WWE SmackDown Results 1/26 - Solo Sikoa Faces LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes Takes On Austin Theory
Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s results for "WWE SmackDown" on January 26, 2024, coming to you live from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida!
One night before he challenges Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a Fatal Four-Way Match along with AJ Styles and Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event, LA Knight looks to pick up one last win as he collides with Reigns' stablemate Solo Sikoa. Knight has a long history with The Bloodline, and has been seeking his retribution since coming up short against "The Tribal Chief" at Crown Jewel in November of last year.
Carmelo Hayes and Austin Theory squared off with one another in singles competition on January 12, but the match unexpectedly came to an end when the referee called for the bell early as both men had suffered injuries. Tonight, they will be facing off in a rematch with one another as they look to put their issues to bed.
Tensions have been on the rise between The Final Testament and Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits over the past few weeks, dating back to the January 5 edition of "SmackDown" when the Authors of Pain blindsided Lashey, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins and aligned themselves with Karrion Kross in their return to WWE. In light of such, Lashley and The Profits challenged The Final Testament to meet them in person, and the latter stable accepted which will be taking place tonight.
After retaining the Women's Tag Team Championship over The Unholy Union during last week's episode of "SmackDown", Kayden Carter and Katana Chance will be putting their title on the line once more tonight as they defend against Damage CTRL's Asuka and Kairi Sane. Asuka and Sane called their shot after Carter and Chance's aforementioned defense.
Additionally, Santos Escobar will be taking on Carlito after the former and his Legado del Fantasma teammates Angel and Humberto defeated the latter, Cruz Del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde in a Six Man Tag Team match last week. The aforementioned Orton, Jimmy Uso, and Bianca Belair are also advertised to be in town tonight on WWE's event page.
We are live! Michael Cole and Corey Graves then greet audiences at home as Randy Orton makes his way down to the ring.
We Hear From Randy Orton
Orton says Roman Reigns has held the World Championship for almost 1,300 days, and that's virtually unheard of. He says no one can stop him or The Bloodline except for him. He says once all the dust clears and the smoke settles, the only number that will matter is fifteen because he will become a fifteen time World Champion after he wins the Fatal Four-Way match at the Royal Rumble. He says he plans on doing that by beating Roman Reigns with an RKO.
AJ Styles' music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. He asks Orton if he realizes that there's other people in the match, and tells him that he asked Nick Aldis for a match against Solo Sikoa to take his head off, but he instead awarded that match to Knight. He says as long as Orton has been in WWE, he should know better before he brings up their history.
LA Knight's music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. He says he wants to talk to fans, then brags about how he'll win the Fatal Four-Way match. He says everyone is stepping over him and asks Styles if he really thinks he wants to fight Solo Sikoa, then says he sees four men in that match. He says given that he's the only one who has a match, Paul Heyman did what he could to soften him up for tomorrow night. He says he'll fight whoever he has to, and says he'll walk over whoever he has to become WWE Champion.
Knight heads to the back, leaving Styles and Orton in the ring. Styles then delivers a Pele Kick to Orton.
LWO then makes their way down to the ring. Legado Del Fantasma follows.
Santos Escobar (w/ Legado Del Fantasma) vs. Carlito (w/ LWO)
The bell rings and the two stare one another down. Carlito fires off right hands on Escobar, then delivers a few stomps in the corner. He then sends Escobar crashing into all four turnbuckles face first and delivers a chop to level Escobar before Escobar connects with a kick on Carlito's face. Carlito fires off more right hands, then sends Carlito crashing out of the ring from the apron and connects with a tope suicida.
Back from the break, Escobar rips Carlito's shirt off him and his athletic tape off his shoulder and delivers a few elbows to said injured shoulder. He then delivers an avalanche hurricanrana and locks in a submission as he continues targeting Carlito's shoulder. He stomps on his shoulder, but Carlito levels him with a clothesline and a dropkick. He follows it up with a swinging neckbreaker and a spinebuster, then delivers a running knee and another clothesline. Humberto hops up on the apron and captures the referee's attention, allowing Garza to send him crashing out of the ring. LWO then goes after Angel and Humberto, and Del Toro goes flying off the top to level everyone. Elektra Lopez then appears out of nowhere to level Vega, allowing Escobar to roll up Carlito for the win.
Winner: Santos Escobar
Back from the break, we see new "NXT" General Manager Ava meet with Nick Aldis. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits walk in, and Lashley draws his number for his spot in the Royal Rumble. Legado Del Fantasma enters and Santos Escobar does the same.
We then head over to a video of Bayley reflecting on her history with the WWE Performance Center and her journey in the company thus far ahead of the 2024 Women's Royal Rumble.
The Kabuki Warriors then make their way down to the ring.
Back from the break, we see R-Truth drawing his number for the Men's Royal Rumble.
Back at ringside, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance head down.
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance (c) vs. The Kabuki Warriors for the Women's Tag Team Championship
Carter and Asuka begin the action. The bell rings and Carter goes right after Asuka. She delivers a dropkick to her, then tags in Chance. Chance delivers a senton to Asuka from the apron over the top, then levels an interfering Sane and delivers an arm drag to Asuka. Chance and Carter then deliver a double dropkick to The Warriors on the outside and Chance flies to level both them.
Back from the break, The Warriors double team on Chance. Chance low bridges the legal Asuka out of the ring through the middle rope, then tosses an interfering Sane out of the ring on the other side. Asuka locks in an Ankle Lock on Chance, but Chance fights her off and tags in Carter. Carter delivers a crossbody to The Warriors on the outside from the top, then gets Asuka back in the ring and delivers a running boot to her face. She delivers a springboard leg drop, but Sane tags in before The Warriors double team on Carter.
Sane delivers a spinning back fist to Carter, then ascends to the top and looks to land the In-Sane Elbow. Carter gets her boots up and Sane tags in Asuka. Carter delivers a flatliner to Asuka, then tags in Chance. Chance ascends to the top and delivers the Keg Stand with Carter. She goes for a pin, but Sane breaks the fall. Carter tags back in and Chance ascends to the top. They look to land The Afterparty, but Sane takes the hit for Asuka and sends Chance crashing into the announce desk spine first on the outside. In the ring, Carter looks to roll up Asuka, but Asuka kicks out and delivers a kick to her midsection. Sane tags in and ascends to the top, then delivers the In-Sane Elbow to Carter as Asuka holds her in place for the win.
Winners (and new): The Kabuki Warriors
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits then make their way down to the ring.
Back from the break, we see Bianca Belair and Bayley pick their numbers for the Women's Royal Rumble.
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits Meet The Final Testament In The Ring
Lashley says him and The Profits are chasing cowards once again, then reintroduces the three of them and says the people of Miami came to see them all fight. He then calls The Final Testament out to the ring, and the stable makes their way down.
Scarlett gets inside the ring, and Lashley and The Profits call The Final Testament cowards for sending Scarlett into the ring. Paul Ellering says there is no fear in Karrion Kross, and Kross says Ellering speaks the truth. He says all he sees in Lashley and The Profits is desperation and frustration, and tells Lashley that he's no longer in control. He says they technically honored their agreement to meet face-to-face, but they won't get their fight tonight. Lashley says he'll give Kross credit for appearing, but he lied when he said they aren't fighting tonight.
The Profits make their way up the ramp to brawl with The Final Testament and Lashley looks to join them, but Scarlett jumps on his back. Kross slides in the ring and blindsides him before the Authors of Pain get in the ring with The Profits and attack them.
We then head backstage and see Jimmy Uso draw his number for the Royal Rumble.
Back at ringside, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller make their way down. Carmelo Hayes follows.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Austin Theory (w/ Grayson Waller)
The bell rings and Theory shoves Hayes. Hayes lands a chop on him, but Theory connects with a second elbow and sends Hayes crashing out of the ring. Waller takes a cheap shot at him.
Back from the break, Hayes delivers a pair of back elbows and levels Theory. He sends him crashing into the mat face first and ascends to the top, but Waller grabs his attention. This opens the door for Theory to pull him off and flip him inside out before he gets him up on his shoulders. Waller hops up on the apron again, but Hayes knocks him off and rolls up Theory. Theory reverses the fall (while grabbing onto Hayes' tights) for the win.
Winner: Austin Theory
After the match, Waller blindsides Hayes and Theory joins in, but Trick Williams runs down to even the odds and provides Hayes with a hand!
LA Knight then makes his way down to the ring. The Bloodline follows.
Solo Sikoa (w/ Paul Heyman and Jimmy Uso) vs. LA Knight
The bell rings and Knight fires off right hand on Sikoa. He then delivers a shoulder to his midsection and a kick to his head, and sends his hand bouncing off the ring apron, the barricade, the announce desk, and the ring steps. He sends his hand bouncing off the ring post and gets him back in the ring, then looks to fly in the ring. Sikoa catches him with a right hand.
Back from the break, Sikoa fires off a pair of headbutts, but Knight delivers a back elbow and connects with a kick to his face. Sikoa connects with a clothesline, but Knight responds with right hands and levels him. Knight fires off stomps on Sikoa in the corner, then delivers a DDT and clotheslines him out of the ring. He delivers a dropkick through the bottom rope to Sikoa on the outside, then sends his head repeatedly bouncing off the announce desk and rocks him with a knee to the side of his head. Out of nowhere, AJ Styles appears out of nowhere and delivers a Phenomenal Forearm to Knight, causing the disqualification.
Winner: N/A (double disqualification due to outside interference)
Styles then sends Knight crashing into the ring steps, and Jimmy grabs a chair. He places it in front of Styles and Styles picks it up. He considers hitting Knight with it, but opts to hit Sikoa and Jimmy with it instead. Orton's music then hits and he connects with a scoop powerslam on Jimmy. Sikoa then looks to send Orton crashing through the announce desk, but Orton fights him off and sends Sikoa crashing on top of it. He delivers a hanging DDT to Jimmy, then does the same to Styles and hits him with a RKO. Orton stands tall as the show goes off the air.