WWE Smackdown (1/10/25)

WWE Smackdown

Moda Center

Portland, Oregon

January 10, 2025

Commentators: Joe Tessitore & Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

We're officially on the road to the Royal Rumble after the mixed bag that was the Netflix Raw debut. After spending half the show ass-kissing, hopefully Smackdown will be back to normal. We got a US title match tonight as Shinsuke Nakamura takes on LA Knight....YEAHHH. Roman Reigns defeated Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat so it'll be interesting to see how the "new Bloodline" fares now that Solo has lost. Let's get to the show.

Joe Tessitore welcomes us to Smackdown as he brings up Rhea Ripley's victory over Liv Morgan on Raw for the World Women's Championship. Tessitore and Barrett gives an old school style intro in front of the desk with microphones ala Vince McMahon and Randy Savage from 32 years earlier since this is the 32nd anniversary of the first Raw. WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton is here, US Champion Shinsuke Nakamura is here with a cool looking hat as well as Paul Heyman. We then get an unnecessarily long recap of Raw from Monday before finally cutting to Paul in the ring.

Heyman introduces himself and says he's been waiting to address the island of relevancy. Paul says there's only officially one REIGNING, DEFENDING TRIBAL CHIEF and that's Roman Reigns. The crowd chants OTC and Paul says he has news from Roman he wants to share with the fans and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Here comes Cody Rhodes to hear the news and they shake hands in the ring. Heyman says Cody deserves respect from everyone for being the champion and Roman has asked him to say this to his face. Heyman says Roman Reigns has got the Ola Fala back and now he wants the WWE Championship back. Heyman says Roman is going to win the Royal Rumble and fight Cody at Wrestlemania. Heyman says "Respectfully, what do you want to talk about?" Cody grabs the mic but before he can say anything, Kevin Owens from the Uecker seats says he's got something to say. He wants to know why Cody would shake hands with The Rock. Owens says now he's shaking hands with Heyman knowing Reigns wants his title back. Owens says he did it to himself because he should have left Roman to rot but now Roman is back in power. Cody has enough and makes a mad dash toward Kevin and catches him on the stairs.

As they brawl, suddenly Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga have Paul Heyman cornered, ruh roh! Heyman begs off but here comes Jimmy Uso for the save. Jimmy superkicks Jacob twice and Tama once. Jimmy does Umaga bumps to both of them to clear the ring. Jimmy shakes hands with Paul and grabs a chair. He wails on Jacob and Tama but Jacob doesn't seem fazed. Jacob drops Jimmy with a running back elbow and its a double team. Jacob and Tama put a chair on Jimmy's head as a referee gets in the ring, only for Jacob to superkick him down. Jacob and Tama choke Jimmy with their boots but here comes Cody Rhodes back down the stairs. Kenny Dykstra of the Suit Brigade gets superkicked as well. Cody gets in and throws Tama over the top rope. Jacob wants some but he runs into a series of right hands. Cody clotheslines Fatu over the top and out as Tama pulls Jacob back. Wade Barrett says Solo Sikoa is nowhere to be found but crisis has been averted as we go to break.

Back from commercial Nick Aldis and the security team are trying to get rid of Tama and Jacob. Jacob throws all the security members down except one. He tells the last man standing he better think about his life right now when suddenly LA Knight bumrushes Jacob. Knight throws him out of the building and says to Aldis "I put his ass outside, now I got a title to win...yeahhhh". Aldis smiles as we cut to Michin in the ring. Piper Niven is wearing one of the finest sequined suits you'll ever see in Chelsea Green's intro. On to the match.

Match 1

Michin vs Chelsea Green (with Piper Niven) for the WWE Women's United States Championship

Bell rings and Michin goes for Eat Defeat right off the bat which causes Chelsea to look for a place to hide early. Chelsea goes for a big boot but misses, running into a series of strikes. Michin hits a sidekick and a dropkick, covering for 1...2..no. Tessitore says Michin has never held singles gold as she does the tarantula to Chelsea in the corner. Michin goes up to the top but misses a splash. Chelsea throws Michin outside as we get a graphic of Pretty Deadly vs Los Garza of Legada Fantasma up later. Chelsea throws Michin into the barrier and poses with Piper, sliding inside. Michin back inside gets forearmed in the back as we go to break. Back from commercial Michin fights out of a chinlock only for Chelsea to re-apply it. Michin counters with a back suplex and an elbow to the side of the head. Chelsea's charge in the corner eats boot and Michin hits two consecutive standing hurracaranas. Michin hits the dropkick into the corner before twerking much to Wade Barrett's delight. She hits the Long Back Attack in the corner and covers for 1...2...no. Michin walks right into Downward Spiral with Chelsea covering for 1..2...no. Chelsea screams in frustration before going to the top rope. Chelsea misses the missile dropkick and Michin responds with kicks to the head. Michin goes for the top rope but narrowly avoids Piper Niven trying to trip her up. She kicks Niven in the face and cannonballs on her. Michin goes to the top rope but Chelsea rolls through a crossbody, hooking the tights for 1...2...3 to win the match. Tessitore "and THAT is how she retains it". Good match and Michin plays the perfect opposition for Chelsea. Green is gaining steam as the US Champ for sure.

Time of match: 8:43

Winner: Michin by pinfall (still US Champion)

Post match has Niven in for the beat down. Piper hits a running senton of her own as Chelsea laughs it up at the entrance way. Michin will get another shot for sure some time soon. Back to Joe and Wade who goes over the tag team situation where Pretty Deadly and Los Garza interfered in the DIY/Motor City Machine Guns match. We're shown footage of earlier today where MCMG, Pretty Deadly and Los Garza are having a pow-wow with Nick Aldis. All three teams argue with each other M*A*S*H style until A-Town Down Under walk in as well. Pretty Deadly is happy to see them but not the other two. Aldis says tonight it'll be Los Garza against Pretty Deadly and Motor City Machine Guns against A-Town Down Under. Aldis warns Waller not to interrupt him again and Waller brushes it off. On to the next match.

Match 2

Los Garza (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo) with Santos Escobar and Elektra vs Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince)

Barrett asks why Joe Tessitore doesn't disco dance but he can't answer because Los Garza attacks at the bell. Los Garza sends Pretty Deadly outside and Humberto suicide dives Wilson. Angel teases an asai moonsault but Elton prince tucks his tail and bravely flees. Carrillo throws Wilson in and sunset flips in. Both men misses kicks but Berto finally hits an enziguiri. Berto hits a standing moonsault and covers for 1...2..no. Garza tags in and Wilson begs off before lunging for a tag.....nowhere close. Garza hits the Unit Slam and covers for 1...2...no. Garza hits a knee to the face with Wilson on the apron and tags in Berto. Berto covers for a deuce and hits a springboard armdrag. He hits another enziguiri and Barrett calls Wilson a disaster class tonight. Prince from the outside blind tags and snaps Berto off the top rope to the floor. Barrett "TICK....TICK...BOOM!" We go to commercial and back from break, Prince has a chinlock on Carrillo. Carrillo caters to the crowd to power up (the defacto face in this one) out of it. Carrillo forearms Prince down but misses the enziguiri. Wilson tags in but misses a charge in the corner. Berto gets the hot tag to Garza who cleans house. He hits backbreakers on both guys then hits a corner enziguiri. A high crossbody from Angel gets 1...2....no. Garza hits a hurracarana and Wilson shouts for DIY to come save him. Nobody comes out so Garza hits a superkick on Wilson, covering for 1...2...no. Garza kicks Wilson down but Prince pulls him down by the hair. Prince tags in officially and Escobar crotches him on the top rope. Los Garza hits the FTY on Prince with Carrillo covering for 1...2...3 to win the match. Kind of weird with Los Garza as the defacto faces despite being heels but still entertaining to watch. Once Fantasma's run is over, Carrillo could be a babyface singles star someday.

Time of match: 8:55

Winners: Los Garza by pinfall

Fantasma celebrates after the match as Tessitore says we'll see new WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton later. Before we go to commercial, LA Knight makes his entrance for his US Championship match.

Match 3

LA Knight vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship

The big rematch from Survivor Series where Nakamura defeated Knight for the title. We get a highlight of Knight chasing off Shinsuke last week after his match with Andrade to show why this match is taking place. Bell's gone and Knight blocks a tie up to start. Knight gets a headlock to start but a shoulderblock goes nowhere. Knight ties up Shinsuke into the corner but Shinsuke reverses it. Knight rallies with right hands and a swinging neckbreaker. Knight boots Shinsuke in the corner who bails to the apron. Barrett blows the ending to the match by casually mentioning Knight throwing Jacob Fatu out of the arena earlier. Nakmura hits a running elbow on the floor and rolls Knight in. Shinsuke kicks away at Knight and chops him. That fires LA up who rallies with strikes but Nakamura kicks him in the leg. Shinsuke sets Knight up on the top rope and hits a running knee. Shinsuke eats an apron clothesline by Knight who dumps Nakamura over the top rope to the floor. Knight baseball slides Nakamura into the announce desk and Knight rams his head into it. Knight "Yeahhhhh". LA throws Shinsuke inside and proceeds to clothesline him over the top rope to the floor. Knight goes to ram Shin into the ring post but Nakamura reverses it, sending LA crashing into it as we go to break. Back from commercial, they play "yay/boo" in the center of the ring with Knight winning with a flurry of right hands. Knight hits a powerslam and hits the LA Knight Elbow, covering for 1...2..no. Knight hits the O'Connor Roll for 1...2....no. Shinsuke kicks Knight in the back and hits the sliding german suplex then kicks Knight in the head. Nakamura goes up to the top but Knight scales the top rope and hits a superplex, covering for 1...2..no. Knight rolls Shinsuke into a Billy Goat's Curse. Nakamura makes it to the ropes and Knight blocks a Fujiwara arm-bar by stacking him up for 1...2...no. Nakamura loads up the Kinshasa but Knight rolls him up for 1...2...no. The BFT is blocked and Nakamura hits a spinning back elbow. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasha and hits it. He covers for 1...2...NOOOOO, foot on the rope. Nakamura puts Knight on the exposed second turnbuckle but Knight moves at the last second. sending Shinsuke crashing into it. Knight hits the BFT and covers for 1...2....NOOOOO, here's Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga for the beatdown DQ. Garbage finish to a great match but they want to extend Nakamura's reign a little bit longer.

Time of match: 14:08

Winner: Knight by DQ (Nakamura retains)

Tama and Jacob kick the crap out of Knight and Fatu hits the pop-up Samoan drop. Tama sets Knight up in the corner and Jacob hits the Umaga twice. Tama rolls over Knight and Fatu hits the moonsault as Tessitore calls them unleashed mad dogs. Here comes Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso to make the save, double superkicks stunning Jacob. Cody sends Jacob into the ring steps and Jimmy sends Jacob into the crowd. Nick Aldis and The Suit Brigade come out but Cody cuts them off. He grabs a mic and says don't send Fatu and Tama out of here again, he and Jey want some tonight. Aldis says you got it and there's our impromptu main event later. Up next after commercial, its Tiffy time.

Back from break we get a highlight of Tiffany cashing in on Nia and winning the championship....but no Tiffy in the ring, instead the Motor City Machine Guns come out for their tag match. Talk about an unnecessary segment. Anyway, on to the next match.

Match 4

Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) vs A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller)

Barrett says Waller and Theory are re-focused and united as Tessitore is skeptical as the bell rings. Shelley starts with an arm-ringer but Waller cracks him in the mouth. Waller tags in Theory and runs over to trip Sabin off the apron. Theory roughs up Shelley and sends him sternum first into the corner. Theory rams his head against the buckle and whips him into the other corner, finishing with a clothesline. Theory taunts the irate crowd but Shelley makes the tag to Sabin. Sabin hits a bulldog and covers for a 1 count as Theory tags in Waller. Waller "Aussie Aussie Aussie" Barrett "Oy, Oy, Oy". Sabin ducks under a kick but runs into a discuss punch by Waller. Grayson covers for 1...2..no. Waller doesn't see the blind tag to Shelley as Sabin slides out of the ring and trips up Theory. Shelley from behind pulls down Waller for the double kick. A double clothesline sends Waller to the floor as Sabin is tripped up by Theory in return. Shelley knocks Austin off the apron but walks right into a flatliner by Waller, covering for 1...2..no as we go to break. Back from commercial Theory and Waller double team Shelley as Theory covers for a deuce. Theory locks in a chinlock and Shelley powers out of it but gets elbowed down. Theory taunts the crowd and tags in Waller, but Shelley breaks free. Alex superkicks Theory and Sabin gets the hot tag Sabin rallies with right hands on Waller before kicking Theory off the apron. Sabin hits a missile dropkick on Waller and a standard one. Shelley tags in for a double baseball slide and Sabin finally hits the suicide dive onto both heels. Sabin hits a missile dropkick off the top and Shelley covers Waller for 1...2..no. Shelley tags in Sabin but Theory blind tags Grayson. Waller hits a high knee on Shelley and sends Sabin out of the ring. Waller runs into a superkick by Sabin but forgets Theory, who hits an elbow on Sabin. Waller tags in for the double punch and covers Sabin for 1...2..no. Sabin hits a jawbreaker that sends Waller retreating into the corner to tag Austin. Waller is sent out but Theory goes for A-Town Down. Sabin wiggles out of it and O'Connor Rolls Theory but gets up to drop Waller. Theory goes for his own Roll but Shelley tags in. Theory cuts him off with a right hand but gets superkicked by Sabin. All four men are down until Waller until Sabin & Shelley double team him. Sabin & Shelley hits Skull & Bones on Theory and Shelley covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Damn good effort by both guys as Smackdown's tag division is gaining steam with DIY, the Guns, Pretty Deadly and A-Town Down Under just to name a few.

Time of match: 12:06

Winner: Sabin & Shelley by pinfall

We cut to DIY watching and they call A-Town Down Under stupid. Pretty Deadly walks up and says they had a deal, what gives? Ciampa says they didn't want help and Gargano says Prince & Wilson have too much heat on them. Ciampa goes to attack them but Gargano defuses the situation by saying they'll get their shots later, just trust them. Apollo Crews walks up and says if they're dumb enough to believe DIY, they'll get what's coming to them and it won't be the tag straps. Prince & Wilson are frustrated as we cut to Nia Jax with Candace Larae. Larae says Tiffany Stratton is on her way to the ring and Nia says she should go congratulate her herself...uh oh.

Back from commercial, here comes new WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton for a conference. Tessitore says 7 months ago Tiffany joined Smackdown and she won the title 7 days ago. Barrett says since the women got a chance at Money In The Bank, Tiffany continued the streak of 100% successful cash ins. Byron Saxton in the ring congratulates Tiffany and Stratton screams "ITS TIFFY TIME!" She calls it a Tiffy turn of events and says exactly what Tessitore said, she's been here 7 months and is now better than everyone else (still heeling). Saxton says she and Nia were friends and Nia bullied her but Tiffany says she played Nia like a fiddle, calling Nia stupid. Tiffany says she stole Nia's most prized possession and now she's at the Tiffy top of her game. She asks what time it is but here comes Nia Jax herself. Nia calls her an ungrateful little bitch and she could kill her right now. Nia says she'd be nothing without her and she made Tiffy. Nia says it took her long enough but congrats for finally cashing in. Nia says its Tiffy time...but time's up. Nia wants the belt back or says she's gonna take it....but here comes Bayley. Barrett "Saved by the Bayley". Bayley tells Nia to shut the hell up and tells Tiffy she thought she was stupid. Bayley says Nia put Tiffy under her wing and she still got outsmarted. Bayley says the only reason she lost to Nia at Summerslam is Tiffany and its only fitting she gets first crack at Tiffany. But wait there's more! Here comes Naomi and Bianca Belair the women's tag champions. Tessitore "Its getting crowded out here." Naomi says she had Nia beat last week and "Tiffer" screwed her, otherwise she'd be a double champion. Naomi says she deserves the first shot. Nia says nobody cares about Naomi and Naomi doesn't take kindly to that. Nia rams her and Bianca's heads together and Bayley bumrushes Nia. Tiffany rolls out of the ring unharmed as Bayley eats a headbutt. Bianca and the other two triple team Nia but Tiffany hits Prettiest Moonsault Ever on all four of them. Tiffany walks off with the belt but here comes Nick Aldis. He says let's do this right now, he's making a fatal four way match to determine the number one contender to Tiffany. Back from commercial, its on.

Match 5

Nia Jax vs Bayley vs Bianca Belair vs Naomi in a Fatal Four Way Match

Bell rings and Nia bulls all three others until she's triple teamed. Nia throws Bayley outside and sends Naomi into Bianca. A charge eats boot and Naomi pounds on Nia's back. They try a double suplex but Nia reverses it, damn near breaking their necks. Bayley bulldogs Nia and slugs away with forearms. Nia throws Bayley down and Naomi splashes Nia. Bianca shoulderblocks her and Naomi joins in, only to be shoved off by Nia. Nia bails to the outside and the action in the ring stops. Naomi, Bayley and Bianca circle but Nia pulls Bianca out, throwing her against the barricade. Naomi and Bayley double dropkick Nia off the apron before tying up. Bayley gets in a headlock and a shoulderblock, but Naomi counters with an armdrag. Bayley gets an armdrag but is crucifixed for 1...2...no. Jacknife pin by Bayley gets 1...2..no. Naomi slides under a clothesline and twerks to distract Bayley, catching her with a majistrol cradle for 1..2...no. Bayley gets pulled outside by Nia who sends her into the barricade. Naomi headbutts Nia back inside then hits a jawbreaker. Nia powerbombs Naomi for 1...2...no, Bianca makes the save. Bianca rallies with forearms but the KOD is blocked. Bianca backflips over Nia and dropkicks her before hitting a shoulderblock. Bianca fires away on the second rope but also gets powerbombed. Nia covers for 1....2..no, Bayley hits Nia in the head with a running knee. Bayley taunts Nia and rallies with punches then executes a back suplex. Bayley covers for 1..2...no. Bayley goes up to the top rope but gets slugged for it. Nia headbutts Bayley and goes for a samoan drop, but Naomi and Bianca powerbomb them both as we go to commercial. Back from break Naomi is with Nia one on one and hits a jawbreaker. Nia hits a spinning Rock Bottom and covers for 1...2..no, Bianca and Bayley break up the cunt. Bianca and Bayley stare at each other before slugging away at Nia. They bullrush Nia out of the ring and now its Bayley and Bianca one on one. They slug it out before Bayley hits an inside cradle for 1...2...no. Bayley rolls out of the KOD but Bianca blocks the O'Connor Roll. Bayley hits one for a deuce before Nia clotheslines them both down. Naiomi hits a big elbow and a Russian leg sweep. Naomi hits the split legged moonsault on Nia and covers for 1...2...no. Bayley goes up top and hits the flying elbow on Nia, covering for 1...2..no. Bianca goes upstairs and hits the 450 splash on Nia. Bayley throws her off and all three cover Nia, referee telling them only one at a time. Candace Larae runs to ring side and Bayley spots her. Nia bails to strategize with Candace as Naomi and Bianca hit a double Russian leg sweep on Bayley. Naomi and Bianca now are alone and its go time. Bianca hits a plancha outside on Bayley but Nia catches Naomi's suicide dive, ramming her against the side of the ring. Nia's samoan drop is blocked by Bianca and Belair spears her, covering for 1...2....no, Bayley breaks it up. Bayley To Belly on Bianca connects and she covers for 1..2...no, Naomi breaks it up, Naomi hits Ass To Mouth and covers for 1...2..Nia saves it. Nia hits a samoan drop on Naomi and covers for 1...2...no, Bianca breaks it up. Nia sends Bianca into the ringpost as Naomi drops Nia down. Bayley hits a knee to Naomi but runs into Sky High. Bianca hits a backspring moonsault and covers for 1...2...noooo. Bianca goes for KOD on Bayley but Candace pulls Bianca's hair right in front of the referee. Bianca pulls it away but accidentally whips Naomi in the ribs. Nia pulls Bianca outside where Bianca punches down Candace. Bianca and Nia go crashing over the announce desk as Bayley hits the rose plant on Naomi. Bayley covers for 1...2...3 to end the match. Outstanding effort from all four women with a nice story told. Bianca and Naomi refused to get it on but Candace essentially cost Bianca (and Nia by proxy) the match. Bayley is number one contender to Tiffany Stratton so we'll see how that plays out as the weeks go on.

Time of match: 17:18

Winner: Bayley by pinfall

Cody Rhodes is in the back with Jimmy Uso. Jimmy goes to apologize for Roman but Cody cuts him off saying it was inevitable Roman would come for the title. Cody walks off and Carmelo Hayes walks up. Melo asks what's good and says he's gonna let the 3 on 1 slide last week. He says he and Solo's crew are tapped in so don't try that again. Melo says he doesn't miss and Jimmy says with all the bricks he can build a house. Uso walks off leaving Melo frustrated. The main event is next as we go to break. Back from commercial Byron Saxton congratulates Bayley on her win and the match will be next week on Smackdown. Bayley says she's taking advantage of opportunities just like Tiffany and Tiffany has never beaten her. Least we got a main event next week as well as Los Garza vs MCMG. Solo Sikoa returns as well next week since losing Tribal Combat....4 days ago. They make it sound like he was gone for months. Fatu and Tonga make their way to the ring with Fatu screaming "The difference is your bloodline left you on the frontline to deadline. Fatu tells Cody to wake his ass up because this is a nightmare. Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu make their entrance for the main event and Tessitore says without Solo, they're mad dogs off a leash. 

We go to commercial and after the break, we cut to a clip from Raw where John Cena enters the Royal Rumble. We then get a Royal Rumble graphic showing Roman and Cena in the Rumble match and Kevin Owens vs Cody Rhodes in a ladder match. On to the main event.

Match 6

Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu vs Jimmy Uso and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

Going to be interesting to see where Tama, Jacob and Jimmy fit in now that Wargames/Tribal Combat is over but for now we got this. Bell's gone and Cody starts with Tama and gets in a waistlock. Cody hits an uppercut and a front suplex. Cody works the left arm and tags in Jimmy who comes off the top with the left arm. Tama kicks away at Jimmy and headbutts him in the corner then Jacob tags himself in. He throws Tama out of the way to wail away on Jimmy. Jimmy knocks Tama off the apron but runs into the pop up samoan drop as we go to break. Back from commercial Jacob drops Jimmy with a clothesline and Tama tags himself in with a hilo. He goes "Yyayayayayyayaya" before knocking Cody off the apron. Tama locks in a nerve hold but Jimmy hits a jawbreaker to get out of it. Fatu tags in and rams Cody off the apron before hitting a senton on Jimmy. He covers for 1...2...no. Jacob hits the Umaga in the corner on Jimmy then hits a second one. He covers for 1...2...no. Barrett says to stop the match for Jimmy's health and without Solo, there's no one that can stop Jacob. Fatu stalls on the top rope and Jimmy elbows him off. Jimmy hits a skytwister press and gets the hot tag to Cody. Rhodes cleans house of Jacob and Tama, powerslamming Tama. Cody hits the disaster kick then throws Tama through the ropes. Cody pulls the top rope down to send Jacob flying and hits a suicide dive onto both. Back inside Cody hits the Dusty Punches on Tama and covers for 1...2...no. Cody snaps Jacob's leg off the second rope but Tama blocks CrossRhodes. Tama hits the elevated DDT on Cody and covers for 1...2...no. Jimmy tags in and they hit the Power Plex with Barrett saying its a shout out to Power & Glory. Jimmy covers for 1...2..no, Fatu breaks up the count. Cody hits the Cody Cutter on Fatu to send him outside. Jimmy hits a suicide dive to send Jacob through the ropes to the outside. Suddenly Kevin Owens hits the ring and Cody runs off to chase him to the back. Jimmy is by himself and gets rolled up by Tama for 1...2...no.  Jimmy superkicks Tama and goes for the top rope splash. He hits it and covers for 1..2...no, Fatu pulls him outside. Fatu tags in then turns around to ram Jimmy's head off the announce desk. Fatu throws Jimmy inside and hits the Impaler. Fatu hits the top rope moonsault and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Once Cody got taken out it was just a matter of time, still a good showing and it shows Jacob is a mean looking fella.

Time of match: 12:18

Winner: Fatu and Tonga by pinfall

Post match Cody and KO are brawling by the tech area. KO throws Cody on a set of crates and goes for a piledriver. Cody fights out of it and tackles him through a table. Both men are down and here's Shawn Daivari and Shane Helms to check on them. Tessitore signs off saying three weeks from tomorrow we got the Royal Rumble. Not a bad show after the fallout of Raw on Netflix but 3 hours is just too long. At least the matches were good and they're setting up some Royal Rumble storylines. KO vs Cody is going to be a war and having John Cena and Roman Reigns in the Rumble means one of them isn't facing Cody, if not both depending on who else is in it. Chelsea Green's antics are fun, Los Garza as the defacto faces were hilarious, Knight's chase for the US title continues to be entertaining. Just have to see what else develops as we head toward the Rumble. The next show after this is this Monday night's Raw at the SAP Center in San Jose. I'll see you there!

WWE Raw (1/6/25)

WWE Raw

Intuit Dome

Los Angeles, California

January 6, 2025

Commentators: Michael Cole & Pat McAfee

Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor

Welcome to the most overhyped Raw in decades. Raw leaves its home on USA where its been for 19 years and comes to Netflix. Now Raw won't have to cater to USA standards and practices and a fixed run-time. This was more or less being hyped as a ppv and that's how it might be treated tonight. Jey Uso takes on Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins takes on CM Punk, John Cena returns and Roman Reigns goes one on one with Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat. Let's get to it.

Michael Cole welcomes us to Los Angeles and Cole says Seth Rollins will be in the biggest match of his career....what? Not Wrestlemania against The Rock and Roman Reigns last year, not Triple H in 2017 or Sting at Summerslam....a match on Raw against CM Punk? We're shown CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Judgment Day and Rhea Ripley entering the arena.

Before anything happens, we're treated to a vignette hosted by Triple H about the history of wrestling. Wrestling had been around in the Roman times and in carnivals but television changed wrestling. Wrestling needs a face (a painting of Hulk Hogan) and a heel (Andre The Giant). The late 90's changed how we looked at who was good and who was bad (with a nice montage of the nWo and the Montreal screwjob), the real, and unreal. "Every damn story had an element of truth. The screens get smaller but the show gets bigger." From television to streaming, from America to the world, never to end....story of WWE. The giant curtain drops and HHH is standing in the ring. HHH "17,000 plus sold out Los Angeles LET ME HEAR YOU!" Triple H says this is the moment they're all being seen and heard by the entire globe. HHH says show them who you are and tell them that his is the WWE and we are louder than anything you have ever seen before. HHH knows the answer but he asks anyway, ARE YOU READYYYYYY. "Then, welcome to Monday Night Raw, welcome to the Netflix era". Great opening montage, didn't do too much, just said wrestling grew over the last 70 years.

HHH leaves and the lights go out.....IF YA SMELLL, WHAT THE ROCK...IS COOKIN. Here comes The Rock with the Muhammad Ali belt shaking hands with the fans. He greets some dignitaries at ring side before posing for some fans. Rock even shakes hands with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee before greeting Rock's two youngest daughters Jazzy and Tia along with his mother, Ata Maivia-Johnson. Cole also brings up Rock has a claim to be high chief of Samoa as well. Rock talks about how he used to travel with his father when he was just a pebble (there goes my nickname for Ava Raine). He says back then you either bought a ticket or had to be in front of your TV on Saturday morning. He goes on to say you're watching it worldwide on Netflix and they broke another gate record. "Finally WWE has come back to Netflix....no no no that's bullshit, get to the real one." Rock "FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO LOS ANGELES!" The Rock thanks some Netflix execs in the VIP suite and says if Netflix glitches when he's in the ring, he'll go Squid Games on their candy asses. This was a reference to the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight that broke Netflix. The Rock then puts over Cody Rhodes for carrying the company on his back the past year and he's shown in the crowd. Rock "Tell mama Rhodes I said hello." Rock then shouts out Roman Reigns which gets a huge OTC chant from the crowd. Rock says Tribal Combat is next and the world will be watching. He puts himself over as high chief and says the winner of this match will be deserving of tribal chief. IF YA SMELLLLLLL...WHAT THE ROCK....IS COOKIN. Rock shakes hands with Cody at ring side and says hi to his kids as he leaves. Now its time for Tribal Combat. This has been building since Wrestlemania. After Roman Reigns lost to Cody Rhodes, he went on vacation. While he was gone, Solo picked up the Ola Fala and took over the Bloodline. He got rid of Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman while adding Jacob Fatu and the Tongans. Then little by little the OG Bloodline returned culminating in Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso recruiting Jey Uso and Sami Zayn to reform the original Bloodline. After the OG's were victorious at Wargames, its still been OG vs New until now. If Solo wins, the OGs are done. If Roman wins, the New is essentially useless. It actually would be a lot more interesting if Solo wins but the writing is on the wall.

Match 1

Solo Sikoa vs Roman Reigns (with Paul Heyman) in Tribal Combat

Alicia Taylor introduces Solo but Paul Heyman introduces Reigns as the "reigning, defending" OTC. Bell's gone and Solo says the Ola Fala is his as they tie up. Solo and Roman back each other up until Roman throws Solo out of the ring. Solo backs Reigns into the ring post outside as Cole says this is Roman's first one on one match since Wrestlemania.....wow. The death of house shows really shows here. Solo rams Roman's head into the announce table and back inside the ring. Solo drops Roman with a clothesline and delivers a headbutt. Roman then floors Solo with back to back lariats. Roman clubs Solo in the corner with forearms and brings up all the HoFers Roman has beaten as Reigns big boots Solo to the outside. Roman goes outside and walks right into a Rock Bottom onto the announce table, clearing out Pat and Michael. Solo grabs a monitor and decks Roman with it. Solo taunts the irate crowd as Cole says he has to get the hell out of here. Solo grabs the ring steps and tells Roman to get his ass up. Cole "This is gonna be one of those nights, Pat." Solo rams Reigns with the steps as we go to break. Back from commercial, Solo grabs a chair and gets in the ring. Solo hits Roman in the ribs then in the back. Solo then caves in Roman's ribs with the chair and puts it around his neck. Solo taunts Roman that he gave him everything and always loved him. Solo goes for the Umaga but Roman rolls out of the way. Roman grabs the chair and hits Solo in the ribs, then the back with it. Roman unloads on Solo with the chair and rams his head into it. Roman goes for the Conchairto but Solo moves. Solo hits a low blow and another spinning Rock Bottom . He covers for 1...2....no. Cole brings up the very first Raw was January 11, 1993 and we've had 1,649 episodes total on cable TV....until tonight. Solo grabs a table from under the ring but Roman hits a dropkick from the apron. Roman throws the table into the ring and sets it up, but Solo whacks Roman with a singapore cane. Solo wails on him with the cane while taunting Heyman. He then chokes Roman with the cane and says to acknowledge him. He loved Roman but he never loved him back. Roman then uses his strength to push the cane off him then powerbombs Solo through a table. Roman covers for 1.....2....noooo, Tama Tonga pulls referee Chad Patton out. Here comes the shenanigans. Jacob Fatu comes in from the other side, slaps Reigns, hits a superkick and delivers the Impaler. Fatu then hits the standing moonsault and picks Solo up. Solo hits the Samoan spike on Roman and covers for 1...2...NOOOOOOO! Jacob can't believe it as the crowd chants OTC. Jacob backs down Chad in the corner but Solo has to tell him to back off.....so he can hit the samoan spike on Patton. Cole says that was dumb as nobody's there to count the fall. Here comes Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso to even the odds. Sami heaves Jacob into the ring steps as Jimmy throws Tama into the ring post.  Inside the ring, Jimmy superkicks Solo and Sami follows with the Helluva Kick. Roman hits the spear and covers but there's no ref. Finally here comes another ref to count 1....2.....NOOOOO. The crowd chants "This is awesome" and now we got a stalemate. Jimmy and Sami dive outside and fight to the back with Jacob & Tama. Roman loads up another spear but here comes Kevin Owens of all people. He hits a stunner on Roman and tells Solo to pin him. This makes no sense, why would KO help either of them considering Solo made his life a hell too. Solo covers for 1..2....nooooo. KO pummels Roman and goes for the package piledriver as the crowd chants for Cody Rhodes.....and here he comes. Cody in the suit and tie hits the Cody cutter, causing KO to bail. Cody brawls with him into the barricade and we're back to one on one. Solo blocks the Superman punch, but Roman ducks under the Samoan Spike. Roman hits the spear. Roman caters to the crowd and calls for another one. Roman hits a second spear and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. That was a damn good PPV style match that would have fit right in at the Rumble. Roman ends the Solo Bloodline once and for all.

Time of match: 23:27

Winner: Roman Reigns by pinfall

Paul Heyman goes to put the Ola Fala back on Roman but here comes The Rock to steal the spotlight AGAIN. The Rock takes it from Heyman and presents it to Roman. They shake hands and the crowd cheers. Roman takes a full minute to soak in the emotion before we cut to the back where CM Punk is preparing for his one on one match with Seth Rollins. Cole says this is one of the biggest matches in wrestling history....how?? We're then shown the VIP suite where Byron Saxton, Kayden Carter, Jaida Parker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, Zoey Stark, Austin Theory (in a hilarious red suit) are having a party. Then we go to ringside to see Gabriel Iglesias holding the big gold belt, naturally he has a special airing the next day. Ashton Kutcher and his son are shown as well as Netflix comedian Michael Che. Then we're shown LA Knight, Rey Mysterio, Erik and Ivar sitting in the front row. Why are they treating these guys like common fans? Rey is wearing an Eddie Guerrero jacket to boot. 

John Cena is here to begin his farewell tour. He holds up "The last time is now" towel as he runs to the ring. Cena caters to the crowd and thanks the fans, causing a massive "Thank you Cena" chant. Cena says the fans are smart and the audience just got a lot bigger. He tells the crowd to let the world know they can see them. Cena thanks Netflix for the experience of airing Monday Night Raw and for letting him wear jorts in the ring one last time. He says the farewell tour kicks off in LA because he used to sleep in his car working for Gold's Gym and wrestled for UPW in Orange County. Cena rented a two bedroom apartment 600 feet from this building because Inglewood was up to no good. He says this is where his first gimmick "The Prototype" was born and where he won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 21. He says for 25 years LA has allowed him to perform in the ring and he humbly thanks the fans. Cena says this year is about making moments and who he's going to face at Wrestlemania or his last match in December. He lists Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Logan Paul, Gunther...Cooooody Rhodes. He says people are asking when he becomes the record holding 17 time world champion but he wants to be honest, he doesn't see it happening. Cena says he's got a streak going on, its been 2,446 days since he won his last match. One look at Google shows the mixed tag match he won on New Year's Day 2019 confirms this.....wow. Cena says his time up and their time is now (the fans boo). Cena says title 17 is never gonna happen then catches himself and says never say never. Cena says it would take a miracle and has a better chance of winning an Oscar. Cena says he can't just waltz into the main event with a streak like that unless he wins Money In The Bank, Elimination Chamber.....or the Royal Rumble. Cena "Wait.....maybe I could win the Royal Rumble." He says its a long shot but he can't win the lottery if you don't play. Cena says he's officially entering the Rumble for the last time. Cena says he'll never give up and he's going to win the Rumble. "YOU WANT SOME, COME GET SOME!" So this long speech was to set up Cena entering the Rumble, good.

We cut to a Logan Paul vignette. He puts himself over and plays off the very real heat he has with people and says everyone hates how successful he is. Logan Paul himself is shown in the crowd and says its his time now. Liv Morgan then makes her entrance for the next match with Dom Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez in tow. Cole has to give Liv her props for potentially being superstar of the year in 2024. Before Rhea makes her entrance, we're shown more celebs. Seth Green, longtime WWE fan Macaulay Culkin, O'Shea Jackson Jr (who's a hilarious troll on Twitter), Wil Friedle and Danielle Fishel from Boy Meets World. Will is not mentioned, only Danielle....wow, Eric Matthews gets the shaft. Right in front of them are Naomi and Bianca Belair, the women's tag team champions. Next to them is X-Pac and Shinsuke Nakamura, the US Champion. McAfee drools over Ripley during her intro as Cole says "she lost her way and was manipulated into Judgment Day by Edge". Wow, throwing shade at Edge now? Cole says it was his influence that led her to turn on Liv Morgan and set Liv on the path of turning on her in return. We get a frightening graphic that since May of 22 Rhea Ripley is 22-0 against everyone else but only 3-2 against Liv Morgan. On to the match.

Match 2

Rhea Ripley vs Liv Morgan (with Raquel Rodriguez and Dom Mysterio) for the World Women's Championship

Bell's gone and they brawl to start. Rhea stomps on her foot and grabs her by the throat. She choke bombs Liv down and Liv bails to the outside. Rhea cannonballs onto Raquel Rodriguez as Cole says unlike Tribal Combat, there are rules here. If referee Daphanie LaShaunn catches Dom or Raquel doing anything funny, that's it....even if it screws Ripley. Speaking of Dom, he grabs her foot allowing Liv to knock Rhea off the apron. Liv goes for a head scissors but Rhea powerbombs her onto the announce table. Pat and Cole heckle Liv as we go to break. Back from commercial, Liv apparently has been dominating during the commercial break. Liv stands on Rhea in the corner and shrieks at Daphanie. Liv elbows Rhea and hits a tornado bulldog, covering for 1..2....no. McAfee "This dumbass Dom can't even count to three" and Dom heckles him in return. Liv kicks Rhea in the head and in the ribs before stepping on her. Liv rakes the back which only makes Rhea mad. Rhea no-sells a few slaps and says "You fucked up" before clotheslining Liv down twice. Rhea kicks Liv in the ribs and face plants Liv. Rhea hits a shining wizard and goes for a package piledriver that she turns into a suplex much to Dom's dismay. Liv goes for a victory roll but Rhea hits a reverse Taz plex. She covers for 1.....2...no. Rhea goes for Riptide but Liv slips out of it to apply a backstabber. Liv hits a tornado DDT and covers for 1..2....no. Liv hits a step up enziguiri but Ripley slides under Liv, hitting riptide. Ripley stacks her for 1...2...NOOOOO. Somehow Liv kicked out and Ripley can't believe it. Raquel throws a chair in the ring only for Ripley to knock her off. Liv hits ObLivion onto the chair. Cole "Referee didn't see it, she was dealing with dumbass Dom." Liv covers for 1...2....NOOOOO. McAfee "The wrestling gods are blessing us this evening." Liv can't believe it and she goes for the three amigos. She hits all three and goes up to the top for the frog splash. Liv hits it and covers for 1..2...nope. Ripley blocks ObLivion and shakes her head no. Rhea blows her a kiss, throws her down, hits Riptide twice and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. The crowd explodes as we have a new World Women's Champion. Odd decision for to Rhea get her revenge on Raw instead of a PLE, but it was a good match. Liv couldn't beat Rhea straight up and Rhea finally caught her.

Time of match: 11:29

Winner: Ripley by pinfall (New World Champion)

Post match Dom sneaks up on Rhea. Cole "Oh what is this idiot doing?" Rhea turns around and Dom wants a hug. Cole calls him a gold digger and McAfee calls him a rat bastard (ha!). Rhea "You want me?" She kisses the belt and puts it down. She fakes a hug and kicks him full force in the gonads much to Cole & McAfee's delight. Rhea hits Riptide and the crowd explodes. McAfee "The kick was good" We get a highlight of Rhea winning the match before she celebrates on the ramp. Suddenly The Undertaker's theme hits and sure enough, here comes the deadman on a motorcycle to "American Bad Ass" by Kid Rock like its 2000 again. Cole brings up how Taker main evented the first Raw in history (against Damien Demento) and he salutes Rhea. They raise their fists as the fireworks go off.

We go back to the VIP section where Cruz Del Toro, Joaqin Wilde, Kayden, Maxxine Dupri, Saxton and Dragon Lee celebrate. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods aren't so happy and Cole points out he wants to interview them soon. We cut to Cathy Kelley standing nearby as Adam Pearce and Bayley have a conversation. Cathy asks what can we expect moving forward but here comes all four members of American Made (Ivy Nile, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed and Chad Gable) to interrupt. Gable says his group are elite and he's destroyed Alpha Academy. He says he wants the single best luchador and send him his way. Pearce asks if he's sure about that and Chad says absolutely. Adam has a smile and says he's got to make a phone call. This should be good.

We cut to Jey Uso about ready to make his appearance as we go to break. Drew McIntyre is on his way to the ring as well. Back from break, we're shown The Rock's instagram as he was leaving. He greeted Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, Triple H, Roman Reigns, rapper Travis Scott and Cody Rhodes. Rock drives off with a bottle of tequila in his hands saying he'll be at NXT tomorrow night....just don't tell the cops. We're shown more celebs including Bill Simmons flashing a Boston Celtics logo, perfect for heel heat in Los Angeles. We're shown more Netflix execs and actress Vanessa Hudgens. Then we're shown Michelle McCool, Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai and Lira Valkyria. Lira and Dakota go one on one next week in the Women's Intercontinental Championship Finals. Travis Scott is here holding a belt and hitting a dab before Jey Uso makes his entrance right behind him. Cole and McAfee Yeet on the table and Cole doing it in suit and tie makes it even funnier. McAfee "Wait for the beat to drop, Cole." Cole "How the hell do I get down now?" Before the match we get a graphic of the most televised wins in 2024 and Jey Uso is tied for fifth place with 21 behind Pete Dunne (??) with 22, Damian Priest with 23, Bron Breakker with 24 and Bianca Belair with 29.

Match 3

Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre

Cole was in the middle of bringing up how Drew McIntyre's entire heel turn was based around never getting over the Bloodline costing him the WWE title at Clash at The Castle....when Jey immediately suicide dives him before Drew gets a chance to take off his ring jacket. Jey suicide dives through the ropes on top of Drew but Drew counters with an overhead suplex. Cole finishes his thought from earlier that once Jey Uso came to Raw, Drew was never the same. Drew inside the ring goes for the claymore as the bell officially rings. Jey hits an avalanche in the corner followed by a running enziguiri. Jey goes for the up and over but Drew kicks him in the head. Cole says Jey has never beaten Drew one on one as Drew gets in a big right hand. McIntyre mocks the Yeet to the irate crowd and chops the nine time tag team champion. Drew chops him again before punching him in the corner. Drew chops again before doing 10 punches in the corner...as a heel? Jey does a sit down powerbomb and they slug it out in the middle of the ring. They play "Yeet/boo" with Jey hitting an enziguiri. Jey hits the Umaga in the corner and hits a top rope crossbody for 1..2....no. McIntyre hits a reverse neckbreaker and kips up before staring at Jey. He calls for the Claymore but runs into a superkick. Jey covers for 1.....2...no. Jey goes for the Uso splash but McIntyre gets his knees up. Drew hits a spinebuster and jackknife covers for 1..2...no. Drew tries a sitdown powerbomb and covers for 1...2...nope. McAfee says Drew should be a champion but gets inside his own head. The crowd plays "Let's go Drew/Let's go Jey" as they slug it out in the center of the ring. Drew's future shock is blocked by Jey but his samoan drop is blocked. Drew hits future shock and covers for 1..2...no. Drew calls for another Claymore but runs into the spear. Jey covers for 1..2....nooooo. Jey hits a superkick to the left arm then catches him in the jaw. Jey goes for another spear but Drew kicks him in the head. Jey superkicks him into the ropes but Drew fires back with a Claymore Kick. Drew covers for 1...2....noooooo. Drew can't believe it and unloads on Jey with right hands. Drew picks up Jey and chops him relentlessly in the corner. Drew does a Glasgow Kiss and calls for another Claymore. Drew runs but Jey collapses in the center of the ring. Drew laughs at him and then taunts the irate crowd. Drew tells him to get up so he can finish him. Drew goes for the Claymore but Jey ducks under it and crucifixes Drew for 1..2...3 to win the match. Drew goes ballistic inside the ring as Jey bails as the winner. Jey had never beaten Drew until now in a good match. That was a hell of a fight and McIntyre loses another big match to add to his misery.

Time of match: 10:22

Winner: Uso by pinfall

We go to a vignette on Gunther to show he's an emotionless killer. Back to Cathy Kelley who's with comedian Gabriel Iglesias. He's got a new special dropping tomorrow but before he can say anything, here's New Day to interrupt. Xavier Woods says they haven't been allowed to explain why they dropped Big E Langston as Kofi Kingston says this is the biggest platform on earth and Cathy should be talking to them instead of the "fluffy buffoon". Gabriel "Buffoon? Dude, I liked you guys better when you had cereal. What's going on?" Woods "Its always jokes with you, isn't it?" Alpha Academy shows up and says Happy New Year and puts their arms around Iglesias. He thanks the Universe and he leaves with Otis, Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa serenading "New....Day sucks. New....day sucks." 

We cut to Paul Heyman singing Roman Reigns' praises as they walk down the hall. Heyman says they need a platform to when the world can acknowledge him. He says January 27th.....what? Oddly specific but okay. We show a determined Seth Rollins in the locker room before we go to break. Back from break we're shown more celebs in the crowd. Finally IC Champion Bron Breakker and WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton are shown in the crowd as well. If anyone should be in the ring tonight its them. We're shown Nikki Bella in the crowd as well when a familiar theme song hits.

Hulk Hogan comes out with none other than Jimmy Hart in tow and gets booed relentlessly despite Michael Cole and Pat McAfee singing his praises. Hulk goes into his familiar promo of "Well ya know something brother" and he says the fans have been his greatest tag team partner. He says he has a new tag team partner, his own beer company. He talks about his ex-partners like Randy Savage and Andre The Giant but the best partner ever is WWE and Netflix. Hogan rips off his shirt to reveal a Netflix is Raw t-shirt and poses as the crowd doesn't give a rats ass. Poor Jimmy Hart, he didn't deserve that.

Next week Lira Valkyria takes on Dakota Kai to determine the first Women's Intercontinental Champion and Sheamus takes on Ludwig Kaiser, Chad Gable will face a mystery luchador and Damian Priest faces Finn Balor in a street fight. We're shown Stephanie McMahon herself in the crowd next to Rory Culkin as BURN IT DOWNNNN hits.

Match 4

Seth Rollins vs CM Punk

This goes all the way back to Survivor Series 2023 when Punk returned to a VERY unhappy Rollins response. Rollins' storyline beef was Punk walked out in 2014 and he himself stayed all these years. Injuries to both Punk and Rollins delayed their inevitable showdown until now. The bell rings and they have dueling chants to start. They brawl to start with Punk getting the upper hand. Rollins clubs him against the ropes then Punk ducks a line, clotheslining over the top to the floor. Punk misses a dive to the floor and Rollins hits a suicide dive onto Punk. Rollins rips apart the announce table early as referee Rod Zapata gives him shit for it. Rollins yells "Let it rideeeeee" to him but Zapata is having none of it. Punk outside sends Rollins over the barricade and dives on top of him. Back over the barricade Rollins goes for an axehandle, but gets punched by Punk for it. Punk throws the top of the table on him as the crowd duels chants. Punk slides in the ring and narrowly misses the curb stomp. Rollins blocks the GTS attempt and kicks Punk in the corner. Zapata yells at Rollins again and Punk boots Seth in the face. Cole points out Rollins is too obsessed with the ref to concentrate on Punk. Punk hits a swinging neckbreaker from off the top rope as we go to break. Back from commercial Rollins clubs away at Punk in the corner and yells at him to get up. Rollins runs into the corner but Punk was right behind him with the running knee. Punk hits a second knee but Rollins blocks the bulldog. Punk rallies with two clotheslines and a swinging neckbreaker before calling for the GTS. Punk pulls Rollins up by the hair and snaps him off the top rope to the floor. Punk throws Rollins inside and goes to the top rope. Rollins rolls through a crossbody and hits a GTS of his own, sending Punk to the outside. Rollins just stares at Punk on the floor for a bit before coming out to get him. Rollins caters to the crowd to let Punk breathe a bit before throwing him inside. Rollins slides in and Punk hits a curb stomp of his own, covering for 1...2..no. Punk rallies with right hands and calls for the GTS. Rollins blocks it and hits the GTS himself, covering for 1...2...noooo. Punk rolls out of the ring and Rollins throws him onto the announce table. Punk goes for the GTS but Rollins rolls out of it. Rollins hits the pedigree on top of the announce table and sells his own knee. That looked for real. Rollins rolls him inside and hits the pedigree in the center of the ring. Rollins covers for 1....2..noooo. The crowd chants for both men again as they slug it out in the center of the ring. Punk goes for the running knee but Rollins hits the buckle bump followed by the curb stomp. Rollins covers for 1...2...nooooo, foot on the rope at the last second. Rollins can't believe it and he picks Punk back up onto the the top rope. Punk pushes him off and Rollins gets mad. He scales the top rope and hits a superplex, rolling through for the Falcon Arrow attempt. Punk blocks it and hits GTS. Rollins staggers into the ropes and back into Punk for a second GTS. Punk covers for 1.....2...3 to win the match. That was certainly a choice to have Punk win but this feud is far from over. Punk gets the opening salvo in a damn good match. Rollins is bleeding from the eye as we end the show.

Time of match: 19:54

Winner: Punk by pinfall

This was a pay-per-view style show but only four matches is criminal. So much time was wasted with The Rock, Hulk Hogan and Gabriel Iglesias that you could have had the Women's IC title match or have some of the guys in the crowd in the ring. Still, tribal combat was fun, Rollins vs Punk was great and Rhea winning the strap back was monumental. Jey vs Drew was okay but its just the fact you had four matches in a 3 hour show isn't good. Raw and SD going to 3 hours was supposed to enhance the roster, not shrink it to only a few matches a night. How sad is it that WWE did more in 2002 with a 2 hour show than it does with 3 now? Still, the matches themselves were good and that's the most important. Netflix is off and running so hopefully this was a one time event to kiss their ass before moving on to more important things as the Royal Rumble approaches. The next show after this is tomorrow night's NXT, I'll see you there.

WWE Smackdown (1/3/25)

WWE Smackdown

Footprint Center

Phoenix, Arizona

January 3, 2025

Commentators: Michael Cole and Corey Graves

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

Happy new year for WWE. 2025 is going to start with a bang this coming Monday night with Raw's Netflix debut but we got some unfinished business on Smackdown first. Unfortunately, now Smackdown will be three hours long as they make the jump from Fox to USA. This show will be most likely be hype for Netflix Raw and the Royal Rumble coming up in a month. Let's get right to it.

Michael Cole welcomes us to Phoenix and to 2025. We get a recap vignette of the Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens feud. Owens thinks he's the WWE Champion because he stole the old school Winged Eagle title at Saturday Night's Main Event. Nick Aldis last week said he had till the end of the night to give it back and confronted him in the ring. Owens demands a re-match where the ref won't be a factor but Aldis says hand it over or you're fired. Before Owens can make a decision, Cody Rhodes walked out with Aldis telling him to get lost. Cody says its not Nick's responsibility, its his. He challenges Owens to a ladder match at the Royal Rumble with the winner getting both belts, Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon style. Owens shoves Aldis into Rhodes and attacks his bad neck until the Suit Brigade makes the save. 

Back to real time, here comes Cody Rhodes himself for a soliloquy. Cody says he would ask what they want to talk about but he knows what they already want. Cody says they're on the cusp of changing everything with Raw going to Netflix and Smackdown going to three hours. Cody says his excitement is tempered because he's not cleared to wrestle yet. Massive groan from the crowd on that one. He goes on to say he's not cleared because of Kevin Owens but at the Royal Rumble they're gonna brawl anyway.....and here comes Drew McIntyre of all people. What in satan's fire does he want? Drew hugs him but Cody doesn't reciprocate, he just looks at him funny. Drew grabs a mic and says he's not here to hurt Cody, he's here to help him. Drew says he and Cody go way back so he won't stand around and see Cody undo his entire life's work by getting hurt. Drew says this generation is the best in WWE history, not the 80's, the New Generation, the Attitude Era. He's right about the New Generation, that era was garbage. Drew says Cody has been the catalyst for the past few years but he's going to screw it up. He says Owens is running around with a fake belt just like the "idiot" fans in the crowd and offers his services to watch his back. Cody calls him out for saying he always tells the truth so he'll do the same. He says he'd love to say he watched him from afar as Drew carried the company through the pandemic and both of them are kindred spirits that had to leave WWE to come back better than ever. He'd love to say that in the last 3 years Drew became a beast on the mic and in the ring but he won't, because he doesn't believe him. He can feel the tension and says Drew is just after the title, so come and get it. Drew says the fans will forget them when they're gone and he's not here to hurt him. Drew goes to leave and says to watch his back. Right on cue Kevin Owens attacks from behind and Drew just shakes his head, walking away. Cody and Kevin brawl in the ring until the Suit Brigade shows up. The crowd wants them to fight but they're separated. The Rumble is going to be a war.

We cut to the back where Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga walk in. They're going to be taking on The Uso's and Sami Zayn in a six man tag later tonight. This coming Monday night it'll be tribal combat between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa to officially end the Bloodline civil war. The Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Naomi walk in as well. Naomi will take on Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Championship and Nia arrives on her own. Andrade then walks down the hall as he's coming in our first match against Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States title. Let's get to it.

Match 1

Andrade vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Non-title match as Andrade is so far down the card its not even funny. They show their match from two months ago where Nakamura won. Cole brings up their feud from New Japan a decade ago as Nakamura attacks at the opening bell. Andrade kicks him in the head and hits a running huracarana before dropkicking Shinsuke off the apron. Andrade goes up to the top and moonsaults on Shinsuke on the floor as we go to break. Back from commercial, Andrade hits a running elbow and a dragon screw. Andrade hits a flying forearm to send Nakamura into the corner. Nakamura hits a knee to the ribs and a spinning heel kick. They play "Yay/boo" until Andrade connects with a big chop. Nakamura hits a snap german suplex off the first rope and hits a knee to the face from off the second rope. Shinsuke covers for 1...2....no. Shinsuke rips the top turnbuckle off and Andrade dropkicks him into the exposed steel. He hits the double knee in the corner and covers Shinsuke for 1...2....noooo. Andrade goes for the top rope moonsault but lands on his feet then hits a standing moonsault, covering for 1...2....no. Shinsuke elbows Andrade away but he replies with his own spinning back elbow.  He covers for 1...2..nope. Andrade puts Nakamura on the second rope and slaps his chest. Andrade goes for the superplex but Nakamura blocks it. Shinsuke somehow DDT's Andrade onto the ring post and throws him back into the ring. Cole calls Andrade a sitting duck as Nakamura hits Kinshasa. He covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Good win for Shinsuke in a serviceable match but usually non title matches are designed for the challenger to win to set up a future shot. So much for Andrade.

Time of match: 8:49

Winner: Nakamura by pinfall

Shinsuke's celebration is short lived as LA Knight makes his way out to get him some. Knight ducks a belt shot and clotheslines the champion. LA Knight rallies with right hands and goes for the BFT, but Nakamura pushes him away before beating a hasty retreat. LA Knight grabs the mic and screams "Yeah, you steal my title and things go crazy. What goes around comes around." Knight wants a title shot as Cole says he's not the same as he was when he lost the title back in November. That remains to be seen.

We cut to Apollo Crews on his phone just chilling when Pretty Deadly shows up to heckle him. Crews knows Los Garza didn't attack the Street Profitz, DIY did. Right on cue here's Legada Fantasma to confront Deadly. Santos Escobar says if they're going to lie, at least do it to their faces. Deadly begs off but Escobar says their lies will beat the crap out of them. Deadly says no need to threaten and Escobar says he won't do that. Right on cue Humberto Carillo and Angel Garza attack Kit and Elton until Nick Aldis & The Suit Brigade break it up. Aldis says Deadly and him are gonna have a chat as we go to break.

Back from break Aldis grills Deadly on what happened last week since Crews said it was DIY that attacked the Street Profitz. DIY themselves show up and says Deadly are fine upstanding citizens, unlike Apollo Stooge. Aldis replies his eyes are connected to his brain and the four of them are on thin ice. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano says Pretty Deadly would make great number one contenders and imply that if they want title shots, to help them win their rematch with the Motor City Machine Guns later.

Michin comes out for her match with Piper Niven. Classic "win against the bodyguard to get a title shot" match here. We're shown Chelsea's victory at Saturday Night's Main Event to win the inaugural Women's US Championship. Cole throws shade at Chelsea for her music hitting, her coming out first and wearing a US wonder woman outfit. Graves says its in the constitution. Cole "You know what she was giving out as Christmas gifts? Little ornaments with her face on them. WHO THE HELL WOULD PUT THAT ON THEIR CHRISTMAS TREE?" Matt Cardona would be my answer. Graves says he's got two of them and he wants to be minister of propaganda in her cabinet. Corey Goebbels everyone.

Match 2

Michin vs Piper Niven (with Chelsea Green)

Bell's gone and Niven blocks a kick, avalanching her into the corner. She punches away at Michin but a charge eats boot. Michin hits two Frankensteiners to send Piper to the floor. Michin hits a frankensteiner off the apron but gets caught in a sidewalk slam before posing for the irate crowd. Back inside Michin hits a bulldog and covers for 1...2..no. Niven blocks Eat Defeat and avalanches her in the corner. Niven salutes Chelse and says "Oh champion, my champion" and cannonballs nothing as Michin moved. Michin hits a cannonball into the corner and starts twerking much to Cole's delight. Hey if Graves can slobber all over Chelsea, turnabout is fair play. Michin kicks Piper in the head and covers for 1...2...no. Graves is irate as Green distracts Michin to allow Piper to block Eat Defeat, hitting the Piper Driver. She covers for 1...2....no. Piper drags her into the corner and goes for the Vader Bomb, but Michin gets the foot up to block it. Piper staggers right into Eat Defeat and Michin covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Fun little match mostly due to Chelsea's antics and the bickering commentary.

Time of match: 7:00

Winner: Michin by pinfall

 

Michin stalks Chelsea as Graves hopes Cole gets deported. We cut to the back where Paul Heyman makes his way in the arena, avoiding the metal detector. We get a snippet of John Cena's Farewell Tour that begins this Monday night on Raw. We get a vignette for Naomi for hype for the Women's title match. 

We cut to Paul Heyman in the ring for a conference. He says this Monday night will be tribal combat to find out who's the real tribal chief. Heyman says Reigns and himself trained Solo to become the future tribal chief. Heyman says when Roman was ready to step down, Solo would rise. Then Roman Reigns got revenge for Seth Rollins but Cody Rhodes took advantage to win the match. That's when Solo Sikoa seized the moment by stealing the Ola Fala. Heyman calls Solo a twisted son of a bitch and he stole it from Roman. Heyman complains Solo got rid of himself and Jimmy Uso because Solo knew no one would acknowledge him as tribal chief. He went out and got a band of filthy animals that don't even belong in pro wrestling. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa aren't welcome in the United States and Jacob Fatu's not even welcome outside the United States prison system (hahaha). Heyman says Monday night will be no rules apart from there must be a winner and loser. Heyman says the winner of the match will be Roman Reigns, the only tribal chief. 

Heyman goes to leave but uh oh...here comes Solo for a rebuttal. Graves "Now would be a great time to make your exit, Mr. Heyman." A sign in the crowd says Solo is the Temu Tribal Chief as Heyman admits he's ten seconds away from pissing in his pants because the last time he said Solo wasn't the tribal chief, he got put through a table in front of his kids. He knows if he says the wrong thing, Tama and Jacob will do the same damn thing in Phoenix, Arizona. The crowd chants "Yeet" as Solo demands the mic. Heyman hands it over as the crowd chants "Solo sucks!" Solo milks it then says "Phoenix, Arizona....acknowledge me" to a chorus of boos. Solo says Heyman needs to acknowledge the truth, he owes CM Punk a favor. Solo says he'll owe Heyman a favor because Monday he needs someone to hold the Ola Fala during the match. He needs someone who loves the family and is trustworthy. Solo says if Roman wins, Heyman will go back to being with him but if Solo wins, then he'll own the Ola Fala and Heyman himself. Solo concludes by saying Roman will have no choice but to acknowledge him before dropping the mic in front of Paul. Heyman works better as a heel manager so the idea of him turning on Roman and joining Solo is definitely on the table.

We get a hype vignette for the Motor City Machine Guns who's mad at being betrayed by DIY. They claim that they taught Gargano everything he knows and he and Ciampa have forgotten who the Guns are. It took them 3 matches to win the belts but only need one to get them again. On to the next match.

Match 3

Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) vs DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) for the WWE Tag Team Championships

Graves says he's known Gargano to be a sniveling rat for years and now everyone sees it for themselves. Bell's gone and Ciampa starts with an arm ringer on Sabin. Graves compares Gargano to a barnacle on a tiger shark (Ciampa) as Sabin hits an arm-drag. Ciampa runs into another arm-drag but hits a jawbreaker. The Guns hit a double elbow on Ciampa and Shelley gets in to kick Gargano out of the ring. Shelley tags in and works the left arm of Ciampa before Sabin tags back in for the double back elbow. Cole agrees with Graves that Gargano's MO is to latch on to people. Sabin clothelsines Tommaso over the top to the floor then sends Gargano out as well. Shelley opens the ropes and Sabin hits a suicide dive onto the champs on the floor as we go to break. Back from commercial Ciampa sends Sabin into the corner where he dropkicks Gargano off the apron. Ciampa runs right into a dropkick and Shelley wants the hot tag. Ciampa tags in Gargano and Shelley gets the hot tag who cleans out both champs. Shelley hits a rude awakening and covers for 1...2..no. Shelley turns his attention to Ciampa who holds him but he powers out of it, kicking Gargano to the outside. He tags in Sabin for the double baseball slide then double planchas. Shelley favors his left knee but tags in anyway as Cole says the only loss the Guns have suffered was the match they lost the belts in. Gargano fights off both guns but walks into a Shelley high knee, then Sabin enziguiri. A double superkick knocks Gargano out and Shelley covers for 1...2...no, Ciampa breaks up the count. Sabin and Ciampa play "Yay/boo" before Sabin blocks a discuss punch with a chop to the chest. Gargano superkicks both Guns down and all four of them are down. Ciampa gets the legal tag and he chops Shelley in the center of the ring. They chop it out in the center of the ring as Sabin tags in. They do the STF dropkick as Sabin calls for Skull & Bones. Uh oh....here comes Pretty Deadly. They distract Shelley long enough for Ciampa to throw him outside. Ciampa hits a running knee to Shelley and tags in Gargano. He superkicks Shelley as Ciampa hits the pedigree, then covers for 1...2...no. Suddenly Los Garza hit ringside to chase Pretty Deadly away to even the odds. Shelley rolls Gargano up out of nowhere for 1...2.....no. Shelley locks in the Motor City Stretch and Sabin has Ciampa in an STF. But oh no! Garza and Kit Wilson tumble into Sabin for the DQ...booooo! Graves "This sucks....this absolutely sucks! I love Pretty Deadly but now was not the time, here was not the place!" The champs retain as Graves calls Gargano a twerp (Hahaha) as Gargano lays across the announce table. Graves dares Cole to hit them as Ciampa tries not to laugh for real. Good match but ruined by the garbage ending, you know another match is coming.

Time of match: 10:54

Winners: No one (Double DQ): DIY retains

Nia Jax is with Gargano's wife, Candice Larae. Nia has no idea where Tiffany Stratton is and Candice says shes got her to fall back on. Nia says after she beats Naomi, maybe she and Candice will take on Bianca & Naomi for the tag straps....if Candice keeps Bianca out of it. We get a graphic for Nia against Naomi later as well as the six man tag match between Bloodline and New Bloodline. We cut to Sami Zayn who runs into Carmelo Hayes. Hayes says he had Sami beat last week if it wasn't for Braun Strowman. Sami says Hayes ran away as Melo denies it. Melo says he and Sami can go anytime but The Usos pop up behind him. Melo says he's got no problem as Sami hilarious says what Melo was saying in the whitest way possible (yes I know he's Syrian). Sami wants Melo to tell him more and Melo heads for the hills. Sami says he'll get his gear and join them in a few minutes as Jey says YEET. Suddenly Kevin Owens bumps into Jey and Jey says to watch where he's going. Owens tells Jey to watch his back as he walks off. Graves says they might want to heed the warning.

We cut to highlights of our brawl to start the show with Owens and Rhodes. In real time, Cody is leaving but Nick Aldis stops him. Aldis says Cody better be okay because he talked him into making the ladder match. Aldis tells Cody to think of the big picture and if he won't,  he'll do it for him. Cody says Nick is a good boss but he's the champ. Cody says Aldis has the right to bench him but Cody has the right to call his shot. Cody says if he sees Kevin Owens or even someone that looks like him, he drops them on sight. I believe it! As Naomi makes her entrance, we're shown some signs in the crowd. One guy has a sign that says his wife thinks he's on a work trip and Graves says he'll be sleeping on the couch when he gets home.

Match 4

Naomi (with Bianca Belair) vs Nia Jax (with Candice Larae) for the WWE Women's Championship

Cole reminds us that February 12, 2017 was the last time Naomi was a world champion and that Candice weaseled her way into Nia's good graces. Bell's gone and Naomi dropkicks her to start. Naomi kicks at the legs of Nia but gets shoved down. Nia taunts the irate crowd and throws Naomi in the corner. Nia splashes Naomi in the corner as Cole asks who attacked Jade Cargill is still at large. Naomi drops Nia into the corner and kicks her in the chest. Naomi slides to the apron where she kicks Nia in the head but Nia headbutts her down as we go to break. Back from commercial, Nia goes for a sit down on Naomi but Naomi rolls out of the way. Nia hits a swinging Urinagi and covers for 1..2...no. Nia throws Naomi down then hits a scoop slam. Nia hits an elbow drop and covers for 1...2....no. Nia locks in a chinlock as Bianca tries to get the crowd on Naomi's side. Nia sends Naomi into the ring post and hits a running hip into the ring post. Nia covers for 1....2....no. Nia goes for the powerbomb and Naomi victory rolls for 1...2...no. Nia clotheslines Naomi down and goes for the Banzai Drop. Naomi kicks her down and hits a double stomp. Naomi hits a split from the second rope and covers for 1...2...no. Jax misses a charge in the corner and is snapped off the top rope to the floor. Naomi hits a suicide dive and rolls Nia back inside. Naomi tries a few double axehandles then a springboard enziguiri. She hits a big samoan drop and covers for 1...2...noooooo. Naomi drags Nia to the corner and goes for the moonsault but Nia stops her. Nia ties Naomi in the tree of woe and runs into her in the corner. Nia hits a second rope leg drop and covers for 1.....2...NOOOOO. Nia brings her to the corner and goes for the Banzai Drop but Naomi face plants her. Naomi hits a tornado DDT and covers for 1...2...nope. Naomi hits the double knee plant and covers for 1..2....negative. Cole asks who's going to win as we go to commercial. Back from break Naomi is thrown in the corner but she hits a blockbuster, covering for 1...2..no. Naomi leapfrogs over Nia but Nia goes for the samoan drop, only for Naomi to lock in a crucifix for 1...2..no. Naomi goes for some kind of submission but Candice hops on the apron for the distraction. Bianca pounces on her immediately and sends Larae into the barricade. Nia throws one of the tag belts at Bianca and sends her into the ring steps. Nia drags Naomi to the corner and goes for the leg drop but Naomi kicks her in the head. Naomi gets caught in a powerslam but somehow she reverses the powerslam in mid air (!!!). Uh oh! Here comes Tiffany Stratton with the money in the bank briefcase and referee Ryan Tran. She says she's going to cash in and when Tran turns around...she throws him over the barricade. Cole and Graves are completely confused as Tiffany clobbers Naomi with the briefcase. Nia hits the Banzai Drop on Naomi and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. That match was 10 times better than it should have been despite the outside noise. The underdog vs big brute worked to perfection and this was fun to watch.

Time of match: 19:35

Winner: Jax by pinfall (still Women's Champion)

After the match, Graves says it was all a ruse for Tiffany to help Nia retain. Tiffany gets in to celebrate with Candice and Nia as Bianca tends to Naomi in the corner. Nia attacks Bianca and goes for the Banzai Drop....AND TIFFANY CRACKS NIA WITH THE BRIEFCASE! The crowd pops huge as Tiffany kicks Candace and throws her outside. Tiffany rolls outside as Bianca hits the KOD on Nia. Tiffany pulls Bianca outside and heaves her over the announce table as the pop gets louder. Tiffany cashes in and Ryan Tran says ring the bell. Here we go!

Match 5

Tiffany Stratton vs Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Championship

Tiffany wastes no time, she goes for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever as the bell rings. She hits the moonsault and covers as Cole shrieks "ITS...TIFFY...TIME" as the ref counts to three. Tiffany FINALLY cashes in on Nia and wins the title to a huge ovation as Cole calls her a Judas. We got a new champion folks!

Time of match: 7 seconds

Winner: Stratton by pinfall (New WWE Women's Champion)

We go to the highlight with the crowd going nuts as Tiffany got the fall. Stratton worked hard to get here and the fact she got a huge ovation shows she's ready for the spotlight. Can't help but think of how that was going to be Mandy Rose if she didn't get fired. Tiffany celebrates at the entrance as the crowd goes nuts, unfortunately we're sent to commercial. Back from break, Cole and Graves go over what we just saw. Kind of strange to have the cash in on Smackdown rather than at the Rumble but Tiffany was just too hot to wait that long. Cole says Tiffany is the fifth woman to win her first world championship by cashing in. Corey says his wife was one of them, ha! We then go to a hype video for Tribal Combat between Roman and Solo. Life was good until Roman lost at Wrestlemania, then Solo built his own Bloodline to reign supreme. Then Roman returned and Solo said he had no tribe. Roman reconciled with The Usos and Sami to fight the new Bloodline. After a victory at Survivor Series, a one on one showdown was inevitable. Now this Monday, it's Roman vs Solo one last time. We cut to the back with Jacob Fatu screaming that he loves Solo and the whole world will acknowledge him. The New Bloodline makes their entrance as we go to break. 

Back from break, a post-Raw show featuring Big E Langston, Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore will be held after the first Raw on Netflix. We cut to Byron Saxton who's with LA Knight. Knight says Nakamura's got hell to pay and Aldis asked why. Knight says Nakamura's been doing it to him for a while so now monkey see, monkey do. Aldis granted him a title shot next week on Smackdown and he's entering the Royal Rumble. Knight says anyone who gets in his way will be slapped back to factory settings and that's a fact of life, yeahhhhh. The Uso's and Sami make their entrance through the crowd to a chorus of YEET. Graves refuses to Yeet because the New Bloodline is too close to their table. On to the main event.

Match 6

Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa vs The Uso's (Jimmy and Jey) and Sami Zayn

Bloodline vs Bloodline again only no Tonga Loa or Roman. The faces YEET in the ring for a solid 5 minutes before the bell rings. Jacob will start with Jimmy but the others get in the ring for the standoff. Its a pier six brawl to begin with the New Bloodline getting shitcanned as we go to break early. Back from commercial its Jey coming off the top with an elbow to the left arm of Jacob. Tama Tonga tags in and they tie up only for Tama to get an axehandle to the back. Tama punches away in the corner and stands on his head. Tama is rocked into the buckle and Jey locks in a figure four, tagging in Sami. Sami drops an elbow on Tama and rams his head into the buckle. The crowd chants "Sami Uso" as Graves says Roman had everyone do his bidding while Solo was in the trenches with his crew. Cole counters Reigns was given the Ola Fala, Solo just stole it. Jimmy tags in and kicks at the left arm of Tama. Solo snaps Jimmy off the top rope and Tama tags him in. Solo punches away at Jimmy and says "You see that Roman, that's gonna happen to you." Cole says Solo, Jimmy and Jey are brothers but leave out that Jacob is their first cousin. Tama and Sami aren't related if you hadn't guessed. Solo tells Jimmy to get his ass up and chokes him on the second rope. Tama gets a cheap shot in as well before Solo locks in a nerve hold. He shouts "No yeet!" as Jimmy gets to his feet. Cole says Jimmy was on the shelf after breaking his toe in Wargames. Sami tags in and rallies with right hands on Solo, ducking the line and hitting a clothesline of his own. A second one rocks Solo but the third one drops him. Zayn punches him in the corner and elbows Tama off the apron. Sami jumps into a spinning rock bottom as we go to commercial. Back from break, Solo has a nerve hold on Sami before Sami runs for it....right into a Samoan drop. Solo covers for 1...2....no. Sami chops Solo's chest but Solo no sells it. Solo tags in Tama who rallies with right hands. He and Sami brawl together before Jacob tags in. Jacob hits the Umaga in the corner and hits a thrust to the throat. Jacob tags in Solo who lands a headbutt to Sami. Solo taunts Zayn but eats a boot to the head. Sami hits Blue Thunder Bomb and crawls for his corner. The Uso's get the crowd to chant Yeet as Jey gets the hot tag. Jey cleans out all three heels and punches away at Tama. Jey's samoan drop is blocked but Jimmy gets the blind tag. Tama misses a charge and a double superkick stuns Tama. The Usos drop Tama with a back elbow smash but here comes Jacob. The Uso's double clothesline Jacob over the top rope but Jimmy tumbles over with him. Jey gets rolled by Tama for 1....2..no. Jey hits a neckbreaker on Tama and covers for 1...2...no. Jacob on the outside throws Jimmy into the barricade and Sami bum rushes Jacob. Solo throws Sami into the ring post but gets punched off the apron. Tama hits a DDT on Jey and covers for 1...2...no. Jacob gets the tag and he taunts the irate crowd. Jacob says "You should have joined us and acknowledged Solo." Jey superkicks him into the corner and Sami gets the tag. Sami then tags in Jimmy for the triple team. Jimmy, Jey and Sami all hit the Umaga on Jacob. Sami and Jey suicide dive onto Solo and Tama outside. Jimmy hits the top rope splash on Jacob and covers for 1...2...no. Corey says he didn't get all of it and it might be due to protecting his foot. Jacob recovers to hit his own top rope splash and moonsault. He covers for 1...2...no, Sami breaks it up. Sami is sent over the top rope by Jacob but is backed into the corner by Jimmy. Jey tags in and they hit the double superkick to Jacob. Jey covers for 1...2...no. Uh oh, here comes Drew McIntyre. What the hell does he want? Oh yeah, he faces Jey this Monday night. Jey hits a suicide dive onto Drew then goes to the top rope. Jey runs right into a pop up samoan drop by Fatu. He covers for 1...2...no. Solo gets the tag as Jacob screams "I...LOVE...YOU." Jacob misses the Umaga and Jey superkicks Solo to the outside. Jey hits the spear on Jacob but he's not the legal man. Jey hits the top rope splash but referee Charles Robinson says he's not legal. Solo sneak up and nails the Samoan Spike on Jey. Solo covers for 1...2...3 to win the match as Sami can't break it up in time. New Bloodline win it. The McIntyre didn't really effect the match other than to hype Jey vs Drew on Monday. Cole says after the match that Roman Reigns is next.

Time of match: 22:37

Winners: New Bloodline by pinfall

New Bloodline pick up a much needed win with Solo needing some momentum going into Tribal Combat. You never know who might interfere in the match for either side. We run down the card for Raw with Roman vs Solo, Jey vs McIntyre, Rhea Ripley vs Liv Morgan for the World Women's Championship, John Cena's farewell tour kicks off and CM Punk vs Seth Rollins in the main event. We sign off with the New Bloodline with their fingers in the air. This was a hell of a show with some good matches, but it felt off with the focus being on the Raw debut on Netflix. Still, a lot of stuff was established and we got a new WWE Women's Champion. Nia Jax isn't going to take that lying down and Pretty Deadly is in deep doo doo with Legada Fantasma. DIY and the Guns are due for another showdown but one thing is for sure, Solo vs Roman ends the Bloodline Civil War. If Solo loses, nobody will give a rats ass about his crew. The Tongans are essentially useless and Jacob is due to break out eventually. All in all things are rolling and the hype to the Rumble has started. The next show after this is Monday's Raw from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. I'll see you there!