WWE Smackdown: Smackdown Results And Reviews

Smacktalk 10/16 With Dakota Mayes

TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL MATCHES

Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn was a great match that felt nostalgic because of their time in NXT together. They were neck and neck for much of the match, but after nearly hitting their finishers on each other numerous times, Finn succeeded and eliminated Zayn from the competition. Whoever Balor faces in the finals, let's hope they can throw down as hard as they want.

The same goes for the women. It's the least they deserve after being screwed on time for every match. They may as well have not even had this tournament if WWE wasn't going to take it seriously.

Zelina Vega beat Carmella to advance to the final round in another short match after Liv Morgan caused a distraction, which seems pointless considering their feud won't continue after Crown Jewel. This episode was 30 minutes longer, and they still didn't give this match time.

EDGE & SETH

Edge started the show by addressing Seth and reflected on their rivalry. He said that Rollins got greedy by going to his home, but he blames himself because it's a move straight out of his playbook. He underestimated Seth, and he shouldn't have because it was like underestimating himself.

He gave The Visionary props, saying he's the only one who comes close to matching his intensity and passion, even admitting he is not Edge-lite. He's Seth "Freaking" Rollins. He ended his promo with a promise to scar Seth's soul, something he will never in his life heal from.

Seth laughed off Edge's remarks about him and claimed he is not intimidated about their match on Thursday. He was ecstatic for not being Edge-lite, saying the statement was the Rated-R Superstars confirmations that Rollins is the better man. He reiterated that he isn't afraid to face him in the cell and that he was right about them being devils cut from the same cloth.

The difference between the two of them is that Rollins has been in the cell longer than Edge. He's already been damaged by the cage. He is who he is today because of Hell in the Cell.

NAOMI VS. SONYA DEVILLE

Before the start of their match, Sonya informed Naomi that she should have hung back last week to listen to the full details; otherwise, she would have heard she would be facing both Sonya and Shayna Baszler. Naomi never stood a chance. Although she put up a good fight against both for as long as possible, she fell to the kirifuda clutch.

I was curious as to what Shayna would be doing on the blue brand. Her first angle may be against Naomi while in league with Sonya. I thought the official match between Sonya and Naomi would be happening too soon anyway, so this was a better alternative.

I predict that Shayna will lose to Doudrop on Raw due to Naomi's interference. That way, her business will be wrapped up on Raw, and Zelina will have a face to fight in the finals at Crown Jewel, for which she will most likely be the victor.

HAPPY CORBIN & MADCAP MOSS

I don't care for Madcap. The lousy joke gimmick is just cringy and weird. I know we don't have to like his jokes, but come on, the writers can do better than this.

I miss broke Corbin, too; he was more entertaining. I had thought that gimmick would lead him into a face turn. That at least would have been new and interesting after having been a heel for his entire career.

Instead, this is the same played out Corbin, but with a fresh coat of paint. There's nothing special about it. He's just as annoying as he's always been.

Anyway, they did the Happy Thought segment again. They talked trash about Kevin Owens, who didn't even make an appearance. Thankfully, Boogs and Nakamura cut them off to play his entrance to the ring and nothing else.

They gave the earlier women's match two minutes, but we had to watch this terrible segment for ten. God help us.

BROCK LESNAR & ROMAN REIGNS CONTRACT SIGNING

The Beast enters with no fear and makes himself comfortable by putting his feet on the table. Roman doesn't even sit. He gives Heyman the contract to look over before scribbling his signature. Lesnar signs without looking.

Roman criticizes the move, but Brock responds that he already looked over the contract that morning with his "special counsel," Heyman, before leaving. A short but effective segment and not a bad final encounter between the two stars.

After all the build, I think we can expect Heyman to officially choose a side in the match to decide the fate of the championship.

This episode was a B- at best. It was better than this week's Raw at least. Let's hope next week's episode will be worth the wait.

Want more wrestling? Check out these

Raw Takes 10/11/21

NXT 2.0 Review

Dakota Mayes is our resident wrestling expert at The Pyrrhic. Be sure to keep on top of all the latest in news, previews, and reviews in the world of professional wrestling right here with Dakota at thepyrrhic.com

Show your love for thepyrrhic.com with this sweet branded t-shirt