Friday Night SmackDown Review - February 3, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricochet and Braun Strowman def. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) in the Finals of the SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament

These teams previously met in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight back in December, but this obviously had a little less shenanigans. Ricochet and Strowman both failed to beat Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship, so they were able to get a measure of revenge on Imperium here in a way by beating Kaiser and Vinci. This was an entertaining outing with the crowd into Strowman and Ricochet, who continue to work really well together as partners.

SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair def. Sonya Deville

I haven't been invested in this storyline whatsoever and had no desire to see a rematch after Flair already beat Deville decisively last month. That said, this was a decent television match. I never bought into the idea of Deville winning the title, especially after Rhea Ripley announced her decision on Monday's Raw to challenge Flair at WrestleMania 39, but it was better than most matches I've seen Deville have in the last year. She's been booked like such a loser that it's difficult to take her seriously.

The Viking Raiders def. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch)

These are two talented teams and they worked well together. It was a quality contest, but I'm surprised it went almost 10 minutes considering there was nothing at stake and there was no reason for them to be fighting other than to give Viking Raiders a win before they take on Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a rematch soon. It meant more for Viking Raiders to beat Brawling Brutes than some enhancement team.

Natalya def. Zelina Vega, Shotzi and Shayna Baszler to Qualify for the Raw Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber Match

Honestly, I had minimal interest in seeing any of these women in the Chamber match. Baszler was the best choice of the four, but she's been so devalued that her losing here didn't make much of a difference. I haven't cared about Natalya in years, but it makes sense to put her in there considering the event will be emanating from her home country of Canada. This was a perfectly fine four-way. It wasn't long, but it didn't need to be.

The Bloodline Attacked Sami Zayn

This whole segment was on par with what we got at the end of Royal Rumble. What a stellar segment. I loved how Reigns acknowledged Rumble winner Cody Rhodes but immediately shifted his focus to Zayn because of his actions at the Rumble. He also wondered where Jey Uso was and I'm glad they kept him off the show for at least a week to tease what his status is. Zayn received a monster reaction for attacking Reigns, and I can only imagine Montreal will be a madhouse for him at Elimination Chamber. Speaking of which, Reigns vs. Zayn is now official for the event. I always assumed that would be the case and therefore have no problem with it. And no, I don't think Zayn should be added to the title match at 'Mania regardless of the outcome. Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. The Usos for the tag titles makes much more sense.

Overall Show

Needless to say, the Bloodline saga once again carried the show. This episode earns a thumbs-up for that fantastic final segment alone. That isn't to say the rest of the show was bad, though. It was a solid episode that benefited from having matches with stakes. The tag team match in the middle was the only exception, but even that served a purpose. Good stuff from the blue brand this week as we embark on the road to WrestleMania.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews