WWE SmackDown results, grades: Kevin Owens lays out Roman Reigns, joins Brutes

The Prizefighter received a huge ovation from fans as he made his return on Friday night, aligning himself with Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch in their fight against The Bloodline.

At the start of the show, the Brutes came out with Drew to kick things off as Sheamus recalled his long, 20-year history with the Scottish Warrior, including plenty of intense in-ring battles.

He noted their issues created a bond and mutual respect, referencing Drew being his best man at his wedding last month.

Sami Zayn – who brilliantly called himself Ucey in the Sky With Diamonds – came out and shrugged off the idea of the Brutes’ mystery fifth man, and hyped up his World Cup match with Butch later on.

The match served as the main event and earned its spot as a thoroughly entertaining clash between two great stars, while an accidental distraction while Jey Uso brawled with Sheamus allowed Butch to win with the Bitter End.

Afterwards, Roman Reigns made his way to the ring to take the fight to Drew and the Brutes, but the returning KO evened the odds and laid out the Tribal Chief to stand tall with his teammates.

He’s a fantastic addition to the WarGames lineup, and his history with Roman and Sami adds another layer of drama to a match already full to the brim with intrigue.

LA Knight gets taken out after slapping Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman scares GUNTHER and more

The first match of the night was another SmackDown World Cup match with Ricochet taking on a weakened Mustafa Ali after he was decimated by Bobby Lashley on Raw.

The former RETRIBUTION leader valiantly fought on, but it wasn’t enough as the One And Only scored a win with the Shooting Star Press.

Madcap Moss as looking for revenge on Karrion Kross as they met in the ring three weeks after the latter put him to sleep with the Kross Jacket.

He battled hard this time, but Karrion was able to once again lock in his submission after a fun big lads match, with Emma – Moss’ real life partner – coming down to check on him following a pre-match pep talk.

He claimed to accept Wyatt’s apology before slapping him not one but twice, and while the sinister star controlled his urges to decimate his rival, Uncle Howdy appeared on the screen behind Knight in a fun tease.

Later, Knight was found laid out backstage under a pile of stuff, and this unexpected feud is already starting to deliver.

Shotzi beat Shayna Baszler in a fun bout building up to the green-haired star’s match against the Queen of Spades’ friend Ronda Rousey.

The SmackDown Women’s Champion tried to get involved early on to distract her opponent at Survivor Series: WarGames, but Raquel Rodriguez came out to even the odds, which ended up helping Shotzi to a rollup win.

Following a backstage confrontation, Braun Strowman teamed up with The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in a great match against Imperium.

Given the level of talent involved, it’s no surprise this delivered, and the Monster of All Monsters has GUNTHER scared in a way fans haven’t seen before en route to New Day hitting the Midnight Hour on Ludwig Kaiser for the win.

It makes the SmackDown World Cup all the more intriguing, with the Ring General potentially defending his Intercontinental Title against Braun is he wins the tournament.

WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.

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