Welcome to the first live show of 2026. There will be a few changes along the way. Joe/Wade have swapped with Cory/Cole at the announcers’ desk, with Cole/Cory taking over at RAW on January 5th. SmackDown is returning to a 3-hour time format.
The last check on Piper Niven is that she is NOT medically cleared, and she won’t be anytime soon. Piper recently spoke from a “personal” place. Warning other wrestlers about the thin line between feeling “fine” and just wanting to feel “okay again”. She highlighted that the margin for error with neck issues is “horrifically thin”. Piper is working alongside officials, considering all options, but this is a very delicate issue due to the severity of the spinal concerns.
Wedding Bells news: on New Year’s Eve, Maxxine Dupi and Anthony Luke tied the knot. Many WWE Superstars were in attendance.
**Cody Rhodes is set to appear as the Road to the Royal Rumble opens. You know that Drew will be around, trying to do anything to provoke Cody to hit him, so Nick will have to strip the title from him.
**Road to Royal Rumble — Who is going to be the first one to claim their spot for the Rumble? Roman, Solo, this should be interesting. You know that there will be spots saved for surprises.
**There is an 8-woman tag team match. Charlotte/Alexa vs Rhea/Iyo vs Asuka/Kairi vs Lash/Nia. Well, we know this will fall apart at some point. Rhea/Iyo out first (Iyo has timed her jump with Rhea’s foot stomp). This will be a dirty match. Going to be more interesting to see if Lash/Nia/Kabuki Warriors can work together. Rhea and her crew can’t get anything really going, just when they do, some sneaks over and clears off the ring of those waiting to tag in. That match was a bit of a mess, but Rhea/Iyo/Alexa/Charlotte got the win.
Michin was supposed to face Jade Cargill in a singles match. If Michin wins, she gets a title shot. Michin was injured in a house show during the holidays. No clue what will happen.
As Cole/Cory were chatting about today’s show, The Miz has taken over the show. Holy Crap, Kids, Randy Orton’s music just hit. Randy just hit Miz with an R.K.O twice
Jordyanne Grace is chatting with Nick Adlis.
Kit Wilson in singles action. Elton Prince has been out with an undisclosed injury. Matt Cardona just walked out. Cole was just informed through the headset that Matt is an official part of SmackDown, having just signed as a free agent. (Matt is married to Chelsea Green) Matt won.
Sami Zayn is in the ring, chatting. OMG, here comes Trick Williams. (engaged to Lash Legand) Sami just told Trick that he needs to learn to be humble.
Carmelo Hayes, in a chat with Ilja, was respectful. Ilja thanks him for being the best version of himself. Camelo acknowledged that they will meet agian.
Johnny Gargano, with Candace in his corner, is going to battle against Carmelo Hayes for the United States Men’s title. This has been more of a Johnny and Melo issue, with Melo being a little rusty about defending a title. Finally, with a Nothing but Net, Melo shuts down Johnny for the win.
They just showed the Oba Femi package again, which was on RAW.
This rubbish between Cody/Drew, at least for me, is over the line. I know its storyline, but there is just a limit. Now, Drew has been on Cody’s bus and taken a picture off the bus of Cody/Dusty, and he burned it. They always do this with the storyline, push past everything to try and get the other person to snap. Cole was pissed. (3 stages are — Standard Wrestling, Falls count anywhere, and Steel Cage).
Chelsea Green is defending the Women’s United States Title, and Alba Fire is with her. Giulia, accompanied by Kiana James, Basic question: Who cheats to win? Thanks to Kiana, Giulia for the win and the new champion. I’m glad they put the belt back on her; she can do more to get the title back on the scene.
The main event is an Ambulance match between Damien Priest facing Aleister Black. Rhea, hiding the ambo, took out Zelina. Damien hit Aleister with a flash pop to the eye, just as Aleister did to him in the last man standing match. This was a tough match for both. Damien wins. (first ambulance match on SmackDown)
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