Friday Night SmackDown Review - March 28, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton Fended Off Drew McIntyre

I certainly wasn't expecting an interaction between Rhodes and Orton on this show, but I'm glad we got it. There's so much history there and I'm looking forward to their eventual feud. This successfully planted the seeds for that, though I hope the tease for Rhodes vs. Orton in Orton's hometown of St. Louis at Backlash was simply a swerve and we end up getting Orton vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship there instead. McIntyre also played his role well here to set up his match with Orton for later in the night.

WWE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Pretty Deadly

It makes a lot more sense Pretty Deadly became number one contenders a few weeks ago with this show emanating from their home country of England. This crowd was much more behind them than any other crowd would've been, but they still didn't feel like legitimate threats to the tag titles. Despite that, this was a good match in the time they were allotted. I enjoy Pretty Deadly and it's cool that they've been featured much more consistently since late last year.

The Secret Hervice def. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance

For those unaware, Secret Hervice consist of Piper Niven and Alba Fyre. It's a nice group for Chelsea Green to lead as it only adds to her act. As for Carter and Chance, we haven't seen them on WWE TV in months, but this was a logical spot for them. This was a perfectly fine match to give Niven and Fyre their first win as a team. It's worth noting the crowd was way more into Green than Zelina Vega during the post-match angle.

Braun Strowman def. United States Champion LA Knight by Disqualification

This was very much a nothing match before the obvious interference from Jacob Fatu, who attacked both men but specifically laid a beating on Strowman. Fatu and Strowman had some magic when they first crossed paths ago, but I'm beyond ready for Fatu to move beyond working with Strowman at this point. Fingers crossed they can blow it off soon and that isn't the WrestleMania 41 match, but I still think we're getting a Fatal 4-Way for the United States Championship at the event with them, Knight and Solo Sikoa.

Naomi Attacked B-Fab and Michin; Charlotte Flair def. Michin

Naomi's pre-taped promo that aired earlier in the episode was excellent. I have hope she can make this heel turn work based on what we've seen from her so far. Her attack on B-Fab and Michin was also well done. As a result, Michin had an out for losing to Flair, which I appreciated. They had a quality contest, but I'd like to see Flair vs. Michin revisited down the road considering their history dating back to 2013 (they had a match on NXT TV when Flair was starting it out, look it up!).

Jimmy Uso def. The Miz

On paper, this was a channel-changing match for me, and it's not as if they did anything to change my mind. The best part about this was that it didn't overstay its welcome. And does Carmelo Hayes really need to be wasting his time with Miz? What does he gain from being aligned with him? Gunther vs. Jimmy on Monday's Raw can't be anything other than destruction for Gunther.

Drew McIntyre def. Randy Orton

Has it really been over four years since these two last went one-on-one? Damn. We know they have terrific chemistry, but this was never meant to be anything more than a backdrop to further the feud between Orton and Kevin Owens with Owens distracting Orton to cost him the victory. While basic, Orton vs. Owens has had one of the better builds en route to WrestleMania, and I have no doubt the match itself will deliver.

Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and CM Punk Signed the Contract for Their Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 41

This was a vast improvement over last week's segment with the three of them. Yes, there was a lot of theme song signing from the crowd (admittedly, I skipped over almost of that when I was watching the replay), but once they kicked things into the next gear, it got interesting. Rollins was especially great while selling his hatred for an emotional Punk getting his WrestleMania main event. Punk revealing that wasn't the favor was a hell of a hook for the end of the show.

Overall Show

These international crowds have been fun and they're clearly having a blast, but they've also been allowing WWE to get complacent during their most pivotal period. That's led to a string of less-than-stellar shows, specifically on the SmackDown side. Thankfully, the blue brand was a bit better this week. They ended the episode on a high note and while no matches stole the show, we were treated to some above-average mic work. Additionally, we found out that Rey Fenix debuts on next week's episode in Chicago, so that alone has me excited for next Friday night.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews