WWE Smackdown Live 9/1/23 September 1st 2023
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WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Ahead of Payback
Just one day ahead of Payback 2023, the September 1 edition of Friday Night SmackDown would feature two important returns as well as the final build to WWE's latest premium live event.
No one makes bigger appearances in WWE these days than John Cena. One of the all-time greats and a movie star to boot, The GOAT has promised eight weeks of appearances for the blue brand.
Following the latest Bloodline drama, Jimmy Uso would appear alone to address his brother Jey Uso leaving WWE. What is next for this family drama?
Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar would team together to shut up the loudmouth duo of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller. Who would gain an advantage ahead of Mysterio and Theory's United States Championship clash?
LA Knight and The Miz would face off one last time before their Saturday match. What would they say? Would they come to blows before the big night?
This show needed to be a big one, setting the final stage for Payback and beyond into the fall.
John Cena Meets the New Jimmy Uso
- Cena promised to give thanks to the fans every time he appeared.
- JImmy came out to a new theme. Production make it extra confusing by taking 10 seconds to show who was coming out.
- The crowd chanted "We want Jey" after Jimmy came out.
- Jimmy called Cena and Roman Reigns the same. An angry Cena responded by saying "the wrong Uso quit".
- Jimmy stormed around backstage including disrespecting Mia Yim. AJ Styles stood up for Yim until Solo Sikoa wiped out The Phenomenal One. Sikoa told Jimmy he was still a part of The Bloodline, but Jimmy walked out with defiance.
John Cena announced he was the host of Payback 2023. Jimmy Uso interrupted to explain that all he did was for his brother Jey Uso. The two came to blows, and The GOAT laid out Jimmy with an Attitude Adjustment.
Cena may have held back here to let Jimmy stand out, but it was very clear that the heel won this battle. He was presented like a top act next to The GOAT and hardly looked out of place.
If Jimmy can defeat Cena one on one in a match after this, he will be quickly solidified in his own way as a singles star.
It is also a great sign that the crowd was fully behind Jey without him being in the arena. The Bloodline angle is finally truly producing stars, making both Usos into singles acts with high upside.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar (w/ LWO) vs. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller
- Backstage, in a pre-match interview, Theory and Waller talked themselves up as the best tag team in WWE.
- Mysterio and Escobar were poised to work together to take down both heels with side-by-side topes, but Theory returned to the ring for a sneak attack. Escobar pushed Mysterio out of the way and took a hit to his knee that sealed the loss.
Austin Theory and Grayson Waller isolated Rey Mysterio in this match early until Santos Escobar made the save. The Aussie Icon took advantage of a shoulder tackle to the knee of Escobar to hit the Rolling Thunder from Down Under to steal the win.
This was a good match that sold the potential of Mysterio vs. Theory as a more complete match at Payback.
The former United States champion picks up a win ahead of his rematch against The Master of the 619, but more importantly, Waller picked up a decisive pinfall.
WWE has shown signs of getting behind The Aussie Icon, but he still has not won big matches on the main roster. This could be a signature victory down the road, particularly if he goes after the US Championship.
Escobar and Mysterio have stayed a cohesive unit despite the questionable booking that led to Mysterio taking his gold. This could be a sign that it will be The Master of the 619 and not Escobar that ultimately turns when the time is right.
Result
Waller and Theory def. Escobar and Mysterio by pinfall.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits Warn WWE About Their Championship Aspirations
- This sold-out crowd was loud for this segment, especially cheering for The All Mighty.
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn did not wait for the stable to head to the back before coming out for their match, clearly teasing a future contest.
Bobby Lashley explained that he aligned with The Street Profits because "real recognizes real". Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins gave The All Mighty thanks for helping them. Lashley warned that they were after "power, control and championships".
SmackDown has moved significantly slower than Raw with most angles, and this is no exception. Lashley and The Street Profits are easing their way up the ladder of success, waiting the right rivals.
This was a welcome moment of clarity as this stable clearly comes together to become a force that will be difficult to match.
The All Mighty showed be focus on Roman Reigns' Undisputed Universal Championship while Ford and Dawkins consider challenging Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro
- Del Toro hit KO and Zayn with a sequence of kicks to send both men reeling.
- After the win, Zayn warned Judgment Day to bring everything they had to the fight of their lives at Payback.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens rolled through Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro. While the LWO members got in a couple nice shots, it was all over after a pop-up powerbomb to Wilde. Zayn hit him with a Helluva Kick followed by a stunner from Owens to steal it.
While it makes sense for the Undisputed tag team champions to win dominantly just one day before a title defense, LWO needed more rub than they got. Two talented stars with plenty to prove, Wilde and Del Toro have been the odd men out in LWO.
