SmackDown Review 10/27/2019

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Review: October 25, 2019

This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown comes to us live from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, just less than one week until WWE’s version of Halloween Havoc known as Crown Jewel live from Saudi Arabia on Halloween night. This will be the first and only episode live from FS1 rather than FOX itself due to the World Series game between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals., thanks baseball! Get out the treats because we are in for an early Halloween treat as the return of the Firefly Funhouse is here just one week after Seth Rollins burned the funhouse of Bray Wyatt down, literally! I think having the Firefly Funhouse return is new and interesting after it was apparently “destroyed”. Will we see Rambling Rabbit get murdered some more? – nine times out of ten, yes. Nonetheless, with a treat comes some tricks as Cain Velasquez comes face to face with Brock Lesnar just a week before their WWE Championship bout, which is stupid considering that they have had multiple faceoffs in the past several weeks for publicity purposes. If you ask me, we do not need another reminder of two mixed martial artists going after it for the world championship just as we do not need Tyson Fury versus Braun Strowman shoved down our throats. I also hate or strongly dislike the fact that we may or may not see the greatest cruiserweight champion again after what had happened last week with Strowman, who might show up again! I swear, if they start making him job to everyone, I will personally make a full rant tonight my fellow peeps. Asides from my personal spiel, FOX has announced the additions of Glory Ziggles (Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler) vs. The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Big E as well as Mandy Rose versus Nikki Cross. There is not a match that I am too excited for tonight due to the lack of promotion but let us see what happens on this week’s episode starting now!

Opening In-Ring Segment – Miz TV – The Miz, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jimmy Hart, King Corbin, Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Jimmy Hart, Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn
The Miz is seen in the middle of the ring along with Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, Roman Reigns, Shorty G, and Ali the right side and Ric Flair, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, and King Corbin on the other side for another episode of Miz TV to start off the show. The Miz welcomes the Kansas City audience to another edition of Miz TV and claims that this is the most prestigious episode yet. He introduces all members of Team Flair and Team Hogan to the show. Hulk Hogan starts off by saying that he has assembled the greatest Hulkamania team of all time and asks Ric Flair, eye to eye, “whatcha gonna do when Team Hogan destroys you?” Flair reassured Hogan that if it was not for The Nature Boy, him as well as Team Captain Roman Reigns would not be where they are today.  Flair continues by saying that he knows what it takes to create a great team as he did with the Four Horsemen back in the day, boasting that his team at Crown Jewel will be dominant over Hogan’s team as if it was Hogan and Flair going one on one. Hogan restates the fact that Flair has never beaten him on any occasion nor he will beat Team Hogan on any given day. Hogan then highlights Shorty G, looking like he borrowed Carmella’s attire for the night, stating that he has a lionheart, Ali, who has an athletic prowess, and every dog needs a bone to chew with Roman Reigns. Sami Zayn interjects himself into the conversation and starts to poke fun of Shorty G, stating if he stood on the shoulders of Ali, he would still be half the man Shinsuke Nakamura is. Shorty G responds by saying he has embraced who he is and has learned to accept who you are. He then claims that he is proud to be on Team Hogan and makes the promise to shut everyone on Team Flair down at Crown Jewel.  Hulk Hogan attempts to cool the situation down but interrupts Ali unintentionally as he was trying to speak. Ali goes on by saying Shorty G does not have to pay attention to a guy like Sami Zayn considering he is just a mouthpiece to Shinsuke Nakamura because of how bad his breath stinks. It is then that King Corbin asks Ali who in the world he is and why is he speaking. Corbin then states that Ali is in the presence of a King and laughs with arrogance. He then claims an inaccurate statement that Crown Jewel was named after him. He then makes a proclamation that he will take and lead Team Flair to victory. He then turns to Roman Reigns and states that Reigns will do what he does best and let everybody down. Corbin then uses Roman’s tagline saying that this is his kingdom now and he will rule with an iron first. After shutting Corbin up, Reigns states that he is not even a real king with his stupid outfit. Reigns claims that Corbin’s stupid outfit is entertaining to the WWE Universe but not his stupid words. The solution to the problem of Corbin’s stupid words is a punch right to the mouth. Shorty G then for some weird reason takes the microphone and wants in on punching some faces. Hulk Hogan cools down the situation and makes the proposal of giving the WWE Universe a preview of Crown Jewel by having a match tonight. Sami Zayn stops the momentum and says that nobody needs to do anything right now, especially on their time. All three members of Team Flair including Ric Flair himself exit the ring but Hogan stops them in their tracks. He then restates the propostition of the main event being a six man tag team match between Roman Reigns, Shorty G, and Ali takes on King Corbin, “not ichiban but young boy” Shinsuke Nakamura, and the most powerful, successful wrestler, and the greatest of all time, Sami Zayn. Zayn eggs on the crowd and says that he (on behalf of Team Flair) accepts the challenge. However, Zayn tells Hogan that he did not read the fine print as Zayn tweaked his neck on the way over to Kansas City, resulting in him being on the do not touch list. He then announces that Cesaro will take his place in tonight’s main event. Cesaro appears and eggs on the Big Dog, Roman Reigns for a fight. Reigns exits the ring and starts to brawl with Cesaro at ringside. This leads to both SmackDown’s representatives of Team Flair and Hogan to brawl all over the ring. Team Flair retreats as Team Hogan stands tall, standing strong.
My Thoughts:
First and foremost, is it just me or does Shorty G look like if he asked Enzo and Big Cass for some attire advice? He sure as hell does not look like a certified G or a Bonafide stud, thus you cannot teach that. I think Shorty G has really overstayed his welcome in this supposed “inspirational” type gimmick. There is no need for Gable to pursue this gimmick any further! Can we not just respect Gable for his tremendous athleticism and agility as a former collegiate Olympic wrestler? Now we have to endure a Doctor of Thuganomics wannabe in Shorty G. Secondly, the only interesting thing I found good use for this segment was the late addition of Cesaro to replace Sami Zayn in the main event. I hate how Zayn has established himself as a manager now instead of the professional wrestler we all knew and loved for so long! Now, we have Lio Rush times two as a manager to Shinsuke Nakamura (which I do admit, I popped when Hogan mentioned Nakamura-San). Having Hogan and Flair make this match at Crown Jewel sound like a long-awaited rematch between the two iconic wrestling figures is cool and all, but at least do not make it seem overhyped. It is a regular survivor series esc match. The members selected were already expected and having the babyfaces stand tall was just a spoiler for how the main event will go. Great job WWE, you did it once again of spoiling endings!

The New Day’s Big E and Xavier Woods are seen backstage heading towards their match against Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler with Xavier Woods (injured) on FaceTime

Match #1 – The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) vs. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler – Glorious Ziggler
The referee calls for the bell as former rivals for the WWE Championship from this year in Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler square off. After knocking Kingston down with a shoulder tackle, Ziggler presumes with a Rick Rude inspired taunt. That does not pull through as Kingston comes back with a flying reverse elbow strike. He then attempts to go high on top of the turnbuckle but Robert Roode gets involved and knocks him off. This leads Ziggler to be thrown off the top and onto the outside to take us into commercial break. After countless advertisements by FS1 thanks to the World Series, the action continues with Kofi Kingston making the hot tag to Big E and immediately, E hits three huge belly to belly suplexes to Dolph. In the process of hitting a Big Splash but hits Robert Roode with a clothesline, sending him over the top rope. From behind, Ziggler attempts a Zig Zag, which is countered to a big clothesline by Big E. E tags in Kofi and launches the former WWE champion into a springboard maneuver to Ziggler on the outside. In the ring, Roode hits a spinebuster to Big E. While we get a shot of The B Team watching this match closely backstage, Kingston hits a flying double axe handle to Roode. Ziggler attempts to roll up Kingston with a school boy and gets it for the victory. Post-match, as Roode Ziggles celebrates, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Revival, come down to the ring and brawl with their challengers for next week’s championship match. Glorious Ziggles join in to make it a four on two assault. Heavy Machinery join in to even things up. As the babyfaces stand tall in the ring, we see a shot of The Lucha Trash (House) Party witnessing this backstage on a monitor.
Result: Dolph Ziggler via pin fall (Glorious Ziggler)

A promo package for Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman is shown for Crown Jewel

Match #2 – Lacey Evans vs. Camron Connors
Before the match begins, Lacey Evans cuts a pre-match promo. Evans starts off by saying that she has too much respect for herself as a woman and an athlete to even entertain the idea of competing in the ring with the likes of a jobber. She then claims that the “enhancement talent” Camron Connors is scared and afraid of a woman like her, wondering ‘how bad is Lacey Evans going to beat her up?’ She then goes onto say that she has nothing to worry about as Evans will put down them microphone and continue to walk out of that ring. After all, she does hate the town of Kansas City, stating that it is a cow town filled with grasshoppers who do not deserve to see Lacey Evans in action. Evans then asks the referee to start this match.
The referee with a confused and disgusted look calls for the bell. The match has started and Evans exits the ring. Waving to the Kansas City faithful, Evans walks out with confidence as the ref starts the ten count. Connors joins in on the ten count out of mockery. However, with her back turned, Connors does not see Evans run back into the ring at the count of nine. This leads to a Woman’s Right to the enhancement talent which leads to the three count victory.
Result: Lacey Evans via pin fall
My Thoughts:
Typical squash match. Poor Camron Connors got all excited for a “count out” victory instead of actually taking it to the ring. This is not Tye Dillinger’s shtick anymore my fellow peeps. Getting excited for a ten count while the referee and the entire arena is counting ten is not logical to say the least. No wonder why Lacey Evans got the quick W after a ten or so second match. At least we established that Evans is still dominant as a singles heel instead of the tweener she was on Raw by teaming with Natalya a few weeks ago.

Interview with Nikki Cross via backstage – Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Nikki Cross
Just moments after Lacey Evans squashed Camron Connors, Michael Cole and Corey Graves are seen at their announce table, introducing potentially the next SmackDown Women’s Champion, Nikki Cross who is joined backstage area. While Cole attempts to asks the question, Cross says hi to him and thanks him for the interview in the cutest way humanly possible. Cole then states that last week, Cross won a Six Pack Challenge to become Number One Contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Bayley. Cole then quotes Bayley on the episode of Miz TV saying, “everyone, in the women’s division, is quote ‘lazy, lacks passion, and desire’.” After being asked to respond to Bayley’s harsh claims, Nikki Cross responds by saying that she will resolve Bayley’s issues by taking the title off of her hands. Cross then reveals that she will take on Mandy Rose in singles action. Although Rose is beautiful, Cross claims that this is not a beauty pageant, this is Friday Night SmackDown. She then gets excited and overjoyed, saying that she will see us soon.
My Thoughts:
NIKKI CROSS IS THE CUTEST HUMAN BEING ON PLANET EARTH! I have the firm belief that she will become Women’s Champion in the near future. Do I think she will take the title off of Bayley? – Not exactly. Bayley’s new look and attitude needs to have a strong reign for this second championship reign. Although I have the theory that Sasha Banks will betray her best friend and feud for the title, for now, Bayley needs a couple of strong clean title defenses in order for her to establish credibility as a heel. Maybe we can see her drop the title at Rumble or WrestleMania but now is not the time!

A replay of Raw two weeks ago of Seth Rollins burning down the Firefly Funhouse

The Return of the Firefly Funhouse
The newest installment of the Firefly Funhouse is here with the return of the infamous show after a two week hiatus. From the creative’s logic, Bray Wyatt spent the past several weeks rebuilding the Funhouse after being burnt down by Seth Rollins. A picture of Rambling Rabbit is shown along with a mini casket, white flowers, Dracula music, and a jar of Yowie Wowie Rambling Rabbit Armenian Breakfast Spread. Bray Wyatt is seen in all black formal wear along with Mercy The Buzzard, Huskus The Pigboy, and Abigail The Witch. Wyatt states that the heinous attack by Seth Rollins caused Rambling Rabbit to die (again?). He then asks all the Funhouse to say some words about Rambling Rabbit. Abigail The Witch starts by saying that Rambling Rabbit talked too much. Huskus stated that he introduced him to carrot cake. Mercy The Buzzard admits that he was a good dinner and claims to be starving. Bray Wyatt states that Rambling Rabbit always wanted an open casket and opens his casket, showing the glove with the word “HEAL” on it. With this comes the reveal of Rambling Rabbit’s grotesque behead. Wyatt then grabs the head and states that he never told Rambling that he loved him. After telling him “goodnight sweet prince”, he kisses him on the forehead and by the power of miracles, resurrects Rambling Rabbit! Happy with excitement, Bray Wyatt is in awe that Rambling Rabbit is alive. Rabbit claims that he was hot after being dead, claiming that there was a muscle man and a fire within him, saying he does not ever want to go back. Wyatt calms down Rabbit and says he is safe in the Funhouse. It is within a couple of moments later where Mercy The Buzzard starts to feed on Rambling Rabbit again. This leads to Wyatt shaking his head and saying goodbye to the fireflies, seeing them at Crown Jewel.
My Thoughts:
Our favorite show has returned my firefli- I mean peeps! I have not given my thoughts on the Firefly Funhouse ever throughout these reviews. The memorial for Rambling Rabbit was different but do not get me wrong, Rambling has died on multiple occasions and has resurrected each and every time! Shout out to the real homie for sticking it out throughout the hardships of life. Other than that, seeing the resurrection of the Funhouse made me as a fan feel odd. We did not see anything new other than the same old concepts of death, happy music, and even more imagery. I do not know if it was Fox’s attempt to bring in more viewers to FS1 but the segment we all know and love felt really off. Imagine if Edge and Christian returned to the ring, reunited as a tag team by WWE at Saudi Arabia? Of course the nostalgia will hit impactfully but there is no need to have retired legends and Hall of Famers to return! The point is that the Firefly Funhouse did not need to return at all. Maybe have a promo by Bray Wyatt lost without the Funhouse to see what comes after the destruction. Other than that, I am still curious on whom The Fiend will target after Crown Jewel.

Match #3 – Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto
The bell rings and immediately, Drew Gulak asks for a microphone instead of totally destroying the Kalisto we all hate and know. Before the match starts, Gulak reintroduces himself, stating that he is a former cruiserweight champion, and indulges the Luchador to the continuation of the PowerPoint Presentation that was given to Braun Strowman last week. In the previous week, we saw ways that Strowman can win against Tyson Fury at Crown Jewel whereas this week was the ways that Strowman can lose. Gulak acknowledges Fury’s pugilistic skills to knockout the Monster Among Men in Slide One. While introducing Slide Two, Kalisto hits Drew Gulak with a dropkick to the back. After multiple kicks to the leg and a kick to the face, Kalisto looks to gain control of the match. He then hits a hurricanrana. However, it is Gulak who catches up to Kalisto and hits a ruthless spinebuster, planting him. After attempting to hit the Cyclone Crash, Braun Strowman interferes. This distracts Gulak enough to have Kalisto hit Salina Del Sol for the victory. Post-match, The Lucha House Party clears the ring to let Strowman have his fun. He then hits Gulak with a running powerslam to entertain the SmackDown audience of Kansas City (complete buffoons). Strowman asks for a microphone. Before going on to make his promo to Tyson Fury, the Kansas City crowd chants “one more time”. Strowman answers back with one more running powerslam. Strowman then has the decency to callout Fury, stating that this is what happens when you disrespect the Monster Among Men. He then gives credit to Gulak where it is due and states that he belongs in the ring, unlike Fury who does not. He finally ends his spiel with saying that at Crown Jewel, he will send Fury to where he belongs, getting those hands.
Result: Kalisto via pin fall
My Thoughts:
WARNING – The following rant contains very huge bias towards the greatest cruiserweight champion and submission specialist of our modern time. Cussing? – No. But just in case, we advise the reader to withstand this Drew Gulak fanboy section of the review.

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL ARE THEY DOING?? Are you kidding me? You are meaning to tell me that the greatest cruiserweight champion of our modern time just jobbed, yet again to the least qualified cruiserweight known as Kalisto? Do not get me mistaken, I do respect the fact that Gulak is getting television time but it seems to me that the main roster tends to send NXT and 205 Live stars backwards in gimmicks. Was WWE creative not familiar with Drew’s dominant run for the past two years? Are they not familiar with the victories over Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander, and even classic matches with Matt Riddle? They just completely threw that out of the freaking window and decided to go back to 2017! Now, that is the year where I graduated high school and became a fan of Drew with his iconic PowerPoint presentations but I am now almost graduating community college and transferring out to a university! Times have changed! World Wrestling Entertainment has completely trashed upon the best pick of SmackDown’s run at the draft. In some way, Gulak is having the Enzo treatment by Braun Strowman as the crowd caters to The Monster just to destroy him even further for entertainment. Sure – do not give Gulak the opportunity to have a singles run and eventually challenge for the intercontinental title! Absolutely atrocious. A complete disgrace of not only the goat himself but the entire cruiserweight division, being thrown under the bus. The Lucha Trash Party get to celebrate in glory as a big bad monster distracts a revolutionary leader. Seriously, this is sickening to say the least. Kalisto is a former cruiserweight champion as well, what more does he have to prove along with his crash dummies? If things do not change for the better, I sadly can see Gulak fall under the radar as a talent we only see in dark matches or even worse, at live events in losing effort!

In-Ring Segment – Daniel Bryan, Michael Cole, Sami Zayn, and Shinsuke Nakamura
Michael Cole is seen in the ring as he welcomes his guest, Daniel Bryan. Bryan appears to the Kansas City crowd. Cole acknowledges that it has been a rough couple of months for Bryan, being accused of indecent and heinous attacks as well as being betrayed by his former friend, Erick Rowan. It is mentioned that SmackDown is the land of new opportunities, especially with the Draft as Bryan pinned the Intercontinental champion, Shinsuke Nakamura last week. When that moment happened, the arena erupted with Yes chants, however, it is asked if the Yes-Movement is back, despite Bryan partaking in the yes chants last week. Before he can make an answer, Bryan is then interrupted by Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura. Zayn states on behalf of the intercontinental champion, Shin holds no grudge over Bryan after the events of last week. Before allowing Bryan to answer Cole’s question, Zayn reveals footage from almost a year ago that the Old Daniel Bryan is dead. After showing the footage, Zayn states that it warms his heart watching it back, witnessing the WWE Universe boo him because they do not love the New Daniel Bryan. Although that they have known each other for years, Sami knows that the New Daniel Bryan is the REAL Daniel Bryan, meaning every word and being considered an honorable man. Sami then goes on a rant on the environment and the planet, giving kudos to Bryan on his beliefs. Zayn states facts that Bryan has nothing in common with the people, but has a lot in common with Nakamura and himself. He then goes onto say that himself, Bryan, and Nakamura-san are all artists at their crafts of professional wrestling. He then lays down the options that Bryan has: either to go backwards to revive the Yes Movement to please the WWE Universe or move on and forward, joining the duo of Zayn and Nakamura, making the world a better place. He then asks if he wants to move backwards for them or move forward with them and offers his right hand. Bryan instead of shaking his hand walks past both Zayn and Nakamura, exits the ring. This leads the speculation of what his final decision is.
My Thoughts:
This storyline with a potential return of the Yes-Movement leader we all knew and love is getting ridiculous! Obviously we know Bryan will return to his roots and strip Shinsuke for the intercontinental title (which is the title he never lost). Besides that, I love Sami Zayn’s heel work that was displayed yet again with his phenomenal promo skills! I think having Zayn as the mouthpiece to the intercontinental champion and relating to Bryan with the eco-friendly references has been pure genius! True, I do miss him as an in-ring competitor but I sure as hell would rather him talk on the microphone than Shinsuke. As for Daniel Bryan, I do not know if I am ready for the eco-friendly vegan to be let go. He has had a phenomenal run for the past year but I believe if anything, having the Yes Man return would not be a disappointment. Not giving a clear answer was different but it may make sense now considering that Shinsuke has to compete at Crown Jewel as apart of Team Flair instead of worrying about a potential intercontinental championship contender.

Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose with Sonya Deville (with Bayley and Sasha Banks at commentary)
The bell rings and Nikki Cross immediately gets over excited with joy to face the Goddess, Mandy Rose. Not too long afterwards, Rose hits Cross with a right hand strike and multiple mudhole stomps to the bottom turnbuckle. She then throws Cross across the ring with multiple hair whips. However, Cross comes back with a hurricanrana maneuver for a slight moment but is met straight afterwards with a lethal right hand by Mandy Rose for a quick two count. Rose then applies a cross arm chin lock to slow Cross down. Cross fights out of it but is caught by Rose once again. Showing her strength, Rose hits a fallaway slam for yet another two count. Rose throws Cross ringside where, with the referee distracted, Sonya Deville clocks Nikki Cross with a right hand, showing off her MMA background. Rose goes for a pin fall but is unsuccessful. After throwing Cross around like a rag doll, Rose is then caught herself with a kick by Nikki. Cross then starts the comeback. She hits the running bulldog and hits a flying crossbody for a lateral press for a two count. This leads to Nikki attempting an apron dropkick to Sonya Deville at ringside but only scares off The Jersey Devil momentarily. This would eventually bring to Cross rolling up Rose for an unsuccessful two count. Cross finally hits the apron dropkick on Deville at ringside. This would lead to a schoolboy rollup transitioning to a Twisted Cross Fisherman’s Neckbreaker for the victory.
Result: Nikki Cross via pin fall
My Thoughts:
Quick and easy to the point. Nothing special here except we have the number one contender for the Women’s Title strong. I did not see Mandy Rose getting the win tonight even though the woman she had at ringside should be having the chance at a SmackDown Women’s Title opportunity instead. Again, as stated earlier in this review, there is not a single chance Cross is walking out as champion and I love Nikki to death. She has done phenomenal as a singles star without championship gold (excluding the Women’s Tag Team Belts) and she will get her time but that time is not now. I dislike the fact that Mandy Rose is being identified to the audience as the next Eva Marie, posing for the crowd and not giving me anything else. Remember when she was a contender for this championship? – Yeah, me neither.

In-Ring Segment – Face to Face – Cain Velasquez, Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar, Dominik Mysterio, and Paul Heyman
Cain Velasquez appears with a new titantron and theme music along with Rey Mysterio, in an arm sling. Mysterio then greets the Kansas City crowd and gets a flashback over what Brock Lesnar did to his son Dominik several weeks ago, but respects the fact that his son is a Mysterio. Rey claims that attack was the worst day of his life as he lied in the ring, helpless, and not being able to help his own son. He then gives the update that Dominik is recovering little by little. He then thanks the crowd for their support and confirm that no one (including Brock Lesnar) will interfere in his dream of stepping into the ring as a WWE superstar. Rey then goes on the rant that for too long, Brock has done what he wants, when he wants. The rent is due as Rey claims that next Thursday at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, his cousin Cain Velasquez will put another scar on Lesnar’s face and annihilate him. Mysterio is the Paul Heyman of this segment and calls out Lesnar to have a preview of next Thursday. After egging on the WWE Champion multiple times, we then see Lesnar and Heyman appear on the titantron, having Heyman telling Mysterio to “Tranquillo”. Referring to Velasquez as a butcher, thug, and an hired assassin, Heyman denies the face to face confrontation in the ring. After a roar of boos by Kansas City, Paul Heyman gives the chance to both Mysterio and Velasquez to guess where they are at backstage. Mysterio denies the mind games. Heyman admits that Mysterio lacks in communicational skills. After the speculation, he then reveals the spoiler that Lesnar has been attacking Dominik backstage. A scene of Dominik wearing a Cain Velasquez shirt in defeat is shown while Brock is standing tall, laughing is shown to take us into a quick commercial break. Coming back after FS1’s overhaul of ads, we see Rey Mysterio and Cain Velasquez backstage at the training room area accompanying an injured Dominik. While Mysterio is pleading forgiveness to his son, Lesnar crashes in with a trash can and attacks both Mysterio and Velasquez. While attempting to avenge his son, Mysterio attempts to fight back, only for him to be caught by Brock to hit an ruthless F5 onto the wall. Lesnar then hits an F5 on Velasquez onto Dominik. The last moments we see is everyone laid to waste.
My Thoughts:
 I guess the statement of “the best part always comes at the end” holds true. The first half of the “face to face” was completely pointless! Are we negating the fact that Cain Velasquez can speak for himself? Rey Mysterio has completely become the Walmart version of Paul Heyman as his promo skills have downgraded weekly since the rivalry has started for Crown Jewel. Again, I do not expect Velasquez to walk out of Saudi Arabia as WWE Champion but at least speak for yourself so you can be over with the crowd! Having the reveal of Brock attacking Dominik backstage was new and indeed one of the highlights of this “face to face”. Heyman did his usual spiel but nothing was new to the point where I can be invested in knowing where Dominik was or whom was he being attacked by. Then comes my favorite part of the segment, Brock’s ruthless aggression! Even after all these years of being back with WWE, Lesnar does not lack in the intimidation department. Destroying all that was moving really made me happy that this meant that the segment was ending soon. This did not however, get me excited for a Saudi Arabia Halloween special.

  Main Event – Match #4 – Six Man Tag Team Match – Team Flair – Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and King Corbin (with Sami Zayn and Ric Flair) vs. Team Hogan – Shorty G, Ali, and Roman Reigns (with Jimmy Hart and Hulk Hogan)
Before the match starts, Cain Velasquez is seen backstage at the locker room area yelling at the screen to Brock Lesnar about his recent attacks
The bell rings for our main event preview of WWE Crown Jewel in less than a week and a brawl is underway as Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin, and Cesaro all raise hell against Shorty G, Roman Reigns, and Ali. King Corbin brings Roman back inside the squared circle and they begin the match. Corbin then starts the ten count punches in the corner turnbuckle, which is easily reversed by Reigns to knock the king off of his royal throne. Reigns does a ten count turnbuckle punch to the corner which is followed by a big boot to the face of Corbin and a Samoan Drop for a two count. After an Irish-whip by Reigns to Corbin, the King tags in Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is caught by a right uppercut jab to the face by Reigns, followed by a drive-by apron dropkick to the King on the outside. This leads to another right hand uppercut by Reigns to Nakamura and tags in Shorty G in their respective turnbuckle side. G works on the left arm of the Intercontinental champion but it is quickly reversed. After a battle of grappling holds between the two combatants, G takes control and tags in Ali. This leads to a drop toe hold and dropkick combination for a kickout by the champion. After an Irish-whip attempt by Ali, he is then met with a spinning wheel kick by Shinsuke Nakamura. The Swiss Cyborg Cesaro is tagged in starts stomping away at the left hand of Ali followed by an uppercut to the corner turnbuckle. However, Ali does some flippy stuff and gets out of it. He hits a hurricanrana to get the crowd on its feet. It is a pure millisecond later that Cesaro comes back with a gutwrench suplex to stop the momentum. Multiple strikes and uppercuts to the corner later, Cesaro Irish-whips Ali to the corner only for Ali to catch him dazing with a smooth transition to the corner and a kick to the face for good measures. He then hits a Rolling X-Factor in homage to X-Pac for a two count cover. Sami Zayn attempts to get involved by yelling at the referee which leads to Ali taking down Nakamura for no apparent reason. This leads Cesaro to send Ali over the top rope. King Corbin is tagged in while Ali is laid out on the outside and hits a huge clothesline to send him in and out to send us into another commercial break. Returning back, Corbin is seen in the ring, celebrating while Ali is down. Corbin tags in Nakamura and start to go to work on Ali, adding Good Vibrations. After a knee drop pin attempt, Shin applies the chin lock to Ali. The energy of the crowd inspires Nakamura to strike Shorty G out of the equation on the outside. Cesaro is tagged back in and sends Ali to the corner only for Ali to catch The Swiss Cyborg with two big boots. As he attempts to hit a Tornado DDT, Cesaro, with his mind-blowing strength catches him and attempts to throw him in the air but Ali reverses into an attempt of a rollup. However, Cesaro catches that reversal and throws him up only to be countered into a DDT. This lays both Cesaro and Ali out. As Ali was about to make the tag, Corbin comes from his side of the ring and takes out Roman Reigns. After arguing with Hogan and Jimmy Hart, he is tagged back in and poses for the crowd. Ali hits the step-up enziguri and tags in Shorty G, who hits a flying crossbody to The King. Shorty G is hot with the comeback, taking out the Intercontinental Champion in the process. He then hits a swinging neckbreaker and hits the moonsault