The first Friday Night SmackDown of 2022 is MASSIVE!

SmackDown welcomes back the Tribal Chief, but also the NEW reigning, defending, undisputed, WWE World Champion, BRRROCK! LESNARRR! What does the Beast have planned for the Head of the Table?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Sami Zayn VS Rick Boogs w/ Shinsuke Nakamura; Boogs wins.
• Championship Contender’s Match: Charlotte Flair VS Naomi; Charlotte wins and Naomi is denied a title shot.
• The Viking Raiders VS “Happy” Corbin & “Mad Cap” Moss; Corbin & Moss win.
• SmackDown Tag Team Championships Street Fight: The Usos VS The New Day; The Usos win and retain the titles.

PLAY BY PLAY

Roman Reigns is back!

After testing positive for COVID but clearly running through it, the Tribal Chief returns to SmackDown! Of course, he must now carry the Universal Championship himself since he fired Paul Heyman. He lifts it up for the pyro on stage, and then continues to the ring. Then he raises his finger because he’s the one, and then he raises his title again for the second round of pyro. Roman gets the mic to tell New England, “Acknowledge me!” But where to begin? He misses one week and it all falls apart. “But when you’re in isolation, you do a lot of thinking. There’s so many things I wanted to do, there’s so many things I wanted to say, and there’s so many people I wanted to see.”

But there are two people he never, ever wants to see again. Those two people are Brock Lesnar, and Paul Heyman. But here they come! The NEW WWE World Champion promised to see Roman here tonight, and here we are! Brock has his pyro go off, then he goes down the ramp. Lesnar takes a lap, goes up the steps and into the ring to hold up his title. The World and Universal Champions are here at the same time and the Mohegan Sun Arena is all fired up! Heyman starts the introduction but Lesnar stops him to take the mic. Lesnar gets right in Roman’s face and gives his best Heyman impersonation as he tells the Tribal Chief, Head of the Table, “allow me to introduce myself.”

THE REIGNING! DEFENDING! WWE CHAMPION OF THE WORRRLD! BRRROCK! LESNARRR! Fans cheer for that one and Lesnar has a big smile on his face. Lesnar asks Heyman how he did and Heyman says that was great. But Roman, “Acknowledge me.” Lesnar says Roman has a lot to say all the time, and Lesnar doesn’t. Last Saturday, Lesnar got what he wanted in the WWE Heavyweight Championship. But Roman got what he wanted, too. Now then, why don’t we give the fans what they want? Title VS Title, Champion VS Champion. “Let’s do this, Roman.” Fans chant, “YES! YES! YES!” They want a Winner Takes All!

Roman scowls, and then he smiles. “It’s a good idea. But it’s not my idea. And this is my show. And we do what I say on my time. And on top of that, I don’t do business with people who do business with trash like Paul Heyman.” Oh, is that so? Heyman himself asks how Roman can talk like that. How did Roman get that title? Heyman, that’s how! How did he keep that title? Heyman! Heyman protected Roman from Lesnar, not because Lesnar could beat him but because Heyman loved Roman! And what did Roman do!? Lesnar calms Heyman down to ask what he just said. Well, Roman was all Heyman had while Lesnar was gone. Then Roman assaulted- SHUT UP, PAUL!

Roman doesn’t want Lesnar talking to Heyman like that. Oh? Or what? Heyman has them both calm down, not wanting Lesnar to talk to Roman that way. Lesnar says he told Paul to shut up. Roman SUPERMAN PUNCHES Lesnar down! Roman then laughs his way out, and Heyman is shocked! Did Roman do that for Paul or for himself? Or is that exactly what Lesnar wanted out of the Tribal Chief?

Backstage interview with Sami Zayn.

Megan spooks him during his preparations, but she asks him about his coming Intercontinental Championship match. Tonight, he takes on Rick Boogs. The thing is, it has been over a year since Sami was “robbed” of his title. Now, here he is as the #1 contender, and Nakamura is ducking him! Boogs is in his way tonight! Sami “explains” something about Boogs. Boogs is a gorilla with a guitar. He is no match for the master strategist! And tonight… Sami is amazed to see Johnny Knoxville walking in! What brings him in? He’s going to talk to management about entering the Royal Rumble. Oh right, his little video.

Sami tells Knoxville something that only a “locker room leader” like himself will say: This isn’t Jackass. You can’t just run into a wall 100 miles per hour. You need technical skills. No, he just needs to be able to throw people over the top rope. Sami is trying to be nice about this. But what he’s saying is, Knoxville is not qualified for this, nor is he qualified for the Royal Rumble. Maybe if he showed Sami that special something, then maybe. But until then, just stay out of the way. Knoxville calls Sami an idiot, but the music hits. Sami heads to the ring, will Sami show that something special in his match?

Sami Zayn VS Rick Boogs w/ Shinsuke Nakamura!

The Great Liberator is the #1 contender to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, but being the master strategist he proclaims to be, he won’t go after the King of Strong Style before he clears out the rockin’ rook that stands by Nakamura’s side. Will Sami clear the board of Boogs? Or will he get rocked and rolled in the New Year?

The bell rings and Boogs storms up to Sami, but Sami uses ropes as a defense. The two of them then circle, but again Sami uses ropes for defense. Boogs grabs at a leg, but lets go at 4. Sami runs, but into the EXPLODER! Boogs gets Sami again, another EXPLODER! Boogs trophy lifts and presses Sami a few times before the SLAM! Sami bails out, Boogs air drums and air guitars before SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and Boogs deadlifts and gut wrenches Sami all around before the SUPLEX! Fans fire up as Sami goes to the apron and Boogs storms over. Boogs brings Sami up but Sami hotshots him back! Sami CLUBS Boogs from behind, then puts Boogs on the ropes. Sami chokes Boogs with both knees, then lets off as the ref counts. Sami bumps Boogs off buckles, goes up the corner and leaps for a flying elbow! Cover, TWO! Sami seethes, he goes back up a corner, and he leaps, but into Boogs’ BEARHUG! Boogs thrashes Sami around, then shifts to a suplex! Sami throws knees and Boogs drops to a knee!

Sami gets to his feet, but Boogs suplexes as he stands back up! Fans fire up for the strength of Boogs as he SLAMS Sami down! Boogs fires up, Sami bails out, and Boogs goes out to pursue. Sami tries to run away, but Boogs drags him from the barriers! Boogs throws Sami in the ring, but Sami BOOTS him from the apron! Nakamura goes to check on Boogs, fans chant, “Sami Sucks!” but Sami gets Boogs up and back into the ring. Sami glares at Nakamura, Nakamura shows off the title, but Sami says that’s coming home to him. Sami goes to Boogs, Boogs gets a cradle! BOOGS WINS!

Winner: Rick Boogs, by pinfall

Sami’s ego got the better of him! A big win for Boogs and Sami is claiming Boogs pulled tights! But wait! Here comes Knoxville! Knoxville dumps Sami out of the ring! That’d be an elimination in the Rumble! And he is in! Will Knoxville be able to at least eliminate Sami for real?

Backstage interview with The New Day.

King Woods & Sir Kofi Kingston are here, and Kayla brings up that tonight is their final chance at the Usos’ SmackDown Tag Team Championships, and in a Tag Team Street Fight! Does it concern them that they have to play by the Usos’ rules? As far as Woods understands, there are no rules in a Street Fight. But that is rather fitting of those “barnacle boys,” and Kofi says they will put a beating on both Jim and Jeyson Uso tonight. They, like the proverbial mackerel, have taken the proverbial bait. Now they will take the proverbial catch onto the proverbial boat.

But that, fair lady Kayla, is where the proverbs end. For tonight, the literal conclusion will be ya bois, the NEW~ DAY~ as the actual and factual W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~! They royally laugh and even tip Kayla some doubloons. Don’t spend it all in one place. Will the New Day have plenty more gold where that came from after tonight?

Charlotte Flair is here!

The Queen is still SmackDown Women’s Champion after vanquishing the new released Toni Storm, but what is next for her? We’ll hear about Charlotte’s plans, after the break.

SmackDown returns, Charlotte has the mic and says, “Happy New Year! Let me guess, your new year’s resolution was to eat healthy and go to the gym, and whatever boring stuff normal people have to say to make themselves feel better.” But as the most decorated woman in sports entertainment, hers is a bit more ambition. Hers is to make history! Speaking of, in less than four weeks is the Royal Rumble. Simply put, that match changes lives. Whoever wins gets to choose the champion of their choosing to main event WrestleMania. So let’s look at who is in this year’s Women’s Rumble match.

The video package plays to show us the star-studded line-up. Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H, the Bella Twins, Shotzi Blackheart, Natalya, Michelle McCool, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Queen Zelina Vega, Mickie James, Tamina, Kelly Kelly, Aliyah, Summer Rae, Naomi, Shayna Baszler, and even LITA. The winner gets their chance at a title at WrestleMania 38, kicking off the Road to WrestleMania. Charlotte says, “Wow. Now that’s an incredible list. Former champions, rising stars, legends, WWE Hall of Famers. But the reason that I bring up these women who are going to be compete is because this year, I have the great pleasure of announcing someone very special who is going to be in this year’s Women’s Rumble match.”

It’s the game changer, the living legend, the former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion, and she is someone that all the fans admire. It’s… CHARLOTTE FLAIR! Oh of course. Charlotte vows to be the first champion to enter and win the Rumble to then choose her opponent. But here comes Naomi! Naomi says, “Hey, Charley~! Y’know, you don’t have to wait ’til WrestleMania to face the challenger of your choosing. Cuz you can choose to face me, and put your title on the line, right now!” Seriously? Charlotte knows Naomi was champion a couple years ago, but what has she done recently to deserve a match with Charlotte? Nothing?

Well, Naomi knows she’s done this. SLAP! Charlotte is furious, but Naomi throws her right out of the ring! Charlotte is in an even worse mood now, but is she going to give Naomi at least part of what she wants?

Championship Contender’s Match: Charlotte Flair VS Naomi!

SmackDown returns and this is a match! And Charlotte SMACKS Naomi off the announce desk! Charlotte soaks up the heat, she drags Naomi up and into the ring, and then covers, TWO! Charlotte pushes Naomi around, bumps her off buckles, then bumps Naomi off more buckles. Charlotte slaps Naomi around, but Naomi blocks the buckle bump to ROCK Charlotte with a right! And then Naomi bumps Charlotte off buckles! Naomi whips Charlotte corner to corner, Charlotte reverses but Naomi goes up to boot Charlotte down! SLIDING LARIAT! Cover, ONE! Naomi KICKS Charlotte, runs, but into a tilt-o-whirl BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!

Charlotte scowls, kicks Naomi around, then chokes Naomi on the rope. The ref counts, Charlotte lets off at 4, then drags Naomi up. Charlotte snapmares and KNEES Naomi in the back, to then wrap on the headscissor necklock! Charlotte dribbles Naomi off the mat again and again, then squeezes tight. Naomi endures, fights up, but Charlotte THROWS Naomi, then kips up! Fans “WOO~” as Charlotte drags Naomi up. Charlotte whips, Naomi reverses and hits SOLE FOOD! Naomi then headlocks to CORNER BULLDOG Charlotte down! Naomi goes up as fans rally, but Charlotte BOOTS her down to the floor!

Charlotte goes out after Naomi, TOSSES her over the barriers, and then dusts off her hands. Fans “WOO~” and the Queen drags Naomi back up, but Naomi ROUNDHOUSES Charlotte away! Naomi goes up the barriers to hit a BLOCKBUSTER to the floor! Both women are down and the ring count is 7! Naomi hurries up and in at 8! But Sonya Deville stops the count by walking out. She may have neglected to mention something: this match can’t be won by count-out. Sonya saves Charlotte and screws Naomi in one fell swoop! And then Charlotte CLOBBERS Naomi! Charlotte grins and soaks up the heat as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Charlotte drags Naomi around to then drive elbows into the shoulder. Charlotte has a neck wrench and she leans on Naomi. “I can do this all day!” Fans rally, Naomi fights up, and she throws elbows then a JAWBREAKER! Charlotte staggers, but she stops Naomi’s boots, only to get the ENZIGURI on the rebound! Naomi runs, tilt-o-whirl crossbody! Cover, TWO! LEG DROP! Cover, TWO! Naomi grows frustrated, but she gets Charlotte up to whip to ropes. Charlotte reverses, Naomi springboards for the FLYING CHUCK! Cover, TWO! Fans rally for Naomi as she goes to the corner and climbs back up.

Naomi sees Charlotte stand, and she leaps for a CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Naomi aims from a corner, Charlotte slowly gets up, REAR- ROLL UP! Cover, TWO!! Charlotte has the legs, FIGURE FOUR! Naomi fights the Figure Eight, crawls to ropes, ROPEBREAK! But now Sonya makes another last minute change. Or rather, she “forgot” there are no disqualifications. So this is now a NO HOLDS BARRED contender’s match?! Naomi almost wants to cuss Sonya out, but she avoids a boot to ROUNDHOUSE Charlotte back! Naomi slingshots, Charlotte holds ropes and stomps away on Naomi!

The ref reprimands, Charlotte lets off and she drags Naomi to a drop zone. Charlotte goes up the corner now and fans fire up. MOONSAULT, but Naomi moves STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Charlotte is shocked! Sonya can’t rig anything on that count! Naomi ghost pins! TWO!! Naomi dodges another boot, fires off forearms, then shoves Charlotte, DOUBLE BOOTS take them both down! The ref tells Sonya he can’t do a standing count, she just took that away. Naomi gets up, Charlotte follows, and fans are rallying. Naomi ENZIGURIS, then runs, but Charlotte pulls hair! Back suplex, but Naomi slips out to full nelson, BUBBA BOMB! Body scissor clutch, TWO!!

Charlotte escapes and Naomi is beside herself! Charlotte crawls over as Naomi sits up. They clinch, Naomi headlocks, but Charlotte shoves Naomi into buckles! DRAPING BACKBREAKER and SLAM! Cover, TWO! Charlotte is furious but she and Naomi rise again. Charlotte reels Naomi in, gets her up, but Naomi pops out of the bomb for a FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Naomi hurries to get Charlotte in the drop zone! SPLIT- NO! Charlotte LCOBBERS Naomi, hoists her up, BIG back suplex!! Charlotte runs in, NATURAL SELECTION! Cover, Charlotte!

Winner: Charlotte Flair, by pinfall; Naomi doesn’t get a title shot

“And your loser! Naomi! And the winner! Charlotte Flair!” Sonya just had to put a punctuation on it. But of course, she’s the only reason The Queen survived. Will Naomi ever get this Deville off her back?

Backstage interview with The Usos.

The “Kingdom of the New Day” are undeterred by the Street Fight stipulation, but Jimmy & Jey say, “As they should be.” The New Day had their chance at Day 1, and what happened? The Usos paid homage to the dopest tag teams in the game, hit the dopest of tag team finishers, the 3D, or now 1D, as in one and done! And the same thing happens tonight. The classic rivalry between Usos and New Day ends tonight! They want a street fight? Cool. The New Day will finally learn why they call the Usos, “The ones.” But will Jimmy & Jey be the ones that lose those titles tonight?

Adam Pearce finds Sonya Deville backstage.

He feels they need to talk. She says it wasn’t what it looked like. Pearce says he’s been on the phone with WWE upper brass all night because Roman doesn’t have a Royal Rumble opponent. Lesnar VS Lashley will be the WWE World Championship, but Roman needs a challenger for his Universal Championship. And apparently, the choice is all up to Pearce. Wow! Who’ll he choose? Well that choice has to be by the end of the night. He suggests they walk and talk, maybe an idea will come to them.

“Happy” Corbin is here!

He has his pyro, but what about “Mad Cap” Moss? Will Happy Talk actually be tolerable with the mystery guest Corbin’s got lined up? We find out, after the break.

SmackDown returns and Corbin is still without Moss. Corbin welcomes us to his show, and he thanks us “Happy Heads” for coming out tonight. Now, clearly he’s here alone. COVID makes it where you have to watch your back. Someone who failed to watch his back was Drew McIntyre. Now, if you went out on New Year’s Eve and got too happy and missed Day 1, here is what happened. After the win over Moss, McIntyre got jumped by Moss and Corbin! And they went after his neck with the chair and steel girder! Corbin laughs at the pain he caused McIntyre, “That makes me incredibly happy.” It was every single penny of that fine.

Now, what he and Moss did to McIntyre was supposed to keep him out for months and months and months, but it turns out McIntyre is here tonight! So please welcome Corbin’s guest, “the man that is tougher than a slab of granite, stronger than a silverback gorilla. He is the Scottish Warrior, DREW MCINTYRE~!” But of course, it isn’t McIntyre, it is Moss in a horrible cosplay. Moss has a kilt, floppy toy sword, a walking cane and a neck brace to mock McIntyre. He didn’t even leave his suspender straps in the back! MossIntyre gets in the ring, “needs help” sitting down, and Corbin asks him, “How are you even walking after what Mad Cap and I did to you at Day 1?”

“Well, the official cuisine of Scotland is haggis. Sheep intestines inside a sheep stomach. After a lifetime of eating that disgusting mess, I can survive anything.” Wow, even the accent is knockoff. Corbin says MossIntyre is tough and brave, and then asks how a man like Corbin would fare in a match with him. “Oh, you’d murder me!” As soon as Corbin got his hands on him, MossIntyre would soil his kilt. Not that you could tell, he’d smell the same as he always does. Well okay, one last question. When can all of us expect him to compete again? “Oh, never again! I could actually compete tomorrow, but I’m going to milk this injury and use it as an excuse to pursue my true passion: painting water colors and writing poetry about the Loch Ness Monster.”

Corbin and Moss can’t hold it in any longer, they laugh. Moss thinks he actually fooled people. But he is a fool, so… “RAID!” Here come the VIKING RAIDERS, Erik & Ivar! And they rush the ring! They want their match with these chuckle lugs now! Will Corbin & Moss no longer be laughing after their Viking Experience?

The Viking Raiders VS “Happy” Corbin & “Mad Cap” Moss!

SmackDown returns and Moss headlocks Erik. Ivar tags in as Erik powers out, and then Ivar scoops and SLAMS Moss! Then Erik scoops and SLAMS Ivar onto Moss! Fans fire up with “RAID! RAID!” Ivar drags Moss up, Moss kicks his leg. Tag to Corbin, but Ivar cartwheels and BOOTS! Tag to Erik before Ivar runs in to SPLASH Corbin! SHOTGUN KNEES from Erik, then they DECK Moss! HIP ATTACK COMBO! Cover, TWO! Erik whips Corbin, Corbin reverses but Erik stops to ELBOW Corbin! But Moss gets a cheap shot in! DEEP SIX! Cover, Ivar breaks it! Corbin drags Erik up to ROCK him with a right, then throws hands in the corner!

Corbin keeps Erik in the corner for more, tags in Moss, and Moss runs and runs to CLOBBER Erik! Moss is fired up but fans boo. Moss drags Erik up, Erik throws body shots and shoves Moss away. Erik leaps, but Moss catches him for a FALL AWAY SLAM! Moss tags Corbin, they mug Erik and Corbin stomps away in the corner. Erik throws hands on them both but Corbin jumps to ELBOW Erik down! Tag to Moss, he drags Erik up to whip. Erik DECKS Corbin, but Moss ROCKS Erik! Moss fires off hands, the ref counts, Moss lets off at 4. Moss then jukes the ref to fire off more! The ref keeps counting, pushes Moss back, but then Erik throws Moss out!

Moss hurries to get back in, into a KNEE from Erik! Fans fire up but Corbin lurks near Ivar. Erik crawls over, Corbin trips Ivar off the apron to POST him! Moss RAMS into Erik, then reels him in for a thumbs up and NECKBREAKER DRIVER! Cover off “The Punchline,” Moss & Corbin win!

Winners: “Happy” Corbin & “Mad Cap” Moss, by pinfall

Moss finishes this off for the Happy Folks, but will these hyenas be laughing all the way up the tag division ranks?

WWE has a medical update on Drew McIntyre.

His injury is a cervical neck strain with severe contusions, and he is scheduled for a follow-up with a specialist. Will the Scottish Warrior be able to return to crush Corbin & Moss in the near future?

Sheamus speaks.

“Oh cry me a river.” McIntyre is hurt, but who cares? Sheamus cares about his protégé, Ridge Holland. At Day 1, while Sheamus was stomping all over the Swiss Cyborg, Ricochet went and stomped all over Ridge’s face. The lad’s nose is sticking out of the back of his head! Sheamus feels a bit responsible. But he has an idea to cheer Ridge up. Sheamus will enter the Royal Rumble, and that’ll put a smile a country mile long on Ridge’s face when Sheamus throws out 29 other men and go on to face a champion of his choosing, and then win at WrestleMania! The Celtic Warrior has done it before, can he do it again?

Roman Reigns sits in his room.

There’s a knock on the door, and Roman has them come in. It’s Adam Pearce. he’s giving Roman notice that he’s chosen Roman’s next opponent. Oh, Pearce chose? Yes. Well unless it’s Pearce facing him, Roman doesn’t care. There’s no one here he hasn’t smashed, so pick whoever you want. Now, he’d like to watch his cousins’ match in pace. That means leave. Pearce leaves, but who will he decide takes on the Tribal Chief at the Royal Rumble?

