Winners, News And Notes On January 21, 2022

SmackDown advertised The Bloodline acknowledging Roman Reigns’ record-setting Universal Championship reign, Naomi vs. Charlotte in a Championship contender’s rematch and Kofi Kingston vs. Madcap Moss.

Last week’s broadcast of Friday Night SmackDown garnered 2.174 million viewers.

• January 14, 2022—2.174 million
• January 7, 2022—2.271 million
• December 31, 2021—378,000 (“Best of” show on FS1)
• December 24, 2021—1,972,000
• December 17, 2021—2.303 million

• WWE Raw Venue: Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tn.)
• Tickets Distributed: 5,753
• Available Tickets: 802

Grading AEW’s Booking of Jay Lethal (Pro Wrestling Bits)

WWE SmackDown Total YouTube Viewership Last Friday: 8,012,730 (Down from 10,351,664)

• Most-Viewed: Reigns and Rollins come Face-to-Face (2,810,184 views) 
• Least-Viewed: Sheamus vs. Ricochet (248,581 views)
• Median Viewership: 490,587 views

WWE SmackDown Results | Friday, January 21, 2022

The Bloodline and Seth Rollins Kick off SmackDown

In an interesting note, Seth Rollins referred to Dean Ambrose as “Mox” during his exchange with Roman Reigns.

Roman Reigns asked Seth Rollins if John Cena wrote his promo for him due to all the excuses, and it got a huge reaction. Most of Rollins’ lines fell flat. Reigns feels like such a bigger star than Rollins in every way, and if Rollins goes over at the Royal Rumble it would be foolish.

Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins need a name for their stable. The only thing that may save Rollins’ gimmick is if both wore wild suits, however there’s just as big of a chance of this hurting Owens.

Kofi Kingston def. Madcap Moss

Today, I learned Happy Corbin has not been pinned or submitted since becoming Happy Corbin, yet you would never know it from Happy Corbin’s crowd reactions.

If the rematch wasn’t a hint enough, the fact that Big E made a surprise appearance to corner Kofi Kingston all but confirmed this would be a 50/50 win for Kingston.

The Viking Raiders def. Los Lotharios

The Viking Raiders have the quietest push in all of WWE. I feel like they have no shot against The Usos, but WWE’s booking is so erratic they have to be given at least an outside chance.

Charlotte Flair def. Naomi

I’m done with this storyline. WWE had a real chance to do something special with Naomi and Sonya Deville, and they were on the right track early, but Naomi has been made to look like a fool. If she ever gets her revenge, it will be too little, too late.

In-Zayn with Sami Zayn

In-Zayn with Sami Zayn might be more entertaining than some episodes of Jackass, and I actually like Jackass.

Sami Zayn constantly telling fans to “shut your mouth,” in between his stunt of electrifying himself with the stun gun, was hilarious.

The iconic Jackass theme music actually gets a pretty big pop.

Sheamus def. Ricochet

This match saw the return of Ridge Holland after suffering a broken nose at the feet of Ricochet.

Just when I thought Sheamus has won everything there is to win in WWE, Michael Cole reminded us that he still has never won the Intercontinental Championship.

This entire episode has felt like a rerun, right down to another Sheamus win over Ricochet.

Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins def. The Usos

To confirm that Rolling calling Dean Ambrose “Mox” wasn’t a mistake, Pat McAfee also referred to the former Dean Ambrose as Mox.

There was no way Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens were going to lose this match given the stipulation that the Universal Championship match was going to be cancelled if they did. To me, that really hurt this match as a main event.