The New Day takes the ring for a New Year’s Eve promo from the tag team champions. The Dudley Boyz and then Kalisto interrupt them, setting up the night’s first match.
Kalisto/Dudley Boyz def. New Day
The end of this one comes by pinfall, in a result that doesn’t make much sense really. If the Dudleyz were going to win the tag titles from the New Day, one would think that would’ve happened already. But if they’re not going to win the belts, what good does it do the division to have the champions dropping these non-title matches?
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On the flipside, this is a good win for Kalisto. If Sin Cara is out for a little while due to injury, Kalisto should be called upon for some singles work. He could be particularly useful for the Royal Rumble, so it’s nice to see him get some momentum.
Tyler Breeze def. Goldust
Breeze pins Goldust for the victory. It’ll be interesting to see where Breeze is headed, especially since he and Summer Rae apparently called it quits after the match. Hopefully that’s a sign of a more serious turn for Breeze’s character, even if he keeps his Pretty Boy persona.
That character is fine, but his aggressive and highly skilled style in the ring has taken a backburner to his selfie stick and poses, at least in terms of the announce team’s focus. Perhaps breaking ties with Summer Rae will also signal the end of his odd VIP section at ringside, which could’ve sent him the way of Adam Rose, a fate not befitting of Breeze’s true talent level.
Luke Harper/Braun Strowman def. The Usos
Strowman gets the submission victory, as has been his way. For as long as the Wyatts have been in the WWE, Harper and either Strowman or Erick Rowan have been teased as competitors in the tag division. If the faction is going to stick together a while this time around, it would be a good idea to have Strowman and Harper go after the tag belts.
Then you could have Bray pursue one of the singles titles and make a dent the way the League of Nations and Shield members have in the past.
Speaking of the Shield, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns are set for the main event against Sheamus and Kevin Owens. Does this make sense, with Sheamus being part of a faction with three men not named Kevin Owens? Not really, no.
Brie Bella/Alicia Fox def. Naomi/Tamina Snuka
This seems to be becoming a staple of Smackdown: Divas tag matches between the remnants of those Revolution factions that have mostly fizzled out.
Hopefully that Revolution hits another gear in the coming weeks to build to something big at Wrestlemania. Sasha Banks got a big, although sloppy, win over Becky Lynch on Monday, so that could be the first step toward her becoming the top contender for Charlotte’s Divas Championship.
Dolph Ziggler def. Bo Dallas
Why did this match happen? No clue, but kudos to the WWE for giving us something we haven’t seen 15 times in the last few months.
Ziggler has seemed headed for the Intercontinental Title picture with champion Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens, but that may be a slow burn for Wrestlemania. All three men are almost guaranteed to be in the Royal Rumble match, so the white and gold belt might get a break for a while.
As for Bo Dallas, he’s too talented from a character perspective to go to waste as a snack-break match jobber. Hopefully 2016 will see a better role for him, perhaps joining forces with real-life brother Bray Wyatt.
Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens/Sheamus
Even if it doesn’t make a ton of sense that Sheamus and Owens would be partners, this was destined to be a fun match. It breaks down into a brawl, and Reigns thwarts Owens’ effort to powerbomb the World Heavyweight Champion through the announce table with a Superman Punch.
At some point, Reigns is going to have to start taking finishers again, but right now, the right move is to have him evade all damage.
Reigns seems more and more comfortable with his character as champion: something of a sarcastic anti-hero who trades barbs with the bosses. In fact, he more than held his weight in Monday’s debacle of an opening segment that saw Vince and Stephanie McMahon struggle despite years of experience in such scenarios.
With Reigns set to defend his title against Sheamus next Monday with Vince as special guest referee, we could be headed for another title change, but that seems unlikely. WWE writers have been working toward a Reigns title run for too long to end it so quickly.
In the future, it would be nice to see Owens turn his attention from Ambrose to Reigns and the World Title, so he’d be an interesting choice to win the Royal Rumble.
