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After losing to Roman Reigns at TLC and again in a steel cage match on Christmas night, Kevin Owens isn’t ready to give up on his pursuit of the Universal Champion. This was made clear during Friday’s edition of SmackDown, with Owens once again calling on Reigns for his cowardice in needing his cousin, Jey Uso, to help him achieve victories in their previous matches.
Owens would make his wish come true and face Uso in the main event of the night, picking up a victory before continuing the assault after the match. As happened time and time again in his feud with Reigns, however, the numbers game would return to bite Owens and he would end another battered and presented edition of SmackDown.
Reigns, Uso foils Owens again
Roman Reigns opened the show with an in-ring promo, explaining how everything he touches now turns to gold, highlighting Paul Heyman and Jey Uso as proof of that. Reigns said he saved Heyman from WWE rejection while elevating Uso to the best year of his career and to the position of true main event talent. Kevin Owens then interrupted as Reigns objected, saying no one cared what Owens had to say after losing to him twice. Owens said his appearance on the show proves Reigns and Uso failed in their attempts to destroy him. Owens has said he doesn’t want anything to do with Reigns tonight, but wants Uso in the ring and will demand that to happen later in the series. Owens made a passionate appeal for Adam Pearce to make the match, with Pearce agreeing after initial hesitation. Reigns would ask Heyman to find out who was disrespecting him enough to get the game going.
Kevin Owens beats. Jey Uso via pinfall after dizziness. The match was a brawl from the vault, but Owens eventually got things going and kept his attack focused on Uso’s leg. Owens would finish Uso after a stun for the win before turning to the camera to ask, “Where are you, Roman?” He then beat Uso, as he had promised earlier in the night, attacking him and hitting a second Stunner. Owens handcuffed Uso to the ropes before hitting him with a superkick, while continuing to call on Reigns to show some pride and save his family. Owens took Uso to the entrance ramp and was about to put him across a table when Reigns attacked. Uso and Reigns then worked on Owens with a pair of steel chairs and threw him from the ThunderDome’s LED panel area through the tables below to end the show.
While everyone involved continues to do a good job, there must be something different about the story at some point. Owens continually putting himself in positions where he’s outnumbered and taking an obvious beating really does nothing to move the story forward. Yes, Reigns needs Uso to help him and, yes, Owens is trying to get home that Reigns is a coward because of it. But Owens by saying this and falling into the same traps every week doesn’t expand the story and make him particularly smart. Still, the content was solid if taken in isolation. Category B
What Else Happened on WWE SmackDown?
Big E def. King Corbin by disqualification after the intervention of Sami Zayn. Zayn was on the commentary and ran to smash the pin after Big E hit the Big Ending on Corbin. Corbin’s Lone Wolf Knights also ran, attacking Big E until the Apollo crews rushed to perform the rescue. This, of course, led to an immediate tag match.
Big E and Apollo Crews fight. Sami Zayn and King Corbin via pinfall after the crews hit Zayn with a sit-out bomb. Zayn almost hit Corbin with a Helluva Kick after the crews got out of the way. After the ensuing row between his teammates, Corbin left Zayn alone and Crews quickly hit a sit-out powerbomb for the win. Later on the show, Big E said he would be launching an open challenge for the Intercontinental Title next week, which Crews agreed to.
The Riott Squad won. Tamina and Natalya via pinfall when Liv Morgan pinned Tamina with a roll-up. Billie Kay was supposed to wrestle, but after entering and being supported by Tamina, she was cast aside in favor of Natalya. Kay attempted to manage the team instead. When the momentum shifted, Kay ran to manage the Riott Squad. She kept switching sides until her involvement distracted Tamina and allowed Morgan to wind Tamina up for the win.
Carmella and Bayley fight. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks via pinfall after Carmella hit Banks with a facebuster. The banks locked Carmella in the bank statement, but Reginald stepped in to get Carmella out of the ring. This created a distraction that allowed Carmella to eliminate Banks for the win.
Sonya Deville is back after losing a WWE Loser Leaves match at SummerSlam. Deville was announced as having been reinstated and was shown walking backstage.
The Street Profits hosted a New Year’s Smoke-Tacular. As they came up with predictions for 2021, mocking Sami Zayn, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, Roode and Ziggler rushed in and attacked the SmackDown champions, including brutally attacking Montez Ford’s leg with a steel chair. .
Daniel Bryan and Otis fight. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura via submission when Bryan put Nakamura in the LeBell lock. Cesaro and Nakamura mocked Bryan, Otis and Chad Gable as they trained for the Royal Rumble earlier in the night, leading up to the game. After a few round trips, Bryan caught up with Nakamura for the finish.
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