Winners, News And Notes On November 13, 2020

WWE Friday Night SmackDown featured an unsanctioned match between Drew McIntyre and Jey Uso, Sami Zayn defending his Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews and a no holds barred match between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins billed as “The Final Chapter.”

Last week’s broadcast of Friday Night SmackDown was up down 2.209 million viewers, though the show was bolstered by a strong opening match between Bayley and Sasha Banks that drew 2.312 million viewers.

• November 6, 2020—2.209 million viewers
• October 30, 2020—2.286 million viewers
• October 23, 2020—881,000 viewers
• October 16, 2020—2.124 viewers
• October 9, 2020—2.178 million viewers

WWE Friday Night SmackDown—Key Competition

• Cable news coverage
• NCAA Football on ESPN 2: East Carolina Panthers at Cincinnati Bearcats

Pro Wrestling Bits—Good Brothers on Young Bucks-FTR Dream Match, Why they’re the Best Tag Team in the World

WWE SmackDown Total YouTube Viewership Last Friday

10,817,143 views (Up from 8,622,750)

• Most-Viewed: Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso (2,011,628 views) 
• Least-Viewed: The Storied History of Bayley and Sasha Banks (228,907 views)
• Median Viewership: 927,490

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Results—Friday, November 13, 2020

Opening Segment with Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre

As hot as both Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre have gotten since their forgettable WrestleMania match in 2019, it still feels too early for a one-on-one match.

This segment was captivating in that you know that both men in the ring feel they can be the ace in WWE. It was like a watered-down version of John Cena and Batista.

Sami Zayn def. Apollo Crews—WWE Intercontinental Championship

Sami Zayn’s storyline is essentially that WWE doesn’t want him to defend his Intercontinental Championship. That doesn’t sound like a heel storyline until you see how much Zayn complained when he finally got to defend his title against Apollo Crews.

Sami Zayn won this match by tying Apollo Crews to the apron. Sure it would devalue the Intercontinental Championship, but if Zayn weaseled his way out of every challenge match it would show a real commitment to the heel craft.

Sasha Banks Appears Live

Among all the babyfaces across the main roster, none of them cut a better heel promo than Sasha Banks.

Carmella has laid out Sasha Banks two weeks in a row, which is great and all, but at some point we’ll need a strong live promo to kick this thing into second gear.

Otis def. Dolph Ziggler

Otis’ gradual steps backward continues as he’s right back to his pre-WrestleMania feud against Dolph Ziggler. Something about his budding aggression tells me he’ll be heel in no time.

Otis was put over strong here as he took the time to stare down Robert Roode, yet still was able to land the Vader Bomb on Dolph Ziggler, leading to a somewhat surprising pinfall victory.

Rey Mysterio def. Seth Rollins—The Final Chapter

After an excellent video package recapping this rivalry, this marks yet another high-profile Seth Rollins match that should have been saved for pay-per-view.

There were a combined four people ringside for this match, significantly increasing the possibility of a heel turn.

Rey Mysterio took one helluva beating in this match, including multiple table bumps.

So Murphy’s master plan was to stand idly by while Seth Rollins beats Rey Mysterio within an inch of his life and turn his back on Rollins at the last minute? That was enough to get Mysterio’s seal of approval?

Liv Morgan def. Chelsea Green, Tamina and Natalya

Why waste Chelsea Green’s debut on a Fatal 4-Way match that she didn’t even win?

This match could be proof that WWE is finally getting around to admitting it needs to do more with Liv Morgan.