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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Jan. 29, 2021) with a show from the ThunderDome inside Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Advertised for tonight: Bianca Belair vs. Bayley, Michael Cole’s sit-down interview with Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on FOX. 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. 29
The cracks in the pavement match the cracks in their weathered skin. The sky’s a brick wall, the ground’s a juggernaut. Each day they get a bit closer, between them, I am caught. I stare in amazement, I can’t believe this is where I live, but I can believe that I have to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with Daniel Bryan making his entrance.
He gets on the mic and welcomes us to the show and to Royal Rumble weekend.
He says winning the Royal Rumble is one of the few things he hasn’t done in his career and how important it is, and he doesn’t know how many more WrestleMania moments he has left. He talks about what great shape he is and how he’s ready for anything given how unpredictable the Royal Rumble is.
Enter AJ Styles and his Big Buddy, Omos.
He talks about how he’s going to win the Royal Rumble and Bryan reminds him that this is SmackDown and Styles is a Raw superstar. AJ passes the mic to Omos, who explains that they’re here on the quarterly brand-to-brand invitational. Styles says he’s the gatekeeper for Raw, and accuses Dan of having one foot out the door. Bryan says he’s not planning on leaving and challenges AJ to a match tonight.
Styles says he’d love one more warmup tonight and shoves Dan to the mat! Bryan goes to get up but Omos is standing in his path, blocking the way. Dan says if AJ’s really ready to fight, he’ll leave Omos in the locker room, and with or without his Big Buddy, he’s still gonna kick his ass.
Bayley is interviewed backstage and brags about putting Bianca Belair shoulder-first into a basketball hoop last week.
But she’s proud of Belair after watching her WWE Network documentary, except for how she keeps running away from her problems. She’s gonna leave Bianca crawling into a deep, dark hole.
Bianca makes her entrance to send us to break.
Bayley vs. Bianca Belair
Collar and elbow, Belair forces her into the corner and breaks clean. Bayley with a shoulder armbreaker, arm wringers, Bianca counters with a scoop and a slam! Waistlock go-behind, into an armbar, Belair counters with a suplex! Bayley to the apron, back inside, leg kicks into falling forearms, Bayley draws her up and drops her down with a mat slam!
Off the ropes, sliding lariat, only a one count! Divorce Court... NOPE! Wrenching Bianca’s braid, that sets a fire under her and she beats Bayley down, stomping a proverbial mudhole! Whip reversed, up and over, back handspring into a pounce into the corner! More clubbing blows, Bayley rolls to the apron for the safety of the break! Upkick to the injured arm gets Bayley back in the ring but Belair dropkicks her and kips up!
Standing moonsault, only two! Bayley rolls to the floor and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Belair throws Bayley into the corner and follows it up with a Gallon Throw! Cover, only two, knees up in the corner, Bayley picks the arm and hits a tornado Divorce Court! Followup countered into a schoolboy but Bayley rolls through and hits a short knee for two! Dragging Bianca into position, a few stomps, Bayley goes up top... DIVING ELBOW DROP CAN’T KEEP THE EST DOWN!
Crucifix for two, Bayley fires back with La Casita, just a nearfall. Double leg, jackknife pin, Belair bridges out, backslide attempt denied. Elbow connects, chickenwings, but her arms give out on the Glam Slam! Hard whip, one-handed handspring, she puts Bayley into the turnbuckles, Argentine backbreaker rack...
Bianca Belair wins by pinfall with the KOD.
Post-match, Bianca is interviewed on the stage.
She says Bayley was a perfect opponent to prove herself against and it’s crazy that she beat her after everything that’s happened. It’s the biggest win of her career, and the only thing that can top it is winning the Royal Rumble and going to WrestleMania.
We see Cesaro chatting with AJ Styles and his Big Buddy Omos backstage.
King Baron Corbin makes his entrance but he gets blindsided by Dominik Mysterio!
Mysterio puts boots to him and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Rey Mysterio joins the commentary booth.
King Baron Corbin vs. Dominik Mysterio
Corbin rams Mysterio into the corner, shoulder thrusts, Mysterio returns windmill punches! Baron throws him into the corner, out and back in, Dominik catches him with a front kick, slingshot knee drop sends Corbin to the floor! Plancha follows, back in, Baron takes his sweet time and Mysterio lights him up with strikes. La casadora countered into a back suplex and another back suplex follows!
