WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After Fastlane
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns returned to SmackDown Friday night, his first appearance since SummerSlam, and wasted little time addressing the recent turmoil within The Bloodline and the success of John Cena and LA Knight.
What did The Tribal Chief have to say to Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman, and the WWE Universe when he took center stage on Fox?
Find out with this recap of a special season premiere episode that also included appearances from John Cena and Chief Content Officer Triple H.
Lineup
1 of 8Announced in advance of Friday's show was:
- The return of Roman Reigns
- An appearance from John Cena
- An appearance from Triple H
- The Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly
- Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso vs. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller
John Cena Kicked Off The Show
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WWE wasted little time kicking off the SmackDown Season Premiere, trotting out John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Bloodline, and LA Knight for a segment that teased The Megastar challenging The Tribal Chief for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and introduced the main event for the night: Knight vs. Solo Sikoa.
The crowd was red-hot for all involved and more importantly, treated Knight as equals to Cena and Reigns.
The company booked its top two stars of the last 20 years and in one night, any questions or concerns that the crowd was not as invested in the prospective babyface challenger as those two were erased.
Knight vs. Sikoa is a logical next step in the former's journey to the top prize on Friday nights and while he may not ultimately win the gold, the idea that he went from trapped in a male model gimmick to the hottest, most over guy on the roster is extraordinary.
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Absolutely enormous pop for Cena on his entrance. The dude can go away, come back, and appear every week, and he still brings unbridled energy to the show. The perfect choice to kick off the season premiere.
- And then...Reigns rolls up to up the star power and receive the same ovation, though his reaction was mixed with boos.
- Heyman's obvious gratitude for Reigns' return was glorious. The grey hair was dark again, prompting a Benjamin Button comparison from Corey Graves, and the elation on his face was priceless.
- "I'm not here to challenge you tonight, because I haven't earned it, but I do know someone who has..." Cena said. Cue another monster pop, this one for Knight.
- "You pissing your pants yet?" Knight unflinchingly asked. "You're Roman, right?"
Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly
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Pretty Deadly's Elton Prince suffered a shoulder injury during a match with Ridge Holland back in July and Friday, he and partner Kit Wilson battled Holland and Butch of The Brawling Brutes.
A back-and-forth match that saw the babyfaces rolling late came to a sudden halt when Prince faked an injured, Wilson took advantage, and the heels scored the win.
It was a great reintroduction for one of the best acts on Friday night. Wilson and Prince are great, have been for a long time, and are perfect for the main roster in that they can work and understand the significance of character work.
Good stuff here and great work by the creative team for playing up the history with Holland, as long as the performer himself was comfortable with it.
Result
Pretty Deadly defeated the Brawling Brutes
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Corey Graves selling Prince's "inspirational" return from a shoulder injury suffered at the hands of Holland was great. Michael Cole mocking Prince for being in a wheelchair while suffering from an upper-body injury was even better.
- Cole referring to Pretty Deadly's gear as a "super crop top" and being applauded by Graves for doing his research continued the fun interactions between the commentary team, which also included Kevin Patrick.
- Prince feigned a knee injury, which referee Jessika Carr bit on, and Wilson delivered an undetected cheap shot to Holland. Prince scored the rollup for the win.
Zelina Vega vs. Bayley
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Don't look now, but Bayley won a match.
After what felt like an eternity of defeats, The Role Model and leader of Damage CTRL defeated Zelina Vega Friday night, scoring a win in a match she really needed to have. After weeks of losses to the likes of Shotzi, Asuka, and Charlotte Flair, she finally earned a victory and it came in a fun little sprint of a match.
Flair interjected after the bell, saving Vega from a beatdown at the hands of the victor and WWE Women's Champion Iyo Sky, seemingly pointing to a tag team match if booking trends in these parts are any indication.
The Queen is still very much in the hunt for Sky's title and based on how she can rightly stake a claim to a title opportunity based on the controversial conclusion of last week's title bout, her involvement here made sense.
Result
Bayley defeated Vega
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Backstage, Carlito made his first SmackDown appearance in 14 years and after challenging Bobby Lashley to a match, found himself beaten down by The Street Profits.
- A confrontation between Bayley and Zelina Vega led to a frustrated Adam Pearce making a match between them.
- Elsewhere, Roman Reigns asked Jimmy Uso what he's been doing. After telling Uso not to call any more audibles, he told him to fix The Bloodline's biggest problem: Jey and Cody Rhodes as tag team champs.
- "It really would have made your day to see Bayley beaten by a Meteora, wouldn't it, Cole?" Graves asked. There's an obvious wink and nudge there.
