Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 14, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Naomi def. Chelsea Green

I realize Naomi and Bayley have been feuding with Green and Piper Niven over the last few weeks, but neither of these women will be involved in the WWE Women's Championship match at Clash at the Castle, so this felt like an odd match to do on the go-home show. It was an average outing made better by the hot crowd in Glasgow. I assume both Naomi and Green will be taking part in the women's Money in the Bank Ladder matchup next week.

#DIY Attacked WWE Tag Team Champions A-Town Down Under on The Grayson Waller Effect

This was easily the most over Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have been as a team on the main roster. Thanks, Glasgow. I'm glad a longer-form story is being told with these two teams, even if the focus is primarily on the tension being teased between Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. It was a good segment that accomplished what it needed to. I'd still hold off on #DIY becoming champions until SummerSlam in Cleveland.

Santos Escobar def. Apollo Crews

Crews lost to Andrade two weeks ago, got attacked by Legado del Fantasma backstage last week, and lost to Escobar here. It's the most television time he's gotten in years if you don't count NXT. He's in the role I'd expect him to be, but it's better than him not being featured at all. It was a well-worked match with the correct outcome. Baron Corbin attempted to eliminate the Legado interference at ringside, so we might be getting a tag team matchup with them soon.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles Exchanged Words

This was reminiscent of the face-to-face Rhodes and Styles prior to Backlash in Lyon, France last month, not only because of the strong mic work but also because of how the crowd attempted to hijack the segment. Their excitement throughout the night was awesome, but I'm not super high on them not letting the performers talk when they need to. Otherwise, this was an excellent piece of business and I loved that Styles tied Rhodes "quitting" various promotions into the "I Quit" stipulation for their Clash at the Castle match.

Nia Jax def. Michin

I get the sense that we're going to be getting a lot of filler from Jax between now and SummerSlam where she'll challenge for the WWE Women's Championship (likely against Bayley). An alliance has been teased between her and Tiffany Stratton, who sat in on commentary and distracted Michin at ringside, so we'll see where that goes. This was okay but was way too brief to be anything more than that.

Carmelo Hayes Vowed to Win Money in the Bank

Hayes hasn't had much direction since arriving on SmackDown, but he's been on almost every episode in the last two months and has had competitive matches against Rhodes, Randy Orton and LA Knight, so I can't complain about the run he's had so far. This was a fairly basic promo from him, but at least it established his intentions to enter the men's Money in the Bank match. He'd excel in that environment.

Jackie Redmond Interviewed Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn

This was so quick that it was almost pointless. However, it was nice Fyre and Dawn got a little moment in front of their home country crowd. It's pretty obvious they aren't winning the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at Clash at the Castle, so at least it was something for them and it was kept short and sweet. It definitely didn't help that they were squashed by Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark on Monday's Raw.

Solo Sikoa def. Kevin Owens

Owens just can't escape The Bloodline it seems. Sikoa beating him needed to happen if this new version of The Bloodline is going to be cemented as a dominant force, but I question what the endgame is. This was a quality contest. Post-match, Randy Orton returned for the first time since King and Queen of the Ring to help out Owens, so now we're back to where we were at Backlash. Orton, Owens and The Street Profits vs. Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and the debuting Hikuleo appears to be imminent.

Overall Show

There was also a video package where LA Knight was shown swimming in Logan Paul's pool before Paul kicked him out. It was mildly entertaining but could have been so much more. At any rate, this was a solid go-home show. It didn't move the needle much for me in terms of my interest level in Clash in the Castle, but the two hours were decent. Check out the segment with Rhodes and Styles if you missed it, but nothing else stood out as special.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews