WWE SmackDown review, grades, winners: LA Knight beats mystery foe in John Cena tournament

One night before Survivor Series: WarGames, Knight and Jey Uso advanced in the Last Time is Now tournament

LA Knight and Jey Uso are one step closer to being John Cena's final opponent. On the last WWE SmackDown before Survivor Series: WarGames, both superstars advanced in the Last Time is Now Tournament.

Cena will retire on the Dec. 13 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. The superstar tasked with retiring him must win the ongoing Last Time is Now Tournament. On Friday, Knight and Uso advanced to the semifinals after beating a mystery opponent and Rusev, respectively.

The Survivor Series: WarGames go-home show also featured a traditional five-on-five Survivor Series match. Solo Sikoa and his MFTs engaged in a hard-fought battle against the joint forces of Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix and the Motor City Machine Guns.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Ball Arena in Denver. 

Knight, Uso are one step closer to retiring Cena

Last Time is Now Tournament -- Jey Uso def. Rusev via pinfall with an Uso splash. SmackDown kicked off with one of the night's two tournament matches. Uso advanced to the semifinals after knocking off Cena's WrestleMania 31 opponent.

Backstage, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis was set to reveal Knight's opponent. Sheamus was originally slotted for the match but pulled out with an injury. The Miz approached Aldis, campaigning for the replacement spot despite losing to Uso in the opening round. Aldis insisted on raffling off the opportunity. Aldis drew a ball, but was interrupted by R-Truth before he could reveal the name contained inside. The Miz swapped in his name while Aldis was distracted by Truth.

Last Time is Now Tournament -- LA Knight def. The Miz via pinfall with a BFT. Knight defeated his second mystery opponent, after pinning Zack Ryder in the opening round, to advance to the semifinals. Knight and Uso will wrestle on the Dec. 5 episode of SmackDown, with the winner facing either GUNTHER or Solo Sikoa in the finals on Dec. 8.

This week's SmackDown was pre-taped immediately after last week's show in Denver. As such, the show was light on surprises or meaningful progression. I'm happy to see talent given time off to spend with their loved ones for Thanksgiving. However, it's odd they couldn't find anything to do with the men's WarGames participants, leaving the final show before Survivor Series without any representation from its 10 main event stars. It's nice to see Knight vs. Uso in the semifinals, as many online fans believe Knight deserves the spotlight the company has cast on Uso. Grade: B-

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• Jade Cargill crashed Chelsea Green's women's United States championship celebration and hit her with Jaded.
• Charlotte Flair def. Asuka via pinfall with Natural Selection. Flair won her team the advantage in WarGames
• The MFTs (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo & Tala Tonga) def. Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix, and the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) via pinfall in a traditional Survivor Series match. Sikoa was the match's sole survivor, last pinning Zayn with a Samoan Spike. Post-match, The Wyatt Sicks appeared and Uncle Howdy laid Sikoa out with Sister Abigail.