‘WWE Smackdown’ Review (Jan 3rd 2025)
Welcome to this review of this past Friday’s episode of Smackdown, right here on Nerdly. Let’s see what went down on this week’s show which saw the program extend its runtime to a whopping three hours!
Match #1: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Andrade
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After slamming Andrade face-first into the ring post during a struggle on the top rope, United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura emerged victorious over his opponent with a Kinshasa. As the dust cleared, though, former titleholder LA Knight charged to the ring and unleashed a post-match attack on Nakamura before declaring he is coming to get his title.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Michin def. Piper Niven
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After getting her foot up to catch her opponent coming off the second rope, Michin put down Piper Niven with Eat Defeat as Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green watched.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #3: WWE Tag Team Title Match – #DIY vs. Motor City Machine Guns (No-Contest)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
A brawl between Pretty Deadly and Los Garza forced the official to stop the WWE Tag Team Title Match just as Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin appeared ready to reclaim the gold from Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa by submission.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #4: WWE Women’s Championship – Nia Jax def. Naomi
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
With Candice LeRae and Bianca Belair down following a brawl at ringside, Tiffany Stratton emerged with an extra official and looked ready to cash in the Money in the Bank contract. Instead, she took out her official and blasted Naomi in the face with the briefcase to help The Irrisistable Force successfully defend the title.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: WWE Women’s Championship – Tiffany Stratton def. Nia Jax
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Moments after helping Nia Jax defeat Naomi to retain her title, Tiffany Stratton suddenly struck The Irresistible Force and Candice LeRae with the briefcase and set up Belair to hit Jax with a massive K.O.D. With Jax down, Tiffany yanked Belair out of the ring and cashed in the Money in the Bank contract after all. On the wings of the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, Stratton pinned Jax and to capture the WWE Women’s Championship.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #6: Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga def. Sami Zayn & The Usos
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
When chaos took over inside and outside the ring in SmackDown’s crucial Six-Man Tag Team main event, Jey Uso hit Jacob Fatu with the Samoan Splash off the top rope for a pin attempt. He did not realize, however, that Solo Sikoa was actually the legal man for his team. This allowed Solo to hit his unsuspecting older brother with the Samoan Spike for the victory heading into Tribal Combat against Roman Reigns on Raw’s Netflix premiere this Monday.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
An interesting start to the new three-hour format for Smackdown this week – some of it worked but a LOT of it really didn’t. For a start we got far too many backstage segments/promos etc., and then we got matches – in particular the main event – that felt like they were being dragged out to fill time. I guess that over time working with three hours will become second nature and, fingers crossed, we also get a match or two more a week as well.
