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WWE

WWE completed its two weeks of television tapings this week with the first SmackDown of 2019, and though some may have though the company would fail to deliver under the circumstances, the opposite is the contrary. WWE has actually lived up to its promise of delivering fresh storylines and showcasing some other faces in prominent storylines, and that continued on New Year's Day.

Not only did we see the return of the man who led WWE for the better part of 16 years, we received a tremendous Fatal 5-Way main event for the No. 1 contendership to the WWE championship. That match has now been made for Royal Rumble, and it is where we start this week in breaking down SmackDown with our results, grades and highlights from the show.

Check out our breakdown of the two weeks in WWE below and be sure to subscribe to our podcast -- State of Combat with Brian Campbell where we go in depth on everything you need to know in WWE each week.

Deciding a Royal Rumble No. 1 contender

To determine a No. 1 contender for Daniel Bryan and the WWE championship at the Royal Rumble, a Fatal 5-Way match was held. Four slots -- AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Mustafa Ali -- were already set, but a huge grudge match played out early in the show to decide that fifth slot.

Samoa Joe def. Jeff Hardy via submission: In a match that played off their previous showdown, which saw Hardy win via countout, Joe had Hardy knocked out at ringside, but the referee stopped his count when Joe got in his face. Back in the ring, Joe again locked Hardy in the Coquina Clutch to move on to the main event later in the evening. 

Backstage in the middle of the show, Styles, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon were all together in the wake of Styles attacking the chairman last week on SmackDown. Styles promised the McMahons would see the "real" AJ Styles tonight, first threatening Vince before Shane stepped in to move him along. Shane questioned whether Vince truly wanted to see the real Styles, and Vince replied that he did.

AJ Styles def. Randy Orton (via pinfall), Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio and Mustafa Ali to become No. 1 contender: In what was an exciting main event bout, as if you'd expect anything less with these five in the ring at the same time, Styles earned another shot at Bryan and the WWE title. Mysterio connected with the 619 on Orton but was pulled out of the ring by Joe before he could get the win. From there, with Orton ripe for the picking, Styles hit the springboard 450 and got the 1-2-3.

The way WWE weaved this storyline throughout the show, incorporating elements from the last couple weeks of TV -- and doing so without Bryan doing more than standing backstage watching on a monitor -- was simply great booking. The Joe-Hardy match was a C, nothing overly special, but the main event was electric. It was non-stop action with some of the company's best wrestlers putting on a show. Ali and idol Mysterio had a moment. Joe slammed Styles hard through a table. Styles needed to win and get the rematch in order to give Royal Rumble a signature non-battle royal match and put an end to the rivalry. Well done from start to finish. Grade: B+

Dream team

John Cena made his return to WWE, cutting a promo in the ring where he talked about everything going right and wrong with his life. He assumed he would get cut off by another wrestler, noting that a man's music would soon hit and Cena would be told to leave faster than Nikki Bella did. Instead of "a" man answering Cena, the music that hit was that of "The Man" herself, CBS Sports' Wrestler of the Year for 2018, Becky Lynch. In a pretty incredible moment, Lynch was standing in the ring face-to-face with Cena, and she informed him that there happens to be a new man running WWE now. She admitted that she's been aiming for Cena, then hit him with a sick line: "If you keep it up, Nikki won't be the only woman to drop you this year."

Becky Lynch & John Cena def. Zelina Vega (via submission) & Andrade "Cien" Almas: The moment was interrupted by Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega, who verbally ran down both Cena and Lynch. Cena proposed they have a mixed tag match, a challenge that was accepted by Lynch and the heel tandem.  Cena was about to put Almas away for the win for his team, but not wanting to be outshined as she continues her rapid rise in popularity, Lynch came from behind and tossed Cena out of the ring. Slightly distracted with that, Vega attempted to roll up Lynch from behind but Lynch was able to reverse the pin attempt into the Dis-Arm-Her to get the victory herself. After the match, Cena attempted to shake Lynch's hand, but she instead stared him down and motioned the "you can't see me" with a smirk.

If I told you that Lynch simply called out Cena on SmackDown, it may sound forced to you. And while that has a tad of credence, both Lynch and Cena played their roles exceedingly well in both the segment and the match itself. Lynch hit Cena with a couple hard lines, slapped him across the chest for tags and was convincing in her claim that she was not only looking to take women off the WWE posters but Cena, too. The only negative here is that WWE is trying to get new faces on the screen, and Almas has lost in consecutive weeks. At least he didn't take the fall here. The Lynch-Cena pairing simply worked, it was different, and most importantly, it was entertaining. Grade: B+

What else happened on SmackDown?

  • New Day, New Year: The New Day opened up 2019 television for WWE on SmackDown Tuesday night with their own New Year's celebration. Big E was dressed as Baby New Year. You can imagine how funny that was to see. During the show-opening segment, all three members announced they will be competing in the men's Royal Rumble match later this month. The trio even took a jab at Brock Lesnar by stating one of them will challenge for the WWE or universal title because the latter champion (Lesnar) rarely shows up for work.
  • Rusev's celebration spoiled: Following his United States title victory last week to close the Christmas edition of SmackDown, Rusev and Lana came out for a celebration, The fufn was short-lived, though, as former champion Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Rusev from behind with Lana jumping on his back in an attempt to save her husband. Nakamura superkicked Rusev, which Lana felt the brunt of as well. Nakamura finished Rusev off with the Kinshasa and left the two laid out in the ring. 
  • Sonya Deville def. Naomi via pinfall: Deville was able to get the win with a spinebuster after her partner-in-crime, Mandy Rose, provided the distraction. Rose's distraction came in the form of showing a photo of herself on the Titantron in nothing but a towel, telling Naomi that she had sent it to her husband, Jimmy Uso, earlier. Rose was scheduled as Naomi's original opponent but dipped out prior to the match beginning with Deville substituting. 
  • Building the Shane McMahon-Miz team: Now that they're officially a team following last week, Miz approached McMahon and thanked him for agreeing to team with him. To be a true team, though, they need to have some matching attire. Miz presented McMahon with some mock-ups, which the SmackDown commissioner wasn't too happy with as he walked away. 
  • The crowded women's title picture: Backstage, SmackDown women's champion Asuka met with Triple H, who asked her who she would like to defend against, and Asuka -- naturally -- said that she'll battle anyone. Charlotte Flair enterred the picture and said that she deserves the opportunity, Carmella and Lynch followed with the same sentiment, and Triple H told the ladies that he will talk to the McMahons and get back to them with an answer.