Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 13, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena Was Confronted by Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and LA Knight and Attacked by Ron "The Truth" Killings

​Cena's mic work was a little less forced here, so that was refreshing. Him interacting with Rhodes all but confirms they're headed for a rematch at SummerSlam (not to mention Rhodes pinned him at Money in the Bank). Orton was only out there to hype his involvement in King of the Ring. As for Knight, it was cool to see him out there with the main eventers, but if him and Cena don't cross paths again, this was a waste of time. Killings attacking Cena on the stage was well done and led into what happened with them later.

Randy Orton def. LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes and Aleister Black in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Fatal 4-Way Match

Orton winning felt like the most obvious outcome, especially with Seth Rollins' crew costing Knight the win (out of revenge for Knight doing the same thing to Bron Breakker on Monday's Raw), but I enjoyed this Fatal 4-Way quite a bit, regardless. Everyone had time to shine and do their thing. I was shocked that Hayes didn't take the pin (it was actually Knight), but I'm not complaining.

Solo Sikoa Interrupted United States Champion Jacob Fatu

I don't know if Fatu is officially a face after what he did to Sikoa at Money in the Bank (it somewhat depends on how he interacts with the rest of the roster and acts in general), but he's already over with the audience, that much is for sure. Sikoa interrupting him on the big screen was fine, but Sikoa giving Fatu a chance next week to redeem himself seems silly. Why would Fatu accept considering he was the one who betrayed Sikoa in the first place? Otherwise, this was solid.

Jade Cargill def. Piper Niven, Nia Jax and Michin in a Queen of the Ring Quarterfinal Fatal 4-Way Match

This was another instance of there being only one clear winner, but as a match, this was well worked. Jax's done some excellent work in the last year, but Cargill made the most sense to advance. In fact, I'd be down for her to win the whole thing and take the title from Tiffany Stratton so Naomi can cash in Money in the Bank on her. Kudos to these four for keeping the pace consistent throughout. It was certainly never boring.

WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton Confronted Naomi and Was Attacked by Nia Jax

I like both of these women, but this was a very generic segment with Stratton reminding viewers she's the champion and Naomi putting her on notice as Ms. Money in the Bank. This accomplished nothing that couldn't have been teased quickly backstage. No offense to either of them, but this was a desperate attempt to kill television time. I also hated that Jax came back out to attack Stratton. I thought we were done with that after Stratton retained her title against Jax decisively last month?

The Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy) def. The Motor City Machine Guns

Motor City Machine Guns' credibility won't take a major hit, but why not feed #DIY to Wyatt Sicks in the latter's return match? They're heels and could've afforded the loss a bit more. Regardless, this was an adequate outing and I'm glad it wasn't a straightforward squash. Wyatt Sicks getting back in the ring is a step in the right direction if the idea is for them to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Championship soon.

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena Was Confronted by CM Punk and Attacked by Ron "The Truth" Killings

I actually thought this was a stronger segment than what we got from these two on Monday's Raw. Punk was fantastic in his delivery and Cena wasn't over-the-top obnoxious (which is all you can ask for from this heel run at this point). I'm still not a fan of their long-awaited rematch happening in Saudi Arabia, but I'm happy it's happening at all. Killings attacking Cena for the second time on the show set up them having a match on next week's episode. I'm curious how that'll be handled, but surely Truth has to win to maintain his momentum, right?

Alexa Bliss def. Candice LeRae, Charlotte Flair and Alba Fyre in a Queen of the Ring Quarterfinal Fatal 4-Way Match

There hasn't been much progression with Bliss and Flair since they first interacted last month, but Bliss picking up the win before Flair could get Fyre to tap was interesting. I doubt Bliss makes it past the semifinals, but we'll see what happens with them from there. The match itself was good. For what it's worth, Fyre replaced Chelsea Green, so Green may try to work her way back into the tournament once she returns.

Cody Rhodes def. Shinsuke Nakamura, Andrade and Damian Priest in a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Fatal 4-Way Match

Did anyone genuinely question whether Nakamura was eating the pinfall here? All kidding aside, this was a fun Fatal 4-Way. Okay, so all of the Fatal 4-Ways on this show were fun, but I liked this one in particular because of the chemistry these four had. Rhodes advancing was logical. I expect him to become King of the Ring so he can face Cena at SummerSlam, even though he doesn't need the crown to get there.

Overall Show

WWE really has to rush the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments this year because Night of Champions is so soon after Money in the Bank. It's not ideal, but at least they filled out the three hours more effectively than usual with all of the quarterfinal matches. We also got Cena in two separate segments in the ring as well as backstage, plus he's wrestling next week. That's a positive development. I remain skeptical of the three-hour format, but this was an easy thumbs-up episode in my book.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews