Gunther Ready for WWE Main Event, AEW Rampage Needs New Formula, More Friday Takes

Friday's three-hour block of wrestling featured title matches on both WWE and AEW's shows, but only one of them felt like it might go either way.

On SmackDown, Gunther put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura in a stellar main event. Over on Rampage, Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo put the AAA mixed tag titles up for grabs against Dante Martin and Skye Blue in a fun but predictable bout.

The blue brand put a heavy emphasis on the women's division this week, and we also saw the return of three members of Hit Row after they were released by WWE earlier this year.

Let's look at a few key moments from Friday's SmackDown and Rampage.

Within two weeks of taking over as the head of creative, Triple H not only got the women's tag title tournament going, but he has featured women more prominently across the board.

For the past two weeks, Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai have been focal points on Raw, while Bianca Belair still runs the show as the champ. Over on SmackDown, the show opened with a tag match with Rodriguez and Aliyah taking on Shotzi and Li.

We're still in early days with this new regime, but it looks like Triple H plans to feature the women's division as strongly as he did when he was in charge of NXT.

We also saw B-Fab during the Hit Row return; Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan and Ronda Rousey were featured in a segment; and Scarlett appeared twice throughout the night.

WWE has fantastic talent in the women's division, so it's awesome to see management giving them the spotlight they have worked so hard to earn.

Aliyah and Rodriguez likely won't win this tournament, but a good showing in the first round might mean we will see more of them as a team after the tournament is over. Time will tell.

This week on SmackDown, fans were shocked to see the return of Hit Row. Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla and B-Fab all returned to WWE, but Swerve Strickland was obviously absent.

Swerve was the only member of the group to sign with AEW, so he was clearly unavailable for a reunion, but the group might not need him after all.

We all recognize that Swerve was the most talented wrestler in the stable, but the combo of Adonis and Top Dolla as a tag team with B-Fab by their side is enough to get the group over.

Their first match back with WWE was a squash over two local talents, but the coming weeks should be a good indication of how the company plans to use them. The tag team and women's divisions adding more depth is always a good thing, so this is going to be fun to watch unfold.

This week's SmackDown closed out with an intercontinental title match between Gunther and Shinsuke Nakamura. To nobody's surprise, this was a phenomenal performance from both men.

Gunther stood out not only for his impressive offense but how he sold for his opponent throughout the match.

He was favoring his arm after Nakamura began to focus on it, so his chops and powerbomb were less effective than usual. It was a nice little added bit of storytelling to a fun contest.

One thing Gunther has proved since he arrived on the main roster is that he has been ready for a long time. He isn't just ready to be a staple on the main roster. He is ready to be a world champion.

As a heel, the German grappler would be perfect to put over the next big babyface champion because beating him still feels like a big accomplishment.

AEW Rampage is in a tough position. It airs after SmackDown on Fridays, so not only is it later in the evening than some fans want to watch wrestling, but it comes on after fans have already had two hours of content from a different company.

At first, AEW booked big moments for Rampage to keep fans invested. Title matches, the return of CM Punk and a few mat classics have taken place on this show, but the past couple of months have seen it lose some of that luster.

This week's lineup included Orange Cassidy vs. Ari Daivari, The Gunn Club vs. Erick Redbeard and Danhausen, Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti vs. Dante Martin and Skye Blue, and Sonny Kiss vs. Parker Boudreaux.

While the episode produced some fun moments and saw storylines developed, it didn't have anything that would be considered a draw for casual viewers.

If AEW wants to make Rampage a bigger ratings hit, it needs to book at least one match every week that is worthy of being called the main event. It might not always need a title on the line, but it should have something fans feel the need to tune in to see live every week.

AEW has the talent to make this show great every week, so it's not an impossible task. A one-hour show is refreshing, but only if it keeps people invested.