Friday Night SmackDown Review - November 25, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Becky Lynch Returned as the Fifth Member of Bianca Belair’s WarGames Team

Although announcing ahead of time that Belair would reveal the fifth member of her WarGames team on this show was a nice hook, I'm not sure why this couldn't have happened on Raw considering SmackDown already got the Kevin Owens return last week. Either way, this was a strong segment and I liked how it was kept short and sweet. I was worried the fifth mystery woman on Belair's team would be underwhelming, but Lynch was a worthy surprise and she makes perfect sense considering it was Damage CTRL who injured her in storyline over the summer.

Santos Escobar def. Butch in a SmackDown World Cup Semifinal Match

I expected a bit better from these two given how talented they both are, but it was an enjoyable affair, nonetheless. It was a case of Butch falling to the numbers game due to Legado del Fantasma aiding Escobar to victory once again. I'd much rather see Escobar win clean in his matches, but at least he's winning at all. Plus, he's getting heat from the crowds for it, so it's serving a purpose.

Uncle Howdy Interrupted Bray Wyatt

I thought this would be the show where we'd get Wyatt vs. LA Knight announced for Survivor Series, but apparently not. It looks like they're going to hold off on their first match until the Royal Rumble in January. Can they really drag it out and keep it interesting for that long? They've had me intrigued so far, I'll give them that. There wasn't much progression with their program here, but this was perfectly fine and seeing Wyatt in person is always a spectacle. He's super over right now.

The Viking Raiders def. Hit Row (Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis)

Being in the building for this show, I can tell you firsthand that nobody cared about either of these teams and thus they sat on their hands for this match. Viking Raiders got a slightly bigger reaction, but not much. It was basically a glorified squash, which is what it should have been. I feel bad Hit Row's return has fallen flat so far, but the fact of the matter is that they're missing something. Obviously, Swerve Strickland is unavailable, but maybe they can enlist someone else in an attempt to fill that void.

Ricochet def. Braun Strowman in a SmackDown World Cup Quarterfinal Match

I was looking forward to this match because of their dynamic and how Strowman spoke out against "flippy floppers" recently on Twitter. What we got from them was fun while it lasted, but this was disappointingly short. Plus, I don't know how much Ricochet actually gained considering Imperium distracted Strowman from ringside. My biggest problem with this is that they're clearly building to Strowman vs. Gunther, so whoever wins the World Cup at this point is an afterthought because we know they won't win the Intercontinental Championship. They may as well have had Strowman win the World Cup as expected.

SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler def. Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi

Beforehand backstage, Rousey and Baszler ambushed Rodriguez and dislocated her elbow, giving the babyface team an out for losing in this tag match. I get the story they were trying to tell and it worked to a certain degree, but no one cares about Rousey vs. Shotzi heading into Survivor Series. The whole thing feels rushed and there's no chance Shotzi actually beats Rousey, so the buildup has been lame. The match was fine but easily the weakest thing on the show.

Drew McIntyre and Sheamus def. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos to Earn the WarGames Advantage (Non-Title)

The last match McIntyre and Sheamus had with The Usos over the summer was great and this was equally entertaining. Having a WarGames advantage at stake helped make it feel more important as well. I hate when The Usos suffer non-title losses, but it was understandable in this circumstance. They also furthered the story with Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and The Bloodline at ringside, teasing where Zayn's allegiance will lie come Survivor Series. This was a hot closing to the show to keep the momentum rolling for the babyfaces.

Overall Show

I was fortunate to be able to attend SmackDown two weeks in a row and this was another thumbs-up episode on the whole heading into Survivor Series. There was a heavy focus on the pay-per-view and the SmackDown side of the card was hyped up effectively. Okay, so Rousey vs. Shotzi doesn't interest me at all, but the effort was there. The WarGames stuff has thankfully picked up this last week and I look forward to both bouts on Saturday. Meanwhile, the World Cup feels irrelevant now that Strowman's been bumped and we have no idea when Wyatt vs. Knight is happening, but both will be reasons to tune in coming out of the event.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews