Friday Night SmackDown Review - December 30, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bray Wyatt Accepted LA Knight's Royal Rumble Challenge Before Being Attacked by Uncle Howdy

This was easily the most interesting segment involving these two in weeks. We finally out when their match will take place. Granted, it was always obvious that was where their program was headed, but it's nice to see it officially announced. Uncle Howdy emerging and laying out Wyatt was also a welcome development. Hopefully the identity of Uncle Howdy is revealed soon after the Rumble because I don't know how much of an attraction Wyatt vs. Howdy would be as it is.

Solo Sikoa def. Sheamus

This was a rematch from October. I liked their original encounter and this was equally enjoyable and hard-hitting. It featured the expected outside interference from The Usos and The Bloodline, which resulted in another win for Sikoa over Sheamus. I'm all for protecting Sikoa, but it feels like Sheamus loses more than he should. Drew McIntyre returned afterward to save The Brawling Brutes and thus next week we'll finally get that Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match with McIntyre and Sheamus challenging The Usos that we were supposed to get earlier this month.

SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey def. Raquel Rodriguez; Charlotte Flair def. Rousey to Win the SmackDown Women's Championship

Rousey has had a handful of stinkers since returning to the company at the beginning of the year, so it was nice to see her have one of her better bouts yet with Rodriguez. Then again, that shouldn't be too surprising considering they worked well together when they first faced off back in May. They told a solid story with Rodriguez attempting to work through the "injured" arm only to submit in the end. The post-match stuff with Flair returning and immediately winning the title from Rousey was beyond random, and I honestly can't say I loved it or hated it. Putting the belt back on a babyface Flair isn't a step backward, but it isn't exactly a positive move, either. Time will tell as far as where this leads, but I just want to see new stars being made as opposed to Flair and Rousey playing hot potato with the title.

Imperium Attacked Braun Strowman

The video package that aired recapping Gunther's dominant reign as Intercontinental Champion so far was great stuff. He's had a hell of a run on the main roster and he's been booked to perfection. Strowman coming out to challenge him was expected and Imperium's attack on Strowman was also well done. I thought the match might be saved for the Royal Rumble, but it looks like we're getting it on SmackDown in two weeks instead.

Kevin Owens and John Cena def. The Bloodline (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn)

This was easily one of the biggest television matches WWE has done all year considering it featured the return of Cena and Reigns' first match on SmackDown since June, and yet it ended up feeling like a glorified house show main event. That's fine because the crowd clearly didn't mind and they ate it up, and Cena being in the ring for a few minutes was better than him not wrestling at all. It was entertaining enough and Owens pinning Zayn was the right call. Reigns is bound to blame Zayn for the loss, getting us one step closer to Zayn's exile from The Bloodline.

Overall Show

SmackDown has largely delivered since Triple H took over WWE Creative over the summer and I was happy that the blue brand closed out the year on a high note with an extremely eventful episode. Was I thrilled by Charlotte Flair becoming the new SmackDown Women's Champion? Not necessarily, but at least it's something different from what we've been getting with Rousey lately. Additionally, Cena and Reigns being in action was newsworthy, I liked what they did with Wyatt and Knight, and we got setup for two big title matches happening over the next two weeks. This was a strong effort all around.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews