SmackDown recap & reactions (Nov. 3, 2023): The real megastar

Roman Reigns acknowledged LA Knight on Friday Night SmackDown this week, more or less putting over the fact that his next challenger did one hell of a job with the time Reigns spent away from WWE. He got himself over enough to even be standing in the same ring as the guy who has “advanced this business.”

Then, of course, he laid into him, telling him he’s going to smash Knight and leave him in the desert in Saudi Arabia. This after calling him a “redneck version of my cousin.”

Damn.

Knight, meanwhile, said he’s not here to finish something, he’s here to start the LA Knight era. Put simply, he went toe-to-toe with Reigns verbally, and then they stared each other down, did some pushing and shoving, and officials separated them so it couldn’t get too much more physical.

Gotta save that for the actual event!

This wasn’t anything special as far as go home segments go but it was a solid old school style promo showdown between two top stars in the industry today. They got in each other’s faces and told each other why they were going to get beat up and they were charismatic doing it.

What more can we even ask for?

Solo Sikoa speaks!

And oh boy was it good.

There’s something really great about Sikoa, who rarely ever opens his mouth, letting John Cena know, right in his face, that his orders are to give him a microphone so he can say goodbye to all the fans because come the end of Crown Jewel, he won’t be able to.

That’s one hell of a line.

Cena, who barely had a voice, came out swinging in response, saying he’d only need 90 seconds to cook this man. He claimed Sikoa only got a job here because of his cousin and then called him a bargain basement Taz ripoff.

I’m ready for this match right NOW.

All the rest

• Remember how last week Kevin Owens said he could punch both Grayson Waller and Austin Theory in the face if they stood shoulder-to-shoulder? Well, he did that. This week, he came back to beat Theory in a singles match while Waller watched and talked about it on commentary. It wasn’t a squash but Owens was dominant and it makes sense, really. He needs to be reestablished on the blue brand and that’s what heels like Theory and Waller exist for.
• Oh, hey, B-Fab wants to talk to Bobby Lashley. Whatever could this mean? Could The Suit Profits be adding a member?
• Chelsea Green & Piper Niven came to the blue brand this week to wrestle Shotzi & her partner Charlotte Flair in an unlikely pairing. The fact that Flair dabbled in the tag division here was basically a spoiler for how this would play out — the tag team champions were pinned clean in the middle of the ring. It’s just like that when you’re the women’s tag team champions and Charlotte Flair is standing across from you.
• Pretty Deadly defeated The Brawling Brutes in a good old fashioned donnybrook match, and it was a good time.
• Logan Paul and Rey Mysterio did a weigh-in, which is hilarious considering there are no weight limits. It was, if nothing else, hilarious if only for Paul saying Mysterio is much smaller in real life only for Mysterio to slap the taste out of his mouth and a security guard get laid out when Logan tried to retaliate. This was a pretty funny attempt at real sports style shenanigans.
• They had Bayley vs. Bianca Belair main event this show, which was an interesting call considering it was a match they played straight, with Belair scoring the victory on her way to the Crown Jewel event where she will challenge Iyo Sky for the women’s championship. Damage CTRL wasn’t allowed ringside — and they did a tease of Bayley wanting to challenge for the title herself earlier in the evening — and Bayley was left to get laid out to end the show, put through a table with Belair celebrating over her.

This was a good enough go home show. That Cena-Sikoa segment in particular shined.

Grade: B-

Your turn.