WWE Smackdown results (1/10): Powell’s live review of Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight for the U.S. Championship, Chelsea Green vs. Mia Yim for the Women’s U.S. Championship

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Smackdown (Episode 1,324)
Portland, Oregon at Moda Center
Aired live January 10, 2025 on USA Network

[Hour One] A shot of Portland aired while Joe Tessitore checked in on commentary. Inside the building, Tessitore and color commentator Wade Barrett checked in from ringside. Tessitore stated that Smackdown is their new home…

Arrival/backstage shots aired of WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, and Paul Heyman… A video package recapped the Monday’s premiere of Raw on Netflix…

Paul Heyman stood in the ring and introduced himself. Heyman said it’s one of the greatest honors of his entire career to announce that there is only one reigning, defending, undisputed Tribal Chief of the WWE Universe and his name is Roman Reigns. An “OTC” chant broke out.

Heyman said Reigns authorized him to let the fans know what he intends to accomplish next. Heyman said he wasn’t just going to share it with everyone at home and everyone in the building, he wanted to share it with a man who deserved to hear the news face-to-face, Cody Rhodes.

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes made his entrance to a great reaction and shook hands with Heyman once he entered the ring. Heyman told Cody that he deserved every bit of that response and a whole lot more. Heyman said Cody did something very few men in the business have done by earning the respect of Reigns.

Heyman put over Cody as a champion. Heyman said that because Cody is such a great champion, Reigns asked him to come out to inform Cody that he wants his title back. Heyman said so there are no surprises, he wanted Cody to know how he will get his title back. Heyman said it was a prediction, not a spoiler.

Heyman announced that Roman Reigns will enter the Royal Rumble with the full intention of winning and challenging Cody for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Heyman asked respectfully what Cody wanted to talk about. A Cody chant broke out.

Kevin Owens interrupted before Cody could speak. Owens stood in the crowd near a concourse entrance area. Owens said it’s Cody’s fault that Reigns wants a title shot because he should have let The Bloodline rip him to shreds. Cody exited the ring and met Owens on the steps for a brawl.

Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga entered the ring where Heyman backed into a corner. Jimmy Uso’s entrance music played and he ran to the ring. and worked over Fatu and Tonga while Heyman exited safely to ringside.

Jimmy went to ringside and slapped Heyman’s hand before grabbing a chair and returning to the ring. Jimmy used the chair until Fatu cut him off. A referee entered the ring and was taken out by a Fatu superkick.

Cody walked down the steps toward the ring. WWE producer Ken Doane entered the ring and was superkicked by Fatu. Cody returned to the ring and cleared Tonga. Fatu turned and fired up before charging Cody, who ducked him and threw some punches. Cody clotheslined Fatu over the top rope and then Fatu landed on his feet at ringside. Cody’s entrance theme played to close the segment…

An ad for Monday’s Raw on Netflix hyped Dakota Kai vs. Lyra Valkyria in the Women’s Intercontinental Title tournament final, and Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor in a street fight… [C]

Powell’s POV: A hot opening segment with plenty of star power. I hope WWE doesn’t go overboard in foreshadowing the winner of the men’s Rumble match and that no spoilers get out regarding the winner, because this has a chance to be a really fun Rumble with more realistic candidates to win than usual.

Backstage, Nick Aldis had security telling Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga to leave. Fatu shoved a couple of security guards and barked at them. LA Knight showed up, hit Fatu, and then shoved him through the doorway and closed the door behind him. Knight told Aldis that he has a championship to win…

Powell’s POV: I guess we know who Fatu’s next victim will be.

Mia Yim stood in the ring and was introduced by ring announcer Lilian Garcia. Women’s U.S. Champion Chelsea Green made her entrance with Piper Niven…

1. Chelsea Green (w/Piper Niven) vs. Michin for the Women’s U.S. Championship. Yim went for her Eat Defeat finisher to start, but Green avoided it and consulted Niven at ringside. Green shoved Yim into the middle rope and had offensive control going into a picture-in-picture break. [C]

Michin had Green down in the corner when she hit her with a cannonball. Michin covered Green for a two count. A short time later, Michin kicked Green and then went to the apron where she booted Niven. Michin opted to perform a senton onto Niven. Michin went up top and executed a crossbody block, but Green rolled through and held the tights while getting the three count…

Chelsea Green defeated Michin in 8:10 to retain the Women’s U.S. Championship.

Powell’s POV: It’s actually hard to feel sympathy for the babyface when she opted to go after Niven and took too long to go for the top rope crossbody block. Anyway, this was a solid match otherwise and I continue to get a kick out of the Green and Niven act.

The broadcast team recapped last week’s WWE Tag Team Title match between DIY and The Motor City Machine Guns…

Footage aired from earlier in the day of Smackdown general manager Nick Aldis speaking with “The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, “Pretty Deadly” Elton Prince and Kit Wilson, and “Los Garza” Angel and Berto. They all bickered about which team should get the next title shot. “A-Town Down Under” Grayson Waller and Austin Theory showed up and joined the bickering. Aldis booked Los Garza vs. Pretty Deadly, and then booked the Guns vs. Waller and Theory…

Legado Del Fantasma made their entrance… [C]

2. “Los Garza” Angel and Berto (w/Santos Escobar, Elektra Lopez) vs. “Pretty Deadly” Elton Prince and Kit Wilson. Pretty Deadly was in the ring coming out of the break. Berto had Wilson down in the ring when Prince performed a neckbreaker on Berto over the top rope. [C]

Angel was getting the better of Wilson when Wilson looked to the entrance area and called for help from “DIY” Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. A short time later, Prince went up top and was crotched by Escobar while Lopez distracted the referee. Angel and Berto hit their finisher on Prince and then Berto pinned him…

“Los Garza” Angel and Berto beat “Pretty Deadly” Elton Prince and Kit Wilson in 8:55.

Powell’s POV: Let the record show that it took three men, a woman, and an easily distracted referee to defeated the mighty Pretty Deadly duo.

Tessitore hyped WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton’s appearance for later in the show… LA Knight made his entrance for the U.S. Title match… [C] The Saturday Night’s Main Event ad featuring Hulk Hogan aired back-to-back during the break… Tessitore noted that WrestleMania is 99 days away…

[Hour Two] U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura made his entrance. A graphic noted that Nakamura beat Andrade, LA Knight, and Andrade again in his last three matches…

3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight for the U.S. Championship. Charles Robinson was the referee. By the way, the new referee attire that debuted on Raw has carried over to Smackdown. Knight clotheslined Nakamura to the ringside. Knight followed and then scooped up Nakamura, who slipped away and then ran Knight into the ring post twice before a PIP break. [C]

Knight rolled Nakamura, who pulled off a middle turnbuckle pad and then kicked out of the pin attempt. With Knight in the ropes, Nakamura hit a sliding German suplex. Nakamura caught Knight with a kick from the apron and went up top. Knight rushed up the ropes and then superplexed Nakamura before covering him for a two count.

Knight put Nakamura in a submission hold that was broken when Nakamura reached the ropes. Nakamura came back with a submission hold of his own, but Knight got on top of him and got a two count to break the hold.

Nakamura stuffed a BFT attempt and hit Knight with a spinning back elbow. Nakamura hit the Kinshasa and then covered Knight, but who put his foot over the bottom rope to break the count. Nakamura placed Knight against the exposed turnbuckle and then charged, but Knight moved and Nakamura’s knee hit the exposed turnbuckle. Knight went for the pin, but Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga attacked him to end the match.

LA Knight beat U.S. Champion Shinsuke Nakamura by apparent disqualification in 14:05.

Nakamura left the ring while Fatu and Tonga worked over Knight. Fatu hit Knight with a double jump moonsault. Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso ran out and fought Fatu and Tonga. Cody and Jimmy got the better of the right and tossed the Bloodline duo over the ringside barricade. Nick Aldis ran out.

Cody got a mic and told Aldis not to send Fatu and Tonga home. Cody called for a tag match for later in the show, which Aldis agreed to. Tessitore said Cody and Jimmy Uso would face Fatu and Tonga later in the show… [C]

Powell’s POV: You had to at least suspect that Fatu and Tonga would factor into the finish after what happened with them and Knight during the backstage segment earlier.

An ad aired for NXT Vengeance Day and then Tessitore said tickets for the February 15 premium live event are on sale…

A video package recapped Tiffany Stratton cashing in her Money in the Bank contract to beat Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship on last week’s Smackdown…

“The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin made their entrance… [C] “A-Town Down Under” Grayson Waller and Austin Theory made their entrance coming out of the break…

4. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “A-Town Down Under” Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Sabin set up for a suicide dive on Waller, but he was tripped by Theory at ringside. Shelley punched Theory off the apron. Waller hit a rolling flatliner and covered Shelley for a two count. [C]

In the end, Sabin and Shelley hit Skull & Bones on Theory. Shelley covered Theory and got the three count…

“The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin defeated “A-Town Down Under” Grayson Waller and Austin Theory in 12:10.

Powell’s POV: A good tag match and the best match of the night so far.

Backstage, WWE Tag Team Champions “DIY” Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa showed frustration as they watched on a backstage monitor. “Pretty Deadly” Elton Prince and Kit Wilson showed up. Prince said he thought they had an agreement of “we scratch your backs, you scratch ours.”

Ciampa said he didn’t want them scratching his back. A disingenuous Gargano played peacemaker and said they were friends and they would get their title shot eventually. After DIY left, Apollo Crews showed up and said Pretty Deadly deserve whatever they get if they are dumb enough to believe DIY…

Nia Jax stood in her dressing room when Candice LeRae entered the room. LeRae said she just saw Tiffany Stratton and added that she was heading to the ring. Jax wondered what she would say and then said she would go congratulate her… [C]

New WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton made her entrance after being introduced by Lilian Garcia. Tessitore mentioned that Stratton “signed on” with Smackdown just eleven months ago.

Byron Saxton stood in the ring with Stratton and congratulated her. Stratton thanked him and then yelled, “It’s Tiffy Time.” She said it’s been “A Tiffy turn of events.” She mentioned that she’s 25 year-old and holds the championship.

Saxton brought up the way Nia Jax bullied her. Stratton cut him off and said Jax didn’t bully her. Stratton said she befriended Jax and earned her trust. Stratton said Jax thought she was a stupid blonde and then asked who’s stupid now. Stratton said to put some respect on her name and tell her what time it is.

Nia Jax made her entrance with a microphone in her hand and spoke from the stage. “You ungrateful little shit,” Jax started (she was censored). Jax said she could kill Stratton. She took issue with Stratton saying she made a fool out of her. Jax said Stratton is nothing without her and claimed she made her.

Jax continued to talk as she walked to the ring. She congratulated Stratton for using her two brain cells to come up with her plan. Jax told Stratton that it took her long enough. Jax entered the ring. A “Tiffy Time” chant broke out. “Time’s up,” Jax said. “Now either you give me my championship back or I’m going to take it from you.” Jax approached Stratton, but she stopped when she heard entrance music.

[Hour Three] Bayley walked out and told Jax to shut the hell up. Bayley said Stratton got her if this was her plan all along. Bayley said she thought Stratton was stupid. Bayley said she knows Jax is stupid and laughed at Jax for being outsmarted by Stratton.

Bayley entered the ring and said she hasn’t forgotten that the only reason Jax had the title was because Stratton helped her at SummerSlam. Bayley said it’s only fitting that she take the title from Stratton.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Naomi and Bianca Belair came out. Naomi said she had Jax beat last week and would be holding two titles if it wasn’t for Stratton. Naomi said anyone who wants to fight Stratton has to see her first. Jax said nobody cares about Naomi.

Jax slammed the heads of Naomi and Belair together. Bayley joined the duo in fighting Jax. Stratton returned to the ring and hit a World’s Prettiest Moonsault on all three women and then grabbed her title belt and headed to the stage.

Nick Aldis came out and booked Bianca Belair vs. Naomi vs. Nia Jax vs. Bayley in an immediate four-way to determine the number one contender… [C]

Powell’s POV: It seemed like some of the fans were reluctant to cheer Stratton and it’s hard to blame them. Yes, she beat the unpopular Jax, but she’s also been a heel, so I don’t think fans know how to react to her. Stratton hitting her finisher on three babyfaces and one heel didn’t offer any clarity. That said, I get the sense that the confusion is by design since she screwed over Naomi before cashing in on Jax last week.

An ad aired for the Saturday night encore of NXT New Year’s Evil on The CW…

5. Bianca Belair vs. Naomi vs. Nia Jax vs. Bayley in a four-way to become number one contender to the WWE Women’s Championship. Jax performed a double suplex on Belair and Naomi during the opening minute. Later, Jax had Bayley in position for a Samoan Drop on the middle rope. Belair and Naomi slipped underneath Jax for a tower of doom spot. [C]

Naomi hit a step-up enzuigiri on Jax and then followed up with a split-legged moonsault. Bayley hit Jax with a top rope elbow drop and covered her, but Naomi pulled her off. Belair hit a 450 splash and had Jax beat, but Bayley pulled her off.

Candice LeRae ran out to ringside and spoke with Jax, who was down on the floor in front of the broadcast table. Belair and Naomi cleared Bayley from the ring and then smiled at one another before looking to the crowd. They opted to hit dives on their opponents, but Jax caught Naomi and slammed her on the apron.

Belair speared Jax and covered her, but Bayley broke up the pin. Bayley hit a Bayley-to-Belly on Belair, but Jax broke up the pin. Naomi hit a Rearview on Bayley, but Jax broke up the pin attempt. Jax hit a Samoan Drop on Naomi, but Belair broke up the pin.

A short time later, Belair hoisted up Bayley for a KOD, but LeRae grabbed Belair’s braid, allowing Bayley to slip away. Belair pulled her braid away from LeRae and accidentally whipped Naomi with it in the process. Belair tackled Jax over the broadcast table. In the ring, Bayley hit the Rose Plant on Naomi and pinned her.

Bayley defeated Naomi, Nia Jax, and Bianca Belair in 17:15 in a four-way to earn a shot at the WWE Women’s Championship.

Powell’s POV: Hard work from everyone involved. Bayley is a logical first challenger for Stratton in that she can absorb the loss and give Stratton a credibility boost. They also showed Bayley on Raw recently, so it’s possible she’s moving to Monday nights via the transfer window. Is that still a thing?

Backstage, Cody Rhodes spoke with Jimmy Uso, who brought up Roman Reigns. Cody cut him off and told him that he knew it was coming. Cody said he’d see Jimmy in the ring and then made his exit.

Carmelo Hayes showed up and said it was three-on-one last week, but now it was just him and Jimmy. Hayes said he would let it slide. Hayes said that he’s tapped in with Solo Sikoa and his crew. He said that if Jimmy tried it again, he’d end up like Braun Strowman. Jimmy asked Hayes what his line is. Hayes said it’s Melo don’t miss. Jimmy said with all those bricks, Hayes could build a house. Jimmy made his exit…

Tessitore plugged the American Red Cross disaster relief fund to help with the wildfires in California… [C]

Backstage, Byron Saxton informed Bayley that she will challenge Stratton for the WWE Women’s Championship on next week’s Smackdown. Bayley said she’s been wrestling Stratton all year and Stratton has never beaten her…

The broadcast team hyped the following for next week’s Smackdown: Tiffany Stratton vs. Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship, “Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “Los Garza” Angel and Berto, and Solo Sikoa’s return…

Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso were walking backstage. Fatu yelled to Jimmy Uso about the difference between the two Bloodlines is that Jimmy’s Bloodline left him on the frontline to die. Fatu said Cody needs to wake up because his nightmare is here. The duo made their entrance… [C]

Footage aired from Monday’s Raw of John Cena declaring for the Royal Rumble… The broadcast team ran through the Royal Rumble lineup… Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso made their entrance for the main event…

6. Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso vs. Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga. Fatu hit an early popup Samoan Drop on Jimmy heading into a PIP break. [C] Jimmy was isolated by the heel duo coming out of the break until Cody eventually took the hot tag.

Cody put Fatu down with a dragon screw leg whip over the middle rope, but Tonga dropped Cody with a DDT and covered him for a two count. Cody came back and superplexed Tonga. Jimmy followed up with an Uso Splash. Fatu returned, but Cody took him out with a Cody Cutter. Jimmy speared Fatu.

Kevin Owens walked out. Cody left the ring and went after Owens. Cody hit Owens once and they went to the back. In the ring, Jimmy hit Tonga with an Uso Splash, but Fatu broke up the pin. Fatu slammed Jimmy’s head off the broadcast table repeatedly. Fatu brought Jimmy back inside the ring and put him down with a DDT. Fatu hit a double jump moonsault and scored the pin…

Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga defeated Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso in 13:15.

Cody and Owens fought their way back into the arena and ended up on top of a couple of production crates. Cody speared Owens and both men crashed through a couple of tables that were conveniently set up on the floor next to the crates. WWE officials checked on both men while the credits were shown. Cody got back to his feet just before the show went off the air…

Powell’s POV: A solid television tag team main event. The outcome was obvious once Cody went after Owens. Even so, I like that the heels went over, as this version of The Bloodline needs a boost after Solo Sikoa lost the Ula Fala on Raw. For that matter, Cody leaving Jimmy hanging is something that can be brought up if they want to create some friction between Cody and the other version of The Bloodline given the announcement that Paul Heyman. made about Roman Reigns entering the Rumble with the intention of regaining the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Overall, a good show, though it definitely dragged a bit due being a three-hour show. I’m happy that Paul Levesque said that three-hour Smackdowns are temporary. I will have more to say about tonight’s Smackdown during my weekly same night audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Smackdown by grading the show below. I’ll be back with AEW Collision live coverage tomorrow night. Have a great weekend.

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