WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From January 10
Doc-Chris Mueller@@BR_DoctorFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 11, 2025WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From January 100 of 7
SmackDown.WWE
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of WWE SmackDown on January 10.
Following her successful cash-in of the Money in the Bank contract last week, Tiffany Stratton showed up to celebrate her first week as the women’s champion.
Speaking of titles two were on the line this week. Shinsuke Nakamura put his United States Championship on the line against the former champion, LA Knight, and Chelsea Green put her United States Championship on the line against Michin.
With the Royal Rumble less than a month away, WWE also spent some time setting up the show.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on Friday’s SmackDown.
Chelsea Green vs. Michin1 of 7
SmackDown. WWE
SmackDown opened with a quick recap of the Raw debut on Netflix before Paul Heyman came out to discuss Roman Reigns winning back his Ulafala and becoming the Tribal Chief again.
Cody Rhodes came out but Kevin Owens showed up a few moments later. He insulted Rhodes until he lept over the barricade and went after him. Meanwhile, Heyman was alone in the ring when Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga showed up. Jimmy Uso tried to make the save but was taken down by Fatu.
Rhodes eventually made his way back to the ring to help drive Fatu and Tonga away. After the break, Michin was in the ring waiting for Green to come out and defend her U.S. title.
The challenger was aggressive right out of the gate. She was the one who Green defeated to win the belt, so she was hoping to right a perceived wrong. Unfortunately for her, Piper Niven was at ringside to give the champ an unfair advantage.
This was a pretty average match. Green and Yim both looked good but this didn’t quite live up to their previous performance. Green retained with a pin, but you could tell Yim was not done with her.
Result: Green defeated Michin
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
There was a funny audio glitch for one second when you could hear Heyman layered on top of himself like an echo. Green was really leaning into the patriotic imagery with her gear. Yim’s hurricanranas looked good. Los Garzas vs. Pretty Deadly2 of 7
Kit Wilson and Elton Prince were in action this week against Legado Del Fantasma’s Angel and Berto.
All four men started fighting before the ref could call for the bell. The high-flyers took control first and used their speed to keep Wilson on defense.
While this was not a totally one-sided battle, Los Garzas definitely dominated most of the action. Wilson even tried to yell for DIY to come help them at one point.
Angel and Berto scored a win thanks to a little help from Santos Escobar and Elektra Lopez. This was short and uneventful, but Los Garzas getting a win is never a bad thing. They are a great team with unlimited potential.
Result: Los Garzas defeated Pretty Deadly
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Angel was showing a lot of power by tossing both members of Pretty Deadly around for slams and suplexes. Wilson yelling for DIY to come help was hilarious for some reason. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight
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The next match saw Nakamura defend his U.S. title against the man he defeated to win it, Knight.
They kept locking up and finding themselves in a stalemate. They felt evenly matched in almost every way, which is always a fun dynamic for a match.
Knight eventually found a way to take control and brought Nakamura out of the ring to slam his head into the announce table several times.
These two have had a handful of matches and their chemistry has grown with each encounter. Nakamura’s versatility pushed Knight outside his comfort zone a bit.
Unfortunately, this match ended in a disqualification when Tonga and Fatu interfered. Earlier in the show, Knight had helped lock them out of the building, so they were getting a little revenge.
Jimmy and Cody came out to run them off and issued a challenge for a tag match that was accepted.
Nakamura vs. Knight was fun but the ending kept it from being what it could have been.
Result: No Contest
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Nakamura’s entrance is awesome, but it feels like it’s missing one detail. It’s hard to pinpoint what it is. The announcers said they had a brand-new reinforced desk. Nakamura looks like he has put on some muscle in recent months. Knight’s jump to the top rope for a superplex was great. A reverse Boston crab seems like it would be so much harder to use effectively than a regular Boston crab. A-Town Down Under vs. Motor City Machine Guns4 of 7
After a segment backstage with Nick Aldis and some of the SmackDown tag teams, a match was booked with Austin Theory and Grayson Waller taking on Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley.
These two teams could not be more different. Shelley and Sabin are fast-paced wrestlers who work at breakneck speeds, but Theory and Waller are a little more methodical and employ more power moves.
It’s always fun to see David fight the Goliath, but seeing it in a two on two match is not as common, so it created a fun dynamic.
This match had a quick pace and a lot of great double-team action. MCMG played good underdogs who would get in short bursts of offense.
Everyone was working well together and put on an entertaining performance, but in the end, it was MCMG that scored the win with Skull and Bones.
Result: MCMG defeated A-Town Down Under
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
The height difference between the two teams was wild once they were standing next to each other. Waller and Theory are big guys, and with Sabin and Shelley being on the smaller side, it made them look even bigger. Sabin has one of the best hot tag sequences. He is all over the place but still so precise. Waller is one of those guys who always goes the extra mile to sell for his opponents. It’s an underrated skill. Naomi vs. Bianca Belair vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax5 of 7
Stratton came out after a break to celebrate winning the WWE Women’s Championship. She got a great reaction from the crowd, especially when Byron Saxton interviewed her.
Nia Jax came out and called her ungrateful and threatened to end her life. The segment led to a fight that ended with Aldis booking a No. 1 Contender’s match to see who gets to fight Tiffy next.
Bayley, Jax, Bianca Belair and Naomi were the competitors. The three babyfaces teamed up on Jax and drove her out of the ring almost immediately.
Whenever Jax was in the ring, everyone else would fight her. As soon as she was thrown out again, Bayley and Belair would start going at it. These two have a lot of issues going back to 2023, so they weren’t holding back like Naomi and Belair did against each other.
Candice LeRae eventually showed up to provide support for Jax, but it ended up not making a difference. Bayley scored the win with the Rose Plant on Naomi.
Result: Bayley defeated Naomi, Belair and Jax
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Tiffy wasn’t acting like a complete babyface but a lot of her heel tendencies have faded away. Naomi and Belair wearing matching gear in a match where they are opponents was kind of a funny detail. The level of improvement Jax has made over the last couple of years cannot be understated. She is so much better at everything she does in the ring now. Jimmy Uso and Cody Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga6 of 7
This week’s main event saw Jimmy and Cody team up to take on Fatu and Tonga. These four had been fighting on and off all night, so Aldis wanted them to finish it in the ring.
Once the initial brawl settled down, Tonga and Fatu began to isolate Uso with quick tags and double-team moves. For a long time, Jimmy was struggling to gain any sort of momentum.
The American Nightmare got the hot tag and turned the tide in his favor with a series of high-impact moves.
Owens showed up and fought Rhodes to the back, which left Jimmy alone to fight both opponents. Fatu and Tonga were too much for him in the end.
Fatu hit a moonsault for the pin to get the victory for himself and Tonga. This was an enjoyable but incredibly predictable match. Betting on KO showing up would have been the safest money in Vegas.
KO and Rhodes ended up crashing through a table while fighting near the stage. The show ended with both men being looked at by officials.
Result: Fatu and Tonga defeated Uso and Rhodes
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Jimmy’s red gear was so bright. It really stood out against the blue mat and the crowd. Fatu’s intensity is unmatched. He has the most intimidating facial expressions in all of WWE. Rhodes hit a nice suicide dive toward the end of the match. The Final Word7 of 7
This week’s SmackDown felt like a pretty run-of-the-mill show. It had some matches, some interviews, some backstage segments, a few fights, and a couple of storyline advancements.
That being said, this week’s episode was a long three hours. None of the matches stood out as memorable, and with one title match ending without a real winner, it left a lot to be desired.
Seeing Tiffy get such a warm welcome was great and a good indication of her babyface potential, but with Bayley as her next opponent, the champ may not be ready to take the high road just yet.
Los Garzas and Pretty Deadly had a fun encounter, and MCMG and A-Town Down Under did some solid work. Next week, we will likely see Los Garzas and MCMG fight for the next shot at the tag titles.
The blue brand being three hours is going to take some getting used to, but if the company wants it to do well, it needs to start putting in more matches than just two every hour.
Grade: C+
