WWE SmackDown 9/6/2023: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show that's finally about to go back to USA, thereby purging itself of The Fox Era and ending the Curse of the Kofi Squash! A significant amount of this week's content was related to setting up next week, which is the USA return, but that doesn't mean we don't have feelings about this week's episode. In fact, we have feelings about pretty much every match and segment on the show, so this review column is actually pretty comprehensive! Still, there's a lot that happens on a two-hour broadcast that you may have missed and that we won't cover here, so we still strongly recommend checking out our "SmackDown" results page for all the objective details.

So, are we excited about the world championship cage match set up for next week? Were we shocked and/or appalled by Giovanni Vinci's surprise loss upon his return? And most importantly, can we please just put all the title belts on Chelsea Green already? Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 9/6/24 episode of "WWE SmackDown."

I thought this a bit last week when Bayley ran out to help Michin when Tiffany Stratton interfered in her street fight against WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax, and this week solidified my thoughts. WWE really didn't do much for Bayley's return. Last week was pretty out of the blue from what I can remember, maybe I read somewhere that her return was emanant, and it made sense for her to run out to help another babyface, but she just really came out of nowhere. Last week, she didn't even stay out in front of fans for long, and ran Stratton out of the ring area pretty quickly. This week, however, at least the "out of nowhere" and "quick" parts weren't the case. That doesn't mean entirely too much, because Bayley returned to have her first match since SummerSlam to little to no fanfare on WWE's part. For one of the four horsewomen of the company, and currently the only horsewoman to be working in WWE or at least not injured, in the case of Charlotte Flair, you would think they'd treat her a bit better. Maybe hype up her return a little bit more, at least. I admit, I was working two shows this evening and didn't get a grasp on the crowd's response to Bayley, but even if it was a hot crowd, I feel bad for her, because it doesn't seem like the company put much in to her coming back.

Maybe it's just me thinking SummerSlam was a million years ago when it was just last month, or maybe it's how strong the women's division is now and we don't notice when people are gone for periods of time, but it feels like Bayley's been gone forever after losing her title to Jax. Bayley's championship reign wasn't too memorable this time around, so I think she really needed the hype behind her return, especially when it comes to getting her revenge on Ms. Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton, who had a part in Bayley losing the title.

The match was good and Bayley winning was the right decision, but the lack of fanfare for Bayley's return just feel completely flat to me. Bayley is an absolute star, and she really hasn't felt like it the past two weeks, or hell, even during her most recent run with the title. Right now, at least, that could also be in part to the Women's Championship feud being dominated by the impending implosion of Jax and Stratton's friendship, but it still sucks for Bayley, and it sucks for this story overall.

Written by Daisy Ruth

After disappearing from WWE television in April, following a beatdown at the hands of his then-Imperium ally Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci was give a touch of the Mr. Perfect treatment in the form of a series of vignettes hyping his return. (And just to give them their due respect, nothing has ever come close to the original Perfect vignettes, which were, say it with me now, absolutely perfect.) As a revenge tour against Kaiser and WWE Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER would make a ton of sense, the decision to bring him back on "SmackDown" was curious from the start, though patience, as they say, can be a virtue.

That said, to bring Vinci (or anyone) back amid this relative level of fanfare (considering his less-than-formidable resume to this point), only to get dusted by Apollo Crews in a King Kong Bundy-esque matter of seconds is almost unfathomable. Crews (who, for the record, I love) hadn't had a singles win on WWE television since December, when he beat "NXT's" Brooks Jensen on "Main Event." And again, with the decision to bring Vinci back to "SmackDown," this marked Crews' first victory on this particular show since June 2021, when he defended the Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens. (Remember when Crews was Intercontinental Champion? Yeah. See?)

In fairness, we don't know where Vinci, or anyone, is headed long-term. We don't know what lofty sights have been set for the former Fabian Aichner. So to lose like this in his re-debut, surely, has some undefined meaning, which, given the equity WWE had established in terms of — here it comes, everyone's favorite term! — long-term storytelling, forces us to lean on the faith that we've developed under the post-He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named regime. But at what cost? If Vinci comes back just to hammer Crews, that really hurts the latter, who can't take much more hurt. And if he gets smoked again? Well, I just don't see a losing streak angle working for just about anyone at this point, let alone someone like Vinci who, in all honesty, hasn't done much of anything just yet.

Written by Jon Jordan

So Kevin Owens gets a PLE championship match against Cody Rhodes where he looks like he probably could have won if he hadn't hesitated to hurt his friend. Big storyline, lots of drama and feelings, really made Owens look like he belonged in the ring with the world champion.

But that was six days ago and it's over now, so he's feuding with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. Again.

Owens beat Theory in October 2023, shortly after Owens was traded to "SmackDown" for Jey Uso. In November, Owens teamed with LA Knight to beat Theory and Waller. He beat Waller in a singles match the following week, then beat Theory again a couple weeks later. He beat Theory again in February, then he and Orton beat Theory and Waller in March. A few months later in July, Owens teamed up with Cody Rhodes to beat Theory and Waller, then he beat Waller in singles action again in August, and then he and Rhodes again beat Theory and Waller the week after that.

Now he's going to face Theory and Waller again next week, with a mystery partner who I'm just assuming is Randy Orton even though it could reasonably be literally any babyface. No matter who it is, they're going to win, and there will probably be another utterly minute advancement in the "Theory eventually turns on Waller" storyline which refuses to go anywhere. Which, fine, whatever, but Owens is legitimately one of the top-tier talents in the entire company — can we please find him something to do that doesn't involve these losers?

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Two weeks ago I praised an LA Knight match; this week I'm praising an LA Knight promo segment. Wild stuff. I'm still not wavering on my opinion that Knight is a bad promo, but I have to admit that he's being perfectly used right now and is really excelling in the role of antihero midcard champion who just doesn't really give a f***.

I really like the match series between Andrade and Carmelo Hayes expanding beyond just the two of them and potentially bringing in some actual stakes. The matches have been phenomenal, don't get me wrong, but involving Knight and the US Championship anchors them in the practical realities of the show, which I appreciate. These are two wrestlers who absolutely should want to go after singles midcard titles, and I like the dynamic of their desire to beat each other getting in the way of their championship aspirations — and of course, allowing Knight to hit both of them with a BFT, which fits his character exactly.

I think my favorite touch was Knight hitting Andrade with the BFT first and leaving the ring, then seeing that Hayes had turned his back on the champion in favor of gloating over his nemesis, getting back in the ring, and hitting Hayes with a BFT as well, just because. The alignments make it for me — Knight is a babyface, but mostly just because he gets cheered. His personality hasn't changed, and he's the kind of person who will dish out punishment to babyface and heel alike, just for being in his way. It's not the most original wrestling character (see Austin, Steve) but Knight is executing it well, and the consistency of the character gives it authenticity.

All three of these guys are in the exact places they need to be, doing the exact kind of stuff they need to be doing. It's nice to see a booker using his tools to their highest effectiveness — in this case, at least.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Plenty has been said about how much greatness has been broadcast onto WWE television by Chelsea Green since her return at the 2023 Royal Rumble. Green's penchant for maximizing her TV time, on any of WWE's programs, is unparalleled in the business, hands down, and her work in the ring is as underrated as it comes. Not nearly enough has been said about how much greatness has been broadcast onto WWE television by Michin (nee Mia Yim) since her return in November 2022. Her penchant for maximizing her TV time, within a faction or by herself, on "Raw," "SmackDown," or "NXT," in traditional matches or badass street fights, is as good as it gets. And both of these ladies deserve all the flowers, all the time, starting right now.

To see them put it together tonight for a match on "SmackDown," knowing the travails they've both endured, their first televised singles match against each other since an Impact Wrestling show in 2022, and only their third ever, including a TNA Xplosion showdown between then-Jade and then-(just) Chelsea in 2016, is a lesson in perseverance and just due for a pair of talents who can do it all. The fact that they are both products of the 2018 WWE Performance Center class is just a nice added touch.

Green's work since returning had been as versatile as any promotion can hope for in a performer. Be it comedic, distracting, complementary to another talent (such as Piper Niven, who, greatness though she holds on her own, has been elevated by Green's company), or downright effective in the ring, she is can't miss every time she hits the screen. And as for Michin, I am not sure, at this point, if there is another talent under contract to WWE in this timeframe who has done everything she (or he) can with anything that has been given. Sidepiece to the OC, hardcore Blasian Baddie in "NXT" in a good, old-fashioned street scrap with Jaida Parker (obviously, elevating an up-and-comer), or playing crash test dummy as she did in a similar affair against WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax on last week's "SmackDown," there is zero limit to how she can be deployed on any given week. In an industry where being "a good hand" is equal parts a blessing and a curse, both of these women have proven their dependability and now it's time to give them each some legitimate shine. Tonight was a nice step in that direction.

Written by Jon Jordan

I will be the first to admit I'm tired of Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes opening up every "SmackDown" with a promo, as much as I love and adore him, but it's gotten old; it's the same thing week in and week out. Even Rhodes admitted it a bit himself tonight, saying that he knew he was going to be interrupted, so he invited the Bloodline out before he could get any farther in his promo. It's what transpired after Rhodes' initial opening and Solo Sikoa's response that I loved, however. It was just the tiniest segment on the show, but it has the potential to make the Bloodline story all the more interesting as it adds more members, and fans don't seem to be supporting Sikoa as a heel the way WWE might have thought fans would take to him.

During their face-off, Rhodes mentioned that he was ready to take on a formidable athlete next week, but said it wasn't Sikoa he was talking to, but rather, Jacob Fatu who was behind Sikoa with Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa outside of the ring. Rhodes told Fatu to step up, and he got on the apron, but didn't accept Rhodes' challenge. He kept telling Sikoa he loved him, then stepped down, with Rhodes saying that's what he expected. I really loved this little touch of Rhodes' promo, because everywhere I look after "SmackDown," I see fans loving and supporting Fatu way more than they are Sikoa.

I also loved the way this segment ended, with #DIY and the Street Profits coming in to help Rhodes. It set up the fact that Sikoa and Rhodes are going head-to-head in a cage match next week when "SmackDown" when the show debuts on the USA Network all the more interesting, though it is funny how WWE seems to think that these men need to be in a stipulation match for things to be exciting, like the Bloodline Rules match their first go-around at SummerSlam. I digress as someone who loves gimmick, stipulation matches, but it is something that makes you go, "Hm," when you stop and think about it. The cage will keep the Bloodline out, as well as Rhodes' friends, but with the lack of Roman Reigns recently on our television screens, something tells me he's going to be involved, and the cage isn't going to keep the "Original Tribal Chief" out. I was initially going to be upset about the lack of Reigns on this show, but realizing that Sikoa has a title opportunity on a huge episode of "SmackDown" next week just solidifies the fact to me that will be getting out "OTC" back soon to challenge his cousin for the Tribal Chief rights before coming back for Rhodes and the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Written by Daisy Ruth