WWE SmackDown advertised Cody Rhodes and a main event of Kevin Owens vs. Jimmy Uso the night before Saturday Night’s Main Event.

SmackDown also advertised LA Knight vs. Tama Tonga and Pretty Deadly vs. the Motor City Machine Guns. Kevin Owens defeated Jimmy Uso in the main event.

Last week’s broadcast of SmackDown drew a 1.403 million viewers.

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Tonight’s ring mat sponsor was Angry Orchard.

Joe Tessitore interviewed Cody Rhodes, who talked up his resume as a good guy while reminding Joe that he could still be “mean” because he was trained by Randy Orton.

Before the match, Pretty Deadly had a talk with DIY. Pretty Deadly feels used, like they’re doing DIY’s dirty work by softening up MCMG. Pretty Deadly had a faceoff with Legado del Fantasma prior to their match.

The story was Pretty Deadly tapping into their edgy side. They were much more aggressive while brawling to open this match.

MCMG won a competitive tag team match with Skull and Bones. This is about as good as Pretty Deadly has ever looked, but sadly it was in a losing effort.

WWE aired an incredible vignette hyping the Meat Match between Braun Strowman and Jacob Fatu. It was better than any main event video package from AEW, probably ever.

Kevin Owens interrupted the broadcast and had a spat with Matthew McConaughey, who was sitting in the crowd. Owens made fun of the Texas Longhorns for losing to Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs. Massive heat.

Owens went on a diatribe against Tessitore, accusing him of kissing Cody’s ass. Owens said he misses Michael Cole, but also accused Cole of kissing Pat McAfee’s butt.

Owens rightfully called out Jimmy Uso’s terrible theme music. Uso told Owens he talks too much and attacked him. This led to Owens vs. Uso.

The Miz showed up backstage after being traded to SmackDown, unbeknownst to him. Miz admitted to having the Wyatts traded, but now here he is. Damian Priest was also transferred to SmackDown. Priest accepted Carmelo Hayes’ challenge.

The positive of three-hour SmackDowns (one of the few), is WWE has done a good job showcasing B-Fab and Michin as of late. Hopefully WWE digs deeper into their characters and gives fans a reason to latch on.

Michin beat Green with Eat Defeat for the win. This sets up a future Women’s United States Championship match. That “last chance” match will take place next week.

In another awesome vignette, Charlotte Flair declared for the Women’s Royal Rumble.

This contest was preceded by a Tiffany Stratton Promo. After that, this mid-show segment felt like an opening to Raw. Stratton was interrupted by Rhea Ripley. Ripley, who was interrupted by Bianca Belair and Naomi, who were interrupted by Liv Nia Jax and Candice LeRae, who were interrupted by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez.

Belair and Naomi teased more tension while declaring for the Royal Rumble Match. Their interaction in the Rumble is the one I’m looking forward to more than any. Liv Morgan and Nia Jax declared for the Rumble, despite Jax being in a Title Match tomorrow on Saturday Night’s Main Event.

The heel team took forever getting heat on Naomi, to the point where fans chanted “we want Mami!” As a result, the hot tag was to Ripley was great.

Liv Morgan picked up the win with a surprise rollup on Bianca Belair.

Wade Barrett buried Apollo Crews by suggesting he was the “weakest” man in the locker room, which is why DIY targeted him. This despite singing Apollo’s praises and championship accolades.

Apollo Crews defeated Gargano with a rollup, which was surprising. Talented as he is, it’s difficult to imagine that WWE has a push planned for Crews.

Comedians Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe were featured in the Austin crowd.

I guess there’s an unwritten rule that all Bloodline wrestlers must cut a promo before a match. Jacob Fatu’s pre-match promo was unbelievable, and very convincing. LA Knight did a great job balancing out the menacing promo with entertaining comedy. Knight roasted both Fatu and Tonga, telling Fatu “I’ll hit you so hard you’ll always have the shakes.”

Knight won a BFT, but the Bloodline jumped him immediately after. This brought out Braun Strowman for another heated showdown with Fatu. Considering the limited time they’ve had, WWE had done a great job building up this feud.

While beating on Carmelo Hayes on the outside, Damian Priest dabbed up Matthew McConaughey, who surprisingly was still there.

Carmelo Hayes had a couple nearfalls, but nobody bought them in Priest’s first match since being traded to SmackDown.

Priest won with a South of Heaven. I expect Carmelo Hayes to level up at the Royal Rumble, similar to GUNTHER in 2024.

Kevin Owens Def. Jimmy Uso

Jimmy had some words with Carmelo Hayes backstage before his match. While walking to the ring, it looked like Hayes accidentally walked into the shot, but Melo later attacked Uso from behind during his entrance. Jimmy basically no-sold it.

Kevin Owens walked out in a Naomi t-shirt to troll her husband Jimmy Uso. Owens continued to talk trash with McConaughey, suggesting Matthew could get involved in this match.

Jimmy Uso fought hard, but Kevin Owens ultimately (predictably) beat him. Owens went for a Package Piledriver, and Cody hit the ring yet again and brawled with Owens to end the show.