Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 9, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Paul Heyman Offered Jey Uso a United States Championship Opportunity

Heyman previously promised that Jey would make his choice (whether he's sticking with The Bloodline or not) on this show. While we didn't find out what his choice was in this segment (and I didn't expect to), Heyman did sweeten the pot by telling Jey he secured him a shot at the United States title later in the night. This was another strong segment to progress the storyline and set up an intriguing main event.

Santos Escobar def. Mustafa Ali to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I have no idea whether Ali is supposed to be a babyface or a heel at this point. He was basically a heel a month ago, but then he was a babyface again for his brief feud with Gunther. He's also back to being a babyface on NXT. I don't think there was any suspense surrounding the outcome, but this was really fun stuff and Ali sold Escobar's offense exceptionally well. Escobar won't win Money in the Bank, but I'm glad he's in there. Also, LA Knight was as excellent on commentary as you'd expect.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler and NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre Agreed to Face Off in a Unification Match

I've been wondering since the WWE Draft what would happen with the NXT Tag Team Championship now that the champs are on SmackDown and I'm happy they're moving in the direction of a unification match. Two sets of women's tag titles were never necessary and I like the idea of Rousey and Baszler taking their titles to NXT on occasion. The division isn't deep enough across the whole company to justify having two sets of belts. This was well done.

Charlotte Flair Crashed Asuka's Championship Celebration

Finally, the Raw Women's Championship is officially no more. I don't know if this new WWE Women's Championship will carry the same lineage or not, but it might as well, especially since it was briefly called the WWE Women's Championship when it was introduced back in 2016 before becoming the Raw Women's Championship. No, we did not get a new belt design, but I honestly wasn't expecting one after what happened with Roman Reigns' new belt last week. The rebranding of the title was a positive, but Flair coming back and immediately being shoehorned into the title picture (per usual) was not. Adam Pearce previously promised Bianca Belair a rematch with Asuka, but because Asuka accepted Flair's challenge in this segment, apparently Pearce's hands are tied and he can't deny Flair's challenge or get Belair included. As ridiculous as that is, I'm hoping this is a part of a bigger story with Belair going heel.

Bayley def. Michin to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Interestingly, this was probably the most unpredictable qualifier on this show, but I still didn't think Michin was the favorite to win here. Bayley being in there is logical and Michin wouldn't win the briefcase, anyway. I'd like to see her built up more and not solely serve as The O.C.'s "side chick." The match was too short to be anything out of the ordinary. Karrion Kross and Scarlett attacked Styles afterward, so it will be them two against Styles and Michin in mixed tag team action on next week's show.

Butch def. Baron Corbin to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Corbin's been feuding with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams over on NXT in recent weeks, so I appreciate the attention to detail by having them in the crowd. Butch vs. Corbin was fine albeit brief. Butch won't win Money in the Bank, but it's cool that he'll be in there in London. Now can we get him repackaged as Pete Dunne, please? Cameron Grimes got the revenge on Corbin that he wanted by attacking him backstage afterward, but there might be a rematch to come between them.

IYO SKY def. Shotzi to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

SKY was a slam dunk for the women's Ladder match, especially after Bayley qualified earlier. She's my pick to win the briefcase, but I'm not holding my breath. Shotzi didn't have the strongest showing in last year's Money in the Bank match, so I can't say I'm disappointed about her not qualifying this year. The match was whatever, but Bayley helping SKY win was notable. We should get closer to a Damage CTRL split at Money in the Bank.

United States Champion Austin Theory def. Jey Uso

It's astounding how much an afterthought Theory feels like at this point, along with the United States Championship by default. Needless to say, he did not benefit from beating John Cena at WrestleMania 39 two months ago at all because there's been no follow-up. Of course, this wasn't about him (when is it ever?), and they had a good match. There was more Bloodline dissension with Jimmy Uso accidentally costing Jey the title because he was attempting to attack Solo Sikoa.

Overall Show

There wasn't a ton of memorable wrestling, but I did think this was a quality show on the whole. The Money in the Bank qualifiers, the unveiling of the new women's title, Flair's return and the latest developments in the Bloodline saga made this an eventual episode. We also got multiple matches set up for the coming weeks on SmackDown, so there will be a lot to look forward to. Everything served a purpose on this show and held my attention, easily earning it a thumbs-up.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews