 Randy Orton, LA Knight and AJ Styles Confronted Each OtherThe build to the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way at the Royal Rumble has largely been fine, but it's disappointing we haven't gotten to see Roman Reigns interact more with his challengers on the mic. He couldn't be bothered to show up for the go-home show, which is only a few hours from where the Rumble will be on Saturday? That aside, this was a solid segment and I liked the fire that Knight in particular showed ahead of his main event match against Solo Sikoa. Santos Escobar def. CarlitoThis was the match we were supposed to get at Survivor Series before Carlito pulled out a day before the pay-per-view, likely due to an injury. It was good stuff, though the focus was on Elektra Lopez making her main roster debut to aid Escobar to victory and realign with Legado del Fantasma. She wasn't brought up to SmackDown with the rest of them in 2022, so I dig this move, especially since she can counteract Zelina Vega in The LWO. Carlito continues to lose, but at least Legado is looking strong. The Kabuki Warriors def. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionshipI was surprised that this was set up so quickly with little to no build, so I assumed there was a good chance Kabuki Warriors wouldn't capture the titles just yet. Well, I was wrong and I'm glad. Chance and Carter had a fun little run (albeit for a month), but the belts need to be on Kabuki Warriors to tell this Damage CTRL story. This was a great match. The crowd was louder for this than any other matchup in the women's tag team division in recent memory. The Final Testament Attacked Bobby Lashley and The Street ProfitsThis was hyped up as the two factions facing off, and yet there was no actual confrontation with Lashley and Profits waiting in the ring and Final Testament once again ambushing them and leaving them laying. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the segment, but I did appreciate how Kross did a better job than usual of generating heat from the crowd. Hopefully he does more of that going forward. This also existed to further the feud between the groups ahead of an eventual match. Austin Theory def. Carmelo HayesThis was a rematch from two weeks ago when both guys got hurt on a botched spot and the referee called off the contest. They again worked well together and put together a quality match. I didn't expect Hayes to lose, but I guess Theory has to win once in a while. Post-match, the crowd went nuts for Trick Williams showing up and making the save for Hayes. Needless to say, he has a very bright future ahead of him. LA Knight def. Solo Sikoa by DisqualificationWe've seen Knight vs. Sikoa at least once or twice before, so this was nothing new. It was a fairly standard main event, and without Reigns around and nothing at stake, it didn't really matter. Styles attacking Knight led to the disqualification finish, and although it protected both guys, we've seen so many disqualification finishes on SmackDown recently that it's hard to care. At least Knight stood tall to close the show, even if he has virtually no chance of walking out of the Rumble as champion. Overall ShowThis was a surprisingly eventful show. We typically don't get much of note happening a day before a pay-per-view, but with Lopez debuting, Williams making an appearance and new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions being crowned, it turned out to be a newsworthy night and an entertaining episode overall. Granted, I'm no more or less excited for the Rumble than I was previously, but as a go-home show, it accomplished what it needed to.
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