Friday Night SmackDown Review - May 12, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AJ Styles def. Edge and Rey Mysterio in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First-Round Triple Threat Match

This was a dream match on paper and it delivered. This was definitely one of my favorite WWE TV matches all year so far. What's wild is that it could have been an all-timer 15, 20 years ago when these three were in their athletic primes. They opened the show on a high note despite some spots not completely connecting or landing, specifically Edge's mid-air spear to Mysterio at the end. That was unfortunate, but the rest of this was a blast. I don't know if this was intentional, but I liked how Styles was finally able to get one over on Edge after losing to him three times last year and never avenging those losses.

Bobby Lashley def. United States Champion Austin Theory and Sheamus in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First-Round Triple Threat Match (Non-Title)

This was the third Triple Threat match Theory and Lashley have had in the last six months, with the last one being less than a week ago at Backlash. I don't know why they couldn't have been separated to avoid this feeling like a repeat of the Backlash match, but it ended up being enjoyable, nonetheless. The three of them worked well together and it certainly felt like Theory might steal the pin again. I don't know why the United States Championship had to eat the loss instead of Sheamus.

Cameron Grimes def. Baron Corbin

This was actually a feud I was hoping to see when JBL cut ties with Corbin earlier this year because they had similar gimmicks at one point and I thought they could have a nice dynamic together. They could still feud, but Grimes put him away immediately here, so there may not be a need for a rematch. I'm not complaining because this was a perfect way to establish him his first night on SmackDown and send the message that he's someone to take notice of.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns Announced He and Solo Sikoa Will Challenge Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at Night of Champions

This marked Reigns' first televised appearance since the Raw after WrestleMania. I was looking forward to this segment to see what consequences The Usos would face for losing to Owens and Zayn twice and who would step up to challenge Reigns on his 1,000th day as champ at Night of Champions. Instead, he and Sikoa will be going for the tag titles, and there's a pretty strong chance they win. That's bad enough, but why the hell would Reigns not be defending on that show? I guess this gets us closer to The Usos potentially splitting from The Bloodline (assuming they factor into the finish somehow), but The Bloodline vs. Owens and Zayn has long overstayed its welcome and now the Bloodline stuff is wearing thin because it seemed to peak at WrestleMania. I'm intrigued what happens from here and this was a solid segment, but I'm personally not a fan of this direction.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez def. Damage CTRL (Bayley and Dakota Kai)

It's been so far, so good for Morgan and Rodriguez as tag team champs. It's going to take a lot for fans to care about the belts, but this was a quality contest and everyone worked hard. The focus was on IYO SKY attempting to aid Bayley and Kai to victory only for her interference to backfire. Thankfully, Damage CTRL still appear to be headed for a split, which is absolutely necessary. SKY in particular deserves the singles spotlight.

Asuka Crashed Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair's Celebration

This episode emanated from Belair's hometown of Knoxville, so she received a strong reaction from the crowd. It was the perfect place to do an Asuka heel turn with that being the case, but the problem is that they won't be in Knoxville every week, and it's important to remember that there were audible boos for Belair both at WrestleMania 39 and at Backlash. Turning her heel would make more sense, but apparently WWE isn't ready to go in that direction yet. I'm fine with Belair and Asuka rekindling their rivalry because it was so lame the first time around, and I wouldn't be opposed to Asuka being the one to take the title from her to switch things up.

AJ Styles def. Bobby Lashley in a World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

I believe this was only the second singles match these two have ever had, not only in WWE but anywhere. They first faced off for the United States Championship last summer on Raw. Lashley won that encounter, but Styles was able to avenge that loss here. This was more great stuff from them and the unpredictability surrounding the outcome helped. Styles vs. Seth Rollins in the finals of the tourney at Night of Champions should be top-tier.

Overall Show

The first Raw post-Draft was very uneventful outside of the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament, whereas I thought this was a much stronger show. The tournament matches also took center stage on this show, but these were better, specifically the opener. We also got the return of Asuka, a big tag title match confirmed for Night of Champions, Grimes' in-ring debut on SmackDown, and several things set up for next week. This was an excellent episode with everything holding my interest and feeling significant. 

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews