Tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown (January 16, 2026) emanates out of the OVO Arena Wembley in London, England and will air at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network, but is actually airing internationally earlier in the day at 2 p.m. ET on Netflix.
This post here will be updated frequently throughout the night to reflect live coverage of Friday Night SmackDown, including all the match results, rundowns of the promos, and any other interesting or noteworthy things that take place. Keep refreshing for updates to find out all the winners and more!
Preview & Predictions for WWE SmackDown:
On tap for tonight's episode, we'll have four matches to find out who qualifies for a match at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event which will determine who faces Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble.
Given the lineups, it could really be almost anyone, but I think the ultimate winner has to be a babyface, so that narrows it down to Randy Orton, Damian Priest, Matt Cardona, Sami Zayn, and Ilja Dragunov. However, not all of them can win today, so I'm thinking Orton beats The Miz, Trick Williams beats Cardona, Priest beats Solo Sikoa, and Zayn beats Dragunov, with Zayn ultimately getting the title opportunity.
But what happens with Jacob Fatu and Cody Rhodes? Well, we'll get something of a follow-up, for sure, and I think that'll play out in some kind of "I want to fight" segment that leads to a match being announced for Saturday Night's Main Event between those two.
I'd expect we'll also get more in the rivalry between Jade Cargill and Jordynne Grace, as well as Chelsea Green still trying to get back the Women's United States Championship, The Wyatt Sicks have to do something with the MFTs, and we're well past when Axiom should get his hands on Johnny Gargano to get back his mask, but none of that has been confirmed yet, so I'm just speculating on how they'll fill up the three hours beyond their incessant commercials and time-wasting video packages, of course.
All that and more will go down tonight, so keep checking and refreshing for the most up-to-date results!
Here are your results for WWE SmackDown - January 16, 2026:
- TBD - The Miz vs Randy Orton
- TBD - Matt Cardona vs Trick Williams
- TBD - Damian Priest vs Solo Sikoa
- TBD - Sami Zayn vs Ilja Dragunov
What are your thoughts on tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown? Drop your reactions in the comments below and spark a discussion!