WWE SmackDown live results: Elimination Chamber qualifiers, Giulia vs. IYO SKY

The Elimination Chamber qualifying matches continue tonight from Fort Lauderdale’s Amerant Bank Arena with only a week to go until the eponymous event unfolds in Chicago.

On the men’s side, U.S. Champion Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, and Damian Priest will compete to see who joins Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, LA Knight, and Je’von Evans inside the Elimination Chamber next week.

Meanwhile, Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, and Kiana James square off in a qualifier, with the winner joining Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, Asuka, and Tiffany Stratton in the women’s Chamber match.

Other matches announced for tonight include Ilja Dragunov vs. Tama Tonga. Also, Giulia vs. IYO SKY was announced for SmackDown the day of the show. This match comes after Giulia and Kiana James were unsuccessful in challenging Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY for the women’s tag titles two weeks ago.

We will also see Oba Femi and Kit Wilson go one-on-one in a rematch from February 6.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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– From the home of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, we were welcomed to the show by Joe Tessitore. We saw RHIYO walking backstage, spotting the mysterious crate and paying no mind to it. Tonight, Rhea Ripley subs in for IYO SKY as she fights Giulia. Elsewhere, the three men and women competing in their respective Elimination Chamber qualifying matches were shown.

– A recap of last week’s Cody Rhodes/Jacob Fatu/Sami Zayn Elimination Chamber Qualifier match was shown, notably showing Drew McIntyre’s involvement in the finish.

Cody Rhodes kicks off SmackDown

“The American Nightmare” made his way to the ring to open our show. He entered to a good reaction from the crowd.

“What do you wanna talk about?” started Rhodes in his customary manner. However, before he could say anything of note, he was interrupted by Jacob Fatu.

The man screwed out of the Elimination Chamber Qualifier win last week by Drew McIntyre entered the ring and addressed Rhodes. Fatu said that Rhodes wouldn’t even be out here speaking about Elimination Chamber if it wasn’t for the aforementioned McIntyre. Fatu talked about how he had Rhodes and Sami Zayn beat last week, but his concern at the moment wasn’t about Rhodes.

Fatu talked about how his concern at the moment was strictly about Drew McIntyre as he called out the Undisputed WWE Champion so he could “dogwalk his ass” all over Ft. Lauderdale. Instead of McIntyre, Nick Aldis interrupted Fatu.

Aldis said that he knew that Fatu wanted a shot at McIntyre, so he decided to give McIntyre a night off. There was too much at stake with Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania around the corner. Aldis offered to speak with Fatu backstage so that Rhodes could have his allotted mic time.

Speak of the devil, as Drew McIntyre himself was in the building. He said that he loved SmackDown so much that he bought his own skybox to watch the show. McIntyre taunted Fatu, which caused the irate Samoan to try and go after him. Security tried to stop Fatu, but they were thrown around, which prompted Aldis to stop him. The SmackDown GM encouraged Fatu to calm down as he instructed the security to get McIntyre out of the building. Aldis mentioned that he was willing to talk to Fatu about wanting his hands on McIntyre as the two left.

McIntyre said that the whole world was after him because he was the champion. Rhodes corrected him as he got the last word and called McIntyre an “asshole”.

At this point, the idea of a (likely) Rhodes vs. McIntyre title match at WrestleMania does not move me in the slightest. I’m more interested in the McIntyre vs. Fatu feud at this point. It should be concerning that what’s ostensibly going to be the “main” SmackDown world title feud for WrestleMania will feature what’s likely the least interesting match heading into the two-night Las Vegas show.

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– Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov were backstage talking about their respective matches tonight. Hayes encouraged Dragunov to take care of his business against Tama Tonga, while Dragunov wished Hayes luck in his Elimination Chamber qualifying match.

– Nick Aldis chatted with Jacob Fatu backstage and promised him to give Drew McIntyre, but just to have a little patience in the meantime. Fatu warned Aldis that he wasn’t going to wait much longer as he left the building.

Tama Tonga (w/ The M.F.T.s) vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov started off by blasting Tama in the corner with chops a-plenty. Tama responded with a hard elbow as he then pummeled Dragunov in the corner with punches to the face. Dragunov struck back with headbutts, as he and Tama traded strikes. Tama threw Dragunov into the middle turnbuckle hard, but missed with a running attack.

Dragunov hit Tama with a running boot, followed by a German suplex. With Tama stunned in the corner, Dragunov struck him with a running boot that sent him out of the ring as we took a break in the action.

