SmackDown Review: Mistrust Among Friends? | 09/27/2024

SmackDown hailed from Oklahoma City tonight, and once again succeeded in giving us an eventful night of both great mic work and fantastic matches. We were given the sixth match in an incredible series as advertised. Interestingly, tonight’s episode saw the return of a beloved superstar and vignettes hyping the future return of a legend who claims to have built the blue brand.

Randy Orton Returns to SmackDown

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The opening segment of SmackDown was fire, as Randy Orton made his return! Orton came out to the usual fanfare and Randy chants but was quick to get on the mic and make a clear statement about what Cody Rhodes was doing teaming with Roman Reigns. Rhodes entered the ring and explained to Orton and the WWE crowd that Roman’s word had been true in the past and that the legend of the new Bloodline must be killed.

Kevin Owens enters the conversation. Owens was about to speak directly to Cody, but here comes The Bloodline. Solo Sikoa did his best to work the crowd on the mic and tried to sew distrust between Rhodes, Orton, and Owens. Owens told Sikoa to shut his mouth and challenged Sikoa and Jacob Fatu to take on Orton and him in a tag match tonight. KO made it clear to Cody to not get involved. This set up the main event for the night.

Carmelo Hayes vs Andrade Part Six

The WWE fandom was promised another great match out of these rising stars, and we got just that. Before the match-up, however, Andrade was in the backstage area preparing and had some words with LA Knight. Out of nowhere, Carmelo Hayes did a flying attack on Knight which knocked him over an equipment case! He told Andrade that he would see him out there and do the same thing.

Once the match started, we were given what we were promised. This was a five-star match, other than the finish, and there is no question about it. The action was back and forth and was as evenly matched as it could be. Hayes was frustrated with near fall after near fall. Knight had to interject himself to get revenge, and in the mess, Hayes was able to pull off a roll-up pin on Andrade. Hayes and Andrade are now tied 3-3.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu

There was nothing special that we hadn’t seen before in this tag team main event. It was still fun to watch, though. Orton looked great and strong in his return, and Kevin Owens was hitting his moves with his normal grace. The Bloodline members also showed their residual toughness in the fight, with Sikoa taking multiple punches to the face, but still holding Owens back from tagging Orton.

Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, the WWE Tag Team Champions, approached from the outside but this brought out Cody Rhodes. The fighting was all over the place outside of the ring, with throws into barricades and mean-looking table spots. The ending was botched for Kevin Owens, who had just hit Sikoa with the stunner and had the pin, but Rhodes got thrown into the referee. Fatu was then able to come back in and superkick Owens multiple times, and this allowed The Bloodline to get the pin on Owens. Kevin Owens is livid at Cody Rhodes, to say the least.

Additional Highlights

Bayley vs Naomi: Bayley and Naomi battled in the number one contender’s match. Naomi took it to Bayley and was more dominant for most of the bout. A moment early on, Bayley held herself back from blasting Naomi in the face, and she was more apprehensive to do damage than Naomi. This changed by the end when Bayley hit Naomi with both the Bayley-to-Belly and a top rope elbow to get the 1-2-3. Bayley is next up to fight Nia Jax!

AJ Styles vignette: A smooth video was shown promising the return of AJ Styles. Styles once again claimed that SmackDown is the house that he built. We haven’t seen AJ Styles since he battled Cody Rhodes in his bid to get the championship. AJ came up short in that venture, but this promo package felt fresh, and looks like AJ can have another great run if he is booked correctly once he returns.

SmackDown Review

Bayley vs Naomi #1 Contender’s Match: B+
Both superstars satisfactorily displayed that they were up to the task of capturing the WWE Women’s championship. They were competitive and even. WWE wants to stay with Bayley for right now instead of promoting Naomi to be the next challenger for Jax.

Carmelo Hayes vs Andrade VI: A
It can be argued that that would be an A+ match, and it would have been if not for the interference by LA Knight. The action between Hayes and Andrade is monumental at this point. WWE has found a true diamond in this feud. We have seen multiple five-star matches in just this series, and now we get to have a match seven. The fans do not want this rivalry to end.

Michin vs Piper Niven: D
A harsh grade is not often given for matches this year, as WWE has been giving the fans consistent entertainment. Michin versus Piper Niven was only an advertisement for next week’s Michin versus Chelsea Green dumpster match. That is not commentary, they are going to use a real garbage dumpster! Niven could have looked much better, and this did nothing to win fans over to Michin. Ridiculous.

Randy Orton and Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu: C+
Cody Rhodes ruining Kevin Owens’s chances of winning, although inadvertently, was the point of the ending of this fun but messy tag match. WWE continues to build up the viciousness of Fatu while maintaining the high level of both Orton and Owens. This was predictable and standard.

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Article originally written by Scott Laps