WWE SmackDown live results: Royal Rumble build continues
Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble challengers are set to appear on tonight’s SmackDown from Lincoln, Nebraska.
Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles are all slated to be featured after SmackDown GM Nick Aldis announced last week that the three will challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. Aldis made the decision after Reigns and The Bloodline disrupted a triple threat number one contender’s match.
Also on tap: Bianca Belair vs. Bayley. Last week, IYO SKY, Bayley’s Damage CTRL stablemate, told Bayley to take out Belair after Belair confronted the faction.
The LWO’s Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro are set to face off against Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo. Wilde & Del Toro are still seeking revenge on Santos Escobar for turning against the LWO.
Grayson Waller will also wrestle Cameron Grimes after the two interacted backstage last week.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Kevin Patrick welcomed viewers into the show. Grayson Waller’s music hit and Waller came to the ring with Austin Theory. Patrick then threw to a video recapping last week’s main event, including the development that the fatal four-way match was made for the Royal Rumble. Cutting back to the show, The Bloodline was shown attacking Cameron Grimes as he made his way to the ring.
The Bloodline segment
I’m a fan of switching up the WWE formula, so I can’t complain about how the show began, with the attack on Grimes and all. My only complaint is that … well, come on. When will Cameron Grimes ever get any booking love? Anyway, I got a kick out of how Waller and Theory bailed so quickly when The Bloodline got into the ring. And I like selling Jimmy and Solo as badasses, but at this point, they are getting to the point where they take too many losses to be taken seriously. Quick poll (that will be obsolete and make me look stupid by 10:01 p.m. EST): Do we think the Bloodline gets a third man? And if so, who will it be?
Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa were the main attackers and they ran Waller and Theory off. Paul Heyman then got a microphone and called Nick Aldis a “James Bond wannabe.” Heyman said it’s practically guaranteed that Roman’s title will be lost at the Royal Rumble because of the stipulation. Aldis walked to the ring as Heyman said Aldis was the bad guy. Aldis then grabbed the microphone out of Heyman’s hand.
Aldis started by saying Heyman is not Aldis’s equal. Aldis then said the four-way match at the Royal Rumble is a done deal. Aldis said The Bloodline will not ruin anymore matches because they will be in the main event of tonight’s show. Aldis then announced Sikoa, Uso & Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles, LA Knight & Randy Orton as the main event. Heyman was fuming and tried to grab the mic back, but Aldis wouldn’t let it go. Heyman told Aldis that Reigns wasn’t in Nebraska for the show.
Aldis said Reigns started something he can’t finish. Aldis said Heyman has until the main event of the show to find a third man. If he can’t, Aldis said it will be a 3-on-2 handicap match. Patrick and Corey Graves then ran down the card for the night.
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– Heyman was talking to Solo and Jimmy backstage and Heyman told them not to worry and he would find them a tag partner for later.
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo defeated Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro [9:54]
And here I was convinced that we were going to get the LWO launch spot we got from NXT in some way. Sad. That aside, these four guys worked really hard and I thought they looked very good together – so much so that I wouldn’t oppose a rematch at some point because this was overshadowed by the Carlito/Escobar brawl. This incarnation of the Garza/Carrillo team feels the strongest it’s been in WWE, so here’s to high hopes for them moving forward.
Santos Escobar sat in on commentary. Del Toro and Wilde had control early, complete with a stereo dive onto the heels on the outside. Quickly, the heels got the upper hand as Garza held the roped and Del Toro fell to the outside. Garza then landed a running knee on Del Toro and the show went to a commercial break.
Back from break, the heels landed a pair of impressive double-team moves to get a two-count on Del Toro. Eventually, Garza tagged in, but Del Toro got the hot tag to Wilde and worked over Garza, including a spike DDT for a two-count. Carillo and Garza threw Wilde off the top and Carrillo hit a nice-looking sit-out powerbomb for a two-count. Garza tagged in and super-kicked Wilde.
The LWO trio regained control with a corkscrew plancha from Del Toro onto Carillo on the outside. Carrlito’s music then hit and Carlito brawled with Escobar through the crowd. Garza then rolled up Wilde and held the ropes to get the win.
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– Aldis and Carmelo Hayes were talking backstage but they were interrupted by Theory and Waller. Hayes mentioned how he beat Waller a lot. Hayes challenged Waller to a match tonight. Waller said he couldn’t, so Aldis made an Austin Theory vs. Hayes match for later.
– Backstage, the LWO was walking backstage and Heyman walked into the frame to offer Carlito a spot in the main event. Heyman even had an apple in his hand. Carlito turned him down, but took Heyman’s apple and walked away.
– Logan Paul cut a promo saying he might sue Kevin Owens because of the black eye he has from the shot he took via Owens’s cast last week. Paul called Owens a cheater. Paul said if he’s going to have a match with Owens, Owens is going to have to do it without his cast.
– A video from earlier today aired with Butch and Tyler Bate. They were sharing coffee. Butch said he can handle himself. Bate said they had fun beating Pretty Deadly last week. Butch told Bate to shut up. Bate pitched meditating with Butch, who said everything they did was in the past and they should do things separately. Bate said they could show the world what British Strong Style is all about. The video ended with Butch staring into the distance and without resolution.
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Bianca Belair defeated Bayley [16:24]
Wow. Nearly 17 minutes for the women. You love to see it. The story between Bayley and Damage CTRL continues, and I’m beginning to wonder if it’s about to jump the shark. We get it. This has been building for a while. When does the next step come? As for the match, it was pretty good. Two professional wrestlers put on a very good professional wrestling television match. The awkwardness with the pins toward the end can be forgiven, if only because of how much weight they were carrying. Good for them, though. They got the time and they delivered.
