WWE Smackdown 1/16/2026
Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/wwe-smackdown-182026.html
We are in London, Britain. Joe Tessitore and Corey Graves are on commentary.
We see various wrestlers arrive.
Drew McIntyre comes out and gets bagpipe players for his entrances. Drew says he prayed for this and it happened. Drew says if there's someone that can bring the UK together, it's him. Drew says screw you to everyone out there. He says he's not doing the bad guy wrestler bit. He says no one was there for him when he got fired. He says there was no uprising when Roman and Punk screwed him over. Drew says he only needs to thank himself.
Drew says he added a no rematch clause to his title match contract. He says Cody has to work his way up and his era is over. He says the QB1 Era is over and the dangerous Drew McIntyre Era begins tonight.
Randy Orton comes out. Orton says he thinks everyone knows they don't like each other and he's not here to congratulate him. He says Drew declined an opportunity to kick his head through the announce table. Orton says he won't hesitate when he gets the same chance. He says he beat him for the title before and will do it again with the RKO.
Jacob Fatu comes out and attacks Drew. Drew sends him into the post and Fatu no sells it. Fatu then chases him through the crowd. The Miz shows up behind Orton and hits a skull crushing finale.
Undisputed WWE Title #1 Contender's Qualifier - Randy Orton vs The Miz
We join this in progress. Orton hits punches on Miz and Miz short ddt's him for 2. Orton eye pokes him outside. Miz backdrops Orton on the commentary table. They trade punches inside. Orton hits running lariats then powerslams Miz. Orton backdrops Miz on the commentary table.
They go back in. Orton bridging ddt's him. Miz hits a skull crushing finale for 2. Miz rolls up Orton for 2. Orton RKO's him and pins him.
Thoughts: It wasn't much. They fought outside a lot and Orton hit his signature spots before winning. Miz didn't totally get dominated but he lost in shorter fashion.
Ilja Dragunov and Drew McIntyre talk in the back. Ilja says it's the first time they have talked. Ilja says he will beat Sami and get one step closer to the title. Ilja says he won a title on his first night back as he doesn't fight like a sane man. Drew says if he wins tonight, he'll see him at The Rumble. He says he didn't knock out Fatu's teeth but can knock out his.
The Wyatt Sicks do a video. Howdy says Solo thinks he stole a light but inherited the weight of what it means. He says the lantern was never a weapon. He says they carry it in the dark so the dark carries them. He says it doesn't belong in the hands of him. He says it will come back to them like a moth to a flame. He says they won't rest until it's theirs.
Flair and Bliss talk in the back. Bliss says last week sucked as she lost the match and Nia/Lash beat her up last week. Bliss asks if she was actually sick or if she was faking it. Flair says she wasn't faking it. Flair said she had a title shot without her there. Flair asks if she knows how many title chances she turned down due to the team. They ask if they have each other's back. Flair says she was sick.
Nia Jax and Lash Legend come up to Flair. Nia says that's typical Alexa and she makes herself the victim. Flair says they won't like her response the next time they give her unwanted advice. She says Lash has changed.
Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Giulia & Kiana James
G = Giulia
Bliss slaps KJ a few times and basement dropkicks her. KJ knees her in the gut then suplexes her. Flair tags in. KJ's head is banged off the buckles. KJ superkicks her then Flair superkicks her.
Flair lifts Bliss into a dropkick on KJ. Bliss forearms KJ then G dropkicks her down. G hair throws her and boots her in the gut. KJ sends BLiss into the buckles. G pulls on Bliss' nostrils on the ropes. G dropkicks Flair against the ropes and KJ boots Bliss in the head.
G beats up on Bliss. KJ suplexes Bliss for 2. Bliss sunset flips her. KJ rams Bliss into the corner and hits corner spears. KJ running boots Bliss in the head then G top rope dropkicks Bliss for 2. Bliss evades the heels and tags in Flair.
Flia shoulders over KJ and chops her. Flair chops both opponents. Flair forward handspring lariats KJ. Flair top rope crossbodies KJ For 2. Flair boots KJ down. G disrupts Flair on the ropes and KJ pulls Flair down. KJ spinebusters Flair.
G running knees Flair for 2. G boots Flair in the head. Flair forearms her. Flair facekicks her. Bliss catches KJ and hits a sister abigail on her. Bliss then pins her.
Thoughts: It was acceptable but not much else. It wasn't that exciting and there were a lot of strikes here. The crowd wasn't that into it.
Lash and Nia then come out and jump Flair and Bliss. Flair is sent shoulder first into the buckles. Giulia gets in Nia's and Lash's face and Kiana pulls her back.
The MFT's do a video. Solo says the lantern is more than a lantern. He says he can see the millions of fireflies and says they are now in his position. He says his legacy is now in his hands. He says if he wants the lantern back, put the tag titles on the line. Solo says he will take good care of this and he says Bray will be with him when he takes out Priest and brings the title back. He then blows the lantern out.
Cody Rhodes comes out to talk. He says his entrance was getting stale. Cody gets booed. He says he got episodic and predictable. He asks if this happened or if Drew McIntyre is that good. Cody says Drew said there is no rematch clause so he says he is declaring himself in the Royal Rumble.
He says he wants to talk about Jacob Fatu. He says Fatu is a young veteran. He says he's aware that he knows what the word "receipt" means. He says he will beat the brakes off his @ss.
Thoughts: This was a bizarre promo with the crowd being against Cody. I didn't think this worked at all.
Matt Cardona is interviewed. He says it's a shame Cody lost his title the way he did. He says Drew McIntyre's first match in WWE was against him. He says he's not back to be back but to get to the top and the undisputed WWE champion.
Undisputed WWE Title #1 Contender's Qualifier - Trick Williams vs Matt Cardona
They lock up and let go. TW piefaces him. Matt rams him in the corner. TW piefaces him. Matt hits forearms. TW knees him in the gut and slams him. TW shoulders him over. Matt dropkicks him then flatliners him. Matt lariats him over the top. Matt dropkicks him off the apron outside.
Matt goes back in and Trick pulls him out. Matt is sent into the rails then popped up on the apron. TW hits chops and punches in the corner. TW flapjacks him and kips up. TW foot chokes him in the corner. TW jumping kneebreakers him. We cut away and return. Matt hits chops and is hit with a jumping leg lariat.
TW hits mounted shots on him. TW chinlocks him. Matt jawbreakers him. TW upkicks him. Matt facekicks him then backdrops him off a jumping side kick attempt.
Matt hits forearms in the corner. Matt hits a broski boot in the corner and zigzag's him for 2. TW misses a corner splash and slides out. Matt boots him through the ropes outside. TW slingshots him in and corkscrew facekicks him for 2. Matt ddt's him. TW hits Matt with a pounce then hits a flying pumping knee to win.
Thoughts: It was average. Neither guy has that much logic to their offense and there was no great story. I don't think Trick hit his finisher clean here.
Kit Wilson comes out before Trick exits up on the aisle. Kit and Trick talk. Kit heads to the ring. Kit walks past Matt and hits him. He then sends him into the steps and yells, "toxic, toxic, toxic".
Damian Priest is interviewed. He says he could talk all day about Drew but says today is about Solo Sikoa. He says facing him 1v1 isn't an issue but he doesn't think it will be 1v1. He says if he has to do 1 vs all again, that's what he will do. He says he needs to get past Drew.
Kit Wilson talks in the ring. He says we all know he's right. He says we all need leadership and reassurance. He says we need him. Jacob Fatu appears behind him and superkicks him. Fatu sentons him then double jump moonsaults.
Fatu tells Cody to come out right now if he has something to say to him. Cody comes out. They fight in the ring. Security comes out and breaks them up. Nick Aldis gets in the ring. Cody jumps on Fatu and we cut away.
They announce Cody vs Fatu on SNME next week.
Undisputed WWE Title #1 Contender's Qualifier - Solo Sikoa vs Damian Priest
Solo has Uncle Howdy's lantern with him.
Solo side headlocks him. They shoulder battle. Solo hits headbutts. They go outside. DP tries to run around the ring at him but The MFT's block it. Solo facekicks DP off the apron. The MFT's then take out DP outside. DP's head is banged off the buckles. Solo hits headbuttts to the back of the head.
Solo samoan drops him for 2. Solo hits shots in the corner. Solo hits a corner hip attack. Solo runs at him and is hit with a spinning heel kick. DP fires up. They run at each other and trade shots. DP ear claps him, hits kicks and forearms then is headbutted. They trade kicks. DP flying forearms him.
DP flying back elbows him then lifting flatliners him for 2. Talla Tonga interferes, gets caught and is ejected by the ref. DP hits a razor's edge on Solo for 2. The MFt's get on the apron. DP is distracted. Solo spinning uranage's DP. Solo top rope splashes DP for 2.
The lights go out. The Wyatt Sicks appear on the commentary table behind The MFT's. The Wyatt's jump on them and fight with them. JC is thrown over the rail by Howdy. Howdy goes to get the lantern and Solo throws him into the commentary table. Solo comes in and is hit with a south of heaven. DP wins.
Thoughts: This was half-shenanigans and half-striking. They didn't match up bad at all but it was hard to get anything going when people kept interfering. It would have been a lot better match without the interference. DP wins so Solo's crew can feud with The Wyatt's.
Howdy grabs the lantern after. Talla Tonga facekicks Howdy down and takes the lantern.
Drew McIntyre talks to Sami Zayn in the back. He says it's lucky Sami didn't bet on his pick in the Cody/Drew match as he would have lost. Sami said he wanted him to win and is happy he did. He says he will go to war with Ilja then see him at The Royal Rumble. Drew says he has beaten him 11 times and Sami beat him 0 times. Drew says nothing will change if he makes it to The Royal Rumble.
WWE United States Title - Carmelo Hayes (c) vs Leon Slater
This is an open challenge. Leon Slater missed TNA's debut ep on AMC and TNA Genesis for this.
Melo side headlock takeovers him and does a headscissors. They repeat the spot and swap roles. Leon goes up and over. Melo armdrags him into a pin attempt. Melo springboard twisting lariats him. Leon chops him in the corner.
Melo chops back and rolls over his back. Melo holds his leg and Melo breaks kayfabe, telling him to keep going. Leon rewind kicks him. Leon handspring back elbows him. Leon slingshot plancha's him outside. Leon top rope crossbodies him for 2.
Melo holds his leg again. Melo back elbows him and suplexes him for 2. Melo hits mounted corner punches. Leon chops him down. Melo dropkicks him. Leon corner dropkicks him for 2. Melo gets on the 2nd rope and Leon springboard flipping russian legsweeps him.
They trade shots. Leon facekicks him. Melo la mistica drops him. Melo suplex lifts him into a cutter for 2. Leon blocks a fist 48 and Melo cradles him for 2. Leon leg lariats him for 2. Melo chops him on the apron. Leon twisting guillotine legdrops him over the 2nd rope. Leon springboards and they trade pin attempts. Leon hurricanrana's him for 2. Melo superkicks him.
Melo is sent to the apron and holds his leg. He goes out and Leon corkscrew dives him over the post. Leon misses a swanton 450 off the top. Melo hits a first 48 for 2. They go up top. Melo hits a top rope suplex lift into a cutter and pins him.
Thoughts: Melo won as expected. It got enough time and was the usual Leon match. It was nothing particularly memorable but Leon did fine in one of his bigger matches. They matched up okay as expected. I think Leon got his mouth busted open here.
Nakamura is watching in the back. Tama tells him he had his chance with the US Title and blew it. He says when The MFT's take the tag titles, the US Title is his. He says this is Nakamura's one and only warning to stay out of his way. Nakaura talks in Japanese.
Johnny Gargano and LeRae talk about Fraxiom falling for his bit pretending to be Axiom. Axiom goes up to him and asks for the mask back. Gargano gives it to LaRae and she walks away. Another masked man then punches JG down. It's Nathan Frazer and he says surprise. He says he will take the mask back when they have a match next week.
We get an Oba Femi video.
Chelsea Green vs Jordynne Grace
Jade Cargill is at ringside for this.
Green slaps her and JG no sells it. JG slaps her back. JG spinebusters her and suplexes her for 2. JG's head is banged off the buckles. Alba Fyre superkicks JG from the outside. Green bangs JG's face off the mat. Green's head is banged off the buckles. JG backslides her and hits short arm lariats. JG hits corner attacks.
JG does an unusual suplex on her then rolling death valley drivers her for the win.
Thoughts: It was a short one with JG squashing Green and winning. JG didn't get much of a reaction here and I don't love Green losing so easy.
JG talks to Jade after. She says it's important she knows what's coming for her. She says if she's tired of babysitting the title, she should come into the ring right now. Jade gets on the apron. Green tries to hit JG from behind but nails Jade instead.
Trick Williams is interviewed. He says he put SD on notice and says he's that dog. He says he's money. He congratulates Orton and Priest as he says they have a match against the future of the business. Damian Priest comes in. He says Trick likes to talk a lot and he doesn't. He says he knows Trick is free on Friday and he's free to whoop that trick.
Undisputed WWE Title #1 Contender's Qualifier - Ilja Dragunov vs Sami Zayn
They trade forearms to start. Ilja hits chops and spinning chops. Ilja boots him then is lariated over. Sami chops him in the corner and hits forearms. Ilja boots and jumping boots Sami. Ilja running corner facekicks him. Ilja jumping knee drops him off the buckles.
Ilja misses a top rope dive then Sami suplexes him for 2. Sami hits forearms on Ilja. Ilja germans him and Sami germans him back. Ilja germans him. They go up top. Sami superplexes him. Ilja suplexes him for 2.
Ilja stomps and boots him in the corner. They sla each other. Sami hits punches and ddt's him for 2. Sami stomps on him. Sami hits mounted punches and busts Ilja's eyelid open. Sami goes up top and is hit. Sami sunset bombs Ilja for 2. Ilja tiger feint lariats him. Ilja top rope dropkicks Sami for 2.
Sami upkicks him on an h-bomb attempt. Ilja enzugiri's him. Ilja corner lariats him twice. Sami misses a corner facekick. They go to the apron. Sami headbutts him and Ilja flying headbutts him on the apron.
Ilja powerbombs him in the ring. Ilja tries a top rope senton but Sami gets his knees up. Sami exploders him in the corner. Sami corner facekicks him and pins him.
Thoughts: The finish was a bit random here. It was the usual hard-hitting Ilja match. You do have to wonder how much longer they will allow him to do this though. He's getting busted open every week and begging to be put on the injured list. It was an okay bout.
Trick Williams nails Sami from behind after. Trick hits a flying trick shot on him after. Trick then poses.
Overall thoughts: I saw the international version of this and it was a longer show. There weren't a lot of breaks and the stuff between the US commercial breaks was generally slower and brought things down. I'm not sure why they went with Ilja/Sami in the main as it was a bit weak. They had a lot more wrestling on here than usual as they had 7 matches. I wouldn't say anything was too great on here but the main and Slater/Melo were the best matches here. It was a star studded show with almost all the big SD names being on here. I'd give this a 6 out of 10 as it was an okay show overall.
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