After losing to Roman Reigns at TLC and again in a steel cage fight on Christmas night, Kevin Owens is not ready to abandon his quest for the universal champion. This was made clear in the Friday edition of SmackDown, with Owens again complaining about Reigns for his cowardice when he needed his cousin, Jey Uso, to help him win victories in his previous fights.
Owens would fulfill his wish and face Use in the main fight of the night, winning before continuing the post-fight assault. As always in his rivalry with Reigns, however, the numbers game would return to bite Owens and he would finish another edition of the defeated and eliminated SmackDown.
Reigns, Usage cheated Owens again
Roman Reigns opened the show with a promo in the ring, talking about how everything he plays now turns to gold, highlighting Paul Heyman and Jey Uso as proof of that. Reigns said he saved Heyman from being rejected by the WWE while elevating Uso to the best year of his career and a position as a true talent in the main event. Kevin Owens then interrupted while Reigns objected, saying that nobody cares what Owens has to say after losing to him twice. Owens said his appearance on the show proves that Reigns and Uso failed in his attempts to destroy him. Owens said he wanted nothing to do with Reigns tonight, but he wanted Uso in the ring and would demand that it happen later in the show. Owens made a passionate plea to Adam Pearce to make the wedding, with Pearce agreeing after initial hesitation. Reigns would demand that Heyman find out who disrespected him enough to allow the marriage to take place.
Kevin Owens def. Jey Use via pinfall after a stunner. The fight was a fight since the jump, but Owens ended up taking control and kept his attack focused on Uso’s leg. Owens would end up with Uso after a surprise victory before turning to the camera and asking: “Where are you, Roman? ” He then started beating Uso, as he had promised earlier in the evening, attacking him and hitting a second Stunner. Owens handcuffed Use to the ropes before hitting him with a superkick, while continuing to call Reigns to show some pride and save his family. Owens took Uso to the driveway and was about to put Uso on a table when Reigns attacked. Uso and Reigns then worked on Owens with a pair of steel chairs and threw him from the ThunderDome LED panel area through the tables below to end the show.
While everyone involved continues to do a good job, there needs to be something different in the story at some point. Owens continually putting himself in positions where he is outnumbered and takes an obvious beating is doing nothing to promote the story. Yes, Reigns needs use to help him, and yes, Owens is trying to make it clear that Reigns is being a coward because of that. But Owens saying that and then falling into the same traps every week does not develop the story, nor does it make him seem particularly smart. Still, the content was solid if considered in isolation. Serie B
What else happened at WWE SmackDown?
Big E def. King Corbin by disqualification after interference from Sami Zayn. Zayn was in the comments and ran to break the immobilization after Big E hit the Big Ending in Corbin. Corbin’s Lone Wolf Knights also ran, attacking Big E until Apollo Crews ran to make the defense. This, of course, led to immediate tag matching.
Big E & Apollo Crews won. Sami Zayn and King Corbin via pinfall after Crews hit Zayn with a powerbomb. Zayn almost hit Corbin with a Helluva Kick after Crews got out of the way. After the ensuing discussion between teammates, Corbin left Zayn alone and Crews quickly hit a powerbomb to win. Later in the show, Big E said he would launch an open challenge for the intercontinental title next week, which Crews accepted.
The Riott Squad def. Tamina and Natalya via pinfall when Liv Morgan defeated Tamina with a roll-up. Billie Kay should have been fighting, but after she entered and was supported by Tamina, she was put aside in favor of Natalya. Kay tried to manage the team instead. When the momentum changed, Kay ran to manage the Riott Squad. She continued to switch sides until her involvement distracted Tamina and allowed Morgan to win Tamina for the win.
Carmella & Bayley def. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks via pinfall after Carmella hit Banks with a facebuster. Banks had Carmella blocked in the Banks Statement, but Reginald stepped in to pull Carmella out of the ring. This created a distraction that allowed Carmella to defeat Banks for victory.
Sonya Deville made her comeback after losing a Loser Leaves WWE fight at SummerSlam. Deville was announced as having been reinstated and was shown walking behind the scenes.
The Street Profits hosted a Smoke-Tacular on New Year’s Day. While they offered predictions for 2021, mocking names like Sami Zayn, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, Roode and Ziggler ran and attacked the SmackDown champions, including brutally attacking Montez Ford’s leg with a steel chair.
Daniel Bryan & Otis won. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura by shipment when Bryan put Nakamura in the LeBell block. Cesaro and Nakamura scoffed at Bryan, Otis and Chad Gable while they were training for the Royal Rumble in the early evening, leading to the fight. After a few shuttles, Bryan took Nakamura to finish.