WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 28
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Credit: WWE.com
Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns returned to television Friday night on SmackDown just eight days before a monumental clash with social media megastar Logan Paul at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What did The Tribal Chief have to say about his upcoming defense, and how did he address the recent dissension within The Bloodline between Jey Uso and “Honorary Uce” Sami Zayn?
Find out with this recap of a show that also featured an open challenge from SmackDown Women’s champion Ronda Rousey.
Brawling Brutes vs. Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn
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Credit: WWE.com
Sami Zayn stressed the importance of Roman Reigns seeing The Bloodline’s arms raised in victory ahead of his arrival to the arena tonight. That started, he said, with him and Solo Sikoa defeating The Brawling Brute’s Butch and Ridge Holland.
With Undisputed WWE Tag Team champions The Usos watching from ringside, it started promisingly, with Sikoa delivering a uranage to Butch on the ring apron and seizing control ahead of the commercial break.
The dissension within The Bloodline proved costly, as has been the case in recent weeks, with an argument at ringside between Zayn and Jey Uso causing a distraction and allowing Butch and Holland to score a quality win.
After the match, the bickering continued, with Jimmy appearing particularly perturbed by everything around him. This brought out Reigns, who made his way to the ring ahead of another break.
The match itself was good, but that should not be a surprise to anyone who has been paying even the slightest attention. Butch and Holland have developed into a quality team, while Zayn and Sikoa have their own blossoming chemistry.
The match was story-heavy, with a lot of attention paid to outside factors, and that may have hurt the overall quality. With that said, nothing here was intended to be a classic. Rather, it was the latest chapter in a much more significant and overarching storyline that will, hopefully, make stars of all involved.
Result
Butch and Holland defeated Sikoa and Zayn
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Zayn rallying the troops, only to be met by varying facial expressions by the genuine uces around him, will never not be funny.
- Jey Uso jumping onto the apron, poised to intervene while still not trusting that Zayn can actually represent The Bloodline effectively and win the match, was great character stuff that just reflects the little things he has been extremely good at over the last two years.
- Jey pulled Zayn out of harm’s way, only to spark another argument with the Honorary Uce.Â
Roman Reigns Addressed The Bloodline
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Credit: WWE.com
A visibly frustrated Reigns joined The Bloodline in the ring, undoubtedly ready to address the petty in-fighting that had defined the faction of late.
Reigns demanded a resolution to the issues gripping the group, to which Zayn put his hand out to Jey in a gesture of solidarity, only for the tag team champion to unload weeks of frustration on his associate.
Reigns warned his cousin that if his resistance to Zayn continues, he will rename the Honorary Uce “Sami Uso,” to which the crowd popped and Uso looked on in disbelief.
Paul Heyman, not one to remain silent, threw it to the commercial break.
This was a fantastic bit of business that highlighted the personalities of all at play and featured some genuine hilarity as more than one man cracked. The facial expressions, body language and promo work was fantastic, providing the latest chapter in a story that is easily the best in WWE—if not all of pro wrestling.
Grade
A+
Top Moments
- “I want this problem fixed, right now!” Reigns said of the issues between Zayn and Jey.
- “I don’t know what I did to offend you, but I’m sorry,” Zayn said before offering Jey his hand.
- “How you think you’re part of the Bloodline if you ain’t blood? Ain’t no one in this room like you. I just got the balls to say it out loud,” Jey said.
- “I don’t give a damn what the Tribal Chief said!” Jey said before Reigns’ head snapped up and a look of disdain painted his face.
- “What Jey just said was really messed up, but he didn’t mean it,” Zayn said.
- Reigns cracked Jey in a funny moment that saw both men, and Zayn, visibly laughing.
- The Tribal Chief warned that if Jey doesn’t find his “ucey,” he’s going to take the “honorary” part of Zayn’s title away from his nickname.
- “If you don’t figure this out…we’re just gonna name him “Sami Uso,” y’all!” The reactions on Jey and Sami’s faces were extraordinary.
New Day vs. Maximum Male Models
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Credit: WWE.com
New Day battled Maximum Male Models in tag team action next.
The match, which was fine for what it was, saw Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods score the win in the battle of the directionless tandems.
Neither team is doing much of anything interesting right now, which may be the biggest indictment on Triple H’s creative process to this point. Somehow, New Day feels stuck, and their creative (or lack thereof) is uninspired.
That is somewhat dumbfounding given the enormous personalities at play.
Backstage, Sonya Deville cut a promo on Liv Morgan, only for a brawl between them to break out before referees and officials separated them.
A quality feud that keeps Morgan at the forefront and gives Deville something to do, this has all worked well to this point.
Result
New Day defeated Maximum Male Models
Grade
C-
Top Moments
- The backstage brawl between Morgan and Deville was entertaining, if nothing else.
Open Challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey vs.
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Credit: WWE.com
Ronda Rousey, clearly a heel, issued an open challenge to anyone in the women’s locker room. Former NXT star Emma (Tenille Dashwood to Impact and indie fans) made her return to WWE, ready to claim a title that eluded her during her first run with the company.
