WWE SmackDown on November 10 went live from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It featured a fall-out from WWE Crown Jewel and built towards upcoming Survivor Series WarGames.
LA Knight continued his momentous run. The Damage CTRL drama continued, and we had a little preview of the Women’s WarGames match. A shocking heel turn from the show and much more as we discuss everything that happened on Friday Night SmackDown!
LWO Opened
Kevin Owens joined the commentary team. The show opened with LWO members. Rey Mysterio grabbed the mic and talked about how Logan Paul cheated his way to win the US Title. Carlito came out and said that Rey was blaming the wrong person. He said Santos Escobar put the knuckles on the apron to help Logan. This ended in a face-off between Mysterio and Escobar.
Grades: B
Analysis: It was a major angle to start things on SmackDown. This was being built for weeks. Rey Mysterio is an absolute master in putting younger talents over, and he has got a job to do once again.
Singles Match
Carlito vs. Bobby Lashley
Next up was a one-on-one match between Carlito and Bobby Lashley. The match began at a good pace. Carlito blocked a Delayed Vertical Suplex and countered it into his own Vertical Suplex.
The ringside action saw other LWO members fighting with Street Profits. Lashley got the win with a Spear.
Lashley and Profits’ attack continued after the match. Rey came out with a chair. Escobar finally snapped and attacked Mysteriofrom behind. He trapped Rey into steel steps and kicked them.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Grades: B+
Analysis: Escobar has turned into a heel as he was in NXT. It is an exciting move. Let’s see how other LWO members react to this.
WWE has currently been booking factions’ breakdowns greatly. Hence, a dramatic story is expected here too. Bobby Lashley needed this win, and he got that.
Kairi Sane joined Damage CTRL
Bayley came out alone. She talked about how her plan has worked out so far for Damage CTRL. She was not happy with Iyo Sky’s plan to bring back Kairi Sane.
Sky, Sane, and Kai entered together. Sky said she retained the Title, and that’s precisely what Bayley wanted. Bayley mentioned her attack on Kairi the last time she was in WWE.
Dakota said that Kairi would make Damage CTRL stronger. Kairi also said that she respects Bayley as the leader and forgave The Role Model for her past actions. Then they all hugged, with Bayley a bit hesitant.
Bianca Belair arrived and said she wouldn’t forgive Damage CTRL for what they did to her. Charlotte Flair and Asuka later joined the EST. There was a short promo war between Japanese stars in the Japanese language. A trios tag team match was made official later on the show.
Grades: B
Analysis: The Damage CTRL issue has settled so far, but Bayley was shown a bit confused. Kairi Sane is an excellent addition to the women’s roster. WWE must stay with them at least till the WrestleMania season.
Singles Match
Cedric Alexander vs. Dragon Lee
The match carried on at a high pace. Dragon Lee delivered a Liger Bomb only for two counts. Alexander thrashed Lee into corner turnbuckles with a wild German Suplex.
A Spanish Fly from Alexander and Michinoku Driver, but Lee refused to stay down. The crowd was fired up at this moment. In the end, Dragon Lee got the win by an Asai DDT.
Winner: Dragon Lee
Grades: B-
Analysis: It was a fun match, and both superstars at least got the much-deserving TV time. Lee’s moves always look so smooth. This also reminded fans of Cedric’s athleticism.
Singles Match
LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller
LA Knight cut a promo and said he has unfinished business with Roman Reigns. He also told Reigns to give Jimmy Uso a promotion because Jim saved his Title. Grayson Waller tried to trash talk about him, but Knight roasted him and called him a Kangaroo Jackass.
Knight dominated early on in the match. A swinging Neckbreaker got two counts for Knight. Knight was victorious with a BFT.
Theory and Waller disrespected KO and Michael Cole on commentary. Cole tried to calm down Kevin. But Owens said he could absorb his disrespect but could not take Michael Cole’s disrespect. He ended up delivering a Stunner on The Aussie.
Winner: LA Knight
Grades: B
Analysis: LA Knight got the monstrous pop. He was looking ready for another match with Reigns. Kevin Owens made fun of Waller on commentary. WWE must book Knight stronger here because he should not lose any momentum.
Backstage: Jimmy Uso was seen talking to Roman Reigns on the phone. He agreed to have a match with LA Knight next week.
Also, a recap of John Cena and Solo Sikoa’s match at Crown Jewel was aired. The Enforcer will return next week.
6 Man Tag Tram Match
Damage CTRL vs. Charlotte, Bianca, and Asuka
The babyfaces got the early advantage. Belair took out Sky and Bayley with a plancha to the outside. Flair took out Kairi with a big boot. Bianca Belair got the better of Kairi Sane this time as she delivered a delayed Vertical Suplex.
As Bianca delivered a spine buster on Bayley and went for a hot tag to Asuka, The Empress pulled back and spit mist on her partner Belair, aligning herself with The Damage CTRL.
Asuka and Kairi hugged, and we saw a Kabuki Warriors reunion. Iyo Sky joined, too. A brawl broke out, and the match ended in no contest. Shotzi arrived to even the numbers for the babyfaces.
Sky took out Flair with a moonsault, and Sane delivered an elbow on Belair. The new Damage CTRL stood tall to close out the show.
Winner: No Contest
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was a decent angle to close the show. The Damage CTRL has looked stronger than ever since its establishment. We got a preview of a possible WarGames match. Damage CTRL consists of Bayley, Iyo Sky, Dakota, Asuka, and Kairi Sane on one side, going against Charlotte, Bianca, Shotzi, and two other partners on the other side. Things will be interesting in the SmackDown Women’s division from now on.
That was the show. It had great segments overall. Every segment seemed valuable, and nothing looked like a filler. The possibility of a Women’s War Games opened.
