Royal Rumble weekend in Indianapolis begins with tonight’s SmackDown from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
On the eve of the Rumble, Chelsea Green and Michin once again face off for the Women’s United States title. Green beat Michin in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural champ in December, but the two have continued their feud since then. Most recently, Michin pinned Green in a tag match last week as she and B-Fab defeated Green and Piper Niven.
An eight-man tag match is also on tap for tonight with Motor City Machine Guns teaming up with Los Garza to take on DIY and Pretty Deadly. It comes in advance of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin challenging Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa for the WWE Tag Team titles in a two-out-of-three falls bout at the Royal Rumble.
Naomi vs. Liv Morgan and Jimmy Uso vs. Carmelo Hayes are set for tonight as well. Plus, Joe Tessitore interviews Kevin Owens in advance of his ladder match against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on Saturday.
The first hour of tonight’s show is airing commercial-free. Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Michael Cole welcomed everyone to the show as footage of the city of Indianapolis was shown. Liv Morgan, Naomi, Bianca Belair, Michin, Chelsea Green and Damian Priest were shown walking through portions of the arena earlier in the day.
– Cole was at a small desk in the crowd, ala Saturday Night’s Main Event. Cole then introduced Pat McAfee and said he was the reason the Royal Rumble will be in Indianapolis this year. McAfee made his entrance and stood at the small desk with Cole. The crowd chanted “McAfee!” and McAfee called Indianapolis the greatest host city on earth. McAfee said the city is world-class and it hosts Final Fours, National Championships and the like and the people there are the best in the world. McAfee said he was “so damn thankful to be here.” Cole then threw to Joe Tessitore in the ring.
The Kevin Owens Interview
This was really good. Not necessarily on Punk/Cody level from Monday, but intriguing nonetheless, if only for how loud Owens has been about not liking Punk in or out of the ring (of course, this is professional wrestling, so who really knows where the real life truth lies, but the tension here felt palpable). Owens looked legitimately unhappy that he had to be out there with Punk and Punk looked as happy as the Young Bucks taking their victory lap as he smirked his way through this thing. It all added up to a fun way to open the show and it has me hopeful that we might actually get Owens vs. Punk someday in WWE one way or another.
Both belts that will be up for grabs at the Royal Rumble were hanging in the middle of the ring. Tessitore said it’s difficult to look past Owens’s latest actions. Tessitore played up the idea that he plays a big role covering wrestlers, so he wanted to give Owens fair time. Tessitore asked Owens what everyone was missing about how Owens feels about Cody. Owens began to talk and the crowd started to drown him out with boos. Owens called Tessitore a Cody Rhodes fan boy and lamented that everyone was talking about how they would face Cody at WrestleMania, but Owens said he will win the title at the Rumble and go onto WrestleMania himself.
Owens asked Tessitore if he thought he was a tough guy and Owens did not accept Tessitore’s initial apology for not giving him mic time. Owens then grabbed the winged-eagle belt as it hung in the middle of the ring and went to leave, but CM Punk’s music hit and Punk walked out. Owens looked less than thrilled. Punk grabbed a microphone and the crowd loudly chanted “CM Punk!” and Punk took it in. Owens and Punk stood silent and started at each other for a minute while “Holy s-!@#” chants broke out in the crowd.
Owens asked Punk if he could help him and Punk said no. Instead, Punk said he was there to offer two apologies – one for interrupting him; the other was for Owens thinking Punk was looking past Owens for WrestleMania. Punk said when he wins the Royal Rumble and if Owens makes it past an angry Cody Rhodes, the main event of WrestleMania could be Kevin Owens vs. CM Punk. Punk said if Owens wins at the Rumble, then Owens’s title reign won’t last long.
Owens said he felt conflicted because on one hand there are 29 guys in the Rumble that he likes more than Punk. But at the same time, Owens said the thought of Punk vs. Owens in the main event at WrestleMania – or Owens beating Punk’s ass at WrestleMania, he corrected himself to say – appealed to him. Owens played up the fact that all Punk wants to do is main event WrestleMania and it’s right at Punk’s fingertips. Owens said the idea of Punk never getting to main event WrestleMania is so good to Owens. Owens said he loves the thought of Punk never completing that dream. Owens stepped towards Punk and said Punk will go to his grave as a miserable failure. Owens said he hopes Punk doesn’t win the Royal Rumble and dropped the mic to leave.
Punk, however, kept going. Owens stood on the ring apron. Punk said he had never lost five title matches at the Royal Rumble while Owens has. Punk said he had never lost to Logan Paul, but Owens has. Punk said he had never tried to manipulate his best friend to help him win a title, but Owens has taken short cuts. Punk noted how he has to throw 29 other people over the top rope while Owens has to survive a pissed off Cody Rhodes in a ladder match. Punk invited Owens back into the ring and said he’d kick his ass. Punk told Owens to not be afraid. Owens dropped his mic. Punk did, too. Owens teased getting into the ring and instead walked away with his winged-eagle belt. Punk’s music hit to end the segment.
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– The Miz was talking to Nick Aldis backstage and said if Andrade was standing right there, right now, he’d punch Andrade in the face. Andrade asked if Miz issued a challenge. Andrade suggested The Miz vs. Andrade later tonight and Miz said if Andrade wanted a lesson in greatness, that’d be fine. Aldis made the match for later tonight.
– Carmelo Hayes walked to the ring with a microphone and called Jimmy Uso not “The One,” but “The Two.” Melo said he won’t miss because his name isn’t Tyrese Halliburton. The show naturally cut to the Indiana Pacers star, who was sitting in the front row. Jimmy tried to jumpstart the match, but Melo quickly countered and the first match was under way.
Jimmy Uso defeated Carmelo Hayes [8:31]
I was expecting more from the Melo/Halliburton interaction, but maybe they are saving something for Tyrese later in the show. Another thing I was expecting was Jimmy getting a clean, easy win, but Uce had to kind of/sort of cheat to win and Melo, for what it’s worth, got a lot of offense in before taking the loss. Maybe this means they run it back sooner than later. While it helped Melo to be competitive here, he still took the loss and it’s probably about time for him to earn some wins now that he’s gone nearly a year as the No. 1 draft pick for SmackDown. Time will tell. As for this match, it was fairly boilerplate. Melo looked more crisp than Jimmy, but Jimmy’s power stood out. A fine-enough way to fill television for about 10 minutes.
Melo kept control for a good part of the first minute until he tried to headbutt Jimmy, but that turned out to hurt Melo more than it hurt Jimmy. Melo ran into an uppercut from Jimmy and Jimmy yeeted. Jimmy clotheslined Melo over the top rope and went for a dive, but Melo cut Jimmy off with a clothesline inside the ring. Melo landed a hip attack and went for another one, but Jimmy moved and tried a pop-up move, but Melo turned it into a DDT for a two count.
With Jimmy on the outside, Melo landed a dive and jawed at Halliburton. Jimmy attacked Melo from behind and rolled Melo back into the ring to hit an enziguri. Jimmy then went for a hip attack, but Melo moved. It didn’t matter because Jimmy came back with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a two count. Jimmy went to the top rope, but Melo cut him off and went for something of his own, but Jimmy denied him and landed some type of arm-drag suplex on Melo to reset the match as both guys were down.
Jimmy kicked Melo, but then ultimately jumped into Melo’s First 48, but Jimmy kicked out at two-and-a-half. Melo went for a springboard move, but Jimmy move and super-kicked Melo for a good near-fall. Jimmy went to the top and went for a splash, but Melo go the knees up and rolled Jimmy up for a two count. Melo then hit a running knee and went to the top, where Melo landed a splash of his own for a nice near-fall. Melo looked shocked.
Melo went back to the top rope, but Jimmy cut him off with a kick. Jimmy went for something, but Melo countered into a rollup. Jimmy kicked out and rolled Melo up for the win. Jimmy had a handful of tights to help him get the win.
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– The Royal Rumble “By The Numbers” video aired and man, those are always so good.
– Chelsea Green was interviewed by Byron Saxton backstage. Green said last week, Michin tried to destroy the face of the United States and tonight, Green will return the favor. Green then said she will win the Royal Rumble Saturday night. Green also called Piper Niven her “Secret Hervice” and it was damn funny.
Michin defeated Chelsea Green via DQ [6:21]
Eh. OK. That’s fine. I guess. I think. Maybe. Probably. It was hard to think a clean finish was coming when this was slotted 45 minutes into the episode, and I have no problem with them stretching this program out a little more, but it was a disappointing finish and if Green vs. Michin isn’t about to walk over the line, it can certainly see the line from where it sits currently. It’s hard to think of Green dropping that belt anytime soon, but the way they have built this feud, I can be convinced that Michin would be the best opponent to eventually take it from her. Either way, this was a bit too short to really get going. As an aside: Without Green in WWE and Toni Storm in AEW, professional wrestling on all American channels would be a lot less interesting. God bless them for that.
The two traded pin attempts to begin the match and Green rolled outside the ring to roll back into it. Michin hit a series of German Suplexes and Green went to the outside, where Michin landed a dive through the ropes. Back inside the ring, Michin went for Eat Defeat, but Green got away from it. Michin pounded on Green until Green pushed Michin over the top and to the outside. Back inside the ring, Green worked a chin-lock. Eventually, Green went to a head-lock.
Michin fought back with a series of kicks, including a running strike. Michin set up the Long Back Attack and hit a Cannonball and got a two count out of it. The two traded pin attempts until Michin landed Eat Defeat, but Green rolled to the outside. B-Fab rolled Green back into the ring, but Green escaped again, but Michin chased after her. Green kept running away regardless. Green found the kendo stick and hit Michin with it to end the match. After the match, Michin got a hold of the stick and worked Green over with it.
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– Saxton interviewed Belair and Naomi backstage. Saxton asked what will happen if Naomi and Belair are the final two in the Rumble on Saturday. They both said they’d support each other, no matter the outcome. Saxton noted how Liv and Raquel have their eyes on the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
– Another Charlotte Flair vignette aired.
– Stephanie McMahon was shown sitting in the crowd with a child.
The Damian Priest/Jacob Fatu Segment
The future of SmackDown, probably, and it’s hard to be mad at that. Fatu vs. Priest is a nice way to introduce Priest to Fridays – and it’ll be even better if they can figure out how to involve a title with all this. Knight being there makes sense, too. I will now insert the complaint I keep writing each week these days: Why wouldn’t they advertise this tag match ahead of time? It has some of the brand’s biggest star power. Don’t you think people might tune in if they knew this was coming ahead of time? Anyway, Fatu saying he and Tonga run SmackDown now is mighty interesting considering how Solo Sikoa walked out of the entire arena without saying a word the last time we saw him. Something’s going to eventually give with all that … right?
Priest said he wanted to make an impact after coming up to the main roster and he went from a nobody to a heavyweight champion. Priest said he doesn’t want to live in the past, though, because now he’s on SmackDown. Priest said the goal on SmackDown is championships and it will start at the Royal Rumble as he secures his spot at WrestleMania. On cue, Jacob Fatu’s music hit and Fatu walked to the ring.
Fatu screamed into the mic and said he sees Priest and he knows who he is, what he’s done. Fatu said Priest has accomplished so much more than the others in the back. Fatu said they’re alike because they both got out the gutter and they both came from the streets. The difference, Fatu said, was that Fatu spent time in jail. Fatu said he’s all gas, no breaks now, and if Priest thinks he’s going to make a name for himself on SmackDown, that’s not going to happen. Fatu said Priest can lay down or he could “beat his ass down.” Fatu said he and Tama Tonga are running SmackDown now and yelled “Fatu!”
Priest asked Fatu if that was supposed to intimidate him. Priest then spoke in Spanish. Priest said Fatu should know better and asked Fatu why they’re even talking at all. Priest then super-kicked Tonga. Fatu glared at Priest and removed his vest. The two circled each other. A “Holy SH$#@” chant broke out and the two brawled with each other. Tonga got up and inserted himself. The two played the numbers game on Priest until LA Knight’s music hit and Knight ran down to make the save. Knight hit Fatu with a chair and grabbed the mic. Knight challenged Fatu and Tonga to go up against Priest and Knight later in the show. Knight offered up his catchphrase to end the segment.
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– Santos Escobar was shown talking to Los Garza backstage. MCMG walked in and Escobar pointed out that MCMG have their opportunity to win gold at the Rumble. Meanwhile, Legado Del Fantasma have to fight for what they have. Alex Shelley said they will have Los Garza’s backs tonight. Angel said if MCMG because #DIY at the Rumble, they want the first shot at the tag titles.
– Footage of the moment HHH was told he’d be inducted into the Hall Of Fame this year from earlier this week aired.
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) and Los Garza (Angel & Berto) defeated #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) and Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) [12:08]
This went pretty much as expected, but there’s nothing wrong with that. MCMG getting the win for their team all but promises that they will continue to be in chase mode with #DIY coming out of the Royal Rumble Saturday night. Then again, this is a new era, so perhaps new things can and will happen. I got a kick out of how MCMG kept trying to tag each other in, only to have Los Garza members cut them off. It was a tiny touch, but a necessary one in order to make sure we all know that Los Garza are still heels. Here’s hoping that 2-out-of-3 falls tag match gets at least a half hour at the Rumble Saturday night. Seeing, as always, is believing.
Berto and Prince were the first to lock up. The show almost immediately went to a picutre-in-picture break, but it came right back and Ciampa was the legal man for the heels. Berto landed a rolling moonsault on Ciampa for a two-count. Shelley tried to tag in, but Angel tagged himself in … but Sabin tagged himself in. Gargano was the legal man briefly and things broke down. The babyfaces hit stereo dives on the heels on the outside of the ring and the show went to another PIP break, weirdly.
When the show returned this time around, Prince was working over Sabin. Wilson tagged in and Sabin hit a double clothesline on both Prince and Wilson. Sabin tagged in Angel (who stole the tag from Shelley). Angel fired up and ripped off his pants. Angel went to the top and hit a cross-body on Wilson for a two count. Gargano tagged himself in and things broke down again with all eight wrestlers getting a signature move in, complete with a moonsault from Angel onto Pretty Deadly on the outside.
Berto powerbombed Gargano inside the ring for a nice near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants began. Sabin tagged himself in, but Angel stopped Sabin from entering the ring. Los Garza jawed at Sabin and left ringside, leaving MCMG on their own. Ciampa, meanwhile, worked out Sabin on the outside of the ring, throwing him into the crowd barrier. Shelley popped up on the apron, but Gargano pulled Shelley to the floor.
Ciampa clotheslined the hell out of Sabin. Ciampa accidentally kicked Prince in the head and as a result, Pretty Deadly walked away. Sabin then rolled Ciampa up and got the win for his team.
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– Fatu and Tonga were shown walking backstage and saw the tag titles laid out on a road case. Ciampa and Gargano walked up and grabbed them. Tonga “Yeeee Yeeee Yeeee”-ed at #DIY. Ciampa ran into and yelled at Pretty Deadly. Gargano said the tag title match at the Rumble is the biggest match of their lives. Elton Prince told Gargano and Ciampa that tomorrow night, they will be on their own.
– Cole and McAfee were shown at their tiny desk and McAfee introduced Tyrese Halliburton, who joined the two at the tiny desk in the crowd. Halliburton said he was excited to have the Rumble in his town. McAfee noted how it’s Pacers vs. Hawks at 5 p.m. tomorrow and wondered if we could see Halliburton in the Rumble. Halliburton said the plan is to beat the Hawks and then show up at Lucas Oil. Footage of Cole and Cody crowdsurfing earlier in the day aired.
– A vignette focusing on Owens vs. Rhodes aired.
Naomi defeated Liv Morgan [10:21]
Boy, it sure does feel like Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are going to be the next in line for those WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, doesn’t it? That’s fine and all, but what about the other end of the equation? At what point does Jade Cargill get re-inserted into the Naomi/Belair circle? And when do we find out about the attacker? All of this feels like it will develop sooner than later, but this viewer is starting to get at least a tiny bit impatient. In the meantime, this was a mildly surprising result and a well-worked match on both ends. Morgan was just one of the biggest champions in the company. Now she’s losing in the second-to-third hour of SmackDown in a match with little stakes. Perhaps there is a plan. There’s always a plan. Right?
The women locked up to begin things. Morgan got the best of it at first, but Naomi came back with an arm-drag and a head-scissors takedown. Morgan rolled to the outside. Back inside the ring, Naomi kicked Morgan a handful of times. Naomi then hit her split splash for a two count. Naomi landed a vertical suplex for a two count. Raquel hopped up on the apron to distract Naomi and Morgan too advantage of that with a backstabber for a two count. The show went to a break.
Back to the show, Morgan pinned Naomi, got a two count and then worked a chin-lock. Naomi Stunned Morgan to even things out. Naomi kicked Morgan in the head and followed up with a clothesline and back elbow. Naomi ran Morgan’s face into the second turnbuckle and went to the top. From there, Naomi landed a cross-body for a two count. Morgan ultimately came back with a running knee and a Codebreaker from the top for a near-fall.
Naomi hit a Rear View out of nowhere and went for the split-legged moonsault, but Raquel distracted Naomi. Even so, Morgan and Naomi traded pin attempts in the wake of the distraction and Naomi got the best of it, rolling Morgan up for the win. After the match, Raquel attacked Belair and Naomi. Morgan joined in on the fun and Raquel powerbombed Morgan onto both Naomi and Belair.
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– A video recapping the Fatu vs. Strowman match from SNME aired.
Andrade defeated The Miz [10:02]
The expected outcome in a match that would have gone too long if this didn’t involve a commercial break. I’m a fan of the back elbow being a finisher for Andrade, so here’s hoping that sticks around. Speaking of “here’s hoping,” here’s hoping Andrade gets somewhat of a kickstart in the wake of WrestleMania season. The Melo/Andrade program was filled with fireworks but both guys haven’t really found a safe place to land since then. Facing The Miz in a throwaway third hour of SmackDown proves as much on Andrade’s side. Here’s hoping he gets back to something meaningful sooner than later.
The two locked up and Miz hit an arm-drag before posing. A lock-up happened again and Andrade got the best of that one. The Miz actually landed a flying head-scissors and the crowd cheered as the action spilled outside. Andrade followed it up with a springboard moonsault on Miz and the show went to a commercial break at about the two-minute mark.
Back from the break and Miz was in control, giving Andrade some Miz Kicks. Andrade popped up and chopped the hell out of Miz. From there, Andrade hit a Dragon-Screw Leg Whip and a flying elbow before firing up the crowd. Andrade then landed the double-knees onto Miz in a corner. Andrade booted Miz in the face, but Miz came back with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for a nice near-fall. Miz clotheslined Andrade in a corner and went to the top. but Andrade cut him off. With the two on the top, Andrade pulled off a top rope Spanish Fly for a good near-fall.
“This is awesome!” chants broke out (let’s not get carried away, friends). Andrade missed a moonsault attempt and the two traded rollup attempts, but nothing came of it. Andrade then hit his spinning back elbow and that, surprisingly enough, was good enough to get Andrade the win.
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– Priest ran into Escobar backstage. Priest wondered why Escobar was even talking to him in the first place. Escobar told Priest he’d see him around. R-Truth appeared and told Priest they were at Raw. Priest told Truth to never change and turned into LA Knight. Nakamura was standing in the shadows as Knight and Priest talked to each other. Truth hopped in and said “Welcome to Raw!” to both Knight and Priest.
– Tiffany Stratton was shown walking and she ran into Zelina Vega, who said she had her eyes on Tiffy’s title. Tiffy talked down to Vega and it turns out Stratton is going to talk to Cole and McAfee next.
The Tiffany Stratton segment
Nia Jax is working overtime these days between SNME and SmackDown. Good for her. I have to think this means the story isn’t over between Stratton and Jax, no matter how Saturday night turns out. Tiffany, for her part, needs to decide if she wants to be a proper heel or a proper babyface. She heel’d on Vega backstage and then sold like a babyface after Jax attacked her in the ring. We all feel like it’s going one way, but the more WWE denies it, the more unnatural – and more frustrating – her entire presentation feels.
McAfee and Cole were in the ring and Cole introduced Stratton, who made her entrance. Cole asked Tiffy how her life has changed since she won the WWE Women’s Championship. Tiffy said she has always been championship material. Stratton said now everybody knows she’s championship material. McAfee said everybody wants what she has and McAfee listed off wrestlers who might win the Royal Rumble, including Nia Jax. Tiffy said it doesn’t matter who wins because it will always be Tiffy Time.
As Tiffy was talking, Candice LeRae’s music hit and LeRae walked out with a microphone. LeRae called Tiffy pathetic and said Tiffy didn’t deserve to even say Nia’s name. LeRae said Tiffy betrayed both Jax and LeRae. The crowd started the “WHAT?” treatment as LeRae stepped into the ring and called Tiffy jealous. LeRae told Tiffy to enjoy what little bit of Tiffy Time she has left. LeRae said she has entered the Rumble. Tiffy backed LeRae into a corner and Jax tried to attack Tiffy, but Tiffy moved and Jax splashed LeRae. Jax rebounded quickly, and hit a leg drop and her finisher on Tiffy. Jax stood tall to end the segment.
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– The commentary team ran down the card for the Royal Rumble.
LA Knight & Damian Priest defeated Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga [14:44]
A good-enough main event for the Royal Rumble go-home show, but “good-enough” isn’t by much. It’s no secret that SmackDown has lost its luster over the last few months and with Raw On Netflix now the shiny new thing, it was clear that SmackDown was going to be given the short end of the stick. To see it come this early is a little disheartening. You have one of your four (probably three?) biggest shows of the year tomorrow night and your main event is a throwaway tag that has no real implications for anything significant in the immediate future? Or, well, probably more accurate: No Big Time Stars in the last 10 minutes of TV leading up to A Very Important PLE? No Cody? No Roman? No Punk? Not even Owens? Switch out the Monday and Friday shows and you’d have something. Tonight, though? Not so much.
Knight and Priest jumpstarted the match and ran into the ring to attack the heels. Fatu was kicked to the outside and Tonga and Priest turned out to be the legal men. Priest got the best of him and tagged in Knight. Still, Tonga came back, corner Knight and tagged in Fatu. Knight landed a neck-breaker on Fatu and stomped a mudhole in him. Knight then ran into a knee from Fatu, but Knight came back with another neck-breaker.
Priest tagged in and worked over Fatu until Tonga distracted Priest and Fatu capitalized with a hip attack. Tonga tagged in and took some punishment from Tonga. Fatu tagged in and worked Priest’s neck. Priest came back and threw Fatu to the outside. Knight tagged in and Knight went after Fatu, complete with his top-rope elbow. Out of nowhere, Fatu landed a leaping elbow on Knight to settle things down. The show then went to its final commercial break.
The show returned and Fatu went for a hip attack on Knight, but Knight moved. From there, Knight back-suplexed Fatu and ultimately got the hot tag to Priest, who came in and cleaned house. Priest hit a Flapjack on Tonga and fired up the crowd. Priest sent Tonga flying over the commentary table and then planted Fatu on said table. Back inside the ring, Priest walked the top rope, ala Undertaker, and hit a cross-body for a near-fall that the referee kind of/sort of gave away before Tonga kicked out.
Priest set up for a Razor’s Edge, but Tonga countered into a sleeper hold. Priest tried to fire up, but it didn’t really work at first. Eventually, it worked and Priest got out of it. Tonga landed the Hanging DDT on Priest inside the ring and Knight tackled Fatu over into the timekeeper’s area. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Tonga ran at Priest, but Priest caught him and eventually clotheslined the hell out of Tonga. Priest then hit South Of Heaven on Tonga for the win.
After the match, Fatu ran into the ring and attacked Priest, complete with super-kick, pop-up Samoan Drop and a moonsault. The show barely made it off air before fitting all of this in. Everything ended with a shot of Fatu scowling.
