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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Jan. 10, 2020) from the Ford Center Evansville in Evansville, Indiana, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in Houston.
Advertised for tonight: John Morrison is the guest on Miz TV, The Usos vs. Baron Corbin & Dolph Ziggler, Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR JAN. 10
Cain here filling in for the evening.
The show begins with Miz making his entrance for MizTV. We get a video recap of Miz snapping after his loss to Kofi Kingston last week.
The crowd loudly boos Miz before he even utters a word.
Miz says he hasn’t changed. He was just having a bad day last Friday, and sometimes when someone tells you to smile on a day like that, you just want to punch them in the face, so that’s what he did to Kingston. Miz offers an apology from the bottom of his heart to Kofi.
Miz recaps his issues with Bray Wyatt before moving on to the return of someone who is like family to him, John Morrison. He introduces Morrison as the biggest guest in the history of MizTV.
Here comes Morrison walking out to his old theme music. He embraces the Miz. Miz refers to them as the greatest tag team of the 21st century, and then cuts to a highlight reel for the Shaman of Sexy.
Morrison says there is nothing more important than being there for one of your best friends, so he decided to return last week rather than get the big Royal Rumble return entrance and new music later this month. Morrison expresses his disappointment in the audience for chanting ‘Miz sucks’ last week. He extols the virtues of Miz as the hardest worker on the roster who doesn’t get the respect he deserves, not even from his own father. Morrison calls one of the audience members a douchebag, and is then interrupted by the New Day entrance.
Kofi and Big E walk down the ramp and say Miz isn’t a good enough actor to even issue a believable apology. They throw in a human centipede joke for good measure. Miz brings up how Kofi lost the WWE Championship in six seconds, and how Kingston never pursued the title again after the fact. Kingston corrects Miz and says it was eight seconds, not six seconds, and it’s clear that the Miz is changing from ‘Cool Miz’ to ‘Obnoxious Annoying Miz’. And that means the people are correct when they say that Miz sucks. The audience chants “You suck,’ and we’ll have a one-on-one rematch between Miz and Kingston after the break.
Morrison and Big E both join the commentary table for this match.
Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz
Kofi kicks Miz in the gut and works the arm over. Kingston dropkicks Miz down to the mat. On commentary, Big E disputes the idea that Miz and Morrison are the best tag team of the 21st century.
Miz catches Kofi in a figure four leg lock setup but Kofi counters it into a small package. Miz kicks out. Miz with a running boot to Kingston’s face, but Kofi kicks out of the ensuing pin attempt. Miz takes Kofi down with a shoulder block, and then Kofi comes back with a jumping back elbow to take Miz out. Kofi clotheslines Miz outside the ring and follows up with a suicide dive. Both Miz and Kofi are close to the commentary table, and Miz sends Kofi into Big E’s lap. Morrison gets up, and all four men confront each other as we go back to break.
Back from break, Big E and Morrison are both in ringside managerial positions instead of sitting at the commentary table. Kingston nails Miz with the Boom Drop. He goes for Trouble in Paradise, but Miz catches his leg and drives both of his knees into Kofi. Kofi rebounds with a top rope crossbody and gets a near fall. Miz comes back with a DDT for another near fall. Miz is now hitting Kofi with the It Kicks. Kofi avoids the final kick and turns the Skull Crushing Finale into a roll up, but Miz kicks out. Kofi hits him with the S.O.S., but Miz is still hanging in there. Miz drapes Kofi’s leg across the rope in the corner and runs from the other corner with his knees smashing into Kofi.
Miz finally locks in the figure four leg lock. Kofi desperately crawls over the the rope and forces a break. Miz goes to the outside and gets in Big E’s face. Morrison flies in from out of nowhere with some crazy jumping cannonball maneuver to take out Big E. Kofi is distracted by all the noise outside the ring, and Miz sneaks in to nail a Skull Crushing Finale for the win.
Miz defeats Kofi Kingston.
Commentary hypes up Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks, Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, and The Usos vs. Dolph Ziggler & King Corbin, all taking place later tonight.
It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray Wyatt says he loves you. Love is so special. Not everyone is worthy of love, like Daniel Bryan. Whatever the opposite of love is, that’s how HE feels about Daniel. Clips of Bryan joining the Wyatt family and betraying them from early 2014 overlap Bray’s words. Bryan is in a world of trouble at the Royal Rumble.