They could not afford a loss, especially one in a match this short. The action was fine but hardly a showcase of anyone involved. It was just an easy booking option to remind people about Zayn and Owens vs. Judgment Day at Payback.
Result
Zayn and Owens def. Wilde and Del Toro by pinfall.
Grade
D
Notable Moments
LA Knight and The Miz Both Promise Victory at Payback
- As expected, the crowd went wild once Knight had arrived.
- Miz called out all his accomplishments, and The Million Dollar Megastar gave him credit for his work, a rarity with babyfaces feuding with The Miz.
- Knight made a snide remark that he could satisfy Maryse better than The A-Lister.
- Michael Cole sold this match with Miz as Knight's moment to make it big.
LA Knight did not let The Miz speak too much trash before he headed to the ring. The A-Lister warned that he would destroy the star power of The Million Dollar Megastar when he beat him at Payback.
Miz laid out Knight with a Skull Crushing Finale and called that "the future". The Million Dollar Megastar recovered and ran down The A-Lister until officials pulled him off.
This was an important final moment for Knight and Miz to solidify their feud. They have worked overtime to sell this rivalry. This final exchange solidified the importance of a match that would have been wasted on SmackDown a few months back.
Knight stumbled over his words at one moment, but it did not hurt him. Both men spoke their piece, and The Million Dollar Megastar sold his story perfectly as a hard worker and fan finally living his dream.
Grade
A
Notable Moments
Bayley (w/ Damage CTRL) vs. Shotzi
- Ahead of this match, WWE showed Damage CTRL injuring the leg of Bianca Belair backstage two weeks ago.
- Shotzi has further evolved her look, gelling up her hair in a row of spikes.
- Commentary was especially bad during this match as Corey Graves hyper-focused on Shotzi's hair and failed completely to get Kevin Patrick to show personality.
Damage CTRL tormented Shotzi throughout this match until Charlotte Flair got involved. She blasted Bayley with a right forearm to set up a DDT from Shotzi to take an important win.
WWE should have hyped this more, but at least the women got time. It did not pan out fully though as the two do not have chemistry in the ring. This was one of the cleanest matches Shotzi has wrestled, but it was because both were running at half speed.
The right woman won as Shotzi has high potential in a division lacking up-and-coming acts. Hopefully, The Queen does not try to take too much of her spotlight.
Iyo Sky still has yet to defend her title in a complete match. She spent this match on the sidelines for Bayley and will not be competing at Payback against multiple obvious challengers. That is a waste.
Result
Shotzi def. Bayley by pinfall.
Grade
C
Notable Moments
AJ Styles vs. Solo Sikoa (w/ Paul Heyman)
- Sikoa dominated the early stretch of this match while Styles took some rough spots to sell the offense of The Enforcer.
- Styles countered the Samoan Spike with a pele kick then planted him with a second to finally gain control in the last few minutes.
Solo Sikoa found himself wearing down while AJ Styles only got better as the match went along. Luckily for The Bloodline, Jimmy Uso tripped The Phenomenal One, allowing Sikoa to hit the Samoan Spike to win.
Afterward, Jimmy almost got a Spike of his own, but Paul Heyman called him off. Jimmy then nailed Styles with an Uso Splash.
Even while Styles gets older, he still rarely misses in the ring. This was not a showstopper, but it was effective. It built from a slow beat-down to an exciting home stretch without The Phenomenal One ever losing tracking of the sell.
The finish put a damper on the energy of the match but does set up Styles to be involved with The Bloodline story longer. He could be Roman Reigns' next challenger if the stars align.
Meanwhile, Jimmy is teasing rejoining The Bloodline after initially refusing. This story has gone so many directions that nothing is certain, but it would make sense for Jimmy to lure out The Tribal Chief to try and take him out.
Result
Sikoa def. Styles by pinfall.
Grade
B+
Notable Moments
Overall Show
SmackDown is the most Sports Entertainment focused show on WWE's card. Wrestling is mostly an afterthought each week. It is all about the dramatic stories of the key stables.
Obviously, The Bloodline still lead the night whenever present. This was Jimmy Uso's show from start to finish, building his legacy as an individual star for the first time in his career.
He got to work off John Cena and stand tall in the main event. This makes sense for the blue brand, though it is decidedly bad booking if WWE wanted to hype Payback as more than a filer premium live event.
SmackDown was at its best promoting bigger angles and stars than will play a central role on Saturday. The PLE was an after-thought beyond LA Knight and The Miz's heated verbal battle.
This made for an exciting show that is focused on the long term over the short term. Cena will be around for seven more weeks, hopefully promoting the talent that will be around for years to come.
Roman Reigns is not coming back soon, so shows like this are a necessity to grow the brand, even if this leads to low-energy nights on the eve of a PLE.
Overall Grade: C+
