– Joe Tessitore welcomed everyone into the show. Tessitore
was shown walking through the crowd with Wade Barrett as he
spoke about the history of the building. Barrett then yelled
that it is Tiffy Time because she will make her first title
defense tonight. Stratton was then shown walking in the
parking lot earlier in the day. Bayley was shown walking
backstage. Jimmy Uso and Carmelo Hayes were featured in
similar spots. Tessitore then said there was only one person
deserving of opening the show. Barrett called him the
Hometown Hall Of Famer himself. Rey Mysterio’s music hit.
The Rey Mysterio/Kevin Owens segment
The Big Royal Rumble Declaration Announcement was cute the
first few times WWE did it on SmackDown and Raw, but can we
please agree it has run its course by now? Rey Mysterio is a
legend by every metric fathomable, but this didn’t do much
for me – not even the delusional Kevin Owens could make it
compelling. Nobody actually thinks Mysterio can win the
Rumble (and, for that matter, nobody actually thinks Owens
is WWE’s current Undisputed Champion, either). The hometown
pop was nice, and it’s always welcome to see Mysterio not
have to spin his wheels in the midcard, like he’s been doing
for months on WWE TV, but this fell a bit flat.
Rey stood in the middle of the ring while the crowd cheer.
He soaked in “619!” chants. Rey formally welcomed everyone
to Friday Night SmackDown and said it was the home of the 6-
1-9. Rey said it was good to be home in front of his people.
Rey said he requested to be out there because he wanted to
declare his entry into the 2025 Royal Rumble. Rey noted how
in 2006, he entered at No. 2 and became the winner of the
Rumble match that year. He followed that up by reminding
everyone how he became a world champion at WrestleMania 22.
Rey said the competition is heavy for this year’s Rumble
match. He cited Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Roman
Reigns and John Cena. Rey reflected on the fact that when he
won in 2006, he did it for a friend and the crowd went
bonkers with “Eddie!” chants. Out of nowhere, Kevin Owens’s
music hit and Owens walked out with the Winged Eagle belt.
Owens stood in the entryway with a microphone.
Owens said he was sorry for interrupting Rey, but he had to
go out there because he heard Rey talk about how he was
going to win the Rumble. Owens said he doesn’t respect many
people more than he respects Mysterio. Owens touted how he
main evented ‘Mania with Stone Cold Steve Austin and won the
tag titles with his then-best friend at a WrestleMania.
Owens said he stood there as the true, rightful WWE
champion.
Owens said there was one thing left for him to accomplish
and that was step into the ring with Rey Mysterio. Owens
said he will root for Rey to win the Rumble match, but he
wants Rey to promise to pick Owens as his champion to face
at ‘Mania after Owens beats Cody and Rey wins the Rumble
match. Rey told Owens he wasn’t the champion – with all due
respect. Rey said if he goes on to win the Royal Rumble and
Owens beats Cody, Rey would be more than happy to face
Owens. Owens yelled at Rey, saying he is the champion and he
earned it and he deserved it.
Mysterio tried to calm Owens down. Mysterio told Owens he
was acting delusional – like Owens was his son Dominik.
Owens tried to attack Rey with the Winged Eagle, but Rey
thwarted the attempt and ran Owens out of the ring. Rey’s
music hit to end the segment.
**********
– Naomi and Bianca were talking backstage and they talked
about how they still didn’t have any leads on who attacked
Jade Cargill forever-and-a-day ago. Naomi said they need to
focus on tonight and getting their get-back against Jax and
LeRae. Naomi told Belair to wrap her braid so they don’t
repeat what happened last week when there was some
miscommunication in the fatal four-way.
– Nick Aldis was shown talking to Mysterio backstage and
Aldis told Rey that he will face Owens later on in the
episode. Cody Rhodes walked into the shot and Rhodes told
Aldis he had been cleared with a clean bill of health. Aldis
said he had an addendum for the ladder match at the Rumble
contract and he’d need Cody to sign it. Cody said he’d sign
it once Owens signed it.
Bianca Belair & Naomi defeated Nia Jax & Candice LeRae
[10:35]
A fine television match. Nothing special, but not
necessarily because of the women’s work, but because these
four have been stuck in a SmackDown vortex for what feels
like years. Either singles or tags. Throw in Cargill,
whenever she was around. Add Bayley and Tiffy every now and
then. Nothing about this felt fresh. It was even kind of
surprising that Jax and LeRae took the clean loss because
Jax went from being Women’s Champion to losing in non-title
tag matches in a matter of weeks. SmackDown’s women’s
division needs a shot of life. Here’s hoping slotting Tiffy
as its champion will provide that, but only time can tell.
Jax attacked Naomi to start the match. LeRae took out
Belair. Jax and Belair ended up being the legal women and
the heels had control. LeRae tagged in and Belair gained the
advantage over LeRae. Jax interfered, but it didn’t sway
Belair, who pressed LeRae out of the ring and onto Jax.
Belair posed for the crowd and the show went to a commercial
break.
The show returned and the heels had control. LeRae went to
the second rope and went for a cross-body, but Belair rolled
through and lifted LeRae for a slam, but LeRae grabbed
Belair’s braid to take Belair down. It looked like Belair
would tag Naomi, but Jax pulled Naomi off the apron and
Belair was stuck with LeRae in the ring. LeRae kicked Belair
and tagged in Jax, who Samoan Dropped Belair.
Jax ran at Belair, but Belair moved. LeRae intervened and it
was enough for Jax to get to the second rope and lift
Belair. Belair fought off Jax and landed a cross-body on Jax
from the top rope. Naomi then received the hot tag and
kicked Jax in the head before she planted Jax for a two-
count. Naomi hit a split-legged moonsault on Jax, but LeRae
broke up the pin. Belair tagged in, but Jax fired up against
the two and dropped them both.
LeRae tagged herself in as Belair landed a spear on Jax.
Belair went for a springboard move, but LeRae cut her off
with a basement dropkick. Jax hit a Senton on Belair and
LeRae covered Belair for a good near fall. LeRae ran at
Belair, but Belair threw LeRae into a corner. Belair covered
LeRae, but Jax tried to break it up with a leg drop. Belair
moved and the leg came down on LeRae. Naomi then tagged in
and hit her finisher on LeRae to get the win for her team.
**********
– Byron Saxton interviewed Bayley earlier in the day. Saxton
asked Bayley what the match against Tiffy means to her.
Bayley said the night will be huge for her and reflected on
last year around this time when she won the Royal Rumble and
beat IYO SKY at ‘Mania. Bayley said she felt like she could
have done better as WWE Women’s Champion and her reign was
cut short because of Tiffany Stratton. Bayley noted how
Tiffy turned on her best friend and that makes her want to
beat Tiffy that much more.
– Michin was shown talking with B-Fab in the locker room. B-
Fab told Michin to keep her head up because Michin will
eventually take Chelsea Green down. Piper Niven and Green
entered the shot and Green correctly pointed out that she is
the only women to successfully defend the Women’s U.S. title
in history. B-Fab stood up and Niven got in her way. B-Fab
said she was going to talk to Aldis about getting a match
with Niven later tonight.
– Jimmy Uso was walking backstage and towards the ring.
Jimmy said his brother is getting a title match, so it’s
time for Big Jim to step up and try to get his. Jimmy’s
music hit and the camera followed Jimmy through the
entranceway and into the ring.
– Carmelo Hayes made his entrance with a microphone. Hayes
walked out and said Roman is going to the Rumble while Jey
has a world title shot, but Jimmy has nothing going. Melo
asked Jimmy how he could take shots at him while he’s
sitting on the bench. Melo told Jimmy he’d show him why Melo
don’t miss.
Jimmy Uso defeated Carmelo Hayes via DQ [11:53]
This was better than I thought it would be and it’s a shame
the finish was nonsense. Then again, you had to think it
would be, what with Sikoa’s return advertised and Jimmy not
having enough of a story with Melo to warrant a match just
yet. Some of those near-falls towards the end of the match
had me and they did a great job of grabbing the live crowd,
too. Or, at least, the “This is awesome!” chants suggested
as much. Fatu looked almost stand-offish as Sikoa made his
entrance, so this next segment should be interesting to
digest.
Jimmy jumpstarted the match when Melo stood on the apron and
Jimmy threw Melo into the ring. Jimmy unloaded on Melo
briefly, but Melo came back and stomped on Jimmy. Melo
chopped Jimmy before running into an arm-drag neck-breaker
combo that Jimmy hit. Jimmy went for a hip attack, but Melo
moved. It didn’t matter much because Jimmy punched Melo and
then suplexed Melo on the apron. Jimmy followed that up with
a dive on Melo on the outside. The show then went to a
commercial break.
The show returned and it was just about 9 p.m. EST. Hayes
had control, as is typically what happens when babyfaces
have the upper hand and the show goes to break – the heels
turn it around by the time the program comes back. Anyway,
Jimmy attempted to fired up and went a splash, but Melo
moved and hit Jimmy with a springboard reverse DDT for a
two-count. Melo ran the ropes and both guys hit clotheslines
on each other at the same time. Both wrestlers were down to
reset the match.
Jey took control when the two re-engaged, but Melo came back
and planted Jimmy for a two-count. Melo ran the ropes and
that brought into a tall pop-up Samoan Drop from Jimmy,
which led to a good near-fall. Jimmy fired up the crowd and
went to the top rope, but he jumped into a First 48 from
Melo and that resulted in a great near-fall. “This is
awesome!” chants from the crowd broke out. Melo went to the
top rope, but Jimmy moved out of a Nothing But Net attempt.
Jimmy followed it up with a super-kick and that led to an
even better near-fall.
Jimmy landed a hip attack and lifted Melo, but Melo rolled
Jimmy up for a two-count. Jimmy then speared Melo and went
to the top, but Jacob Fatu appeared and stood on the ring
apron. Tama Tonga then pushed Jimmy off the top rope to earn
Jimmy the DQ win. After the match, Fatu hit a hip attack on
Jimmy while Tonga DDT’d Jimmy. Fatu and Tonga stomped on
Jimmy and Melo got to his feet to congratulate Fatu, but
Fatu clotheslined Melo. Fatu then hip attacked Jimmy. Solo
Sikoa’s music then hit and Sikoa walked to the ring.
**********
The Solo Sikoa/Jacob Fatu segment
Oh, boy, I loved the Fatu portion of this. He showed
excellent fire and even though the crowd tried to hit him
with the dumb “What?” treatment, he pushed through to prove
his point. This was a much more grounded Fatu, too, and not
just a blind follower who yells about his love for his
Tribal Chief. The more serious he is, the better, and this
was the most serious we’ve seen him on the mic in WWE.
Anyone who has seen his work in MLW knows he has a lot more
to offer than “I love you Solo!” and this was the first time
WWE fans got to see that – even if it was a tiny example. As
for Sikoa dropping the mic and saying nothing … I love that,
too. The more open-ended things are with that side of the
Bloodline 2.0, the better.
Sikoa stood in the ring and Fatu handed Sikoa a microphone.
The crowd booed the hell out of everything. Before Sikoa
said anything, he dropped the mic, took off his red jacket
and left through the crowd. Fatu stared at Sikoa as he
walked away. Fatu didn’t look happy (but when does he?).
Fatu picked up the microphone Sikoa dropped. Fatu screamed,
“So, this is what it comes to, huh?” Fatu said he was tired
of the disrespect and the hate and the envy. Fatu said even
on a bad day, nobody could touch him. Fatu said he could
give a damn if anyone cheers or boos him, but one thing he
won’t do is let people think he never got his.
Fatu asked if people thought he was losing it and was crazy.
Fatu said the craziest thing about the situation is that
he’s just getting started. LA Knight’s music then hit and
Fatu squared up, but Knight ran in from the crowd and took
out Fatu and Tonga. Or, well, he tried to, at least, until
Fatu got the upper hand. Braun Strowman’s music then hit and
Braun walked out. Tonga tried to hit Strowman with a splash,
but Braun caught Tonga and disposed of him. Fatu and Braun
engaged in a stare down, but Tonga pulled Fatu out of the
ring to end the segment.
**********
– Los Garza were shown backstage and Santos Escobar walked
up to them. Escobar was happy they exposed Pretty Deadly as
liars last week. Escobar said Los Garza will take a tag
title opportunity away from Motor City Machine Guns tonight.
Escobar said if they want respect, they must take it. The
LDF members came together as the scene ended.
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
defeated Los Garza (Angel & Berto) [11:57]
This was another better-than-expected special. It’s easy to
forget that Angel and Berto can work, and you had to know
that MCMG would bring out the best of them, anyway, and
that’s what happened here. All told, it was probably one of
the better MCMG matches in WWE (save for the Pretty Deadly
silliness at the end here). This presumably sets up a
rematch between MCMG and #DIY, but we’ll see (Saturday
Night’s Main Event, perhaps?). It’s happening slowly, but
it’s also happening surely: The crowds are responding more
and more to MCMG each week. It’s encouraging, even if it
feels like baby steps.
Shelley and Angel started the match. They traded a series of
quick moves until Angel chopped Shelley and tagged Berto in
and he landed a rolling moonsault on Shelley. The move was
good enough for a two-count. Shelley came back with a series
of chops and things broke down between the four wrestlers
for a brief minute. Ultimately, Sabin and Berto were the
legal men and Sabin worked a head-lock. Berto caught Sabin
eventually and spin him around until Angel kicked Sabin and
pulled off his rip-away pants. Berto and Angel landed kicks
to the front and back of Sabin and the show went to a
commercial break.
Back from break, Berto landed a wild double-team roll-over
face-buster on Sabin. Angel tried to keep Sabin from getting
the hot tag to Shelley, but it didn’t work and Shelley took
the heels out after becoming the legal man. Sabin tagged in
and and the two hit dragon-screw leg whips on Berto multiple
times for a two-count. Shelley tagged back in and worked a
figure-four on Berto. Angel tried to run in, but Sabin
caught him and put him in a figure-four, too. Berto got to
the ropes for a break and things calmed down.
Shelley was pushed into the second rope turnbuckle via Berto
and Berto followed it up with a fallaway slam for a two-
count. With all four wrestlers in the ring, Los Garza hit
some type of odd double-team move on Shelley (and Sabin, I
guess?) to get a near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke
out. Los Garza lifted Shelley, but Sabin saved the day and
cleared the ring. Sabin hit a suicide dive on Angel and
Berto on the outside. Back inside the ring, MCMG set up
their finisher, but Pretty Deadly intervened. The
interference didn’t work and MCMG hit Skull and Bones on
Berto for the win.
**********
– Aldis was walking backstage and ran into Kevin Owens.
Aldis needed Owens to sign the addendum to the world title
match at the Royal Rumble, but Owens said he wouldn’t sign
it until Cody signed it. Owens told Aldis to stop trying to
distract him as he prepares for his match against Rey
Mysterio.
Piper Niven defeated B-Fab [2:18]
A glorified squash to keep the story between Michin and
Green going, so it’s hard to be too mad at it. As a bonus,
B-Fab got some TV time out of it, too, which is always good
because as I said earlier, the SmackDown women’s division
needs a freshening up and putting faces on TV that we don’t
see each week is a way to do that. Let me guess: A tag
involving these four wrestlers that leads to a rematch
between Michin and Green for the U.S. title? You heard it
here first.
Niven ran at B-Fab, but B-Fab moved and Niven ran into a
corner. B-Fab planted Niven for a one-count. B-Fab ran at
Niven, but Niven caught her and slammed her. With the two
back on their feet, B-Fab DDT’d Niven for a two-count. B-Fab
kicked Niven to the outside. B-Fab rolled Niven back into
the ring and clotheslined Chelsea Green on the outside. B-
Fab rolled back into the ring and Niven hit a Senton and
Piper Driver for the win. After the match, Green and Niven
attacked B-Fab until Michin’s music hit and Michin ran out
with a kendo stick. Michin worked over Niven. Green and
Niven retreated to end the segment.
