Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 11, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jimmy Uso Addressed Universal Champion Roman Reigns

I've seen some people online getting sick of the storyline and I can understand to a degree, but I still find myself invested in this angle with The Usos and Reigns, mostly because I trust it's headed somewhere interesting. Everyone is playing their roles well, including Jimmy who cut a quality promo here basically calling out Reigns for costing him and Jey the SmackDown Tag Team Championship last week. I assume we're getting Jimmy vs. Reigns at some point because they all join together as a cohesive unit.

Kevin Owens and Big E def. Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn

Well, Big E is right back to where he was before Aleister Black returned three weeks ago. It's almost like WWE shouldn't have fired Black! I know, what a concept. Don't get me wrong, all four of these guys are talented and this was a good match, but I'm ready for something new in the Intercontinental Championship picture with Crews already having beaten all three of these guys already. However, it isn't over yet with the babyfaces winning here and Crews announcing it will be himself and Commander Azeez against Owens and Big E in tag team action next week. What's the endgame here?

Liv Morgan def. Carmella

Carmella beat Morgan last week and I honestly assumed she'd beat her again here as WWE continues to build her toward a SmackDown Women's Championship shot after Bayley. That could still be the case, but I'm glad they went in a different direction instead with Morgan winning this week. It was a decent match while it lasted and the effort was there, but it was just too short to be anything out of the ordinary. Both of these women would benefit from more mic time as opposed to trading wins simply for the sake of it.

Cesaro and SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair Crashed Ding Dong, Hello! with Bayley and Seth Rollins

I really like the chemistry Rollins and Bayley have as characters. They're very similar and complimented each other well here, taking turns taking shots at their current rivals. That said, you had to know Cesaro and Belair would show up at the end and that's exactly what happened. Cesaro roughed up Rollins and destroyed the set, while Belair laughed at Bayley the same way Bayley did at her last week. It was a solid segment designed to build toward two matches at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (assuming Rollins vs. Cesaro is added to the card). I'd be down for an intergender tag team match on next week's show.

Montez Ford def. Chad Gable by Disqualification

These are the best two members of their respective tag teams, so I figured this would be a fun match and it was definitely was. They got more time than I was expecting and made the most of every minute. This was a hell of a sprint, even if the finish looked botched with Otis running in too late and Gable having to kick out of Ford's top rope splash. I applaud WWE for actually creating a secondary feud in the tag team division for a change, but the blue brand could use another team or two.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. King Corbin

I mentioned earlier with Morgan and Carmella that it feels like they're trading wins for no real reason, and not only has that been the case with these two, it's way worse. I didn't hate the idea of them feuding a month or so ago when it started, but these matches have been mediocre at best and neither of them have benefited in the slightest. No matter who wins, Nakamura and Rick Boogs keep stealing Corbin's crown. They're having yet another match next week for said crown. Why should anyone care when it belongs to Corbin and Nakamura can just keep stealing it regardless of the result? Better yet, why is Corbin still carrying about the stupid thing in the first place?!

SmackDown Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio Attacked Universal Champion Roman Reigns Before Reigns Attacked SmackDown Tag Team Dominik Mysterio

WWE waiting so long to build up Rey vs. Reigns for Hell in a Cell is lazy, but what we've gotten so far has been great. Rey has never been known for being a promo guy, but he had a strong performance here while Reigns was on point as always with his mannerisms and physicality. Rey vs. Reigns needs to be one-on-one and not some sort of Handicap match also involving Dominik. Rey wanting revenge (on Father's Day, no less) sells itself. This was an excellent angle to close the show with that sets the stage well for their Universal Championship clash at the pay-per-view.

Overall Show

Although SmackDown is an infinitely better show than Raw most weeks, it isn't without its issues. Every division needs more depth (firing several Superstars hasn't helped) and that Nakamura vs. Corbin feud just won't end. That said, this was another entertaining episode on the whole. The Reigns stuff once again carried the night, but I also liked the opening tag match, Ding Dong, Hello! and Ford vs. Gable. The Hell in a Cell build was also well done, they just need to confirm the matches we all expect to happen.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews