Friday Night SmackDown Review - November 13, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Drew McIntyre Confronted Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Jey Uso

​I hate, hate, hate whenever Superstars show up on the opposing brand out of nowhere (even if it is because of the dumb Brand-to-Brand Invitation), but this made sense as McIntyre may face Reigns at Survivor Series instead of Randy Orton if he win back the WWE Championship on Monday's Raw. They had a hell of an interaction here and Uso also played his role extremely well, which set up the night's main event of McIntyre vs. Uso nicely. The stuff with Reigns and Uso continues to be the best thing on the entire show right now.

Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn def. Apollo Crews by Count-Out

No, there was absolutely zero reason for this match to happen, and I love that Zayn acknowledged how it didn't come together until right before the show started. That's a shoot, by the way, because reportedly WWE didn't finish writing this SmackDown until earlier in the day. Crews hadn't formally appeared on SmackDown prior to this point since being drafted back to the blue brand last month, so that tells you how random this was. They could have easily ripped it up against each other, but it quickly ended in a lame count-out win for Zayn. Why even bother booking it in the first place?

Bayley Interrupted SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks Before Carmella Attacked Banks

I understand the reasons why, but it's a bummer Banks' appearance on the latest episode of The Mandalorian that dropped earlier in the day on Disney Plus wasn't acknowledged by the commentators at all. Also, no spoilers, but she did damn well with what she was given to do. Her promo here wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but Bayley interrupting her makes me wonder if we'll get another bout between them at some point soon, possibly at TLC next month. Meanwhile, Carmella's latest attack on Banks was short, sweet, and exactly what it needed to be in order to further that feud.

Otis def. Dolph Ziggler

This was a rematch from WrestleMania 36, yet didn't feel like one because how far both guys have fallen since then. Given Otis' lack of luck lately, I honestly thought Ziggler would win to avenge his losses against Otis, but thankfully that wasn't the case. This was one match I didn't mind being as short as it was because i had no business to last any longer than it did. Chad Gable confronted Otis backstage afterward about being his manager and I absolutely love that idea. Of course, I'd rather see Gable receive a singles push, but it's better than nothing.

Rey Mysterio def. Seth Rollins in a No Holds Barred Match

Thank the lord that this was billed as the "final chapter" in the Mysterio vs. Rollins rivalry. It has literally lasted for over six months and it feels like six years. Don't get me wrong, they have quality chemistry together and this was a fun blow-off for the feud, but I'm so glad they're finally moving on from this. Mysterio's 619 at the end was botched, but otherwise, I enjoyed this. The interference was predictable yet logical, Murphy turned on Rollins (again), and Mysterio paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero for the finish on the 15 year anniversary of his passing. The only thing I didn't like was how the Mysterios were willing to accept Murphy into the family just because he betrayed Rollins again, but whatever. I'm looking forward to Rollins and Murphy running it back again one-on-one next week.

Liv Morgan def. Tamina, Natalya and Chelsea Green in a Fatal 4-Way Match to Qualify for SmackDown's Women's Survivor Series Team

What a weird turn of events here. First, Green makes her long-awaited main roster debut without any prior hype whatsoever. She simply showed up in a backstage segment with Adam Pearce right before this (without saying a word, by the way) and was then randomly inserted into a match she didn't win. Then again, I assume that was because she injured her wrist 30 seconds in, which is why she didn't factor into the rest of it. That's a real shame, as she's likely going to be out for a few months now to rehab it. The Fatal 4-Way itself was fine and Morgan was the next best choice to qualify considering her partner Ruby Riott is already on SmackDown's Survivor Series squad for the women.

Drew McIntyre def. Jey Uso

Uso has beaten the likes of AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens in the last month or so on SmackDown, so although I figured McIntyre would win here, it's not like it was a straight-up squash. Rather, Uso looked like an equal to McIntyre throughout and scored plenty of offense before eating defeat. It was a well-worked main event with the right result. I know some would prefer that WWE save McIntyre vs. Reigns for WrestleMania 37, but I'd be all for them going at it at Survivor Series next Sunday. It's an improvement over Reigns vs. Orton, at the very least.

Overall Show

SmackDown has had better weeks lately, but this was still a thumbs-up effort in my opinion. There were definitely some questionable decisions and mediocre matches (the women's Fatal 4-Way, Zayn vs. Crews, and Otis vs. Ziggler), but the good outweighed the bad and the two hours flew by as always. Above all else, we got closure for Mysterio vs. Rollins and McIntyre's appearance was a pleasant surprise, so the show was mildly entertaining on the whole.