Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, and Candice LeRae VS Bianca Belair, Naomi, and Bayley
Nick Aldis started the show by sending out a message to Kevin Owens saying he must hand over the Winged Eagle Championship before Nia Jax came out to point the blame at Bianca Belair for who attacked Jade Cargill! This then led into the first match of the night as Nia, Tiffany Stratton, and Candice LeRae teamed up to take on Bianca, Naomi, and Bayley! This was fine, there were some decent moments in it, but it was also pretty standard stuff! The interesting parts came from Tiffany Stratton who had multiple moments of miscommunication with Candice LeRae before Stratton finally looked like she was ready to cash in her Money in the Bank Briefcase! However, Candice stopped Tiffany which ultimately allowed Naomi to pin LeRae for the 1,2,3, and yeah, Stratton made this match what it was!
Grade: C+
Austin Theory VS Braun Strowman, Chelsea Green’s Championship Celebration, The Street Profits VS Los Garza, Carmelo Hayes VS Sami Zayn
A-Town Down Under were in Nick Aldis’ office before Sami Zayn walked in to talk to Aldis about getting his revenge on The Bloodline! Carmelo Hayes then walked in to hand everyone Christmas cards which annoyed Sami a lot before Austin Theory headed to the ring to go one-on-one with Braun Strowman! This is exactly what you would expect, Braun beat up Theory for the most part as Austin sold everyone like a star! Grayson Waller also got himself wiped out before Strowman dropped Theory with the Running Powerslam to get the win!
Grade: C+
Kevin Owens was back in his car as he told Nick Aldis that he’d arrive to SmackDown on his terms before Piper Niven welcomed out Chelsea Green for her Championship Celebration! Chelsea praised herself and gave herself lots of compliments for being the first-ever and longest-reigning Women’s United States Champion in WWE history before Michin arrived to say that she wants some revenge! Michin then beat up Piper with a kendo stick before Ms. Green was able to escape! This didn’t really land like it should’ve which is honestly a shame!
Grade: C
Nick Aldis brought over Pretty Deadly who witnessed the attack on The Street Profits, and they looked at DIY and then proceeded to say that Los Garza did it! This then led into a match between The Street Profits and Los Garza, and this was honestly pretty decent! The Profits were a lot more aggressive which is a good thing, and there’s no doubt that Angel and Berto can go once they step inside the squared circle! In the end, after B-Fab took out Elektra Lopez, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins hit their Tag Team finisher to get the W!
Grade: B-
Andrade cut a promo saying he’s coming for Shinsuke Nakamura before DIY and The Street Profits both thanked Pretty Deadly for what they said when it came to the attack! Apollo Crews then came over and told The Profits that they were being played before it was time for the Main Event match of the night as Carmelo Hayes clashed with Sami Zayn! This was a really good match, by far the best on the show, and it’s not really much of a surprise because both guys have been terrific for years now! It’s also another example of Hayes facing a big-named opponent on a Friday Night, and it’s even more important that Melo didn’t lose! See, after Braun Strowman chased Carmelo away, The Bloodline arrived to beat up Sami Zayn before Braun Strowman came back, only to also be taken out! Solo Sikoa then delivered a Samoan Spike to Sami Zayn before Kevin Owens’ music hit which I think was very much done for a reason!
Grade: B
Cody Rhodes Interrupts Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens was in the ring at the end of the show to talk to Nick Aldis, but Kevin made it crystal clear that he would not hand over the Winged Eagle Championship until he got his rematch for the Undisputed WWE Championship! Aldis made it clear that that wasn’t going to happen before Cody Rhodes’ music hit as The American Nightmare made his return to cut his best promo in a while on Owens! In the end, Cody challenged KO to a Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Title which Nick Aldis made official for the Royal Rumble! However, before the show could end, Owens shoved Aldis into Rhodes before The Prize-fighter stomped on the neck of Cody to end 2024 standing tall! The whole last half an hour of this show was much better than the rest!
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