WWE Smackdown LIVE took place from the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Here’s all the action that went down ahead of the Royal Rumble.
Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair engaged in an intense standoff
There’s going to be a fight at the Royal Rumble this week, and it’s going to be a slobber-knocker when the Empress of Tomorrow faces her most dangerous opponent to date: The Man AKA Becky Lynch. But here’s the spanner in the works, as whoever comes out on top of that brouhaha is going to find themselves facing a Royal Rumble champion at Wrestlemania.
That’s the promise that Charlotte Flair made when she hit the ring, promising to not only win the Rumble but use her title shot to challenge for the Smackdown LIVE Woman’s championship. Could we see a pseudo-repeat of last year’s event that saw Asuka win the Rumble and challenge Charlotte Flair for the championship? In the word of Alanis Morrisette, wouldn’t that be ironic.
Oh, and everyone started pummelling one another, because wrassling yo.
Mandy Rose def. Naomi
Finally in the ring with the woman who had attempted to destroy her marriage, Naomi was a violent force of nature hellbent on retribution. All of that anger would be in vain however, as Mandy Rose picked the perfect opportunity to give Naomi a taste of the ring post and roll her up for the win.
Cesaro def. The Miz
You can already see where this is going: Two tag team partners in singles action, their partners at ringside and a whole lot of chaos erupting that eventually lead to the Swiss Superman triumphing as The Miz and Shane McMahon were left bruised and broken before The Bar.
Mr. McMahon moderated a raucous face-to-face between “The New” Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles
A war of words overseen by the chairman himself? Not exactly, as the “new” Daniel Bryan refused to even set foot in the same ring as AJ Styles and instead verbally blasted both his Royal Rumble challenger and Mr McMahon. Styles was having none of that however, launched himself at Bryan. The WWE Champion was too crafty however, using Mr McMahon as a shield and connecting with a Running Knee before he could get a taste of Styles and his phenomenal arsenal.
Rey Mysterio def. Andrade in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match via disqualification when Samoa Joe interfered
The rubber match to decide their feud for good, Rey Mysterio and Andrade put on a showstopper for a main event last night. Andrade picked up the first pin of the bout with a powerbomb off the top rope, but Rey Mysterio quickly equalised the score with a piledriver out of nowhere. Just when it looked like Mysterio was about to follow up on a 619 with a drop of the dime, Samoa Joe interfered and brutalised both Mysterio and Andrade, handing the luchador the overall win of the night.
The Samoan Submission machine grabbed a mic and declared that anyone in his path would face the same fate at the Royal Rumble, but Joe wasn’t prepared for a reply to his claims: An RKO from outta nowhere, as Randy Orton sent his own message to the WWE Universe ahead of the Royal Rumble.
Last Updated: January 23, 2019
