WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Randy Orton is a step ahead of his Elimination Chamber opponents

Orton struck at the perfect time after each participant in the upcoming match had a brief moment

The men's Elimination Chamber participants need eyes in the back of their heads, particularly with "The Viper" lurking. Randy Orton patiently waited in the shadows and struck at the perfect moment on WWE SmackDown.

Drew McIntyre and LA Knight headlined Friday's show but all six men in Saturday's Elimination Chamber match were prominently featured.

Friday's episode also featured the SmackDown in-ring debut of Bron Breakker, plus the continuation of storylines involving The Bloodline and Damage CTRL.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

The Viper strikes ahead of the Elimination Chamber

McIntyre said it felt like his whole career had been building to one moment at the Elimination Chamber. He took another jab at CM Punk's injury before being interrupted by Bobby Lashley, one of his opponents at Elimination Chamber. Lashley said McIntyre's memes about Punk were hilarious, almost as hilarious as when Lashley beat McIntyre at WrestleMania 37. Lashley walked off as McIntyre stared daggers at him.

Drew McIntyre def. LA Knight via disqualification after Kevin Owens attacked McIntyre. Knight and McIntyre fought tooth and nail but there were lots of antics going on ringside. United States champion Logan Paul joined the commentators before Kevin Owens pulled up a chair mid-match. The bickering between Paul and Owens was entertaining but distracting. Big moves dominated the closing stretch of the match. Knight tossed McIntyre overhead from the top rope. McIntyre swung the pendulum with a Future Shock DDT. The action spilled outside. Knight got in Paul's face and Owens struck McIntyre to draw the finish.

A brawl broke out between the four men post-match. Knight laid out McIntyre with a BFT. Lashley entered the fray and speared Knight. Owens dropped Paul with a stunner before Lashley took out Owens with a spear. Lashley's music hit as he stood proudly over the fray. It was a clever production ruse, however, as McIntyre clocked Lashley with a Claymore Kick. McIntyre's music hit and it appeared the show was over before Randy Orton showed up and stung McIntyre with an RKO.

This week's episode was pre-taped to accommodate the superstars traveling to Perth for Elimination Chamber. The pre-taped shows are generally a level below the live television shows but they've improved in recent years. Pre-taped shows used to be complete throwaways but the Triple H-led creative team has made efforts to move stories along. The men's Elimination Chamber match took center stage. It was a very cookie-cutter approach but it gave the participants plenty of face time throughout the show. The little fakeouts with superstars' music hitting during the show-closing brawl were also a nice touch. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• Tiffany Stratton def. Liv Morgan via pinfall with a roll-up following an inadvertent distraction by Bianca Belair.
• Cedric Alexander and Ashante Adonis starred in a vignette about their new tag team.
• Roman Reigns asked Jimmy Uso who told him to attack Jey Uso on Raw. Jimmy Uso said it was Paul Heyman's call, at which point Reigns took credit for the idea.
  
• Bron Breakker def. Dante Chen via pinfall after hitting a spear.
• Legado del Fantasma attacked LWO's Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro backstage.
  
• Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne def. Judgement Day (Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh) via pinfall after hitting a double Tyler Driver on McDonagh.
• Kevin Owens talked smack to Logan Paul, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller backstage.
• An injured Dakota Kai was escorted backstage by SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis. Kai told Bayley it was Damage CTRL who attacked her.
  
• Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) def. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) via pinfall after hitting Ford with a neckbreaker-powerbomb combo. During the match, Karrion Kross also crushed Lashley's arm with a steel chair.
• Reigns had a private conversation with Grayson Waller.