It’s the first WWE Smackdown of 2016, and WWE has a lot to live up to. There’s a new announcer,Mauro Ranallo, a new network (USA), and two championship matches tonight. How will Smackdown deliver after all the hype?
The show starts off with Alberto Del Rio, who’s interrupted by John Cena. John challenges Del Rio to a US Title match tonight, but Del Rio refuses. After saying he would fight anyone else other than Cena, Cena brings out Kalisto. Cena starts doing the “Lucha!” chant and motion, while being a total goof.
Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio
The first bout of the night featured two of the best Mexican wrestlers WWE has seen, and they complemented each other very well. After some back and forth action (and Cena still being a goof), Kalisto hits Del Rio with a hurricanrana pin for the win. Winner: Kalisto
Miz TV
Miz TV, the show where he keeps getting interrupted by everybody. New Day enters, then Ziggler, then Goldust. Neville comes out and asks Miz to never talk again, which the other superstars in the ring agree. R-Truth accepts Del Rio’s US Open Challenge, however, there is none. Truth attacks Miz, and it looks like we have an 8-man tag team match!
Goldust, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, & Neville vs. The Miz and The New Day
After surprisingly losing to Heath Slater, Dolph Ziggler superkicks The Miz to pick up the win. Afterwards, he throws Goldust out of the ring to symbolize what will happen at the Royal Rumble. We will have to find out on Raw whether this is not a heel turn, or just a statement to the roster. Winners: Goldust, Ziggle, Neville, and R-Truth
Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) vs. Becky Lynch – Divas Championship
Apparently Jerry Lawler is the heel commentator now, which is better than him being a boring face commentator. After Becky’s win over Charlotte on Raw, she has a lot of momentum going into this championship match, but it wasn’t enough. Ric Flair is living up to his moniker of “The Dirtiest Player in the Game,” helping Charlotte get her foot on the rope during the Disarmer, leading to Charlotte stealing the victory. Winner, and still Divas Champion: Charlotte
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens – Intercontinental Championship
Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens have always had great battles with each other. There have been some great things in this match: Owens countered the rope rebound for Ambrose’s clothesline, Mauro Ranallo has been killing it on commentary, Ranallo mentioned that Ambrose is a Bengals fan, and Byron Saxton described Ambrose’s moves as his “arsenal of randomness”. The fight gets so intense that they brawl outside the ring, ending the match in a double count-out. Draw (count-out); still Intercontinental Champion: Dean Ambrose
What to look forward to next week in WWE:
Monday Night Raw: Brock Lesnar returns, Chris Jericho is back, and how will the feud between Becky Lynch and Charlotte develop before the Royal Rumble?
NXT: What will the first episode of NXT in three weeks be like, and who will be in line for title shots?
WWE Smackdown: How can WWE follow up after a solid first Smackdown of 2016?