We returned from commercial as Tama was in control of this match. As Tama taunted Dragunov, he was met with some vicious strikes from the former U.S. Champion. An exchange of blows between the two concluded with a double-down as Dragunov and Tama took each other out with a double clothesline.

Both men got themselves back up and the hard-hitting duel continued. Tama’s attempted reverse DDT was turned into the interlocking German suplexes by Dragunov. With the grip held firmly around Tama’s waist, Dragunov managed to hit two of these suplexes until Tama escaped. However, Tama could not escape Dragunov’s subsequent Constantine Special for the near-fall. Dragunov headed up to the top rope , but Tama recovered and got him with a modified Flatliner for a two-count.

Tama lifted Dragunov up and had him in an underhook position, but he was countered into a standing throw. Dragunov headed to the top rope again, as he had Tama in his sights for the Senton. Dragunov had Tama dead to rights for the H-Bomb until J.C. Mateo got on the apron to provide a distraction. The roll-up failed from Tama as the match lingered on. Tonga Loa got on the apron to cause a momentary distraction, which allowed Tama to hit the not-so-hidden blade of the Cutthroat for the three.

After the match, Solo Sikoa addressed the crowd and said that this was going to happen as this was The M.F.T’s show. Dragunov jumped at Sikoa, but he was subsequently taken down by the M.F.T.’s numbers game. Matt Cardona tried to make the save, but he fell in short order. Apollo Crews soon joined in, but he got destroyed by the clothesline of Talla Tonga. Before The M.F.T.s could continue doing their damage, the lights went out and we got a video from The Wyatt Sicks.

Uncle Howdy addressed Sikoa in the video, and he said that it was time for everyone to see if Sikoa could stand in the ring alone. The next time Howdy stood in the ring, he was going to stand alone. It was time to see if Sikoa was man enough to do the same.

Tama Tonga def. Ilja Dragunov via pinfall

This was shaping up to be a good, hard-hitting match, right up until the expected M.F.T. interference ending. All that bleeding into Wyatt Sicks nonsense didn’t help matters as I’m honestly sick of this Wyatts vs. M.F.T.s feud. It’s overstayed its welcome and it’s high time everyone moved on from this feud that’s really benefited nobody on either faction.

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– Nick Aldis confronted Drew McIntyre and put the Undisputed WWE Champion on full blast for his recent antics over the past few weeks and how he’s made things difficult on him. Aldis threatened McIntyre to keep pushing him and he’ll see what happens.

– Randy Orton was interviewed about being in the Elimination Chamber when Aleister Black and Zelina confronted him. The two spoke in cryptic riddles, but were responded by a challenge from Orton, who told Black to fight him in the ring tonight.

– Elsewhere, Lash Legend & Nia Jax were interviewed. Jax said she’d be on her way to winning the Elimination Chamber on the way to winning the Women’s Tag Titles. We learned that the two would be facing Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY for the tag titles.

Jade Cargill addresses recent events

The WWE Women’s Champion had some choice words to say, stating that she defended her title on her time. Cargill said that Jordynne Grace tried her best, but her best wasn’t good enough.

Cargill said that everyone was loud online, but when you step up to her, everyone folds. She said that Liv Morgan was going to make her decision on Monday, and that she’d be there on Raw for it. Cargill said whether it was Morgan or the Elimination Chamber winner, it didn’t matter because at WrestleMania, she will still be “that bitch”.

Run of the mill promo for Cargill. Not really much else there is to it, which is fitting, given the same could be said of Cargill’s WWE Women’s Title reign as of right now.

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– As Cargill made her exit, she was interrupted by Charlotte Flair, who was making her way for the Elimination Chamber Qualifier match coming up next. Flair and Cargill had a bit of a staredown at the top of the ramp before the latter was backed off.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Charlotte Flair vs. Kiana James vs. Nia Jax

We got things underway as Flair struck James with a big elbow and grabbed her. She threw James into Jax, but got taken down by a shoulder tackle. James recovered and tried to barter a truce between her and Jax, who soundly rejected the offer. Flair got James in the corner and hit her with a kick. Jax got both James and Flair with consecutive pop-up headbutts. With both women stunned on opposite corners, Jax hit them with repeated running hip attacks and we took a break at this point.

Back from the commercial break as James and Flair fought it out. Flair headed to the top and connected with the diving crossbody on James as she then chopped away on her two foes. Flair hit her signature somersault clothesline on James as then focused her attack on Jax. After she ended up on the apron, James superkicked Flair, but ended up on the shoulders of Jax. Flair connected with a kick that knocked both down. Flair on the top rope with the moonsault on both Jax and James. One, two… NO!

Flair hyped herself up, as she reversed an attempted powerbomb by Jax into a hurricanrana. Jax recovered and hit an awkward-looking Samoan Drop on Flair. James got herself back up and showed impressive strength with a Samoan Drop of her own for the near-fall. James headed to the top rope as Jax rolled out of the ring. Meanwhile, Flair got back up and intercepted James on the top turnbuckle. The two mixed it up until Flair hit an avalance Spanish Fly for a very close 2.9999999 kickout.

Flair tried to run across the ropes, but Jax pulled her out of the ring and threw her into the ringpost. As Jax put Flair back into the ring, she was hit with a boot by James. Jax attempted to respond with a running charge, but she ended up running right into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Flair had Jax in the Figure Four, but Jax hit the leg drop on her. Jax pulled James into the drop zone for the Annihilator, but Flair broke the count up with a dropkick.

Flair and Jax dueled in the middle of the ring, as the latter dropped Jax across the top rope throat-first. On the top rope, Flair tried for a high-risk move, but was intercepted by Jax with the attempted avalanche Samoan Drop. Flair turned that into a powerbomb, as she then locked in the Figure-Four. Flair arched for the Figure-Eight on Jax, but James slid in at the last second and got the pin on Flair, who was unable to kick out.

Kiana James def. Charlotte Flair & Nia Jax via pinfall to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber

This match was a bit sloppy at times, but I still enjoyed it, and the finish with James sneaking a pin on Flair while in mid-Figure-Eight submission was nice. James also getting the win was a very pleasant surprise.

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– Royce Keys made his apperance in the form of an excerpt of his interview on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast.

Oba Femi vs. Kit Wilson

Wilson rolled out of the ring as the bell rang and took a microphone. He addressed Femi and said he wanted to read him a poem, as he felt like that his opponent grew the last time they met. This poem, entitled “An Ode to Oba Femi” was about how Wilson supposedly saw the greatness in Femi. He said that when he looked at Femi’s eyes, he saw a teddy bear.

Femi grabbed Wilson’s mic and said that it was quite nice, as he wanted to hear another poem from Wilson. Under threats from Femi, Wilson read another poem about how men are toxic. As Wilson spoke a line in the poem about how he hated Femi, the match started proper as Femi shelled Wilson with his running uppercuts in the corner.

Femi threw Wilson halfway across the ring before he lifted him up for Fall From Grace for the three.

Oba Femi def. Kit Wilson via pinfall

The match was okay, but I can’t find myself laughing at Kit Wilson’s “anti toxic masculinity” gimmick. Credit to Kit for trying to move heaven and earth to make it work, but I just not entertaining due to the implications of the gimmick being made to lampoon WWE’s critics.

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– In front of The Mystery Box, Nick Aldis was confronted by R-Truth, who said that inside the box was an Elimination Chamber “Award”. Aldis instructed a stagehand to send The Mystery Box to Raw. Damian Priest entered the scene as Truth mistakenly thought he was in the Elimination Chamber Match. As Aldis told Truth off about his error, he was told by Truth that he liked him better when he was bald.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Alba Fyre (w/ Chelsea Green)

Stratton grabbed Fyre’s leg and then locked her in a headlock. Stratton showed impressive athleticism as she stepped on the ropes and kept her headlock on. She leapt over Fyre afterwards and placed her in a prone position across the ropes for a running hip attack. Stratton swept Fyre by the legs as she hit a springboard senton.

Fyre seemed overwhelmed by Stratton’s attack until a rake of the eyes allowed her to hit a springboard DDT from the ropes, which took us to the commercial break.

We returned from break as Stratton was on fire with an acrobatic running attack into the corner. Fyre responded with a superkick as she got the advantage back. On the top turnbuckle, Stratton recovered and had Fyre caught into a superplex that she rolled into a modified brainbuster for the near-fall. Stratton tried for an Alabama Slam, but Fyre reversed it into the Gory Special. One, two… NO! Fyre had Stratton in position for a powerbomb, but she countered it into an Alabama Slam instead. On the top rope, Stratton attempted a Prettiest Moonsault Ever, but Fyre pushed her out to the ringside area. A wheelchair-bound Chelsea Green got up and hobbled to her feet to yell at Stratton at ringside. This allowed Fyre to hit a suicide dive on Stratton.

In the ring, Stratton got her knees up to block Fyre’s Swanton Bomb, but found herself hit with blocked knees of her own after a running hip attack. Stratton bounced right back and made no mistake with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin and win.

Tiffany Stratton def. Alba Fyre via pinfall

This was a solid little match. Stratton and Fyre worked well here.

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– Cody Rhodes chatted with Sami Zayn and said that Zayn had nothing to be ashamed of. However, Zayn didn’t see it that way, as Rhodes had something to be ashamed of due to what he did last week to get the win. Rhodes defended himself, stating that it’s an opportunity that he needs to take in order to be a champion. An angered Zayn said that Rhodes didn’t know what it was like to do the right thing and have it blow it up to the face. Rhodes yelled right back and said that he tried to do the right thing in Germany and it cost him everything. He concluded by stating that Zayn’s only enemy is himself as he walked off.

Trick Williams appeared to a big reaction and taunted Zayn. He told him that Rhodes wasn’t a good friend as he bragged about winning the Elimination Chamber Qualifier up next before leaving. Zayn ran off and confronted Rhodes and apologized to him, stating that when he becomes WWE Champion, to remember that he had a little help along the way. The crowd was heard booing Zayn during his apology.

Elimination Chamber Qualifier: Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Damian Priest

This match kicked off with Williams trying to negotiate an alliance with Hayes, but Priest hit both with a clothesline. Hayes responded with a dropkick, as Priest countered with a standing flapjack. Williams re-entered the fray and tried to fight Priest. He found himself stunned in the corner as Hayes was thrown for the inadvertent splash in the corner. Priest looked strong early as he countered Hayes’ springboard leg drop and threw him onto a downed Williams. Hard elbow by Priest to the face of Hayes only got a two-count.

Williams showed great athleticism by landing on his feet on a Priest chokeslam. Priest got out of the way of a springboard clothesline from Hayes, who hit Williams in the crossfire instead. Hayes targeted Priest with La Mistica, but Priest countered with a suplex for the near-fall as we took a break.

This match continued from commercial as Williams and Priest traded strikes before both were down on their knees. Just in time for Hayes hitting them with the double springboard legdrop. Outside the ring Hayes hit Williams with a shotgun dropkick into the timekeeper’s barricade before he connected with the Frog Splash in the ring on Priest for the near-fall. As Priest rolled out of the ring to recover, Hayes was looking for the dive. Williams put a stop to that with a spinning kick to Hayes. Uranage by Williams on Hayes only got a two-count in the process. Williams trashtalked Hayes, but was met with hard chops to the chest by the U.S. Champion. Hayes attempted a springboard, but he was clotheslined out of the ring by Williams.

Priest pounced on Hayes to send him onto the announce table. Priest left the ring and got thrown into the announce table. In the ring, Williams connected with another spinning kick on Hayes with great impact, but that was again a near-fall for the rookie. Williams put Hayes on the top rope and looked like he was going to hit the superplex. Priest got back up and intercepted with the Razor’s Edge on William. One, two…. NO! Hayes on the top rope, and he hit Nothin’ But Net on Priest. Did he have the match won? No, as Williams broke the count just in time as all three men were down and out.

Williams and Hayes traded blows until Priest used his kicks on both men. Williams and Hayes with a temporary alliance as the showed momentary teamwork on Priest with a double team. With Priest out of the conversation, Williams and Hayes fought it out in the ring until Hayes connected with First 48 on Williams. On the top rope, Hayes’ top rope dive was intercepted with a hard elbow from Priest. Razor’s Edge attempted by Priest, but Williams blasted him with a Trickshot knee that sent Hayes crashing out of the ring in the process. One more Trickshot by Williams on Priest brought him the three in this fantastic match.

Trick Williams def. Damian Priest & Carmelo Hayes via pinfall to qualify for the Men’s Elimination Chamber

One hell of a match. Hayes is reliable in his spot as a workhorse and Williams carries himself quite well in this bigger focus he’s gotten since getting the call-up to SmackDown. Trick has done really well with the opportunity given and it’s easy to see why many are high on him right now.

