Smackdown Results courtesy of WWE.com this week.
SmackDown LIVE results, Jan. 1, 2019: Styles survives Fatal 5-Way to earn WWE Title Match at Royal Rumble
On a monumental New Year’s Day SmackDown LIVE, AJ Styles unleashed the newfound aggression he showed Mr. McMahon last week on four other Superstars en route to earning a WWE Championship Match against “The New” Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble. Plus, John Cena came face to face with The Man in his return to Team Blue.
The New Day kicked off 2019 with a New Year Celebration
The New Day kicked off 2019 the right way on SmackDown LIVE – with pancakes!
Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E, the last of whom was dressed as the most muscular New Year’s Baby ever, also dropped a huge announcement – they’ll all be entering the 2019 Royal Rumble Match! After doing a little Steiner Math (it’s complicated), The New Day surmised that they’ll have the best odds of winning and heading to WrestleMania.
The trio then revealed their new year’s resolution – to stop eating pancakes. Before the horrors of The New Day tossing out heads of lettuce soaked in balsamic vinaigrette to the WWE Universe could become reality, however, they ditched that plan because nobody really keeps their resolutions, right?
But after all the celebrating, there was business to get to. Namely, determining the final participant in tonight’s Fatal 5-Way to determine who will challenge WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble. Who (Who? Who?) would it be? Jeff Hardy or Samoa Joe? We wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
Samoa Joe def. Jeff Hardy to earn the final slot in the Fatal 5-Way Match
After last week’s brawl that ended with Samoa Joe putting Jeff Hardy to sleep with the Coquina Clutch, these two rivals squared off once again, this time with higher stakes – the opportunity to compete for a WWE Championship Match later tonight.
The bout was just as heated as their Christmas showdown, with Joe looking to submit Hardy early and The Charismatic Enigma seeking to unleash his rage on the submission expert. Despite being on the receiving end of some heavy-duty shots from Joe, Hardy still landed a Swanton Bomb.
However, Joe rolled to the arena floor after the move connected, drawing Hardy to ringside, as well. Joe trapped The Charismatic Enigma in the Coquina Clutch and nearly won the battle by count-out. Hardy beat the referee’s count, but Joe once again locked his foe in the clutch, and Hardy passed out in the hold.
Joe had one win out of the way. Could he pick up the second later in the night and get a WWE Championship Match?
Shinsuke Nakamura attacked United States Champion Rusev
It was looking to be another Happy Rusev Day on Jan. 1, as The Bulgarian Brute declared that he would take great pride in being United States Champion and that his reign would be long and luscious (like his beard).
Rusev pledged allegiance to the star-spangled title, but the “Rusev Day, USA!” chants were cut short when Shinsuke Nakamura attacked him from behind. Lana came to her husband’s aid, jumping on The Artist’s back to stop the attack. Rusev got back to his feet and clobbered Nakamura with a Machka kick, but The King of Strong Style fell backward, landing on top of Lana. The melee temporarily stopped as Rusev checked on his wife, but the relentless Nakamura pounced on the United States Champion and floored him with a Kinshasa.
Sonya Deville def. Naomi
After Mandy Rose attempted to get Jimmy Uso under the mistletoe on Christmas night, Naomi was more than ready to get her hands on The Golden Goddess tonight. However, Mandy had more tricks up her sleeve, including donning a custom Usos t-shirt to infuriate Naomi. This allowed Naomi’s actual opponent, Sonya Deville, to slide into the ring.
Naomi was ready to throw hands, regardless of the opponent, and took the fight right to Deville. But just when Naomi was about to take control of the battle, Rose grabbed the microphone and revealed a racy photo she had sent Jimmy earlier in the day. With Naomi blinded by rage, Deville took advantage by planting Naomi into the canvas with a devastating slam to pick up the victory.
Becky Lynch interrupted John Cena
Carrying a custom towel gifted to him by Ellen DeGeneres that read “Be kind to one another,” John Cena returned to the blue brand for the first time in nearly a year. The 16-time World Champion reflected on the ups and downs of his 2018, but he revealed that he wasn’t quite sure why he was back on Team Blue. However, he was positive that “any man” would soon be waltzing down to the ring to call him out.
It wasn’t just any man, though. The Man came around.
Lynch brazenly declared that her goal wasn’t only to displace Charlotte Flair on posters – she wanted Cena’s spot too. And if Cena had a problem with that, The Man warned The Cenation Leader that Nikki Bella wouldn’t be the only woman to drop him this year.
Before Cena could respond, however, Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega arrived to run down the two Superstars, calling Cena an “old face” and Lynch a “broken face.” After the insults were out of the way, Cena issued a challenge: Almas & Vega vs. Cena and Lynch, right now!
John Cena & Becky Lynch def. Andrade “Cien” Almas & Zelina Vega
The McMahon Family signed off on this mixed tag team bout during the commercial break, setting up a huge first-time-ever battle.
The Man was ready to take on Andrade after she sent Vega retreating to her corner to tag “Cien,” but the rules of the match dictate Cena’s entrance into the bout, which Lynch made official with a hard tag to the 16-time World Champion’s chest.
Vega distracted Cena, allowing Almas to go on offense against The Cenation Leader. “Cien” unleashed a flurry of high-flying attacks on Cena, with Vega doing her part behind the referee’s back. But Cena evaded Almas’ trademark double knees and put The Man back into battle.
Lynch hurled Vega around the ring with ease, nearly picking up the victory. And when Almas jumped back into the ring to save Vega from the Dis-arm-her, Cena was waiting to cut him off with the Attitude Adjustment and the devastating Lightning Fist. But before Cena could get the pin, The Man shoved him out of the ring and locked the Dis-arm-her on Vega to get the tapout victory.
After the bell, John Cena offered a handshake to Lynch, but The Man was defiant in victory, offering four words to the 16-time World Champion: “You can’t see me!”
AJ Styles def. Rey Mysterio, Mustafa Ali, Randy Orton & Samoa Joe to earn a WWE Championship Match at Royal Rumble
All five Superstars threw caution to the wind right from the opening bell, with Team Blue newcomer Mustafa Ali going right after Samoa Joe, only to get slammed into the canvas. AJ Styles continued to show the aggression that Mr. McMahon witnessed last week, pummeling Randy Orton and Ali.
With Daniel Bryan watching from the backstage area, all five men threw everything they had at each other, taking flight and unleashing vicious strikes. As the bout reached its apex, it seemed Styles would not be a factor in the outcome, as Orton and Joe double-teamed him before Joe slammed him through the announcers table. Ali and Rey Mysterio then dazzled the WWE Universe with their breathtaking aerial offense. Ali nearly had the WWE Title Match secured, but Samoa Joe evaded The 054 and locked on the Coquina Clutch. Mysterio then took out The Samoan Submission Machine and Ali with a pair of 619s before being dumped by Orton. The Viper was seemingly seconds away from clinching a title bout after he planted Ali with an RKO, but Mysterio broke up the pin. A 619 to Orton looked to be Mysterio’s ticket to Phoenix, but Samoa Joe pulled him off the ring apron, giving Styles the opening to connect with a springboard 450 Splash to pin The Viper and earn the WWE Championship Match.
The match is set for Phoenix. Who will leave Royal Rumble with the WWE Championship: “The New” Daniel Bryan or “The Real” AJ Styles?