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Roman Reigns kicked off SmackDown with Jey Uso and Paul Heyman and said that he liked Kevin Owens and respected him. He said he didn't want anything to happen to him but he put Roman in a tough spot and he 'had to do what he had to do.'
Roman said that people were blaming him and that it was Adam Pearce who was really to blame. Heyman made the producers call Pearce out before he came out to the ring and asked what he could do for Roman.
Reigns showed us footage of Adam agreeing to the Owens-Uso match last week which led to KO being sent to the hospital by Roman. Reigns asked Pearce to 'take responsibility', before yelling at him for scheduling the gauntlet match to pick Roman's opponent tonight.
Reigns grilled Pearce for a moment before going on about respect and the family. Roman was about to attack Pearce but Heyman calmed him down before Reigns left him in the ring with a veiled threat on SmackDown.
Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews - Intercontinental Championship match on SmackDown
Crews hit a big boot right off the bat and got a near fall before Big E managed to take back control and hit a splash on the apron. Crews hit some splashes in the corner and some suplexes before hitting a moonsault from the apron to the outside.
Crews got another near fall and hit a superplex that ended in a double pinfall. Both men technically got a pin so the referee said that they had to resume the match. Big E took Apollo down with a Uranage Slam before connecting with the Big Ending, picking up the win on SmackDown.
Result: Big E def. Apollo Crews to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Match rating: B+
Sonya Deville was backstage on SmackDown with Adam Pearce, who she will be working for going forward.
Bianca Belair announced on SmackDown that was in the women's Royal Rumble and so was Bayley. They traded some not-so-nice words backstage before SmackDown continued.
Carmella was backstage and was no happy that Sasha Banks won Sports Illustrated top wrestler of the year award, and gloated about pinning her.
The Street Profits (c) vs. Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler - SmackDown Tag Team Championship match
Ziggler and Dawkins kicked off the match and Dawkins hit a huge dropkick before tagging in Ford for a double team. Roode was tagged in and took control of the match before Ford fought back by sending both opponents out of the ring and hitting a dive over the ropes.
Back from a break, Dawkins took over and hit a running splash and bulldog combination for a near fall. Ford took out Ziggler with a clothesline after tagging in and struggled to get to the top rope where Ziggler caught him and hit a facebuster.
Ziggler tagged Roode back in for a bit before coming back in with a spine buster - ZigZag combo, picking up the big win on SmackDown.
Result: Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler def. The Street Profits to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions
Match rating: B
Backstage on SmackDown, Heyman told Pearce that thanks to his connections in WWE, he made sure Adam would have to take part in the Gauntlet match.
Backstage on SmackDown, Billie Kay wanted to join the Riott Squad and they denied her before she threw a fit and Liv Morgan tried to console her but Kay misunderstood that as them accepting her in the team.
Gauntlet Match on SmackDown to decide the No.1 Contender for the WWE Universal Championship
Rey Mysterio and Sami Zayn were about to start the match and Zayn went into a monologue about the conspiracy against him before motioning to the film crew behind him who were filming a documentary about him.
Rey kicked things off with a dropkick and a 619 before getting the frog splash and eliminating Zayn right away.
Shinsuke Nakamura was the next one in to face Rey and took control of the match before being hit with a sunset flip bomb on the floor outside. Nakamura hit a big knee in the ring for a near fall before Rey blocked a Superplex.
Gauntlet Match on SmackDown to decide the No.1 Contender for the WWE Championship (contd...)
Nakamura sent Rey into the ring post before taking the 619 but the Froglsplash was met with knees. Nakamura locked in the armbar and got the elimination.
King Corbin was out next and took out Dominik at ringside before coming into the ring for a chokeslam on Nakamura. Back from a break, Corbin got a near fall with the Deep Six before Nakamura turned the tables on the King and hit the Kinshasa for the win.
Daniel Bryan joined the match next and the two traded hold before Nakamura found the bottom rope with his feet. In the corner, Bryan continued to punish Nakamura before Shinsuke got a near fall off a top rope knee strike.
Nakamura was nearly pinned off a counter before Bryan hit his trademark kicks in the corner but Shinsuke managed to get the Kinshasa in, eliminating the former WWE Champ.
Roman Reigns and his posse were out to watch the final round of the match before Adam Pearce came out to face Nakamura. Uso went into the ring and attacked Nakamura before being joined by Roman.
They wiped Nakamura out with a Superkick/Superman Punch combo and made Pearce pin Nakamura after hitting him too with a Superkick. They threatened the referee into calling that match and that was it.
Result: Adam Pearce won the Gauntlet Match and will face Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble
Match rating: A
Episode rating: A+
We got a great Gauntlet match with Nakamura being the star of the night. Roode & Ziggler picked up the tag titles while Roman and Adam Pearce had a standoff leading to a title match at Royal Rumble.
