Bray Wyatt Does Not Return On 9/23/2022

WWE SmackDown centered around the “9.23” teases from WWE Raw, as many fans speculated it meant the return of Bray Wyatt as the mysterious “White Rabbit.” Unfortunately, fans will have to continue to wait for his seemingly imminent return as Bray Wyatt did not return on SmackDown.

WWE did, however, leave its latest clue behind with a QR code featuring the word “Patricide” and the coordinates 53° 32’ 49.5” N, 113°29’51.3” W. The coordinates appear to lead to Rogers Place, site of this Monday’s WWE Raw from Edmonton, Canada. Patricide means to kill one’s own father, something the Bray Wyatt character admitted to early in his career while down in developmental.

WWE has been playing “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane in live arenas, and most recently, a red light flashed during a “White Rabbit” serenade Monday night in the SAP Center.

WWE Raw also featured a slew of Easter Eggs, including a QR code that led to a cryptic Hangman Puzzle. The puzzle’s clue asked “who killed the world?” The answer was “you did.” Several more White Rabbit Easter Eggs have been featured throughout WWE programming. For more on these Easter Eggs, click here.

WWE SmackDown advertised the Brawling Brutes vs. the Usos for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships, Braun Strowman’s in-ring return against Otis and the return of Roman Reigns.

Last week’s broadcast of Smackdown garnered 2.212 million viewers.

WWE SmackDown Results on September 23, 2022

• Liv Morgan def. Lacey Evans
• The New Day def. Maximum Male Models
• Braun Strowman def. Otis
• Raquel Rodriguez def. Dakota Kai
• The Usos def. The Brawling Brutes

WWE SmackDown Ratings

• September 16, 2022 | 2.212 million
• September 9, 2022 | 2.367 million
• September 2, 2022 | 2.077 million
• August 26, 2022 | 1.990 million
• August 19, 2022 | 2.084 million

• WWE SmackDown Venue: Vivint Arena (Salt Lake City, Utah.)
• WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 6,566
• Available Tickets: 306

WWE SmackDown Winners and Match Card

Roman Reigns Opens SmackDown

The Bloodline was rolling so deep to start this show, they reminded me of when the NWO began growing too big for its own good.

This was the first joint appearance between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa. To make things official, Reigns asked Solo Sikoa to acknowledge him, and Sikoa obliged. Reigns almost became orgasmic.

Usually you can see a WWE fake-out coming from a mile away, but the fake-out in the opening segment was so well done. Roman Reigns demanded Sami Zayn remove his t-shirt, and said Zayn would never be wearing a Bloodline shirt again. Jey Uso couldn’t wait to remove the shirt. From there, Reigns said Zayn wouldn’t be wearing that t-shirt because Reigns got him a new one, and gifted Sami with an “Honorary Uce” t-shirt.

Liv Morgan def. Lacey Evans

Lacey Evans feels like she’s in the “Ezekiel” category as a wrestler on on the wrong side of the Triple H era. Unfortunately for Evans, she doesn’t really have an alter ego like Elias to fall back on.

The not-so-subtle story of this match was whether or not Liv Morgan had a killer instinct. Morgan delivered with a barrage of kendo stick shots to Evans before diving through a table. Still, I expect her to lose to Ronda Rousey at WWE Extreme Rules.

Backstage, jealous haters Ricochet and Madcap Moss mocked Sami Zayn’s alliance with the Bloodline. Ricochet and Moss were promptly mauled by Solo Sikoa, who absolutely loves Sami Zayn.

The New Day def. Maximum Male Models

Maximum Male Models were once again defeated quickly, this time by the New Day. Max Dupri angrily stormed off after removing his jacket. LA Knight cannot be too far behind.

Between The New Day and Maximum Male Models, I don’t know who is in more of a holding pattern, which is almost criminal considering the stature of The New Day.

Braun Strowman def. Otis

Michael Cole astutely referenced Braun Strowman’s strongman career, which was never mentioned during his last run.

WWE’s ring crew had to reinforce the ring for this matchup between super heavyweights, and judging by how insane social media has become, this may or may not be a form of body shaming.

Otis wore his tanktop throughout this match, but ripped it off just before the finish to reveal that he is indeed still shredded.

This was a fun big-man match. They didn’t go too long, but I wanted more when it was over.

Drew McIntyre Challenges Karrion Kross to Strap Match

This Karrion Kross-related segment began around 9:14 EST, dangerously close to 9:23. Kross has also been linked to the White Rabbit teases because that was his nickname back in Lucha Underground.

Kross failed to attack Drew McIntyre from behind and instead was obliterated with the leather strap.

Scarlett fired a fireball at Drew McIntyre and it barely grazed his face. She followed up with a low blow to be sure.

For those wondering, the screen did not go black and white at any time during this segment.

Raquel Rodriguez def. Dakota Kai

Raquel Rodriguez seems to be permanently done with the smiling gimmick as she angrily stormed to the ring.

No mention was made of the history between Raquel Rodriguez and Dakota Kai, though Cole did make a mention to Team Kick.

It’s great to see Shotzi get more TV time, but I’d love to know why she’s a babyface all of a sudden.

The Usos def. The Brawling Brutes

WWE aired an excellent video package on how close the Usos are to making history, so there was no way in King Charles’ kingdom they were going to lose this match.

Fans began chanting “this is awesome” while both teams were barely getting warmed up.

The subplot to this match was Sami Zayn and Jey Uso’s tense relationship, which could have possibly cost the Usos this match. It didn’t.

The highlight of this match was an insane-looking double super kick on Butch while he was mid-moonsault. Not to be outdone, Ridge Holland performed an impressive strongman spot where he lifted both Usos in the air.