WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Fox Debut

A new era in WWE history kicked off Friday night in Los Angeles with the premiere of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox, headlined by a colossal main event featuring Kofi Kingston defending his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar.

Would The Beast Incarnate conquer the inspirational titleholder and turn his dream run into a nightmare? Could Kingston do the seemingly inconceivable and defeat Lesnar, ensuring his unpredictable reign atop the blue brand would continue for at least another week?

The answers to those questions would be determined in the marquee bout of a show that also featured a high-stakes ladder match between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon and a star-studded tag team bout pitting Raw women's champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair against SmackDown women's champion Bayley and Sasha Banks.

The Rock and Becky Lynch Besmirch The King

Raw women's champion Becky Lynch kicked off the debut episode of SmackDown on Fox, drawing a huge pop from the Los Angeles chapter of the WWE Universe. Before she could say much, King Corbin entered to a chorus of boos.

The Rock then made an electrifying entrance, rattling off his catchphrases and bringing up the cultural phenomenon SmackDown has become. He and Lynch took turns talking trash on Corbin, including instigating a chant of "STD" at the 2019 King of the Ring.

The promo segment ended with The Man and The Great One laying the smack down on Corbin, courtesy of the People's Elbow and Rock Bottom, before Rock wrapped things up with an "if ya smell..." to a raucous ovation.

Grade

A

Analysis

WWE wisely took Corbin and Lynch, two major contemporary stars, and booked them in the same segment with the biggest star in Hollywood and a wrestling icon. The result was a simple-yet-effective segment that told the Fox viewers that the King and The Man are worthy of sharing the squared circle with a major star such as The Rock.

That Lynch would be allowed to get physical, laying into Corbin, is less an indicator of WWE going in a direction that allowed intergender wrestling and more its commitment to portraying the Raw women's champion as one of, if not the biggest star in the business.

This was an electrifying start to a show that needed one and, furthermore, added to the big-show feel of the broadcast.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks

Lynch and Charlotte Flair set aside their differences to battle SmackDown women's champion Bayley and Sasha Banks in the night's first match, a preview of ongoing title feuds between the four measuring sticks of female sports entertainment.

Flair controlled early, taking the fight to Banks until a well-timed bit of interference from Bayley ended with her shoving The Queen from the top rope to the arena floor.

The heels controlled through the commercial break, but a hot tag to Lynch sparked a babyface comeback that had The Man rolling. Bayley halted her momentum, hanging her up on the top rope, but Lynch expertly tagged Flair into the match.

The action broke down, with all four women hammering away on each other. Banks and Bayley looked to regroup on the floor, but Flair launched herself off the top rope with a moonsault that wiped out both opponents. She rolled Bayley into the ring, applied the Figure Eight and tapped out Bayley for the big tag team victory.

Result

Flair and Lynch defeated Bayley and Banks.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a greatest hits version of the longer, frankly better, match we saw a few weeks back between these same teams.

The purpose, beyond showcasing the division, was to put over Flair against Bayley and set her up for championship opportunity. Corey Graves alluded to as much seconds after the tap out. With only a handful of matches announced for Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, do not be surprised if that title bout ends up part of the lineup based on the conclusion of this one.

It is somewhat curious that Banks was de-emphasized as much as she was given her championship match inside the Hell in a Cell structure against Lynch on Sunday night, but protecting her from the loss was a wise move on the part of WWE Creative.

Seth Rollins in Action

Universal champion Seth Rollins hit the ring for singles competition, but before we could be introduced to his opponent, Bray Wyatt interrupted with the latest edition of Firefly Fun House, with a not-so-subtle warning for the champion via the usage of Ramblin' Rabbit.

Back from the break, Rollins' opponent, Shinsuke Nakamura, wasted little time taking advantage of a preoccupied opponent. The intercontinental champion worked over The Beast Slayer momentarily, but Rollins soared through the air with a big knee to down him.

Chants of "burn it down" filled the arena as Rollins set up Nakamura for the stomp. Before he could, the lights dimmed and The Fiend appeared, attacking the universal champion from behind on the entrance ramp. He applied the mandible claw and shoved Rollins from the stage to the arena floor.

The haunting melody of Wyatt's laughter filled the arena heading into the commercial, with the health and well-being of the universal champion unknown.

Result

No-contest.

Grade

A

Analysis

This improved drastically on the so-so booking of Monday's show, on which Rollins and Wyatt interacted during the closing seconds of the broadcast. Despite that assault by The Fiend, the booking still felt wholly unsatisfying for a pay-per-view six days out.

From Friday's incarnation of Firefly Funhouse to the angle involving Wyatt and Rollins, this just felt like a bigger and more effective segment than anything that happened on the flagship.

The Fiend has been so dominant at the expense of Rollins, though, that it is becoming difficult to imagine a scenario wherein Wyatt does not win the Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell and castrate Rollins of his momentum and credibility at the same time.

Ladder Match: Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

With his future in WWE at stake, Kevin Owens took the fight to Shane McMahon from the opening bell of their ladder match, showing little regard to his superior. McMahon faced the same fate and would be ousted from his power of position with a loss in the match.

Owens pummeled his opponent and set up a ladder. Looking for the knockout blow, he tossed it at the prodigal son, who ducked, narrowly avoiding disaster. McMahon finally created separation, slamming Owens face-first into the announce table. He grabbed nearby ladder and smashed it into his opponent's back.

He followed up with a barrage of rights and a few forearms before scaling the top rope and launching off with an elbow drop that drove KO through the table.

Back from the commercial, Owens fought back into the match and proceeded to obliterate McMahon with a frog splash through a ladder propped up at ringside.

McMahon cut Owens' ascent up the ladder off with a shot to the leg. He followed up with the Coast-to-Coast into a ladder. Owens recovered, though, and powerbombed McMahon into another ladder.

KO climbed the ladder, retrieved the briefcase and fired McMahon to a huge pop.

Result

Owens defeated McMahon.

Grade

B

Analysis

Unlike most of McMahon's major matches last year, this was not overly long and did not overstay its welcome.

The spots were big, if not reminiscent of the ones we have seen from the heel in each of his bouts, and the story was solid enough.

Most importantly, the finish was the right one, as Owens can move past the overbooked mess of a storyline and look to recapture the momentum he built for himself earlier this year, when he left SummerSlam to one of the biggest pops of the show.

8-Man Tag Team Match

Braun Strowman, The Miz and Heavy Machinery battled Raw tag team champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, United States champion AJ Styles and Randy Orton in eight-man tag team action.

The match was short-lived, with each Superstar hitting his signature offense before Strowman bowled over the competition and put away Ziggler with the running powerslam.

It was Strowman's confrontation with former boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury that was most notable.

After a brief staredown earlier, Fury hopped the guardrail and had to be restrained by security and officials as he looked to get him a piece of Strowman.

Result

Strowman, Miz and Heavy Machinery defeated Ziggler, Roode, Styles and Orton.

Grade

C

Analysis

The only notable part of this entire ordeal was Strowman's interaction with Fury.

Whether there is any planned one-off match remains to be seen, but the confrontation will at the least be good for a mention on SportsCenter. From that standpoint, this was a success.

Otherwise, this was just an excuse to get these Superstars on the broadcast.

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan

The war between Roman Reigns and Erick Rowan continued in a Lumberjack match just days before The Big Dog is slated to team with Daniel Bryan against Rowan and Luke Harper at Hell in a Cell. Bryan watched from ringside as part of the commentary team for the bout.

The heel lumberjacks put the boots to Reigns outside the ring, but the babyfaces fended them off. Reigns remained in peril heading into the break.

After several moments of domination by Rowan, The Big Dog answered with a desperation Superman Punch that left both men prone.

Bryan left the announce position to confront Harper, the lumberjacks joined in and Reigns dove over the top rope, wiping everyone out in one fell swoop.

A big cross-body by Rowan earned a near-fall as he returned to his oppressive onslaught on his opponent. Rowan set up Reigns for the Iron Claw, but Reigns delivered another Superman Punch. Harper entered and leveled him with a clothesline. Bryan answered with a running knee to the face of the big man.

Reigns capitalized on the distraction Bryan provided and delivered a spear for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Bryan extended his hand to Reigns, who accepted it in a sign of unity.

Result

Reigns defeated Rowan.

Grade

B+

Analysis

The gimmick was unnecessary, but it did lead to the high spot from Reigns and let Bryan and Harper get involved without drawing a disqualification.

This did a solid job of building heat for Sunday's big tag team match, but it still feels inevitable that Bryan will prove to be a hypocritical liar and betray Reigns en route to a long program between the two.

Until then, it was nice to see Bryan back on the receiving end of the "YES!" chants that once serenaded him in arenas across the country.

WWE Championship Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar

The WWE Championship was at stake in the main event of Friday's show, with Kofi Kingston looking to preserve his magical, dream reign as the top star on the blue brand against the colossal challenge of Brock Lesnar.

He was unable to.

Within seconds of the bell's ringing, Lesnar caught a charging Kingston in the F-5 and pinned him to win the title.

From there, Rey Mysterio's music played and the iconic luchador arrived...with former UFC heavyweight champion—and the man who unseated Lesnar in that promotion—Cain Velasquez.

The former mixed martial artist hit the ring, took down Lesnar and left the new WWE champion scurrying to the sanctuary of the arena floor. The show went off the air with the Velasquez and Mysterio standing tall while Lesnar retreated with Paul Heyman.

Result

Lesnar defeated Kingston to win the title.

Grade

A+

Analysis

First things first: Kingston deserved a better conclusion to his title reign, even if we all knew Lesnar would win the title on this historic night.

Setting aside the disappointment from that, this was exactly the type of angle WWE needed to deliver to drum up interest in the product beyond Friday's broadcast. Velasquez has made a name for himself for his in-ring exploits in Mexico, showing great timing and athleticism in his official matches.

Given his backstory and history with Lesnar, it is natural that he would come in to avenge the beating his friend Mysterio endured at the hands of The Beast while also staking his claim to dominance in WWE.

The question now is whether WWE Creative can sustain the heat long enough to get to a showdown between those competitors somewhere down the line.