3 things that went right on the Jan. 20 WWE SmackDown

The Royal Rumble pay-per-view (or premium live event) is almost here, and WWE continued its trek toward that show with a stop at the Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit for another episode of SmackDown.

This week’s show focused on the continuing Roman Reigns/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens saga and the start of a single-elimination tournament to determine the next challengers for SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.

Overall, the show contained the usual mix of hits and misses, but let’s focus on the hits.

These three things went right on the Jan. 20 episode of SmackDown.

Kevin Owens hits a surprise Stunner on Roman Reigns during the contract signing.

By now, everyone knows that WWE follows a particular formula with these contract signings: the wrestlers enter the ring, talk for a bit, scribble their respective names on a piece of paper, and brawl.

Every once in a while, though, we’ll see WWE deviate from the routine, and that’s what happened during Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens’ contract signing. After Reigns completed his trademark lengthy entrance and put his feet on the table, Owens snuck in through the side of the ring, attacked Solo Sikoa, and laid out Reigns with a Stunner before snatching the contract from Paul Heyman and signing on the solid line.

When WWE announced a contract signing for this show, many fans likely groaned in anticipation of the usual tropes, so it was nice to see the promotion eschew them in a way that gives Owens a bit of momentum heading into the Royal Rumble.

The SmackDown Tag Team Championship tournament

While you could argue that WWE lacks the overall depth to put together a good tag team tournament, let alone depth on one brand, it is a slick way to infuse some interesting matches with heightened stakes and it eases the burden of filling two hours of screen time.

Yes, you’d like better matches than Hit Row vs. Los Lotharios and Maximum Male Models vs. Legado del Fantasma, but WWE flashed enough self-awareness to keep those bouts short and painless.

The other two quarterfinal tilts — Sheamus and Drew McIntyre vs. The Viking Raiders and The Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium — were more than good enough to justify this tournament’s existence. If Imperium meets Sheamus and McIntyre in the finals, this will go down as a success for WWE.

Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns

Most of SmackDown’s backstage content dealt with the uneasy relationship between Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. Make no mistake, this is a toxic relationship, as Reigns continued to toy with the frustrated Zayn. In one segment, Reigns chastises Zayn over Zayn not being informed of Reigns’ plans, and in another, he apologizes to him and reciprocates with a fist bump.

All of this is keeping fans invested in what has become the most compelling storyline in wrestling. Each week, viewers look for little hints to figure out when the Bloodline will finally turn on Zayn (forcing Zayn to re-align with Kevin Owens), and the rapport Zayn has built with Reigns, Solo Sikoa, and The Usos has some hoping the turn never comes.

Either way, everyone is looking forward to the next chapter in this tale.