One more SmackDown before the Royal Rumble!

Before going to St. Louis for the Royal Rumble, Seth Rollins returns to SmackDown to personally give Roman Reigns one last message.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Cesaro & Ricochet VS Sheamus & Ridge Holland; Sheamus & Ridge win.
• Naomi VS Sonya Deville; Naomi wins.
• Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs VS Jinder Mahal & Shanky; Nakamura & Boogs win.
• The New Day VS “Happy” Corbin & “Mad Cap” Moss; The New Day wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Charlotte Flair heads to the ring!

The Queen is in Kansas City, preparing to enter the Women’s Royal Rumble match as SmackDown Women’s Champion! She struts and turns for the pyro, then continues to the ring. She gets the mic and has a big smile on her face for KC as she says it is her honor as champion to do something that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will never do again. And that is bring a title to this city! Don’t worry, KC won’t be the only ones. So will 29 other women who will be banged up, bruised and thrown out like garbage by Charlotte. Now, there is nothing more difficult in the WWE, or unpredictable, than a Rumble match.

You have the shocking entrants, the surprising returns, and Charlotte’s favorites: the betrayals. It is every single woman for themselves! Everyone’s coming at you from all directions, knees and elbows, everyone scratching and clawing to throw the others out to the floor. Charlotte didn’t have to enter the match this year. No, no. She could’ve cruised to WrestleMania, waiting on a winner to choose her. But that’s not who she is and not the kind of champion she is. She doesn’t wait on fate or chance, sitting around hoping things work out. No, she takes control. That is why Charlotte is the most dominant champion in the history of the WWE!

Now, normally, the winner of the Rumble chooses the champion of their choosing to main event Mania. But tomorrow, Charlotte changes the game again as winner and chooses the challenger of her choosing! But wait! Here comes Shayna Baszler! The Queen of Spades goes to the ring and gets a mic to “apologize” to Charlotte. But bodies crashing, limbs snapping, that’s music to Shayna’s ears! But Charlotte, look. There is no denying you are an incredible competitor. But tomorrow night, if it ends up the two of them again, Shayna will not hesitate to snap her like a twig, limb by limb!

But y’know what? Shayna will make Charlotte a promise: after Shayna throws her out, she won’t waste any time in choosing Charlotte as her opponent. All Charlotte will have to worry about is making sure she’s healed up in time. Kinda like last time? But wait, here comes Aliyah! #Aliyah3:17 says hey, and wants to know if it’s okay to be out here. Seems like anyone can just walk out. Wait, who is this? Oh, sorry, she is Aliyah, and she just loves that she’s in her very first Royal Rumble. She’s got some butterflies in her stomach, because this means that maybe, Aliyah can compete at her first ever WrestleMania!

No, no, don’t book tickets just yet. Aliyah stands zero chance of winning tomorrow. Now, Aliyah knows she hasn’t won a lot of matches, but she did beat Natalya in 3.17 seconds! That set a new WWE record. So call her optimistic- Oh, here comes Natty! The Queen of Harts says Aliyah is adorable. There’s a lot of things Natty thinks  Aliyah is: rude, clueless, delusional, and lucky. But optimistic isn’t one of them. Aliyah can brag all she wants about that fluke, but Natty is a THREE-TIME GUINNESS RECORD HOLDER! Tomorrow, it’ll be four. These four argue, but here comes Shotzi Blackheart!

Shotzi says, “Well, look at this! What a preview for tomorrow night. All these massive egos colliding with each other and descending into chaos, creating the perfect opportunity for someone like… me. Someone exactly like me to sneak right in and seize the spotlight!” Charlotte says this is getting absurd! None of them belong in this ring with her, and none of them stand a chance of winning! No one here, no one in the WWE, and definitely not- Sasha Banks! The Legit Boss is here and struts her way to the ring now! Sasha gets her pyro on, Aliyah lets her have the mic, and Sasha says The Boss is back BABYYY~! And she’s ready to rumble!

Sasha stares Charlotte down as fans chant her name. Charlotte waves hi, Sasha SLAPS her! Charlotte steadies herself, and a brawl is on! Natty is after Aliyah, Shayna is after Shotzi! Natty hits a DISCUS on Charlotte! Sasha just smiles and watches as Shayna fires off kicks and Natty throws Aliyah down! KNEE for Shotzi sends her out of the ring! Natty drags Aliyah up but Aliyah ENZIGURIS back! Shayna runs in but Aliyah dodges and dropkicks her out! But Charlotte BOOTS Aliyah down! Sasha slides back in, and fans fire up as Boss and Queen stare down again. Charlotte kicks but Sasha blocks! Sasha says them feet stank, and then she KNEES Charlotte!

Sasha throws Charlotte out a la the Rumble! The Boss has the edge over the Queen, but will Sasha make the Rumble legit to get back to WrestleMania?

Backstage interview with Sheamus & Ridge Holland.

They’re moments away from a Day One rematch, and Ridge says it’s about time. He can still hear the crunch of his nose as it got smashed into the side of his face. Now he’ll return the favor and squash Ricochet like the parasite he is! The Fella says it’s great to have Ridgy back! Ridgy talks just like Sheamus, fights just like Sheamus, and when Sheamus becomes a two-time Rumble winner, Ridge will celebrate just like Sheamus. Ridge will also beat down Cesaro and Ricochet just like him, too! Sheamus gives Ridge a familiar protective mask, and now he looks just like Sheamus.

But will they both win to truly make up for Day One’s disaster? Or will the Swiss Cyborg & King of Flight redeem themselves this close to the Royal Rumble?

Cesaro & Ricochet VS Sheamus & Ridge Holland!

SmackDown returns as Cesaro makes his entrance, followed by Ricochet. The teams sort out, Cesaro starts against Sheamus. They tie up, go around, and end up in a corner. Cesaro turns it around on Sheamus but he shoves Cesaro away. They go again, Sheamus headlocks for the takeover, Cesaro headscissors but Sheamus kips free. Another headlock takeover, but Cesaro headscissors again. Sheamus kips free and bails out to regroup with Ridge. Sheamus gets back in, he and Cesaro tie up again, Cesaro hits the headlock takeover now. Cesaro resists the headscissor but Sheamus pulls on Cesaro’s nose!

The ref reprimands, Sheamus lets off, they get up and Sheamus puts Cesaro on the ropes. Sheamus knees low, headlocks, but Cesaro powers out. Sheamus runs Cesaro over and gloats, then runs, but Cesaro hurdles. Cesaro blocks hip toss to CLOBBER Sheamus! Cesaro then DOUBLE STOMPS Sheamus down! Cesaro brings Sheamus up, wrenches, and tags Ricochet in. Ricochet goes up, and he drops an ax handle on the arm! Ricochet wrenches, YANKS the arm, but Sheamus puts him against ropes to knee low. Sheamus CLUBS Ricochet and tags in Ridge! Ridge CLUBS Ricochet, EuroUppers, then whips him corner to corner.

Ricochet goes up and over, kicks, but Ridge blocks to flip him! Ricochet throws Ridge out, triangle jumps and dropkicks Ridge back down! Ridge flounders, Ricochet builds speed and FLIES! Direct hit at the ramp and Ricochet is fired up! KC is fired up, too, as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Sheamus brings Ricochet up. Ricochet throws body shots then kicks! Ricochet runs, but into a scoop and BACKBREAKER! Tag to Ridge, and Ridge gets Ricochet up to RAM him into a corner! And then runs him corner to corner to RAM him in the other corner! And then back the other way! Ridge reels Ricochet in, head ‘n’ arm SUPLEX! Sheamus shouts, “Are you not entertained?!” Ridge drags Ricochet up to go after Ricochet’s nose! Then he drops a knee on Ricochet’s forehead! Ridge CLUBS Ricochet, drags him up, scoops and SLAMS him, then drops an elbow! Cover, TWO!

Ridge drags Ricochet up, gut wrenches and Canadian racks to bend the arms back! Ricochet endures, pries free and throws elbows into Ridge’s head! Ridge keeps Ricochet from Cesaro, but Ricochet QUEBRADAS! Direct hit and both men are down! Hot tags to Cesaro and Sheamus! Cesaro fires off on Sheamus, EuroUpper after EuroUpper, then fists in the corner! Cesaro EuroUppers, whips corner to corner, runs in to EuroUpper, then back the other way. Sheamus elbows Cesaro, but Cesaro dodges to springboard and FLYING UPPERCUT! Sheamus boots but is blocked and dumped out!

Cesaro goes out, runs in around the way, EuroUpper against barriers! Fans fire up with Cesaro and he high-fives Pat McAfee! Cesaro puts Sheamus in the ring, climbs up the corner, CROSSBODY! Sheamus gets up, scoops Cesaro, but Cesaro slips out of the Irish Curse to small package! Ridge breaks it, but Ricochet springboards to missile dropkick Ridge out! Sheamus KNEES Ricochet down! Cesaro torture racks Sheamus for the SLAM! Cover, TWO! Sheamus survives but Cesaro drags him up! Cesaro reels Sheamus in, but Sheamus back drops! Cesaro lands on his feet, Ridge tags in! Cesaro ducks the Brogue but Ridge HEADBUTTS Cesaro down!

NORTHERN GRIT!! Cover, Ridge and Sheamus win!!

Winners: Sheamus & Ridge Holland, by pinfall

The protective mask became an offensive weapon, and Cesaro may have a busted nose! Will Ridge and Sheamus bust into the SmackDown Tag Division with teamwork like this?

Naomi VS Sonya Deville!

Finally, we get to see this one play out! But Sonya is intimidating the ref backstage into doing the job for her. But he tells her, he is calling this one down the middle. Sonya is taken aback, but will she have no choice but to #FeelTheGlow?

SmackDown returns and Sonya makes her entrance. The ref explains that he expects things fair and clean, because he’s calling this down the middle. The bell rings, Sonya dodges Naomi, then uses ropes for defense. Naomi has no choice but to back off, but that just annoys her. Sonya comes back, circles with Naomi, then dodges her again to use the ropes for defense. Fans boo and Naomi gets further annoyed, but Sonya comes back again. They circle, Sonya kicks low, then fires forearms. Naomi hits back with furious fists and now it’s a scrap! Sonya rains down rights, Naomi gets the ropes, the ref backs Sonya off.

Sonya comes back for stomps, the ref has her back off and reminds her of the ropebreak. Sonya looms over Naomi, drags her up, and then throws her down hard! Sonya paces around, taunts Naomi and clamps on a chinlock. Naomi endures, fans rally up, and Naomi fights up to throw body shots. Naomi arm-drags free, then tilt-o-whirls to headscissor Sonya to the apron! Sonya gets up, Naomi eggs her on, but Sonya stays back to compose herself. Naomi gets through to hit Sonya but Sonya knees low! Sonya whips, Naomi reverses but Sonya reverses back to knee low again. Soya stands Naomi up to KICK her down! Cover, TWO!

Sonya argues the count, the ref says it was fair. Sonya drags Naomi up, Naomi SLAPS her! Naomi eggs Sonya on then dropkicks her down! Sonya bails out, Naomi WRECKS her with another dropkick! Naomi bumps Sonya off the apron, then BULLDOGS her onto it! Naomi gets Sonya in the ring, covers, ONE!! Sonya scrambles away, but Naomi builds speed, only for Sonya to catch the baseball slide! Sonya swings Naomi around, DRAPING REVERSE DDT to the floor! Sonya is furious and demands the ring count, but SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Sonya knees Naomi, but Naomi fires off kicks. Naomi whips, Sonya reveres but Naomi goes up to headsicssor. Sonya blocks to make it a SPINEBUSTER! High stack, TWO!! Sonya is furious but she wraps on a chinlock. Sonya grinds Naomi down, but fans rally up as Naomi endures. Naomi fights up, but Sonya throws her down by her hair! Sonya gets in the ref’s face about it, then steps on Naomi. Cover, ONE! Sonya wraps on the chinlock again and she grinds Naomi down. Sonya taunts the fans chanting for Naomi but Naomi fights up. Sonya throws Naomi by her hair again, but Naomi kips up to ROUNDHOUSE!

Naomi gets to a corner, Sonya run sin but she blocks boots. Naomi ENZIGURIS off the ropes! Then cravat to a JUMPING STUNNER! Sonya gets to a corner, Naomi runs in, BIG clothesline! And a HEEL KICK! Then a BUCKLE BULLDOG! Fans fire up as Naomi climbs up top, for a CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Sonya survives that flurry of offense and Naomi grows frustrated. Naomi drops a leg! Cover, TWO! Sonya is still in this, but Naomi has the fans rallying behind her. Naomi gets up, brings Sonya up and goes for another corner. Sonya shoves Naomi into the buckles! Sonya reels Naomi in, suplexes, and POWERSLAMS! Cover, TWO!!

Sonya can’t believe it! Naomi survives but Sonya drags her back up. Sonya fireman’s carries, Naomi kicks free and full nelsons! BUBBA BOMB! Rolling body scissor clutch, TWO!! Naomi can’t believe Sonya survives, but she keeps her cool. Naomi also keeps Sonya from crawling away! Sonya grabs at the ring apron, the ref has to fix it. Sonya RAKES the eyes!! Roll up, with tights! TWO!! Sonya couldn’t screw Naomi over and now she’s furious! Sonya waits for Naomi to stand, she runs in, but Naomi dodges, REARVIEW!! Then SPLIT LEG MOONSAULT! Cover, Naomi wins!!

Winner: Naomi, by pinfall

And the ref gets away before Sonya can get at him! Naomi wins this one fair and square and has some momentum going into the Women’s Rumble! Naomi gets the mic to shout, “Guys! We did it!” After 153 days of Sonya “Cruella” Deville throwing everything she had at her, Naomi would not let that stop the glow! Naomi shined through, just like she’ll shine when she wins the Rumble! So, Sonya, don’t slip on your tears on your way out. Bye, girl! Go on, get! Nana na na, hey hey hey, good bye~! But will Naomi make all 29 other women in the Rumble match #FeelTheGlow on the road to WrestleMania?

Wait, Sonya says to cut the music! She’s got her suit back on so she’s boss lady again. Naomi’s so excited, huh? Because the Rumble is Naomi’s favorite match of the year! Well as WWE official, Sonya won’t let Naomi go into the match without a little surprise. That’s the kind of person Sonya is! The surprise is a very special guest entrant: SONYA DEVILLE! Sonya wants to personally ruin Naomi’s chances, but will it all just backfire on her?

Backstage interview with The Usos.

Jimmy & Jey, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, are barred from ringside during the Universal Championship match tomorrow. But as for tonight’s face-to-face meeting, what do they think Seth Rollins will have to say to Roman Reigns? They don’t care! Just cuz they’re banned from ringside doesn’t change that one thing will stay the same: AND STILL WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns! But the Viking Raiders walk in. Oh, their new challengers! This the team that throws axes, have feasts, and uh… Just stink. Well, yeah, they do love a good feast. And they do cultivate a rather manly odor.

But one thing above all, the Viking Raiders love axes. They bring out a couple good hatchets. These aren’t just for throwing! You could trim beards, sever fingers, or cut a championship right in half. Wanna see? Jey has Jimmy back down for now, but Erik & Ivar are looking to cut that reign short! Will the Viking Raiders get some gold again when they finally collide with the Usos?

Sami Zayn heads to the ring!

And before he decides to go #InZayn again, he’s got some special guests in mind! But what will happen when the Great Liberator welcomes Jinder Mahal & Shanky to his “reality” show? We find out, after the break.

SmackDown returns and Sami’s made his show into a podcast. To be honest, the stunts and pranks got outta hand, and thanks to a certain Johnny Knoxville- don’t cheer for him! Sami almost got hospitalized. But now this is the InZayn live podcast! So the first guests are Jinder & Shanky, who are already in the ring. These two ill be in tag action against soon to be former Intercontinental Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura, who owes Sami a match, and his muscle bound metal head friend, Rick Boogs. Sami thanks Jinder & Shanky for being here, and Jinder says it is a pleasure to be on the pilot episode-

Sami apologizes for cutting him off, but this is what this should’ve been from the start. What was Sami thinking, stooping down to Knoxville’s level? He never wants to hear Knoxville’s name again. So fans chant it at Sami. Haha, shush! They’re gonna edit this part out. But this is the intellectual show. Smart people having smart conversations about smart topics. Like, what does Shanky think on consumerism in a post modernist society? And how is Jinder feeling about his match tonight? Jinder says he has embarrassed Nakamura time and time again, tonight will be no different. And each man has a protégé, but just look at Shanky!

Sami interrupts again, and says he apologizes for droning on and on about Knoxville. Shanky’s probably never even hard of that guy until a few weeks ago. Actually, Jackass is huge in India. Just ask Shanky. Shanky says he loves that show, especially bungie port-a-potty. Oh, wow, really? Sami will respectfully disagree. He doesn’t think the only people who like Jackass are these yokels in KC. Don’t boo, this is Sami’s podcast! This is gonna get cut! But then Rick Boogs interrupts with his rock ‘n’ roll! And he is here to rock with the Intercontinental Champion, Shinsuke NakamuraAAAAAA~! And so here he comes!

Sami shouts down Boogs’ rock, and says that maybe they didn’t notice he was doing a podcast! Shinsuke ROUNDHOUSES Sami down! Sami is furious as he bails out, but will he have to settle for watching the tag match?

Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs VS Jinder Mahal & Shanky!

The King of Strong Style may “owe” Sami a title match, but will he and his beefy bard put a beating on the Modern Day Maharaja and his towering sidekick?

SmackDown returns and Nakamura is giving Jinder Bad Vibrations! Tag to Boogs, they mug Jinder, and then feed to a scoop and spinning TOSS! Boogs flexes, but Shanky tags in! Shanky and Boogs stare down while Sami complains on commentary. Shanky and Boogs tie up, Shanky shoves Boogs away. They tie up again, Shanky shoves Boogs back again. But then BOogs gets up and under to put Shanky in the corner! Boogs fires off hands, lets off as the ref counts, and Shanky BOOTS Boogs! Shanky CLUBS Boogs, puts him in the corner and throws back elbows. Boogs ROCKS Shanky, hits Jinder, then ROCKS Shanky again!

Boogs fires off body shots, CLUBS Shanky, but Shanky resists the bearhug to get a grovit! Boogs powers through to facelock and suplex Shanky up and over! Fans fire up and Sami tries to play down the feat of strength! Jinder distracts the ref, Sami goes over to YANK Nakamura off the corner! Jinder tags in, he CLOBBERS Boogs! Jinder CLUBS Boogs but Boogs is powering up! Boogs-mania, baby! Jinder freaks out, tags Shanky, and they both go after Boogs. Boogs blocks the double whip! Jinder kicks low, whips Boogs, but Boogs ducks and dodges to CLOBBER Jinder! Boogs ducks and dodges to RAM Shanky with shoulders!

Boogs keeps throwing shoulders, dodges again, and CLOBBERS Shanky with a Polish Hammer! Boogs flexes, fans rally up, and Boogs single leg pump handles. He powers through, gets Shanky up, PUMP HANDLE POWERSLAM!! Cover off the #BoogsCruise, Boogs & Nakamura win!

Winners: Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs, by pinfall

Boogs could be superhuman! Sami complains, but will Nakamura shut his mouth soon enough?

Backstage interview with The New Day.

Big E & Kofi Kingston are fired up. How does it feel to be back together again? How does it feel? Does a bear go in the woods? Is a pig’s posterior pork? Kofi says it feels good to be back together, and it will be great to be in the Rumble! Because when one of them wins, we ALL win the Rumble! As far as Moss & Corbin go, OH~ they gonna feel~… Kayla, c’mon. THE POWER~! POWER!!

The New Day VS “Happy” Corbin & “Mad Cap” Moss!

It’s a new day, yes it is! Will Big E & Kofi Kingston be rolling into the Royal Rumble? Or will they have to suffer the horror of being the butt of the joke against these human hyena hybrids?

SmackDown returns and the Happy Folks make their entrance. They’re still laughing about what they did to Drew McIntyre, too. Teams sort out, Big E and Moss start. They tie up, Moss waistlocks but Big E bucks him off. Big E runs, Moss hurdles, things speed up, and Moss runs Big E over! Moss fires up, keeps moving, but Big E hurdles to CLOBBER Moss with an elbow! Cover, TWO! Big E tags Kofi, fans fire up as Kofi runs to leap frog SENTON! Cover, TWO! Kofi drags Moss up, headlocks, but Moss powers out. Corbin tags in, Kofi dodges Moss but Corbin TOSSES Kofi to a corner for a SPLASH!

Corbin shoves Kofi down, drags him up and DECKS him! Corbin stands on Kofi’s head at the ropes, but lets off as the ref counts. Corbin stands Kofi up to TOSS him to another corner. Corbin DECKS Big E, but runs into a SWING KICK! Kofi climbs up and leaps, AX HANDLE! Kofi dropkicks Corbin to a corner but Moss tags in. Moss runs but into a dropkick! The Happy Folks regroup outside, Kofi goes up top! SUPER TRUST FALL, but he’s caught! And POSTED! The New Day is on the bad end of the joke as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Moss stomps away on Kofi in the corner. The ref counts, Moss lets off and tags Corbin. Fans rally for the New Day but the Happy Folks double back suplex. Kofi lands on his feet to KNEE Moss! Kofi slides under Corbin to tag in Big E! OVERHEAD Belly2Belly for Corbin! And then another! And then the SIDE- NO! Corbin pulls Big E’s ear and throat chops him! Moss runs, into an Urenag-E! Big E throws Corbin out but Corbin slides in, for the Belly2Belly! Big E puts Corbin in position, swivels them hips, then runs side to side, for the BIG SPLASH! Big E claps and fans clap along, “NEW! DAY ROCKS!”

Kofi tags in, Big E scoops, but Corbin shoves Big E away! Kofi leaps, into a CHOKE SLAM BACKBREAKER! Tag to Moss, Moss runs in at the corner, and RAMS Kofi! Feed to DEEP SIX! Cover, TWO!! The Happy Folks are pissed now, but Corbin tells Moss to get Kofi up. Moss fireman’s carries, Corbin gets in and runs, but Big E drag shim out! Big E RAMS Corbin into steps, Kofi fights off the carry! BOOTS for Moss, Big E tag sin! Kofi goes up, Big E scoops, MIDNIGHT HOUR!! Cover, New Day wins!

Winners: The New Day, by pinfall

It’s been 18 months since Kofi and Big E were the combo, but they still came out the winners! Will the New Day win one for Xavier Woods in this year’s Royal Rumble?

Roman Reigns heads to the ring!

The Tribal Chief has been Universal Champion for 515 days, the fifth longest world title reign behind Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino. But he’s here to meet the man he’ll face on day 516! Will Roman and Seth Freakin’ Rollins keep from throwing down this close to the Royal Rumble? We find out, after the break.

SmackDown returns and Roman holds up his belt for the pyro. And then, Seth Rollins makes his entrance! Rollins goes to the ring, each man has a mic, and Rollins revels in the dueling chants. Roman says, “Kansas City… Acknowledge me.” Fans are torn on that one, and Rollins says, “You think you’re Patrick Mahomes now? C’mon, man. But I will acknowledge the fact that I played you like a fiddle. And I wanted to thank you for doing the right thing getting your cousins disqualified and making our little affair tomorrow night the way it should be: one on one.”

Roman says it was a simple decision. Either he sat around and let Rollins embarrass them by pinning the Usos, or just punch him in the face and get the same result. Oh, it’s an embarrassment to get pinned by Seth Freakin’ Rollins? In that case, Roman’s brought more shame to his family than anybody! Roman says Rollins is still living in the past. This is 2022. The Tribal Chief is God Mode now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, god mode, okay. But Rollins isn’t living in the past, he’s living for tomorrow. But the past is a good place to start. Remember big moments like the most famous MITB cash-in of all time when Rollins took Roman’s WrestleMania moment away.

Or when Rollins came back from a devastating knee injury, and in his first match back, he pinned Roman to the mat and sent him packing for a 30 day vacay. Water under the bridge. Then what about the time Rollins took a steel chair to Roman’s back and changed the game forever? Ooh, that one stings, doesn’t it? Well Rollins will tell Roman about that moment: when he took that chair and put it in Roman’s back, it was for Roman’s own good! Roman has Rollins to thank for the money, the jets, the vacations and the WrestleMania main event matches!

Roman is the greatest superstar of this generation, right? He’s done it all, right? Beaten ’em all, right? Smashed ’em, stacked ’em, sent ’em packing. Except beat Rollins when it matters most. So it isn’t personal when Rollins takes the title from Roman. “My brother, I will always love you.” Rollins laughs and Roman twitches. Roman paces, and Rollins asks if cat’s got his tongue. Rollins laughs as Roman struggles to find the words. Roman says, “Chair in my back. Breaking up The Shield. I’ve tried to forgive you. I really have. But I’ll never forgive you for what you did to us. I hate you.” Rollins laughs again, because he knows Roman does!

Roman will hate Rollins more! Rollins is the clown? Well Roman’s the joke! The reign is the joke, the family is a joke, the Bloodline, the cousins, his daddy and uncle, all a joke! And it’ll all go up in smoke! HAHAHAHA! Roman SHOVES Rollins! Rollins still laughs it off but Roman shoves him again. Rollins eggs Roman on to hit him more. Roman bumps Rollins on his way out, but tries as sucker Superman Punch! Rollins ducks it! Rollins laughs his way out, and he really might have Roman’s number! Is there anything Roman can do to finally get even with Seth Freakin’ Rollins?

My Thoughts:

A fairly good SmackDown, especially considering when this was a go-home. They had the usual “by the numbers” video they do for the Royal Rumble, but I skipped that, it’s always filler. But I do think that given the stats, Bianca Belair really should get that consecutive Rumble win achievement. Being the first female superstar to go back to back and then the fourth person overall would be huge for The EST. But other than that, there was no real Rumble go-home teaser like a bunch of people being thrown over and out. We didn’t even get a holla holla Six Woman Tag made out of the opening segment’s promo. Charlotte, Natty & Shayna as three Queens taking on Sasha, Aliyah and Shotzi would’ve been great stuff, but nope. Maybe for the post Rumble SmackDown to start towards a title match?

Naomi VS Sonya went about as I expected, with Sonya intimidating the ref and being on the defensive, but it was still a very good match. Naomi wins to get big momentum, but this was her win. Naomi won’t win at the Rumble, though I was expecting Sonya to do something other than just put herself in the match. I almost hope these two start to give the Rumble match a great start. Those two just throwing hands would really get things going. We got a good interaction of Usos and Viking Raiders, but it doesn’t really change anything about their tag title match. I am pretty sure the Usos still win and possibly continue setting things up with the Dudleys.

The tag rematch from Day One was good, and even though Ridge being given the mask was a good way to set up that finish, it was a bit of a hindrance for Ridge the rest of the match since he didn’t fasten it quite right. The Heels win again, maybe they head for the tag titles, maybe not. Sami inviting Jinder & Shanky on the “podcast” was a good move, I like that Sami kept interrupting Jinder and getting on his nerves. I almost thought Jinder was gonna get in Sami’s face about it but then they sent out Nakamura & Boogs. The Faces win the tag match, and again Boogs gets the push by finishing it off. I still don’t really get it. Nakamura VS Sami should’ve been set up for the Rumble since Sami doesn’t like the Saudi Arabia trips, but maybe it’ll be next SmackDown.

The New Day get the main event match, of course, and they get a big win off Corbin & Moss. Now, I get they want to keep Drew McIntyre on our minds, but they really should stop recapping what Corbin & Moss did to him so we’ll be more surprised by whenever it is McIntyre returns. Big E and Kofi are back in the Rumble, I hope they get to go far this time. For all the great moments Kofi has had in the Rumble saving himself, I feel like he should get a chance at being final four. Hell, Big E and Kofi both in the final four, there’s so much there to work with. Them working together, only for them to have to face each other, that’s so good just thinking about it!

As for the final segment, we got pretty good promo stuff out of Rollins and Roman, but it’s so hard to say who is supposed to be Face and Heel in this. Which since WWE always does Face VS Heel, that’s kinda bad. Rollins rubs in all the Heel things he’s done to Roman, but Tribal Chief Roman has been Heel this whole time so maybe this is Heel VS Heel for once? Rollins getting the better of Roman physically and emotionally, Roman has to find a way to beat Rollins all on his own. Or maybe even use Champion’s Advantage, where Rollins still wins but Roman keeps the belt.

My Score: 8.3/10