Friday Night SmackDown Review - November 3, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and LA Knight Went Face-to-Face

WWE has already done quite a bit to get fans excited for this championship clash at Crown Jewel, but I'm glad we got this last-minute face-off between the two. We got to hear more from Reigns than we did during last week's contract signing and the mic work was once again solid from both guys. My only nitpick is that the crowd wasn't as hot for them as they were last week, but that was due to the pre-taped nature of this show.

Kevin Owens def. Austin Theory

This stemmed from Owens punching both Theory and Grayson Waller simultaneously last week. Theory and Waller are two logical first foes for Owens on SmackDown as this feud should keep Owens busy for the foreseeable future. This was a good television match while it lasted and Owens going over was obviously the right call. Waller sat in on commentary, so clearly he's next for Owens.

Charlotte Flair and Shotzi def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green and Piper Niven (Non-Title)

Flair ended up being Shotzi's mystery partner. They've teamed in the past, but not enough to the point where she was a strong candidate. It was largely because she has nothing else going on at the moment, assuming she's actually out of the title picture for now (we'll see how long that lasts). This was fine for what it was, but it did nothing to give the champs credibility at all. And I doubt Shotzi and Flair get a title shot coming out of this, either.

John Cena Confronted Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman

Cena speaking with a raspy voice to sell the Samoan Spike from last week was completely ridiculous. We've seen so many Superstars take that finisher in the last year and he's the only one that's happened to. Other than that, this was a solid segment to build toward their upcoming encounter. Even with Cena getting the better of Sikoa verbally here, I still suspect Cena goes over at Crown Jewel, even though Sikoa winning would be the better outcome.

Pretty Deadly def. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch) in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook Match

All of the Donnybrook matches we've seen Brawling Brutes have in the last year have been fun and this was equally enjoyable. They made use of the stipulation and it was one of the few things on this show the crowd was into. I believe Pretty Deadly have won every match they've had with Brawling Brutes, but I'm not complaining. They have a higher ceiling and won't get over with the audience unless they're booked consistently strong like they have been.

The United States Champion Rey Mysterio and Logan Paul Weigh-In Broke Out Into a Brawl

Unlike most wrestling weigh-ins (which are usually pretty pointless because there are no weight classes in wrestling but I understand this one was done because of how Paul has boxed in the past), this one took place in the back. It was wisely kept short and sweet. They did their thing, they brawled, and that was it. Paul has made a handful of appearances leading into Crown Jewel, but the question is if he'll appear as regularly once he inevitably captures the title. My guess is no, but I hope I'm wrong.

Bianca Belair def. Bayley

Nick Aldis established earlier in the evening that the rest of Damage CTRL would be barred from ringside. We've seen enough matches from these two in the last three years to last a lifetime, but at least they always work well together and this was another entertaining main event from them. This gave Belair a minor momentum boost before she challenges IYO SKY for the WWE Women's Championship.

Overall Show

As a go-home show, this was a weak effort on the whole. However, I can't say I had high hopes knowing this was taped following last week's episode due to the WWE crew already being in Saudi Arabia as of this writing. All of the matches on SmackDown's side of the Crown Jewel card were effectively hyped, but this didn't feel like an important episode by any stretch. It served its purpose, but I was already looking forward to the pay-per-view, regardless.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews