WWE SmackDown live results: Randy Orton and Logan Paul appear

Six days after returning to the ring at Survivor Series, Randy Orton will appear on tonight’s SmackDown from the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Though Orton was sidelined for about 18 months due to a back injury, he returned at Survivor Series as part of a team with Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn & Seth Rollins. They defeated The Judgment Day & Drew McIntyre in WarGames.

SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis invited Orton to tonight’s show after Orton appeared on Monday’s edition of Raw. Orton stated on Raw that he has unfinished business with The Bloodline.

Also tonight, Logan Paul returns to WWE TV for the first time since defeating Rey Mysterio for the United States title at Crown Jewel. 

Kevin Owens is set to square off against Grayson Waller in one-on-one action. Owens teamed with LA Knight to defeat Waller & Austin Theory on last Friday’s SmackDown. 

Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– Kevin Patrick welcomed everyone into the show and he was on the commentary team with Corey Graves and Michael Cole. Bianca Belair made her entrance and a video package chronicling the women’s War Games match from last Saturday aired. 

The Bianca Belair segment

This was pretty paint-by-numbers – WWE opening a show with a promo, a brawl happening and many entrances commencing. Nothing was particularly interesting and nobody sounded profound. But it did set the table for more between the women who competed in Saturday’s War Games match. Bayley’s absence was the only noteworthy element, but I suspect we’ll hear answers about that as the show continues. 

The crowd chanted “EST” and Belair was happy about that. Belair said she it was great to be in Brooklyn. Belair said she and her team did “exactly what needed to be done” at War Games. Belair shouted out Becky Lynch, Shotzi and Charlotte. Belair said that while the win felt good, her war with Damage CTRL still isn’t over because she wants her title back from IYO SKY. From there, SKY’s music hit and Damage CTRL, sans Bayley, walked out. 

Dakota Kai had a microphone and said it was great how Belair could get everyone to cheer for her. Kai told the crowd to shut up. Kai said SKY said earlier today that Brooklyn smells. Kai followed that up by saying SKY said Belair is already in over her head. Kai said if Belair wants another title shot, she’s going to have to go through all of Damage CTRL. Belair said they could all come and get it and from there, Charlotte’s music hit. Charlotte and Shotzi walked down the entrance way. 

Charlotte said Belair isn’t the only woman coming for Damage CTRL. Shotzi said it seemed to her like there was enough Damage CTRL to go around and all the women brawled in the ring. The babyfaces got the better of the interaction, complete with Belair slamming SKY. Belair’s music hit to end the segment and the heels retreated up the entrance way. 

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– Damage CTRL were shown walking backstage and they ran into Bayley. Kairi Sane vs. Bianca Belair was made for later. Bayley wondered why they didn’t tell her they were going to the ring. Kai said not to worry about that because they need Bayley to help Sane prepare for Belair. 

Bobby Lashley defeated Butch [8:06]

Brooklyn sure does love them some Bobby Lashley. You would have thought CM Punk was walking through the curtain with the way they popped for Lashley getting the win. The match itself was fine and they gave Butch a couple nice hope spots, though it was nothing that truly had anyone buying into the idea that he might pull out a win. The Curious Case of Butch/Pete Dunne continues. He was a badass in NXT/NXT UK and you can’t say it’s necessarily a bad thing to bring him into the main roster mix alongside Sheamus and Ridge Holland. But now that Holland and Sheamus aren’t out there with him, he kind of feels like he’s on an island. Anyway, good work from both guys here and if Bobby Lashley wanted to run for mayor of Brooklyn, he’d win in a landslide. 

Before the match started, Lashley took a microphone and was drowned out by “Bobby” chants. Lashley told Butch not to try and make a name for himself through Lashley. Butch slapped the hell out of Lashley and the match began. Butch jumpstarted the match and leapt onto Lashley, but Lashley threw Butch off him. Lashley whipped Butch into a corner. The crowd chanted “Let’s go Bobby!” Butch eventually cut Lashley off and dropkicked Lashley to the outside. While Lashley was outside the ring, Butch landed a moonsault from the second rope to take the show to a commercial break. 

