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Just like WWE RAW, SmackDown was looking to get some more members on its teams for Survivor Series with the pay-per-view drawing nearer. This allowed them to book three qualification matches for the night where Natalya, Ruby Riott, and Zelina Vega competed for a spot on the women’s team while Rey Mysterio, King Corbin, Otis, and Seth Rollins competed in two separate qualifying matches for the men’s team.
Along with that, a big SmackDown Women’s Championship match was scheduled for the night where we saw Sasha Banks defend her title against former Champion, Bayley.
Roman Reigns and Jey Uso had a very interesting exchange backstage that led to a match between Uso and Kevin Owens. That wasn’t all as the Mysterio family drama got more intense as Murphy’s loyalties were tested again during the show.
With Survivor Series just a couple of weeks away, we will look at the five this SmackDown got right during this week’s show.
#5 Ruby Riott returns with a new look and attitude on WWE SmackDown
Natalya got a second chance to make it to Team SmackDown this week as she competed in a Triple Threat Match against Zelina Vega and Ruby Riott. Riott came out with a cool new look and a new attitude as she looked to make a point after being sidelined for some time.
All three women got a lot of offense in the match and none of them held the advantage for too long. It seemed as though WWE would give Natalya or Vega a chance to progress to Team SmackDown as both women had recently come out of big rivalries and seemed to have the fans behind them.
Natalya locked Riott in the Sharpshooter and it seemed like the green-haired Superstar would tap out, but Vega made the save just in time. The Queen of Harts later caught Vega in the same maneuver, but the latter refused to tap out and fought through the pain. However, Riott got back into the ring and applied her submission maneuver to win the match, much to The Queen of Hart’s dismay.
This was a good match that allowed all three women to shine. While Vega could have been a good choice for Team SmackDown, Riott will hopefully get a chance to showcase her potential at the big event and possibly score a couple of eliminations for her team.
Sadly, Natalya has now lost two big qualification matches and it seems like she is getting frustrated which could lead to a character change for the veteran.
#4 Seth Rollins and Aalyah cost Rey Mysterio a big match on WWE SmackDown
King Corbin returned to WWE SmackDown for his first match on the brand after over a month. He competed against Rey Mysterio to get a chance to represent Team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
Corbin overpowered Mysterio from the opening bell who seemed a bit distracted during the initial phase of the match. Corbin dominated the action for some time before a blind charge into the steel steps helped create an opening for The Master of the 619.
Mysterio was looking to build momentum, but Seth Rollins appeared to provide a distraction which helped Corbin gain back control. Mysterio sent him into the ring post on the outside, but he recovered to hit the smaller Superstar with Mark Herny’s signature slam and worked on his lower back.
Dominik Mysterio arrived to attack Rollins at ringside, and things started going wrong for the Mysterio family. Aalyah Mysterio and Murphy appeared, and the distraction allowed Corbin to deliver the End of Days to pick up the victory and claim his spot on Team SmackDown.
This was a fun match that worked on increasing the rift between the Mysterios. While it’s not clear as to where this entire story is heading, it seems like Murphy and Dominik Mysterio will benefit from the push they’ll get from Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio.
#3 Murphy confuses everyone in the WWE Universe with his actions on SmackDown
Seth Rollins and Otis were set to battle this week to earn a spot in Team SmackDown for Survivor Series. Rollins was having a great night as he had already cost Rey Mysterio a chance to make it to the team.
After Otis controlled the early part of the match, Murphy made his way to the ringside. It seemed like he wanted to repay The Savior of SmackDown for costing Aalyah Mysterio's father a chance to make it to Team SmackDown.
Otis managed to do well against the former WWE Champion and played the babyface role pretty well in the fight even though he seemed a bit more serious this week. After a big splash, Otis prepared to deliver the Caterpillar.
However, The Juggernaut hopped up on to the apron and provided a distraction that allowed Rollins to hit Otis with a Superkick and then take him down with The Stomp to pick up the victory.
The Savior looked confused as his former disciple made his way to the backstage area where the Mysterios were watching the match. This was an interesting way to get Rollins into Team SmackDown, and it seems like Murphy is ready to play mind games on Rollins after what he did to him.
While we aren’t fully sure as to what Murphy might have in mind for Rollins, we hope that WWE does not end up complicating this storyline any further.
#2 Jey Uso lives up to Roman Reigns’ expectations on WWE SmackDown
The main event of the show saw Jey Uso take on Kevin Owens. Both men had already qualified for Team SmackDown last week, and Uso looked to make Roman Reigns proud in this match.
KO taunted Jey Uso with some words before the two men got started, and Uso looked to take advantage of the contest early on. After the two men traded some blows, Paul Heyman made his way to the arena to watch the action unfold from ringside.
Heyman seemed a bit concerned as Owens took control late in the match and delivered a Senton Bomb to his opponent. At a time when it seemed like KO would put down Uso with ease on SmackDown, Roman Reigns’ music hit to distract the former Universal Champion.
The distraction allowed Uso to hit what looked like a low blow and then planted him with a Superkick followed by the Superfly Splash to pick up the victory.
After the match, Reigns and Uso celebrated to end SmackDown. This was a good match that allowed Jey Uso to shine against a former World Champion once again. After taking down Daniel Bryan, this was the next biggest fish in the sea for the former SmackDown Tag Team Champion.
It’ll be interesting to see how far Jey Uso is willing to go for his cousin before he finally breaks.
#1 Sasha Banks gets the better of Bayley on WWE SmackDown to break the curse
The biggest match of the night opened up the show as WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks looked to defend her title against Bayley. Banks did not have a good record of main roster title defenses, and she needed to make an impact in this match to prove her critics wrong.
Bayley vowed to win back the title she lost less than two weeks ago and looked to teach The Boss a lesson for taking it away from her after a record-setting reign on SmackDown. The challenger controlled the match early and dished out a lot of punishment to her former best friend.
Banks tried to make a comeback into the match and delivered a Meteora. The fight spilled over to the outside of the ring and both women tried to do a lot more damage to each other.
The Role Model looked to introduce a kendo stick into the fight and then went for a steel chair instead, but Banks managed to get it out of the way. She then delivered a backstabber and a Bayley-to-Belly to the SmackDown Women's Champion but could not put her away. A top-rope elbow could also not help her win the match.
Bayley finally locked Banks into the Bank Statement and looked to make the SmackDown Women’s Champion tap out to her own finisher. However, Banks fought through the pain and then hit Bayley with a backstabber before locking her in the Bank Statement to pick up the victory.
The match was fast-paced and good and allowed the WWE Universe to watch these two outstanding competitors compete again. After the match, Carmella blindsided Banks with a Superkick followed by an X-Factor to send a message to the champion.
This will allow WWE to book a new rivalry for Banks without stretching her feud with Bayley any longer. This company can possibly revisit the rivalry later once we near Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 37.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
