Friday Night SmackDown Review - February 10, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Zayn Confronted Paul Heyman

While this wasn't on the same level as Heyman's exchange with Cody Rhodes from Raw, it was still great stuff with Zayn teasing The Bloodline crumbling and Heyman hinting that The Island of Relevancy and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship are one in the same. I still don't see Zayn walking out of Elimination Chamber as champion, but he's certainly a threat given his level of popularity right now and the build has been brilliant.

Drew McIntyre and Sheamus def. Hit Row (Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis)

McIntyre and Sheamus were scheduled to face Hit Row in the semifinals of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament two weeks ago before they were replaced by Braun Strowman and Ricochet. I'm foolish for thinking this would be more competitive than it was. McIntyre and Sheamus were on offense for a majority of the match and won within minutes, so it was basically a squash. I think it's safe to say Hit Row are dead in the water at this point.

Lacey Evans def. Carmen Harress

This was only the second match Evans has had since being repackaged and I already don't care about her new character. WWE has tried with her several times, and although some stuff has stuck, it ultimately fizzles out for whatever reason and I honestly don't see this working out, either. It was a standard squash, but the crowd sat on their hands. She'll have to start cutting promos soon to draw more heat.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos def. Ricochet and Braun Strowman (Raw Tag Team Championship Was Not Defended)

It was unknown whether Jey Uso would show up after walking out on The Bloodline at Royal Rumble and not being seen since then. Sure enough, he emerged from the crowd right before the bell rang. This started out slow but turned into a very enjoyable outing. The Usos were working so well together that I thought they might fall apart at the end and potentially lose the titles, but thankfully, that didn't happen. This was the best bout of the night by far and it excelled from a storytelling standpoint as well. By the way, I'd have no issue with Strowman and Ricochet continuing to team because they have terrific chemistry as partners.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler Attacked Natalya and Shotzi

This marked Rousey's first appearance on WWE TV since losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to Charlotte Flair on the final SmackDown of 2022. Despite being gone for roughly six weeks, the crowd sounded apathetic toward her return, at least from where I was sitting in the building. The segment made sense given Shotzi and Natalya were put on the shelf by Baszler and Rousey, but it's not the most thrilling storyline SmackDown has to offer at the moment.

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez def. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville

Green and Deville were complaining to Adam Pearce backstage about not getting an opportunity to be in the women's Elimination Chamber match, so they were paired together to take on Morgan and Rodriguez. The match didn't have a ton of heat and it was fairly basic, but Green's over-the-top antics were a highlight. She's done well with the gimmick so far and a team with Deville wouldn't be the worst use of them for the time being.

Madcap Moss def. Rey Mysterio, Karrion Kross and Santos Escobar in an Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

Moss winning was the worst possible outcome for me. I know he's a logical choice as a filler opponent for Gunther, but they couldn't have bothered to build him up more before winning this match? The crowd was just as underwhelmed as I was, but on the bright side, it was a fun four-way that picked up in the second half. I especially loved the interaction between Mysterio and Escobar. That has WrestleMania match written all over it, but obviously, Rey vs. Dominik is a lock for this year's event.

Overall Show

Being there live in attendance, I can tell you firsthand that there are many acts currently on SmackDown who are not over. Whether that's because of bad booking or because they haven't been established yet, Triple H has his work cut out for him, especially once the Bloodline storyline is over and the blue brand needs more people/storylines for fans to get excited about. That said, this was a solid show thanks to the Bloodline stuff, the Fatal 4-Way and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews