Winners, News And Notes With Lesnar, Reigns Face To Face

WWE SmackDown advertised the return of Roman Reigns, who figures to confront new WWE champion Brock Lesnar. On the first SmackDown since WWE Day 1, where Lesnar shockingly won the WWE Championship, Reigns (who tested positive for COVID and was unable to compete against Brock Lesnar) is set to respond to Lesnar’s surprise win.

Seth Rollins was revealed as Roman Reigns next challenger for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.

Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown on FS1 drew 378,000 viewers for its New Year’s Eve show.

• December 31, 2021—378,000 (“Best of” show on FS1)
• December 24, 2021—1,972,000
• December 17, 2021—2.303 million
• December 10, 2021—2.142 million
• December 3, 2021—2.030 million

• WWE Raw Venue: Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, CT)
• Tickets Distributed: 5,798
• Available Tickets: 383

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WWE SmackDown Results | Friday, January 7, 2022

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns Face to Face

Based on this exchange, Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman still have feelings for one another. After Brock Lesnar told Heyman to shut up, Roman responded by saying “don’t talk to him like that.”

Now that WWE spoken “Champ vs. Champ” into existence, they’d be cruel not to do it.

It’s crazy to think Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman have formed the best love triangle in wrestling.

Rick Boogs def. Sami Zayn

This match showcased Rick Boogs’ strength, as he connected with an impressive lunging suplex on Sami Zayn, however he ultimately won with a simple rollup.

The Jackass theme music is so iconic, I feel it’ll get a big pop at the Royal Rumble. That recognizable opening riff is perfect as a wrestling theme song.

Until further notice, Johnny Knoxville is getting the biggest push of any Royal Rumble entrant. Though I feel it’s highly unlikely, I’m not ruling out the possibility of Knoxville somehow winning. Not in the wrestling business. Not in WWE.

Charlotte Flair def. Naomi—Championship Contender’s Match

Charlotte Flair threw to a Royal Rumble video package that revealed The Bella Twins, Michelle McCool, Mickie James and Lita for the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble. The man killed at least five surprise pops.

It seems like WWE is trying to quietly move on from the Sonya Deville vs. Naomi feud because Naomi was in the Royal Rumble. But, right on cue, Deville meddled in the match in order to screw with Naomi.

Now that it’s on the verge of a WrestleMania feud, I can see Deville costing Naomi the Royal Rumble and Naomi destroying Deville at WrestleMania.

WWE continued to make Naomi look bad as a babyface, taking away cheap wins and allowing Charlotte to win cleanly.

Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss def. The Viking Raiders

The Happy Talk segment wasn’t good, but Madcap Moss really committed and his reveal as Madcap Moss—after clearly impersonating Drew McIntyre—actually made me laugh. For what it’s worth, Moss also put on a pretty good Scottish accent.

If anybody other than The Usos were tag team champions right now, I’d say Corbin and Madcap Moss are locks to become tag team champions within the next few weeks.

The Usos def. The New Day—Street Fight for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships

I feel like every Usos over the past several months have ended with The Usos vs. The New Day.

Adam Pearce said he confirmed Roman Reigns’ opponent at the Royal Rumble, and given how thin the babyface roster is on SmackDown, I was legitimately curious.

Midway through this Street Fight, The New Day was able to cosplay as Spartans.

The New Day milked a “we want tables!” chant for everything it was worth before ultimately pulling out a table.

This was about as clean as a Street Fight victory gets, and The Usos even won by a (sloppy) 1D through a table.

Seth Rollins was surprisingly revealed as Roman Reigns’ next challenger at The Royal Rumble.