The January 29, 2019 edition of WWE SmackDown Live took place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
– This week’s broadcast opens up with a video package looking at Becky eliminating Charlotte from the Royal Rumble on Sunday, and then Becky confronting Ronda Rousey last night on RAW.
– Becky Lynch comes down to the ring to kick off the show. Becky gets on the mic and says that a lot has happened in the last couple of days. Becky says her and Ronda will be main-eventing WrestleMania, and no one handed anything to her. Charlotte comes out to interrupt, and she gets in the ring. Charlotte talks trash to Becky and says she’s the one really bringing in the fans. Becky drops Charlotte with a right hand, then leaves the ring. Charlotte gets up and follows Becky up the ramp, and they brawl on the ramp. Referees and agents come out to pull them apart.
– Still to come: Daniel Bryan vows to “change the climate” of WWE; plus Shane McMahon and The Miz celebrate their Tag Title win.
– Shinsuke Nakamura is shown backstage admiring his U.S. Title belt. He defends the title against R-Truth next.
– R-Truth and Carmella come out to the ring, and they’ve got mics. Truth talks about Nia Jax stopping him from entering the Royal Rumble on Sunday, and Carmella says they fought hard to earn their spots in the match, and Truth deserved hit #30 spot. Truth says if Nia hadn’t attacked him, he would have won that match, and thankfully The McMahons realize it, so they granted him a U.S. Title match tonight.
– Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. R-Truth: Carmella is at ringside. The opening bell starts and Nakamura starts with a flying kick to the face right out of the gate. Nakamura follows up with knee strikes and then a back suplex. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasa, but Truth reverses into a facebuster, and Nakamura rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Nakamura takes control again and hits several running knee strikes in the corner. Nakamura picks up Truth in the fireman’s carry position, but Truth escapes and rolls up Nakamura for the three count. Nakamura and R-Truth both look shocked.
Winner & new U.S. Champion: R-Truth
– We go to the replay and see that Nakamura’s shoulders were down for the full three seconds. Nakamura freaks out at the referee as Truth celebrates with his U.S. Title belt.
– Rusev and Lana come out to the ring, and Rusev says none of this is right. Rusev says the U.S. Title deserves better than Shinsuke Nakamura, and it for sure deserves better than R-Truth. This gets boos from the crowd. Rusev challenges Truth to a U.S. Title match right now. Lana gets in Carmella’s face, and Carmella shoves her down. Rusev and Truth shove each other now, and Truth seems to accept Rusev’s challenge to a Title match.
– R-Truth (c) vs. Rusev: Lana and Carmella are both at ringside. Rusev hits a kick to the face and takes control of this one early on. Rusev continues the offense, but then he misses a shot in the corner and crashes into the ring post. Truth immediately rolls up Rusev from behind for the three count to steal the win again.
Winner & still U.S. Champion: R-Truth
– After the bell, Nakamura attacks R-Truth at ringside. Nakamura throws Truth in the ring, where Rusev has gotten to his feet. Rusev puts the boots to Truth, and it appears that Rusev and Nakamura have a temporary alliance. Rusev and Nakamura double team Truth and stomp on him. Rusev hits a big boot to the face of Truth, then Nakamura hits the Kinshasa on Truth before leaving.
– We see Becky Lynch backstage getting into a car with her luggage.
– R-Truth is shown backstage being checked on by the trainer with Carmella.
– Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio: Before the match, Zelina Vega comes out and complains about Rey getting her barred from ringside for his previous match against Andrade. While she’s talking, Andrade attacks Rey from behind and pummels on him. Andrade hits some suplexes, then Rey fights away and hits a kick to the head. Rey looks for the 619, but Andrade blocks it and puts the boots to Rey. Andrade follows up with the hammerlock DDT.
Winner: No contest
– Still to come: WWE Champion Daniel Bryan is in the house.
– Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows approach Rusev backstage and ask him what the hell that was about in the ring. They say R-Truth didn’t deserve a two-on-one beat-down for winning two matches back to back. Anderson says Rusev and Nakamura deserve each other, and they wouldn’t fare as well if they stepped in the ring with Anderson and Gallows. Nakamura walks in and says they accept their challenge. Rusev tells Nakamura he will team with him one time, and warns Nakamura not to screw him over.
– SmackDown Tag Champions The Miz and Shane McMahon are shown backstage wearing their new Title belts. Their Championship celebration is coming up next.
– Shane and Miz get in the ring, and Miz says on the mic that he was expecting balloons and champagne, because Phoenix wants to party with the Smackdown Tag Team Champs. Shane says he has something better than that planned for Miz tonight. Shane says this was always a dream of his, so he had a video package put together looking at his partnership with The Miz. Shane then introduces The Miz’s dad George. Shane hands the mic to Miz’s dad, and he says he loves him and he’s proud of him. Shane says now it’s time to take care of business, and find out who they will defend their Tag Titles against. Shane says there will be a four-way elimination match to determine the #1 contenders for the Tag Titles, and that match starts next.
– Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose are backstage, and they announce they are going for the new Woman’s Tag Titles. Mandy talks about how hard it is to be her, and shows some old footage of Naomi talking trash to Mandy while she was training. Sonya says Naomi made Mandy cry, and she was jealous and angry at Mandy. Mandy says she was so upset about what Naomi did to her back then that her boyfriend dumped her, so she’s going to ruin Naomi’s relationship.
– The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bar vs. Heavy Machinery: The winner of this match gets a shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. Otis starts off with a shoulder block on Uso, then Kofi tags in and goes at it with Otis. Otis sits on Kofi, then Big E tags in. Otis and Big E collide in the middle of the ring a few times, then Otis hits a spinning powerslam on Big E. Tucker tags in for the double team on Big E. Jimmy and Sheamus tag in now and Sheamus takes control. Shane and Miz are shown backstage watching on a monitor. Cesaro tags in and continues the offense on Uso. Sheamus tags back in and he knocks The New Day off the apron. Jey comes in and knocks Cesaro and Heavy Machinery off the aprons, then hits a Samoan Drop on Sheamus for a two count. Sheamus dumps Uso out and Big E tags himself in. Big E and Kofi do a double team powerbomb/stomp on Sheamus, but Cesaro breaks up the pin. Big E takes out Cesaro, and now Otis and Kofi are the legal men. Tucker tags in and they hit the Compactor on Kofi for the three count. The New Day is now eliminated.
Jey Uso and Tucker are the legal men now, and The Usos dump Heavy Machinery outside. Jimmy hits a suicide dive on Heavy Machinery at ringside, as Cesaro tags himself in. The Bar takes Jey Uso out to ringside and slams him into the barricade face-first. Back in the ring, Sheamus goes at it with Tucker now and Sheamus connects with some knees to the body. Tucker comes back with a lariat, and both men are down. Cesaro and Otis get the tags, and Otis cleans house. Otis repeatedly clotheslines Cesaro and hits splashes on Sheamus in the corner. He slams down Cesaro, then he hits a splash on both Bar members in the corner. Otis does The Worm and then an elbow drop on Cesaro for a two count. Tucker tags back in for a double team on Cesaro, but Sheamus breaks up the pin. Sheamus and Otis get dumped outside, then Jey tags in on Cesaro. Jey hits a flying cross body on Tucker for a two count. Uso knocks Otis off the apron and then hits a superkick on Tucker. Sheamus tags himself in on Jimmy now, and The Bar double teams Tucker. Sheamus hits the big boot on Tucker for the three count, and Heavy Machinery is now eliminated. The Usos fire up and take control of the match against The Bar now. Jimmy Uso hits the big splash off the top on Sheamus for the three count.
Winners: The Usos
– Jimmy and Jey celebrate after the match, and they will be facing Miz and Shane for the Titles at Elimination Chamber. Shane and Miz are shown backstage still watching the monitor.
– WWE Champion Daniel Bryan is backstage walking towards the gorilla position. He slaps a hamburger out of someone’s hand on his way.
– Daniel Bryan comes out to the ring next with his WWE Title belt. Bryan gets on the mic and talks about the Royal Rumble, and says the real winners of the Rumble were the fans and the future generations, because he won. Bryan says a victory for him is a victory for every being on earth, because he’s the planet’s champion. Bryan says none of the fans know what winning feels like, but that’s okay, because he found someone who understands the truth in everything he says. Bryan says Eric Rowan came out on Sunday not because of Bryan, but for the greater good. Bryan then introduces Rowan, who now has a recycling logo on his entrance video. Bryan says Rowan is an enlightened man of the earth, and Rowan is his intellectual peer. Bryan says AJ was right when he called him a hypocrite last week. Bryan says he is a hypocrite because he carries around the WWE Title belt. Rowan brings a trash can into the ring. Bryan says the WWE Title is a symbol of excess, it’s gaudy, made from cheap labor, and bound to the skin of a cow whose life was taken from her. Bryan says he likes to think the cow’s name was daisy, and she felt insufferable pain and gave her life for the belt. Bryan throws the WWE Title belt in the trash and the crowd gasps. Bryan says the belt is trash, and they need a new symbol for the Championship. Rowan pulls the “new” symbol out of a bag, and reveals a WWE Title replica made of wood, hemp, and pebbles. Bryan holds it up and says this is your new symbol of excellence, and this is your new WWE Championship. The crowd chants “burn it down” and Bryan calls them ignorant. AJ Styles comes out to interrupt. AJ gets on the mic and asks Bryan if he smoked the prototype for that Champion he has, and Bryan yells no. AJ starts heading towards the ring, then Randy Orton comes out to interrupt.
– During the break Jeff Hardy came out, and then Mustafa Ali comes out, and then Samoa Joe comes out. They all want a shot at the WWE Title. Bryan and Rowan slide out of the ring as Joe starts getting in Ali’s face. Joe gets in AJ’s face next and asks how his wife Wendy is doing. Everyone in the ring starts fighting as Bryan yells at ringside that he’s going to be the WWE Champion forever. Triple H appears on the big screen and says Bryan will defend his WWE Title against every person in the ring right now inside the Elimination Chamber at the pay-per-view. So Bryan will defend his WWE Title against Orton, Joe, Hardy, Styles and Ali at the Elimination Chamber. The brawling continues in the ring and at ringside, as Bryan and Rowan escape up the ramp and SmackDown goes off the air.