Top 5 WWE matches of January 2021

#3 No. 1 contender's gauntlet elimination match, WWE SmackDown

Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Adam Pearce on WWE SmackDown

Following Roman Reigns' WWE Universal Championship match against Kevin Owens at TLC in December, "The Tribal Chief" was ready for a new challenger. A Gauntlet Match was set for the January 9 episode of SmackDown to determine Reigns' newest challenger.

Despite not having wrestled on television for almost seven years, WWE Official Adam Pearce was entered into match by Paul Heyman. Reigns' "Special Counsel" managed to pull some strings to get his way.

Sami Zayn was quickly eliminated by Rey Mysterio, who was in turn pinned by Shinsuke Nakamura. Daniel Bryan then entered to face the former WWE Intercontinental Champion. The pair battled back and forth for a few amazing minutes of in-ring action before Nakamura pinned Bryan.

WAIT A MINUTE! @WWERomanReigns @WWEUsos #SmackDown #GauntletMatch @ShinsukeN pic.twitter.com/QJv5HiI42m

— WWE (@WWE) January 9, 2021

The final entrant was Adam Pearce, and the WWE official was reluctantly escorted to the ring by Jey Uso and Roman Reigns. The duo attacked Nakamura and placed Pearce on top of him to give the official the win.

Fans were initially confused by this announced title match for the Royal Rumble. But Pearce later tricked Reigns by replacing himself with Kevin Owens.