WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Crown Jewel

Coming off a massive Crown Jewel, the November 10 edition of Friday Night SmackDown would question the future of the blue brand and The Bloodline inside the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

LA Knight could not dethrone Roman Reigns as world champion, but he remained undeterred. He turned his focus to Grayson Waller, who he looked to shut up this week.

Bayley announced a "State of Damage CTRL" address following the return of Kairi Sane to help Iyo Sky at Crown Jewel.

Carlito would compete one-on-one for the first time in years against Bobby Lashley.

Kevin Owens would join commentary for the night, replacing Corey Graves who was taking time off for paternity leave.

SmackDown promised major consequences and new hype heading toward Survivor Series.

Carlito (w/ LWO) vs. Bobby Lashley (w/ The Street Profits)

Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro and Zelina Vega opened the show. Carlito interrupted The Master of the 619 to blame Escobar rather than Logan Paul for the loss.

Escobar headed to the back followed by Mysterio and Vega, leaving just Del Toro and Wilde to back up Caribbean Cool against Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits. Carlito fell to a Spear.

After the match, Lashley and The Street Profits attacked Carlito. The Master of the 619 had to make the save as Escobar did not try to help Carlito. Mysterio and Escobar brawled with the former Legado standing tall.

This was a jam-packed segment surrounding an okay match.

Carlito's return singles match was too slow and would have worked better if he and The All Mighty picked up the pace. Lashley was at least the right man to win, remaining protected.

None of it mattered more than the aftermath. Latino World Order is finally evolving, and it starts with Escobar embracing his best tendencies.

He can now escape the shadow of Mysterio and play a dangerous heel like in NXT. Carlito has felt superfluous in LWO, but he should stand out more feuding against Escobar.

Result

Lashley def. Carlito by pinfall.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Kevin Owens opened the show in a sleeveless shirt and tie to join commentary. He told Michael Cole that he got the tie from Nick Aldis.
  
• B-Fab was shown watching the match backstage.
• KO admitted he would have done even more than Paul did to become United States champion. and was with Carlito in questioning Escobar.
• After Carlito reversed a Lashley suplex into one of his own, KO threw out a gem of a line: "See, eating apples, that's what it does."
• WWE was aggressive with the commercial breaks before and during the match.
• Escobar tripped Mysterio on the apron whose leg got stuck between the post and steps. The former Legado then intentionally dropkicked the stairs.
• The former Legado left the building after explaining that "he had it coming".
  

Kairi Sane Joins Damage CTRL Despite Bayley's Skepticism

Bayley questioned why Iyo Sky had turned on her plan and brought in Kairi Sane. Sky and Dakota Kai both felt that The Sky Pirate made Damage CTRL better. Sane forgave The Role Model.

Bianca Belair arrived followed by Charlotte Flair and Asuka,, setting up a six-woman tag for later.

Outside of Bayley, no one in this segment is a great promo, and it showed. Asuka made the most impact without speaking a word of English. Sane and Sky might have benefited from speaking at least partially in Japanese.

Sane in Damage CTRL makes sense, giving that group more credibility. It seems likely that the younger stars will turn against the veteran sooner than later.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• The Columbus crowd tried to "What?" Bayley, and she shut it down soundly.
  
• Bayley showed footage of her brutal attack on Sane before she left WWE.
• Damage CTRL hugged despite Bayley's insistence that she "doesn't do that anymore".
• The crowd got way more into this segment when Charlotte and Asuka arrived.
  

Dragon Lee vs. Cedric Alexander

Dragon Lee had control of the action early, but Cedric Alexander refused to go down easily. It took a spinning sit-out DDT from the luchador to take the win.

This was entirely a spot-fest, but it was a fun one. Alexander's high-impact offense was especially a joy to watch as it has been too long since fans have seen him at his best.

The match was still more abbreviated than it needed to be. Both men have potential to do more than just look impressively athletic.

At the very least, this showed how smooth Dragon is while reminding fans again that Alexander has serious potential left untapped.

Result

Dragon def. Alexander by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Kevin Owens noted his jealousy over Dragon's cool entrance and ability to get up high on kicks.
• Dragon nearly took the win with a sit-out powerbomb. Alexander turned the tide of the match with a release German that sent the luchador into the turnbuckles.
• The crowd went wild after a pair of wild Alexander near-falls from a standing Spanish Fly and Michinoku Driver.
• WWE showed video packages highlighting the valor of United States military veterans.
  

LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

LA Knight promised that he was not done with Roman Reigns until he won the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship. Grayson Waller interrupted to mock The Million Dollar Megastar. Knight won the battle of words.

While The Aussie pushed Knight in the ring, he was still unable to put away The Million Dollar Mega Star, who sealed his win in the ring with a BFT.

Austin Theory and Waller poured water on Kevin Owens' head afterward. Nick Aldis had told KO that he would be suspended if he got physically involved with the wrestlers, but he still attacked both heels and hit Theory with a Stunner.

WWE made sure to keep Knight hot throughout this segment. He still looks like a world-beater and could easily challenge The Head of the Table again sooner than later.

Waller was a capable foil to The Million Dollar Megastar in a solid performance. While this probably could have trimmed down a bit, the two work well together in the ring and on the mic.

KO was also a riot on commentary throughout this match to elevate the action and his growing rivalry with The Aussie.

Result

Knight def. Waller by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Knight told Reigns to give Jimmy Uso a raise and whatever other pleasures he can give him.
• Knight completely roasted Waller, saying the Grayson Waller Effect sounded like an STD and The Aussie was not allowed within 50 feet of a school.
• The crowd was louder for Knight than anyone else.
• Owens enjoyed Knight repeatedly driving Waller's head into the announce table, repeatedly saying "Yes!" instead of "Yeah!". 
• KO later told The Aussie that his gear had "too many sparkles".
• The Million Dollar Megastar caught Waller on his attempt at the rolling return cutter and landed a side suplex that turned the tide.
• Owens used freeze frame to make fun of Waller and Theory after the finish.
  

Damage CTRL vs. Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair and Asuka

After an energetic showcase from Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair, Asuka turned on her partners. She misted The EST and helped Damage CTRL beat down the faces until the referee disqualified the group.

Shotzi tried to make the save but got laid out with a Rose Plant. Kairi Sane planted an Insane Elbow on Belair, and Damage CTRL stood tall as a five-woman group.

The main event never became what it could have been with the talent involved, but this was all about the ending angle.

While it was somewhat predictable that Asuka would turn on the babyfaces given her history with Sane and Sky, it was still a great moment. The Empress of the Tomorrow makes Damage CTRL truly look dangerous.

Since Bayley first brought together this stable, the group has never been as dominant as they needed to be. The Role Model may not have a place long term in this group, but she has finally seen her vision realized.

This assemblage of stars could genuinely dominate the women's division at the level of The Bloodline or Judgment Day. If the plan becomes WarGames, Damage CTRL must win this time.

Result

Belair, Charlotte and Asuka def. Damage CTRL by disqualification.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Before the main event, WWE showed a recap of the end of John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa and announced The Enforcer would return next week.
• Also connected to The Bloodline, Jimmy Uso agreed to fight LA Knight next week.
• Belair showed her anger with Sane when they were one-on-one, battering her with hammerfists then landing an impressive moving delayed vertical suplex.
  

Overall Show

After a star-studded month of SmackDown featuring Roman Reigns, John Cena and Logan Paul, it felt like WWE scaled back on the roster for this week.

That may be to give talent time to rest after overseas travel, but this week's episode did not follow up on nearly enough from Crown Jewel.

WWE has teased that The Champ may retire after his devastating loss to Solo Sikoa, and The Head of the Table continued his dominant reign as the top world champion in WWE. Yet no Bloodline members appeared live.

The onus was put on a limited roster to deliver a show that felt big, but this led to overlong segments into matches across the card.

Damage CTRL is more interesting than ever, but the follow-up and Asuka turn could have been handled over multiple weeks rather than rushing everything together in one night.

LWO is fracturing in a way that should benefit the talent, but it again came off rushed. Santos Escobar turning the moment suspicion was thrown at him left serious storytelling unexplored.

This is all to say that WWE did enough with the talent on hand to deliver a solid show, but it never big enough for the moment. Survivor Series felt far more imminent on Raw than on SmackDown.

While each individual segment was solid enough, the overall impact was less than the sum of those parts. At least the product is headed in a better direction for many stars on the blue brand.

Grade: C+