 CM Punk Confronted Kevin OwensJoe Tessitore attempting to interview Owens after interviewing Cody Rhodes last week only to get insulted by Owens for being biased toward Rhodes was well done. That alone would've been fine, but Punk showing up to confront Owens was a pleasant surprise. Punk also confronted Rhodes at the end of Monday's Raw, so they're really hammering home that Punk is a favorite to win (which I feel like decreases his chances). This was an excellent exchange between the two of them that left me desperately wanting to see them feud with each other. Jimmy Uso def. Carmelo HayesThis was a rematch from two weeks ago. That ended in a non-finish due to interference from The Bloodline, but I can't say I needed to see a rematch. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary and I wasn't fond of Uso winning clean. Granted, it wasn't completely decisive, but I'd much rather see Hayes spotlighted rather than Uso. I really hope the story they're telling with Hayes is that being on a losing streak will humble him and lead to bigger things. Michin def. Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green by DisqualificationThis truly feels like the feud that will never end. Nothing against either woman, but the renewal of their rivalry hasn't been interesting and the matches haven't been strong enough to salvage it. This was another example of that. I can't even blame the crowd for being quiet, and the disqualification finish sucked. I have to imagine we'll get some sort of a Street Fight between them that Green will win this time. LA Knight Saved Damian Priest from Jacob Fatu and Tama TongaI'm confident Priest will do well on SmackDown and it's encouraging he's already working with some notable names. Sign me the hell up on Priest vs. Fatu, by the way. This segment did a solid job of setting up their tag team main event. By the way, where the hell has Solo Sikoa been? What was the point of him walking out without saying anything a few weeks ago when he could've just as easily disappeared for a bit post-Tribal Combat? The Motor City Machine Guns and Los Garza def. WWE Tag Team Champions #DIY and Pretty DeadlyGarza are heels, so I'm glad they didn't team ignore that by teaming with the Guns without issue. The Guns still managed to win despite Garza leaving them, but Pretty Deadly weren't able to coexist with #DIY, either. This match was more about the storytelling than it was the in-ring action, but it was nice while it lasted. It also gave the Guns a last-minute momentum boost before their next title shot at the Royal Rumble. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Naomi def. Liv MorganMorgan pinned Belair last week on SmackDown and Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez beat Belair and Naomi on Monday's Raw, so this was a logical match to do ahead of the eventual WWE Women's Tag Team Championship clash. Naomi scored a measure of revenge, but the heels stood tall afterward, anyway. The match was decent but felt like filler with the bigger focus being the women's Royal Rumble. Andrade def. The MizDon't expect Miz to be anything other than a stepping stone on SmackDown similar to the role he had on Raw. I couldn't tell you the last time Andrade won a singles match, so this was a necessary win for him. They had an enjoyable outing, even though the outcome was predictable. I'm curious what's next for Andrade because he's clearly not winning the United States Championship anytime soon. Candice LeRae Confronted WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton Before Being Accidentally Attacked by Nia JaxStratton won't be busy at the Royal Rumble, so it felt like a waste of time to spend a segment on her. I can almost guarantee you that this segment was designed to kill time because of the three-hour format, but at least it furthered Stratton's storyline with Jax and LeRae. We'll get Stratton vs. Jax eventually, but will it be at Elimination Chamber? And who are fans supposed to cheer for in that scenario? Damian Priest and LA Knight def. Tama Tonga and Jacob FatuThis was every SmackDown tag team main event we've gotten for the last year. It served no purpose other than to keep these four busy before the men's Royal Rumble. There wasn't anything technically wrong with the match and the crowd was into the action, but it was house show-style stuff. Fatu attacking Priest afterward felt rushed because the show was about to go off the air. Overall ShowI am extremely happy I didn't end up attending this edition of SmackDown as I originally planned to because it was a chore to watch even from my hotel room. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the three hours are too damn long. Triple H made it work with Raw at one point, so why isn't that same effort being put into SmackDown? Most of these matches are meaningless and accomplish very little. There aren't a ton of compelling stories, either. Outside of the opening segment, you missed absolutely nothing if you didn't catch the show live.
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