5 Winners & 2 Losers From Last Night’s SmackDown (December 20th, 2024)

WWE began to wrap up an incredible 2024 as SmackDown broadcasted the second of two shows recorded at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Drew McIntyre and The Bloodline are considering joining forces to take out The OG Bloodline and Roman Reigns, respectively. Solo, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga then went on to defeat LA Knight, Andrade and Apollo Crews with a little help from United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. Alex Shelley would eat a defeat later in the night to Johnny Gargano, as DIY’s dominant resurgence continues.

Carmelo Hayes had an incredible week as he defeated Braun Strowman and laid him out backstage with a steel chair in retaliation to his loss to The Monster Among Men last week. Bianca Belair and Naomi successfully defended their Women’s Tag Team Championship against Nia Jax and Candice LeRae in the Main Event of the evening. Tiffany Stratton watched on with her briefcase in hand, but she is yet to cash-in her Money In The Bank briefcase.

1

Drew McIntyre and Solo’s Bloodline

An Unholy Union Beckons To Start 2025

We are about to enter a new year and a new era in WWE. Sure to come along with a new year will be new alliances. As the current Tribal Chief hyped his Tribal Combat match with Roman Reigns on the company’s opening night on Netflix, Drew Mcintyre made the bold decision to interrupt Solo Sikoa before reaching a truce. It was uneasy from the start, but things would get interesting and fast.

This has been a very good 2024 for The Scottish Warrior, but rumors are circulating that Drew McIntyre is going to be a major player in WWE in 2025. His cut off leather waistcoat and look, the confident aura that he transmits, and asking Solo if he lies awake at night wondering when Drew is coming for him. Drew has declared to take out all of the OG Bloodline and insists that Solo Sikoa should beat Roman before they finish their business. Drew’s threat is believable, despite Jimmy Uso arriving to smash him with a crutch to finish the segment, and Solo should keep this enemy closer than he keeps his friends.

2

Naomi

Jade Cargill’s Absence Has Everyone Feeling The Glow

SmackDown’s Main Event was for the Women’s Tag Team Championship, and Bianca Belair and Naomi successfully defended their titles against Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. As Nia Jax continues to take the ill-advised path of ostracizing Tiffany Stratton in favor of Candice, the appearance of Ms. Money In The Bank after LeRae patronized her for losing her United States championship qualifier was enough to cause a distraction leading to her “friends” loss. This story’s climax is surely coming soon.

As for the new champs, let it be known on December 20th, 2024, that this column suspects that Naomi is responsible for injuring Jade Cargill. Her suspicious nature when anything around this situation is mentioned and her little remorse for capitalizing on Cargill’s absence are causes for speculation. Belair and Naomi seems like a partnership of convenience more than conviction, despite being believable friends. Keep a close eye on how this develops.

3

Jacob Fatu

In Praise Of One Of WWE’s Best Performers

It may be Solo’s Bloodline, but Jacob Fatu has been unmissable since joining the WWE. Consider that most people watching WWE’s weekly product didn’t know The Samoan Werewolf existed just six months ago. He gets to share ring chemistry with the agility of Andrade and Apollo Crews and the personality of LA Knight in a fun 6-man tag team match to start the show, but his intensity and agility are still a novelty to behold on weekly television.

Solo Sikoa would get the pinfall victory after a pulverizing Samoan Spike on Crews, and a red-hot over with the crowd LA Knight would again be the victim of a sneak attack by Shinsuke Nakamura. Yet, even though he was far from the story in this match, Jacob Fatu is the man likeliest of these six to taste gold in 2025. The Bloodline remain one of WWE’s greatest threats, and Jacob Fatu is their greatest weapon. Believe that.

4

Carmelo Hayes

A Big Performance On An Important Week For Melo

With his summer’s dance partner, Andrade, putting in an incredible display against The Bloodline, Carmelo Hayes wasted little time in making up for his flop on last week’s SmackDown. Braun Strowman awkwardly took part in The Grayson Waller Experience while dressed as jolly old Saint Nic, Santa Strowman would be interrupted by an incensed Carmelo Hayes, complaining that he was blindsided by their match. This would be just the start of Melo’s big night.

Getting a rematch and winning via count-out, Carmelo Hayes was still unsatisfied with his night’s work. Running out of the arena after his win, Strowman gave chase to Hayes and hunted the backstage area for the former NXT Champion. Hayes would blindside Strowman with a steel chair to comprehensively dominate him on this week’s show. Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come for Him in 2025.

5

Kevin Owens

Another Week, Another Firestorm From KO

His righteous indignation has been captivating, his violence has been reprehensible, and Kevin Owens ends 2024 as WWE’s most dangerous man. Following an update on his heinous attack on Cody Rhodes after their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Owens held the Winged Eagle Championship and delivered a menacing message, in a dimly lit promo that echoed the gritty nature of an old-school ECW promo.

Every word and action that KO delivers is touching a nerve right now. It is everything you could possibly want from your company’s leading villain, and yet another reminder that Kevin Owens is one of the most talented performers of his generation. If Cody Rhodes has been the right man to boldly lead the WWE into the future, Kevin Owens is the right man to be WWE on Netflix’s first great villain.

6

A-Town Down Under

Waller And Theory Continue To Teeter On The Brink

After a commendable title reign as Tag Team Champions and a few months of flirting with a break-up, A-Town Down Under have spent a lot of this year on the periphery of SmackDown’s major angles. Being used as a plot device for the feud between Carmelo Hayes and Braun Strowman, this segment did little for the team beyond making fans hope this union comes to an end in 2025. Not even Santa Strowman could save it.

Wrestling’s wider audience may be ambivalent or hateful towards Austin Theory, but Grayson Waller is one of WWE’s most underrated performers. Both in interviews and on SmackDown, Waller has a natural talent for antagonizing anyone who dares to breathe the same air as him. Even with scraps, his commending Strowman for throwing presents to “the poor people of Hartford, CT” got a belly laugh. It is time for both of these men to return to singles competition.

7

Alex Shelley

The First Great Misfire From Motor City Machine Guns

Even if you aren’t aware of the tag team’s legendary reputation, Motor City Machine Guns have made a name for themselves quickly in WWE. They stormed their way to the SmackDown Tag Team titles in no time at all, only lost the titles to the cheating shenanigans of the newly heel DIY, and have won crowds over every Friday night. The reaction to this singles defeat from Alex Shelley felt like a misfire though.

Let’s clear the air on this first. There is no shame in losing to Johnny Gargano. His nickname of Johnny Wrestling has been earned on canvases across the world in blood and sweat, and gripping Shelley’s tights was a dishonest way to claim a victory. It was more the “hey, no fair” nature of his protest afterward that felt out of sorts with the more courageous nature of the company’s face bookings in 2024. The Motor City Machine Guns will be back in the W column in the near future, but this was a bad night at the office.

• This is all leading to the Winged Eagle Championship coming back, isn’t it? *rubs lucky rabbit’s foot*
• Drew McIntyre and Solo Sikoa met once before in a no-contest draw on a September 9th, 2022 episode of SmackDown.
• 2025 needs to be the year that the “what?” chant dies for good. How are we still here?
• The new Raw logo is great but the overkill on the promo video for it this week has been nauseating.
• Contrary to Corey Graves’s boast on commentary, Johnny Gargano defeated him as part of a Fatal Four Way for the AIW Absolute Title on 27th June, 2010.
• Kevin Owens wink to sign off his vignettes is pure gold.
• Pretty Deadly: The Musical is expected to be better than Wicked, West Side Story, and Hamilton combined.
• Carmelo Hayes’s mic work and star power continue to improve. Telling Nick Aldis “you can’t humble greatness” is a superstar move.
• This was the first time Bianca Belair and Naomi have tagged together in a 2 vs 2 tag team match.
• Tiffy Time feels like it’s going to come on January 6th on Netflix.