Friday Night SmackDown: New Year's Revolution Review - January 5, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kevin Owens def. Santos Escobar in the Finals of the United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament

This was a smart choice to open the show as they had a very fun match and it helped that it had stakes. Escobar needs more mic time to generate heel heat (hence why the crowd was quiet whenever he was on offense), but they worked well together and Owens winning was the correct outcome. That should be a quality contest at the Royal Rumble, but the promos leading up to it could be even better.

Karrion Kross and AOP Attacked Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits

The pairing of Kross, AOP, Scarlett and Paul Ellering has been rumored for a few weeks now and it finally came to fruition here. I assumed they'd be heels, but this felt like a confirmation that Lashley and the Profits will be babyfaces going forward with WWE realizing they weren't clicking as heels because they're so beloved by fans. This was a simple segment but an effective one in establishing the new heel faction. I think it has potential, but obviously time will tell since WWE has fumbled creatively with Kross on countless occasions over the years. We also found out Lashley has officially entered the men's Royal Rumble match.

WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY def. Michin

Michin pinned SKY in that Holiday Havoc tag team match two weeks ago to earn this opportunity. There was no way she was winning here, but I'm glad she finally got the chance to show what she can do and they had a nice match. That Styles Clash off the top rope was especially cool. This was probably a one-off for Michin, but she made the most of the spotlight while she had it.

Tyler Bate and Butch def. Pretty Deadly

British Strong Style! Poor Trent Seven missed out because he recently signed with TNA, though he probably wouldn't have been brought back by the company, anyway. Now all we need is for Butch to drop the dumb name and go by Pete Dunne again. The match itself was standard stuff yet enjoyable. I don't know what Bate's ceiling will be on the main roster since he's on the smaller side (I fear he'll end up an afterthought like Cameron Grimes), but he's tremendously talented and putting him in a tag team with Butch for now isn't the worst way to introduce him.

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight in an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match Ended in a No Contest

All three guys are obviously over as main event stars, so the crowd was into the action. They kept things interesting throughout, even though it was mostly your average Triple Threat match up until the final few minutes. I assumed Orton would go over, but I actually like the idea of doing a Fatal 4-Way instead, especially if the idea is to do Roman Reigns vs. The Rock at Elimination Chamber (and it should be). Reigns looked like a fool for crashing this contest to set up that 4-Way, but it's far from the first time it's happened in wrestling.

Overall Show

First and foremost, I love that they brought back the New Year's Revolution name for the first time since 2007 for this edition of SmackDown. It definitely felt like a special show with both the opener and main event crowning new contenders, SKY defending her title, AOP returning, Bate debuting, and some other fresh faces getting television time. A big thumbs-up for this episode and a strong way to kick off 2024 for the blue brand.

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