WWE SMACKDOWN 1/10/25 REVIEW

After a PLE caliber debut of Monday Night RAW on Netflix , Friday Night Smackdown delivered a solid episode FULL of tag team action and even delivered a new number one contender to Tiffany Stratton's WWE Women's Championship.

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The night opened with Paul Heyman very directly stating to Cody Rhodes that he has Roman Reigns' respect, BUT Roman is officially declaring himself for The Royal Rumble match, with every intention of winning in order to face Rhodes once again at WrestleMania. Before Cody could respond, he is interrupted by Kevin Owens from the crowd. 

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Rhodes rushes to attack Owens, while Heyman is left alone in the ring. Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga corner Heyman, but Jimmy Uso makes the save, leading to a fascinating main event of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso taking on The New Bloodline members. 

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Throughout the night, a series of other tag team matches took place from the continuing, "Who attacked MCMG?" angle. Los Garza defeated Pretty Deadly with help from Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez, while Motor City Machine Guns defeated A-Town Down Under. The winning teams will face each other next week, while DIY continues to toy with Pretty Deadly. Apollo Crews has conveniently been overseeing all of this, so keep an eye on that. 

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Chelsea Green successfully defended her Women's United States Championship against Michin by hooking the tights. I have to say Piper Niven as the "secret service" for Chelsea is absolutely BRILLIANT. I can't wait for Piper to breakout on her own again, but this is all GOLD.

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Shinsuke Nakamura retains his United States Championship against LA Knight via DQ via Bloodline interference. Something in this feud needs to change, and I'm optimistic that it will soon.

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Match of the night goes to an impromptu women's fatal four way match for the number one contender to Tiffany Stratton's WWE Women's Championship amongst Nia Jax, Bayley, Naomi, and Bianca Belair. This was a fantastic match following a Prettiest Moonsault ever by Stratton onto the pile, making her look strong before heading to the back. Other big moves included a modified tower of doom spot out of the corner, tandem offense from Women's Tag Champs Naomi and Bianca, and a very interesting exchange where Belair inadvertently hair whipped Naomi due to Candice LeRae 's Interference. Looking back at the tape, Bianca's hair whip did look somewhat deliberate, to a degree. Perhaps she is the one who attacked Jade Cargil after all? Regardless, Bayley is able to pin Naomi for the victory shortly thereafter, and will take on Tiffy in her first title defense next week on the blue brand. 

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The main event between Fatu & Tonga against Rhodes & Jimmy was also solid, but featured more interference from Owens. Despite everything going on between Cody and Owens, or whatever opponent Cody has been facing at any particular time, he is ALWAYS orbiting The Bloodline in some form or fashion. (Or Vice-Versa) Will we get Roman, Cody III at Mania this year? Is something else in the works with the more frequent appearances of The Final Boss, The Rock? This Royal Rumble should be a very strong indicator. 

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Fatu wins the match by pinning Jey Uso, which is the right play here. Fatu having his own entrance tonight was significant as well, as he is the real deal, and potentially a future Tribal Chief. I said what I said. 

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Keep it here for all your WWE coverage on BCP+

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