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Credit: WWE.com
It’s the last show before the WWE Royal Rumble, and you know what that means. Friday Night SmackDown promised to increase the excitement to a feverish level just two days before one of the biggest nights of the year. This January 29 edition of the blue mark was certainly unpredictable.
Only one match was promised before the night, while Bianca Belair tried to avenge her defeat for Bayley. After all that The Role Model put her through, this was EST’s opportunity for a welcome revenge.
Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens didn’t want to wait until Sunday to start the small talk. SmackDown promised a war of words where KO and the head of the table could speak their final piece before an epic Last Man Standing fight.
That was far from everything SmackDown would give fans a few days before Rumble. However, the blue mark was keeping everything a secret. Could Raw’s stars invade SmackDown to make a statement? Would the new stars win a spot in men’s or women’s Rumble matches? Everyone wanted to create momentum.
The January 29th edition of SmackDown seemed like a monumental occasion and a chance for WWE to really bring the absolute best to the table before the night that will start setting the way for WrestleMania.
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Daniel Bryan opened the show to talk about what it meant for him to win the men’s Royal Rumble. He wanted to change his life once again at the WrestleMania main event one last time. He wasn’t sure how many WrestleMania moments he still had.
He put Chad Gable and Otis with Alpha Academy to get him in shape for a long, difficult climb to the top. AJ Styles interrupted as part of the quarterly Invitational Brand-to-Brand, preparing a challenge from the Champion of the Planet for the end of the night.
Styles pushed Bryan onto the carpet and Omos got in the way of the champion of the planet in search of revenge. Bryan shouted at Styles for getting behind the big man too often.
Degree
B-
Analyze
Bryan is one of the best in the world, but his weekly promotions are getting tiring. He continues to play the hype man for the Royal Rumble, spending a lot of time explaining how the game works. It will be better for him to go through the WWE Royal Rumble.
The quarterly Invitational Brand-to-Brand is a silly technical detail that WWE likes to use at random times. However, bringing The Phenomenal One to SmackDown just before the Royal Rumble was a smart way to publicize the event.
Styles vs. Bryan is a guaranteed fantastic match for great talents. Both men are considered the best fighters in the world and, each time they enter the ring, they steal the show.
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Credit: WWE.com
After a video package was released to the obstacle course last week, Bayley explained to Kayla Braxton in a pre-match interview why she was simply better than EST and would win the women’s Royal Rumble.
The Role Model took over at the beginning, beating EST. Bayley made a mistake by provoking Belair with his braid, motivating EST to become physical. She landed a series of punches followed by an impressive lunar jump for a near fall.
Bayley tried to take advantage of Belair’s injured left elbow last week, preventing her from hitting a Glam Slam. However, EST struggled with everything it had, knocking out crazy Bayley with his right hand followed by KOD for victory.
Then, at the top of the ramp, Braxton asked Belair how much that victory meant to her, and The EST put Bayley on while The Role Model looked at her from inside the ring.
Result
Belair def. Bayley by pinfall.
Degree
B +
Analyze
Bayley was the perfect challenger to introduce Belair to the SmackDown audience. Each segment shows more and more why EST is not only the future of WWE, but good enough to challenge the absolute best right now. This match was no different.
While Belair can only count on her athletic ability to shine, she has a complete game in the ring, changing her style to tell a complete story. It just needs time. She and Bayley succeeded in a very good opening contest. This was completely different from your first fight.
The main mistake WWE made was the post-game interview. Belair can do a promo, but she was exhausted after a long fight. She shouldn’t have to put words together when her actions spoke for themselves.
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Dominik Mysterio attacked King Corbin from behind, while the King headed for the ring. This only seemed to irritate Corbin, who emphatically took over as soon as the match started. He defeated Dominik physically with his right hand while Rey Mysterio watched in the comments.
Rey’s son tried everything he could to stay in action, reversing The King’s dangerous attempts to hurt him. The two men went to the steel pole and Dominik managed to reverse an End of Days attempt on an inclined DDT. However, that failed to win, and the second attempt by End of Days connected to win.
After that, Corbin tried to attack Rey too, but the Master of 619 sent him to the steel post outside.
Result
Corbin def. Dominik by pinfall.
Degree
C +
Analyze
Corbin against the Mysterios was hardly an interesting rivalry. After Rey and Dominik disappeared from television, the story stopped and their return made Dominik look like a rookie again, instead of the young prodigy he seemed to be against Seth Rollins.
Dominik has decent chemistry with the King, but each defeat cuts off the little momentum Dominik already had. He is back to playing a second violin for his father. The clear focus is to build another match between Corbin and Rey.
Ideally, this rivalry will end next month. However, with The Lone Wolf Knights off TV recently, as well as Murphy, WWE will likely complicate things again soon with the return of these stars.
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After Kalisto had a chat with Sasha Banks, The Boss found Reginald, who gave her the “perfect wine to match the defeat” of the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Banks left the bottle of wine with the sommelier to return to Carmella.
WWE showed a video package with the entire story of Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. Michael Cole conducted a final interview between the head of the table and KO. Owens explained that he would never stop getting up on Sunday until he won.
Paul Heyman initially refused to let Reigns waste his KO words, but the head of the table heard Owens talking for a long time. He blamed Owens’ father for raising him the wrong way to believe that he could beat a better man. He called him and his whole family fools.
With each painful word, Owens lost his temper more and more, calling him a fake mafia boss. Reigns turned off the camera on his side of the interview while KO shouted at the screen with fire. Owens seemed ready to find Reigns and start the fight early.
Degree
A +
Analyze
WWE announced the KO and Reigns interview as the biggest moment of the night, and it was. Reigns found a way under Owens’ skin and explored it. However, at the same time, KO clearly frustrated his rival by never losing his confidence.
The Head of the Bureau calls himself a family man, while KO is proud to be the best family man. This interview clearly defined the dynamic between these two that made this story so special. Without being able to defeat Reigns, KO has just made the WWE universal champion better.
This combination may be the best on the entire card. Even if not, these two men will tell a special story together, as they have all the way to reach the WWE Royal Rumble.
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The Miz and John Morrison had a fight with Big E behind the scenes about who would make the biggest impact in the men’s fight Royal Rumble. Sami Zayn tried to recruit Shinsuke Nakamura, but The Artist dismissed him completely.
AJ Styles told Omos to stay on defense for this fight, wanting to prove that he can beat the champion of the planet. Cesaro gathered comments to explain why he has more momentum than any of the men in the ring.
After an impressive series to start the fight, Bryan won and was interrupted by Sami Zayn. The distraction allowed The Phenomenal to drop the Champion of the Planet from the upper rope and drop it to the ground.
The master strategist refused to stay out of the show and be silenced, so he spoke for comments with his camera crew. In the ring, Bryan struggled out of the ring, trapped in Calf Crusher until he reached the bottom rope.
Bryan changed his weight to plant a suplex butterfly in Styles that transitioned to Yes Lock until Phenomenal One hit the strings. Big E arrived and put the outfit on The Master Strategist, starting a fight between everyone.
Zayn attacked Bryan to cause a disqualification, so the jumps hit the faces until Shinsuke Nakamura equaled the odds. Cesaro and Nakamura almost came into conflict, but Zayn got involved and threw it away.
Result
Bryan def. Disqualification styles.
Degree
B +
Analyze
While the cheap end was expected and prevented this game from becoming truly special, Bryan vs. Styles was fantastic again. The two had a great technical showcase amid the chaos next to the ring, reminding everyone that they still have many more excellent matches stored together.
The two had plenty of time to fight the rest of the hour, so something was always going to happen. With Rumble Sunday, this was the time to build a variety of challengers. Bryan and Styles may be more likely to win than most in the match, but WWE needs to build a variety of options.
The six-man duo’s fight was just a promise of more action and a story that seems more appropriate as the main event of the Royal Rumble.
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Daniel Bryan was the first victim of the jump after Sami Zayn took the champion of the planet with a chop block. After an emphatic missile dropkick, Bryan finally managed to rest his knee, giving Big E an impressive hot tag that could not be stopped even after a European uppercut from Cesaro.
The Miz and John Morrison arrived to defeat Shinsuke Nakamura in the ring, then formed a team at Big E, forcing the referee to request another disqualification. Otis arrived, seeing an opportunity to finally take revenge on The A-Lister and The Shaman of Sexy. He cleaned both out of the ring.
The match was restarted as a five against four handicap by Sonya Deville. Once again, the jumps isolated Bryan, who competed for more than 30 minutes in the various restarted matches. It looked like the jumps had won the fight after removing the other faces, but Sheamus evened the odds.
Everyone hit the impressive attack in a chaotic scene that left Zayn fighting a new Celtic warrior. Sheamus planted it with a Kick Brogue to win. Braun Strowman arrived and defeated everyone, hitting a Powerlam running in Cesaro to end the night.
Result
Big E, Bryan and Nakamura def. Cesaro, Styles and Zayn by disqualification; Sheamus, Big E, Bryan, Nakamura and Otis def. Cesaro, Styles, Zayn, Miz and Morrison for pinfall.
Degree
Ç
Analyze
The positive in the original six-player game was seeing more incredible action. Cesaro and Nakamura gave a preview of the great match that they may have together soon. Bryan and Zayn went back to basics with a fun sequence. Big E has to look like a monster with its hot tag.
It was just an awkward transition to a bigger unnecessary match because Miz and Morrison had to get involved. All the wrestling here was memorable and everyone had a small chance to stand out. It was too much chaos to enjoy.
Strowman ended the night as the big late addition to the men’s Royal Rumble fight, but everyone knew he would be in the contest without an official word. Although The monster among men should be seen as a favorite, this moment may have strengthened him too much to really pull him.