Friday Night SmackDown Review - September 15, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Rock Attacked Austin Theory

Well, this was quite the pleasant surprise, to say the least. Pat McAfee making his first SmackDown appearance in over a year was cool, but following that up with a Rock return was awesome. We haven't seen him on WWE TV in almost exactly four years since SmackDown's FOX debut in October 2019. It was your typical Rock segment where he Theory traded verbal jabs, but it was a ton of fun and the crowd ate it up. I know Rock and McAfee were already in the area, the timing was interesting coming off Rock's comments earlier in the day regarding the long-rumored Roman Reigns match, so we'll see if he pops up again between now and WrestleMania 40 (especially in the midst of the ongoing SAG-AFSTA strike) or if this was merely a one-off.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Finn Balor def. AJ Styles

It's amazing to think that these two have had only three matches in WWE, including this one. That original encounter back at TLC 2017 will always be their best, but the rematch at Survivor Series last year was also enjoyable. This didn't have a chance to reach those same heights due to the damn commercial break, but what we got was good. Jimmy Uso told Balor afterward backstage that he helped him win here to "return the favor" from last week. If Styles is next in line for an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship opportunity, he should be winning more than he loses.

United States Champion Rey Mysterio Accepted Santos Escobar's Championship Challenge; The Street Profits def. The LWO (Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde)

I was always assumed Mysterio vs. Escobar for the U.S. title was the endgame, but I didn't think we'd be getting it so soon. Hey, if it leads to their storyline progressing and Escobar turning heel, then I'm not complaining. Street Profits vs. LWO was an impromptu match that ended almost immediately. It does Del Toro and Wilde no favors, but at least Street Profits are continuing to build momentum and seemed to cement their heel turn by attacking LWO post-match.

LA Knight def. The Miz

These two have much stronger chemistry on the mic than they do in the ring. That's not to say this was bad by any means as it was a solid match, but it felt longer than it actually was. Knight remains incredibly over and had the crowd behind him throughout. Him scoring his second straight win over Miz should put this rivalry to rest. Knight teased his pursuit for gold in a post-match promo, so hopefully that means he'll be entering contention for a championship on the sooner side.

Asuka def. Bayley

Asuka and Bayley had a bunch of quality matches during the summer of 2020 (a.k.a. the Performance Center/ThunderDome era). This was the well-wrestled bout you'd expect from them and I'm glad they got some time (especially on a show that featured very little of the women), even if it had a few hiccups. Of course, the outcome was never in doubt with Asuka challenging IYO SKY for the WWE Women's Championship on next week's episode. Shotzi distracting Bayley at ringside right before the finish furthered that feud as well.

AJ Styles Saved John Cena From Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso on The Grayson Waller Effect Hosted by Grayson Waller

Cena not getting to say a single word was disappointing, but I guess we got his back-and-forth with Waller at Money in the Bank. The mic work wasn't my top takeaway of this segment as much as it was what this seemed to set up, and that's a tag team match pitting Styles and Cena against Sikoa and Jimmy. That would be perfect for the Fastlane pay-per-view next month, which Cena is rumored to be working. I though Knight or Cody Rhodes might be teaming with Cena during this run, but if Styles is facing Reigns at Crown Jewel (or eventually), then he makes the most sense for that spot.

Overall Show

This turned out to be a great edition of SmackDown, largely thanks to Rock's surprise appearance at the beginning. Did it accomplish anything from a storyline standpoint? No, but it didn't have to. The crowd had a blast with it and so did I. As I said, we'll see if that's the last we see of Rock on WWE TV while the actor strike is still going on. The rest of the show was entertaining as they moved stuff along and built toward matches coming up next week or in the near future. The Bloodline saga remains a mess, but the involvement of Cena and Styles has me intrigued.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews