Friday Night SmackDown Review - October 14, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Zayn def. Kofi Kingston

The storyline surrounding the tension within The Bloodline continues to be the best thing in all of WWE. Zayn and Jey Uso in particular are playing their roles remarkably well and we're getting progression with it every week. This saw Jey aid Zayn to victory, but I don't expect their alliance to last. The match itself was enjoyable and given plenty of time. As sick as I am of seeing The New Day challenge The Usos, it makes sense with New Day trying to end The Usos' tag title reign before they can break their record.

​Braun Strowman def. James Maverick and Brian Thomas in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match

Strowman has been back for over six weeks now and hasn't really found direction (until now), but I was fine with it because he continues to be mega over with the audience and crowds have been perfectly content seeing him destroy people at random. That said, it finally looks like we know who his first feud will be with, and that's Omos. Am I excited for that? Absolutely not, but hopefully Strowman can beat him in a battle of the titans at Crown Jewel and Omos can go back to not being featured at all. This was a simple squash for Strowman.

LA Knight def. Mansoor

I've been anxiously awaiting Max Dupri dropping the dumb managerial gimmick and going back to being LA Knight. so I'm stoked it finally happened. The guy is a total star and that was evident in this outing. Props to Mansoor as well for selling all of Knight's offense so well. This thankfully wasn't too competitive, but it was nice while it lasted. Knight established himself as a heel with his post-match promo. He's a natural in that role and should be positioned as an important player on the blue brand.

Damage CTRL (Bayley and WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and IYO SKY) def. Roxanne Perez, Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez

We found out on NXT this past week that Perez and Cora Jade will be picking each other's opponents for next week's Pick Your Poison matches from the main roster. Perez chose Rodriguez to face Jade, which is clever considering they teamed for a time earlier this year. Perez stuck around and took part in this match, which was mostly solid up until that awkward finishing sequence. It looked like either Perez or Bayley botched and it didn't come off well. Damage CTRL winning was necessary after all the losses they've endured lately.

Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro) def. Hit Row (Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis)

I really liked that Wade Barrett referenced the history these factions have from NXT on commentary. Unfortunately, the crowd didn't seem to care at all based on their quiet reaction, but that's not surprising since Hit Row haven't really gotten over yet and Legado are a new act. This feud probably shouldn't last long as a result, but giving Legado a win out of the gate was the right call. Keeping this short and sweet was for the best.

Rey Mysterio def. Ricochet, Sheamus and Solo Sikoa in an Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

Karrion Kross was originally scheduled to take part in this bout but was involved in a "car accident" at the start of the show and was attacked Drew McIntyre (was McIntyre responsible for the car accident, too?), so he was replaced by Mysterio. This was a very fun Fatal 4-Way with everyone getting their time to shine and I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction between Mysterio and Ricochet (Lucha Underground flashbacks!). Mysterio vs. Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship should be a blast, and I'm also all for Mysterio being moved to the SmackDown brand to put his storyline with Dominik on ice until closer to WrestleMania.

Bray Wyatt Addressed the Audience

Coming off his hot return at Extreme Rules, I was very curious to see what form Wyatt would take. Would it be another iteration of The Firefly Fun House version of him and/or his cult character or something else entirely? It ended up being the latter and I think that was the best choice. I miss his original entrance music, but his new theme sounds awesome, especially if he's going to be a babyface. I loved how he spoke from the heart as this was the most "human" we've ever seen him on WWE TV. He had a chance to genuinely thank the fans for all of their support while he was interrupted by the masked version of himself, which made for a cool cliffhanger. This was an excellent return for Wyatt that left me and everyone else looking forward to whatever's next.

Overall Show

With the "season premieres" and Extreme Rules in the rear view, it was important for this show to deliver to send the message that WWE would be able to maintain the momentum from last weekend. Ultimately, I'd argue it did. This was an easy thumbs-up show highlighted by Wyatt's emotional return promo, a taste of what Knight is capable of, and a welcome twist in the Mysterio saga. Legado also picked up their first win and Perez getting exposure was appreciated, not to mention that the Bloodline storyline continues to compel me. Here's hoping SmackDown can keep it up after being WWE's worst weekly offering before Triple H took over.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews