With only a few weeks until the Royal Rumble, SmackDown Live this week has a big show. The Usos defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, Becky Lynch returns, and AJ Styles takes on Sami Zayn in the main event.
The Usos (c) vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin – SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Last week, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin won an incredible triple threat tag team match against The New Day, Aiden English, and Rusev to become the new #1 Contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. They didn’t have to wait long for their opportunity because they get their title match tonight.
Benjamin and Gable double team Jimmy Uso and get the cover to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions. However, Gable and Jimmy Uso are both not the legal men, so the match has to be restarted.
The challengers look to double team the Usos again, but Jimmy Uso has it scouted. After Gable is knocked out of the ring, they double team Shelton Benjamin to retain the gold. Winners, and STILL SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Usos
The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango
Over the past couple months, the Bludgeon Brothers have been destroying any team in their path. After beating the Hype Bros so bad that they disbanded, their next targets were Fandango and Tyler Breeze. Last week, Harper and Rowan refused to end the match so they could assault Breezango even further. The only thing that did stop them was the Ascension, who claimed themselves as their best friends.
Before the recap videos finish, Harper and Rowan start the attack. The referee never gets a chance to start the match before the Ascension interferes again. The Bludgeon Brothers knock Konnor off of the apron before double teaming Viktor in the middle of the ring.
Aiden English (w/Rusev) vs. Xavier Woods (w/Big E & Kofi Kingston) – United States Championship Tournament (First Round)
Last week, Daniel Bryan announced a historic United States Championship tournament. The single-elimination tournament will crown the new US Champion after Dolph Ziggler dropped the title in the ring a couple weeks ago, vacating the belt in the process. The tournament started last week with Jinder Mahal defeating Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode defeating former United States Champion Baron Corbin. Whoever wins this match will take on Mahal in the next round.
Xavier Woods counters what seems to be an attempt at a super piledriver before he hits his signature leaping elbow drop to defeat Aiden English. Woods’ next match will be against the former WWE Champion. Winner: Xavier Woods | Eliminated: Aiden English
The final match of this tournament will take place at the Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View.
The Riott Squad vs. Natalya, Carmella, & Tamina (w/Lana)
After taking control of the SmackDown women’s division for a few weeks, The Riott Squad was confronted by the Welcoming Committee last week. Natalya, Carmella, Tamina, and Lana were not seen as a unit for a while after they tried to keep Charlotte Flair out of their show. Now that they have been outnumbered by the Riott Squad, the Welcoming Committee is back together.
Ruby Riott distracts the referee so Liv Morgan can shove Tamina off of the top rope. Sarah Logan then takes advantage to hit a cartwheel knee strike to the back of Tamina’s neck, finishing the match off with a win. Winners: The Riott Squad
After the match, the Riott Squad starts talking trash when they are interrupted by the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair. Flair says that their actions have consequences and she is joined by Naomi and the returning Becky Lynch. All three women mop the floor with the Riott Squad before sending them packing.
Announcement
Baron Corbin is officially entering the Royal Rumble match.
AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn (w/Kevin Owens)
On paper, this looks like Sami Zayn has the advantage with Kevin Owens at his side. However, both Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan are at ringside to make sure everything goes smoothly. If it is anything like the match they were involved in at Clash of Champions, they will overcomplicate things instead of solving them. McMahon tried to remove Zayn from ringside in AJ Styles’ match against Owens last week, but it just caused Owens to steal the win.
Referee Mike Chioda falls out of the ring and Owens checks up on him. McMahon sees that Owens might be trying to block Chioda from getting back in the ring so he shoves Owens to the ground. McMahon and Owens are both ejected from ringside, but all of the hulabaloo causes Zayn to hit the WWE Champion with the Helluva Kick. Winner: Sami Zayn
After the match, Styles grabs a microphone and says that he is tired of people involving in his matches. He suggests a handicap match against Zayn and Owens to solve all of the issues, so Daniel Bryan takes this opportunity to turn it into a handicap match for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble.
