Friday Night SmackDown Review - July 22, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Stephanie McMahon Addressed Vince McMahon's Retirement; Madcap Moss Saved The Street Profits From Theory and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos

I fully expected news of Vince's retirement to be ignored on TV, but I'm glad they acknowledged it. Granted, Stephanie leading the crowd in a chant of "Thank You, Vince" wasn't exactly ideal given the circumstances of his exit, but I can understand it given he's her father. The rest of the segment played out predictably and set up the night's six-man tag team main event.

Ludwig Kaiser def. Shinsuke Nakamura

This was a rematch from two weeks ago when Nakamura beat Kaiser. I thought Gunther was going to give Nakamura an Intercontinental Championship opportunity after beating Kaiser the first time, but nothing has been made official. This was better than their original encounter due to going a little longer and the finish surprised me. I'd say keep Nakamura strong, but I'm fine with them lending a little credibility to Kaiser.

Happy Corbin and Pat McAfee Brawled

Corbin ambushed McAfee from behind at Money in the Bank as well, though it was after the event was over. This was essentially the same segment except that McAfee fought back and chased Corbin backstage, which was refreshing because you don't see that often. McAfee then cut a fiery babyface promo in the ring and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. The build to this bout has been better than almost anything else heading into SummerSlam and, as I've said before, I'm excited to see what kind of match they'll produce.

The Viking Raiders def. Jinder Mahal and Shanky

Didn't Viking Raiders already squash Mahal and Shanky a few weeks ago? I can't remember. Either way, this was exactly what it needed to be with Viking Raiders making quick work of them and winning decisively. They'll finally face off with The New Day on next week's SmackDown. On a side note, Xavier Woods mentioned on commentary that Viking Raiders are former IWGP and Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions. That's how you know Vince is truly gone.

Drew McIntyre Agreed to Face Sheamus in a Donnybrook Match Next Week

McIntyre vs. Sheamus was supposed to happen twice in recent weeks, but WWE didn't deliver on either occasion. Here's hoping the third time will be the charm. This will be a "good, old fashioned" Donnybrook match, which I have to assume with involve the shillelaghs Sheamus had on the table in the ring. These two always beat the hell out of each other, so it should be fun. It's strange they're not saving it for SummerSlam 24 hours later, but it'll be a nice attraction for SmackDown, nonetheless.

Raquel Rodriguez def. Sonya Deville

Rodriguez hasn't had them most compelling character as of late, but I'm at least happy they're allowing her to maintain momentum with wins. She's clearly not contending for the title right now, so at least she's appearing on TV in some capacity. As for Deville, I have no idea what they're doing with her, or not doing with her, rather. She's been booked as an enhancement talent since returning to ring, which is a shame since she was so great as SmackDown's lead female heel in 2020. The match was fine while it lasted.

Lacey Evans vs. Aliyah Ended in a No Contest

This was the third straight week that Evans vs. Aliyah didn't happen as advertised. Hell, they're advertising it for next week, too. Why is there no consequence from Adam Pearce for Evans refusing to compete? Also, Aliyah looks like a moron for continuing to get laid out week after week. Evans' mic work was once again good and her heel persona is growing on me, but they need to finally do the match next week because doing the same thing over and over has already gotten old.

Madcap Moss and The Street Profits def. Theory and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos by Disqualification

All six of these guys are talented and the action was enjoyable, but it felt like a house show main event with little to no consequence. The disqualification finish was lame because we've seen Theory involved in several non-finishes since becoming Mr. Money in the Bank. It's obviously better than having him get pinned or submitted, but he should probably be winning a bit more if he's being built up for an eventual run with the world title, right? The evening ended on a high note with Brock Lesnar showing up (despite reports indicating he had walked out before the show started) and laying out Theory, so at least WWE was able to deliver him as advertised.

Overall Show

If you came into this show expecting WWE to hit the reset button with SmackDown coming off the news Vince has retired from WWE (including Creative), you had to be disappointed. But let's be realistic: it's going to take time for things to truly change from a creative standpoint, so I can't say I was too surprised by it being business as usual with this show. Stephanie's promo and Lesnar randomly reappearing were the two most interesting parts, and the rest of the show was basically on par with what we've been getting on Friday nights lately. Ronda Rousey and Liv Morgan had a great verbal exchange backstage I didn't mention, though. Here's hoping SmackDown will turn around in the months to come now that Vince is no longer at the helm.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews