“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"

<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Bryan Makes Some Enemies</strong></h2>



<p>This was a slightly different start to the show and was a nice call back to similar segments from the attitude era. Instead of starting the show in the ring, WWE started it from the concession stands which was a nice change of pace. </p>



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<p><strong>Daniel Bryan</strong> is really sinking his teeth into his role as a heel and his days where he had universal support are well behind him. Knocking drinks and hot-dogs off of fans was a nice heelish touch. </p>


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<p>Another surprise was in store as he eventually made his way to the ring and was confronted by none other than <strong>R-Truth</strong>. We never though that we would one day enjoy seeing Daniel Bryan get beaten up by R-Truth but kudos to both men for being able to pull it off. </p>


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<p><strong>Daniel Bryan vs R-Truth:</strong> The match that followed was all Bryan as after an initial onslaught from R-Truth, Bryan put him in his place and picked up a rather easy win. </p>



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<p>This was a pretty decent start to SmackDown and the post-match attack from <strong>AJ Styles</strong> keeps that feud moving forward.</p>



<p><strong>Winner: </strong><em>Daniel Bryan</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong>4.2/5</p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Samoa Joe and Almas Halt Mysterio and Ali In Their Tracks</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Samoa Joe &amp; Andrade &#8220;Cien&#8221; Almas vs Rey Mysterio &amp; Mustafa Ali:</strong> This was an excellent tag team match between four individuals who haven’t had much going for them lately. All four are class acts and that was on display here. </p>



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<p><strong>Mustafa Ali</strong> is still getting wild reactions from the crowd and WWE has played an excellent hand by putting him on the blue brand. The only issue with this match-up is that it confines these four men in no man’s land. </p>


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<p>While Mustafa Ali and Almas have time on their side, Samoa Joe and Mysterio might be on the last leg of their careers which is why it is important to put them in a meaningful feud ASAP. That is however a rant for a different time. </p>



<p>This was a fun match and the heels winning adds momentum to this matchup. How this shapes up in the future will define how these men will be remembered but for now WWE is on the right track.</p>



<p><strong>Winners: </strong><em>Samoa Joe and Andrade Almas</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong>4/5</p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Rusev Gets Outsmarted By Nakamura While The Bar Pick Up A Win</strong></h2>



<p>We are happy about <strong>Rusev</strong> becoming the champion at last and we had hoped that at least that would make the <strong>US title</strong> mean something but it has been anything but that. </p>



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<p><strong>Nakamura</strong> just isn’t right as the antagonist here and he and Rusev do not have the chemistry needed to set the ring on fire. As such everything they are doing falls flat including this week’s segment. Rusev is doing everything he can but he needs someone different to feud with.</p>


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<p><strong>The Bar vs The Usos:</strong> That brings to the biggest downer of the night. It was The Bar facing off against The Usos yet again. How much more of this do we need to endure still. </p>



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<p>Again, the two teams did nothing wrong but it was the zillionth time we were seeing this match-up and at this point it is well beyond stale to be of any interest to a WWE fan. </p>



<p>All this was to set-up the match between the teams of <strong>The Miz</strong> and <strong>Shane McMahon</strong> and The Bar for the tag titles at the Royal Rumble but WWE could have gone about it a million different ways instead of beating the same drum even after it has been shredded to pieces. Can WWE for once embrace change?</p>



<p><strong>Winners: </strong><em>The Bar</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong>2/5</p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Becky Lynch Earns Another Shot At The Title</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Asuka</strong> pulled off a shock recently by becoming the <strong>WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion</strong> but you would be forgiven to not take much notice of it because Becky Lynch has been on fire recently. </p>



<p>Becky is well on the road of reaching superstardom of the likes of Stone Cold or the Undertaker. Her last week’s segments with John Cena was some of the best that have been showcased on the blue brand in a long time and shows her immense talent and ring presence. </p>



<p><strong>Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Carmella &#8211; No.1 Contenders Match:</strong> This match between Lynch, Flair and Carmella did not, however, seem easy at all though. In fact, at one point it felt like Carmella was going to pick up the win. However, wiser heads prevailed and Lynch picked up a win to set up another title shot. </p>


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<p>We do not expect Becky to get back ‘her’ title and that match at the Royal Rumble will feature some interference from Rousey which makes this whole matchup quite intriguing and for once there is more excitement about a title match at the PPV rather than the Royal Rumble itself which is a gigantic achievement.</p>



<p><strong>Winner and new number one contender: </strong><em>Becky Lynch</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong>4.8/5</p>


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<p><strong>Overall Review: </strong>This episode of SmackDown was quite entertaining. Some very significant steps were taken as the tag match and the women’s title match are set for the Royal Rumble. </p>



<p>The whole US title picture is lacking something special but apart from that the blue brand seems to be doing everything right. Throwing the reluctant team of The Miz and Shane McMahon into the tag title picture finally gives us something different in the tag division that we have been yearning for a long time. </p>



<p>Becky Lynch is the most bankable WWE superstar WWE has at the moment and for once WWE is doing right by their biggest asset. Overall, this was quite a good show with a lot of positives that makes us look forward to next week as well as the Royal Rumble.</p>



<p><strong>Overall Rating: </strong>3.75/5</p>



<p><strong>Match Of The Night: </strong><em>Women’s No.1 Contenders Match</em></p>

WWE SmackDown Results, Review, Highlights: Jan 8, 2019

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