WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: The Bloodline invade main event but suffer the consequences

Roman Reigns and company sabotaged the main event but their plan backfired

A special New Year's Revolution branded episode of WWE SmackDown promised to determine the No. 1 contender for the undisputed WWE universal championship. Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman tried to make sure that wouldn't happen.

Friday night was headlined by a triple-threat match between AJ Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton. Each man had a bone to pick with The Bloodline but none willing to wait their turn. The match was meant to determine who would challenge Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Reigns and company had other ideas.

This week's episode also crowned a challenger for Logan Paul's United States championship, featured a WWE women's title defense and the return of a long-absent tag team.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

The Bloodline sabotage main event but it backfires

Reigns and Heyman arrived at the top of the show and were asked about The Rock's subtle callout on Monday Night Raw. They laughed off the question and walked off. Later in the show, Heyman ran down every one of Reigns' potential rivals from the main event triple-threat competitors to CM Punk and The Rock. Heyman proclaimed that none of them held a candle to the undisputed champion.

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton ends in a no-contest following interference from The Bloodline. The announcers' table was put to the test early and passed its safety check with ease. Orton twice dropped Knight and once dropped Styles onto the table. Styles flipped through the second attempt and gave Orton a taste of his own medicine. Styles was firmly in control through the middle portion. He primarily targeted Knight while shutting down Orton's interference. Knight countered an RKO into the BFT and had the match won, but Styles physically stopped the referee's hand from counting three. Styles scored a near fall with a springboard 450 splash that appeared to bust Knight open. Orton's moment came after he countered the Phenomenal Forearm into an RKO, but Knight yanked the referee out of the ring at the last moment.

The Bloodline stormed the ring, laying out all three men and forcing a no-contest. SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis was seated ringside and informed Heyman that Reigns would defend his title against Styles, Knight and Orton in a fatal four-way match at the Royal Rumble.

It was a stacked episode of SmackDown but one that surprisingly lacked substance from its major players. There were no truly engaging promos. Even Heyman's was a notch below the norm. Reigns, Orton, Knight and Styles were barely seen or heard from until the main event. Speaking of the headliner, the match itself was solid but the ending was deflating. It's always unusual when a no-disqualification match ends without a winner. Booking a fatal four-way match is a welcome surprise and furthers the bubbling tension between Reigns and Aldis. Good stuff there. Grade: B

What else happened on WWE SmackDown?

• Kevin Owens def. Santos Escobar via pinfall after hitting a stunner. Owens won a tournament to determine U.S. champion Paul's challenger at the Royal Rumble. Owens punched out Paul post-match.
• Karrion Kross and the returning Authors of Pain joined forces to lay out Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits. AOP and Paul Ellering have not been seen in WWE since 2020. Lashley declared his entry into the Royal Rumble moments before the assault.
• WWE women's championship -- Iyo Sky (c) def. Michin via pinfall after hitting her signature moonsault to retain her title.
• Butch and Tyler Bate def. Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson) via pinfall following a double Tyler Driver. Bate was Butch's surprise tag team partner.
• Ashante Adonis asked SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis for an opportunity. Aldis said he was a believer in Adonis and had things in mind.