SmackDown recap & reactions (Nov. 8, 2024): Ready for WAR GAMES

They promised an “Undisputed Tribal Chief Acknowledgement Ceremony” on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown right at the start, and then the first to make an entrance on the live show proper was none other than the OTC, Roman Reigns. He was flanked by Jimmy Uso.

But not Jey.

Nor Sami Zayn.

Instead, before Reigns could speak, Jey’s music hit and he made his own entrance. Hey, he always said he would only do this again if they were equals. At least so far, that’s been the case, even if Roman hasn’t exactly shown great pleasure in it.

Jey even opened the conversation, asking for Roman and Jimmy to “just hear him out. Just hear what he has to say.”

Enter Zayn, who had to take a minute before speaking because the live audience was chanting “Sami Uso” for him.

He said the kick to Reigns at Crown Jewel was not on purpose but he also wanted to make clear he was only there for Jey and he’d like to say the same is true for showing up on this show but it’s just not the case. The truth?

When it was the four of them, even for just a minute at Crown Jewel, it was special. It took him back to a special time in his life.

With family.

Word to Dom Toretto.

Sami said he felt it, and Jey did too, and Jimmy did too, and if he was honest with himself and everyone else, Roman felt it too. On some level, he surely wants all of this back. He thinks, deep down, that Reigns loves him. It’s still there. He remembers the old days, just like everyone else.

It could be like that again.

He’ll put the ball in Reigns’ court right now. If he wants him to turn around and walk away, never to be in Bloodline business again, he’ll do it. But he doesn’t think that’s what he wants. He thinks he wants the four of them fighting together, side-by-side. And if that’s what he wants, he’ll do that too.

He just needs one thing.

An apology.

That, of course, is the toughest of pills to swallow for one Roman Reigns.

“Let me just get this straight — you want me to apologize to you?”

Sami said no, it’s not for him.

“I want you to apologize to Jey.”

Reigns slowly made his way to Jey and apologized, but only for allowing them to waste his time like this. Zayn is not family, and this is not about him, it’s about Solo Sikoa, who he demanded come to the ring right now so they could handle business. Zayn walked away.

Jacob Fatu suddenly hit the screen to deny Roman’s request and end the segment with Sami still heading for the back and everyone disgusted with where they were.

It seems obvious where this story is headed, with Survivor Series only a few more weeks away, but they’ve never rushed too quickly into making any move in this story and they aren’t doing it here either. How would the ceremony later on play into all this?

Shortly after the segment, Jey confronted Roman backstage to ask about Roman not hearing Sami out. Reigns wondered why he cares about Sami so much? If he cares so much, go find his ass. Jey gave him a pass for talking to him like that, but that was his one warning. When Jimmy questioned why Reigns was treating Jey that way he, too, was shouted down.

The character arc is nowhere near complete. The ego is still too large.

He was shown backstage contemplating his situation throughout the remainder of the show, the messaging clear. Yet again, his ego had left him all alone. Would his contemplation bring him to the right conclusion?

Finally, it was time for the main event segment, and Solo and his goons hit the ring for it. He could hardly get through asking for acknowledgement before Reigns showed up, all by himself. When Sikoa asked for Roman to acknowledge him, Buffalo quite literally broke out in a “fuck you Solo” chant.

Reigns challenged Sikoa to a match, 1v1, winner is the one true undisputed Tribal Chief. Sikoa’s response? Find four people to team up with him and they can go to war.

Reigns did the quick math and who the hell would be the fifth? Solo claimed it was none other than Sami Zayn, who started slowly walking out when they attacked Reigns. Jimmy and Jey ran in and chaos broke out. The ring cleared out, and it was just Solo setting Reigns up to call Sami in, demanding he kick Roman in the face.

“Remember what he did to you?!?”

Zayn rushed forward … and laid Solo out. Jacob Fatu ran in but Sami ducked, perfectly setting him up for a Superman Punch. He followed up with a monster Spear on Solo.

The new Bloodline cleared out.

The original remained in the ring.

Jey threw up the one.

Jimmy did the same.

Sami soon followed, staring right at Reigns as he did it.

And then Reigns did it too.

Run it back, boys.

This time it’s WAR (GAMES)!

There were some issues with this — why would Solo fall for Sami’s fake loyalty another week?!?, why are Sami and Jey going along with Roman like this when they still aren’t getting what they want/need out of it — but I don’t even care, this is why I still love pro wrestling all these years later. Plus, they have given us reason to have faith we’ll finally get resolution proper and these moments will hit that much harder because of it.

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They continue doing a fantastic job of making Kevin Owens look so much more dangerous than he ever has. They’re also making Randy Orton look unhinged in a good way, what with his showing up with no voice to shout a curse word — you know it’s serious when they start cussing! — to demand Owens show up to settle this once and for all.

The ensuing brawl wasn’t much but it had a big payoff — Owens hit Orton with a piledriver, a move they were quick to point out was banned many years ago because of how dangerous it is. They really drove that point home too, with Orton selling like his neck was broken, and doing a full blown stretcher job with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis coming out to help assist him to the back.

Orton could be heard saying “I can’t feel…” as they were wheeling him to the back.

This was one hell of an angle.

I also appreciate the fact that they’re trying to get the piledriver over in such a way. There are arguments to be made you can’t put the genie back in the bottle, so to speak, but you never know if you don’t try and this certainly felt like it got over in the arena.

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All the rest

• Candice LeRae tried to fake a leg injury to get the upper hand on Bayley when having a match outright wasn’t working out so well for her. Instead, Bayley, who could be heard shouting “I know you” after the fact, baited her into trying for a roll up and then hooked her legs for the three count to score the pinfall.
• Tommaso Ciampa was good and pissed off at Johnny Gargano for playing too nice with the Motor City Machine Guns, yelling at his tag team partner that they were going to make an example of Pretty Deadly on this show before making clear their intentions to take the titles back for themselves. Gargano said he’s longtime friends with them, of course he would be good to them. When the match came, Ciampa singlehandedly destroyed Prince & Wilson, never even bothering to tag Gargano in and barking at him on the way back out. The Blackheart might be back, folks.
• Nia Jax was upset at Tiffany Stratton for getting a match made between them and the women’s tag team champions, Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill. They argued about this in front of Candice LeRae, who made an appeal to Jax that if she was there Nia would have won. Something there, perhaps? We’ll have to stay tuned on that. Meanwhile, they booked the tag match to feature a big showdown between Jade and Nia, something they’ve made a habit of for the former while she’s been doing the tag team thing. LeRae showed up late in the match to try to give the heels the win but Stratton was pissed she showed up and didn’t take advantage. Naomi arrived to take LeRae out and by the time it was all over, Belair had hit Stratton with the Kiss of Death to get the three count. They’re certainly doing what they can to keep things intriguing throughout all of the women’s division here.
• Instead of having the Motor City Machine Guns appear on “The Grayson Waller Effect” like they promoted last week, they had the two have a match, one the tag team champions emerged victorious in. This was fairly straightforward, simply a way to further establish the new team both in WWE and as champions. Nothing to complain about there. When they got backstage, DIY tried to confront them but The Street Profits showed up to say they already talked to Aldis and they’ll get the next tag team title shot next week.
• Nick Aldis introduced a women’s United States championship. It’s long overdue, and the title is instantly the best looking belt in the company for the white leather strap and the design itself.

The blue brand doesn’t miss.

Grade: A-

Your turn.