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KELLER’S WWE SMACKDOWN TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 24, 2023
CHICAGO, ILL. AT ALLSTATE ARENA
AIRED ON FS1
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Michael Cole, Road Dogg
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
[HOUR ONE]
-A video recap aired of the developments last week to set up the full Women’s WarGames match including hints of dissension within Damage CTRL and then Becky Lynch arriving to join the match.
-As Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Shotzi made their ring entrance, they cut to the announcers at ringside. Corey Graves was back after two weeks away on paternity leave. He said he hasn’t slept in 16 days, but his adrenaline was pumping. He said he can’t stop staring at the double cage structure hanging above the ring. Cole plugged the fan vote for who gets the advantage in the Women’s WarGames.
-Becky said The Man has come around to Friday Night Smackdown. She said people have been wondering why she’s agreed to team with who she is teaming with. She stared at Charlotte. She said given the chance to slap the heads off of Damage CTRL, the answer will always be “hell yes.”
Belair talked about the WarGames format. She said when Damage CTRL go low, they’re going to go lower. Shotzi said she can barely control herself thinking about all the carnage. She said when they held her down and cut her hair, they thought they would break her. She said what it did was make her stronger, less predictable, and unbreakable. She laughed maniacally. Charlotte said, “What Shotzi said.” Charlotte said WarGames is a new beginning for all them, with a particular eye on Becky, but she said it’ll be the end of Damage CTRL.
Bayley walked out to her music. She said she never thought she’d see the day Charlotte and Becky stood next to each other, fighting the good fight together. She said she’s known them for over ten years. She tried to stir trouble by saying that whenever she’s talked with Becky, she’d often take a little dig at Charlotte. She told Belair the same thing is probably happening with her. She told the booing fans to shoosh. She said being a mom has made The Man soft. Becky said she seems okay with being picked last. She said she’s the last resort, just like at school when teams were chosen. Bayley said WarGames is one of the most brutal matches of all time and the only real team walking into WarGames is Damage CTRL.
Becky challenged Bayley to a match between any two of them against two of them in the main event. Bayley said she thought they’d have to wait until WarGames to see them implode, but they get to see it tonight.
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m usually more of a defender of Shotzi than most, it seems, but her maniacal bit there felt out of place and cartoonish and the crowd wasn’t really reacting. The goal was for her to be over the top, and in that sense she succeeded. Playing up the history of Becky and Charlotte is adding a dimension to the WarGames match that makes them seem vulnerable to a loss and perhaps resulting in a turn of a feud being re-sparked.)
-They went to the announcers at ringside to react to that segment, and then they pivoted to Drew McIntyre. They aired clips of last week’s angle where Cody Rhodes announced Randy Orton would be returning to team with them at Survivor Series.
-Finn Balor and Damian Priest made their ring entrance along with Rhea Ripley. [c]
-They went backstage to Damage CTRL. Bayley asked who wants to wrestle in the main event. None of them seemed excited to volunteer. Dakota Kai said Iyo Sky says it should be Bayley in the match. She said Asuka has volunteered to be her partner. Asuka put her arms around Bayley. Bayley winced a bit but seemed to force a smile.
-The announcers talked about Bayley having a history with Kairi Sane and Asuka a couple years ago.
(Keller’s Analysis: The ongoing tension with Bayley and the others in her group has made them more interesting. Bayley’s doing a good job portraying herself as apprehensive and on edge about her place within the group, and the body language and even body positioning conveys she’s on the outside looking in, a big contrast to her cockiness as the spokesperson for the group prior.)
(1) FINN BALOR & DAMIEN PRIEST vs. THE STREET PROFITS (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) – WWE Tag Team Title match
The Street Profits made their ring entrance, without Bobby Lashley. Cole noted this is Ford’s hometown. He said The Judgment Day have a lot on their minds with WarGames tomorrow night, “so they could be ripe for the picking.” Graves agreed. Patrick touted a sellout crowd of over 16,000. The bell rang 23 minutes into the hour. They showed Lashley watching backstage. B-Fab joined him and smiled.
Ford went for a dive onto Priest at 2:00, but Balor blocked him. Ford then leaped onto Balor seconds later, but Priest then surprised Ford and knocked him into the announce table. They cut to a break at 3:00. [c]
Back from the break, Priest was in control against Ford, but then Ford avoided a corner dive. Priest tagged in Balor before Ford could tag out to Dawkins. A minute later the Profits took control and landed their Doomsday-style Blockbuster by Ford knocking Balor off of Dawkins’ shoulders for a dramatic near fall.
Ford roundkicked a charging Balor a minute later, but Balor fired back with a surprise Slingblade. He then set up Ford for a leaping legdrop by Priest. Dawkins broke up the cover and then tossed Balor out of the ring at 8:00. The Profits landed a double-team cutter on Priest for a two count, broken up by Balor. Graves said Priest got one of his legs down to prevent a full Revelation there from the Profits.
Ford climbed to the top rope. Ripley distracted the ref and then Balor knocked Ford off balance on the top rope. Priest landed a tombstone-style slam and Balor landed his Coup de Grace and got a three count. Lashley was shown fuming over what happened. Graves said Lashley isn’t one to tolerate failure. Ripley gloated in the face of Ford.
WINNERS: Priest & Balor in 10:00 to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles.
(Keller’s Analysis: I didn’t expect the storyline of Lashley being let down by the Profits to continue or be restarted. It a was a curious choice for a match since both are heels, although the Profits worked the match like babyfaces in terms of taking an extended beatdown and working for the hot tag.)
-Backstage Charlotte approached her teammates and said she was talking to Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce and they agreed she should compete tonight. Becky took issue with Charlotte talking without them. Charlotte said she wanted to make sure they had a plan. Becky asked Charlotte if she thinks she just threw that out there without a plan. They bickered and Belair tried to place peacemaker. Belair clarified that she told Charlotte to call her and it wasn’t Charlotte’s idea. Becky said she didn’t come there to socialize, she came there to fight. She said she was going to get ready. Belair and Shotzi looked at each other with concern.
-The announcers hyped Becky & Charlotte vs. Bayley & Asuka later. [c]
-A vignette aired on Dragon Lee who said he is the future of Lucha Libre.
-The Grayson Waller Effect: Waller began by saying he loves the fans, too. The fans were booing him. Waller said tonight could be the start of a beautiful friendship. He introduced KO. Instead, Austin Theory came out in a KO t-shirt and shorts imitating KO’s entrance and body language. Graves marveled at how much more fit and muscular KO looked, playing along that it was KO and not Theory.
KO asked what was going on. Waller said KO was suspended. KO said he was, but it ended today. He said he thought Waller was extending an olive branch. Waller said Theory came out to make fun of him. KO accused Theory of stealing his shorts and called him a creep for going through his bags. KO said he should punch out both of them right now.
Waller said they should beat up KO because “without you, ten times out of ten, I’d beat L.A. Knight.” Owens asked if he’s the only one who knows how things work around there. He said if you keep saying someone’s name, they know what happens. As Theory explained to Waller what KO meant, Knight made his way out to the ring to an ovation. Fans chanted “L.A. Knight! L.A. Knight!” Knight said they really stepped in it, thinking KO wouldn’t be there and they could talk trash about him. “You got caught,” he said.
Knight said he was going to let KO punch them both, but then they started talking about him, so he came out to the ring. He called Theory “A-Town Clown.” He said Waller losing to him is “just a fact of life.” Waller said it’s not true and he could beat him easily. Waller and Theory said they should go punch them. KO asked Knight if he wanted to punch them first. Knight said, “Yeah!” They attacked Waller and Theory and then tore apart their set as they cut to a break. [c]
-A sponsored video package aired on Knight pinning Jimmy Uso in last week’s main event.
(2) KEVIN OWENS & L.A. KNIGHT vs. GRAYSON WALLER & AUSTIN THEORY
The match was joined in progress after the break 52 minutes into the hour. Early in the match, Waller whipped Knight into the ropes and Theory pulled the top rope down. Knight was supposed to bump over the top rope, but didn’t quite make it, so Waller gave him a shove. Waller swung at him at ringside, but Knight ducked. Knight then rammed Theory’s head into the ringpost and then grabbed Waller and rammed his head into the table at the same time as Theory as fans yelled “Yeah!” along with him. When Knight was about to re-enter the ring, Theory yanked him to the floor. Waller then clotheslined him. They cut to a break after three minutes of action. [c]
Back from the break, the heels were still in control. Knight fought back and hot-tagged KO which got a big pop. He knocked Theory out of the ring and then attacked Waller in the ring. He clotheslined them both at ringside seconds later. He superkicked Theory on the chin, then landed a leaping flip dive onto him. He then leaped off the top rope and landed a Swanton on Waller for a dramatic near fall. Fans chanted “KO! KO!”
Waller escaped a Stunner. Theory blind-tagged in and landed a high dropkick to KO’s chin. Waller and Theory double-teamed KO with stomps as the ref held Knight back from illegally entering the ring. Graves said Knight needed to watch his temper.
[HOUR TWO]
Knight and Waller both hot-tagged in a minute later. Knight rallied and tossed both heels around including a weird inverted overhead slam. Graves said he’s never seen it before. Knight stomped away at Theory and then dropped Waller to the mat. Waller crawled over into Theory’s lap. Knight stomped away at both of them in the corner and then landed a running knee. He gave Theory his lift-and-turn powerslam followed by his signature elbowdrop for a two count, broken up by Waller at about 14:00.
Waller backed away from Knight. Theory grabbed Knight from behind and set up an A-Town Down. Owens made the save. Knight then delivered a BFT on Theory for the win.
WINNERS: Knight & Owens in about 15:00.
-Belair told Becky that Charlotte was right and she wasn’t “trying to be smart with you.” Belair said she wasn’t around and didn’t care what happened between them in the past, but since she agreed to show up and help them, she needs to be a good teammate. She said she needs Becky and Charlotte to work together tonight. Becky got hot, but then said she’s cool. She calmed herself down.
-Carlito made his ring entrance. Cole said he’s known Carlito for 20 years and what Santos Escobar did to Rey Mysterio won’t go unanswered. [c]
-Back from the break, a sponsored video package aired on Santos’s promo last week justifying his actions.
-As Carlito’s music faded, Cole said at Survivor Series, Carlito is going to put Escobar in his place. Carlito said it’s been a long time since he’s spoken to the fans in Chicago. He said tomorrow will be his first PLE/PPV match in almost 13 years. “And that, that’s cool,” he said. He referred to himself in a third person. He said his focus is on his injured friend, Rey Mysterio. He said he’s going to get revenge for what Escobar did. Escobar said he said horrible things about Rey and then had a message for him. He then spoke in Spanish. He said Escobar made a very big mistake.
Escobar walked out as fans booed. He spoke in Spanish some more. He said Carlito isn’t wearing the LWO colors and he asked where his family is now. Escobar said Rey was his family and the LWO was his family, and if it’s Carlito’s fault that they’re not still together. He said Rey’s career is over and he’ll never come back because of Carlito.
He yelled at Carlito from the ring apron and then threw the mic at him. Carlito tackled him. They fought at ringside. Graves said Escobar believed every word he said. Cole pushed back and said Escobar wasn’t making sense. Officials separated them. Escobar left, but then snuck back through the crowd and leaped at Carlito and hit him with a flying knee. He smiled with Carlito down, writhing in pain.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good segment. Carlito didn’t stretch the promo needlessly. I was wondering if they were going to let Carlito get the better of Escobar before their PLE match, but then sure enough Escobar returned with an attack from behind.) [c]
-Escobar attacked Carlito backstage. Dragon Lee made the save and sent Escobar into rolling crates with a head scissors.
