5 things SmackDown got right on this week’s episode (January 24, 2020)

With WWE Royal Rumble just a couple of nights away, SmackDown delivered its strongest episode this year so far. The action that took place during the night is likely to keep many fans and Superstars up over the next few hours before the event begins.

Not only did the show kick-off with a huge six-man tag team match, but it also built a lot towards the biggest Championship match for Sunday at the end of the night.

Apart from that, SmackDown worked hard to build towards the SmackDown Women’s Championship match too, while giving some returning stars much needed wins to get on track before the Rumble.

With so much happening in WWE this year, we will take a look at the 5 things that the company got right on the Blue brand this week.

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#5 Elias’ pin

Last week on SmackDown, Elias came out to the middle for his routine segment with the mic and guitar. He was interrupted by Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, who began to beatdown The Drifter after some verbal exchanges.

Oddly enough, Braun Strowman came out to wipe out the heels and help Elias get back up on his feet again.

This week, Strowman and Elias joined forces to take on Cesaro and Nakamura in tag team action. This was Elias’ first match inside the squared circle since September 2019.

The heels controlled Elias for the early part of the match, but an impressive jumping knee to the charging Nakamura helped him make a tag and get his team back in the match.

The battle between Cesaro and Strowman was impressive as always, but a big power slam from The Monster Among Men closed the curtains for The Swiss Cyborg who ate an elbow drop from Elias and took the pin.

While Strowman could have finished Cesaro off himself and pinned him, it was good to watch Elias take the final shot and pick up the victory.

Cesaro eating the pin again is worrying for a man who should be competing for the WWE Championship at this point in his career. However, things could turn around for him soon just like they are for the new babyface Elias.

#4 SmackDown Women’s Championship build-up

Michael Cole got into the ring to interview Lacey Evans ahead of her big match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Bayley this Sunday.

Evans spoke about how frustrated she got after Sasha Banks got in her daughter’s face and taunted her. She vowed to take revenge and the title from The Hugger. This brought out Bayley who attacked The Sassy Southern Belle from nowhere and continued to beat her down.

As we moved to a segment backstage involving Kayla Braxton, Carmella, and Dana Brooke, the action spilled over there and the brawl took the spotlight away.

Soon after, as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross took the ring to take on Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville again, Bayley and Evans brought the fight back into the arena and had to be pulled away by several people.

This segment not only helped bring the women of SmackDown on the screen just before the women’s Royal Rumble match, but it also did a lot for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match.

As SmackDown has been ruled by the rivalries between Universal Champion ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns & Baron Corbin, the brand needed to do something interesting like this to keep the women in the picture.

#3 John Morrison’s win

The Miz and John Morrison continued their rivalry with The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Big E on this week’s show after securing two victories over the SmackDown Tag Team Champions over the past couple of weeks.

Kingston took on Morrison this week and tried to take the offense to the returning Superstar early in the match. However, The Shaman of Sexy wasn’t ready to stay down this early in his comeback and delivered a huge kick of his own as Kingston came close to delivering the Trouble in Paradise.

After a Spanish Fly earned him a count of two, Morrison delivered the Starship Pain to pick up his second victory against The New Day.

While the match wasn’t the greatest one we’ve witnessed between the two men, Morrison winning builds up hype upon his return and sets him and Miz up for a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match down the road.

With such strong bookings early on, it seems like the company is interested in putting The Shaman of Sexy over during his current run.

#2 The Bloodline

Unlike the many episodes that have begun with segments involving two or more Superstars with microphones in hand and building towards a match for later in the night, this Friday night began with a huge six-man tag team match.

The Usos joined Roman Reigns to take on King Corbin, Bobby Roode, and Dolph Ziggler, but Jimmy Uso twisted his knee early in the match and had to be taken backstage for assessment.

The 3-on-2 match continued in the ring, and the babyfaces decided to work on Ziggler for as long as they could. Distractions allowed the three heels to beatdown Reigns outside the ring late in the match, but a comeback followed to allow the babyfaces to make a return.

Late in the match, Jimmy returned to the ring and received the hot tag which allowed him to take down Roode, Corbin, and Ziggler. As the fight between Reigns and Corbin spilled over into the crowd, Uso delivered a splash from the top rope on Roode to pick up the victory.

This was a much better way to kick off the final SmackDown before Royal Rumble and allowed The Usos to make another statement on their return while building up towards the Reigns and Corbin clash for Sunday. The two men will battle in a Falls Count Anywhere match at the Royal Rumble.

#1 The Blood Bond

The biggest segment this week kicked off at the end of the night as Daniel Bryan appeared for his Universal Championship contract signing for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He will challenge ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt for the title in a Strap Match at the PPV.

While Bryan got a huge pop from the crowd, Wyatt decided not to appear in the ring and joined the WWE Universe on the video screen again. Wyatt questioned Bryan as to why he made the awful decision of strapping himself to The Fiend. He talked down his challenger and claimed that he was making a big mistake.

Soon, the lights in the arena went out, and The Fiend appeared in the ring as red lights came up again. The Universal Champion applied the mandible claw on The Planet’s Champion and left him unconscious in the ring.

He continued to lash at Bryan, before signing the contract with his blood and disappearing from the ring again.

This was an extremely good touch to build hype for the huge match on Sunday. It seems like the encounter will likely main-event the show, considering the level of build it has gotten over the past couple of weeks.

With such a big stipulation attached, the match could go on to be the best of the night, and give us a changed Wyatt or Bryan at the end of it all.