WWE SmackDown Live Results (December 22, 2023): Roman Reigns interrupts main event, chaotic fight among top stars

Check out the results for WWE SmackDown right here.

Faction leader teases a major break-up after targeting Roman Reigns on SmackDown

Massive WWE return after 183 days on SmackDown

34-year-old WWE Superstar ends 11-month streak this week on SmackDown

Nick Aldis takes a brutal shot at Roman Reigns backstage on SmackDown

[VIDEO] "Mastermind" superstar who has been injured for 7 months attacks Zelina Vega on SmackDown

AJ Styles reveals the real reason why he attacked LA Knight on WWE SmackDown after his return

[VIDEO] Returning stars hit Kairi Sane with one of the most dangerous finishers in WWE today

That's a wrap on tonight's coverage of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Stay tuned for the next live event coverage here at Sportskeeda.

In the ring, AJ Styles is back on his feet, and he's mad at Knight and Orton for coming out to help him when he demanded not to. The crowd chants "RKO" loudly as the three men bicker. AJ then throws hands at both men. Knight begins to club at Styles, and Orton breaks it up, only for Knight to push Orton.

This leads to Randy and LA brawling in the ring! Styles interrupts, and all three men continue to fight as the show ends. Wow! The babyfaces all want Roman Reigns, and they'll go through each other to get him.

Orton throws hands with both Solo and Roman, keeping the advantage. This inevitably led to Jimmy Uso running out to give The Bloodline the upper hand again. LA Knight's music then hits to a big pop from the crowd. The Megastar runs down and goes to work on all three members of the fierce faction. He hits repeated "YEAH!" punches and he and Orton send The Bloodline packing.

Despite commentary selling Solo as being potentially injured, he's moving around okay. AJ goes for The Styles Clash, but Solo is too big. He pushes AJ to the apron, who flies with The Phenomenal Forearm! This one should be over, but Solo rolls out to the floor. The match is then interrupted by Roman Reigns showing up and attacking. The referee had to call for the bell.

AJ Styles defeats Solo Sikoa via disqualification

Roman tries to slam AJ, but Styles wiggles out and hits a big kick. Reigns is stunned, but AJ is exhausted. Solo runs into the ring to help Roman, and now AJ is all alone. NO! Randy Orton's music hits, and he runs out despite AJ's warning earlier in the night.

AJ begins to pick up momentum as Solo seemingly hurt his knee. This then allowed Styles to hit a lionsault for a nearfall. Is Solo's knee legitimately inured? It is hard to tell, but he's still competing.

Solo tries to get the upper hand, but AJ hits the Pele Kick. The crowd is getting behind Styles despite his new attitude.

An ad for RAW promotes it as a "best of" show.

Back from break, Solo hits a huge backbody drop to AJ, and Sikoa is in control. He misses a headbutt to the mat, allowing AJ to begin fighting back, only to be whipped into the buckle face first. Solo remains in control and goes for the running hip attack in the corner. He hits it, and AJ collapses to the mat.

The bell rings, and the match begins. AJ tries to take it to Solo, but Sikoa's power advantage is still evident. AJ is showing a physical side of himself, throwing numerous chops and blows. AJ eventually picks up the upper hand and levels Solo with a running sliding knee. As Solo gets to his feet, AJ kicks him, and Sikoa goes to the floor only to be hit by another sliding knee.

Styles then goes for a big punch from the ring to the floor, and we go to break with The Phenomenal One in control.

Three matches confirmed for WWE SmackDown New Year's Revolution:

- Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight.
- Michin vs. IYO SKY for the WWE Women's Championship.
- Kevin Owens vs. Santos Escobar.

A Logan Paul video package is shown where he trashes both Santos Escobar and Kevin Owens, the two men who will fight for the right to challenge for the United States Championship. The commentary then covers the big New Year's Revolution edition of Friday Night SmackDown.

Next, AJ Styles makes his way out for the main event. The O.C. is not with him. Solo Sikoa is out next, and he's also on his own.

AJ Styles vs. Solo Sikoa

As a reminder, this is AJ's in-ring return after months.

It will be interesting to see who teams up with Butch. Will Tyler Bate join WWE's main roster or could Sheamus return from injury?

As Santos Escobar makes his way up the ramp with the two masked men, they reveal themselves as Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo! They're back! Santos says he isn't alone anymore.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews a solemn Butch. Pretty Deadly interrupts and mocks him, but Butch attacks both men before officials and security breaks things up.

Nick Aldis says Butch needs to find a partner for SmackDown New Year's Revolution to battle Pretty Deadly in a tag team match!

Santos Escobar hits a dive back after the break, and Lashley has a bad leg. They tease a count-out victory, but Bobby gets into the ring only for Santos to continue to target the leg with brutal kicks. He continues the advantage and tries to slam Bobby off the top but gets thrown off fiercely!

Despite the pain, Lashley begins to pick up momentum when a fan in a mask seemingly sneaks over the barricade. Security comes over, but they then lay out The Street Profits. They're not fans at all!

The distraction allows Santos to pick up a pinfall victory over Bobby Lashley via a roll-up! This one is all over.

Santos Escobar defeats Bobby Lashley by pinfall.

The bell rings, and Bobby Lashley almost immediately gets the upper hand. He throws Santos with a huge belly-to-belly overhead suplex, and Santos looks in disbelief. Lashley then tosses Santos again. Escobar uses the ropes to pull down Lashley and then hits a kick, but Lashley catches him off the top and pushes Santos to the floor as we go to a break.

Back from break, another Karrion Kross and Scarlett vignette airs. He takes credit for the drama The Bloodline has gone through, Drew McIntyre's recent attitude change, Rey striking Dominik, and even Shinsuke Nakamura losing his honor. He then mentions "authors," and silhouettes are shown with AOP and Paul Ellering seemingly being the ones behind them! Is a new stable on the way?!

Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley

Santos made his entrance next, and a replay of his win over Dragon Lee two weeks ago is played.

Owens thinks about leaving, but he eventually helps Hayes and shakes his hand, showing respect and passing the torch.

Backstage, AJ Styles is shown warming up when Michin, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson appear excited to see him. They ask him if they're good, and AJ says, "I don't know, are we?" and storms off. Is The O.C. breaking up?

Next, Bobby Lashley's music plays with The Street Profits joining him. Logan Paul cuts another promo on them as Lashley gets into the ring. This one will begin after the break.

The two men are again trading strikes and countering each other's big moves. Carmelo goes for another springboard move, but Owens dodges it and hits a vicious clothesline. Carmelo then hits a Codebreaker out of a pop-up powerbomb! He goes for Nothing But Net, but Carmelo doesn't hit it, and Owens hits a Pop Up Powerbomb! This one is over... no! Carmelo kicks out. Wow!

Owens then hits a Swanton and a stunner, picking up the win. Carmelo showed a ton of heart, even in defeat.

Kevin Owens defeats Carmelo Hayes by pinfall.

Kevin Owens will now advance and compete against the winner of Santos Escobar and Bobby Lashley.

Back from the break, Carmelo Hayes hits a huge bodyslam to Kevin Owens, but he exhausted himself by doing it. Both men get to their feet and begin to trade blows. Carmelo's speed helps give him the upper hand, and he even hits a few big kicks for a near fall.

The two trade strikes again, but Kevin uses his bad hand. This allows Carmelo to hit a kick and a tilt-a-whirl facebuster for a near fall. Carmelo tries to suplex Owens but gets placed onto the ropes instead. Kevin then spikes Hayes with a brutal rope-hung DDT! Wow!

Owens levels Carmelo with a chop and proceeds to put the boots to him. Kevin hits a few other big chops, and his broken hand now affects him. Still, he keeps up the momentum and hits a running senton for a two-count. Carmelo hits a beautiful springboard blow, and the two end up on the outside. Owens tosses Carmelo into the steel steps as we go to break.

Kevin Owens vs. Carmelo Hayes

Carmelo's music hits, and he makes his way out. Meanwhile, Logan Paul is shown cutting a promo on Kevin Owens, giving Carmelo credit for his win over Grayson Waller. The bell sounds, and the two men lock up. Owens has the apparent power advantage, but both men have shown respect and sportsmanship.

They do proper wrestling, including headlocks, chin locks, and amateur grappling. They trade holds back and forth before the pace quickens slightly with some shoulder tackles. Hayes then hits a headscissors and the two quickly trade pins. Owens goes for a senton and misses before getting knocked down with a dropkick. Kevin looks annoyed now as Carmelo gloats.

Back from break, we get a replay from Solo Sikoa injuring AJ Styles months ago on SmackDown. From there, Roman Reigns is backstage with Paul Heyman. Nick Aldis is shown with them. Roman tells Heyman to leave them and then asks Nick how he knew he wasn't talking to Aldis. Nick said, with all due respect, he didn't care. Roman then goes over some of the recent matches Nick made. He called them good ideas, but it would've been better if Nick had first run it by Roman.

Roman says that Adam Pearce knew that. Nick took a shot at Pearce and said he's the middle management type, but Nick leads SmackDown. He then notes that Solo Sikoa is a big boy who took out John Cena even more impressively than Roman did. Nick then shut the chat down. This was an intense segment with Roman seemingly furious that Aldis talked to him that way.

We get a replay of Carmelo Hayes' SmackDown in-ring debut from last week when he defeated Grayson Waller. The package emphasizes Carmelo being the NXT representative, perhaps confirming that Hayes hasn't yet been called to the main roster full-time. The video then also highlights Kevin Owens defeating Austin Theory.

Kevin Owens' music then hits. This should be a good one. It will start after the break.

The two men begin to trade slaps and then kicks, followed by a pair of German Suplexes. Lee counters a suplex by landing on his feet and hits a beautiful sit-out powerbomb on Butch for a two-count! This one is awesome, as you'd expect.

Butch goes to the ropes, but Lee catches him in a tree of woe. Lee goes for the double stomp, but Butch dislocates Lee's fingers. Dragon hits the stomp anyway but is hit by a pop-up forearm! Lee then counters the Bitter End into a Destroyer and hits Operation Dragon for the win!

Dragon Lee defeats Butch by pinfall.

The crowd gives both men a standing ovation post-match, and they shake hands even if Butch looks disappointed. Lee has been a great North American Champion.

Back from break, Butch has the upper hand but the pace increases. Both men show impressive athleticism before Lee hits a rana from the apron to the floor! Dragon then hits a corner dropkick and lifts Butch for a powerbomb, but Butch reverses it into the Tyler Driver 97! An homage to Tyler Bate, perhaps?

Michael Cole mentions being a fan of Butch since the United Kingdom Championship Tournament. Butch then manipulates the wrist and fingers of Lee. He hits a big chop on the champion, but Lee begins to build up speed and hits a few big kicks, including a slingshot boot in the corner. Butch hits a big chop to get momentum, but a superkick in the corner costs him that momentum again.

This one is extremely back and forth. Butch counters a dive and then hits the X-plex to Dragon Lee on the apron as we go to break!

Back from break, we get a recap of Dragon Lee winning the NXT North American Championship from Dominik Mysterio. Butch then makes his way out to The Brawling Brutes entrance despite the issues with the faction. A video of Butch confronting Dragon Lee on The SmackDown LowDown last week is then shown. That chat led to tonight's match.

The bell rings, and the two men circle the ring before locking up. Lee takes Butch's arm, but The Bruiserweight knows how to get out of it. They trade the advantage back and forth before Lee hits a unique pin out of nowhere.

Butch then locks in a submission out of nowhere. They then try to throw strikes back and forth and catch each other's foot. Butch then levels Lee with a big right.

Backstage, Jimmy Uso is shown talking to Solo Sikoa. Roman Reigns looks annoyed. Paul Heyman is then asked about Nick Aldis. He demands Paul bring Aldis to Roman, but Heyman is apprehensive.

Next, Dragon Lee makes his way out to the ring!

NXT North American Championship: Dragon Lee vs. Butch

This one will start after the break.

Immediately after the KOD, IYO hits a moonsault on Bianca. She then gets hit by the Eat Defeat. Michin lays IYO on a table and hits a senton off the top! Michin pinned the champion!

Michin, Zelina Vega, Bianca Belair, and Shotzi defeat Damage CTRL by pinfall

Michin pinning the champion is a huge moment, and The Unholy Union is back. What a match.

Dakota Kai, who isn't in the match, throws a pie in Zelina's face. The distraction allows Asuka to spit mist into Zelina's face, seemingly taking her out for the match.

The Kabuki Warriors recover and go to pull out a weapon in a box when, out of nowhere, Isla Dawn pops out. Alba Fyre shows up from the other one! The Unholy Union is back, and they're attacking the Kabuki Warriors. This includes them hitting their finisher to Kairi on the floor. A confused Bayley is distracted and then turns to Bianca. They fight, but Belair counters it and hits the KOD.

Back from break, all eight women in the match are laid out. IYO recovers and goes for a suplex on the floor, but Zelina counters it with a DDT. In the ring, Michin and Asuka trade kicks before Michin catches Asuka and powerbombs her. IYO hits a springboard dropkick, but Bianca breaks things up before the match can end.

Belair gets a nearfall on Bayley before getting rolled up by IYO for a two-count. SKY charges but gets kicked, and a box put over her head. Shotzi hits a dropkick off the top rope while IYO is on Bianca's shoulders for a nearfall. Outside the ring, Kairi unwraps a trash can lid and smashes Shotzi in the head with it. She then throws Shotzi into a Christmas tree. Zelina then blasts Kairi with the chair!

Shotzi and Bayley go back and forth with a chair in the corner. The tattooed star then drags the chair into the ring and jumps off of it onto Bayley's back. She tosses the chair and dives through Michin's legs onto IYO SKY and Bayley on the floor! From there, Michin and Zelina were ready to dive to the floor, but The Kabuki Warriors rushed in with kendo sticks wrapped like candy canes.

Bianca and Shotzi did the same, however, attacking both of the Kabuki Warriors. Then Shotzi and Bianca pull out a table to big applause from the crowd! Bayley and IYO attack them and lift the table, ramming it into the two babyface women as we go to break.

The match immediately starts with chaos, as everybody begins to fight. Bianca Belair and IYO SKY end up being the two in the ring, and IYO shows off her impressive athleticism, avoiding Bianca's attacks. Belair then shows off her athleticism and proceeds to level IYO. SKY charges and gets lifted for a suplex, which earns Bianca a one count.

Bayley broke up the pin, as she often does. Shotzi then shows up and unwraps a chair. This is a Holiday Havoc Match, so it is all legal.

Damage CTRL vs. Zelina Vega, Michin, Bianca Belair, & Shotzi

Back from break, Damage CTRL enters the arena accompanied by Dakota Kai. Bayley, Asuka, Kairi Sane, and IYO SKY represent Damage CTRL in this one.

The commentary team goes over what's to come tonight, including two United States Championship Tournament semifinal matches. Additionally, Dragon Lee defending the North American Championship against Butch.

Next is Bianca Belair's music as she comes out on a tank alongside Zelina Vega, Shotzi, and Michin! A Holiday Havoc Eight-Woman Tag Team Match is next!

Nick Aldis revealed in two weeks, WWE will have SmackDown New Year's Revolution. AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight will battle in a Triple Threat Match where the winner gets Roman Reigns at the 2024 Royal Rumble! AJ says fine, then notes that if either man gets close to the ring for his match with Solo Sikoa tonight, he'll take both out, too.

Orton says he can appreciate both men's issues with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline, but they put him on the shelf for 18 months. He says he missed his second home in the ring and that nothing will get in his way.

Knight interrupts and points out that The Bloodline has taken both of them out but not him. He's bulletproof, and he's got Roman Reigns. Nick Aldis then interrupts the proceedings.

LA Knight says he isn't here to argue about who gets Roman first because he's the one who gets The Tribal Chief first. Knight then says the first one on his list could be AJ Styles after what happened last week.

Styles then reveals that Knight "stepped over his dead body" to tag with John Cena at Fastlane and wrestle Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel. AJ says if Knight or anyone else gets in his way, he'll drop them too, which leads to Randy Orton's music hitting!

AJ Styles has a microphone and notes Randy Orton wants Roman Reigns at the 2024 Royal Rumble. He then says LA Knight wants Roman Reigns any time, any place, and anywhere.

AJ then says he doesn't blame either one of them. He notes he doesn't care about Randy Orton or LA Knight. AJ wants to be the one who fights Roman.

Then LA Knight's music hits!

SmackDown starts with the usual "Then. Now. Forever. Together." intro. From there, we get a recap of last week's Randy Orton, LA Knight, AJ Styles, and The Bloodline drama.

From there, Kevin Patrick welcomes us to a festive Friday Night SmackDown sponsored by Progressive. Then AJ Styles' music hits! We'll finally hear from the returning star. AJ is wearing all black and doesn't look happy.

Hey everyone, welcome to Sportskeeda's coverage of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on FOX!

Tonight's show features several big matches and segments, including the following:

- Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley.
- Kevin Owens vs. Carmelo Hayes.
- AJ Styles vs. Solo Sikoa.
- Dragon Lee vs. Butch.
- A Holiday Havoc Eight-Woman Tag Team Match.