Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 7, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kevin Owens and The Street Profits Attacked The Bloodline​

The segment started with Solo Sikoa "anointing" Tonga Loa as an official member of The Bloodline and also declaring Tama Tonga as the new "right-hand man" of the group (a role Jey Uso once occupied). Owens and Street Profits coming out was simple setup for the six-man tag team main event. WWE is doing an effective job of keeping things interesting with The Bloodline in Roman Reigns' absence, but I imagine this stuff will start to get stale if Reigns isn't back by SummerSlam. Paul Heyman has undoubtedly been the MVP of the angle, though.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill def. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell (Non-Title)

Cargill vs. Hartwell in a straight-up singles match was originally announced for this episode, but it was changed to a tag team match shortly beforehand. It was along the same lines as their encounter from the King and Queen of the Ring pre-show and didn't need to last longer than it did. Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark hit the ring afterward but were thwarted by the champs. It will be a Triple Threat tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at Clash at the Castle.

WWE Tag Team Champion Grayson Waller def. Johnny Gargano

I like that Gargano's history with Waller and Austin Theory has been acknowledged in recent weeks. Obviously, this wasn't on the same level as the match these two had at Stand & Deliver last year, but it was still a nice match while it lasted. The bigger focus was on tension once again being teased between Waller and Theory. It really looks like Theory might be turning babyface soon and I'm not sure how he'll do in that role to be honest.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Challenged AJ Styles to an "I Quit" Match at Clash at the Castle

I loved the aggression and intensity Rhodes showed after Styles tricked and attacked him last week. It was the appropriate response. Styles also played his role as the smarmy heel exceptionally well, goading Rhodes into giving him another shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship. Rhodes made it an "I Quit" match, which is interesting because that should be the blow-off and I'd like to see at least one more match between them after Clash at the Castle. It also nearly guarantees Rhodes will win for the same reason John Cena never lost an "I Quit" match.

LA Knight def. Carmelo Hayes

I wish this had been advertised in advance (unless it was and I totally missed/forgot about it) seeing as how they've been interacting for the last few weeks. As expected, they had a good match. Hayes racks up another loss, but it wasn't completely decisive and the focus isn't on him right now, anyway. Knight called out Logan Paul, who later sent in a video saying Knight wasn't worth his time. They don't need to rush that match onto the Clash at the Castle card as it can easily be saved for Money in the Bank at this point.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven Confronted WWE Women's Champion Bayley

This was a necessary segment to give fans an incentive to care about Niven challenging Bayley for the WWE Women's Championship at Clash at the Castle. It was definitely the best promo I've ever heard her cut, largely because she hasn't cut many promos during her WWE career. It sucks that the crowd attempted to drown her out with the awful "What?" chants, but otherwise, this was a great piece of business.

Kevin Owens and The Street Profits def. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) by Disqualification

Although this marked the first time Sikoa, Tonga and Loa have ever teamed up on WWE TV, it felt like your average six-man tag team main event. It was entertaining enough and they maintained a consistent pace throughout, but it wasn't anything too special. The non-finish protected everyone involved and The Bloodline standing tall to close the show further established them as a dominant force. Will Randy Orton return next week to resume his rivalry with The Bloodline? I'm curious where they're going with this until Reigns resurfaces since we already saw Orton and Owens vs. The Bloodline at Backlash.

Overall Show

Apollo Crews vs. Angel was another match that was originally advertised, but that one was cut entirely when Legado del Fantasma attacked Crews backstage. I can't say I was too upset that we didn't get that matchup. Nonetheless, this was another solid edition of SmackDown. It built toward Clash at the Castle next weekend and featured some quality in-ring action and storyline progression. It was far from a must-see show, but I enjoyed the two hours on the whole.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews