On the first WWE SmackDown of 2025 and with a return to three hours, WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax will defend her title against Naomi on a sparsely announced card as of this writing.
Jax defeated Naomi in November to retain her title, but the champion was part of a losing effort last week as she teamed with Tiffany Stratton & Candice LeRae and came up short against Naomi, Bayley & Bianca Belair.
In a trios match that will main event the show, the OG Bloodline (Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Sami Zayn) will face The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa & Tama Tonga) in Jimmy’s first match since breaking his toe at Survivor Series.
WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura will go one-on-one with Andrade in a non-title match. Nakamura defeated Andrade in November after Andrade ran into an exposed turnbuckle. To receive a future title shot, Andrade must win tonight.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 PM Eastern.
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– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as footage of Phoenix aired. Cole then threw to last week’s developments regarding Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. Afterwards, Cody made his entrance inside the arena. He was dressed in a suit.
The Cody Rhodes promo
This was pretty good. Cody continues to show good fire in his program with Owens and I get a kick out of both Owens and McIntyre never really being wrong in their logic for why they have issues with the babyfaces. That said, it felt like McIntyre’s words here were dripping in foreshadowing and I think that extends beyond the attack Owens showed up to execute, so it should be compelling to see how things play out between Drew and Cody over the coming weeks. Speaking of weeks, with four of them left until the Royal Rumble, I wonder how they’re going to stretch out Owens and Cody beyond simple pull-aparts each week. In some ways, it’s already a bit stale, considering how much those two worked with each other in 2024. It’d be nice if they found a way to freshen things up going into their ladder match.
Cody took in a bunch of cheers and then shouted “Phoenix” before saying they all want to talk about the same thing. He said WWE is on the cusp of changing everything and it starts tonight by SmackDown going three hours. Cody referenced Raw going to Netflix and said his excitement was tempered because he cannot be involved because he is not cleared to wrestle because of Kevin Owens. Cody noted that management was concerned about him even being there at all, but at the Royal Rumble, he will compete with Owens in a ladder match. Drew McIntyre’s music then hit and McIntyre walked out through the main entrance.
McIntyre took his time stepping into the ring, but he got there. McIntyre stepped towards Cody and … hugged Cody. Cody looked confused. McIntyre said he wasn’t there to hurt Cody; he was there to help Cody. McIntyre said Cody is about to screw up his entire life’s work and Drew is looking out for him. McIntyre said right now is the best generation of wrestlers WWE has ever had and Cody is the quarterback of it all. McIntyre noted how he knows what it’s like to want to compete, but management won’t let that happen. McIntyre said he can see that Cody needs a friend and Cody interrupted McIntyre.
Cody asked Drew if he wanted to help him and Drew said yes – because he always tells the truth. Cody said he and McIntyre are kindred spirits in the way they left WWE and came back for success. Cody listed off other ways they are the same, but essentially said it didn’t matter because Cody said he didn’t believe McIntyre. Cody then invited McIntyre to “come and get it.” McIntyre said he was telling Cody the truth again – he wasn’t there to hurt Cody; he was there to help Cody. Drew stepped out on the apron and told Cody he needed to watch his back. McIntyre stepped off the apron and Owens attacked Cody from behind. McIntyre slowly walked to the back.
Owens and Cody brawled in the ring and Cody briefly had control. Officials ran out to separate the two and Cody broke away to leap at Owens. Owens found himself on the outside of the ring and the two jawed at each other from afar. Owens was pushed back up the entranceway by the officials. Cody sold head pain in the ring as he scowled at Owens. Cody’s music hit to end things.
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– The Bloodline was shown arriving to the building earlier in the day. Naomi and Bianca Belair got the same treatment. Ditto for Nia Jax and Andrade.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Andrade [8:48]
It was nice to see the crowd rally behind this match by the time these two went to the finish. As for the body of the bout, it was fine enough. I’m not too much of a fan of Andrade continuously taking losses, but I’ve been whining about that for long enough in this space now that I should probably stop. I like the freshened up Nakamura a little more each time I see him. His entrance is plodding, but effective and even the face paint kind of/sort of works. This was nothing near the level of some of their matches years ago, but a solid TV match is a solid TV match and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Nakamura went at Andrade to begin the match, but Andrade rebounded quickly and hit a moonsault onto Nakamura, who was on the outside, about 40 seconds into the match, the show went to a commercial break. The show returned and Andrade was working a comeback, including a leaping elbow. Andrade fired up the crowd, but ran into a knee from Nakamura. With Andrade draped over the second rope, Nakamura landed a German Suplex before heading to the top and hitting a knee to Andrade’s head. Nakamura then ripped off the top turnbuckle covering.
Andrade dropkicked Nakamura into the exposed buckle and followed it up with a Meteora, which earned Andrade a two-count. Andrade went to the top and landed his double miss-then-make moonsault for a good near-fall. Andrade set up for The Message, but Nakamura countered … only for Andrade to land a spinning back elbow for a very good near-fall that actually looked like it should have been a three count. Andrade placed Nakamura on the top rope, but Nakamura blocked a super-plex attempt and slammed Andrade’s head on top of the ring post. Nakamura hit the Kinshasha from there and got the win.
Almost instantly after Nakamura was announced as the winner, LA Knight’s music hit and Knight pounded on Nakamura. Knight went for a BFT, but Nakamura escaped and walked away. Knight grabbed a microphone and said one way or another, he will collect what’s owed to him, which is the U.S. title. Knight then did his catchphrase to end the post-match shenanigans.
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– Apollo Crews were walking backstage and ran into Pretty Deadly. Santos Escobar showed up with Legado Del Fantasma and accused Pretty Deadly of lying to his faction. Los Garza then half-attacked Pretty Deadly before Nick Aldis showed up and broke things up. Aldis then told Pretty Deadly they needed to have a chat.
– Aldis was shown talking to Pretty Deadly after a commercial break and asked about who attacked the Street Profits. #DIY showed up and Aldis said all four wrestlers were on thin ice. #DIY told Pretty Deadly that it’s important they leave Phoenix as tag champs later tonight. Gargano then said “Yes, boy,” and the Pretty Deadly duo were excited.
Michin defeated Piper Niven [6:57]
A seven minute match that lost nearly three minutes to commercials. Add all the hours you want, WWE; some things will never change. This was fine for what it was and I don’t really have an issue with them running things back between Green and Michin. I don’t know how you top a Dumpster Match, if you go a stipulation route between the two, but maybe the booking minds have something good in mind.
Michin ran at Niven to start the match, but Niven caught her and ran Michin into a corner. Michin came back and took Niven down on the outside of the ring. Things were going well for Michin until Niven caught her and hit a sidewalk slam before the show went to a commercial break. The show returned and Michin had control after landing a Bulldog. Michin went for Eat Defeat, but Niven countered and went for a Cannonball, but Michin moved and hit one of her own. Michin saluted Chelsea Green mockingly and hit a Pele Kick on Niven for a two-count.
Michin went to the top, but Niven moved and landed a Piper Driver on Michin for a two-count. Niven set up for a Vader Bomb, but Michin got her feet up. Michin followed that up Eat Defeat and got the win.
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– Paul Heyman was shown entering the arena as the show went to break.
– A Naomi vignette aired when the program returned.
The Paul Heyman/Bloodline segment
This was a good go-home segment for the Tribal Combat match on Monday, especially if Roman was never going to show up. I also like touch that had Sikoa never get physical with Heyman. Does that mean Heyman might be in cahoots with Sikoa and his version of the Bloodline now? Probably not, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t feel like a swerve is coming one way or another on Monday. Also: Man, this show missed Paul Heyman. He makes good things great and great things can’t-miss. I don’t know why they didn’t advertise his appearance beforehand. Makes you wonder if a Reigns appearance might have been in play up until the final minutes. Then again, there is more Bloodline later on in the show.
Heyman walked into the ring and did his “Ladies and gentlemen …” thing. Heyman said he wanted to set something straight – on Monday, they will find out who is the real Tribal Chief. Heyman said Roman Reigns and Heyman trained Solo Sikoa to become the next Tribal Chief – but not right now. Heyman then recalled everything that happened at WrestleMania 40 and said Sikoa sized the moment and stole the Ula Fala from Reigns’s bag. Heyman called Sikoa a “twisted son of a b#@!.”
Heyman said Sikoa went out and found a band of filthy animals who don’t belong in pro wrestling. He said Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, who aren’t welcome in the United States and cited Jacob Fatu as someone who isn’t even welcome in the United States prison system. Heyman said on Monday, there must be a winner and there must be a loser. Heyman said the only Tribal Chief Roman Reigns will win on Monday. Heyman started to walk out of the ring and Sikoa’s music hit. Out came Sikoa, who was alone.
Sikoa stood across from Heyman in the ring and the crowd chanted “OTC!” Heyman said he was about 10 seconds away from pissing in his pants because the last time they did what they were doing, Sikoa had Heyman put through a table. Sikoa put out his hand for Heyman’s microphone and Heyman gave Sikoa the mic. “Solo sucks!” chants began. Sikoa told Phoenix, Arizona to acknowledge him and the boos broke out.
Sikoa said it was time for Heyman to come to terms with the truth. Sikoa said Heyman owes CM Punk a favor and now Sikoa was asking Heyman for a favor – to hold the Ula Fala during Monday’s Tribal Combat match. Sikoa said if Roman wins, Heyman will put the Ula Fala around Roman’s neck and Sikoa will acknowledge Roman as the Tribal Chief. However, Sikoa said when he beats Roman – and he will – Heyman will have to put the Ula Fala around Sikoa’s neck and that will mean he owns Heyman and Heyman will be Sikoa’s Wise Man forever. At that point, Sikoa said, Roman will have no choice but to finally acknowledge him.
Heyman received the microphone back from Sikoa and Heyman laid the microphone down in the mat before leaving the ring. Sikoa’s music hit to end the segment.
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#DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) fought Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) to a no-contest for the WWE Tag Team Championship [10:52]
The was perhaps the best MCMG WWE TV match thus far and the crowd responded as such. That’s promising because as I’ve been saying for the last couple weeks in this space, Shelley and Sabin simply have not been able to find a crowd to give a hoot about them when they make their SmackDown entrances. This was a step in the right direction. I don’t mind the copout finish – this was a tag title match that wasn’t even advertised ahead of time – but I say that only with the caveat that these two teams get more time somewhere down the line and can truly have an opportunity to move a live crowd, which it felt like they were about to do here. The other end of that? Please don’t make this a four-way ordeal that includes Pretty Deadly and Angel and Berto.
Ciampa and Sabin started the match. Sabin quickly gained the upper hand with an arm drag. Shelley tagged in and MCMG kicked Gargano to the outside. Sabin tagged in and MCMG landed a double clothesline on Ciampa. While running the ropes, Gargano tagged himself in and that led to Ciampa and Gargano being on the outside. Sabin leapt through Shelley’s legs and hit a suicide dive on Gargano and Ciampa. The show then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and the heels were on the offensive until Ciampa ran into a leaping kick from Sabin. Shelley received the hot tag and Gargano tagged in as well. Shelley landed a neck-breaker on Gargano for a two-count. Sabin tagged in the two hit stereo splashes on Ciampa and Gargano, who were on the outside. Back in the ring, Shelley tagged in and MCMG worked a series of double-team moves on Gargano before a pin attempt that Ciampa broke up.
Sabin and Ciampa traded strikes in the middle of the ring. Lots and lots of super-kicks were had by everyone all four wrestlers were down in the middle of the ring. Ciampa and Shelley wound up being the legal men and Ciampa chopped the hell out of Shelley. Shelley returned the favor. Sabin tagged in and MCMG landed a fury of double-team moves on Ciampa. MCMG went for Skull And Bones, but Pretty Deadly ran out and distracted MCMG. #DIY took advantage and it looked like Gargano was going to get the win after a super-kick, but Shelley kicked out at the last tenth of a second. Los Garza ran out to chase Pretty Deadly away and right as MCMG looked as though they might win, the brawl between Pretty Deadly and Los Garza spilled into the ring and that ended the match.
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– Nia Jax and Candice LeRae were talking in the locker room and Jax wondered where Tiffany Stratton was. Jax then told LeRae to make sure Bianca Belair doesn’t interfere in her match later.
– Sami Zayn was walking backstage and ran into Carmelo Hayes. Zayn talked about how Melo ran away last week and Melo said Zayn could “get this work.” Jey and Jimmy Uso showed up and asked Melo if they have a problem. Melo kind of pouted and left. Zayn walked away to get ready for the main event and the Usos ran into Kevin Owens, who told the Usos they need to watch their backs.
– Cody was walking backstage and Aldis walked up to him. Aldis said Cody seems like he’s hellbent on not making it to the Royal Rumble. Aldis pleaded with Cody to think about his future. Aldis said if Cody won’t do that, Aldis will do that for Cody. Cody said Aldis is the boss, but Cody is the champ, and because of that, he deserves the ability to call his shot. Cody said if he sees Kevin Owens or anyone who looks like Kevin Owens, he will “drop them on site.”
Nia Jax defeated Naomi to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [19:32]
Naomi started quick with a pair of kicks. Naomi went for Jax’s legs, but Jax rebounded and toyed with Naomi as a response until a drop-toe-hold took Jax down. Naomi was on the apron and Naomi kicked Jax in the head, but Jax came back with a headbutt that took Naomi to the floor. Jax posed in the ring and the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Naomi got caught only to be slammed by Jax for a two-count. Naomi tried to fight back, but Jax cut her off with a bodyslam and an elbow drop for a two-count. Jax worked a rear chin-lock and that was broken up when Jax ran Naomi into the ring post. Jax crushed Naomi’s head against the ring post and a two-count from Jax came after that. Jax lifted Naomi, but Naomi rolled into a sunset flip and a pin attempt. Jax hopped up and clotheslined Naomi.
Jax set up for her finisher, but Naomi kicked Jax’s leg and followed that up with a double-stomp and her split-leg-drop for a two-count. Jax ran at Naomi, but Naomi moved and Jax ran into the ring post. Jax found herself on the outside and Naomi landed a suicide dive before rolling Jax back into the ring. Naomi landed a series of double axe-handles. Naomi hit an enziguri and an impressive Samoan Drop for a good near-fall.
Naomi set up for a split-legged moonsault, but Jax cut Naomi off and put her in a Tree Of Woe. From there, Jax hit a leg drop from the second rope for a good near-fall. Jax set up for her finisher again, but Naomi pulled Jax off the ropes and landed a Tornado DDT for another good near-fall. Naomi planted Jax with a draping DDT for another good near-fall. The show then actually went to yet another commercial break at about the 13-minute mark of the match.
The show came back and Naomi landed a Blockbuster for a two-count. Out of nowhere, Naomi slammed Jax for a great near-fall. Belair and LeRae started brawling on the outside of the ring while Naomi went for a submission. Jax broke it and threw a tag title at Belair to break up the outside brawl. Jax went to the second rope and Naomi cut her off … until Jax countered with an attempted powerslam from the second rope, but Naomi countered that with a slam of her own.
Tiffany Stratton’s music hit and Stratton finally looked like she was going to cash in, but instead, Stratton hit Naomi in the head with her briefcase. After that help from Stratton, Jax hit her finisher on Naomi and got the win.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Nia Jax to become the new WWE Women’s Champion [0:04]
Finally. It felt like it was coming tonight, and I hoped it was coming tonight, and the crowd hoped it was coming tonight, and damn it, if they would have ended the segment with Stratton simply helping Jax retain, every single viewer on television and in the arena would have screamed about how this whole story jumped the shark … but it didn’t. I loved it. The crowd loved it. Actually, I loved everything about this, including the match between Naomi and Jax, who had another really good wrestling match before all the MITB stuff. Better yet, they were given almost 20 minutes, so for those of us not all that happy that SmackDown added an hour to its programming, the ability to give matches like this almost 20 minutes is a fruitful tradeoff. Naomi and Jax worked their asses off. If you watch one thing from this episode, it’d be this match. The Heyman promo is a strong No. 2, to boot. Really good stuff here. It’s fun when SmackDown gets fun, and that doesn’t happen as much as it used to these days. Kudos to everyone involved.
After the match, Jax tried to attack Belair and Stratton hit Jax with her briefcase to an enormous pop. Belair hit a KOD on Jax and Stratton threw Belair over the commentary table. Stratton then officially cashed in with Jax out. Stratton hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever and within four seconds, Stratton was your new WWE Women’s Champion. The crowd went nuts.
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– A vignette setting up the Bloodline match on Monday aired.
– The Bloodline was shown walking backstage and Jacob Fatu kept screaming “I love you, Solo!” Fatu said he was going to show the world what happens when the world doesn’t acknowledge the one and only Tribal Chief. Sikoa’s music hit and the trio walked to the ring for the main event with about 35 minutes left in the program.
– Byron Saxton caught up with LA Knight backstage. Knight said he was talking to Nick Aldis about why he attacked Nakamura. Knight said he returned the favor when it came to how Nakamura attacked Knight every week before their U.S. title match last year. Knight then announced that next week, he will take on Nakamura for the United States Championship.
– The Usos and Sami Zayn made their way through the concessions stands and the crowd to make their entrances for the main event.
The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga) defeated Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso & Sami Zayn [22:37]
The outcome was predictable, if only because Sikoa is the one going into a Very Important Match at WWE’s next Very Important Event. But that didn’t take anything away from the finish, which I thought was kind of clever, with Jey thinking he had the thing won and Sikoa using the Spike to get the victory. I probably could have done without the McIntyre appearance near the end, but lest we forget: Raw on Netflix is coming and he has a match with Jey Uso. Anything over 20 minutes felt like a bit too much here, especially with the extended entrance from the babyface team, and because of that, it felt like this would have probably been a better dark match, but who am I to judge. In all, a fine-enough main event (though Tiffy’s cash in would have probably made for a better moment to end the show, if we’re being honest). Three hours, eh? We’ll see.
All six men stood in the ring and brawled immediately to start the match. Sikoa and his Bloodline found themselves on the outside of the ring and the show went to a break. Back from the break, Jey worked Fatu’s arm until Tonga was tagged in. Jey and Tonga locked up and Tonga got the best of Jey at first. Jey came back by whipping Tonga into a corner and Zayn tagged in to hit a double axe-handle from the second rope on Tonga. Jimmy tagged in and kept control for the babyfaces until Sikoa interfered and whipped Jimmy’s neck across the top rope.
Sikoa tagged in and worked over Jimmy. Before long, Jimmy got the upper hand and tagged in Zayn, who fired up against Sikoa, complete with a clothesline. Zayn came off the middle rope, but Sikoa caught Zayn and hit Zayn with a Spinning Solo. The show then went to a commercial break. Back from the break, Sikoa hit a Samoan Drop on Zayn. Zayn fired back with a chop, but Sikoa came back with a chop of his own. Tonga tagged in and worked a wild ground and pound on Zayn.
Fatu tagged in and landed a hip attack on Zayn. Sikoa tagged in and headbutted Zayn. It wasn’t long before Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Sikoa, out of nowhere, and got the hot tag to Jey. Tonga tagged in as well, but Jey controlled Tonga with kicks, punches and chops. Jimmy tagged in and the Usos hit stereo enziguris. Jimmy and Jey then faced Fatu, who was clotheslined over the top rope. Jey hit a pop-up neck-breaker on Tonga for a good near-fall.
A brawl broke out on the outside of the ring while Tonga DDT’d Jey for a near-fall inside the ring. Fatu tagged in, but Jey super-kicked him and tagged in Zayn, who tagged in Jimmy. Jey, Jimmy and Sami hit hip attacks on Fatu and Zayn and Jey landed suicide dives on Tonga and Sikoa. Jimmy, inside the ring, hit an Uso Splash on Fatu for a two-count. Fatu super-kicked Jimmy and went to the top, where Fatu hit a splash and a moonsault on Jimmy, but Zayn broke up a pin attempt.
Fatu threw Zayn over the top rope and set up Jimmy for something, but Jimmy ran Fatu into a corner. Jey tagged in and Jimmy and Jey hit a double super-kick for a two-count. Drew McIntyre then walked out with no music or anything of the like. Jey was distracted before he hit a suicide dive on McIntyre. Jey went to the top, but missed a splash on Fatu. Fatu followed that up with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nice near-fall. Sikoa tagged in and Jey super-kicked Sikoa. Jey speared Fatu, but Fatu wasn’t the legal man. After Jey hit a splash and went for a pin, Sikoa returned to the ring and hit the Samoan Spike on Jey for the win.
The show ended with a rundown of the Raw on Netflix card and The Bloodline standing tall in the ring.
