Match Ratings For Smackdown On Fox 10/4/19 From Sean Ross Sapp

Opening segment

• Vince and Stephanie McMahon welcome everyone to Smackdown
• Becky Lynch comes out and kicks off the night by thanking the Staples Center and saying she’s doing to kick someone’s ass.
• King Corbin comes out next. He trashes Becky Lynch, and she fires back at him.
• The Rock comes out and cuts a promo about how the term Smackdown changed WWE.
• He calls Baron Corbin a Burger King employee on crack.
• Rock says winning King of The Ring doesn’t make you a King, like Becky Lynch is “The Man” but doesn’t carry around a pair of testicles. She says if she did they’d be bigger than Corbin. He says his testicles are perfectly adequate.
• Becky hits Baron with the IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK.
• They call Baron a “super tough dude” and get the crowd to chant “STD.”
• They beat up Corbin. People’s Elbow, Rock Bottom.

Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch defeated Boss N’ Hug Connection
6/10

• The entrances look so much better with the updates.
• Great action early on, Charlotte gets worked over.
• Becky Lynch is in the ring after the break, and the crowd is hot.
• This was a great idea for an opening match on Smackdown. All four of these women look like the stars they are.
• Charlotte moonsaults outside onto Boss N Hug. She taps out Bayley.
• The crowd pushed this up to rec’d viewing for me.

Backstage Crappenings

• Erin Andrews interviews New Day. Erin Andrews not reading directly from a script felt so much better.
• Trish Stratus, Lita, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Goldberg, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair. Tyson Fury are at Smackdown.
• I can’t remember the last time I saw an action figure commercial during Raw or SD.
• Market-specific ROH TV ads running during Smackdown on FOX.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Sami Zayn)
N/A (Short)

• Firefly Funhouse happens with Seth in the ring. The Rabbit warns Seth to not face The Fiend, and says he’s a big Rollins fan. Mercy the Buzzard kills him.
• Nakamura grabs a flying armbar.
• If Seth Rollins has a “patented” suicide dive, he should be suing the whole roster for infringement.
• Rollins missed a kick by a mile.
• THE FIEND is here. They HAD to get The Fiend on this Smackdown.
• I liked that for a number of reasons. Seth and Nakamura on the show, neither lost. It built the Sunday HIAC match, and got The Fiend on Fox. Everyone wins.

WWE 24/7 Title
Marshmello defeated Carmella (c) to become WWE 24/7 Champion
Carmella defeated Marsmello (c) to win the title

• Marshmello is talking to R-Truth and the Bella Twins.
• Carmella approaches and throw biscuits or something. Marshmello pins Carmella and wins the title.
• Another Marshmello pins Marshmello. It’s Carmella. She wins the title back.

Loser Leaves WWE
Ladder Match
Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon
7.25/10

• Kevin Owens attacks Shane McMahon up the ramp.
• Shane does his elbow drop through the announce table.
• We come back from commercial to see Kevin Owens frog splash Shane McMahon through a bridged ladder!
• WWE has some rough mic issues with the crowd. The crowd gets completely muted at times.
• McMahon cracks Owens in the ankle with a chair.
• Coast to Coast from Shane McMahon!
• Owens powerbombs Shane into a ladder.
• Shane McMahon is “fired” from WWE.
• Kevin Owens fires Shane and hits him with a Stone Cold Stunner.

Braun Strowman, The Miz & Heavy Machinery defeated Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Roode, AJ Styles & Randy Orton
5/10

• This is a good way to pack in a lot of talent.
• The heels get their asses kicked pretty heavily.
• Strowman mows EVERYONE down.
• Strowman and Tyson Fury face off at ringside, leading to Ziggler jumping on Strowman
• Strowman hits his finish for the win.
• Tyson Fury jumps the guard rail and has to be held back!
• This was AMAZING.

Lumberjack Match
Roman Reigns defeated Erick Rowan
5.75/10

• The lumberjacks argue among themselves.
• Daniel Bryan is on commentary.
• Back from the commercial, this is very much a Greatest Hits of Roman Reigns and Rowan.
• Harper comes out and Bryan goes right after him.
• It’s mayhem with the lumberjacks. Reigns jumps over the top onto all of them.
• Rowan powerbombs Ali onto Reigns.
• Harper and Bryan both run in, an Reigns hits a spear for the win.
• The crowd was great for this.

WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Kofi Kingston (c)
SQUASH

• F5. Pin.
• Rey Mysterio comes out with Cain Velasquez
• Velasquez attacks Lesnar.
• I don’t know that Brock Lesnar needed the title on him to feud with Cain Velasquez. Quite the opposite.
• Not a fan of that unless Brock is defending more often. The top prize of a program not being on a show reduces the importance of the program.
• They advertised a whole bunch of people who weren’t on the show, and ended early.

Rating guide

10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a “star rating,” which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive “TV match” lands at a 5. The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones. Don’t take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!