Friday Night SmackDown Review - October 18, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso Confronted The Bloodline

I know Jimmy Uso tried to bury the hatchet with Jey on Monday's Raw, but I didn't think Jey would get fully involved with Bloodline business and have anything to do with Solo Sikoa until reuniting with Jimmy and Roman Reigns. Thus, Jey's appearance here was a pleasant surprise and I thought he had a solid exchange with Sikoa. This all but confirmed to me that The Bloodline is costing Jey the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker on Monday night.

#DIY def. Pretty Deadly and The Street Profits to Advance in the WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament

Pretty Deadly haven't won in many months, so it was clear they were taking the losing fall in this match, but they're a talented team, not unlike #DIY and the Profits. Thus, this was a fun Triple Threat with non-stop action. It was interesting that #DIY and the Profits nearly got into it afterward because the Profits were frustrated that they didn't pin the legal man. I like that we're getting more tension between the teams and hope it leads to a feud between them. The tag team division could benefit from more non-title stories.

Lash Legend def. Piper Niven

To be honest, I didn't have the highest hopes for this match when I saw it was announced. Legend has had glimmers of greatness in NXT, but otherwise, most of her matches are hit or miss. This actually fell in the former category. She and Niven weren't given much time, but this worked being short and sweet. Legend's offense was impressive and the crowd came alive for the finish. Hopefully she can continue to improve because there might be something there with her if she does.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Addressed World Heavyweight Champion Gunther

This was your run-of-the-mill promo from Rhodes, who we already heard from on Monday's Raw with Gunther. He didn't say anything here that was out of the ordinary, but it was a well-delivered promo that effectively hyped up his Crown Jewel match with Gunther. They're really trying to make that title belt feel important and prestigious, when in reality it's difficult for me to care.

Motor City Machine Guns def. Los Garza and A-Town Down Under to Advance in the WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament

I can't express how happy I am that Motor City Machine Guns have arrived in WWE. Granted, I wasn't thrilled with how they were introduced (we got cryptic vignettes for weeks and then their signing was announced on social media right before the show), but at least they're finally here. They've been one of the best tag teams in the world for almost two decades and they had a chance to prove that here. It wasn't the showcase they should've had their first night in, but it was a strong debut on the whole. Now we have them against #DIY in a number one contender's match to look forward to next week.

Candice LeRae and WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax def. Bayley and Naomi

Tiffany Stratton was originally scheduled to team with Jax but was apparently "too sick" to appear (which was obviously a storyline), so LeRae filled in for her. I'm glad LeRae wasn't just there to eat the loss. Instead, she pinned Bayley for the victory (albeit with some help from Indi Hartwell). That was really cool to see considering she hasn't wrestled on SmackDown since June. The match was decent and it accomplished what it needed to. I still think Naomi should get a shot at the WWE Women's Championship before Crown Jewel to tease the idea of her facing Liv Morgan at the event instead.

The Bloodline Attacked Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso

Reigns admitted earlier in the episode during a backstage segment that he'd "acknowledge" Sikoa and he did just that. However, because he didn't acknowledge him as his Tribal Chief, The Bloodline laid him and Jimmy out again. It was another intriguing development as part of the story they're telling with Reigns and Jimmy being outnumbered. I appreciate that Jey isn't immediately forgiving them, though. That was evident when he confronted them backstage following the opening segment.

Overall Show

I didn't mention it above, but the video that Kevin Owens sent in explaining his actions and addressing Randy Orton was excellent. It looks like we might be getting Owens vs. Orton at Crown Jewel and I'm definitely down for that. The rest of the show was very enjoyable and moved things along nicely. SmackDown has been building momentum again as of late with several storylines worth getting invested in.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews