WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens brawl again with Matthew McConaughey ringside
Rhodes and Owens came to blows after Owens defeated Jimmy Uso in the main event
With just over a week to go until the 2025 Royal Rumble, undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens took center stage on Friday night. Rhodes and Owens didn't come to blows until the end of SmackDown, but tensions were high from the onset of the episode as they prepare for their ladder match at the Rumble.
Owens would end up in the main event against Jimmy Uso, but would end the night in a brawl with Rhodes as the show went off the air. The pair will again share the ring when they sign their Royal Rumble contracts during Saturday Night's Main Event.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes come to blows to end the show
Cody Rhodes opened the show by taking part in an in-ring interview. Rhodes talked up his Royal Rumble opponent Kevin Owens, calling him a once-in-a-generation wrestler. Rhodes then issued a warning to Owens to remember how mean he can be before promising to beat Owens in their ladder match.
Kevin Owens def. Jimmy Uso via pinfall with a pop-up powerbomb. Owens came to ringside midway through the show, upset that he wasn't afforded the same interview as Rhodes early in the show. Owens then got into an argument with Matthew McConaughey, who was seated at ringside. Before that situation could escalate, Jimmy Uso ran to the ring and hit Owens, putting Owens down with a superkick and sending him scrambling from the ring. Uso then challenged Owens to a match later in the evening. Owens ultimately won that main event match, but as he attempted to put Uso through the commentary desk with a package piledriver, Rhodes ran in to make the save. The two brawled in -- and outside -- the ring until the show went off the air.
Owens and Rhodes have told a compelling story over the past few months and both continued to do their part, Rhodes as the champion aware of the challenge he faces and Owens as the challenger who feels he has been the victim of a one-sided friendship. Nothing much happened to move the needle on Friday night, though both men played their parts as expected. Still, it's unavoidable to feel like this was much more than killing time until things hit the next level on Saturday Night's Main Event, and eventually, the Royal Rumble. Grade: B
What else happened on WWE SmackDown?
- Motor City Machine Guns def. Pretty Deadly via pinfall with Skull and Bones. Before the match, Pretty Deadly chatted with #DIY when Johnny Gargano said he wouldn't be ringside, upsetting Pretty Deadly, with the duo saying #DIY don't understand their end of a quid pro quo arrangement.
- Nick Aldis told The Miz that he had been brought over to SmackDown, upsetting Miz, who pointed out that he had arranged a deal to send the Wyatt Six to Friday nights to get away from them.
- B-Fab & Michin def. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven via pinfall after Michin hit Green with Sole Food. Later in the show, Michin told Green that she was going to challenge for Green's women's United States championship next Friday night.
- Liv Morgan, Candice LeRae & Nia Jax def. Bianca Belair, Naomi & Rhea Ripley via pinfall when Morgan put Belair in a crucifix pin. The match came about when the six women (plus Raquel Rodriguez and Tiffany Stratton) all came face-to-face. Jax, Naomi, Belair and Morgan all declared for the Royal Rumble before a brawl broke out.
- Apollo Crews def. Johnny Gargano via pinfall with a school boy. Gargano was distracted by Motor City Machine Guns running in to negate Tommaso Ciampa's interference.
- LA Knight def. Tama Tonga via pinfall with BFT. After the match, Jacob Fatu attacked Knight but was cut off when Braun Strowman came to the ring. Fatu attempted to charge Strowman but was easily tossed from the ring.
- Damian Priest def. Carmelo Hayes via pinfall with South of Heaven. Hayes was complaining to Nick Aldis about losing his match with Jimmy Uso when Aldis said he'd give Hayes a shot at a recent transfer, leading to Priest entering the room.
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