Triple H's Big Announcement
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Triple H revealed Friday that he not only granted the hard-working Adam Pearce a promotion to that of Raw General Manager, but he had hired an individual to take over SmackDown: former Impact Wrestling and NWA world champion Nick Aldis.
As if that was not newsworthy enough, Kevin Owens was revealed as the Superstar the blue brand received in exchange for Jey Uso and The Prizefighter wasted little time establishing his presence, dropping NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio with a stunner and putting an end to his whining and complaining.
This was a noteworthy segment that could shape months of SmackDown programming.
Owens is a big get, even if it feels like he is shuffled back and forth between shows, and Aldis could freshen up the authority figure role on Friday nights.
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- "He has done an incredible job doing a very thankless job," the COO told Pearce.
- "As of now, you are the new General Manager of Raw."
- "I always thought they were pumping in that noise. I never realized how loud it actually is when you're out here," Triple H said, making light of reports that WWE pumps in crowd heat to drown out Mysterio.
- Aldis sported a blue suit, a nice touch.
- Owens immediately dropping Mysterio with a stunner was a nice touch and only enhanced the fans' reaction to the former Universal champion.
Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller and Austin Theory
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Earlier Friday, Cody Rhodes issued an open challenge for an Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match.
Grayson Waller and Austin Theory accepted and, despite a strong effort, were unable to wrest the gold away from The American Nightmare and Jey Uso.
The match was strong, had great heat, and featured some of the best work we have seen out of Waller on the main roster to date. Theory is great, a professional wrestler advanced well beyond his years, and both guys went toe-to-toe with two of the top stars in the company and never looked out of place.
As important as the match was the face-to-face confrontation between Rhodes and Roman Reigns that occurred afterward.
It suggested that there are definite plans for those two to run it back again, with Rhodes having the opportunity to finish his story and dethrone The Tribal Chief. It also brought Rhodes face-to-face with the one big failure of his WWE run to this point. It was a reminder, whether he needed it or not, that there is one big hurdle he still has to eclipse.
Nick Aldis broke it up tonight but there will almost certainly be a time when the two do business in a rematch of their WrestleMania 39 classic.
Result
Rhodes and Uso defeated Theory and Waller to retain the titles
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Aldis' first bit of business: announce Charlotte Flair vs. Iyo Sky for the WWE Women's Championship on next week's show. As The Queen exited his office, though, she came face-to-face with Jade Cargill in a moment that had fans salivating at the possibility of a match between them.
- Does anyone find it at all silly, even taking into consideration the tag title stipulation, that we just found out SmackDown received Kevin Owens in return for Jey Uso, only for Uso to come out in the very next segment to defend his tag titles on the show he was traded away from?
- "You're never allowed to headbutt a Samoan. That's a law and he did it anyway," Graves said of Waller, who tried the unthinkable with Uso.
- The pop for Rhodes' hot tag is unbelievable.
LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa
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LA Knight continued his rise up the ranks in WWE, defeating Solo Sikoa in Friday's main event.
The match was perfectly acceptable pro wrestling, with a great finish that saw Jimmy Uso once again flub up, leading to a rare pinfall loss for The Bloodline's enforcer.
The involvement of Cena suggests he will remain in this storyline, an asset to Knight as he looks to firmly cement his status as a top-tier star in WWE, and potentially sets up one more main event between him and Roman Reigns, depending on what the timing of Knight's title opportunity looks like.
Speaking of Reigns, he laid out Knight to close the show and add further credence to the idea that The Megastar is a main event, championship-worthy competitor.
Result
Knight defeated Sikoa
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
- Knight was clearly calling portions of the match, something he will be expected to do more and more as he continues his climb to the top of WWE.
- Sikoa and Knight set up a great powerslam spot throughout the match, with the babyface repeatedly trying to slam his bigger opponent but failing to. Going back to it in the comeback portion of the match was a great decision.
- Reigns leveled Knight and stood tall to close out the show. Even with Knight writhing at his feet, it was the right call in that it put The Megastar in that main event hunt.
Overall Grade
8 of 8SmackDown was billed as a season premiere episode and it did not disappoint, introducing new feuds, stars, and rivalries that will dominate the brand for the foreseeable future.
The arrival of Nick Aldis will be interesting to see and the history he has with Cody Rhodes could very well be the twist the creative team needs to bring The American Nightmare and Roman Reigns back together.
Kevin Owens returning to SmackDown is a great move...if there is a legitimate creative plan for him. Otherwise, he is essentially filling the Sheamus role as the grizzled veteran who can float in and out of programs without actually being given much to do.
On a night where much was expected, WWE delivered and created buzz for the next few months of television. How it capitalizes on it will be the real question.
Grade: A
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