Friday Night SmackDown Review - October 21, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Solo Sikoa def. Sheamus

This was a hard-hitting affair I was looking forward to and they did not disappoint. This stemmed from their interaction in last week's Intercontinental Championship number one contender's Fatal 4-Way. They had terrific chemistry and I loved how Sikoa looked like he belonged. Having him win was the correct outcome as he continues to be built up. I assume Sheamus won't be off TV for long following that post-match injury angle and will be back in time for the build to WarGames.

Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville Ended in a Double Count-Out

Morgan has adopted more of an aggressive edge since losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to Ronda Rousey at Extreme Rules. She was already headed in that direction prior to the pay-per-view, but now she's pretty much gone off the deep end. This was a decent match, but it was more about the lengths Morgan was willing to go to in order to inflict pain on Deville (who has unfortunately never meant less). As long as Morgan doesn't resume her rivalry with Rousey, I'm content.

Braun Strowman and Omos Went Face-to-Face

It's been clear for a few weeks that Strowman and Omos were on a collision course for a match at Crown Jewel and it was made official in this segment. This was simple stuff to set it up, complete with the visual of Strowman and Omos finally standing toe-to-toe. There was a weird moment with Omos did some sort of a stance before pushing Strowman out of the ring, but otherwise, this was straightforward and accomplished what it needed to.

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

I feel like Rodriguez has had a dozen different partners in the last year between Aliyah, Dakota Kai, Cora Jade and now Shotzi. Is she destined to be a tag team player forever? You'd think so based on how she's been booked over the last year, but she has a much higher ceiling than that in my opinion. This was a very well-wrestled outing and one of the better women's matches on this show in some time. Damage CTRL retaining was obviously the right call, but who's next for them? Asuka and Alexa Bliss again? The lack of depth is the issue with keeping this division around.

Rey Mysterio def. Ludwig Kaiser

This came about in a backstage segment earlier in the show. One of the many positives of Mysterio joining the blue brand is that we can get some fresh matches with him finally and this was one of them. They were given an ample amount of time and had an enjoyable affair. Gunther is obviously the star of Imperium, but Kaiser is very good in his own right (and Giovanni Vinci is phenomenal as well). Mysterio will challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown in two weeks.

Logan Paul Attacked Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Jey Uso

I understand why this had to close the show, but it was a fairly tame segment that didn't end the night on the most thrilling note. However, I get the story they're trying to tell: If Paul is able to land one punch on Reigns, he could capture the championship. Obviously, I don't believe that for a single second, but I appreciate the effort, nonetheless. The fallout of Jey disobeying Reigns' orders will be what's interesting coming out of this. Meanwhile, Paul is still very much miscast as a babyface and the mixed reaction he received in his home state here was evident of that.

Overall Show

Although this was a slight step back from recent shows, I thought this was a thumbs-up edition of SmackDown on the whole with a lot to like. Whatever Wyatt's doing intrigues me, the backstage segments were well done, the show-long storyline with The Bloodline delivered as always, and there was more effective build for Crown Jewel and next week's stacked show in addition to some quality in-ring action. You can't ask for much more than that.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews