WWE SmackDown Results, Highlights, And Grades For January 8, 2019

WWE SmackDown featured an intense confrontation between Becky Lynch and John Cena last week, before Lynch bailed the 16-time champ out in a tag match against Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega. What will tonight’s episode bring?

Earlier today, All Elite Wrestling held an event in Jacksonville, Florida, where WWE SmackDown will be taking place tonight at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network, to make some huge announcements. Britt Baker, Penelope Ford, PAC (formerly Neville in WWE), MJF, and Chris Jericho were five of the big-ticket signings for AEW.

WWE is likely feeling the heat, though not in any major way given their rock-solid status as titans of the wrestling industry, given that they announced a few weeks ago that they would usher in a new, fan-focused “era” of programming.

Whether or not that’s actually taken place is debatable, but the FOX-bound SmackDown Live was a strong show in 2018 and only drew more praise from fans by giving former 205 Live superstar Mustafa Ali plenty of spotlight after officially adding him to the roster.

Ali doesn’t have anything specific announced for tonight, but he is in the title picture. But there is a match with a major title opportunity tonight, as Becky Lynch will face off against Charlotte Flair and Carmella in a Triple Threat match that will determine Asuka’s challenger at the Royal Rumble Pay Per View.

Last night on Raw, Sasha Banks managed to overcome a tough challenge from Nia Jax to become Ronda Rousey’s Rumble opponent for the Raw Women’s Championship. Lynch and Flair are favorites to win the Women’s Rumble on Jan. 27, but recall that Lynch was initially announced as Asuka’s challenger before plans were changed. Perhaps Becky could win this match and find herself with another opportunity at the championship she made prestigious. Whatever the case, this SummerSlam rematch should be exciting.

Another match with a title opportunity on the line will take place between The Usos and The Bar, who remain SmackDown Tag Team Champions despite being pinned by challengers. The Usos, despite not holding the titles, are seen as the best tag team on the roster, so can they pick up a huge win here to move closer to those coveted tag titles?

The “real” AJ Styles is determined to take back the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan in a few weeks, so what will this more vicious version of Styles have in store for the environmentally-conscious title-holder?

Though Rusev defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship on Christmas Day (aka the Happiest of Rusev Days) in heart-warming fashion, Nakamura attacked both Rusev and Lana last week in cold-blooded fashion. Nakamura isn’t done with Rusev and the US Title, and it will be interesting to see how Rusev responds to The King of Strong Style’s heinous actions.

All of this and more will be reviewed and graded live on this page once WWE SmackDown begins at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network. So check back here for live results, highlights, and analysis of the show.