The stars of WWE SmackDown begin their road to WrestleMania 42 tonight from Charlotte, NC, with the Undisputed WWE Championship title picture now even more volatile following last Saturday’s Royal Rumble.

That picture, and the WWE Women’s title picture, will become a bit more clear with the kickoff of Elimination Chamber three-way qualifying matches. One will feature Randy Orton vs. Aleister Black vs. Solo Sikoa while the other will see former Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Lash Legend vs. Chelsea Green.

Women’s Rumble winner Liv Morgan will also make an appearance as she has yet to decide who she will face at WrestleMania 42.

The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles will be on the line as Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY defend against Women’s United States Champion Giulia & Kiana James.

WWE men’s United States Champion Carmelo Hayes will continue with his title defense open challenge seres.

Shinsuke Nakamura will take on Tama Tonga to round out the show that kicks off at 8 pm Eastern.

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– Over a shot of Charlotte’s skyline, Joe Tessitore introduced us to tonight’s show as he tossed to a recap of last Saturday’s Royal Rumble event.

Drew McIntyre opens SmackDown

The Undisputed WWE Champion arrrived to the arena with a smile on his face, but before he can even be properly introduced, Drew McIntyre was attacked from behind by a vengeful Cody Rhodes. McIntyre’s hated foe wanted to get revenge for the champion’s involvement in the Royal Rumble that got him eliminated. As a gaggle of officials came out to separate the bitter rivals, McIntyre was forced to retreat as Rhodes stood tall inside the ring.

Rhodes took the mic and said that things would never be the same, despite McIntyre’s best efforts. He said that for the first time, he can’t in good conscience point at the WrestleMania thanks to McIntyre’s interference. Rhodes discussed CM Punk and Roman Reigns making their WrestleMania main event official this past Monday, stating that the two of them were both glad that he wasn’t in their “you-know-what measuring contest”, because he didn’t get the nickname of “Raheem” for no reason. He talked about how much WrestleMania meant to him, and how he was born in Charlotte. “Imagine my discomfort returning here without the championship,” said the hometown boy. Rhodes said that McIntyre wasn’t mad that he wasn’t champion, but rather because Rhodes was the champ. He concluded by promising that his shame and discomfort would be McIntyre’s downfall, and that the Undisputed WWE Champ wouldn’t make it to WrestleMania.

I quite liked that Rhodes was understandably fired up after getting screwed out of the Royal Rumble by McIntyre and responded in kind with the attack. I am curious if this means we’ll see some kind of ultimate blowoff to this at Elimination Chamber instead of WrestleMania.

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– Backstage, Giulia and Kiana James were interviewed ahead of their Women’s Tag Title Match against RHIYO coming up next. James again made it clear that winning the tag titles was part of the plan of making Giulia a triple champion.

– Elsewhere, Nick Aldis was admonishing Cody Rhodes for his attack on McIntyre, as he told him to control his emotions because he was set for an Elimination Chamber qualifier match for next week. Rhodes promised to control his emotions before leaving for the night, led by a group of referees.

WWE Womens’ Tag Team Championships: RHIYO (IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley) (c) vs. Giulia & Kiana James

Ripley and James started off this match with a test of strength, as the challenger flinched when Ripley was about to punch her. Giulia stepped up to Ripley as the legal woman, but wanted to face IYO SKY. Ripley obliged that request and tagged SKY in as we got some joshi action here early.

Giulia stomped at SKY’s head and mocked her taunt as she grabbed at her hair. SKY dodged an attempt at a throw by Giulia and hit her with an impressive shotgun dropkick. SKY got slammed down by Giulia, but couldn’t capitalize, so Kiana James involved herself by dropping SKY’s throat across the top rope. James tagged in and took over against SKY on the outside. James held SKY in position outside as Giulia hit her with a dropkick from the apron, which sent us to a break in the action.

This Papa Johns-sponsored match returned from commercial as SKY got blasted with a missile dropkick from Giulia for a near-fall. James tagged in as she and Giulia failed to hit a double team move on SKY. James tried to get the sneaky entry back into the ring to stop SKY from tagging Ripley, but couldn’t get it done. SKY tagged Ripley in, who was a house of fire as she cleared house on Giulia and James. SKY dove to the outside to take Giulia out right in front of the annunce tables.

Back in the ring, Ripley slammed James face-first like a pancake, but that wasn’t enough. James escaped a Riptide attempt and powerbombed SKY right on Ripley. Giulia and James hit a combination of their signature moves — the Arrivederci Knee and 401K — on SKY, but couldn’t capitalize. Giulia attempted a Northern Lights Bomb, but SKY reversed it. Ripley with the blind tag as she headbutted Giulia, followed by the Riptide. SKY finished this match off with the Over The Moonsault to pick up the win and retain the Women’s Tag Titles.

RHIYO def. Giulia & Kiana James via pinfall

This was a fun opening contest from start to finish. The brief glimpses we got of IYO SKY and Giulia facing off was a good appetizer for when we do get these two in one-on-one action down the line. There’s just something about the SKY/Ripley pairing that works so well, and it translates to their tag matches being really entertaining.

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– Ilja Dragunov was interrupted by the Miz, who claimed that he went to Nick Aldis and got a U.S. Title Open Challenge match. Carmelo Hayes then appeared, and stated that Miz didn’t deserve a shot at the U.S. Title, as he then offered to face him in a non-title match coming up next.

Carmelo Hayes vs. The Miz

Hayes started off hot as he hit his springboard clothesline on Miz. However, the former WWE Champion got the advantage as he flattened Hayes with an elbow afterwards. Miz worked over Hayes in the corners, but got hit with a kick to the back of the head, followed by a springboard leg drop. Hayes battered Miz with a chop in the corner, as he then stomped away on him for a bit before the referee backed Hayes off. Miz clipped at Hayes’ legs as another springboard clothesline attempt, before he hit him with a running clothesline, which took us to an awkwardly-placed ad break.

We returned from commercial as Hayes attempted to fight back against Miz with a series of furious strikes that forced his foe into the corner. Hayes connected with La Mistica on Miz, which sent him out of the ring. Hayes hit a dive from the ring to the outside on Miz, as he then attempted a frog splash. Miz got his knees up to block Hayes’ splash and nearly got the win on the pin, but only got two instead.

Miz teed off with his kicks, but failed to hit the last one as Hayes dodged it. The U.S. Champion countered a Skull-Crushing Finale attempt and cracked him right in the jaw with a superkick for the near-fall. Hayes pulled himself back up and headed to the top, as Miz turned that around and hit a slingshot sitdown powerbomb. One, two…. NO! Miz sized Hayes up, but couldn’t connect with the Skull-Crushing Finale. Hayes tried for First 48, but got countered into another Skull-Crushing Finale attempt. Somehow, Hayes avoided the impact at the last second and finally hit FIrst 48 to pick up the victory.

Carmelo Hayes def. The Miz via pinfall

That was a great match, yes, but that ending sequence where Hayes reversed the Skull-Crushing Finale into a First 48 was silky smooth and highlights why I enjoy watching Hayes in action every week. He just doesn’t miss.

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– Tiffany Stratton was interviewed about nearly winning the Royal Rumble, as she promised to get herself back on the winning track by way of qualifying for the Elimination Chamber. Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre showed up and taunted Stratton, but were told off as the former WWE Women’s Champion got ready for her Chamber qualifier coming up next.

– The Wyatt Sicks interruption played as Bo Dallas talked about Solo Sikoa’s theft of the lantern. Dallas said Sikoa was scared of being left in the dark all by himself, which is why he stole the lantern. Dallas mentioned that fear doesn’t show up when everyone’s together, it shows up when you’re all alone. He chuckled as the video ended.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Chelsea Green (w/ Alba Fyre) vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Lash Legend (w/ Nia Jax)

Green slapped Stratton and Legend to start this match off, which led to her getting bashed around by both the women she slapped. Stratton and Legend stood face-to-face and got ready for their own battle. Stratton leaped at Legend but was grabbed and used as a battering ram of sorts to take Alba Fyre out of the apron. Stratton recovered and forced Legend to the outside, as she then dove onto both Legend and Nia Jax.

Back in the ring, Green tried to steal Stratton’s pin and yelled at her. Legend tried to get involved, which forced a temporary alliance between Green and Stratton to clothesline her out of the ring. That alliance ended as it began as she headed to the top and took out Stratton and Jax with a dive to the outside. Green did her salute, but got rocked by a big boot from Legend, which took us into the break.

Marc Quill

WWE SmackDown recapper. Former NXT PLE/WWE Saturday Night's Main Event/fill-in recapper.