garza def. Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin

Berto reportedly re-signed with WWE recently, so it looks like the company is going all in on his team with Angel by calling their team name Los Garza (while still a part of Legado del Fantasma). As for Corbin and Crews, their team is pretty pointless, though I realize WWE doesn't seem to have plans for either of them on their own right now. This was a good match made better by the hot crowd. This felt like the blow-off to their long-running rivalry with Corbin and Crews confronting A-Town Down Under backstage later in the night.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens Faced Off

This was the final face-off I was hoping for from these two heading into Bash in Berlin. They cut great promos and acknowledged a lot more stuff they haven't touched on previously, adding an extra layer of depth to their storyline in the process. They continue to lean into the tease that Owens could betray Rhodes and take the title, but I just don't see that happening.

Carmelo Hayes def. Andrade

This was the fourth encounter between these two as part of their series of matches and it was another highly enjoyable outing. They're working with a strong sense of urgency and are getting a ton of time to work with. The crowds are invested in the action to boot, so it's clear what they're doing is clicking. Hayes evening the score was logical as they build toward a fifth match. I'd love to see it saved for Bad Blood, but I doubt they wait that long.

WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax def. Michin in a Street Fight

Props to Michin for being featured in the main event. She's gotten plenty of exposure in recent months on both SmackDown and NXT and has made the most of her push. Granted, she had zero chance of winning here, but she gave Jax a fun fight and they had an entertaining brawl. The biggest story was with Tiffany Stratton coming out with her Money in the Bank briefcase and being thwarted by the returning Bayley, who we hadn't seen since SummerSlam.

Overall Show

Needless to say, the best part of these international go-home shows is the hot crowd. They were into pretty much everything, but what we got wasn't overly exciting. That feels strange to say with two title matches, a very good segment with Owens and Rhodes and the latest installment in the Andrade vs. Hayes rivalry, but you could tell this was a taped episode with there being more video packages than usual. I'm looking forward to Bash in Berlin, but this edition of SmackDown didn't move the needle for me at all.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews