What started out as a big question mark turned into one of the better SmackDowns in years. With the majority of the SmackDown roster still in Saudi Arabia due to flight issues, WWE promised some surprises and they delivered.
NXT talent invaded Friday Night SmackDown and used this as a launching pad to declare their dominance for momentum towards Survivor Series. It was announced yesterday during the Crown Jewel event that NXT will take place in Survivor Series this year for the first time. You can follow what happened during tonight’s show by clicking here to read the live coverage.
The following NXT women were present during the invasion tonight:
Let’s dive into the winners and losers of the week:
Winner: Shayna Baszler
She kicked off the NXT invasion as she attacked Sasha Banks and then Bayley after she retained her title against Nikki Cross. She received great crowd reaction and really set the pace for the rest of the show. Her entire presence during the attack was exciting.
With the simple fact that she still needs to drop the title and stop holding it hostage, she will be a crucial part of Survivor Series and WarGames.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Rhea Ripley may have done the dirty work in the ring as she took over the spot that was for Dana Brooke and Carmella, but Bianca Belair did the dirty work. Bianca can sometimes rest on the fence as a tweener, but she proved tonight why she is a natural heel. Hopefully, this means she will be used in a good way at Survivor Series.
Beating down Dana and Carmella in the back was a perfect spot for her as well. They could have easily just used Rhea to do that but they didn’t.
Losers: Fire & Desire
They were probably dealt the worst hand of the night. Sure, they weren’t the ones attacked in the back, but they were the women of the night to lose their match due to NXT. Bayley would retain her title prior to the attack from Baszler.
Personally, I felt this match should have gone longer. I get that they were trying to show the dominance of both NXT and Rhea Ripley but it was the shortest match amongst the cross branded bouts.
The male matches were solid matches, Sonya was thrown around and Mandy suffered one of the best submission moves currently being used all done in only a few minutes. They could have at least given them a 10-minute match. The only redeeming moment for them was their comical WWE Exclusive afterward when they acted like they didn’t even know who Rhea and Tegan were and Sonya continues to want people to call her daddy.
Loser: Dana Brooke
Carmella was part of the attack as well, but Dana is probably the bigger loser of the two as she rarely steps foot in the ring. She was originally scheduled for a six-woman tag, she then was going to take place in a regular tag match and then she was taken out in the back instead.
Hopefully, there is better luck for her next week.
What were your thoughts on SmackDown this week? Who were your Winners & Losers? Do you think their invasion is going to continue on RAW? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for the next live coverage on Monday for RAW and then another Winners & Losers.