**********
– Tessitore led a tribute to Bob Uecker, who died this week.
– Saxton interviewed Tiffany Stratton backstage. Saxton said
Bayley was extremely driven to win the WWE Women’s
Championship. Tiffy said Bayley has had a career of big
moments, but Tiffy has had big moments, too. In fact, Tiffy
said, she is a Big Moment and now it’s Tiffy Time. Tiffy
said toodles and left Saxton standing in the hallway.
Kevin Owens defeated Rey Mysterio [15:33]
So … what’s this addendum Nick Aldis is adding to the
contract for Cody v. Owens at the Royal Rumble? I thought
this match was going to set up that reveal, but all we got
was yet another brawl between Cody and Kevin. In the
meantime, the match was pretty good, but I’d be lying if I
said it didn’t feel like Rey going 15 minutes doesn’t seem
like the best idea these days. He held his own for the most
part – and Owens made sure to take care of him – but this
lost some steam as it wore down and I’m a little surprised
we got a kick-out of the Stunner. So much for that move
being protected to the millionth degree on WWE TV anymore.
Still, it was nice to see Rey out there and even better to
see a (semi) clean finish. The post-match stuff was fairly
boilerplate.
Both wrestlers tuned into the crowd after the bell rang and
let things simmer. Rey got the best of Owens once the two
engaged. Owens threw a fit. Owens eventually knocked
Mysterio to the outside. Mysterio returned to the ring and
took down Owens before he tried again and Owens caught
Mysterio for a slam. Owens followed it up with a Senton.
Owens ran Mysterio chest-first into a corner. Owens hit a
knee on Mysterio and the action spilled outside. Mysterio
did the 619 spot on Owens and sent Owens into the barrier on
the outside. From there, Mysterio landed a sliding splash
under the bottom rope. Both guys sold pain outside the ring
as the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Owens had the upper hand inside the
ring, throwing Mysterio into a corner chest-first. Owens ran
at Mysterio, but Rey moved and Owens ran into the ring post.
Mysterio went to the top and hit a splash on Owens before
landing a bulldog for a two-count. Rey set up for a 619, but
Owens got back to his feet and super-kicked Mysterio. Owens
went for a pop-up powerbomb, but Mysterio turned it into a
tilt-a-whirl DDT for a two-count.
Owens was perched on the top rope, but Owens headbutted his
way out of it. Owens then hit a frog splash for a near-fall.
The crowd launched into “Eddie!” chants. Owens set up for a
super-plex, but Rey turned it into a sunset flip from the
top and he followed that up with a modified Destroyer for a
near-fall. Mysterio went for a springboard splash, but
Mysterio missed. Owens followed up with a Stunner and
Mysterio actually kicked out of it at two.
Owens went to the top rope and went for Swanton, but Rey got
his knees up and hit the 619. Mysterio went to the top, but
Owens stumbled into the referee, which knocked Mysterio off
the top rope. From there, Owens landed the pop-up powerbomb
to get the win. After the match, Owens threw his belt aside
and pulled Mysterio up to shake his hand. Owens bowed at
Mysterio and set up for a package piledriver, but Cody’s
music hit and Cody ran out to attack Owens. Tons of
officials ran out to break the brawl up to varying degrees
of success. Owens stood in the crowd and posed with his
belt. Cody looked angry in the ring and the show went to a
commercial break.
**********
– Aldis was shown talking to Cody backstage. Aldis said Cody
and Owens are out of control. Aldis said next week at
Saturday Night’s Main Event, Owens and Cody will relinquish
their belts and sign the contract with the addendum
(whatever that is), with the special enforcer for the
signing being Shawn Michaels. Also at SNME, Braun Strowman
will take on Jacob Fatu.
– Next week on SmackDown, LA Knight will take on Tama Tonga.
Also worth noting, Pretty Deadly will go head-to-head with
MCMG.
– Pretty Deadly were walking and ran into #DIY. Ciampa was
angry that Pretty Deadly “handed” the victory to MCMG
earlier in the night. Ciampa said Pretty Deadly were a joke
and everyone was laughing at them. Ciampa left and Gargano
told Pretty Deadly it was tough love and they truly believe
in Pretty Deadly. Gargano said they want to make life better
for Pretty Deadly and walked away. Apollo Crews then walked
in and told Pretty Deadly working with #DIY has gotten them
nowhere. Gargano ran in and attacked Crews by throwing him
into a road case.
– Bayley made her entrance for the main event and the camera
showed Roxanne Perez sitting in the crowd. So. Well. Angle
alert.
– A Charlotte Flair vignette aired. It almost looked like a
set-up package for a “Love Is Blind” story. To be fair, it
was a mildly different vibe for the former champ.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Bayley to retain the WWE Women’s
Championship [20:03]
Eh. Underwhelming. The women worked hard, but this crowd
decided early it wasn’t going to do its part and that hurt
the match. There were a few clunky spots and the
Bayley/Perez story didn’t really advance outside of a quick
exchange of glares towards the end of the thing. It’s kind
of tough throwing Stratton – who is still very young and
very much a rookie(ish) – into a 20 minute match, even if
Bayley is the sort of gatekeeper these days in the women’s
division, what with Charlotte out, and Sasha and Becky gone.
I was hoping for more, but it just never kicked into another
gear. Even so, it’s a credibility-building win for Stratton
and that can’t hurt.
The match started with about 20 minutes until the top of the
hour. The two locked up repeatedly, but no one got the
better of it. They traded pin attempts to no avail and
locked up again. Tiffy posed a few times and Bayley set up
for a Bayley-To-Belly, but Stratton blocked it. Bayley
clotheslined Stratton over the top and with Stratton on the
outside of the ring, the show went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Bayley hit a draping neck-breaker and
the action spilled outside. Bayley went for some dropkicks,
but Stratton telegraphed it and ran Bayley into a ring post.
Back inside the ring, Stratton went to work on Bayley’s arm.
With Bayley on the apron, Stratton took out Bayley’s legs
two times to plant Bayley on said apron. Stratton ran around
the ring – but it only led to Stratton running into a
forearm from Bayley.
Bayley rolled Stratton back into the ring and the two traded
forearms. Stratton clotheslined Bayley and went for a
running hip in the ropes, but Bayley moved. As a result,
Bayley went for a suicide dive, but Stratton caught Bayley
and trapped her between the ring and the ring curtain.
Stratton then hit a hip attack of her own. Bayley tried to
get back into the ring, but Stratton hit a knee to keep
Bayley on the outside. Stratton went for a splash on the
outside, but Bayley caught her and landed a Bayley-To-Belly.
Both wrestlers were down on the outside of the ring and the
show went to its final commercial break of the night.
Back to the action, Bayley hit a suplex from the second rope
(sorry, but a super-plex comes only from the top rope, damn
it) for a two-count. Bayley went back to the top, but
Stratton cut her off and went to the top herself. Stratton
landed a Senton and a powerbomb for a good near-fall.
Stratton worked a version of an arm-bar, but Bayley rolled
out of it and threw Stratton to the outside. Bayley slammed
Stratton onto the announce desk and then suplexed her before
she jawed at Roxanne Perez in the crowd.
Bayley went to the top rope and connected with the flying
elbow for a nice near-fall. Bayley worked a cross-face until
Stratton got out of it and hit a spine-buster for a two-
count. Bayley hit a Bayley-To-Belly on Stratton after a few
seconds of nothing for a near-fall. The crowd was nearly
silent for all of this. Stratton set up for Prettiest
Moonsault Ever, but Bayley cut her off and sunset-flipped
her into a corner for a two-count. Bayley slammed Stratton
for a near-fall, but Stratton came back and got a two-count
from a backslide. Stratton finally hit her Alabama Slam and
followed it up with the PME for the win. Stratton quickly
walked up the aisle as the credits rolled to end the show.
