Friday Night SmackDown Review - December 15, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Randy Orton Confronted The Bloodline

Roman Reigns has been off WWE TV since Crown Jewel in early November, and although him being back felt like a big deal like it always does whenever he returns, a lot of his promos run together at this point because he doesn't have a whole lot of fresh material to work with, even with different people stepping up to face him. The Bloodline tension has been done to death and won't be interesting again until after Reigns finally loses the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The rest of the segment was solid with Orton establishing that he wants the next shot at the Royal Rumble.

Carmelo Hayes def. Grayson Waller in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Hayes wrestled on Raw earlier this year, so while this technically wasn't his main roster debut, this did mark his SmackDown in-ring debut and he didn't disappoint. The pre-match vignette did an effective job of introducing him to the main roster audience and the match itself was great (which should come as no surprise considering the matches they had against each other in NXT). Hayes winning clean was a nice touch.

Kevin Owens def. Austin Theory in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Owens and Theory have had a handful of matches dating back to last year, but they always work well together and had another entertaining outing here. Theory in particular had a standout performance. The crowd was quiet (probably because they didn't see Theory as a threat to Owens), but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The way Owens looked at his cast afterward left me thinking he might be turning heel after this tournament is over.

The Kabuki Warriors def. Michin and Zelina Vega

It's cool that Asuka and Kairi Sane are going by The Kabuki Warriors again. Prior to her return to the company, I would've told you that Sane being back in the women's tag team division wasn't ideal, but it makes sense with Damage CTRL wanting all the gold. There wasn't much to this match, but it was fine for what it was and accomplished what it needed to with the heels going over. Kabuki Warriors along with Bayley and IYO SKY will take on Michin, Vega, Shotzi and Bianca Belair in a "Holiday Havoc" eight-woman tag team match on next week's show.

Randy Orton def. Jimmy Uso; AJ Styles Returned

Uso has worked his fair share of SmackDown main event matches since rejoining The Bloodline in August and a majority of them haven't been anything out of the ordinary. This was no exception, but Orton is over enough that the crowd was behind him, regardless. The real focus was on the post-match angle with Styles returning and attacking both Reigns and LA Knight. It felt more like a tweener turn than a full-blown heel turn, which makes him the most compelling he's been as a character in years. I'd definitely be down for him doing a "lone wolf" character like he did in TNA a decade ago.

Overall Show

It was also announced that Charlotte Flair will be sidelined for up to nine months following the injury she suffered on last week's show. That's terrible news. I'm curious how they will affect any plans they had for the women's division heading into WrestleMania 40. At any rate, this was a strong show with a clear focus on the U.S. title tourney and what's next for The Bloodline. There was even some progression in the women's division with Bayley declaring herself for the women's Royal Rumble match. The infusion of star power as of late has breathed new life into the blue brand.

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