The problems of Bloodline continued on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, with an early backstage segment showing Roman Reigns inviting The Usos to his 1000 Days Championship celebration ceremony next week.
Jimmy Uso he replied that this made things normal, and he wanted to go eat, so he left. Or she tried to go. Reigns, of course, wasn’t too pleased with what he took to be another open show of disrespect. So he got in his face and tasted it. Again. That’s becoming a habit of late, more with Jimmy than Jey, which is worth noting as it happens more and more.
“Think back when we was kids… I whooped you then, I’ll whoop you now.”@WWERomanReigns @WWEUsos #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/LM1MTBwkPU
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 27, 2023
Reigns flatly told Jimmy that he was good at acting tough, but he hit him when they were young and he would hit him again now. Jimmy looked like he was about to throw his hands at each other, but Jey pushed him away and they went their separate ways.
Reigns, for his part, was great here. Not overacting like he’s prone to, but like a really scary guy who invites violence from someone he feels superior to. Jimmy has a long way to go before he evokes the same kind of feeling that Jey does in his story, but he’s already on his way.
Later in the night, when it was time for Reigns and Solo Sikoa to join Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on “The KO Show”, The Usos stepped into the ring first. Owens was glad about that, because he wanted to talk to them.
Watch #SmackDownInThree: RESPECT. OBEY. ACKNOWLEDGE.#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/sTDDzvhi13
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 27, 2023
He said it loud and proud: Sami was right about everything. He was right all along. He called Jimmy and Jey the greatest tag team of all time, but they’ve become errand boys for Reigns. Jimmy’s response was to say “when it comes to Day 1s, I’m the Tribal Chief”. Paul Heyman was SHOCKED.
Wade Barrett wondered aloud, “What the hell was Jimmy Uso thinking?” Reigns slammed into the ring and knocked the microphone out of Jimmy and Jey’s hands, looking them square in the face as he did so. Zayn told him that The Bloodline was over and it was all his fault, so Roman grabbed the microphone out of his hand as well.
Will this be the outcome at #WWENOC?@AJStylesOrg #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/eXCVslO7GR
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) May 27, 2023
A Stunner from Owens led to a melee and when all was said and done, The Bloodline was left standing. Jimmy picked up two of the remaining tag team titles in the ring. Reigns reached out for him, demanding that he hand them over. The crowd wanted a turn here. Instead, Jey pulled Jimmy back, took the titles himself, and handed them to Reigns with his head bowed down. A sign of submission, of respect. The 1 went up in the air… except Jimmy.
Other results
Austin Theory retained the United States Championship by pinning Sheamus thanks to a distraction from Pretty Deadly. It was played not as if Theory was in cahoots with recent NXT call-ups, but rather as if Kit and Elton were simply going after The Brawling Brutes. The match was okay, but it was clear they weren’t doing a title change here and it felt predictable to the point of boring. It didn’t help that it was recorded, of course.
Raquel Rodriguez & Shotzi they defeated Bayley & AND SKY in a short match that had a weird ending that made the mean girls look downright silly. They called it a miscommunication but SKY came out of the top, hit Rodriguez in the back while aiming Shotzi further but Rodriguez was on Bayley in such a way that she just held her for the pin as SKY looked confused and alone. he made a circle with his arms raised. That’s how they lost. I guess it continues the theme of Bayley and SKY not being a great fit, but they could have done better to get there.
Hit Row he had a new look this week, wearing all white ski masks. It did not matter. They were there to be fodder for Cameron Grimes, who picked up another quick win in just his second fight on the main roster. Afterwards, Baron Corbin attacked him from behind, so it will be a full blown fight. It’s too early to try to read too much into any of this.
Bianca Belair made a promotion about Asuka, saying that he plans to fight her directly at Night of Champions after all the fog attacks and disrespect. Asuka is unhinged and will meet her there. Naturally, this led to a surprise attack. Belair actually managed to get the better of him, only missing a Kiss of Death because the officials were ringside and caught Asuka on the way down. She bailed out laughing at it. Hopefully the match will be good because the build hasn’t really been much to write home about.
LA Knight he faced Rick BOOGS after their tag team match last week, so they had an individual match against each other this week. BOOGS had very little to offer, and he was taken down with the BFT and clean. The Street Profits were commenting on this, and Knight took a microphone and said that if they talked much more rubbish, he would “give change with his two five-dollar asses.” It certainly seemed like they wanted to keep the issue here, but Knight is clearly a single star in the making and they should continue down that path.
Karrion Kross drew the tarot card from AJ Styles last week, so you took your chance this week. His timing couldn’t be worse. Styles covered it clean with the phenomenal forearm. This after Michin acted as an equalizer and took Scarlett out of the equation. It’s hard to see much of a future for Kross if this is how they keep hiring him. But hey, someone had to cheer Styles on right before he fights for the world heavyweight championship.
This was a taped show, which meant nothing had that long to breathe. Still, it wasn’t a bad show and it made for some great storylines for the promotion’s core group.