And it’s time for a break.
Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are backstage. Sonya is trying to hype her up for tonight’s match, but Mandy is clearly distracted by something. Sonya departs, and Mandy has a big white box that has captured her attention.
It’s time for an Elias performance in the ring. His song is about how Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Ricochet, AJ Styles, and Rowan are all going to lose at the Royal Rumble because of Elias. He says whatever is in Rowan’s cage can’t be as horrifying as a Lana/Lashley sex tape. Elias goes on to mock Brock Lesnar for never being around. Elias says Brock doesn’t have a personality and is afraid to talk. Elias is going to win the Royal Rumble and win the title from Lesnar. Sure you will, Elias. This song barely even rhymes and the crowd boos, though I’m not sure if it’s because the song sucks or because they hate Brock Lesnar.
Tucker is hyping up Otis backstage, but Otis can’t focus. Mandy shows up with her big white box. She apologizes to Otis for letting Dolph step on his mom’s fruit cake without standing up to him. She offers Otis the box as a gift. It’s a cake she made herself that says “I’m sorry.” Mandy quickly leaves because she has a match. Tucker seems suspicious of Mandy’s motives.
Alexa Bliss makes her way to the ring with Nikki Cross. We get an inset promo with both Alexa and Nikki saying they are intent on winning the women’s Royal Rumble match.
Alexa Bliss (w/Nikki Cross) vs. Mandy Rose (w/ Sonya Deville)
Bliss and Rose lock up, and Mandy shoves Alexa in the corner. She keeps pushing Alexa around the ring. Bliss responds with a loud slap in the face and then kicks Mandy in the corner. Mandy regains the advantage and powers Bliss into the opposite corner with power shoulders. Mandy rolls out of the ring to compose herself. Bliss nails her with a baseball slide.
Nikki and Sonya get involved on the outside, which distracts Bliss on her way back into the ring. Rose takes advantage with a running knee for a near fall. Rose applies a chin lock in the middle of the ring. Bliss elbows her way out of it and flips Rose over. Both women hit each other with a clothesline and fall in a heap on the mat.
Bliss is back up and taking it to Rose with slaps and a dropkick. Heavy Machinery’s music plays and here comes Otis (with the cake) and Tucker. Bliss is distracted again. Rose rolls her up for the win.
Mandy Rose defeats Alexa Bliss.
Otis stuffs cake into his mouth with his hand as he looks on. Mandy looks pleased.
Lacey Evans versus Sasha Banks is next, after the break.
Back from break, Lacey makes her entrance. Sasha’s music hits but nobody shows up.
Bayley appears on the Titantron and says that Sasha Banks is in a real city, Los Angeles, to finish her rap album. Evans grabs a mic and says she isn’t shocked that Sasha didn’t show up, and there’s a difference between people like Lacey and people like Sasha. Since Sasha is a nasty and not here, Lacey challenges Bayley to a championship match right now.
Bayley says she isn’t Lacey’s snot-nosed kid and doesn’t need to listen to her. Lacey rushes to the backstage area, presumably running into a trap.
Bayley and Evans are now brawling backstage. Bayley runs off and a ref keeps Evans from pursuing her.
That’s the end of that segment. Commentary throws to a video recap of last week’s angle where The Fiend attacked Daniel Bryan.
Bryan appears for a backstage interview. Bryan says he remembers everything from six years ago with the Wyatt Family. Bryan says the Fiend changed him for the better, and he is now more dangerous than ever. The Fiend cannot break Daniel Bryan, not physically or mentally. Bryan knows the Fiend can be hurt and he can be beat, and Bryan is going to do it for the Universal championship.
Ramblin’ Rabbit shows up on the monitor behind him. Rabbit is about to tell Bryan the secret for how to beat The Fiend, but Bray then grabs the rabbit and shuts him up. Snitches get stitches. Let me in.
Braun Strowman makes his entrance. His match is after the break.
We get a video recap of Strowman defeating Cesaro last week but then eating a Kinshasa from Nakamura afterwards. This next match is not a title match.
Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Strowman throws Nakamura around the ring. Strowman runs himself into the corner, like always, and Nakamura takes him down with quick strikes. Braun recovers with a boot. Nakamura is on all fours, and Braun kicks him in the mid-section. He picks Nakamura up and throws him into the corner buckle. He follows it up with a running splash. Zayn drags Nakamura out of the ring before Strowman can land another running splash.
Braun chases Zayn to the outside. Cesaro comes from behind and rams Strowman into the post. Shinsuke now with a running kick that sends Braun into the timekeeper’s area. Braun is on the ground in pain, and we go to break.
Back from commercial and both superstars are back in the ring. Nakamura grabs a chin lock. Strowman works his way up and tosses Nakamura over his head. Nakamura regains the advantage with a sudden kick. Strowman catches Nakamura off the top rope and puts him down with a clothesline. Two shoulder tackles and a running splash in the corner has Nakamura in trouble, but he breaks out of a pin attempt.
Nakamura wiggles his way out of Braun’s grasp and takes him out with a running kick. Nakamura charges again but Braun counters with a spinebuster. Cesaro enters the ring with a steel chair. The ref gets in his face. Cesaro tosses the chair away and Braun takes him out. Zayn tosses the IC title to Nakamura. Nakamura runs in with a championship swipe but Braun dodges it and nails the powerslam.
Braun Strowman defeats Shinsuke Nakamura.
Strowman holds the title up, and it’s clear that he wants it. Zayn strips it out of his hand and runs away.
Sheamus has a pre-taped promo where he mocks Shorty G’s catchphrases. He says Shorty G embodies all of the problems with SmackDown. Small is not something to be embraced, it’s something to be exterminated. Sheamus proved that size does matter. Sheamus is going to embrace chaos now that he is back.
The main event is up next, after the break.
Daniel Bryan is in the locker room backstage and there is a red gift box awaiting him. He opens it up to see a massacred Ramblin’ Rabbit.
Here comes Roman Reigns making his entrance. We get a video recap of the Usos saving Roman last week from dog food.
Roman has a mic and talks about how 2019 ended roughly for him. Roman says he’s always had backup, but when dealing with Corbin and his thugs, he didn’t need the help of his friends, he needed help from his family. 2020 is Roman’s year. He’s going to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania for the 5th time. He says he’ll do it with the Usos by his side, and now Jimmy & Jey make their entrance. A graphic reminds us that the Usos will be on WWE Backstage next Tuesday.
Jey Uso says it feels good to be back on the blue brand. They are going to turn Friday Night SmackDown into Friday Night Lock Down. Jimmy says it was tough to sit on the sideline watching Queen Corbin disrespect Roman Reigns. Kings come and go, but blood lasts forever.
Corbin and Ziggler make their entrance. Corbin says that Roman is throwing his family under the bus because the Big Dog is scared to face Corbin one-on-one. Corbin declares that he’s going to win the Royal Rumble match and Roman won’t be able to hide from him there. Roman issues a one-on-one challenge for a match earlier in the night at Royal Rumble. Corbin accepts, and says now it’s time to handle the Big Dog’s two bitches. The Usos respond by attacking the security jobbers, and we go to break.
Next week we’ll get Big E vs. John Morrison.
It looks like Roman Reigns has returned to the locker room.
The Usos vs. King Corbin & Dolph Ziggler
The Usos have lost no steps, immediately taking Dolph out with ease. Corbin tags in. Corbin does his running outside around the post and back inside for a clothesline spot. Dolph is back in. He hits Jey with a dropkick but can’t keep him down for a three count. Dolph backs Jey into the corner and tags Corbin back in.
Jey gets out of it and tags Jimmy in. Jimmy is on fire hits Corbin with a spin kick. The Revival’s music suddenly hits and they appear. Jimmy is distracted and Baron takes advantage. Roman’s music hits and he shows up again. He superman punches The Revival and we go to break.
Jey hits Rikishi’s running ass-smash into Ziggler’s face in the corner. Jey goes up top for a splash. Corbin runs in and throws Jey into the post. Roman spears Corbin on the outside, causing a disqualification.
Corbin & Ziggler defeat The Usos by disqualification.
Roman is ready to unleash more devastation on Corbin, but Robert Roode shows up out of nowhere and strikes. With his help, the heels are dominating the babyfaces on the outside with all their signature moves. The Usos are down, and Corbin forces Roman to stare at their prone bodies.
Roode strikes Roman with a spinebuster onto the announce table, and it does not break. Ziggler then elbows Roman through the table.
The heels bury Roman under the announce table, just like Roman did to Roode last month.
That’s the show. Thanks for hanging out here during SmackDown tonight, everyone!