Friday Night SmackDown Review - October 28, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland and Butch) def. The Bloodline (Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa); Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns Addressed The Bloodline

The opening tag match was enjoyable and gave Brawling Brutes a measure of revenge over The Bloodline for what they did to Sheamus last week, as well as earn them another shot at The Usos' Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at Crown Jewel. The subsequent segment with Reigns chastising The Bloodline about their lack of luck lately was just brilliant. Zayn in particular was phenomenal during his exchange with Jey Uso and the "Ucey" talk was tremendous. Reigns and The Usos couldn't help but crack. Granted, this had nothing to do with Reigns vs. Logan Paul at Crown Jewel, but Paul Heyman plugged it at the end. Here's hoping Zayn isn't booted from The Bloodline any time soon because there's so much more they can get out of this story.

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. Maximum Male Models (Mace and Mansoor)

It was referenced on commentary that New Day still have their sights set on ending The Usos' reign as tag champs before their record can be broken, so while Brawling Brutes are challenging for the belts at Crown Jewel, my guess is that we'll get The Usos vs. New Day on the SmackDown before the record is broken in two weeks. This was a quick showcase for New Day and nothing more. Mace and Mansoor are actually hilarious in any videos I've seen of them backstage, so I think the Maximum Male Models stuff is acceptable for the undercard.

SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey def. Emma

This was an open challenge from Rousey. Rumors were swirling earlier in the day that Emma might be the one to accept it and I'm happy she was. I loved that Michael Cole mentioned on commentary that it was five years ago tomorrow she was released by WWE and now she's back. I wasn't at all surprised she received a lukewarm reaction because she's been gone for so long and wasn't positioned as anyone important when she was last on the show. I thought she and Rousey had a well-worked match and I appreciated that she was made to look credible in defeat. She'll be a nice addition to SmackDown's women's division if she can be utilized a bit better this time around.

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

Nakamura is apparently the new go-to guy whenever someone needs a surprise partner or opponent after he returned to NXT to take on Channing Lorenzo last week. I'd be all for a Nakamura vs. Escobar feud if that's where is headed, but time will tell because it could have easily been a one-off and excuse to put Hit Row with someone who's over. The match itself was fun while it lasted and the crowd was into everything Nakamura did. Obviously, Legado losing their first six-man tag team match on the main roster isn't ideal.

Karrion Kross def. Madcap Moss

Drew McIntyre didn't appear on this episode due to being the best man at Sheamus' wedding today. Congrats to The Celtic Warrior! That means we won't see McIntyre until Crown Jewel and Sheamus until the SmackDown after Crown Jewel most likely. It's amazing how much momentum Moss has lost since the spring, but it's pretty evident Triple H isn't nearly as high on him as Vince McMahon was, hence why his appearances have been much more sporadic.

Uncle Howdy Interrupted Bray Wyatt

Wyatt was once again in babyface mode during his promo and it was more or less along the same lines of what he said two weeks ago. He captures the crowd's attention like nobody else, though. We finally got our first look at Uncle Howdy and the mask is terrifying. It sounded like Wyatt, but something tells me it might be Bo Dallas under the mask since it was rumored he was on his way back to WWE. Either way, I'm intrigued. They can't drag this on forever, but at least they're giving us progression with the storyline little by little each week.

Overall Show

While this show didn't meet my high expectations based on everything advertised ahead of time, it was still a solid show and an improvement over Monday's fairly uneventful edition of Raw. The night peaked with Zayn and The Bloodline at the beginning, but everything else served a purpose and it was cool seeing Emma and Nakamura back. The build for Crown Jewel hasn't been exceptional by any means, but the crowd has promise on paper.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews