WWE SmackDown - 5 biggest news stories: WWE Hall of Famer returns, Ronda Rousey chooses her WrestleMania opponent

WWE SmackDown was in full Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania build-up mode this week. The show also featured the fallout from last Saturday's Royal Rumble Premium Live Event in St. Louis.

During the men's Royal Rumble match, Brock Lesnar entered the contest at #30. Earlier in the night, he lost his WWE Championship to Bobby Lashley after interference from Roman Reigns. Reigns was assisted by Paul Heyman, who handed him the WWE title to use as a weapon on Lesnar.

WWE advertised prior to SmackDown that Paul Heyman would be realigning with Universal Champion Roman Reigns on the episode.

The Royal Rumble event also saw the return of Ronda Rousey to WWE for the first time in nearly three years.

Rousey entered the Women's Royal Rumble match and ultimately eliminated SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to win the contest. Because of the victory, she will now choose which women's champion she will face at WrestleMania.

Ronda did not choose who she would be facing at RAW on Monday night, so it was advertised that she would head to SmackDown to make her decision.

As you can see, the company loaded up SmackDown with plenty of star power and intrigue this week. That being said, let's take a look at the five biggest news stories from the show.

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#5 Naomi granted a shot at WWE SmackDown Women's Championship next week

The Naomi and Sonya Deville feud came to a head once again last Saturday in St. Louis. During the women's Royal Rumble match, Sonya eliminated Naomi from the match when she least expected it.

This week, Naomi entered the WWE officials' office to tell Sonya that she wanted to see her in the ring in five minutes. The former Total Divas star meant business, but Sonya stalled.

Instead, she told Naomi that she would grant her an opportunity at the SmackDown Women's Championship.

A surprised Naomi said she would love that, but she did not believe Sonya. Adam Pearce then stepped in and said he would give her his word and liked the sound of the idea. Pearce made the match official.

Charlotte Flair will defend the SmackDown Women's Championship in New Orleans next week.

#4 The Viking Raiders will get their shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Elimination Chamber

On the January 14 episode of WWE SmackDown, The Viking Raiders won a Fatal 4-Way match to become no.1 contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

One-half of the tag team champions, Jimmy Uso, squared off against Erik in a one-on-one match this week, and it was revealed that their championship match would take place at the Elimination Chamber event in Jeddah in two weeks.

However, Erik and Ivar may have their work cut out after some impressive performances in recent weeks. Jimmy Uso managed to pick up the victory, which will undoubtedly give the Uso's a mental edge heading into the match.

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#3 Shinsuke Nakamura will finally defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship on February 18

The last time Shinsuke Nakamura defended the Intercontinental Championship on television was on September 24, 2021, on SmackDown. Shinsuke defeated Apollo Crews on that night.

Since then, Happy Corbin became no.1 contender in October 2021, but his opportunity never came to fruition. Then, on Christmas Day, Sami Zayn won the 12 Days Of Christmas Gauntlet to become the no.1 contender.

Shinsuke's partner in crime, Rick Boogs, recently revealed that the champion had been dealing with an injury. It now appears that the Japanese legend may be over the worst and is now ready to compete in WWE regularly once again.

The match between Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship will take place the night before Elimination Chamber in Jeddah. Of course, Sami doesn't travel to Saudi Arabia, so it makes sense to have this match leading into the event.

#2 Ronda Rousey chooses SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair for WrestleMania main event

In a shocking twist to end the night on WWE SmackDown, women's Royal Rumble winner Ronda Rousey named her opponent for WrestleMania.

Before the show, it had been announced that Ronda would be in attendance for the first-ever time on the blue brand. However, SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair had other ideas.

Charlotte came out to the ring as Sonya Deville interviewed her to say that she would challenge Sasha Banks at WrestleMania. This brought out Ronda, who said she will not be choosing RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch but instead chose to face Flair.

Flair laughed, but then Ronda sent a message to the champion by locking Sonya in the Ronda Armbar. The blockbuster match is now set for Dallas in April.

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#1 Goldberg returned and challenged Roman Reigns for a Universal Championship match at Elimination Chamber

Universal Champion Roman Reigns was delighted that his special counsel Paul Heyman was back by his side. Heyman even pledged his allegiance once again to Roman in the middle of the ring, saying he made a mistake a few weeks ago by saying he was protecting him from Brock Lesnar.

The party was soon spoilt when WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg appeared and headed to the ring. If you recall, Goldberg was set to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36 before the pandemic changed plans.

Goldberg immediately said that he acknowledged Roman, also acknowledging the fact that Roman Reigns was his next victim. Goldberg challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at the Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event in Saudi Arabia.

Later in the night, it was confirmed that the match was set without any real response from Roman or any other storyline advancement.