 Joe Tessitore Interviewed Undisputed WWE Champion Cody RhodesI know this segment was announced earlier in the day, but beyond that, since nothing was advertised with either Rhodes or Kevin Owens prior to this episode, I assumed they'd be relegated to something small (if they were going to be featured at all) considering they're having their contract signing at Saturday Night's Main Event. Don't get me wrong, this was a quality promo from Rhodes and Tessitore also did well in his role, but I don't know if it was necessary if we're going to hear from Rhodes again tomorrow night. The Motor City Machine Guns def. Pretty DeadlyPretty Deadly are obviously a comedy duo, but as seen during their time in NXT and NXT UK, they can more than hold their own in the ring. Thus, I appreciated that this was a competitive contest and was given some time because it was good stuff even though the outcome was never in doubt. Pretty Deadly have been regulars on TV since SmackDown expanded to three hours, so that's been a small positive. Jimmy Uso Attacked Kevin OwensOwens was at the commentary table insulting Tessitore for interviewing Rhodes as well as Matthew McConaughey in the crowd before Uso interrupted him and got the better of him in the ring. This was a simple segment to set up the main event match between Owens and Uso. Uso is already involved in a mini feud with Carmelo Hayes (who he interacted with later on in the night), so this felt like an excuse to kill time during the three hours. Michin and B-Fab def. Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green and Piper NivenDespite the longer runtime for SmackDown, the women's midcard scene hasn't exactly benefited all that much. Yes, Michin and Green have been on pretty much every episode for the past month, but their matches haven't lasted very long and the feud itself hasn't been anything out of the ordinary. This was also brief but fine. Thankfully, Michin pinning Green means they'll have one last match for the title on next week's SmackDown, or at least I hope it'll be their last match together for a while. WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton, Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley, Nia Jax, Liv Morgan and WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Naomi Interrupted Each Other; Morgan, Jax and Candice LeRae def. Belair, Naomi and RipleyI hated everything about this segment and subsequent six-woman tag team match because it's so damn lazy. Everyone interrupting each other was formulaic and there was no reason for the Raw Superstars to be on this show. What's the point of the transfer window in that case? We did find out several new names that will be in the women's Royal Rumble, so there was that. The match was solid yet clearly filler. Will Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez get another opportunity at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Morgan pinning Belair? Apollo Crews def. WWE Tag Team Champion Johnny GarganoAmazingly, these two had a match on WWE NXT a decade ago and it was fun for what it was, but Crews means so little these days that it was difficult to care about this match. What we got was nice, but it was way too short. Plus, the focus was on the Machine Guns distracting Gargano and costing him the victory. It was later announced that the Machine Guns will challenge #DIY for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a two-out-of-three falls match at the Rumble, which I can't wait for. LA Knight def. Tama TongaI understand Knight has had his issues with Tonga and Jacob Fatu over the last month, but this isn't a feud I give a shit about. I like everyone involved, but nothing is being accomplished. Hell, Solo Sikoa wasn't even on the show, so nothing on that front was furthered, either. This was a well-worked match and I'm glad Knight was able to beat Tonga straight-up instead of by disqualification. We got another small tease of Braun Strowman vs. Fatu when they faced off afterward. Damian Priest def. Carmelo HayesPriest has officially being transferred to SmackDown. It was also revealed that Miz has been transferred to Friday nights and A-Town Down Under have been moved to Raw. I don't know what any of that means when Raw and SmackDown can show up on the opposite brand whenever they want, but oh well. This was an entertaining outing. Priest will do well in the new environment and Hayes was once again impressive (but he has to start winning soon). Kevin Owens def. Jimmy UsoThis was one of those matches that existed for the sake of existing. It wasn't bad and the crowd was into the action, but I wasn't all that invested because it had little juice behind it. Owens winning decisively was the correct call and the post-match brawl between Owens and Rhodes was more of the same from them. We'll see what change is made to their Ladder match at the Rumble when they have their contract signing on Saturday night, unless they've already forgotten about the "addendum." Overall ShowThis was only the fourth three-hour edition of SmackDown that WWE has done, so perhaps it's still too soon to say, but the three-hour format has quickly killed the blue brand. No, this wasn't an awful show by any means, but the three hours are too damn long and are a chore to sit through. They aren't filling the time effectively. Do we really have to put up with this until June?! This was a serviceable show with various things happening/being made official, but my enjoyable of the overall episode wasn't very high.
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