SmackDown Tag Team Championships Street Fight: The Usos VS The New Day!

This is it! With nothing holding them back, these top tier rivals look to put this to bed! Will Jimmy & Jey still be the ones holding onto the gold? Or will nothing stop King Woods & Sir Kofi from becoming TWELVE-TIME WWE Tag Team Champions?

SmackDown returns and the Usos make their entrance. The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and Roman is watching closely. Will he see them do the Bloodline proud? Or will he see things start to fall apart?

Kofi and Jimmy start, and the hand start flying! Kofi snapmares, tags Woods, and Kofi PENALTY KICKS! Woods SLIDING LARIATS, Kofi IMPLODER SPLASHES! Woods adds the FIST DROP, covers, TWO! Tag back to Kofi, but Jey gets in to save Jimmy from Up Up Down Down! Fans fire up as Kofi climbs, and Kofi TRUST FALLS the Usos down! The New Day are all fired up and standing tall as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again, and things have moved to the stage! They all brawl, Woods after Jey and Kofi after Jimmy! Jimmy headbutts Kofi but Woods has ground ‘n’ pound on Jey! Jimmy whips, Kofi reverses and Jimmy hits LED boards! Woods whips Jey into LED boards, too! Woods roars and fans fire up! Woods and Kofi then bring the Usos back down the ramp, this has to finish in the ring. Jimmy fights back with body shots to RAM Kofi into barriers! Woods puts Jey in, but Jimmy ROCKS Woods with an uppercut! Jimmy sees Kofi coming and he FLAPJACKS him on the apron! But Woods SUPERKICKS Jimmy down!

Jey drags Woods up by his hair, but Woods GAMANGIRIS free! Jey staggers, into the TORNADO DDT! Woods covers, TWO! Jimmy returns, dodges Woods and POP-UP SAMOAN DROPS! Cover, TWO! Jimmy gets up, Kofi fires off hands! Kofi whips, Jimmy reverses, Jey joins in, ALLEY-UCE! Cover, TWO! Roman is watching but it’s hard to say if he looks concerned. Jey goes out to look under the ring, and he brings out a toolbox! Jey tosses tape to Jimmy, and they tape Woods to the ropes! Jey throws hands on Woods while Jimmy finishes with the one arm. Jey gets the other arm, but Kofi INVERTED SUPLEXES Jimmy! SOS for Jey!! Cover, TWO!!

Woods works on the tape, because now it’s 2v1! Kofi hurries to help, Woods is free, but the Usos run in! The New Day dump them out! But the Usos drag them out of the ring, but Kofi and Woods punch back! The New Day have the Usos against the desk, but Jimmy POSTS Kofi! Woods gets up, Jey THROWS Woods over the barriers! The Usos pull steel steps apart and they aim at Kofi! They run in, and RAM Kofi down! Then they go over the barriers and find Woods! They run in and RAM him down now! The Usos throw the steps away to raise their fingers, #WeTheOnes standing tall now.

The Usos go back to Kofi, they throw hands as fans rally and duel. Woods returns as he LEAPS off the barriers, and he CROSSBODIES the Usos down! Woods clutches his leg but everyone is down as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns once again, Woods shoves Jey off the corner and goes after Jimmy! Woods has Jimmy in an Electric Chair, Kofi adjusts, NEW DAY DOOMSDAY! Cover, TWO!! Kofi drags himself over to a corner, and Woods brings out ARMOR? Well, it’s a costume, but he gives Kofi the breastplate and Woods puts on the helmet! IRON HEDBUTT! BREASTPLATE SMACK! Jey SUPERKICKS but the helmet protects Woods! HEADBUTT! BREASTPLATE! Woods takes off the helmet, he and Kofi throw the armor to the Usos, DOUBLE VAN DAMINATORS! Cover, TWO!! The Usos survive but the New Day regroups.

Woods points to under the ring and fans rally up. “We Want Tables!” The Usos gave the Dudleys a shout out, time for the New Day to do the same! Woods brings out a TABLE! Woods puts the table in the ring, Kofi sets it up, in a corner, and Woods drags Jimmy up. Fans fire up as Woods runs Jimmy, but Jimmy reverses! Woods stops himself, ROLLING ELBOW! Jimmy SUPERKICKS back! Kofi runs into an uppercut but he SUPERKICKS Jimmy! Jey SUPERKICKS Kofi! Jey aims at Woods from across the way, “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey runs in, but Kofi slips under, TROUBLE IN PARADISE! Cover, Jimmy breaks it using the breastplate!

Woods is at the corner, Jimmy runs over but into a GAMANGIRI! Woods climbs the corner, Jey runs in to trip Woods up! Jey gets Jimmy up, the Usos DOUBLE SUPERKICK Woods out of the Tree of Woe! They DOUBLE SUPERKICK Kofi down! And then DOUBLE SUPERKICK SANDWICH!! The Usos take the table for their own and set it up at center! Kofi flounders at the ropes, Usos hold their fingers up high, ONE D through the table!! Cover, the Usos win!

Winners: The Usos, by pinfall (still SmackDown Tag Team Champions)

And it’s done! The New Day fail to take the titles from the Usos and must now wait until someone else dethrones the Bloodline. But can anyone stop the ones who are perhaps the greatest tag team champions ever?

Roman is relieved.

He is relieved that his cousins kept the title in the family. But then a rather curious knock at his door gets his attention. Is that… the Shield theme? Roman lets them enter, and it’s SETH ROLLINS?! And he starts laughing it up! Is the Visionary the one Pearce has named to face the Tribal Chief?

My Thoughts:

This was actually a great SmackDown to follow up Day 1. We got great stuff in the main title(s) story, though I’m rather unsure what’s going on with that sudden dysfunction between Heyman and Lesnar. I get Lesnar was pretty demanding back when he was Heyman’s guy, but I hope then don’t just simply reset things to Heyman being Roman’s Special Counsel and Lesnar’s a Heel and all that. Lesnar being even moderately Face with Heyman by his side was becoming really fun, and it made a good foil to still rather Heel Lashley and MVP. But I bet we get a bit more on that with Monday.

Rollins being the surprise challenger to Roman is a really wild move. Everyone out there is talking about, and maybe hoping for, Winner Takes All of Roman VS Lesnar but who knows now. The apparent plan before Roman’s COVID diagnosis was that Rollins would take the world title in the Fatal 4. Could Rollins win the Universal Championship as a way to balance things out? Maybe we also get less a unified title and more the (newest) end to the brand split? WWE has been downsizing their rosters, both on and off screen, maybe they’re going to trim down to one roster for RawDown to make that all work out.

Charlotte declaring for the Rumble while still champion might work with all of that, too. She doesn’t have a clear challenger after Toni Storm asked to be let go and many other names being cut long before, so she has something to do now. That list of Women’s Rumble entries was curious for a few reasons. Sasha Banks not being on there is curious, but maybe she’s more of a surprise-not-surprise entry. One that’s surprising and already sending ripples through the IWC is Mickie James while she’s still with Impact and still champion. I’m actually surprised Pat McAfee was allowed to say Mickie had the title. If Charlotte does win, will she choose Becky to unify those titles?

And in a bit of serendipity, the stories of Sonya being biased against Naomi and Sonya being biased towards Charlotte come together as Sonya keeps making it so Charlotte survives to defeat Naomi. I wouldn’t mind this continuing on the Road to Mania, with Naomi aiming to mess up Charlotte’s plan to be champion going into Mania, and maybe even Pearce actually countering Sonya for once. Sami VS Boogs was an alright filler to keep us waiting on Sami VS Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship, but apparently it was also a vehicle for Johnny Knoxville to get in on the action. His interaction with Sami backstage and then him dumping Sami out of the ring, that is definitely the spot they’re going for in the Rumble match.

Sheamus had a good promo to keep his grudge against McIntyre alive while also showing some concern for what happened to Ridge Holland. Happy Talk was not at all any better, and it should’ve been obvious that Moss was somehow, someway Corbin’s mystery guest. Corbin & Moss of course defeat the Viking Raiders, those two are getting a big Heel push right now. Moss is still impressive in the ring, at least. Then we got just an awesome tag main event, as expected of Usos and New Day. The Usos retaining was a small surprise but they seem to be shouting out the Dudleys a lot. Are they trying to swing a match with Bubba and D-Von? That’d be awesome to see but is it even possible business wise?

My Score: 8.5/10