By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown (Episode 1,272)
Vancouver, British Columbia at Rogers Arena
Aired live January 5, 2024 on Fox
Footage was shown of The Rock’s return to Raw on Monday, and his callout of Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns pulled up in an SUV backstage and was asked by Kayla Braxton if he had anything to say to The Rock. He just cackled and walked away. Paul Heyman just tilted his head at Kayla and walked away.
In the arena, Kevin Owens made his entrance for the opening match. He will face Santos Escobar in the finals of the US Title Tournament. Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves mentioned the main event between Orton, Styles, and Knight. Santos Escobar made his entrance with Angel and Humberto. Michin vs. Iyo Sky was advertised for later. Logan Paul made his entrance and joined in on commentary.
1. Santos Escobar (w/Angel and Humberto) vs. Kevin Owens in the United States Tournament Final: Wilde and Del Toro appeared and brawled with Angel and Humberto as the match started. Owens landed a superkick to a distracted Escobar and landed a cannonball in the corner. He then followed up with a Frog Splash for a near fall…[c]
Owens landed a running senton and went to the top rope. Escobar sprung to his feet and landed some punches. He then pulled Owens off the ropes by his bad hand and slammed it into the ring post and the apron. Escobar landed headbutts and a leg drop to the bad hand, and then applied the wrist lock. Owens broke free briefly, but Escobar was able to put Owens back down with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
Escobar landed a flying kick and a headscissor. He then sent Owens to the floor and landed a suicide dive. The crowd began to chant that Logan sucks, and he got to his feet talk trash. Escobar came off the top rope, but Owens kicked him in the gut and landed a DDT to turn the tide. He went to the top rope again, but Escobar recovered in time to meet him there. Owens reversed a superplex attempt into a Fisherman Buster and both men were laid out…[c]
Owens landed a superkick that sent Escobar to the floor. He then landed a Swanton from the apron to the floor, and tossed Escobar back into the ring. Owens attempted another one from the top rope, but Escobar got the knees up. Escobar then performed a top rope Hurracarrana, and went back to the top rope. He executed a splash and covered for a near fall. They ended up on the top rope again, where Owens landed a rolling Senton and covered for a close near fall.
Both men got to their feet. Owens attempted a Stunner, but Escobar rolled him up for a two count. Owens landed a pop up powerbomb after a second attempt, followed by a Stunner for the win.
Kevin Owens defeated Santos Escobar at 16:35 to win the United States Title Tournament
Logan Paul got on the mic after the match and told Owens he’s got a chance to face the greatest United States Champion of all time. Paul mocked the idea that a Canadian could ever hold the United States Championship, and said it would be like the Canucks winning a Stanley Cup, it’s never gonna happen. Paul approached Owens and got popped in the mouth with his cast. That shut him up, and Owens celebrated with the crowd.
The announce team introduced a video package for Randy Orton that went over his injury at the hands of Roman Reigns and his recovery. Bobby Lashley made his entrance with the Street Profits…[c]
My Take: A stout match from Owens and Santos. The outcome seemed a bit obvious, but they used their time well and had a hard hitting encounter. The crowd got fired up for all the high spots, but were a bit quiet when Escobar was on offense otherwise.
Kevin Patrick narrated the announcement of WWE going to Toronto for Money in the Bank Weekend in July. Backstage, Logan Paul ran into Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, who helped him to the trainer’s room. Cameron Grimes walked up and mocked Paul and said he’s glad he met Kevin. Waller pushed him, and they were separated by officials.
In the ring, Lashley said 2023 was one of the toughest years of his career, because the effort he put in didn’t translate to the results he wanted. He said the high point was linking up with the Street Profits. Hawkins and Ford talked about getting back on the train to success and taking on the Judgement Day for the Tag Team Gold. Bobby officially announced himself for the Royal Rumble, and then the lights mostly went out.
A video played on the screen that indicated Karrion Kross, and he walked out with Scarlett and a surprise guest Paul Ellering. AOP suddenly attacked Bobby and The Street Profits from behind, and tossed Lashley out of the ring. Kross walked down and tossed Lashley into the ring steps. AOP hit the SuperCollider on The Street Profits, and Kross landed a slam on Lashley that looked somewhat similar to the F5. The new faction formed up and taunted the crowd. After the beat down, we got a video package for AJ Styles that focused on his injury and beef with LA Knight and Roman Reigns.
The Triple Threat Main Event was plugged for later. Michin made her ring entrance for the next match with Anderson and Gallows…[c]
My Take: AOP was strongly hinted at a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t sure about Ellering and there he was. I’m interested to see how they make this faction gel together. Kross hasn’t delivered stellar singles performances in WWE, but maybe this will be a spark for him.
A video recap aired of the match where Michin qualified for her Women’s Title Match. After the video, Iyo Sky made her entrance. No Damage CTRL members came to ringside.
2. Michin vs. Iyo Sky for the WWE Women’s Championship: Sky avoided Michin early on and lande a reversal head scissors takedown. Both women rolled each other up for two counts. The action spilled outside where Michin landed a dive that left Iyo laid out on the floor…[c]
There was a messy sequence after the break that ended with a knee strike from Iyo. She then landed a cannonball in the corner and covered for a two count. The crowd was pretty silent at this point. Michin landed a codebreaker style facebuster out of the corner. She then applied a single leg crab, but Iyo reached the ropes.
Iyo attempted to springboard from the apron, but Iyo intercepted. Both women ended up on the apron, where Iyo landed a German Suplex. She then followed up with a springboard dropkick, and climbed to the top rope. Iyo attempted a Moonsault, but Michin got her knees up. She then landed a Dragon Suplex on the champion. Iyo recovered and landed double knees. She went up top, but Michin knocked her down. Michin then climbed up top herself, but Iyo rocked her with a Shotei.
Michin pulled Iyo up into position and landed an avalanche Styles Clash. Iyo managed to grab the ropes to break the fall. Iyo avoided a suicide dive on the floor and Michin crashed and burned. She landed a Meteora against the barricade, and another one in the ring. Iyo followed up with an Over the Moonsault for the win.
Iyo Sky defeated Michin via pinfall at 10:40
After the match, Iyo celebrated briefly before the announce team went back to Paul Heyman for commentary on The Rock. He said The Rock wants to sit at the head of the table, but he was not invited and he never will be. Paul said everyone wants to take a shortcut by calling out Roman Reigns, but that’s not how you get an invitation to the table of relevancy. He mentioned John Cena and Brock Lesnar as people who have called out Roman Reigns before, and he beat them all. He then mentioned CM Punk being an OG Paul Heyman guy, but said that was before he upgraded to Wise Man.
Heyman continued and said that Orton, Styles, and Knight have a match to determine who would lose to Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, and whoever faced him at WreslteMania would suffer the same fate because there isn’t a man alive that can beat Roman Reigns…[c]
My Take: The last few minutes of Iyo and Michin were good, but it started a bit slow and they struggled in the middle a bit with missed spots. Hopefully they can improve for their next encounter. Heyman’s speech was fine, but covered a lot of old ground.
Backstage, Damage Ctrl congratulated Iyo on her title defense. Bayley talked about their plan to capture all the gold when Bianca approached them. She told Bayley and she’s not winning the Royal Rumble, because she was entering, and looked forward to giving her a KOD over the top rope.
Pretty Deadly made their ring entrance. Butch made his entrance for the next match, and revealed his partner to be Tyler Bate. He did not get much of a reaction, as you’d expect given the unfamiliarity with the Smackdown audience.
3. Tyler Bate and Butch vs. Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince): Kit and Tyler started the match, and Tyler did a bit of a World of Sport tribute to kick things off. Prince and Butch tagged in, and Butch landed a hard lariat. He then stomped on the fingers of Kit Wilson. Bate and Butch performed a double dive on the outside that took out both members of Pretty Deadly…[c]
My Take: I was hoping for Sheamus. Hopefully he heals up soon in time for the Rumble.
Pretty Deadly took control during the break. Butch attempted to break out of the heel corner but was taken down by a big boot. Eventually Butch escaped and made a hot tag to Bate, who cleaned up as soon as he entered the ring. He landed a standing shooting star press and an airplane spin in Wilson. Butch and Bate landed a combo half and half suplex and lariat for a cover, but Prince broke it up.
Prince disposed of Bate on the floor, and Wilson rolled up Butch for a near fall. Bate returned and sent Wilson back out to the floor with a bop and bang. They then hit a double Tyler Driver and Bate got the pin on Prince.
Tyler Bate and Butch defeated Pretty Deadly at 8:34
After the match, we got an LA Knight Video package about his rise to the main event picture. The main event is up next…[c]
My Take: A fine match, but nothing you’ll remember tomorrow. Bate got the win in his debut but leaned a bit too much into the comedy for my taste.
Ashante “Thee” Adonis met with Nick Aldis backstage. He told Aldis that he felt a bit lost, but he was hungry and wanted an opportunity. Aldis said he believed in him, and thought he had some ideas that he would be interested to hear. Bianca Belair vs. Bayley was made official for next week, as well as Cameron Grimes vs. Grayson Waller. Angel and Humberto will face Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro as well.
Back in the arena, AJ Styles made his entrance for the main event. He was followed by LA Knight and Randy Orton…[c]
4. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight: The match was joined in progress as all three man brawled around the ring. Things ended up on the outside very quickly, where Orton suplexed both Orton and Knight onto the announce desk. Knight was dropped onto the table twice. Styles managed to reverse the second attempt and drop Orton onto the table. He then tossed Knight into the ring steps and brought Orton back into the ring.
Styles attempted a Phenomenal Forearm, but Orton hit the ropes and Styles tumbled to the apron. Orton then landed a hanging DDT through the ropes and fired up the live crowd. Knight returned to the match and pulled Orton to the floor and sent him into the ring steps as he set up for an RKO. Styles then flew threw the ropes and landed a kick to the head of Knight. All three men were down on the floor…[c]
Styles landed a sliding forearm on Knight and then kicked Orton as he tried to return to the ring. Knight hit the ropes, but Styles cut him off with a knee lift. He then landed a back suplex and turned his attention to Orton. Styles landed strikes and chops, and then sent Orton into the barricade. Knight surged back into the match and put the boots to Styles. He then did the same to Orton, followed by a side Russian Leg Sweep.
Knight landed a back body drop on Styles, but Orton caught him with a lariat when he turned around. Orton then landed a powerslam to both Knight and Orton. Orton went for an RKO on Knight, but he avoided it and landed a BFT. Styles prevented the referee from making a three count. Knight and Styles traded blows, with AJ getting the better of it with a Pele kick. He followed up with a springboard 450 and covered for a close near fall.
AJ continued the abuse and Knight somehow came up bleeding. He set up for a Styles Clash, but Orton returned to the ring and Styles tossed Knight to ringside. Styles landed a shot in the corner on Orton and set up for a phenomenal forearm, but Orton turned it into an RKO. Orton made the cover, but Knight pulled the ref out of the ring. At this moment, the Bloodline made their entrance.
Solo was directed by Reigns to assault the competitors in the ring. They laid everybody out and knocked Orton with the ring steps. Reigns held up one finger and delivered a powerbomb to Styles. He then landed a big Superman Punch and a Spear to LA Knight. Jimmy Uso placed Orton in the ring, where Roman and Solo landed a Samoan Spike and Spear combination.
Nick Aldis pulled aside Paul Heyman and told him to tell Reigns that he’s earned a Fatal Four Way match with all three of these guys at the Royal Rumble.
The match ended in an apparent no-contest
My Take: I figured Orton would be the guy for The Rumble, but this isn’t a bad outcome. A Fatal Four Way at the Rumble will make for a fun match, and it introduces some intrigue about what that means for Elimination Chamber. Roman thought he could strongarm his way out of defending the title, and Nick Aldis raised the stakes yet again. You have to wonder if they will frame the eventual match with The Rock as Aldis making him an offer without Roman’s input.
You straight up skipped the women’s match, and it was a good one.
It’s a new policy in 2024. We are skipping one match per show in our reviews to give ourselves meditation time. Or Jake just forgot to paste that part into his report. I let him know.
Can’t be mad at self reflection.
Heel laid out all his challengers and finds himself now defending his belt against all of them? That must have been a surprising outcome for Roman, unless he has ever watched WWE television before.