WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results
October 20, 2023
Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas
Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick
Results by: Roy Nemer of Wrestleview.com
WWE SmackDown kicks off with clips of last week’s season premiere involving the Bloodline, LA Knight and John Cena.
Live in the arena, Paul Heyman is standing in the middle of the ring. He introduces himself and he says he has some big shoes to fill this week. He asks if we saw what Jimmy Uso did on Raw. Heyman says Jimmy called the play and took the inspiration from the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns and he cost Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships.
Heyman mentions how Roman Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against LA Knight at Crown Jewel. Heyman says that they are all fans of LA Knight. The fans star the “Yeah” chant and Heyman tells them not to do that as he is talking. Heyman says LA Knight is going to get smashed by the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Champion, the head of the table, the tribal chief, Roman Reigns.
LA Knight’s music and out he comes to a loud pop from the crowd.
He tells Heyman he is not here to talk with him, he wants Roman’s ass out there right now. He gets in Heyman’s face and asks him what Roman is going to do to him. Heyman tells LA Knight that the fans are there to see LA Knight, not himself. LA Knight tells him to stay in the ring.
LA Knight says word on the street is that Heyman said the spear last week was a warning shot. He says he doesn’t do warning shots, if you want to take a shot at him, you better put him down for good. He will pull a Michael Meyers and get right back up and he will not stop until he owns Roman Reigns and the Championship.
He tells Heyman if Roman is scared, to tell him and that he should be. As fast as he has risen is as fast as he will take the WWE title off him. He tells him that when he speaks with Roman about the contract signing next week, to make it clear who’s game this is. The fans chant “LA Knight, yeah”. LA Knight throws the microphone at Heyman and leaves the ring.
We cut backstage as we see Bobby Lashley and Angelo Dawkins motivating Montez Ford who is getting ready for his match.
-Commercial Break-
Santos Escobar with LWO vs. Montez Ford with Angelo Dawkins
The bell rings and we are under way. Ford throws Escobar to the ropes and hits him with a back elbow. He goes for the cover but Escobar kicks out. Ford with a drop kick. He goes for the cover but again Escobar kicks out. Ford with a kick to the face followed by a standing frog splash. He grabs Escobar but Escobar with kicks. Escobar on the second rope but Ford with a kick and Escobar falls to the outside of the ring.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Ford with a modified bulldog off the second rope. He goes for the cover but Escobar kicks out. Ford with an arm bar but Escobar with right hands and a back elbow. Escobar with a drop kick followed by a shoulder tackle. A super kick by Escobar and Ford falls to the outside of the ring. Escobar runs to the ropes and he lands a suicide dive. He throws Ford back into the ring. Escobar climbs the top rope and he lands a cross body as he goes for the cover but again Ford kicks out. Escobar with a double knees. He throws Ford onto the ring apron and Ford with a kick to the side of the head. Ford climbs the second rope but Escobar with a kick. Escobar climbs the top rope and he lands a hurricanrana. Dawkins grabs Ford to the outside. Escobar to the outside and he throws Ford back into the ring. With the referee distracts, Dawkins throws Escobar into the ring. The LWO attack Dawkins but Dawkins throws them into the ring steps. Escobar to the outside and he hits Dawkins with a knee to the face. Escobar gets back into the ring as Ford rolls him up and gets the pin.
Winner: Montez Ford
The Street Profits attack Escobar as Carlito’s music hits and he runs down with a chair. The Street Profits leave the ring as Carlito checks up on the LWO.
-Commercial Break-
The LWO are backstage and Rey thanks Carlito for helping them out. He says he will speak with Logan Paul alone tonight.
We see clips of Pretty Deadly’s win against the Brawling Brutes last week. They air a video package of Pretty Deadly celebrating their win at a spa.
As they are at the spa, the Brawling Brutes attack them from behind.
Back in the arena, Heyman is in his office with Solo and in comes Jimmy. He asks them if they saw Raw, he tells them how he is killing it. Heyman tells him he talked about it. Heyman points to Solo and the television as we see John Cena arriving to the show.
-Commercial Break-
John Cena’s music hits and the crowd greets him with a loud pop as he runs down to the ring. Once more, he is introduced as the greatest of all time. Cena greets the crowd and hypes them up. A loud “Cena” chant from the crowd and he thanks them. The fans chant “Thank you Cena” and he tells them that they have no idea what that means to him.
Cena says it has been a rough day. Unfortunately, he got hit with some harsh truths today. He tells them that he will be honest with them and himself. Last week he talked about Roman’s streak. Today he found out he has a streak of his own and that is 2002 days. It has been 2002 days since he last won a televised singles match. He says his last win was in 2018 and he has been talking a lot about retirement.
He says he just thinks it’s time that they face facts. The fact is that it has been a long time since he has had a win. The fans chant “You still got it.”
Cena says he believes in himself and in them. He believes in the beauty that is all of this madness. And he believes that he can still go. He believes that he can still bring it and he believes that the time is now to turn the math around. Here is a fact. It is going to be a bad night for the next idiot brave enough to walk through the curtain because whoever it is, they are going to get smoked.
Solo’s music hits and out he walks to the ring. Both men stand face to face in the middle of the ring as the fans chant “Cena” and he looks around the arena. Solo goes for a right hand but Cena with a right hand followed by a splash. Jimmy Uso runs to the ring and hits Cena with a super kick. Solo stomps on him. A man in a black hoody grabs Jimmy to the outside. He takes off his mask and it’s Jey Uso! He throws Jimmy into the barricade and hits him with a super kick as security breaks it up.
In the ring, Solo goes for the spike but Cena ducks and hits him with the AA as Cena’s music hits and he celebrates.
We see clips of Logan Paul’s boxing fight against Danis.
Back in the arena, a black SUV arrives and it’s Logan Paul.
-Commercial Break-
A video package with Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, the The Unholy Union, airs.
Nick Aldis, Adam Pearce and Jey Uso are backstage with WWE security. Aldis tells Pearce that he’s not responsible for what happens on Raw but he is responsible for what happens on SmackDown. Aldis fines Jey $10,000 and asks security to escort Jey out of the building. Pearce tells Aldis that’s not necessary. Aldis tells security to escort both Jey and Pearce out of the building. Pearce tells Aldis to let the games begin as they leave.
Logan Paul’s music hits and out he comes to a mixed reaction from the crowd.
He says just six days ago, he was in England beating the living daylights out of a scumbag. He says he won his fight but to call it a fight seems like a disservice to combat. That was a pathetic excuse for a fight and fighter. And he should have known that if he wanted ar eal competition, he could have had another WWE match.
Logan says he did get to beat up an online troll, a coward who hides behind the mask of the internet. And speaking about people who hide behind masks… He gets it, but he is not here for Rey Mysterio. He says he already beat Rey Mysterio in his first ever WWE match. He says the last time he beat Rey, Dominik was still his son. The last time he wrestled Rey, Roman Reigns actually showed up to wrestle. The last time he wrestled Rey, LA Knight didn’t even have a job. A lot has changed. He is engaged. He has a boxing win, he has a multi billion dollar hydration business. He is no longer a little boy trying to navigate this industry. He knows who he is and he is a WWE superstar.
He says he is not here for Rey but Rey does have something he needs. He says Rey has respect, he doesn’t need his respect. Rey has legacy but he has his own legacy. Rey has the US Championship. And he does need that. Even though last week he beat up a dead beat dad, it looks like at Crown Jewel, he will have to beat up another.
Rey Mysterio’s music hits and out he comes to the ring. Logan looks at Rey’s US Championship as Rey points to it. Rey tells Logan he actually reminds him of his son Dominik. Amazing, natural ability, passion, incredible career ahead of him and a big mouth. Oh and he forgot, both are idiots.
He tells Logan, he needs some humbling. And the last time he had to kick some sense into Dominik, he was a little reluctant. But with Logan, he is not going to hesitate to whoop his ass. Rey tells Logan he wants this title,, he will give him the opportunity. Rey says Logan Paul against Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship at Crown Jewel.
Logan tells him good luck in Spanish and extends his hand. Rey looks at the crowd and shakes Logan’s hand. Logan drops his microphone and leaves the ring.
-Commercial Break-
Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs. Cameron Grimes and Dragon Lee
The bell rings and we are under way. Theory and Dragon Lee start the match. Theory with a shoulder tackle. Dragon Lee to the ropes and Lee with a hurricanrana. Grayson is tagged in and he throws Dragon Lee to the ropes but Lee with a kick to the face. Grimes is tagged in and they double team Grayson who falls to the outside. Grimes goes to kick Waller but he moves out of the way and Grimes kicks Theory in the face.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Grimes with a cross body onto Theory in the ring. In comes Waller but Grimes knocks him down. Grimes with a kick onto Theory followed by a German suplex. Dragon Lee with a super kick onto Waller and Grimes clotheslines Waller to the outside. Dragon Lee with a senton over the top rope onto Waller on the outside. Grimes with a cross body onto Theory. He goes for the cover but Theory kicks out. Grimes lifts Theory up but Theory rakes him in the eyes. Waller throws Dragon Lee into the time keeper area. Waller jumps into the ring and knocks Grimes down as Theory hits him with the A-Town Down. He goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winners: Austin Theory and Grayson Waller
-Commercial Break-
A pre-recorded interview airs as Cathy Kelley is with Kevin Owens. He tells her it doesn’t feel great not to be with Zayn. They worked for a long time to be able to main event WrestleMania, they travelled the world together and to be separated hurts. But he is happy to be on SmackDown.
She asks him about the other superstars. He says he knows he will cross paths with the Bloodline. But he never had a singles match with Rey Mysterio, Sheamus or the Brawling Brutes. He says there’s a lot of new faces he can punch. He asks her if there is someone she would like for him to punch. She laughs. Owens mentions Theory and Waller have faces you want to punch. She tells him that some people have said that about them as she thanks him for the interview.
WWE Women’s Championship Match – IYO SKY (c) with Damage CTRL vs. Charlotte Flair
The bell rings and we are under way. Flair trips IYO down and goes for the figure four but IYO rolls out of the ring.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, Flair with a chop to the chest. Flair on the ring apron and with the referee distracted, Bayley grabs Flair’s leg and IYO kicks Flair to the outside. IYO with a suicide dive onto Flair on the outside of the ring. Flair rolls back into the ring. IYO with a drop kick off the top rope. She goes for the cover but Flair kicks out.
IYO with a chin lock but Flair gets to her feet and lands a back drop. Flair with a knee to the face. Flair goes for a splash in the corner but IYO moves out of the way and Flair lands face first onto the turnbuckle. IYO pushes Flair to the outside of the ring. IYO on the ring apron goes for a hurricanrana but Flair grabs her and throws her face first onto the ring apron.
-Commercial Break-
Back from commercial, IYO with a sit down powerbomb off the second rope. She goes for the cover but Flair kicks out. IYO hits Flair with the double knees in the corner. She goes for the cover but Flair kicks out. IYO with a modified crossface in the middle of the ring but Flair gets to her feet. IYO runs to the ropes but Flair grabs her and hits a modified German suplex.
Flair with chops to the chest and she lands a fall away slam. Flair with a suplex. Flair runs towards IYO but IYO kicks her away. IYO on the second rope goes for a splash but Flair catches her. Flair places IYO onto her shoulders and Flair climbs the second rope. Flair with a slam. She goes for the cover but IYO kicks out. IYO on the ring apron as Flair goes for a big boot but IYO gets her hung up onto the ropes. IYO goes for a drop kick off the top rope but Flair grabs her and gets her into the Boston crab. IYO gets out of it and reverses it into a cover but Flair kicks out. Flair with a forearm to the face.
Flair places IYO’s leg on the second rope and Flair goes to jump on it but IYO moves out of the way and Flair lands on her knee. IYO goes for a moon sault off the top rope but Flair gets her knees up. Flair hits her with a big spear. She goes for the cover but Bayley places IYO’s foot on the bottom rope. Flair attacks Bayley on the outside and throws her over the announce table.
With the referee distracted, Flair goes for the spear onto Flair but IYO had the Women’s Championship in her hand and Flair runs into the title. IYO throws the Championship to the outside. She goes for the cover and gets the pin.
Winner: Still WWE Women’s Champion, IYO SKY
Damage CTRL attacks Flair after the match. Bianca Belair’s music hits and out she runs to the ring. Bianca beats up on IYO and Bayley. She tries to hit IYO with the KOD but Bayley grabs IYO. Bianca grabs Bayley and hits her with the KOD. Bianca helps Flair up as SmackDown goes off the air.