WWE Smackdown results: AJ Styles vs. Miz, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose have tension

– Air Date: February 4, 2016 (Feb 3 in Canada) 
– Location: FedExForum in Memphis, TN

– The Big News: 

Chris Jericho and A.J. Styles will have a rematch next week on Smackdown. Also, the main event actually had a real finish, but not before some tension between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. 

– Show Recap: 

Roman Reigns beat Rusev (w/Alberto Del Rio & King Barrett) via DQ 

Less than 3 minutes into the match, Del Rio and Barrett pulled Reigns out of the ring and tossed him into the barricade for a DQ. Ambrose immediately ran out and attacked Rusev. He tried a diving elbow on Barrett and Del Rio but they moved and he nailed Reigns instead. 

Ambrose was stunned, so Barrett grabbed him and Del Rio hit a superkick. They dragged him in the ring and Rusev applied the Accolade, but Reigns jumped in the ring with a chair and the League of Nations bailed. Lawler accused Ambrose of intentionally attacking Reigns, but Reigns very obviously did not see it that way. After a break, they announced a tag match with these men for the main event. 

Backstage, Renee Young asked Ambrose if his attack on Reigns was a preview of Fastlane. Ambrose said it was an accident, because sometimes he gets wild. He added, “Trust me, when I come after Roman, he’ll know it.” Ambrose finished by saying they’d be on the same page tonight. 

U.S. Champion Kalisto beat Kevin Owens via pinfall in a non-title match

In an inset promo, Kalisto said he’s fighting for himself, the legacy of the title and the honour of the fight. Dolph Ziggler did commentary. This was a good match. Owens took Kalisto to the outside and bounced him off the barricade. He cleared the table and set up for a powerbomb, but actually powerbombed Kalisto into Ziggler. 

Owens then superkicked Ziggler, and took Kalisto back in the ring. Ziggler miraculously popped up to distract Owens, so Kalisto applied a school boy for the pinfall win. Owens knocked Kalisto down from behind but bailed as soon as Ziggler jumped in the ring. 

Owens powerbombing Kalisto into Ziggler was the funniest thing on Smackdown in a while, but it was sort of meaningless considering he lost anyway and Ziggler was totally fine afterwards. Still, Owens was great here and he acted distraught afterwards because of the loss. 

Backstage, Jo-Jo interviewed The Miz, who said everything he always says. I was distracted by the “Smackdown” sign behind Miz, because it had a sizable rip along the bottom. Do they only have one “Smackdown” sign? 

Ryback beat Erick Rowan (w/Braun Strowman) via pinfall 

Ryback has new gear, and yes, he’s basically dressed like Goldberg – plain black trunks, gloves, kneepads and boots. Strowman tried a distraction, but Ryback tossed Rowan into him to knock him off the apron. Ryback followed with a meat hook clothesline on Rowan for the win. Strowman clumsily pushed Ryback out of the ring and he slowly backed down the aisle as they all stared at each other. 

They showed some members of the Memphis Grizzlies in attendance, including Vince Carter. 

Backstage, Renee asked Becky Lynch why she would help Sasha Banks who is after the same title as her. Before Lynch could explain, Banks jumped in and said if she saw Lynch on fire, she wouldn’t help. They bickered back and forth until they sort of begrudgingly agreed to help each other to take out Team B.A.D. before moving on to Charlotte. Renee was confused. 

They announced Brock Lesnar for Raw in Seattle this Monday.

A.J. Styles beat The Miz via submission 

Chris Jericho joined commentary and was very good.  Byron Saxton wasted no time in reminding Jericho that he lost to Styles on Raw, and Jericho and threatened to slap him. Jericho said Styles came into WWE the same way as him, completely on his own with no friends. Lawler repeated Miz’s “redneck rookie” line, and Jericho said he’s not a rookie and accused Miz and Lawler of having ego problems. 

Styles won with a Calf crusher (that’s what they called it) in a good match. I’d complain about Miz getting too much offense, but Styles kicked out of most of his pinfall attempts at a one count. 

After the match, Jericho went in the ring and said everybody knows Styles is good, otherwise he never would’ve gotten to WWE or beaten him. Jericho said Styles was good, but wondered if he was great. Jericho has been lying awake at night thinking about it, wondering if Styles could beat him again, so Jericho challenged him to a rematch on Smackdown next week. Styles shook Jericho’s hand and brought him in close, telling him “I’m better than great. I’m phenomenal, Chris, and you’re going to find out – again.” This was good, and the crowd was into A.J. 

Backstage, Reigns told Jo-Jo that he and Ambrose are never really on the same page, because Ambrose is crazy, but that’s what he likes about him – they’re different. He said what happens in Fastlane will be no accident, but tonight they’ll fight together. 

WWE Tag Team Champion The New Day beat Social Outcasts via pinfall in a six-man tag

New Day did a promo about how great it is having gold. The Social Outcasts interrupted and Adam Rose informed New Day that the tag titles were bronze, not gold. Rose said they would take the bronze off their wastes. New Day told him not to touch their wastes. They did some more “comedy” and then the match started. 

The end of the match was a bit of a mess, but I did like the finish. Axel tried to win with his feet on the middle rope, but Woods knocked him off. Kingston then rolled up Axel and put his feet on the middle rope for the pinfall win. 

WWE Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) beat Alicia Fox (w/Brie Bella) via submission in a non-title match

As soon as the match started, I wondered if they would do the double big boot spot, and they did. That led to a comeback by Fox, which the crowd didn’t care about. Charlotte hit a “chop block” and applied the Figure Eight for the submission win. Match was about 4 minutes. 

Another “comedy” segment with Goldust and R-Truth. Truth was at the hotel and Goldust showed up dressed as a barhop. Some stuff happened and then it was over. Goldust should seek out El Dandy. He’s a great wrestler. 

WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat Rusev & Alberto Del Rio via pinfall 

Lawler mentioned all night that we would see Ambrose and Reigns implode tonight. That led to the key spot in this match. Reigns made a hot tag and ran wild, but was taken outside the ring by Del Rio. Ambrose went for a suicide dive, but Del Rio moved, and Ambrose went right into Reigns. However, they didn’t collide because Reigns caught him. 

Reigns looked annoyed and asked Ambrose what he was doing. Rusev tried to jump Ambrose, so Reigns hit him with a superman punch, shoved him back in the ring and hit a spear for the win. Afterwards, Reigns and Ambrose got along just fine and chuckled about what happened. 

As the show ended, they plugged A.J. Styles vs. Chris Jericho for next week. 

– Final Thoughts: 

This show was a mixed bag. The main stuff was good, but it really dragged after the Styles match. I am glad they pushed a big match for next week and we finally had a main event end with a real finish. 

Best of luck to Bret “The Hitman” Hart.