WWE SmackDown live results: Royal Rumble go-home show
On the eve of the Royal Rumble, SmackDown takes place from Miami tonight.
A singles match between LA Knight and Solo Sikoa is part of the lineup for the episode. At the Royal Rumble, Knight, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles are challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWEUniversal Championship in a fatal four-way match.
Santos Escobar will go head-to-head with Carlito tonight as well. Carlito was out of action recently due to an attack from Escobar.
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles against The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane). Chance & Carter retained their titles against Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn last week.
Also, in a rematch from two weeks ago, Austin Theory will step in the ring with Carmelo Hayes. There will also be a face-to-face confrontation between The Street Profits & Bobby Lashley and The Final Testament.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show. The Kabuki Warriors and Katana Chance & Kayden Carter were shown walking backstage. We then got a video recapping last week’s main event.
– Eladio Carrion made his entrance. With a microphone inside the ring, Carrion welcomed everyone into SmackDown. Carrion then introduced Randy Orton.
The Randy Orton segment
This was pretty basic, but essential to try and get some final heat on the four-way at the Rumble. Styles kicking Orton was mildly surprising, and it didn’t really pack a punch, but it was a nice way to get out of the segment. Knight showed good fire here – more than he has in a while on WWE TV – but while that stood out, there wasn’t much to say about any of this.
Orton said he bet nobody thought he was friends with Carrion. Orton said he was there to talk about the Bloodline. Orton said the Bloodline has been on a hell of a run and mentioned how Roman Reigns has been holding his title for almost 1,300 days. Orton said that’s unheard of and nobody can stop the Bloodline … except for him. Orton said the only number after Saturday night that will matter is “15,” because Orton will be a 15-time world champion after he beats Reigns. The crowd chanted “Randy!” Orton said he is going to win courtesy of the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment, “RKO.”
AJ Styles’ music then hit and Styles walked out. Styles asked Orton if he was looking past AJ Styles. AJ said he asked Nick Aldis if he could have a match with Solo Sikoa and instead, Aldis gave the match to LA Knight. Styles walked into the ring and told Orton that Orton should know better. Styles reminded Orton of their history together and Styles said Orton has a receipt coming. Styles said he will step over Orton, Reigns and Knight. On cue, Knight’s music hit and Knight came out.
Knight had a microphone and said “Let me talk to ya!” from the walkaway. Knight talked about how Styles has been “crying” ever since be came back to WWE. Knight noted how he didn’t really want to fight Sikoa later. Knight said Paul Heyman lobbied to have Knight wrestle tonight to soften him up for the Rumble. Knight said he’s not going to complain. Knight said he was going to walk over everyone at the Rumble to become the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion. Knight said “Yeah!” and threw the microphone down. Knight left the ring and Styles Pele Kicked Orton to end the segment.
**********
Santos Escobar defeated Carlito [9:50]
Is it me, or was Carlito moving a bit slower than anticipated there? Either way, these two worked fairly well together. The headline is Lopez’s call up to the main roster and I’m very curious to see how she does under the biggest spotlight WWE has to offer. She’s been a work in progress in the ring on NXT, though her mic work has improved significantly. Will she wrestle more on the main roster or will she be positioned as Legado Del Fantasma’s manager? It should be interesting to see how that faction evolves after the Rumble.
Carlito fired up to open the match and threw a series of punches and kicks. Carlito kept control with a fury of strikes until Escobar ran Carlito into the middle turnbuckle. Carlito went to the outside and was the recipient of a dive from Escobar as Humberto and Angel distracted Carlito. The show then went to a commercial break. Back from break, Carlito ran into an elbow and Escobar got a two-count out of it. Escobar then ripped Carlito’s shirt off of his upper body.
Escobar tore the tape off Carlito’s shoulder. Escobar hit a double knees in Carlito and followed that up with a Frankensteiner from the top rope for a two-count. Escobar worked an arm bar on Carlito. Escobar pulled Carlito down by his hair and stomped on Carlito. Escobar went back to the arm-bar, but Carlito fired up and took Escobar down with a dropkick. Carlito landed a neck-breaker and a spine-buster. Carlito followed that up with a knee and Humberto distracted the referee as Angel pulled Carlito to the outside. The LWO and Humberto and Angel brawled on the outside. Out of nowhere, Elektra Lopez attacked Zelina Vega, which distracted Carlito. Escobar then rolled Carlito up for the win.
**********
– Styles was shown walking backstage and he ran into Jimmy Uso. The rest of The OC walked up and asked Styles what that was about. Styles told them not to worry about it.
– Nick Aldis was shown backstage and Ava walked into the frame, asking Aldis for tips. In walked the Street Profits and Bobby Lashley, who drew a number for the Royal Rumble. Escobar walked in and drew a number for himself. Neither number was revealed.
– A video profiling Bayley aired.
– R-Truth was shown drawing a number for the Royal Rumble alongside Aldis and Ava. Truth called Aldis “Adam” and “Mr. Pearce.” Truth asked the GMs if he had to quarantine, so I suppose the guess is he drew 19.
The Kabuki Warriors (Kairi Sane & Asuka) defeated Katana Chance & Kayden Carter to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [9:02]
Perhaps the most predictable outcome of the WWE weekend. Good for Chance and Carter at least getting a tiny run as champs on the main roster, but this outcome felt more probably than anything else on the card. The story of Damage CTRL having all the gold and then Bayley maybe winning the Royal Rumble seems as intriguing to me as anything else the company has going on in its women’s division. The match here was pretty good despite a couple iffy moments. Chance and Carter worked hard, but if those tag titles are going to get back to having a notable profile, they need to be on Asuka and Sane moving forward. Sane’s InSane elbow is one of prettiest moves in all of wrestling.
Carter and Asuka started the match, but it wasn’t long before Chance tagged in and the champs landed a couple double-team moves. With Asuka and Sane on the outside, Chance hit a plancha on both as the show went to a commercial break. Back from that break, Sane and Asuka hit a series of double-team moves on Chance to keep control. Asuka ran at Chance, but Chance pulled the second rope down and Asuka spilled out to the floor. Sane ran at Chance and Chance threw Sane to the outside, but Carter wasn’t on the apron for a tag. Eventually, Carter tagged in and hit a splash onto Sane and Asuka.
Carter hit a running boot to Asuka before landing a springboard leg-drop on Asuka for a two-count. Sane tagged in and the Warriors hit a double-team move on Carter for a near-fall. Sane landed a spinning back-fist on Carter and Sane went to the top. Sane went for her elbow, but Carter got her feet up and Sane landed on those feet. Asuka tagged in and Carter got in a modified Sister Abigail. Chance tagged in and the champs hit the Keg Stand, but Sane broke the pin attempt up.
Things broke down and Sane and Chance fought on the outside. Sane Slammed Chance onto the commentary table. Asuka kicked Carter in the head and tagged in Sane. Sane went to the top and this time landed the InSane Elbow for the win. After the match, the rest of Damage CTRL came out and celebrated with the new champs.
**********
– Paul Heyman was talking to Solo Sikoa backstage. Heyman asked Sikoa to “fix the problem” and to not be merciful in his match later. Jimmy Uso said Sikoa was scary and Heyman told Jimmy said Roman got to Tribal Chief level because he saw a moment and seized it. Heyman mentioned Seth Rollins and told Jimmy to seize the moment and enter the Royal Rumble, win it and challenge Seth Rollins at WrestleMania.
– Bianca Belair and Bayley were shown picking their numbers for the Royal Rumble match.
The Final Testament/Street Profits/Bobby Lashley segment
I don’t think we can debate Kross needed this reboot. I think it’s working. Kind of? Maybe? OK, so perhaps it’s too early to tell for sure, but I’m willing to keep an open mind as this Final Testament stuff unfolds. They need a strong start and they’re off to it, getting the best of Lashley and the Profits each week. This was no exception.
Bobby Lashley introduced the Profits and himself to the crowd. Lashley said the people of Miami came to see a fight and a fight is what they wanted to bring the Final Testament. The Final Testament’s music then hit and out they came. Scarlett walked into the ring and stared down Lashley, who called Kross a coward. Montez Ford said the Final Testament is scared. Paul Ellering had a microphone and spoke from the walkway. Ellering said there is no fear in Karrion Kross, who then began to speak and the crowd gave him the “What?” treatment. Kross told the crowd to “shut the hell up.”
The crowd booed heavily. Kross told Lashley that Lashley wasn’t in control anymore. Kross said Lashley wasn’t going to get his fight tonight. Lashley said Kross lied because they indeed are going to fight tonight. Scarlett jumped onto Lashley and Kross ran Lashley into the ring post. AOP beat the Profits down in the middle of the ring. The faction then attacked Lashley. Kross his the Kross Hammer and stood tall to end the segment.
**********
– Jimmy Uso showed up to Aldis’s office to draw his Rumble number. Jimmy seemed unhappy with his number.
– A video recapping the Kevin Owens/Logan Paul stuff from last week aired.
Austin Theory defeated Carmelo Hayes [6:59]
A seven-minute match with a commercial break in the middle of it. Did we really need to do this? I appreciated WWE’s position on stopping their first match out of caution, but that didn’t mean we had to do the whole thing again if it was just going to be this. The biggest story here was the appearance of Trick Williams on main roster TV and damn, that crowd let the world know he wasn’t going to disappoint. I know he’s over in NXT, but holy cow, turns out he’s over in all of WWE. There’s a lot of money in Hayes and Williams in the coming years. Here’s hoping WWE doesn’t drop the ball on them.
Hayes gained an early edge and Theory went to the outside. the match reset and Theory threw Hayes outside, where Grayson Waller hit Hayes. The show then went to a commercial break. Back from that break, Hayes fired up and hit a face-buster for a two-count. Hayes went to the second rope, but Waller distracted him and Theory pulled Hayes to the ground. Theory landed the Ataxia for a two-count. Theory lifted Hayes, but Hayes worked out of it. Waller got on the apron and Theory and Hayes traded roll-up attempts, but Theory grabbed the tights and ultimately got the win. After the match, Waller and Theory attacked Hayes, but Trick Williams’s music hit and Trick made the save. The crowd went nuts and yelled “Whoop that Trick.” Hayes appeared bothered that Williams was there.
**********
– Kayla Braxton interviewed Carrion backstage. Braxton asked him who he thought would walk out as champ and he said he thought Randy Orton would. The Bloodline walked into the frame and stared Carrion down.
LA Knight defeated Solo Sikoa via DQ [8:40]
Poor Solo Sikoa (and so much for that squash against John Cena). This was fine for what it was. The final minutes of the last three or four SmackDowns have all been far too similar for my liking, but that’s just me. Knight looked fired up, carrying that same energy he brought to the show’s opening segment, so that was a welcome surprise. The match was just kind of there, between the commercial break and the fomulaic nature of everything. Sikoa, meanwhile, has become the beacon of losses. Here’s hoping that changes after the Rumble this weekend, but seeing is believing.
Knight had control early and stepped on Sikoa’s hands before kicking Sikoa to the outside. Knight followed him and slammed Sikoa’s hand on all the tables on the outside. Knight ran Sikoa into a ring post and wrapped Sikoa’s hand around the post before slamming it against it multiple times. Knight rolled Sikoa back into the ring and went for a springboard splash, but Sikoa caught Knight with a punch. The show then went to its final commercial break of the night.
When the show returned, Sikoa landed a Samoan Drop for a two-count. Before long, Knight rallied and landed a bulldog from the second rope. Knight hit a bunch of punches and a running clothesline, complete with a side Russian Leg Sweep. Knight stomped on Sikoa. Knight punched Jimmy Uso off the apron and then DDT’d Sikoa. Knight clotheslined Sikoa over the top rope and the action spilled outside. Knight slammed Sikoa on the commentary table. Knight landed a running knee on Sikoa, but AJ Styles appeared out of nowhere and hit Knight with a flying elbow to give Knight the DQ win.
Styles ran Knight into the ring steps after the match. Jimmy Uso approached Styles with a chair and Jimmy put the chair down, suggesting Styles attack Knight with it. Styles picked up the chair and Sikoa yelled at Styles. Instead of attacking Knight, Styles attacked Jimmy and Solo with the chair. Randy Orton’s music then hit and Orton ran to the ring. Orton hit Styles and powerslammed Uso. Sikoa pulled Orton to the outside and Orton dropped Sikoa on the commentary table. Orton took his shirt off the and crowd cheered. Orton grabbed Uso and set him up for a draping DDT. Jimmy took it. Styles got back into the mix and Orton did the same to Styles. Orton RKO’d Styles and that was enough to end the show … until Knight showed up and gave Orton a BFT to truly end the show.
