WWE SmackDown 1/16/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE SmackDown," the show where we finally have our four competitors for the No. 1 contender's four-way at Saturday Night's Main Event, and a Cody Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu singles match to boot! We'll talk about these and other developments from this week's offering from the blue brand, which took place earlier in the day in London. We'll also hit Carmelo Hayes vs. Leon Slater, the feuds between Jade Cargill and Jordynne Grace and the Wyatt Sicks and the MFT, and Kit Wilson's massive reception in his home country.

We can't cover everything on a three-hour show, and indeed, that's in fact what our "SmackDown" results page is for, so you can go there if you want to learn more about things like Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Kiana James and Giulia. For those who want to know what we thought about the parts of the show that stood out the most, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 1/16/26 episode of "WWE SmackDown!"

A week after losing the Undisputed WWE Championship in controversial fashion, Cody Rhodes has tossed his hat in for the Rumble. Since McIntyre said Rhodes doesn't get a rematch for the title, "The American Nightmare" is going the Rumble route in an attempt to get another shot at the title. He also pointed out that Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan are the only ones besides himself to have won the Royal Rumble in consecutive years.

The Royal Rumble is just over two weeks away and we finally have our first participant declaring that they'll be in the Rumble match. Obviously that means zero women have declared. With so many women focused on the tag team titles, I guess competing for a shot for one of the main women's titles is an afterthought (the women's titles have also been an afterthought for creative for a while as well, but I digress). Now that we have our four qualifiers for the Number One contendership for McIntyre's title, I would expect the four who didn't qualify to be in the Rumble. Whether or not they officially declare to be in the match is another story.

The Royal Rumble is one of WWE's Big Four shows, mainly for the Rumble matches. It feels like WWE doesn't remember this fact and is busy focusing on shows like the one year anniversary on Netflix and Saturday Night's Main Event instead of a PLE. Once the European tour is over, perhaps they'll pretend to care.

Written by Samantha Schipman

Kit Wilson and I have a complicated relationship.

That's not to be parasocial. I'm just ambivalent to his persona, and his sudden explosion of fame. I've been vocal about my distaste for Wilson's "toxic masculinity" gimmick, even after I got over my initial repulsion. I understand the ironic, heel psychology behind it — he is the toxic person he lectures against — but I haven't been convinced that Wilson's gimmick is anything more than ragebaiting fodder to appeal to professional wrestling's mainly conservative-leaning audience. That being said, I don't have a problem with Wilson the person, and I want him to find success in "WWE SmackDown's" limited opportunity pool. If he pops off, then he could add some dimension to a very stale division. I dislike his gimmick, but I want him to do well as an in-ring performer.

It make sense, then, that I'm apprehensive about Wilson's incredible momentum. Like, not just any WWE Superstar gets a four-hour loop of their theme song posted on to WWE's Youtube page, and even less garner 138,000 views on it. Wilson is a lot more over than I thought he was — which is good for his immediate career, right? Right? Hey, what's Jacob Fatu doing behind him?

I know that Wilson is destined to be the blue brand's buttmonkey, especially because his gimmick is essentially a blue-hair-and-pronouns joke meant to cater to wrestling's less-than-progressive clientele. Still, WWE's four-hour theme loop livestream parade, followed by their swift upload of his theme to their actual music channel (a channel that can take months to update), might lead someone to believe that WWE is seeing the insane momentum the guy is building. I guess I had too much faith in WWE, because on Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown," Wilson was made into a sacrifice, in his home country, to a Superkick/Moonsault two-piece combo from Fatu. I guess the fan connection he's managed to organically cultivate means nothing.

I'm being a bit dramatic. I just don't appreciate how Wilson is more hot than he's ever been in his WWE career, but he's being treated as a plot device, an unnamed casualty, in the saga of Cody Rhodes and Fatu's blossoming feud. He was also used as a body in Damian Priest's era of angst. WWE knows that they have a hot star on their plate — the sudden media surge and his consistent appearances on "SmackDown" say that much — but they're, for whatever reason, refusing to use him like a hot star. It's so rare that you get an organically over guy. That moment need to be acted on.

Kit Wilson and I have a complicated relationship, but I want him to do well. I don't have high hopes.

Written by Angeline Phu

WWE tends to have a habit sometimes (well actually, more than sometimes if we're being honest) of dragging out storylines too long and trying to get something out of them well past when they should've ended. The ongoing storyline between MFT and The Wyatt Sicks feels like it's not going to be an exception to this rule if tonight is anything to go off of.

The ten man tag team match between The Wyatt Sicks and MFT last Friday felt like the perfect time to put the period on the storyline between the two stables. There wasn't much of a need to have things between the two parties continue into this week and it felt silly, especially having it be the reason that Solo Sikoa lost his Undisputed WWE Championship Number One Contenders Qualifier to Damian Priest in a match that didn't need interference or could've easily been reworked to have Priest overcome the interference of MFT instead.

I also understand that there's a lot of symbolism in the lantern given that Bo Dallas' brother Bray Wyatt always brought it to the ring with him, but at the same time, everyone in WWE are adults and it's a little ridiculous to have MFT and The Wyatt Sicks fighting over a lantern. There aren't really many more places that WWE can take this storyline or ramp up the intensity because of that the basis for things is, and for that reason, it's time to end things between the two stables.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Carmelo Hayes continued the United States Championship open challenge as promised this week, producing another certified banger with Bradford's own Leon Slater in London, England. This is what the open challenge should be about, simultaneously bringing a home national, a blue chip prospect, a workhorse, and another promotion's champion in to stamp their mark on the so-called upper echelon of professional wrestling. 

Of course that was only half the battle, the other and probably more substantial component being to actually have a good match. Mission accomplished on that front, too. Seriously, much is rightfully made about the quality – or lack thereof – when it comes to the matches booked on weekly WWE TV, especially as it pertains to Friday nights. But this was a perfect match-up from the get-go, pitting two ostensibly powerful high-flyers against one another in a battle of who could out-do the other until the final bell rung.

Slater launched himself over the ringpost and onto Hayes and the floor; in fact you could say he spent more time on the ropes and in the air than he did on the mat throughout the entire contest. I am fully aware that some will see that as an issue, but I don't. It was great from start-to-finish and, while very clearly this shone a spotlight on Slater, it helped to legitimize Hayes in his position as champion. 

Anyone that has been watching "Him" from his days in "WWE NXT" can attest to the insurmountable talent he possesses in every facet that matters. But at the same time, prior to dethroning Ilja Dragunov for the title in December he had endured a bit of a torrid time when it came to booking on the main roster; a pairing with The Miz is hardly going to accentuate the inner workhorse. Yet, in just 29 days he has seen off Dragunov, Johnny Gargano, Shinsuke Nakamura, and now Slater, each in a really compelling match. Each opponent has had a different dynamic that succeeded in showcasing Hayes' range, but this week was a level above them all even still.

Written by Max Everett

It's hard to believe that Jade Cargill has yet to defend her WWE Women's Championship since she won it back at the beginning of November, but if we had to wait, I'm glad her first (and in my eyes, hopefully only) defense is against the newly-called up Jordynne Grace. Personally, I think Grace should be made out to be a big deal by winning the title on her first try, but I don't have faith WWE will take the gold off Cargill since she looks like the star they want to parade around in mainstream media, and at premieres, like the Netflix red carpet she just walked for a Ben Affleck and Matt Damon movie. And that's no knock at Grace at all, I've just been following WWE long enough to know how it works.

But, either way, I'm glad that Grace's first feud on the main roster is against the champion. Win or lose the title shot, it sets the former TNA Knockouts Champion up to look more like a formidable challenger. She's already being booked like one, with Cargill sat at ringside when Grace faced Chelsea Green. I thought Grace's short promo after the match, even though she was pretty breathless, which honestly added a bit to it, was good. She called Cargill out for "babysitting" the title, which oop, saying the quiet part that we're all thinking out loud. Green looked to take them both out and ended just bumping Cargill off the apron, which left the title lying in the ring.

And when Grace held up that title, boy did she look like a certified star. I think that title match may be added to the "SmackDown" ahead of the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, which I suppose is fine, because if Grace loses, she can just enter the Rumble the next night. I might not be terribly excited about how the in-ring portion of that match is going to go, but I do like what it means for Grace overall. I can also see Tiffany Stratton returning to insert herself into this feud, and I honestly wouldn't be mad about that at all.

I'm really glad the two newest "NXT" call-ups to "SmackDown," Grace and Trick Williams, are getting big opportunities right off the bat to cement themselves on the blue brand. They may not be victorious in their first shots, but I think they're being set up for success.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Let's be clear about this: This isn't just about Sami Zayn. I actually thought WWE chose all four of the correct winners on Friday when it came to the four-way match at SNME — Randy Orton should have beaten The Miz, Trick Williams should have beaten Matt Cardona, Damian Priest should have beaten Solo Sikoa. The one I was most worried about, though, was whether Sami Zayn would avenge his loss to Ilja Dragunov last year and move on to the four-way in Montreal. Because Sami Zayn is unlikely to lose in Montreal, and if he doesn't, he moves on to the Royal Rumble against Drew McIntyre, and dare I say that Sami Zayn is unlikely to lose in Riyadh?

Maybe I'm being insane. Maybe it's unreasonable to think McIntyre would lose the title so quickly after winning it in Germany. But is it at least possible? Zayn has been talking about the world title for ages now, and what better story would there be than to have him beat McIntyre — against whom he's 0-11 in singles matches — in Saudi Arabia? WWE seems to have shifted plans for Rumble/WrestleMania season in recent weeks; is it possible that the new plan calls for McIntyre to get a short title run while WWE was in Europe, where he's broadly beloved, followed by Zayn getting in a big win in the Middle East, where he's broadly beloved? I don't even need him to hold the title very long — he can drop it to Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber for all I care. He would be able to call himself a world champion, and that's what matters. On Friday, we got one step closer to that dream becoming a reality. How could I do anything but love that?

Written by Miles Schneiderman