Baron jawing at Rey, clubbing Dominik to the mat, punching away! Mysterio gets away, missile dropkick, slingshot senton atomico, cover for one! Corbin with more clubs, Dom off the ropes, bodyscissors puts Baron on the ropes but he catches the 619! Mysterio to his feet, off the ropes, tilt-a-whirl countered but he gets the Frankensteiner to put Corbin in the corner!
Back body drop dumps Dominik hard in the corner, Baron draws him up and throws him into the ropes... satellite DDT to counter! Only a nearfall! Corbin hangs him up and gets him...
King Baron Corbin wins by pinfall with End of Days.
Post-match, Rey puts Corbin into the ringpost and drops him with a seated senton before going and checking on his son.
Big E is backstage chatting with Sonya Deville, looking rather fetching in salmon tonight.
He slips her a dollar and an Arby’s coupon for a sneak peek at his Royal Rumble entry number. She scoffs and Miz and John Morrison roll up.
They ask where five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce is and she says he’s home for the week after what happened last week. John Morrison brings up short selling and the whole GameStop deal and says he’s about to get a lot of money.
E says he has to go get ready for the Rumble and they mock him, and he says they’re over the hill and have no chance in the Rumble.
This, predictably, leads to a brawl breaking out. Big takes Miz out and brawls with Morrison as referees, road agents (including Pat Buck and former ROH World Champion Jamie Noble) pull them apart to send us to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up Natalya vs. Tamina, a match which will be broadcast on WWE Backstage tomorrow night, wherein the winner will go on to be #30 in the Royal Rumble.
Sasha Banks is chilling backstage with her title when Kalisto rolls up to give her a hug. She moves on and Reginald the Sommelier has a bottle of wine for her from Carmella. He says it’s the perfect wine to pair with losing your championship. Banks says she knows they’ve had their problems, but there’s something she likes about him. It could be how he speaks French or his knowledge of wines.
She asks if he freelances and he says perhaps, which leads Sasha to ask what the best wine to drink with a broken jaw is. She gives him the bottle back and says it looks like he could use a drink. A wry little smile plays across his face as she leaves.
We get a recap of the last few weeks worth of Owens/Reigns business.
Cut to Kevin Owens (wearing an Ever-Rise shirt to support his pals) and Roman Reigns getting mic’d up for their interview and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get some hype for Bad Bunny’s performance at the Royal Rumble.
Shinsuke Nakamura is walking backstage when he runs into Sami Zayn and his documentary crew.
Zayn says guys from Raw being here all of a sudden is suspicious, and he asks what’s up with Shinsuke and Cesaro before thinking better of it. Sami says they have a history together and he’s done a lot for him and he thinks it’s time to repay the favor. He needs help getting the Intercontinental Championship back and asks Nakamura what his plans for the future are, pointing out that his best work in WWE has been with him.
Shinsuke says he appreciates everything he’s done, but go to hell.
Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns are interviewed via split-screen.
Kev says as far as he’s concerned he’s beat Roman twice and nothing will keep him from standing back up, again and again and again, as many times as he needs to. Paul Heyman berates Owens for not being sufficiently respectful of his tribal chief, and KO asks if he’s really gonna sit there and let Paul rehash the same stuff he’s been doing for a decade.
Reigns asks Owens what kind of man his father was, and KO says his father is a great man. Roman asks if he’s a smart man, and Kev says he is, in fact, and warns him to think carefully about what he says next. Reigns says he’s just trying to understand why Owens doesn’t see his own limitations, and the only reason he can come up with is that his father didn’t teach him to.
Roman says Owens is ill-equipped to be Universal Champion and it’s not his fault he’s put in the position of having a title shot. The fact that he thinks he has a choice makes him a fool, and if he’s a fool, then his father’s a fool, and his grandfather, too. KO defends his grandfathers’ honor and reiterates that Roman should think carefully about what he says next.
Reigns spins a story of what KO’s grandparents would say and KO picks it apart, saying Roman is just trying to hide the fact that he’s an insecure bully. Owens gets more heated as he continues, saying he sees the same Kevin Owens in the mirror, the man his family made, and he will be the last man standing. Roman clicks out mid-tirade.
We get entrances for our next match, and AJ Styles sends his Big Buddy Omos to the back to send us to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up the Royal Rumble card and we get a video package recapping the build for McIntyre/Goldberg.
AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Bryan with a side headlock, into the takeover, headscissors reversal, the same bit the other direction and then we learn that Cesaro is on commentary. Test of strength, monkey flip, monkey flip, Dan gets a cross armbar but Styles gets a foot on the ropes! Shoulder armbreaker, whip across, boot up on the charge. Drop toehold keeps Bryan in control, Penalty Kick to the arm! Kneeling wristlock, wrenching back on the arm, AJ rams him into the corner and forces the break.
Side headlock, shot off, shoulder block, drop down, leapfrog, roundhouse kick gets Dan a one-count. Styles rams him into the corner, Bryan with chops, block a brainbuster attempt, butterfly suplex! Sami Zayn makes his entrance, AJ blasts Dan off the apron and whips him into the steel steps to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Styles putting boots to Bryan in the corner, suplex attempt blocked, sidestep the charge, whip reversed, backflip up and over. Off the ropes, duck a lariat, AXE BOMBER! AJ scrambles to a corner, running corner dropkick sets up chest kicks, setting Styles up top, avalanche Frankensteiner connects... NOPE! AJ with a dragon screw for some breathing room, hanging Dan up by a leg in the corner, enzuigiri connects and then he kicks his leg outta his leg!
Calf Killer applied in the middle of the ring, Bryan crawling and he gets the rope to force the break! Dan with an enzuigiri out of the corner, back body drop puts Styles on the apron, sidestep the Phenomenal Forearm... DANIELSON SPECIAL! Shifting to the LeBell Lock, AJ crawling and reaching and he gets a foot on the ropes to force the break!
Big E makes his entrance to confront Sami Zayn at ringside, dropping him with a lariat and throwing him into the announce desk! Cesaro shoves E, Big shoves back and the Swiss Superman drops him with a pump kick! Bryan dives on both of them! Styles throws him back inside, Dan blocking punches and throwing them back but Zayn hits the ring and referee Jason Ayers has no choice but to call for the bell...
Daniel Bryan wins by disqualification, presumably, although no finish is announced.
Shinsuke Nakamura makes his entrance and takes Sami out! He and Cesaro square up and Zayn blasts Nakamura into Cesaro! The babyfaces dump the heels and we go to break.
AJ Styles, Cesaro, & Sami Zayn vs. Big E, Daniel Bryan, & Shinsuke Nakamura
Match joined in progress, Cesaro hits an uppercut on Nakamura. Shinsuke sidesteps the charge, kick to the back, block the boot, turn him around, sliding German suplex! E tags himself in, uppercuts and body blows, trading shots, Zayn tags in and Big keeps the pressure up. Quick tags, keeping Sami off-center until he gets a chop block on Bryan and tags Styles in.
AJ goes to work on Dan’s injured leg and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Cesaro is swinging Bryan around by the injured leg and follows it up with a half-crab. Tag to Styles, the beating continues at length. Dan gets a missile dropkick for separation and makes the tag. E comes in hot, belly-to-belly suplexes for everybody! Cesaro ducks a lariat and hits a big springboard corkscrew uppercut! Gotch lift reversed to a back body drop, land on his feet but he runs into the big Rock Bottom out of the corner!
Big E is about to get hungry and forget his manners but Miz and Morrison make their entrance and hit the ring to attack E...
Presumably Big E, Daniel Bryan, & Shinsuke Nakamura win by disqualification, but no finish is announced.
Miz and Morrison beat Big down but Otis Dozovic makes the save! He hits the Caterpillar and we go to break.
AJ Styles, Cesaro, John Morrison, Sami Zayn, & the Miz vs. Big E, Daniel Bryan, Otis Dozovic, Sheamus, & Shinsuke Nakamura
Back from commmerical, Miz is putting boots to Daniel Bryan, he takes him to the floor for a shinbreaker into the announce desk and keeps on comin’! Back inside, figure four leglock applied, but Dan is able to fight out of it! Miz tags in, Blue Thunder Driver... NOPE! Morrison in, elbows and stomps, Styles now, working Bryan over once more. Both men down and out, the heels clear the apron, but Sheamus makes the save?
He’s in the match I guess?
Sheamus tags in and cleans house, Irish Curse into the cloverleaf but Morrison breaks it up with a crescent kick! The match breaks down into “everybody do something cool” territory, Sami charges in but Sheamus is ready...
Big E, Daniel Bryan, Otis Dozovic, Sheamus, & Shinsuke Nakamura win by pinfall with a Brogue Kick from Sheamus on Sami Zayn.
Post-match the heels beat Sheamus down but Braun Strowman makes the save!
Strowman plants Cesaro with a chokeslam and hits a running powerslam on Zayn! One for Cesaro, too! He biels Cesaro across the ring before hoisting him up again for one more powerslam!
That’s the show, folks.