 LA Knight and John Cena Faced Off with The BloodlineWWE certainly started their "season premiere" of SmackDown off hot with this segment. I was worried for a moment that Cena would challenge Roman Reigns to an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match at Crown Jewel (which Dave Meltzer speculated earlier this week), but instead, he "acknowledged" Reigns and stepped aside so Knight could have the spotlight. I figured WWE would wait until Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble to have them collide (it made more sense for AJ Styles to get the next shot), but the crowd is definitely hyped to see Reigns vs. Knight. This was really good stuff to set up the night's main event of Knight vs. Solo Sikoa. Pretty Deadly def. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch)This marked Pretty Deadly's return to the ring and it was logical for their first bout back to be against the team that put them on the shelf. It was a fairly average outing, but I'm just glad Pretty Deadly is picking up where they left off with a win here. The shtick during their entrance was dumb fun and I think they can get over with the audience if WWE is consistent with them. Holland and Butch are doing fine on their own, but Sheamus' presence is definitely missed. Bayley def. Zelina VegaThis match was made official by Adam Pearce just moments beforehand backstage when Vega and Bayley were involved in a heated exchange. I'm sure they'd be capable of a quality contest with more time, but they didn't have a chance to do much with only three minutes. Bayley has lost a lot lately, so it was important for her to win here. Charlotte Flair made the save for Vega post-match and she'll challenge IYO SKY for the WWE Women's Championship on next week's show. Triple H Named Adam Pearce the Raw General Manager and Nick Aldis the SmackDown General Manager; Kevin Owens Attacked NXT North American Champion "Dirty" Dominik MysterioLots to unpack here. First of all, I'm a huge fan of WWE bringing back general managers for Raw and SmackDown, and Pearce and the debuting Nick Aldis are the perfect people for the job. Aldis solely working as a backstage producer for WWE would have been a waste, and hopefully we can get him in the ring eventually, but this is a hell of an introduction for him. Secondly, Owens is an interesting choice as the Superstar being traded to SmackDown form Raw in exchange for Jey Uso. It was too soon for Rhodes to switch shows, and Owens has nothing going on now that he and Sami Zayn failed to regain them on Monday night. I hate to see their team come to an abrupt end, but it was wonderful while it lasted. I'm curious what he'll do on SmackDown since he's already feuded with The Bloodline multiple times and there aren't any obvious feuds for him right off the bat. I have no idea why Dominik was there to eat the Stunner since he's a Raw guy, pretty much sending the message that the Brand Split doesn't matter, anyway. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso def. Austin Theory and Grayson WallerTheory and Waller were undefeated as a team coming into this match, but no longer. They've had a fun thing going recently and I hope this doesn't put a halt to their momentum. They need wins, but they can endure this loss. I don't think many people legitimately thought Rhodes and Uso were losing the tag titles so soon after winning them, but I enjoyed this, nonetheless. I loved the face-off Rhodes and Uso had afterward on the ramp with The Bloodline, specifically with Rhodes and Reigns. WWE has to be planning to pay that off with Rhodes beating Reigns at WrestleMania 40, right? LA Knight def. Solo SikoaThere wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this from an in-ring standpoint, but the crowd was never bored because Knight is so over in his current role and Sikoa has been super protected. That's why it meant something when Knight pinned him (despite the interference from Jimmy Uso and John Cena). He needed that if he's going to be taken seriously against Reigns at Crown Jewel, which clearly appears to be the direction they're headed in with Reigns laying out Knight to close the show. Overall ShowWe didn't get any barn burners on this show, but I still thought it was a hell of a "season premiere" for the blue brand as I thoroughly entertained throughout the two hours. What I especially appreciated was how seeds were planted for not only Crown Jewel but WrestleMania as well with Rhodes and Reigns as well as The Usos confronting each other right before the main event. I also love that we have general managers back and it's an excellent role for Aldis. This was an easy thumbs-up episode.
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