Posted on 1/31/126 by Bob Magee
Our SmackDown coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.
**************************
– After the requisite shots of wrestlers arriving to the
arena, we went to a recap of Saturday Night’s Main Event
from this past week.
A Royal Rumble Preview?
Cody Rhodes, one of the competitors in tomorrow’s Royal
Rumble, made his way to the ring to open tonight’s
SmackDown.
“So, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, what do you want to talk about?”
started Rhodes in his usual manner. He said that he half-
expected to be coming down here to be trading punches with
Jacob Fatu, but all that “fun” he and Fatu had was
prematurely ended by one Drew McIntyre. Rhodes talked about
how the crowd got his blood pumping and it sounds like they
were ready for the Royal Rumble, and that all McIntyre won
was the title, but not the most important thing that comes
with it, something that McIntyre won’t ever understand.
Rhodes pointed out that McIntyre dropped the ball instead of
taking SmackDown for his own by being nowhere to be found.
Rhodes talked about that it could make all the sense in the
world if he could win the Royal Rumble for the third time,
something that didn’t seem to sit well with the Riyadh
crowd. Maybe, however, it might not even be McIntyre he
faces after tomorrow night, it might be Rhodes’ friend Sami
Zayn. He noted that it could come down to facing World
Heavyweight CM Punk tomorrow, something that’ll have to
happen eventually in his eyes. Before Rhodes could continue,
the music of Randy Orton interrupted to a huge reaction from
this crowd.
Once Orton got in to the ring, he took in the cheers of the
crowd before he addressed Rhodes. Orton said that everyone
knows how he felt about Rhodes, namely how he respected him
and saw him as a brother. Nobody understood how it tore
Rhodes up to lose that title more than Orton. He talked
about how at tomorrow’s Royal Rumble, he knows how dangerous
a desperate Cody Rhodes can be… but there is nothing more
dangerous than a Viper chasing No. 14. Orton said that if he
had the chance, he would throw Rhodes over the top rope
without hesitation tomorrow. He reminded Rhodes that he
wasn’t the only one who won the Royal Rumble twice. Jey Uso
interrupted things at this point and he made a beeline for
the ring to get into the business of Yeeting.
Indeed, Uso led the crowd in one more Yeet session before he
got down to business. Uso addressed both Rhodes and Orton
respectfully before he said he was going to run it back once
more to win the Rumble and become the World Heavyweight
Champ again. Four letters, one word, etc.
Sami Zayn joined in on the fun and made his way to the ring
to a very loud ovation from the Riyadh crowd. Once he had a
mic in hand, the crowd chanted for Zayn before he greeted
them in Arabic. Zayn said that he recognized that he was in
the ring with three of the absolute best right now, and
since everyone was talking about their plans for the Royal
Rumble, perhaps he should talk about his plan.
Zayn said his match against McIntyre is not just a match for
him, but something that was the culmination of three
stories: 1. becoming a World Champion, 2. the fact he’s
never beaten Drew McIntyre , 3. the fact he has never lost a
match in Saudi Arabia. Zayn talked about how his plan for
tomorrow was to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion, and
that if Rhodes, Uso, or Orton won, it’d be him waiting on
the other side. At that point, Paul Heyman’s “ladies and
gentlemen” interrupted, as the man himself and The Vision
appeared on the ramp.
Heyman said that he saw The Vision on the ramp, and four
superstars who have no vision inside the ring. He said that
Sami Zayn would have no chance in winning the title
tomorrow, and that the other three men in the ring would not
win the Royal Rumble. By tomorrow night, we’d all learn by
the decree of The Vision that it would be Bron Breakker’s
night.
Orton interjected and told Heyman to shut the hell up, as he
dared The Vision to come down to the ring for a fight.
Before we could get far, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis interrupted
and set up tonight’s main event: The Vision vs. Sami Zayn,
Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Jey Uso.
That was a segment that overstayed its welcome, if we’re
being honest. Way too much time (about half an hour or so)
to set up our main event for tonight and a whole lot of
nothing, not helped by the vacuum of boredom that is The
Vision, who aren’t as big a deal as WWE would want you to
think. Not a good start to the night.
**************************
U.S. Title Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Rey Fenix
Hayes and Fenix got it going with some high-flying action,
as the latter used an acrobatic springboard armdrag to take
advantage early. On the apron, Fenix naield Hayes with a
tightrope walking kick, as he then soared with a corkscrew
plancha that grounded the U.S. Champion. We took a break at
this early stage of the match.
We returned from commercial as Fenix caught Hayes in a
rolling pinning combination that didn’t pan out. A
springboard elbow by Fenix kept his advantage on Hayes, as
did a set of kicks. Hayes avoided the second springboard
elbow from Fenix, responding with his signature springboard
clothesline. Hayes leapt from the middle turnbuckle with a
DDT that spiked Fenix right on his head. One, two… NO! Hayes
attempted a First 48, but Fenix countered that successfully.
With Hayes in the corner, Fenix leapt off his foe and hit
the spinning kick. Fenix lifted Hayes on his shoulders for
the M.F.B., but got rolled into a pin attempt. Fenix feint
dodged between the middle ropes and hit Hayes with a
superkick. The U.S. Champ responded with a superkick of his
own and we got a double down as both men took each other out
with stereo kicks.
As both men got back to their feet, Hayes chopped down
Fenix, but another double down took us right to the break in
the action once more.
The match resumed from break as Hayes and Fenix were
fighting it out on the top rope. The challenger stood on the
very top of the ringpost and hit his Fire Stomp on a prone
Hayes. Fenix followed that up with a springboard moonsault
on Hayes, but that only amounted to a near-fall. Hayes got
ahead of a Fenix kick and turned it into a La Mistica for
the two. Hayes struggled to lift Fenix up and hit him with a
kick, followed by the no-look springboard DDT. One, two… not
quite! Fenix avoided a Nothin’ But Net attempt from Hayes
and hit him with a surprise Rolling Thunder DDT for the two-
count.
Hayes intercepted a chargnging attack from Fenix with the
First 48 as he then quickly ascended to the top rope. He
made no mistake with Nothin’ But Net, as that was enough for
the three and the successful U.S. Title defense.
Carmelo Hayes def. Rey Fenix via pinfall to retain the
United States Championship
Another solid U.S. Title match, something that’s been the
one constant these past few months. And after that rough
opening segmenth, I’m glad we got something of a palate
cleanser with this fantastic Hayes vs. Fenix match.
**************************
– Ilja Dragunov was seen watching the match as The Miz
approached and claimed that Carmelo Hayes put him up to
interfering last week. Dragunov said he that didn’t care if
Miz was “working” with Hayes, but tonight, Miz’s pain would
entertain him.
– Footage of the Pat McAfee Show was shown, particularly of
Brock Lesnar announcing he was in the Royal Rumble tomorrow.
We then cut backstage to R-Truth talking about his “balls”
to Nick Aldis before Damian Priest appeared. Priest was
informed that he was in the Rumble as he took a number. He
pointed out that whatever number he got meant more time to
throw fools over the top as he was coming out the winner.-
– Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre was interviewed as
he addressed the words shared earlier by Cody Rhodes, Randy
Orton, Jey Uso, and Sami Zayn. McIntyre said that Zayn was a
stupid man for taking on the eight-man tag match later
tonight, and that he’d be watching. McIntyre said that he
was willing to do whatever it took to keep the title, and
asked if Zayn was willing to do the same to be the champion.
– The Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY were
confronted by Giulia and Kiana James and an exchange of
words ensued. Nia Jax and Lash Legend showed up to cause
trouble as a group of referees and backstage agents appeared
to calm everyone down.
Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair address the Royal Rumble
The former Women’s Tag Champions made their way down to the
ring and had some words to say.
Flair said that the women were at each other’s throats, but
she was going to win the Royal Rumble and go on to
WrestleMania, and there was nobody she’d rather have
watching her back than Bliss. Flair was interrupted by
Bliss, who said that she’d do the same, as she was one of
the first women to wrestle in the Middle East, and that
she’d win her first Royal Rumble.
Flair continued to be annoyed, but was told by Bliss that
not everything was about her. As the two chatted not so
amicably, the women of the Judgment Day interrupted. Liv
Morgan said while Flair and Bliss were busy arguing, she’d
win the Royal Rumble tomorrow. That prompted Flair and Bliss
to challenge them to a fight right here and right now. Liv
said that there would be no fight, as they had better things
to do. However, Nick Aldis got ahead of this and told the
Judgment Day trio that there would be a match and it would
happen right now.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Roxanne Perez & Liv Morgan
We joined the match in progress after the commercial break,
as Flair and Perez were fighting it out. Perez slapped Flair
and tagged Morgan into the match, who used a distraction
from her partner to take advantage. Morgan and Perez
attempted a double suplex on Flair, but found themselves on
the receivcing end of a suplex instead. Bliss was tagged in
and found herself under siege from Perez’s strikes after a
Liv Morgan distraction.
Perez stomped away on Bliss and caused a distraction, to
allow Morgan to pull at Bliss’s hair behind the referee’s
back. The running knee by Morgan kept Bliss stunned, but not
for long as a dropkick broke things up. Raquel Rodriguez
pulled at Bliss’s leg, which gave Morgan the opening to hit
a kick on her foe. With Bliss isolated at ringside, Perez
slammed her head against the apron before she threw her
opponent back in the ring. Bliss fought back with a basement
dropkick, but that wasn’t enough for her to get to Flair to
make the tag. The Judgment Day were in control as we went to
an awkwardly-placed commercial break.
We returned from break as Bliss broke out of a hold from
Morgan as she again struggled to reach her partner in the
corner. The two got into an armadillo roll situation, as
Bliss slapped Morgan. This finally allowed her to get to
Flair in the corner for the hot tag. Flair headed to the top
rope and hit a crossbody on both Perez and Morgan as she
then teed off on the two with chops. Flair connected with
the somersault clothesline on Morgan, followed by a fallaway
slam on Perez.
Flair literally walked over Perez and Morgan before she went
top rope and connected with a two-for-one moonsault that
still wasn’t enough to get the victory. Morgan dropped
Flair’s throat across the top rope and caught her with a
step-up enzuigiri. Bliss tagged up and took down Morgan as
Perez broke up the count.
Perez and Bliss hit their combination codebreaker/Russian
leg sweep but that wasn’t enough for the win. As Raquel
Rodriguez tried to get involved,. Stephanie Vaquer emerged
and superkicked her, which caught Perez’s eye. This left her
open to the Sister Abigail DDT by Bliss and a costly loss
for the Judgment Day.
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss def. Roxanne Perez & Liv
Morgan via pinfall
A decent match, but it looked a bit rough in some spots, and
much like the men’s Royal Rumble, the build for this women’s
Rumble tomorrow has not been that great at all.
**************************
– Jordynne Grace was interviewed about her chances in the
Women’s Royal Rumble when Jade Cargill ambushed her from
behind. As Cargill talked smack to Grace, she was met by a
fierce fightback from the former TNA Knockouts Champion. The
two had to be separated by officials.
Axiom (w/ Nathan Frazer) vs. Johnny Gargano
As Gargano was making her way to the ring, Nick Aldis
informed him that Candice LeRae was banned at ringside and
that if Axiom won, he’d get the mask back.
Axiom and Gargano got into a battle of chain wrestling to
start off this match. On commentary, Michael Cole pointed
out how Gargano had “no partner now”. Gargano chopped at
Axiom in the corner, but he had no answer for the single-leg
kick from his foe. Axiom answered with a series of chops
that gave him the upper hand early. Axiom attempted a
springboard move, but Gargano dropped him on the ropes, then
left Axiom shellshocked with a suicide dive between the
ropes. This took us to a break in the action.
This matched resumed from the break as Axiom got hit with a
side kick from Gargano, but quickly turned around with a
Spanish Fly for the two–count. Axiom hit a snap suplex on
Gargano that sent him out of the ring. The masked man leapt
up the top rope and hit a moonsault on Gargano, as he then
followed that up with a missile dropkick inside the ring.
Axiom kipped up and got hit with a superkick from Gargano,
as was dropped with a modified Michinoku Driver for the
near-fall.
In the corner, Axiom hit Gargano with a step-up kick, but
got dropped from the top rope. Gargano followed that up with
his version of the Deadeye, which got another near-fall. The
former NXT Champion headed up to the top, but was
intercepted by another step-up kick from Axiom. This opened
him up for an avalanche Spanish Fly. Axiom tried to go for
the Golden Ratio, but took too long with his mask, which
allowed Gargano to counter it successfully.
Gargano ripped off Axiom’s mask, but he didn’t anticipate
the Spanish star to take the other mask and wear it instead.
Axiom flattened Gargano with the Golden Ratio kick and
picked up the victory.
Axiom def. Johnny Gargano via pinfall
This mini-feud between Fraxiom & Gargano has been decent,
and this match was entertaining. I do wonder what will be
next for Gargano though after this feud, especially with his
former #DIY partner Tommasso Ciampa now wrestling in AEW.
**************************
– Carmelo Hayes tried to explain that he had nothing to do
with the Miz’s involvement, but was told by Ilja Dragunov
that he wasn’t asking for another shot at Hayes’ U.S. Title,
but he was expecting it.
– Trick Williams was interviewed about his chances in the
Royal Rumble tomorrow. Williams pointed out his lemon pepper
shoes as he talked about how the world was talking about
him, and that he’d be the last man standing tomorrow.
AJ Styles’ Last Call?
Styles made his way down the ring, perhaps for the final
time, as he got ready to address the crowd before his match
with Gunther tomorrow night. He welcomed the crowd to
SmackDown, “The House that AJ Styles Built”, as he talked
about the big match he had tomorrow. Styles said that some
of us were worried about tomorrow, but we shouldn’t, because
he was going to beat Gunther and start the Phenomenal
Farewell Tour. Styles teased that we would get “one more
times” with Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and even CM Punk.
Before Styles could continue, Gunther interrupted him and
stood on top of the commentary table.
Gunther said that he appreciated how much Styles had fantasy
over his future, but none of that would happen because
Styles made a mistake so severe, it would cost him his
career. Gunther vowed to end Styles’ career and do it in the
same way that he did to John Cena: by making him tap out.
Styles responded that it took one to know one, because
Gunther was the one who tapped out, “like a little bitch”.
This riled Gunther up as he got on the apron and looked like
he was going to fight… but he thought better and walked off.
It’s telling that this one match, out of all the matches
built up in the Royal Rumble, has been the one that’s gotten
the most build and feels like an important one. If there was
one match I’d be seeking out tomorrow if I considered
watching the Rumble PPV, it’d be this one.
**************************
– Shinsuke Nakamura was seen watching from backstage as Tama
Tonga approached him. One half of the new WWE Tag Champions
mocked Nakamura for not being at his best, as Tama told him
to follow Styles into retirement. Nakamura responded that he
was going to show Tama “strong style” next week.
The Miz vs. Ilja Dragunov
After a lockup, Dragunov used his superior chain wrestling
skills to gain a bit of an advantage, at least until he was
backed into the corner. Miz chopped at Dragunov, which only
served to fire up the “Mad Dragon. With Miz’s arm caught in
a wrench, Dragunov had his foe in the corner, but he missed
on the chop. This gave Miz the opening to hit a running
shoulder block, but Dragunov answered with a hard chop that
hit its target. Dragunov hit his running boot on a prone
Miz, which sent him on the apron, and left him open for an
attempted suplex. Miz blocked it and hit a running boot of
his own that sent Dragunov flying over the top rope and
right into a mid-match break.
This match returned as Miz had Dragunov in a resthold that
was eventually broken out of by the former U.S. Champion.
Dragunov battled back with elbows to the face of Miz, but he
couldn’t connect with a powerbomb. Miz, instead, hit his
signature neckbreaker on Dragunov, but that wasn’t enough
for the victory. Miz arrogantly kicked at Dragunov, which
only fired him up even more as he battled back with fierce
strikes. Dragunov took down Miz with a hard enzuigiri to the
face, taht sent him into the corner. Dragunov aggressively
chopped at Miz’s chest across two corners, culminating with
a machine gun barrage of chops on the third corner.
Dragunov connected with the Constantine Special, but Miz
managed to kick out at two. This led to Dragunov holding on
to Miz tight and hitting his German suplexes, followed by
the standing uranage. With Miz in position,. Dragunov
attempted the H-Bomb, but he was met with a kick and a Miz-
style DDT for the near-fall. The Miz had Dragunov in
position for the Skull-Crushing Finale, but couldn’t connect
with it. He did, however, connect with the trademark
clothesline-and-dump from the corner.
As Miz tried to get up to the top rope, Dragunov intercepted
him and met him with strikes. Miz raked at Dragunov’s eyes
and dumped him from the top rope. However, Miz’s dive was
met with an interceptor variant of the Torpedo Moscow.
Dragunov then finished off Miz in short order with the H-
Bomb for the win.
Ilja Dragunov def. The Miz via pinfall
A decent match, largely elevated by how Dragunov’s matches,
even against someone like the Miz turn out to be hard-
hitting affairs. I just love the way that Dragunov wrestles.
**************************
– We got remarks from Solo Sikoa and the M.F.T.s fresh off
of winning the WWE Tag Titles from the Wyatt Sicks. However,
they were cut off by the Wyatts, who said that the M.F.T.s
haven’t won yet. Bo Dallas said that their lantern and the
WWE Tag Titles would come back to them, and that the
millions of fireflies around the world would illumunate
Sikoa’s insecurities and would ensure the M.F.T.s’ demise.
Royal Rumble 2025 Card
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
AJ Styles vs. Gunther (If Styles loses, he must retire)
Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
The Vision (Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Austin Theory,
Bronson Reed) vs. Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, and
Jey Uso
Just as Orton, Zayn, and Uso headed into the ring, The
Vision tried to get ahead and beat them down until Cody
Rhodes ran into even the odds. Zayn and Uso took off with
stereo dives over the top rope to drop The Vision’s quartet
outside the ring as we got a break right as this match was
set to get underway.
We returned from commercial as Rhodes and Zayn double teamed
against Breakker, with the arm being a target. Breakker
escaped Rhodes’ grip, as he hit his supercharged lariat on
the former WWE Champion. Reed was tagged in as he and
Breakker hit a double clothesline on Rhodes. Breakker
followed that up with an impressive standing moonsault, as
Theory entered the match. He kept Rhodes isolated with a
chin hold as The Vision had the upper han dhere. Reed was
the legal man now and he blasted Rhodes with punches to the
face and stomps. Logan got into the match and maintained
control for his team with a gutwrench suplex.
Breakker was the legal man and couldn’t capitalize on a back
suplex. However, The Vision kept Rhodes at a distance from
his team as our main event headed to one more commercial
break.
This main event continued as Reed hit a sidewalk slam on
Rhodes, who was still being isolated from his team. Rhodes
avoided an attack from Logan, and suplexed Breakker, as he
then avoided an elbow drop from Theory. Reed failed to hit
Rhodes with the senton, as he finally the hot tag for Orton.
The fourteen-time world champion hit his snap powerslam on
Theory, followed by the draped DDT. Orton stalked Theory,
but was hit by Logan before he could get Theory with the
RKO. Absolute chaos unfolded as bodies flew left and right.
By the end of it, Orton hit Theory with an RKO, but Logan
broke up the pin. Rhodes hit Breakker with Cross Rhods, but
he got dropped by Bronson Reed, who in turn, got hit by a
tornado DDT from Sami Zayn. Just as Zayn had Reed locked in
for the Helluva Kick, Drew McIntyre pulled him out of the
ring to cause the DQ.
After the bell rang, McIntyre took his title and look like
he was going to blast Zayn with it, until Jacob Fatu’s theme
hit. The man himself snuck up behind McIntyre and threw him
out of the ring. Rhodes recovered and dove into Fatu outside
the ring as he then threw him into the ring post. McIntyre
got ahead of this and threw Rhodes into the steel steps. In
the ring, McIntyre had Rhodes in sight for the Claymore, but
he was hit by a Helluva Kick from Zayn.
Zayn took notice of McIntyre’s Undisputed WWE Title and
grabbed it. At the same time, Rhodes held it as Triple H and
Lee Fitting’s producer credits appeared on-screen. Just as
the copyright graphic faded out, Breakker hit both men with
a double spear to end the night.
Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, & Randy Orton def. The
Vision via Disqualification
**************************
I’m not sure if this is going to be a hot take, but I
thought tonight’s SmackDown was kinda lousy, especially as a
go-home show for the Royal Rumble. Even putting aside the
controversial nature of the Rumble being in Saudi Arabia
(and, well, that’s one thing that really can’t be put
aside), the build to the PPV has been pretty lackluster.
I get what they were going for by having an open field for
the Men’s and Women’s Rumbles with no clear favorite to win,
but Triple H and WWE Creative have not been able to pull off
such a build at all. What we’ve been left with is the
match(es) that give the Royal Rumble its name feeling like
they’re just kinda there and not really being treated with
the importance that previous iterations have had. It’s left
me feeling kind of cold about the Rumble, and a weak go-home
tonight didn’t help change things.
If there’s one match that I felt that’s had at least a
decent build, it’s the AJ Styles vs. Gunther match, as the
stakes of Styles being forced to retire if he loses to
Gunther have been treated with an air of gravitas that I’ve
been surprised with.
Again, the U.S. Title scene was one of the best things about
tonight and I think I’ve been clear week in and week out
about how the Open Challenge has been a success since it got
reinstituted last fall. Axiom vs. Gargano was a fun little
match too as was Miz vs. Dragunov, and it’s for that reason
why those three matches salvaged tonight from being a total
wash of a show.