WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Nov. 21
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on November 21.
Survivor Series is coming up fast in just over a week, so it's full steam ahead for the WarGames teams heading into next weekend. On top of that, we also have the ongoing Last Time is Now tournament to find John Cena's final opponent.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Friday's show:
- Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed
- Penta vs. Finn Balor
- DIY vs. Fraxiom
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.
Opening Segment
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SmackDown opened with Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul and Reed coming to the ring to hype their WarGames team. The Usos interrupted and exchanged some words with Heyman's team.
Cody Rhodes was going to join Jimmy and Jey, but when he didn't show up, we got a backstage shot showing Drew McIntyre leaving him knocked out in his own tour bus. The Usos ran to check on him as the show went to a break.
Considering WWE usually makes its opening segments longer than needed, this felt short and sweet. Not much was accomplished aside from Rhodes being attacked, but they did what they needed to do without taking up too much time from the show.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Ilja Dragunov vs.
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Last time in action: Dragunov defeated Axiom (SD, Nov. 14), McDonagh lost a six-man tag match (Raw, Nov. 17)
Ilja Dragunov came out to take on another opponent in an open challenge for the United States Championship. The call was answered by JD McDonagh. These two have fought many times on the indies and in WWE, so there was no love lost.
Dragunov seemed to have the upper hand at first thanks to his striking ability, but McDonagh used some dirty tactics to take control heading into the break.
This was a hard-hitting fight that made both men look like tough competitors. Dragunov was bleeding a little, and McDonagh's chest was beet red from strikes.
While the former 205 Live regular put up a great fight, this was not his night to win singles gold. After a long back-and-forth fight, Dragunov won clean with his finisher. Like every Dragunov open challenge, this is one you need to see for yourself.
Result: Dragunov defeated McDonagh
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed
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Last time in action: Hayes defeated Kit Wilson (Main Event, Nov. 7), Reed lost to Rhodes (SD, Nov. 14)
The Last Time is Now tournament continued this week with Hayes taking on Reed, who Nick Aldis warned backstage along with the rest of Heyman's crew before this bout started.
As expected, the Auszilla took control almost immediately. He was twice as big as Hayes, so the former NXT champion had a hard time regaining his composure as the big man unloaded on him.
Hayes planted Reed with a DDT before the break, but the powerhouse was back in the driver's seat when we returned. Having Breakker, Heyman and Paul at ringside gave Reed even more of an advantage.
This was a classic David vs. Goliath dynamic. Reed was a dominant monster, and Hayes did a great job giving the crowd hope that he would make a comeback. The Usos came to Melo's defense when Breakker and Paul started interfering.
While Heyman had the ref distracted, Rhodes showed up and pushed him into the ring post, allowing Melo to win by countout to advance in the tournament. WWE doesn't do this kind of finish much these days, so it felt like a decent way to advance this story while also giving Melo the win.
Result: Hayes defeated Reed
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Alexa Bliss was shown backstage forcing Charlotte and Rhea Ripley to sit down and talk out their problems.
- The counter into a DDT from Hayes looked about as good as it gets.
- The crowd was very anti-Paul, which he played into well.
- Rhodes gave a promo on top of the announce table after the match was over.
DIY vs. Fraxiom
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Last time in action: DIY lost to Hayes and Trick Williams (NXT, Sept. 16), Fraxiom lost to The Vision (SD, Sept. 19)
The next matchup saw Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa take on Axiom and Nathan Frazer in tag team action.
Ciampa seemed a little distracted by his feud with Dragunov, so Fraxiom was able to take control early and use some high-flying offense to take out both opponents at ringside.
DIY was able to regroup and slow their opponents down as the show went to a break. We returned to see CIampa and Gargano almost get the win with a Shatter Machine.
DIY ended up getting a cheap win when LeRae pulled off Axiom's mask and Gargano was able to pin him as he tried to cover up.
This was a solid match with a semi-creative ending that will keep the feud alive.
Result: DIY defeated Fraxiom
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Fraxiom is one of those teams WWE can put in the ring with anyone and get a great match. They are that good.
- WWE has better not break up DIY again just because of this Dragunov stuff. It feels like they have broken up and reunited more than enough.
- Candice LeRae feels so underused. She is a fantastic performer and WWE never seems to know what to do with her.
Penta vs. Finn Balor
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Last time in action: Balor lost a six-man tag match (Raw, Nov. 17), Penta defeated El Grande Americano (Raw, Nov. 3)
The main event was another Last Time is Now tournament match with Balor taking on Penta. The Prince got the early advantage by attacking Penta before he was ready, but the luchador didn't take long to regain his footing.
WWE was smart to put this match in the main event because these are two of the most skilled people who competed on the card this week. Penta and Balor only competed against each other for the first time this year, but since then, they have had a handful of matches and improved with each one.
Balor was doing his usual heel act, which made Penta even more popular with the live crowd. Everything the masked man did seemed to get a reaction.
After The Prince failed to hit the Coup de Grace, Penta was able to hit his Destroyer finisher for the pin and the win.
Result: Penta defeated Balor
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- We got a very dramatized meeting between Flair and Ripley complete with music and camera cuts.
- Penta's handstand on the turnbuckle is always a fun moment.
- Can we all agree Penta has the coolest mask in WWE?
The Final Word
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The show ended with Flair, Bliss, Sky and Ripley giving a promo to introduce the fifth member of their team, AJ Lee. Their WarGames opponents attacked them from behind and ended up taking out the babyfaces.
This week's show seemed pretty average on paper, but it ended up being one of the better recent episodes thanks to four strong matches and a few storyline developments.
Depending on what you enjoy, any of the matches we got this week could be considered the best, but if we have to pick one, we are going with Dragunov vs. McDonagh.
WWE has felt a little bland in recent weeks, but things are beginning to heat up again as we head into Survivor Series.
Grade: B
