Friday Night SmackDown Review - November 17, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Damage CTRL Attacked Shotzi, Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair

I'm glad it was established that Kairi Sane and Asuka are officially members of Damage CTRL and not just allies. Technically, they said Asuka wasn't in until Bayley offered her the Damage CTRL shirt in this segment, which was done to tease that Bayley would be booted soon. They might take their time with it, but babyface Bayley can't come soon enough. Don't get me wrong, she's done well as a heel, but her mic work can be hit or miss at times and this wasn't one of her better promos. This was a solid segment that served to set up the reveal of the babyfaces' fourth member at the end of the show.

The Street Profits def. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch) and Pretty Deadly in an Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Tag Team Match

This was a very good match between three talented teams. Any one of them could have realistically won, so that added to my enjoyment of it as well. They maintained a consistent pace throughout and delivered a fun final stretch. The Profits have been doing well as heels alongside Bobby Lashley, so it will be interesting to see how they match up against fellow heels The Judgment Day when they meet for the titles on next week's SmackDown. Plus, tension between Holland and Butch? Color me intrigued as that's long overdue.

Dragon Lee def. Axiom

A backstage segment was shown with Lee and Nick Aldis where Lee told him that he wanted to avenge Rey Mysterio, but Aldis wanted him to continue crushing the competition and put him up against NXT's Axiom instead. Perhaps that means we'll get Lee vs. Santos Escobar soon enough, but I won't complain about getting these two against each other in the meantime. It was another opportunity for Lee to showcase his skills and Axiom was able to shine as well. A spot-fest for sure, but WWE doesn't do them as often as AEW and other companies, so it's a treat when we do get them on occasion. This was a blast of a bout. Don't be surprised to see Axiom brought up to the main roster soon. He hasn't been involved in anything of note in NXT in months.

Carlito Saved Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde From Santos Escobar

I loved everything about this segment. Escobar's mic work was terrific and the rest of The LWO played their roles perfectly. I thought Toro and Wilde might side with Escobar, and I'm hoping they still will, but I was surprised Escobar attacked them here. Carlito making the save sets him up for a match with Escobar at Survivor Series that I'm looking forward to, and Mysterio being out injured for the time being allows the storyline to simmer until early 2024 if not WrestleMania season.

Grayson Waller def. Cameron Grimes

There wasn't much to this one, which is disappointing for us fans of Grimes. I realize you can't push everyone simultaneously, but it's a shame WWE hasn't found more for him to do since his call-up to the main roster. It seems the guy can't catch a break creatively. It was a quick squash for Waller, who needs wins in his own right. Kevin Owens is still "suspended" in storyline, so he didn't confront Waller and Austin Theory here. However, he'll be back on The Grayson Waller Effect next week.

Paul Heyman Addressed John Cena; LA Knight def. Jimmy Uso

Heyman cut one of his usual promos on Cena before Knight interrupted with a promo of his own. That segued seamlessly into Knight vs. Jimmy. Based on what each of them said, you'd think WWE was building to Cena eventually avenging the loss to Sikoa (which is possible) and Knight going back after Roman Reigns (which I honestly don't see happening). Meanwhile, we've seen Knight vs. Jimmy twice before and this was another average outing between them, but at least the crowd was hot for everything Knight did. It looks like we're getting Knight vs. Sikoa soon, but Knight already beat him by pinfall last month, so what does he really have to prove? Cody Rhodes making the save for Knight was an interesting development since he's a Raw Superstar and it might be a little early to rekindle the Rhodes vs. Reigns rivalry.

Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair and Shotzi Brawled with Damage CTRL

This played out predictably with Lynch being revealed as the final member of the women's WarGames match, and although the crowd ate it up, I can't say I'm thrilled with it. Nothing against Lynch, but she's a Raw Superstar and has no current beef with Damage CTRL. She was the final member of the babyface team last year, too, so this is essentially a repeat of that. It would've been too soon for someone like Jade Cargill, and Sasha Banks likely won't be coming back to the company anytime soon, but adding Lynch makes WarGames feels forced. The progression with Damage CTRL has been nice to see, but I think there were other ways to accomplish that without doing WarGames.

Overall Show

I didn't expect this to be as strong of a show as it was with little advertised in advance, but the two hours were highly entertaining for the second straight week. The women's WarGames match was officially announced and they told a show-long story with who the final member would be, Rhodes and Knight joined forces out of nowhere, Lee and Axiom killed it, number one contenders to the tag titles were determined, and the LWO angle had meaningful progression. Another two thumbs-up for the blue brand this week.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews