The latest edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown for January 8, 2021 took place from the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Here is a recap of the most noteworthy highlights from this episode for those who might have missed it:
— The show started with a 20 minute segment revolving around Roman Reigns intimidating Adam Pearce for having booked the gauntlet match tonight and going against his wishes.
— Big E and Apollo Crews both had their shoulders down, resulting in a draw. As a result, Big E retained the Intercontinental Championship. However, Crews was pissed afterward and wanted an immediate rematch. Big E tried to shake his hand and Crews slapped him, prompting Big E to give the OK for the match to be restarted.
— Big E defeated Apollo Crews by pinfall to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
— Sonya Deville is grateful and happy for the opportunity to be Adam Pearce's assistant.
— Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) defeated The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) by pinfall to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship titles.
— Billie Kay coaxed The Riott Squad into somewhat letting her into the group.
— Gauntlet Match: Rey Mysterio defeated Sami Zayn by pinfall. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rey Mysterio by submission. Shinsuke Nakamura then beat King Corbin by pinfall. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Daniel Bryan by pinfall. Nakamura shook hands with Bryan. Then, Roman Reigns and Jey Uso laid out Nakamura to ensure Adam Pearce would beat him. Uso superkicked Pearce and the bell rang to start the match. Then, Uso dragged Pearce's body over Nakamura for the pin. Adam Pearce will face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.
What did you think of tonight's episode? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!