Tonight’s Christmas edition of SmackDown features three title fights.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Kevin Owens in a steel cage fight on tonight’s show. Reigns held back against Owens at a game of tables, stairs and chairs on last Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view, with Jey Uso interfering throughout the game to help Reigns win.
Intercontinental champion Sami Zayn defends against Big E in a woodcutter fight. Zayn defeated Big E by count in the previous match. Big E then defeated Zayn in an eight-man fight at the TLC pre-show.
The new female doubles champions, Asuka and Charlotte Flair, will make their first title defense. They face SmackDown women’s champion Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair and Bayley & Carmella in a three-threat elimination fight. Charlotte returned to WWE TV on TLC and joined Asuka to win the Women’s Tag Team titles from Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax.
In addition, Daniel Bryan faces Jey Usage at SmackDown tonight.
Our coverage starts at 8 pm Eastern Time.
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Steel Cage Match: Universal Champion Roman Reigns (w / Paul Heyman) defeated Kevin Owens to retain the title
Reigns and Owens had a good fight in the cage. They worked hard and told a good story. It was also good to start SmackDown with a fight and not a long promotion.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves went over the rules and noted that the only way to win is by pinfall, submission or escaping the cage.
Owens and Reigns started to exchange shots when the bell rang. Reigns took charge and threw Owens to the side of the cage. He followed up with a Samoan Drop for a close fall. Owens avoided the superman’s punch and caught Reigns with a DDT.
Owens reacted and sent Reigns headfirst into the cage. He followed with a hard clothesline and a senton. Owens swung Reigns with his right hand and a cannonball in the corner.
Reigns avoided a pop-up powerbomb and almost fell. They fought on the upper tensioner, but Owens pushed Reigns onto the mat. He then hit a frog that almost fell while cutting for a commercial.
Back in the break, Reigns landed a powerful bomb for a count of two. He followed with rigid clotheslines in the corner. Owens recovered and hit a pop-up powerbomb almost falling.
Reigns regained control while fighting on the upper tensioner. He tried a superplex, but Owens reacted with a middle rope fisherman buster for a very close fall.
Reigns avoided the stunner and landed a punch from the superman for another blow close to the fall. Reigns was frustrated and threw Owens to the side of the cage. He then locked the guillotine on the ropes. Owens reacted and choked on Reigns on the top rope to break control.
Suddenly Owens hit the stunner for a very close fall as they cut to another commercial break.
Back at the break, Owens tried to escape, but Reigns cut him off. Michael Cole stated that Owens is trying to escape because he threw it all at Reigns and nothing worked.
They fought on the upper rope, exchanging shots. Owens hit a superkick while on the top rope and went on with a Swanton Bomb. Reigns knelt to contain Owens and hit the spear to almost fall.
Reigns was shocked that he had not won with the spear and began to doubt himself. Reigns tried to get out the door, but Owens grabbed his leg. Owens then slammed the door on Reigns and regained control.
Owens tried to escape, but Jey Uso ran and interrupted Owens. Owens brought down Uso, but Reigns dragged him back. Owens tried the pop-up powerbomb, but Reigns landed the superman’s punch.
Reigns hit the spear, but Owens struck back with the stunner. Owens tried to get out the door, but Uso handcuffed Owens to the cage. Owens tried to escape, but failed. Reigns realized he was in complete control and casually stepped out of the cage door to retain the title.
Cole and Graves noted that Uso helped Reigns retain the title twice in the same week.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka Segment
This was a typical segment where everyone went out and talked for a minute before being interrupted. There wasn’t much of it, and it seemed very random.
WWE women’s doubles champions Charlotte Flair and Asuka arrived in the ring. They started talking when Bayley interrupted and went to the ring. She said that they are very impressive, but she is even more impressive. Bayley noted that she is the female champion of SmackDown with the longest reign in history.
SmackDown Woman’s Champion Sasha Banks played, and she made her way to the ring. Banks asked Bayley if she would like to talk about the defending champion and raised her belt in the air.
Bianca Belair interrupted and reported her statistics. Of course, Carmella’s music hit, and she made her way to the ring. She said that everyone wants to look at her. Banks pushed Carmella and hit her in the face.
Triple Elimination Threat: WWE Female Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Asuka defeated Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair and Bayley & Carmella (w / Reginald) to retain the titles
This was a beautiful match that started at the end, when it reached the last two teams.
Bayley and Carmella quickly gained control of the match. Carmella and Asuka faced off, but Carmella stopped to make sure she looked well. Banks stood up and grabbed Carmella from the rug.
Flair and Belair came and went. They mocked each other, and both tried to kick. Bayley signed up and everyone started fighting around the ring. Banks landed a Meteora on his apron, but Carmella threw it at the barricade.
Carmella distracted Asuka and Bayley hit Bayley-to-belly almost falling when they cut for a commercial break.
Back from the break, Bayley was firmly in control, but Asuka fought and landed a missile dropkick to almost fall. The heels isolated Asuka and separated her from her corner. Carmella dropped Flair from her apron. Bayley then slowed down with a chin spanner.
Asuka broke free, but there was no one to score, so she had to score Belair. Belair ran wild and scored a fall close to falling, but Carmella made the save. Belair regained control and Banks hit Meteora at Bayley to eliminate Bayley and Carmella from the match.
Banks was briefly in control, but Flair took over. Flair crashed at number eight, but Banks refused to touch. Belair then used her hair to help pull Banks to make the label. Belair then hit a lunar spring jump to almost fall.
Flair then applied the four-leg lock on Belair, but Banks hit Meteora for the rescue. Banks was pulled out of his apron and fell on Reginald next to the ring. Bayley and Carmella interfered after being eliminated.
Belair was firmly in control, but Flair hit the Natural Selection in Belair for the win.
Backstage, The Street Profits talked about the return of Charlotte Flair and ran down the line-up. They heard Sami Zayn trying to find out who authorized the woodcutter’s departure. Zayn yelled at Street Profits and told them to leave.
Zayn changed his mind when Street Profits said he had a gift for him. They pulled out a shirt that said, “I was an intercontinental champion.” Zayn fake laughed, but went away furious.
Daniel Bryan defeated Jey Usage
Bryan and Uso combined well and told a good story. Uso dominated the first part of the match, but Bryan struggled to win.
Daniel Bryan went down to the ring. Suddenly, Jey Uso jumped Bryan from behind and gave him a violent beating.
Back from the break, Bryan ignored the referees and agreed to continue the game. Usage was firmly in control while hitting Bryan around the ring. He followed with hard blows in the corner.
Bryan made a brief comeback, but Uso hit the Samoan Drop to almost fall. Usage tried a splash, but Bryan got out of the way. Bryan gained control for a brief period, but missed a dropkick running in the corner.
Bryan struggled and put Uso on the ground as a backdrop, which hurt his ankle in the fall. Bryan attempted a suicide dive, but Uso moved and Bryan crashed into the advertisers’ table.
They fought on the upper tensioner, but Bryan took over and hit a back suplex as they moved on to the commercial.
Back from the commercial, Bryan struck back and hit Sim kicks in the middle of the ring. Bryan fell from his knee running, but Uso hit with two superkicks. Usage followed with the splash, but it hurt the injured leg on landing.
Usage went to the splash again, but Bryan raised his knees. Bryan applied the Lebell lock and made the transition to the crab half on Usage’s bad leg. Usus fought and hit Bryan with a header.
The submission came when Bryan avoided a superkick and hit the knee for victory.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Daniel Bryan. She asked what’s coming, as her rivalry with Jey Uso was left behind. Bryan noted that he never won the Royal Rumble in his entire career. He announced that he is entering the 2021 Royal Rumble match.
Sami Zayn came over and was furious. He blamed Bryan for having to defend the title and knows he had something to do with it. Bryan scoffed at Zayn and noticed that Santa Claus didn’t give him a PS5.
Lumberjack: Big E defeated Sami Zayn to win the Intercontinental Championship
They recap the Sami Awards and the Big E winner of the year. The woodcutters then went to the ring for the match.
Zayn and Big E combined well and both worked hard.
Big E had the lead, but Zayn took over when he hit the corner. Big E fell to the ground, and the heel woodcutters knocked Big E. The face woodcutters all just watched from the other side.
The heel woodcutters jumped Big E again and threw him back into the ring. Zayn scored a fall close to falling, but Big E fought back. Big E lost the splash on his apron, and King Corbin and the Lone Wolf Knights attacked him.
The face lumberjacks did nothing to help Big E when the jumps knocked him down. Zayn then took a huge dip in Big E.
Back from the break, Zayn threw his shirt on Big E and charged him. Big E caught Zayn and hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Zayn fought and tried the infernal kick, but Big E hit the Uranage.
Big E prepared for Big Ending, but Zayn ran out of the ring. The guy’s woodcutters threw Zayn back, but Zayn poked Big E in the eye and rolled him over to almost fall.
Zayn climbed the top rope, but Big E cut it off. They fought on the rope, but Zayn hit a powerbomb at sunset for a close fall. Big E avoided the infernal kick and hit the spear in the apron.
The woodcutters threw Big E back into the ring. All the woodcutters started to fight, so Zayn tried to escape. Apollo Crews noticed and ran to the ramp and approached Zayn.
Street Profits prompted the woodcutters to immediately grab Zayn and carry him back to the ring. Big E ran wild and hit Zayn. Big E then hit Big Ending to win the Intercotinteal title on Christmas Day.
Big E celebrated and shook Corey Graves’ hand next to the ring. He also celebrated with the faces in the ring while a downed Zayn watched from the ring. The faces lifted the Big E over their shoulders as confetti fell from the ceiling. They pushed that into a big win and a turning point in Big E’s career.