Match Ratings For WWE Smackdown 11/1/19 From Sean Ross Sapp

Lesnar and Heyman Opener.

• Tom Phillips, Renee Young and Aiden English booth!!
• Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come out to a great ovation.
• Paul Heyman shows the entire Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar match from Crown Jewel.
• Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio in 2019 is a match I badly want to see.
• Paul Heyman says Cain Velasquez is a sacrificial pinata.
• Vince McMahon refused to serve up Rey Mysterio because the wild card rule is dead. Heyman says that Lesnar is coming to Raw after Mysterio.
• "If you don't know who that is, Google him, bitches!" -- Paul Heyman on Vince McMahon
• Brock Lesnar QUITS WWE Friday Night Smackdown. He's going to WWE Raw.
• Triple H and Shawn Michaels are shown looking on as Lesnar leaves.
• Would have made a lot more sense to have The Fiend beat Kofi and never have Lesnar lose the title at Summerslam the way things look now.

WWE Smackdown Women's Championship
Bayley (c) (w/ Sasha Banks) defeated Nikki Cross
5/10

• Bayley plays this role so well. Sasha Banks is also great as her second.
• Nikki Cross is on the offensive and lands a great Tornado DDT.
• Bayley takes over after the commercial. They're about half a step off of each other right now.
• They definitely seem on the same page with a flying body press.
• Sasha Banks being involved in a physical angle is a very positive sign. She gets punched off the apron by Nikki.
• Bayley hits the flying elbow drop, but Nikki kicks out. Sasha pushes Nikki off the top rope, though.
• Bayley used the Rose Plant that she used when she performed as Davina Rose! It gets the win.
• Shayna Baszler on Smackdown!!! I love the inverted gutwrench side slam that Baszler uses. She attacks Baszler.

Bro

• Sami Zayn isn't happy with how things are going tonight. He dares NXT to come take advantage of him. Mat Riddle and Keith Lee show up. He pretends he's wearing an NXT shirt and says it's in his car.
• Riddle and Lee chase Sami Zayn to ringside.
• Zayn tries to hand Riddle his flip flop back, but eats the ripcord knee and the Bro Derek.
• Keith Lee does a moonsault.

Tommaso Ciampa defeated The Miz
5/10

• The Miz says Bray Wyatt isn't there and is addressing NXT now.
• Tommaso Ciampa comes out and says Miz is what's wrong with Raw and Smackdown.
• Miz says Ciampa needs something more original, because he's been doing this for 15 years.
• Miz challenges Ciampa and we're off to the races.
• Miz does the corner kicks, but can't lock on the Figure Four.
• The crowd audio keeps going out.
• Ciampa and Miz aren't on the same page on the powerbomb, and Miz applies a Figure Four.
• They reverse pressure, but the crowd doesn't care anymore.
• Ciampa applies the Half Crab.
• The crowd gets back into it when Ciampa catches Miz with a knee and does the Fairy Tale Ending for the win.

Rhea Ripley & Tegan Nox defeated Fire & Desire
SQUASH

• Fire & Desire are in the ring, but Carmella and Dana Brooke are getting attacked by Bianca Belair.
• Belair press slams Carmella over some boxes.
• This has been the most story-filled episode of WWE main roster TV in a long time. A lot of it is because all of these NXT people haven't been abused by bad booking and overdone rematches. All of the NXT names look like stars. Imagine if they consistently had nostalgia acts putting over the current stars. Outside of The Fiend
• Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox come out and say they're the new opponents.
• Sonya gets tossed over the announce table, and Ripley taps out Rose with an inverted Cloverleaf.
• Sassy Renee Young is ratings.
• Having a lot of fun watching Smackdown. It started out as unpredictable, and even though you kind of know what the drill is by now, I'm excited to see what happens next -- through the whole show.

NXT Championship
Adam Cole (c) defeated Daniel Bryan
6.75/10

• Daniel Bryan asks what Triple H and Shawn Michaels are doing there. Triple H says it seems like the Survivor Series ad was calling NXT out and now they're looking for a fight.
• Daniel Bryan challenges Triple H, but HHH didn't bring his gear, but he knows someone who did. HBK teases it's him, but says it's cold and puts his jacket back on. This was HILARIOUS.
• Adam Cole is there. Daniel Bryan wants a shot at the NXT Title. It's happening tonight!
• Adam Cole being over translates to main roster crowds.
• A suplex carries over the top rope to the outside.
• Back from a commercial, Cole rolls through a super frankensteiner and they trade kicks.
• Cole catches a suicide dive with a big kick as we hit our last commercial.
• Daniel Bryan misses a flying headbutt, and gets dropped across Cole's knee.
• Bryan applies a heel hook on Cole.
• Bryan counters a Cole fireman's carry into a Yes Lock, then stomps to Cole's face. Cole eventually gets to the ropes.
• Cole cracks Bryan with a big superkick off a knee attempt.
• Panama Sunrise, Last Shot, Adam Cole beats Daniel Bryan!
• A clean sweep for NXT. 3-0 tonight on Smackdown.
• I dunno how I feel about all the NXT talent who were beating the shit out of each other hanging out, but I guess they answer to Triple H.
• Triple H did a callback to the post-WrestleMania 14 DX Promo. He says they've fired the first shot.

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 that may change upon a second viewing, or sitting on the match for a period of time. Don't take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!