Back from the break, Lashley had control again inside the ring. Lashley held Butch in a vertical suplex, but Butch fought out … until Lashley met Butch with a high slam. Lashley threw Butch to the outside. Lashley rammed Butch into a ring post. Back in the ring, Lashley went for a spear, but Butch moved and Lashley ran into a ring post. Butch fired up and hit a double stomp onto Lashley’s arm. Butch then landed a Blockbuster. Ultimately, Lashley stopped Butch’s momentum and got in a powerslam for a good near-fall. Lashley yelled at Butch to stay down and after Butch slapped Lashley, Lashley eventually hit a wild spear to get the win.

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– Nick Aldis was shown in his office. Paul Heyman walked in and asked Aldis if he invited Randy Orton to SmackDown. Aldis said he did because he wants to sign Orton to a SmackDown contract tonight. Heyman asked if Roman Reigns knew about it and Aldis said their interaction currently meant Reigns would know. Aldis then asked Heyman what he’d do about it it if he ends up signing Orton. Heyman said, “Anything it takes.”

– Butch was shown walking backstage and Kayla Braxton showed up to ask Butch while Ridge Holland walked out on him last week. Butch said he didn’t know and he didn’t care because he was there to fight. Pretty Deadly walked into the frame and told Butch to not be sad. They said Butch’s career is a dead end and Butch attacked both guys … until they threw Butch into a road case and Butch was left lying. 

– Santos Escobar was backstage and Cathy Kelley interviewed him. Escobar said he’s only finishing what Rey Mysterio started. Escobar said Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro are still blinded by Mysterio. Escobar said he’s going to put Wilde on the shelf “right now,” so to the ring, Escobar went for a match.

Santos Escobar defeated Joaquin Wilde [4:02]

A longer-than-it-needed-to-be squash for Escobar. I understand giving your friend some time to shine, and we all know Wilde and Escobar have been up and down the WWE roads together for years, but as Escobar continues to gain momentum as a heel, this should have been shorter (when was the last time you saw Wilde wrestle as a singles competitor on WWE TV in a meaningful way? It wasn’t yesterday and it wasn’t the day before that, either). I like keeping Escobar and Dragon Lee together coming out of Survivor Series because I think they could put together a series of very good to great matches, so the post-match stuff was a welcome development. This match, though? It was just kind of there.

Wilde started the match quickly with a dropkick. Wilde followed that up with an elbow and Escobar rolled to the outside, where Wilde landed a springboard splash. Wilde rolled Escobar back into the ring, but Escobar rolled out of it again and from there, Wilde landed another impressive splash. Back in the ring, Escobar cut Wilde off and draped Wilde from the top turnbuckle. Escobar then hit a running dropkick and pounded on Wilde before ripping off Wilde’s LWO shirt. 

Escobar worked Wilde’s arm, but Wilde kneed his way out of it. Wilde got in some punches and then ultimately a dropkick to Escobar’s knee. Wilde followed that with a running knee to Escobar’s head. Wilde then landed a pretty rolling DDT for a two-count. Wilde ran at Escobar, but Escobar countered with a super-kick. Escobar then hit a Phantom Driver for the win. 

After the match, Escobar pounded on Wilde until Dragon Lee’s music hit and Lee ran into the ring to run Escobar off. It looked like Escobar left, but Escobar appeared again and attacked Lee, until Lee fought Escobar off with a series of kicks. Lee hit a running dropkick and Lee’s music hit to end the segment. 

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– Nick Aldis was shown backstage and Logan Paul walked over to shake Aldis’s hand. The show went to a commercial break.

– Aldis was shown in his office again and Adam Pearce came into the room. Pearce asked Aldis if he was really going to try and sign Orton. Aldis said he was going to do that. Pearce said he had a contract for Raw, too, and Pearce will try to sign Orton to Raw tonight as well. 

The Logan Paul segment

There are far too many tournaments in professional wrestling these days (we can probably thank AEW for that), but I actually kind of like this idea because it’s not common for WWE and this so clearly plays into at least a couple ongoing storylines on SmackDown. Paul was crazy, entertaining, obnoxious and an anchor – everything he should be in a WWE promo. Combine that with Owens’s always-solid work and this was a lot of fun. Because they leaned so heavily into the idea that Owens will win the tournament and face Paul, I’m inclined to think that’s not where we’re going, but that could be a very entertaining match. We’ll see.

Paul started by saying “To every friend who stabbed him in the back and prayed on his downfall … where are you now?” Paul said the more people hope he fails, the harder he works. Paul said the harder he works, the more he wins. Paul shouted like the Tasmanian Devil and it was kind of funny, which probably wasn’t the desired effect. The crowd booed him. Paul said a champion is only as good as his challengers and he couldn’t give Mysterio a rematch because Mysterio is injured. Paul said he and Aldis created a tournament to name his next challenger. The tournament will feature eight superstars. Among those involved will be Austin Theory, Dragon Lee, Grayson Waller, Kevin Owens, Santos Escobar, Karrion Kross and an NXT superstar. Owens’s music then hit and Owens walked to the ring. 

Owens soaked in some cheers as he stood in the ring. Owens called Paul being there a nightmare. Owens said the first time he saw Paul was 10 years ago on the app Vine and it took him six seconds to know Paul was a jackass. Owens then called Prime a “crap drink.” Owens told Paul that the nightmare is about to end because he’s in the tournament. Paul said he had been in the ring with the greatest boxer in the world and six seconds is more than he needs to KO Kevin Owens. Owens said Paul was clever. Owens said boxing is another world and the WWE ring is Owens’s world. Owens stepped to Paul, but Waller’s music hit and Waller came out with Theory. 

Theory said they were standing in a ring with Paul, who knocks people out. Theory was mouthing off and Owens punched Theory out … again. Owens stepped to Paul and Owens’s music hit as the two stared each other down as the segment ended. 

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Kevin Owens defeated Grayson Waller [10:52]

Grayson Waller really should send Kevin Owens a Christmas card because the amount he’s gained during these interactions over the last several weeks has done wonders for his main roster on-screen presence. Yes, he isn’t getting many wins, but he’s having good matches with one of WWE’s best. This was no exception and the story about Owens’s hand/arm was worked very well here – to the point where I wonder if they’ll carry it over to their next interaction (or, at the very least, Owens’s run in the tournament to crown a challenger for Paul). Paul was kind of a hoot on commentary here, too, even if he was subdued. His one-liners were on par with some of the great heel commentators. It might be nice if he had a bit of personality behind them … but, you know. We take what we can get.

Logan Paul sat in on commentary. Owens had control early and the action spilled outside. When they got back into the ring, Waller had the upper hand for a minute or three. Waller laid in some blows and hit an elbow drop from the second rope for a two-count. Waller went for a suplex, but Owens countered into a vertical suplex of his own. Owens went for a cannonball, but he stopped running when Waller rolled to the outside. Waller slammed Owens onto the commentary table, but Owens came back with a clothesline and a frog splash onto Waller from the apron onto the ringside floor. 

Owens fired up the crowd, but Waller ran Owens into the ring post. Theory stomped on Owens’s hand while it was on the ring steps and from there, Waller worked on Owens’s hand. The show then went to commercial break. Back from break, Waller was still working on Owens’s hand and arm. Waller went for his rolling DDT, but Owens countered into a DDT of his own. Owens hit a headbutt and some chops. Owens then landed a cannonball and went to the top to follow up with a Swanton for a nice near-fall. Logan Paul called Owens “Otis on a diet,” which was funny. Paul slowed things down by going back to Owens’s hand/arm. Owens made it to the ropes for a break, but Waller went to kick Owens’s hand. Still, Owens moved and rolled Waller up for the win.

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– A video looking at CM Punk’s return aired and Punk will be on next week’s SmackDown. Bianca Belair made her entrance for the next match.Damage CTRL were shown backstage and Bayley was a little removed from the group. IYO SKY told Bayley to stay behind and the faction made their way to the ring. 

Bianca Belair defeated Kairi Sane [10:26]

While you can probably say it’s predictable, I tend to like the story they are telling between Bayley and the rest of Damage CTRL. You can’t say she’s messing things up. Sane’s loss here wasn’t her fault; Bayley did all she could to help, just like she did at War Games, and it just wasn’t enough. The sympathy Bayley will ultimately receive as a result of all this kind of stuff will be worth the wait. As for the match, it was good, but clunky at moments. Both women are very good in-ring workers, but they didn’t click at times here and it showed, sadly. One of those Belair slams towards the end of the thing felt like a good, old-fashioned, “OK, let’s settle down and get the rest of this right” moment. They recovered well enough. One down for Belair. Who’s her next victim on the inevitable way to a SKY rematch?

Sane kicked Belair in the butt early on, but Belair responded with a shoulder-block. Sane went for a head-scissors takedown, but Belair flipped through it. Belair lifted Sane, but Sane punched out of it and engaged in a tug-of-war with Belair’s braid. Belair went to run the ropes, but Asuka tripped Belair and Sane took control. Sane then ran the ropes and Charlotte tripped Sane. The referee saw that, though, and the ref ejected Charlotte and Shotzi from ringside. Asuka tried to get in the ring and the referee saw that, too, so he ejected all of Damage CTRL from ringside, too. The show then went to a commercial break as the match went one-on-one. 

Back from the commercial break, Sane worked a twisted Boston Crab before running Belair into a ring post. Before long, Belair rolled Sane out of a submission attempt. Belair fired up and slammed Sane repeatedly. Belair threw Sane across the ring and did the punches-in-a-corner spot. Belair followed that up with a springboard standing moonsault for a near-fall. Sane ran at Belair, but Belair caught her and dropped her awkwardly for a two-count. 

Sane got up and hit a spinning back fist. Sane went to the top and landed an elbow for a two-count. Sane went for another back fist, but Belair cut her off and went for Jaded, but Sane rolled Belair to the outside. As a result, Belair hit Jaded on Sane, draping Sane over the guardrail on the outside. Belair tried to get back in the ring, but Bayley showed up and cut off Belair. Bayley was pumped and Sane went to the top, but Belair stopped Sane and hit the KOD for the win.

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– Next week, Lashley will face Kross and Lee will face Escobar in matches for the U.S. title tournament. Asuka will wrestle Charlotte as well. Plus, as we already mentioned, CM Punk will appear. The show will be the company’s Tribute To The Troops. 

The Randy Orton segment

And the plot thickens. Orton being on SmackDown sets up a ton of stuff and at least keeps the Bloodline in an interesting position moving forward (yes, that entire thing had been in question in recent months as the faction’s story has been both sparse and spinning wheels). Giving Aldis an RKO was a nice touch, and the Brooklyn crowd more than held up its end of the equation not just here, but all night, really. Good stuff. Randy looks great. Roman has a reason to show his face again. And LA Knight is still over. Why complain?

Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce stood in the ring. Aldis announced Orton and Orton made his entrance. The crowd chanted Orton’s name and Orton played into it, hopping onto the second rope to get them fired up more. Orton took off his vest and threw it as they chanted “RKO!” Pearce started to talk and Aldis interrupted him and the two GMs kept interrupting each other. Pearce offered Orton a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Aldis said he could offer Orton “the guys who took you out.” On cue, Paul Heyman said “Ladies and gentlemen,” into a microphone. Heyman walked out with no music and said his name is Paul … yeah, you get it. 

Heyman said, “Look who’s back.” Heyman said Orton came home to look for revenge, but Heyman said there will be no RKOs this evening and there will be no decision made by Orton because the Bloodline is going to make the decision for Orton. Solo Sikoa’s music hit and Sikoa, along with Jimmy Uso, made their respective ways to the ring. Uso and Sikoa put the boots to Orton. LA Knight’s music hit and the crowd went nuts. Knight ran into the ring and took down both Bloodline members … until Sikoa pulled Knight outside and those two fought to the back. Inside the ring, Orton threw Jimmy to the apron and hit the draping DDT on him. Orton landed an RKO on Uso and Heyman looked on, angry. 

The crowd chanted “Randy!” Orton asked for both contracts and picked up a microphone. Heyman said, “Go to Raw! You’re safe on Raw!” Orton threw the Raw contract away and signed the SmackDown contract instead. Orton threw the contract down on Uso, who was laid out in the middle of the ring. Orton had a microphone and said, “Hey, Paul. You can call Roman Reigns. And you can tell him, Daddy’s back.” Orton’s music hit and Orton jawed at Heyman. Aldis entered the ring to raise Orton’s hand and Orton RKO’d Aldis in a fun twist. Orton then posed on the second rope to end the show.