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The latest SmackDown kicked off with San Diego's favorite wrestler, Rey Mysterio, cutting a promo in the ring. He declared for the Royal Rumble but was interrupted by Kevin Owens.
Cody Rhodes and Owens declined to sign an amended contract for their match at the Rumble. In turn, Nick Aldis announced that Shawn Michaels would mediate the contract signing that would now take place at Saturday Night's Main Event.
He also said both men would have to relinquish their title belts ahead of the Royal Rumble. Bianca Belair and Naomi beat one of the same teams in the revolving door of challengers in the women's tag division. WWE aired a return vignette for Charlotte Flair.
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DIY acted like Good Cop/Bad Cop with Pretty Deadly. Tommaso Ciampa challenged Pretty Deadly to become "men" and not the "jokes" he currently views them as. Here's the best and worst of the latest episode of SmackDown.
Charlotte Flair to return and wrestle a CURRENT CHAMPION?
#4. Best - Kevin Owens, Troll Extraordinaire
Kevin Owens cut Rey Mysterio off to wish Rey well in the Royal Rumble. He also wanted the WWE legend to challenge him at WrestleMania if he won. The Luchadore declined, but the entire exchange was Owens at his best.
It led to a match later on SmackDown. The Prizefighter wore two shirts on the night, one trolling Rhodes and one showcasing Rey's Hall-of-Fame status. Both men looked great and Owens beat Mysterio.
The former Universal Champ played his best "Stone Cold" Steve Austin by helping Rey up only to go for a package piledriver. It was a great callback to Austin's history of doing that and how Owens mentioned he "main-evented" WrestleMania with Austin.
#3. Best - Motor City Machine Guns vs. Los Garza
If all Angel and Berto had to do was wrestle like they did on SmackDown tonight, they could win tag team gold in 2025. Both teams brought their best, with the Guns wrestling their traditional style with fast-paced and tandem moves.
Los Garza was impressive again, as Berto hit high-flying spots while Angel showcased his underrated strength. In the end, it looked like Angel and Berto would get a big win over the former champs.
Instead, Pretty Deadly interfered to help Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin win. The whole situation will hopefully lead to shifting dynamics between Pretty Deadly and Legado Del Fantasma.
#2. Best/Worst - Piper Niven finally gets a win
To set up Chelsea Green's next challenger, it felt like B-Fab was probably going to beat Piper Niven on SmackDown. Thankfully, Niven picked up what seemed like her first victory in months.
B-Fab had a good showing in a Triple Threat match with Bayley and Candice LeRae a while back, but the other two did most of the heavy lifting in that bout. Against Niven tonight, 90% of her offense was just kicks.
Had she defeated Niven in only her second match in months, it would have destroyed the little credibility bookers have left Niven with. Her dedication to the 'Secret Service' act should hopefully net her additional victories going forward.
#2. Worst - No Shinsuke Nakamura or Roman Reigns on SmackDown
Unless he quietly shifted to being a part-time star like Roman Reigns, Shinsuke Nakamura wasn't used on another episode of SmackDown. Even with a third hour, it feels like a slam-dunk to fit the United States Champ into the schedule.
After beating LA Knight, Nakamura has rarely appeared. The same goes for Reigns. While it's expected of him since he always disappears for weeks and months at a time, it also pokes holes in his heroic portrayal.
If he cared about his family, he would show up to save Jimmy from another attack from Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga. Neither he nor Paul Heyman appeared on SmackDown.
#2. Best - Bayley vs. Tiffany Stratton in the main event slot
Tiffany Stratton's first promo as the WWE Women's Champion on last week's SmackDown was a big miss. She sounded nervous and mainly claimed she played Nia Jax. Her first match as the champion, however, proved WWE made the right call with the title switch.
The Center of the Universe looked ever the equal to the veteran Bayley. The Role Model also proved why she's one of the most underrated stars in WWE. Both women busted out submissions when they couldn't end the match.
Stratton used an armbar while Bayley went with a Crossface. Showing Roxanne Perez in the crowd may have telegraphed interference to protect Bayley, but The Prodigy stayed in her seat. Stratton cleanly defeated the Grand Slam Champion.
#1. Best/Worst - Jimmy Uso and Carmelo Hayes talking big
Jimmy Uso talked on the way to the ring before his match with Carmelo Hayes. Hayes did the same and brought up a few good points. He claimed Jimmy was living in Jey's shadow. Jey, in turn, is living in Roman Reigns' shadow.
While diehard fans will be mad at his words, his statement still rings true. Simply saying "No Yeet" makes him totally different from his brother?
If Jimmy wanted to differentiate himself from both, he wouldn't use the same moves (spear, splash, superkick, Samoan drop). They are signature moves of the Usos and Roman but adding different moves would truly mark a change for Jimmy.
The match ended in a disqualification after Fatu pushed Jimmy off the top. Hayes got hilariously destroyed when thinking he was close to the Bloodline.
#1. Worst - The worst investigation in history
Jade Cargill was found motionless atop a random car in the parking lot on November 22, 2024. That was almost two months ago.
Naomi informed Bianca Belair that there hadn't been any developments or news surrounding the attack before their match on SmackDown. Any other investigation without news in nearly two months would be shut down or abandoned.
The repeated "no news" just prolongs Cargill's return while she posts stuff on social media like nothing happened.
If that wasn't enough, the "champs" defeated Jax and LeRae again and have been feuding with them for too long. The match quality was as important because the ending was never in doubt.
#1. Best - Jacob Fatu speaks when Solo Sikoa declines to do so
WWE promoted Solo Sikoa's return to SmackDown after losing Tribal Combat two weeks ago. After Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga cleared the ring of Jimmy Uso and Carmelo Hayes, Solo came out.
He grabbed the mic but said nothing before leaving through the crowd. Fatu looked on with a blank stare but his mind had to be racing.
The Samoan Werewolf then picked up the mic and told everyone who thought he was crazy before that he was just getting started now.
That brought out LA Knight and Braun Strowman, who stood tall to end the segment. Fans have to be salivating for when Strowman and Fatu eventually lock horns, which was announced for Saturday Night's Main Event.