The two locked up and Belair rolled up Bayley a few times to no avail. Belair had control for a lot of the first third of the match, but Bayley fought back as the crowd chanted “Bayley sucks!” Belair fired up and hit a trio of bodyslams. Belair ran at Bayley, but Bayley tripped her up and draped Belair on the second rope. Bayley was jawing at the rest of Damage CTRL and that allowed Belair to take control. Belair then landed a splash on Bayley, who was on the outside. Belair was pumped and the show went to break.
Back from that commercial, Bayley had control on Belair inside the ring. Bayley pounded on Belair. Belair fought out and hit a spine-buster to even things out. Belair fired up and landed a shoulder-block. Bayley fought back and hit a running knee. Bayley then tied Belair’s braid to the bottom rope. Bayley ran at Belair, but Belair used the braid to trip Bayley and then free herself. Belair stretched Bayley on a ring post, but Bayley came back by running Belair into the ring post.
Belair lifted Bayley for a KOD and instead threw Bayley into a ring post. Back inside the ring, Belair landed a series of shoulder-blocks. Belair hit a vertical suplex on Bayley. Bayley tried to pull on the braid, but Belair used it to her advantage and and punched Bayley. Belair landed a back-breaker for a two-count. Belair went for a springboard moonsault, but Bayley caught her and ran Belair into a corner. Ultimately, Belair bounced back and hit that moonsault and it resulted in a near-fall. Belair lifted Bayley for a KOD, but Bayley countered and went to the top. Bayley landed an elbow drop and that resulted in a near-fall.
Bayley tried to roll up Belair for the win and used the ropes, but the referee stopped her. Belair rolled to the outside and Bayley wanted Damage CTRL to attack Belair, but they wouldn’t and that caused frustration. Back in the ring, Belair hit a spear and the KOD for the win.
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– Kevin Owens cut a promo backstage and said he needs to talk with Logan Paul about stuff next week face to face on SmackDown. Owens then invited Paul onto The Kevin Owens Show next week.
– Dakota Kai talked to Bayley backstage and tried to reassure her. Kai said Bayley would have to win the Royal Rumble match on her own, which is why the faction didn’t interfere. Bayley looked disappointed as the scene ended.
– Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits walked to the ring without suit jackets and meant business. Lashley grabbed a microphone and called out the Kross/AOP faction. Lashley told them they wanted to settle things right here and right now. The lights went out and Paul Ellering walked out to point at the big screen. A Karrion Kross/Scarlett video aired on it. Kross introduced AOP. Kross revealed the group’s name as The Final Testament. That was the end of that.
– Backstage, Pretty Deadly approached Heyman and pitched themselves as the partners for Sikoa and Uso later. Heyman said he needed only one person so Pretty Deadly backed off.
– A Carmelo Hayes vignette aired. Hayes then made his entrance for the next match.
– Lashley and the Profits were shown walking backstage. Heyman approached them and asked Lashley to work out his aggression by teaming with Uso and Solo later. Lashley said the only time he wants to be in the ring with the Bloodline is when he’s standing across from Roman Reigns.
Austin Theory vs. Carmelo Hayes ended in a no contest [9:04]
Umpf. You hate to see the X sign, no matter what. The two were having a pretty good match up until it, but I actually thought Theory’s head-plant on the apron before the commercial break got Theory down. The move that called the match off did not help. Here’s hoping both guys are all right.
Theory backed Hayes up into a corner and jawed at him. Hayes worked multiple head-locks before hitting a standing dropkick. Theory was draped on the second rope and Hayes hit a Fadeaway. Hayes then slammed Theory’s head on the apron and the show went to break. Back from break, Theory landed a rolling shotgun dropkick. Theory tried to suplex Hayes, but Hayes countered with a suplex of his own. Hayes followed it up with a springboard clothesline and a face plant for a two-count. The two traded unsuccessful pin attempts before Hayes landed a super-kick. Theory ran Hayes into a corner and Theory went for something from the second rope, but both guys landed awkwardly and the ref held up the X sign to signal the end of the match.
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– Next week, Dawn & Fyre will take on Chance & Carter for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. The contract signing for the Royal Rumble main event will take place. Also, The KO Show with Logan Paul will go down.
– Backstage, Heyman was talking to Uso and Solo. Heyman said there wasn’t any man in the building worthy of standing beside the Bloodline.
– Randy Orton made his entrance, but Sikoa and Uso attacked him from behind as the show went to break.
La Knight, AJ Styles & Randy Orton defeated Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso [maybe 12:00?]
For the first time in my history of covering live wrestling on television, all of everything went out – electricity, internet, television, all of it. But I wanted to get the result up ASAP. The match was going along well enough until everything cut out. Orton, from what I understand, made his triumphant comeback, as was expected, but I can’t lie to you – I can’t speak truth to the full match and I very much apologize. Here’s to thinking this inspires Roman to go full-on a-hole next week because at this point, after all the technology nonsense, I’m happy to side with a-holes.
Because of the attack, Orton went to the back and we got a traditional tag team match. Styles had control over Uso and tagged in Knight, who worked over Uso with a series of kicks and punches. Styles tagged back in and eventually, Knight and Styles hit a bunch of chops on Sikoa, which took Sikoa to the outside. From there, the show went to its final commercial break.
Back from break … well, my internet connection went out. But, from what I understand, the babyfaces got the win.
