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SmackDown's second three-hour offering featured some planned matches as well as a few made on the fly by GM Nick Aldis. Chelsea Green defended her title against Michin.
LA Knight challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship. Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso teamed up to face Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga after events on the show.
The same happened with Bayley, Nia Jax, Bianca Belair, and Naomi, who fought in a Fatal Four-Way to determine Tiffany Stratton's first challenger.
It was good to see a plain blue ring mat after the distracting sponsor-filled apron used for RAW on Netflix. Here's the best and worst for the latest episode of SmackDown (January 10, 2024).
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#3. Best/Worst - Chelsea Green defends against Michin
It felt like the second Women's United States Title match between Michin and Chelsea Green was rushed on SmackDown. The first showdown was given proper time since it determined the first-ever champ.
The action on SmackDown was fine and Green pulling the tights to retain made sense for her character. Even Piper Niven played into the gimmick, wearing a sparkly black suit and sunglasses as if she were a Secret Service Agent.
One big misstep was that Michin didn't even get a proper entrance. She simply appeared in the ring off the commercial break. If someone is in a title match, they deserve to have their ring entrance televised instead of recaps.
#2. Best - LA Knight's quest to regain the US Championship
LA Knight finally got his rematch with Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Title. He and Nakamura have great chemistry and dichotomy of personas. One is loud, defiant, and unapologetic. The other is quiet, calculating, and methodical.
The Megastar came out on a mission and the two had some new moves and counters. Bookers almost used the exposed turnbuckle as an excuse for whoever lost on SmackDown.
After Knight tossed Jacob Fatu out of the building earlier, you knew he'd cost the former champ the victory. That's exactly what happened. One small issue was that the segment became more about Cody and Jimmy instead of LA Knight.
#2. Worst - Tiffany Stratton's first promo as WWE Women's Champion
Few women in WWE are great at giving promos. Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Alexa Bliss are among the top three in cutting promos. The rest of the roster either struggles or is passable on the mic.
Stratton has the in-ring part of pro wrestling down but still needs a lot of work on the stick. It's part of the downfall of WWE recruiting athletes instead of independent wrestlers over the last few years.
Her first promo as champion was brief and she said the same lines a few times. She'll obviously improve with more mic time but top champions must be able to carry their side of a feud in prolonged promos.
#2. Best/Worst - Los Garza and Pretty Deadly face off on SmackDown
Los Garza usually delivers solid performances in the ring. They started their match with Pretty Deadly the same way as Berto's opening sequence reminded fans that they can be exciting.
The main problem with the showdown was the heel vs. heel dynamic. Both teams are heels, so who are the fans supposed to root for? Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez still interfered, helping Berto and Angel pick up the win.
Fans knew the teams had issues stemming from the attack on the Street Profits. It would have been easier to pick a side if one of the teams had more of a defined face turn.
The Motor City Machine Guns and A-Town Down Under also had a great outing tonight. The SmackDown tag division is in good hands in 2025.
#1. Best - Cody Rhodes proves Kevin Owens right again
Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso may have saved LA Knight from further damage but it came back to bite Jimmy in the main event. By saving Knight from Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga, Aldis booked them all in a tag team match to close SmackDown.
The Bloodline was on the ropes in the closing stages of the match, but Owens walked down to the ring to distract the Undisputed WWE Champion. Cody immediately went after The Prizefighter, abandoning Jimmy in the process.
Fatu and Tonga took advantage to pick up the win. Owens also took issue with The American Nightmare cozying up to The Rock on RAW on Netflix.
The former friends ended the show fighting in the arena. Rhodes truly seems more interested in breaking bread with enemies instead of listening to his friends.
#1. Worst - The Only Tribal Chief no-shows SmackDown . . . . again
WWE chose to have Roman Reigns defeat his cousin, Solo Sikoa, in Tribal Combat on RAW on Netflix. He reclaimed the Ula Fala necklace after an interference-filled match.
To sell the importance of that act, Reigns should have appeared on SmackDown. He could have taken off the next few weeks since he already said something about January 27. Solo Sikoa also failed to appear but his "return" was advertised for next week's show.
Paul Heyman "announced" that The Tribal Chief will enter the Royal Rumble. He also informed Cody Rhodes that he'd be coming for the Undisputed WWE Title. Even if he did his usual pre-taped promo, it would have been better than not showing up on SmackDown.
#1. Best/Worst - The same names in the title picture with a new champion
It makes sense for the women in the fatal four-way to be gunning for a shot at new WWE Women's Champ Tiffany Stratton. She helped Nia Jax win the title from Bayley at SummerSlam.
Tiffy also helped Jax beat Naomi twice. In the end, Bayley earned the shot by pinning Naomi. The problem is both stars already lost to Jax. While she's a former champ, Belair was put into the match mainly for being in proximity to Naomi.
Bookers could have had a big return, or someone from RAW (Liv Morgan, Zoey Stark) could have moved over to give the division a spark. Where's Blair Davenport in all of this fighting?
RAW on Netflix didn't have any returns or debuts. Another issue is that Naomi and The EST still don't seem too concerned about finding Jade Cargill's attacker. Could it be because one or both are responsible?
