Cameron Grimes vs. Grayson Waller was scheduled to open this week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Nebraska, but was interrupted by The Bloodline, still unhappy that Roman Reigns was last seen at the Royal Rumble for a Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Universal Championship was booked week. They were there to express their displeasure with Aldis.
Nick Aldis.
The SmackDown General Manager responded by reiterating that the 4-Way will continue – “it's a done deal” – and sure enough, we're getting an entertaining main event for this show: The Bloodline vs. AJ Styles & Randy Orton & LA Knight . With Reigns not at the show, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso had to find a tag team partner or be outnumbered.
Heyman set out to find a partner for her, approached Carlito with an apple and was rebuffed.
He later attempted to woo Bobby Lashley, who made it clear that he only wanted to be in the ring with The Bloodline if he faced Reigns.
When it came time for Heyman to deliver the bad news that no one would help them, Jimmy said he was worried about it. Solo, being the tough guy that he is, got right in his face and said, “That's not me.” Of course, Jimmy quickly changed his mind.
No, not yet and so on.
Jimmy has become a comedy character to a certain extent, and I'm not even sure I mind. This Bloodline thing is getting old, and a little comedy relief helps me a lot.
What they ended up doing was Solo and Jimmy took out Randy Orton before the match could begin, making it a straight tag team match in the end anyway. This was also notable because the two boys who were left had a grudge against each other. In fact, they didn't get along.
In the end it didn't matter. Orton, of course, came back late in the match, got tagged in, ran wild, and eventually pinned Jimmy after an RKO to give the babyfaces the win. Then they all came together to push Sikoa through the announce table and stand tall to close the show.
Hey, the babyfaces need to get their wins now because they damn sure won't get them at the Rumble.
All the rest
- The new Legado del Fantasma was given more of a spotlight and a proper introduction on this show, with Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo showcased through a slick video package and a match against Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro of the LWO. They had a fun match, with Carlito arriving late to brawl with Santos Escobar in the background, allowing Garza to score a pin by holding onto the ropes. The group is off to a damn good start.
- Logan Paul received a pre-recorded promo in which he threatened to file a lawsuit with Kevin Owens for blackening his eye by hitting him in the face with the cast on his hand. He also used this to make further threats to cancel the match if KO showed up with the cast. At one point, I won't tell you, this man called Owens a “little cheater, you little cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.” I don't know, man.
- BUTCH still wants to be a lone wolf, but Tyler Bate wants to bring back British Strong Style because this is their chance to really do something. And then Bate mentioned that BUTCH needs to go deeper and look back and decide who he's going to be. What is this name? He hasn't said it, but it certainly sounds like the bruiserweight division could be coming back soon.
- Bayley got her chance to take care of Bianca Belair like Iyo Sky asked last week, but she failed to do so and lost via pinfall after the Kiss of Death. At one point in the match, Bayley asked for help and Damage CTRL just stood there. Even after that she was not comforted. The breakup is getting closer and closer, but they're really moving at a snail's pace.
- Kevin Owens had the chance to respond to Paul's pre-tape with one of his own, and he laughed off the idea of a lawsuit and instead offered an in-person showdown on The Kevin Owens Show next week. This is the penultimate stop before the game. Should be fun!
- Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits called out Karrion Kross and his new crew, but were rebuked with a promo on the Titantron in which Kross only revealed the group's mission statement and name: The Final Testament. Cool.
- Carmelo Hayes tried to say something to Nick Aldis about the Royal Rumble when Grayson Waller and Austin Theory interrupted him. The Grimes match never happened, so Hayes offered to beat up Grayson again. Instead, they arranged a match with Theory. The match was going well until they managed a spot on the top rope and both landed awkwardly on their heads. The referee immediately used the X sign and the doctor stopped the game. They pointed out that the fight had to be stopped to protect their wrestlers, but hoped for the best for them. It certainly looked like a bad landing, and it was also about WWE being able to get the message across that this will be the new norm going forward. Instead of wrestlers overcoming serious injuries, we need to know that they will stop and protect them, and we need to get used to that. It's worth it.
This felt very much like a show treading water. It certainly wasn't bad, there just wasn't much going on.
Grade: C+
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