(3) PRETTY DEADLY (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) vs. BUTCH & RIDGE HOLLAND
Pretty Deadly came out first to their ABBA-like entrance theme with a disco ball hanging above the ring. Cole then yelled, “It’s fight night!” as the Brutes made their entrance. The bell rang 27 minutes into the hour. Cole noted that Ridge has had a rough last few months.
When Patrick called Pretty Deadly “yuppies,” Graves jumped on him and asked if he even knows what that term means. “Do they look like Young Urban Professionals to you?” Patrick chuckled and tried to defend himself a bit, saying they’re from a posh neighborhood. Then Graves brought up a reference to Hall & Oates having a weird breakup with Darryl Hall taking out a restraining order on John Oates. Cole made fun of Graves for a dated reference, even though Hall & Oates remain well-known and popular to this day and they’re actually in the news this week, so it was hardly a dated reference.
Ridge grew frustrated with Butch when Elton broke free from his forearm bashes and then walked away from the ring. Butch turned around and got hit with a double-team move by Pretty Deadly for a two count. Ridge returned all the way to the back. Butch stood and fought back against both heels with rapid-fire offense and scored a two count on Elton. Butch gave a Bitter End to Prince, but Wilson snuck in and pinned Butch. Apparently he was the legal man.
WINNER: Pretty Deadly in 4:00.
-Backstage Charlotte was shown warming up when Shotzi approached her. Charlotte asked if she was angry with her too. Shotzi talked about how people looked at her like a weirdo after her head was shaved, but Charlotte gave her a boost when she was at her lowest and it meant the world to her. Shotzi said she thinks Becky is as hurt by the past as Charlotte is, but a few words could change that. Charlotte let out a sigh as Shotzi left. [c]
-Kayla Braxton asked Nick Aldis for an update on Carlito. He said he’s badly hurt and he’s in no condition to wrestle tomorrow night, so he’ll have to postpone the match with Escobar. Dragon Lee walked in and begged Aldis to take Carlito’s place so he can teach him a lesson. Aldis said he’s in and shook his hand.
-They went to the announcers at ringside. Graves showed off a Chicago Bears replica belt. Then they plugged the Survivor Series line-up.
-Backstage, The Judgment Day were hanging out. Ripley said they rule Smackdown. Every one else took turns talking. Priest said if Jey Uso doesn’t take Randy Orton out again, they’ll make sure he doesn’t have another comeback.
-Becky and Charlotte assured each other they’re good. Cole said, “This is going to be fun.”
-Damage CTRL made their ring entrance. [c]
(4) CHARLOTTE & BECKY LYNCH (w/Bianca Belair, Shotzi) vs. BAYLEY & ASUKA (w/Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, Dakota Kai)
The bell rang 48 minutes into the hour. Charlotte and Becky took early control. Cole noted neither Charlotte nor Kairi have been in a WarGames before. Charlotte leaped off the top rope with a flip that grazed both Bayley and Asuka. They cut to a very early break. [c]
The heels were in control of Becky after the break. Charlotte got a hot-tag at 6:00 and rallied. Charlotte overhead tossed Bayley and then kipped up. Bayley and Auska took over and scored a near fall on Charlotte.
Charlotte made a comeback and hot-tagged in Becky. Becky DDT’d both opponents and scored a near fall on Bayley. She landed a dropkick for another two count, then applied a Disarm Her. Asuka broke up the hold. Becky played to the crowd and drove Bayley into the mat with a Manhandle Slam. Charlotte speared Asuka as she tried to break up the cover, but Asuka landed on Becky. Becky stood and confronted Charlotte. Graves said it was unintentional friendly fire. As Charlotte explained herself, Bayley shoved them both into the ropes. She then rolled up Becky for the win.
WINNERS. Bayley & Asuka in 11:00.
-After the match, Belair and Shotzi tried to bring some calm to Becky who was upset with Charlotte. Becky left on her own as Cole talked about the history of personal animosity between them.
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