Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 9, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kevin Owens Helped Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Fend Off The Bloodline

It would have been easy to go with Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa again for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Bash in Berlin, but I'm glad this segment established that wouldn't be the case. Instead, Rhodes said there was zero chance Sikoa was getting another opportunity (even though Roman Reigns did cost Sikoa the title at SummerSlam, to be fair) and named Owens as his next challenger. Owens initially refused because he didn't feel he was worthy, but he unintentionally convinced Nick Aldis he was worthy in a backstage segment afterward by explaining why Reigns shouldn't be the next challenger (which was never going to happen as it was just a test from Rhodes and Aldis).

The Street Profits def. A-Town Down Under in a WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

This was already announced last week, but it then turned into a tournament match, so I appreciated this had higher stakes than it would have had otherwise. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller have been teasing tension for a while now, so they feel like they're in a holding pattern in the meantime. The same can be said for the Profits, at least as far as being in a holding pattern (not the tension part). This was a very good match made better by the crowd being hot for the action.

Jade Cargill def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Alba Fyre

As you'd expect, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about this bout as it was largely a standard showcase for Cargill. I was fine with it not being more competitive, but I can't blame fans for being annoyed by the one women's segment on the show lasting less than three minutes. Blair Davenport helped Fyre and Isla Dawn attack Cargill and Bianca Belair afterward before Naomi predicably made the save.

Santos Escobar Interrupted United States Champion LA Knight; Escobar def. Andrade in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Knight's championship celebration was fairly basic, but he was super over as always. It's just nice to him with gold finally as it was long overdue. He wasn't wrong when he said it's been the same song and dance with Escobar every time in that Escobar has yet to beat him, and I doubt Escobar beats him for the belt. Hey, at least we have an active midcard champion again, so I can't complain. Escobar vs. Andrade was awesome and I appreciated that they were given as much time as they were. Carmelo Hayes costing Andrade the win furthered that feud as well.

#DIY def. Pretty Deadly in a WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

Did anyone honestly expect Pretty Deadly to win here and go on to challenge The Bloodline for the tag titles? Probably not, but this was a good match for what it was. Pretty Deadly are damn entertaining and I'm glad they've been back on TV as of late lobbying for a musical in backstage segments. #DIY will face the Profits in the finals of this mini tourney next week and I'm excited for that first-time-ever encounter.

Roman Reigns Attacked The Bloodline

If you were hoping for someone to come out to make the save for Reigns against The Bloodline, you were likely disappointed by this segment. I'd argue it's too soon in the storyline for that and what we got was perfect. Reigns laying out Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa won't matter in the long run and Sikoa evaded the attack. Jacob Fatu was conspicuous by his absence, but fingers crossed he's not too hurt. It's amazing to see Reigns received as the massive babyface WWE/Vince McMahon wanted him to be a decade ago.

Overall Show

Much like Monday's post-SummerSlam Raw, I really enjoyed this edition of SmackDown. The Reigns return is what everyone tuned in to see and it closed out the night on a high note. The tag title tournament consisted of quality matches, there was advancement in the United States title picture, Rhodes vs. Owens was announced for Bash in Berlin, and we even got a vignette for the returning Giovanni Vinci. The stuff in the women's tag team scene doesn't interest me, but at least there was setup for a future six-woman tag team match. All in all, this was a strong show.

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