Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly WWE SmackDown hits and misses series.
WWE superstars came to Buffalo, New York, for the fallout episode of SmackDown for Crown Jewel. Fans can check out our review of Crown Jewel here.
That being said, here’s what went down on the November 8 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Hit – A piledriver on WWE SmackDown!
The piledriver is one of my favorite wrestling moves, and I’m glad WWE revived it for the Orton-Owens segment. Moves like these should be used on special occasions. KO’s expression and Orton’s selling made the spot much more believable. Even Michael Cole had to mention the devastating effects of the banned move. If landing head first doesn’t convince Orton to bring back the punt kick, I don’t know what will.
Miss – #DIY vs. Pretty Deadly
I don’t have any problem with squash matches as long as they serve their purpose. That said, I would’ve tweaked this match a little bit. Gargano kicks off the action with one of the boys. He spends some time on the offense before making the tag. Ciampa gets inside and absolutely destroys Pretty Deadly (just like he did) on WWE SmackDown to pick up the win.
Hit – Women’s tag team match on WWE SmackDown
Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair took on Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton in a non-title tag team match. Stratton and Cargill had some decent exchanges. Nia and Cargill reignited their feud briefly from the Royal Rumble. Candice’s involvement was a nice touch. Triple H better use her to her fullest potential in the aftermath of Indi Hartwell‘s departure.
Miss – MCMG vs. A-Town Down Under
WWE advertises MCMG to appear on Grayson Waller Effect. Waller himself tweeted the same in the lead-up to WWE SmackDown. Change of plans, I guess. They should’ve stuck with the talk show segment to build the match-up between the two teams. MCMG won after a standard tag team match. I don’t think anybody will care if Waller and Theory implode at this point. WWE should’ve pulled the trigger when they had the chance.
Hit – WAR GAMES!!!
For someone who calls himself the Tribal Chief, Solo is pretty dumb. He took an exploder from Sami at Crown Jewel after trying to convince him to attack Roman. My man didn’t learn. He took a helluva kick last night on WWE SmackDown. Sami is firmly back in the OG Bloodline as WWE prepares for WAR GAMES. Where’s William Regal when you need him?! On a side note, I really dig how Jey is once again caught in the drama between Sami and Roman. It’s going to be interesting.
Honorable Mentions
- Candice worked her first match without Indi Hartwell in her corner. She and Bayley put on a solid match in front of the Buffalo crowd. The women’s division is slowly starting to get attention on the main roster. Good!
- Speaking of the women’s division, we finally have a midcard title for all the ladies on the WWE main roster. All the rage on the internet has led to this. Great job, nerds! No seriously, superstars like Michin, Chelsea Green, and Piper Niven deserve it. I believe time constraints caused WWE to debut the title in a pre-recorded segment. Let’s see if RAW gets a women’s IC title next week.
READ MORE: WWE Women’s Title Bout, Tag Team Title Match Set For 11/15 WWE SmackDown
How would you rate 11/8 SmackDown on a scale of 1 to 10? Let us know in the comments below!