Hubris nearly proved the champ’s downfall as she clearly underestimated the challenger and spent too much time taunting the audience, allowing Emma to nearly score the upset on more than one occasion.
A well-timed rake to the eyes of her opponent, proving she is not nearly as dominant as she would like to make some think, allowed Rousey to score the win and retain her title in a harder-fought match than she expected.
It is nice to see Emma back, particularly after how poorly her main roster run was handled. With that said, Triple H is close to running into a problem the competitors have over on Wednesday nights in that there is so much talent running around the women’s division right now, and limited opportunities, that adding another competitor to the mix feels like he is creating a daunting task for himself.
If anyone can figure out the pieces and make it work, it is him, but right now, it is perfectly acceptable to question where the Aussie fits.
Result
Rousey defeated Emma to retain the title
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Rousey egged on the jeers, continuing to establish her new heel persona.
- “You’re all too mediocre to even know what you’re looking at,” Rousey said to the WWE faithful.
- Cole noted that Emma’s return comes four years, 364 days after her release from WWE.
- Rousey rocked Emma with a kick to the midsection then sent her into the steel steps.
Hit Row and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Legado del Fantasma
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Credit: WWE.com
The rivalry between Legado del Fantasma and Hit Row continued Friday as Zelina Vega accompanied Santos Escobar, Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde to the squared circle for a match with Ashante Thee Adonis, Top Dolla and a mystery partner, who were accompanied by B-Fab.
That partner? Shinsuke Nakamura, who drew a huge ovation for his reveal.
The heels controlled the majority of the match, isolating Ashante from his partners. A hot finish, though, saw the babyfaces score the win and gain a measure of revenge against the NXT exports.
A solid, inoffensive match saw Hit Row benefit from the surprise of Nakamura and ensure that the heels’ dominance was halted, if only for a week.
Result
Hit Row and Nakamura defeated Legado del Fantasma
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Backstage, Shayna Baszler congratulated Ronda Rousey on her win, then choked out Natalya, who claimed she would have beaten Rowdy had she answered the challenge.
- Michael Cole pointed out that B-Fab was not wearing heels because she was expecting to tangle with Vega. It was an observant call by Cole that pointed out the little things that add to these segments.
Madcap Moss vs. Karrion Kross
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Credit: WWE.com
Just eight days before a date with Drew McIntyre inside a Steel Cage, Karrion Kross squared off with Madcap Moss Friday night, ready to send a message to The Scottish Warrior and prove that he does not need Scarlett to secure a win.
Except, he absolutely did.
Moss mounted a late-match comeback, a ball of fire poised to run over his opponent en route to an upset win. The mere presence of Scarlett provided a distraction, allowing Kross to deliver a big boot, Down the Rabbit Hole and score the win.
After the match, Kross vowed that history would repeat itself for McIntyre when they clashed in Riyadh. Kross refused to release the Kross Jacket, sapping consciousness from Moss.
The match was good, solid wrestling from two competitors who embody those adjectives. Moss continues to impress in his limited TV reps at this point, while Kross scored a win over a Superstar familiar to his rival ahead of a match that may prove to be his greatest test to date.
Kross definitely needs a breakthrough performance to win over a main-roster fanbase that is not quite sure what to make of the former NXT star to this point. He should get it in Riyadh, but if he does not, questions about his ability to be the cerebral, dangerous main event heel that Triple H envisions him as will grow louder.
Result
Kross defeated Moss
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Cole and Wade Barrett did a great job of putting over the effect Scarlett has had on Kross’ feud with Drew McIntyre to this point.
- “The only question has been ‘what is his direction post-split from Corbin,'” Barrett asked, shining a big ol’ light on something fans have asked for months.
Bray Wyatt Addressed His Demons
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Credit: WWE.com
Bray Wyatt returned for another in-ring promo to close out the show.
Continuing his candor, he said that he likes being open and honest with fans and even admitted that he likes that he is willing to do terrible things.
His promo was interrupted by the masked individual we were momentarily introduced to last week, who is apparently known as Uncle Howdy. He called Wyatt a liar, claiming he wears a mask despite his claims to the contrary.
The best thing about the Wyatt stuff to this point is the intrigue it has created among fans. This did more of that, creating more questions than answers and building excitement for the next developments.
Another quality close to the show.
Grade
A
Top Moments
- “When you start doing that, it makes me feel like I’m invulnerable,” Wyatt said of the fans’ adulation.
- “There’s no mask that I’m hiding behind. There’s no smoke and mirrors. It’s just me and you. That’s what I want you to get used to. This is just me, Bray Wyatt, the real man.”
- “I am going to do some spectacular things while I’m here.”
- “My emotions don’t work like most other people’s. I don’t always have control. Sometimes, they can send me to a very dark place. Other times, I just don’t feel anything at all.”
- “There’s a part of me that really likes that I’m willing to do some truly awful things.”
- “You’re a liar. You say you don’t wear a mask but we both know that isn’t true. You’ll never be able to hide from me. Your Uncle Howdy,” a mysterious masked figure revealed himself, calling out Wyatt’s apparent lie.
