WWE Friday Night SmackDown Review: 16/10
Sami Zayn Starts the Show, Trick Williams VS Johnny Gargano
This week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown kicked off with Sami Zayn coming down to the ring (alongside Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano) to go through everyone who lost at Money in the Bank! I say everyone, but Sami didn’t even want to speak about Trick Williams, whilst Zayn gave Penta a ton of credit for winning the match, saying he should now go and get revenge on Roman Reigns! This brought out Trick, who has completely had enough of Sami’s antics, saying that he wants to get his hands on him tonight! However, Johnny Gargano would be the one to step up to Williams, setting up a non-Title match to start the show! I thought this was a fun match; both Trick and Johnny are good in the ring, and this felt like a much better way of starting SmackDown! I also really enjoyed Sami Zayn joining Vic Joseph and Corey Graves on commentary; he’s doing brilliant work right now, and I also appreciated the fact that Trick Willy won this match with a Bookend! I enjoyed all of this!
Grade: B (Overall)
Nikki Bella VS Paige, Damian Priest VS R-Truth
Nick Aldis told Blake Monroe that she’ll be facing Giulia in a Street Fight next week, whilst Nikki Bella will get her WWE Women’s Championship opportunity against Chelsea Green in 2 weeks’ time! Speaking of Nikki Bella, she was out next as she was set to go one-on-one with Paige! I will always question who thought it was a good idea to have Nikki Bella and Paige wrestling in 2026; they’re both so far from being remotely interesting, and the fact that Bella is getting a Title shot down the line is laughable! After shots were taken throughout this match, Paige would eventually cheat to win, putting her feet on the ropes as the referee missed it completely! This is why SmackDown feels terrible outside of its Main Event scene!
Grade: D
R-Truth said he was going to punish Damian Priest for ruining their friendship tonight, before Nick Aldis told CM Punk and Kevin Owens that he needs them to both get healthy “for the sake of the show”! However, Aldis would promise Punk that he will get his match with KO at some point! Damian Priest was then ready for his first match since turning Heel as he went one-on-one with his former Tag Team partner, R-Truth! Whilst I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing this match, it was a shame to see it end rather prematurely, as Truth suffered a legitimate injury, giving the referee no choice but to call for the bell! Damian Priest would then grab a steel chair, only to get blocked off by FRAXIOM, and yeah, this wasn’t good for anyone! I hope Truth is okay!
Grade: -
Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley Celebrate, Rey Fenix VS Ricky Saints: AAA World Cruiserweight Championship
Gunther has completely had enough of Danhausen’s antics, with the two set to face off on the final SmackDown before Halloween, before Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley made their way down to the ring to celebrate becoming the brand-new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions! Tatum wanted to thank Charlotte Flair for giving her spot up to Alexa in order for her to still be able to fight for Tag Team Gold, whilst Bliss was delighted to help Paxley achieve her first Main Roster Championship! An angry Fatal Influence would then interrupt, with Jacy Jayne in massive pain after competing at Money in the Bank last weekend, but that wouldn’t stop Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid from attempting to attack the new Champions, only for Paxley to further hurt Jacy! Jacy’s selling is so good!
Grade: C+
Sami Zayn was hanging out with Rey Fenix backstage, mostly because he wanted to find out what Penta’s plans are when it comes to Money in the Bank! Fenix told Sami that he could cash in on either him or Roman Reigns, which clearly bothered the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion! Michin and B-Fab would then tell Fatal Influence that they’re next in line when it comes to a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships opportunity, before Rey Fenix put his AAA World Cruiserweight Championship on the line against Ricky Saints! These two have been feuding for a while now, so it was good to see them finally fighting over Championship Gold! Rey’s reign as AAA Cruiserweight Champion has been one of the best across all WWE programming in 2026, so this was another match to add to his tenure as Champion! Interestingly, Ricky Saints used the referee to his advantage, delivering a Rochambeau, only for the referee to refuse to make the count! Saints would then get in his face, leading to the referee calling for the bell, before Ricky beat up Fenix more to end the segment! Justice for Ricky!
Grade: C+
Cody Rhodes VS Baron Corbin
Whilst we were supposed to get a face-to-face confrontation between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton to end this week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown, we instead got a Main Event match between Cody and Baron Corbin! This came about due to Baron interrupting Cody’s promo, stating that he believes that Rhodes isn’t as good as people think he is, which is kind of ironic when you think about it! The match itself was fine; it only lasted a few minutes before Randy Orton arrived to cause the DQ! The Viper would then escape The American Nightmare’s clutches as Corbin got back involved, which led to Rhodes delivering a Punt Kick to Baron, to the shock of Orton! I have no idea why Baron Corbin needed to be involved here, but at least Cody showed some intensity for a change!
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