The build towards Royal Rumble 2020 continued tonight as WWE SmackDown aired live from the Ford Center in Evansville, IN. The Usos returned to action tonight in the main event against King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. John Morrison also explained why he reunited with The Miz during tonight’s show.
WWE SmackDown Results (1/10)
- The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston
- Mandy Rose defeated Alexa Bliss
- Braun Strowman defeated Shinsuke Nakmura
- King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler defeated The Usos via DQ
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
John Morrison Insulted The WWE Universe
John Morrison was the guest on Miz TV to begin this week’s show. Last week on SmackDown, The Miz lost to Kofi Kingston and attacked him following the match. The crown in Evansville greeted Miz with a chorus of boos as he stood silently in the ring.
Miz ignored the boos and welcomed the crowd to Miz TV. He claimed that he was having a bad day last week and wasn’t in the mood for Kofi’s positivity. Miz apologized for his actions and noted that he has been going through a lot this month.
The Miz said that The Fiend threatened his daughter and then he failed to take the Universal Championship from him. John Morrison made his way to the ring and got a great reaction from the WWE Universe.
A “welcome back!” chant broke out as Morrison took a seat next to Miz in the ring. The Miz rolled a highlight reel of Morrison’s accomplishments in WWE. John claimed that he was supposed to return at Royal Rumble but saw what Miz was going through and wanted to be there for one of his best friends.
Morrison said that he was disappointed in the crowd for chanting “you suck!” at The Miz last week after one bad day. John scolded the crowd for never being in the ring and called a fan a d-bag. SmackDown Tag Team Champions New Day interrupted and Kofi wondered who Miz was trying to fool.
Big E and Kofi Kingston didn’t buy Miz’s apology and joked that he is not that good of an actor. Miz told Kofi that he respected that he was WWE Champion for six months and mocked Kingston for losing the title in six seconds to Brock Lesnar. Kingston pointed out that the match actually lasted eight seconds and stated that Miz was changing back into the obnoxious version of himself. Kingston added that the crowd was correct in chanting that The Miz sucks as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
The Miz Defeated Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston battled The Miz in a rematch tonight. Big E and John Morrison joined commentary for the match.
Match Recap: Kofi dominated early and the crowd was heavily behind him. The action spilled out of the ring and Miz shoved Kofi on top of Big E by the commentary table. Big E and Morrison then left commentary and were ringside for the remainder of the match. Morrison took out Big E and Miz capitalized on the distraction with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: Morrison & The Miz versus New Day should be an excellent feud for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. It is great to see Morrison back in WWE and it also refreshing that The Miz is a heel once again. He is much more entertaining in that role.
The Fiend Wants To Hurt Daniel Bryan At Royal Rumble
Another episode of the Firefly Fun House aired tonight during the show. Universal Champion Bray Wyatt said that not everyone is worthy of love. Bray stated that The Fiend feels the opposite of love for Daniel Bryan and that Bryan has been really naughty as of late.
Wyatt warned Bryan that he was in a ton of trouble at the Royal Rumble. Footage of Bryan’s brief stint in the Wyatt Family was shown as Wyatt claimed that he at first just wanted Daniel to remember and then he wanted change him. The episode of Firefly Fun House ended with Bray stating that The Fiend wants to hurt Bryan at Royal Rumble.
Daniel Bryan was interviewed backstage later during the show. Bryan said that he remembers outsmarting Bray and leaving the Wyatt Family six years ago. Daniel added that The Fiend has succeeding in changing him but has only made him stronger than ever.
He claimed that The Fiend can be hurt and he is going to take the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. Ramblin’ Rabbit appeared on the screen behind Bryan and claimed that he had the secret to beating The Fiend. Bray Wyatt grabbed Ramblin’ Rabbit and said “snitches get stitches”. Wyatt then stared at the camera before saying “let me in” to end the segment. Bryan later received the remains of Ramblin’ Rabbit in a gift box backstage.
Feud History: Daniel Bryan’s remarkable journey to becoming champion at WrestleMania 30 had a couple of speed bumps along the way. Daniel joined the Wyatt Family in December of 2013 but the Yes Movement was too strong and he left the group a couple of weeks later.
The Fiend retained the Universal Championship over Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series 2019. On the following episode of SmackDown, Daniel Bryan stated that WWE Universe has brought the Yes Movement back to life. The Fiend then attacked Daniel Bryan and ripped out his hair. Bryan then earned another title match at Royal Rumble after defeating King Corbin and The Miz in a Triple Threat match last month.
Otis Helped Mandy Rose Pick Up A Win
Mandy Rose and Otis continued their odd romance storyline tonight on SmackDown. Rose presented Otis with a cake that had “I’m sorry” written on it. Otis gave Mandy a fruitcake that his mother made on the December 27th episode of SmackDown. Dolph Ziggler then destroyed the fruitcake by stomping on it.
Match Recap: Mandy battled Alexa Bliss tonight with Nikki Cross and Sonya Deville ringside for the match. Alexa Bliss had control of the match but became distracted when Heavy Machinery’s music hit. Otis and Tucker came down the entrance ramp with the cake. Mandy capitalized on the distraction by rolling Alexa up for the victory. Rose smiled at Otis as he danced around with the cake following the match.
Opinion: This storyline has been quite entertaining so far. It seems like Mandy Rose is going to use Otis to get victories going forward. It’d be hilarious to see Otis catch Rose at Royal Rumble and save her from being eliminated. WWE has hinted at Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose not being on the same page during recent episodes of SmackDown so it will be interesting to see where this all goes in next few weeks.
Sasha Banks Didn’t Show Up For Her Match Against Lacey Evans
Lacey Evans was scheduled to face Sasha Banks tonight on SmackDown. Evans made her way to the ring but Sasha Banks was missing. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley appeared on the jumbotron and said that Banks was in Los Angeles finishing her rap album.
Evans stated that she was ready for a fight and challenged Bayley to title match. Bayley accused of Lacey of pandering to the crowd and insulted her by calling her an overbearing mother.
Bayley added that she is not Lacey’s “snot-nosed kid” and Evans got pissed off. Evans stormed backstage and approached Bayley’s locker room. Bayley attacked Lacey from behind and bashed her head off the wall several times. Evans battled back and went for the Woman’s Right but Bayley escaped.
Robert Roode Returned & Got Revenge On Roman Reigns
The Usos returned to action tonight in the main event of SmackDown. Jimmy and Jey squared off against King Corbon and Dolph Zigger.
Before the match, Roman Reigns noted that the end of 2019 has been rough after being embarrassed by Corbin and Ziggler. Roman said that he didn’t need the help of his friends this time, he needed the help of his family.
Reigns added that The Usos came up big for him last week and that 2020 is going to be his year. He vowed to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania for the fifth time. Jimmy and Jey referred to Corbin as “Queen Corbin” and said that he disrespected the whole family.
King Corbin interrupted and accused Reigns of being scared of him. Corbin vowed to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania. Roman challenged Corbin to a match at Royal Rumble and Corbin accepted. Corbin added that tonight they were going to handle the Big Dog’s two little bitches. Jimmy and Jey bounced off the ropes and took out Dolph and Corbin with a couple of Splashes.
Match Recap: The Revival interfered in the match early but Roman Reigns came back down to the ring to even the odds. Roman Reigns hit King Corbin with a Spear and the match ended in DQ. Reigns cleared off the announce table but was attacked from behind by Robert Roode. Robert planted Reigns with a Spinebuster on top of the announce table. Ziggler followed it up with an Elbow Drop that sent Roman crashing through the table. Roode, Ziggler, and Corbin buried Roman under the announce table and posed to close the show.
Roode served a suspension and was written off of WWE television as seen in the video below. Roode crossed the line and mentioned Roman’s family. Reigns beat him down and Roode was stretchered out of the arena on the November 29th episode of SmackDown.
Opinion: The only negative I took from this edition of SmackDown was that we are getting another Reigns versus Corbin match at Royal Rumble. It was inevitable, but their match at TLC was boring and don’t have any interest in seeing them battle again later this month. Overall, this week’s episode of SmackDown was a very entertaining show and hopefully that trend continues as WWE builds towards Royal Rumble on the 26th.
