Winners And Grades On June 9, 2023

WWE SmackDown advertised Jey Uso making his big decision as to whether he sides with his brother Jimmy Uso or remains with the Bloodline. SmackDown also advertised Michin vs. Bayley in a Money in the Bank qualifier, Santos Escobar vs. Mustafa Ali and a WWE Women’s Championship presentation for Asuka. Asuka was presented with a brand new title belt, which can be seen here and below.

Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown, celebrating Roman Reigns’ 1,000 days as world champion, pulled a monster number with 2.563 million viewers.

WWE SmackDown Results | June 9, 2023

• Santos Escobar def. Mustafa Ali
• Bayley def. Michin
• Butch def. Baron Corbin
• Iyo Sky def. Shotzi
• Austin Theory def. Jey Uso | WWE United States Championship

WWE SmackDown Ratings

• June 2, 2023 | 2.563 million
• May 26, 2023 | 2.158 million
• May 19, 2023 | 2.133 million
• May 12, 2023 | 2.149 million
• May 5, 2023 | 2.059 million

• WWE SmackDown Venue: Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Ia.)
• WWE SmackDown Tickets Distributed: 6,316
• Available Tickets: 235

WWE SmackDown Winners and Grades

Jey Uso Opens SmackDown

Paul Heyman continued to manipulate Jey, promising that he would ultimately become the new Tribal Chief. This is a similar tactic Logan Roy uses to keep his kids loyal to him by promising that each of them will eventually be in charge of the family business. This angle really is Samoan Succession.

Paul Heyman booked a United States Championship match for Jey Uso in the main event. I could see this going a number of ways, which is what makes it such a compelling match.

Jey Uso didn’t give a definitive answer as to whether he’s staying in the Bloodline, making the main event even more of a cliffhanger.

Backstage, Sami Zayn cut a fantastic promo, reminding Jey that Roman Reigns tried to pit him against his own brother (Kevin Owens) just like he’s doing with Jey. At some point, I feel like Kevin Owens is going to start getting jealous of Jey and Sami’s bond.

Opening Segment Grade: A-

Santos Escobar def. Mustafa Ali

LA Knight was on commentary for this match and he was great.

Mustafa Ali and Santos Escobar had the best Money in the Bank qualifying match so far and I don’t think anybody is going to top it.

Santos Escobar vs. Mustafa Ali Grade: B+

Ronda Rousey And Shayna Baszler Confront Fyre And Dawn

Shayna Baszler interrupted Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn before they even got a chance to speak, calling the NXT
XT
Women’s Tag Team Championships the Shayna Baszler commemorative tag team titles.

Just by watching these two teams in the ring together, you could tell these titles are likely headed for a unification. If so, that’s a much better decision than rebranding the NXT tag titles as the SmackDown Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Fyre and Dawn accepted Rousey and Baszler’s challenge to unify the tag team titles and ultimately ran off Baszler and Rousey. It’s almost as if Fyre and Dawn were called up from NXT just for that purpose. Hopefully not.

Baszler-Rousey and Fyre-Dawn Promo Grade: B-

Bayley Def. Michin

AJ Styles was on commentary for this match, and was fine, but he was no LA Knight.

This was a quick match where Bayley won with the Roseplant after pulling Michin’s hair into the turnbuckle.

After the match, Scarlett blew red smoke into Styles’ face, who backed into a Kross Jacket from Karrion Kross.

Bayley vs. Michin Grade: C

Asuka Gets New Belt, Charlotte Flair Returns

Adam Pearce awarded Asuka with a new WWE Women’s Championship, which is similar to the Raw Women’s championship except with a white strap and gold backing.

WWE fans are so on board with with the product, they’re actually cheering Charlotte Flair for cutting to the front of the line. I never thought I’d see the day.

Unlike Bianca Belair, who was expecting a title match, Charlotte Flair sidestepped Asuka’s mist and laid waste to Asuka with a big boot.

Charlotte-Asuka Segment: B+

Butch Def. Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin stuck with his NXT gear, equipped with gym shorts and a tank top like a skinny Kevin Owens.

Butch won with a rollup. After the match, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams jumped the barricade and attacked Corbin, eliciting loud NXT chants in Des Moines, Ia. When you’re hot, you’re hot.

Add Cameron Grimes to the list of WWE Superstars who got one over on Baron Corbin tonight.

Butch vs. Baron Corbin Grade: C

Iyo Sky Def. Shotzi

Shotzi dominated most of this match until Bayley tripped up Shotzi while she was on the top rope, leading to a terrifying bump on the back of her head.

Iyo Sky and Bayley in the same Money in the Bank match pretty much guarantees a Damage CTRL split.

Iyo Sky vs. Shotzi Grade: C

Austin Theory vs. Jey Uso

In the ultimate act of disrespect, Wade Barrett compared Jimmy Uso to Prince Harry.

Fans were loudly chanting “Uso” just as they were in the opening segment.

This was like an old school babyface vs. heel match from the territory days in that the crowd was into every spot. They were thirsty for Jey to win.

After a ref bump, Pretty Deadly pounced on Jey Uso, bringing out Jimmy Uso to make the save. Jimmy accidentally superkicked Jey, costing Jey the match.

Austin Theory vs. Jey Uso Grade: A