on Corbin for a two count. Cesaro runs back into the ring, only to be caught by an belly to belly suplex by Shorty G. He then applies the ankle lock on the King, only to be met with a Kinsasha  by Nakamura, almost decapitating him. Corbin sends Shorty G to the top rope and tags in Nakamura. They attempt a double superplex but G manages to get out of it with headbutts and a double missile dropkick to both men. Nakamura and G make the hot tag to Cesaro and Roman Reigns. After a clothesline, Reigns hits a schoolboy sit-out powerbomb that gets the crowd on their feet, only for a two count. While going for a superman punch, Cesaro catches him with a Cesaro Swing and Sharpshooter in homage to his former tag team partner, Tyson Kidd. Ali breaks it up with a superkick to Cesaro. King Corbin comes in and hits a Deep Six on Ali. Shorty G hits a dropkick, sending the King over the top rope. Nakamura hits a exploder suplex to Shorty G. Reigns catches him with a superman punch. He goes for a spear a second time but is met with a Cesaro kick to the face and a uppercut for a two count. Cesaro sets up for The Neutralizer finisher only to be countered with a Flying Superman Punch in mid-air as Cesaro was going to attempt a Flying Uppercut. Roman hits the Spear and tags in Ali, who hits the 540 splash and pins Cesaro for the victory.
Result: Ali via pin fall
My Thoughts:
Holy matrimony! That was a fun main event to watch but in no way, shape, or form was this any way to hype up this Survivor Series match at Crown Jewel. Having the babyfaces win was the complete wrong decision. If you were to span this to Raw on Monday, then have the heels win tonight and faces win on Monday. I assume that this will not main event Raw hopefully. Other than that, I am really surprised Ali took the pin fall victory. We really have not seen much of him since the intercontinental championship feud with Shinsuke. All competitors put on a show but there was not something in this match that I found breathtaking or exciting. Okay – maybe the flying superman punch was cool. Other than that, Team Hogan won, woo hoo! (sarcasm) What else is new for Crown Jewel? Really, nothing!

Final Thoughts:
I honestly do not know what to say. To be real with my audience, I have a headache writing this review considering it took me almost three days after the event to write (which I deeply apologize). WWE really had the logic that this go-home edition of SmackDown would get me hyped and excited for Crown Jewel, which in reality it did not. Everything seemed like the typical episodes we have witnessed before and even on Raw. There was nothing that caught my eye other than Brock going on a complete rampage and the greatest professional wrestler of our time jobbing to a luchador. The main event was bland and a typical babyface win. Cross looked cute and strong for her title match “in the near future” but where was the excitement? Unpopular opinion is even the return of the Firefly Funhouse was ruined due to lack of creativity and hype towards Crown Jewel! Overall, I felt disappointed, which is the first time in a long time that I felt that way about a SmackDown. Everything seemed longer than the previous episodes and there were very few highlights. I believe my final grade for SmackDown as a whole was a solid D for disappointment. I understand that this was not the worst show of all time but it should not be even close to be considered as a decent one either. There were just way too many squash matches and talent was wasted tonight. Until next time my fellow peeps, see you the night after Crown Jewel, coming to you live from the Keybank Center in Buffalo, New York where it was advertised a whole lot better! Stay passionate and remember, if you close your eyes, you will lie and the truth will be revealed!