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– The entire SmackDown tag team division where seen hanging around The Mystery Box as Candice LeRae walked with Nick Aldis. Johnny Gargano was shown lying on top of The Mystery Box. Jordynne Grace appeared as LeRae took exception to this interruption. Aldis booked Grace vs. LeRae for next week, as he noted that Gargano wasn’t feeling too “crate”.

– Jade Cargill was seen taking pictures with her title when B-Fab confronted her. She was also joined by a returning Michin, who once again called her shot against the WWE Women’s Champion.

Giulia vs. Rhea Ripley

This was originally meant to be Giulia vs. IYO SKY until it was changed last-minute.

Our match got underway as Ripley and Giulia locked horns before the two got into a shoving contest. Some chain wrestling here to start us off. Giulia slapped Ripley in the face as she got her with a cravate sleeper hold. Ripley’s strength allowed her to put Giulia on the top rope, as she again blocked a tornado DDT attempt. Ripley connected with a vertical suplex in the aftermath.

Ripley attempted Riptide, but Giulia escaped and slammed her foe down to the mat with a grab of the head. Giulia kept the momentum with a missile dropkick from the middle turnbuckle. Giulia maintained the attack on Ripley, as she dodged a running shoulder charge from Ripley. As Ripley crashed into the steel post, she tumbled to the outside and got hit with a dropkick from Giulia against the steel steps. This took us to a break in the action.

This match continued from the break as Giulia had the upper hand on Ripley. Arrivederci Knee was blocked by Ripley, who cracked her foe with a hard lariat. As both women got themselves back to their feet, they exchanged strike. Ripley dodged a barrage from Giulia and blasted her with clotheslines, followed by a standing slam and a running dropkick. Ripley tried to go up top, but Giulia intercepted her at the pass. Ripley escaped her predicament and got her with a Cheeky Nando’s kick. Faceplant slam by Ripley on Giulia got a two-count.

Ripley again tried for the Riptide, but Giulia countered it and connected with the Arrivederci Knee. One, two… NO! Giulia got ahead of it and tried for the Northern Lights Bomb. Ripley countered and hit a headbutt. Just as she had Riptide on Giulia, Nia Jax and Lash Legend interfered to cause the disqualificiation.

Rhea Ripley def. Giulia via Disqualification

After the match, Jax and Legend laid a beatdown on Ripley until IYO SKY ran in to make the save. With evened odds, the Women’s Tag Champions got the best of their opponents and sent Jax and Legend to a retreat.

That was shaping up to be a good match, but again, WWE can’t help themselves and have it end with a nonsensical DQ finish to ruin things. I do like that Ripley did her best to make Giulia look like a threat in this match. The struggle of trying to get Giulia over with crowds isn’t really going to be helped if she’s largely treated like an afterthought, especially like we saw in the post-match of this one. It’s hard to see her as a big deal as the Women’s U.S. Champion if she’s not presented as such by the booking. And it seems like something that even Giulia herself is noting judging by a recent instagram repost.

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– The Miz met with Oba Femi and tried to offer his services as the self-appointed locker room leader. This led to Femi challenging him to a match next week, something that slowly dawned upon Miz after Femi left to talk with Nick Aldis.

– Charlotte Flair chatted with Alexa Bliss as she said that she’s “fine” after losing her Elimination Chamber match. Kiana James showed up to talk trash and this led to Flair and Bliss challenging James and Giulia to prove their worth.

Next Week on SmackDown

• WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: RHIYO (Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY) vs. Nia Jax & Lash Legend
• Uncle Howdy vs. Solo Sikoa

– Solo Sikoa discussed strategy with his M.F.T.s, as he talked to Tama Tonga and told him to focus on helping him deal with the Wyatts. As Sikoa left, Shinsuke Nakamura appeared behind Tama and said that Tama was being held back by Sikoa and the M.F.T.s. Nakamura said that Tama can prove that he is his own man by facing him next time — without the help of the M.F.T.s. “Leave your family tree in the forest,” Nakamura told Tama.

Aleister Black (w/ Zelina) vs. Randy Orton

Black and Orton locked up in the middle of the ring to start as Black was felled by a shoulder block. Orton got himself in a Viper position and Black responded by staring down in his seated position. After a brief staredown, Orton got on the offensive and hit him with a series of punches in the corner. A clothesline from Orton sent Black crashing over the top and into the ringside area as we took a commercial break afterwards.

As we returned from break, Orton targeted Black with the Garvin stomps as Zelina got on the apron to distract the referee. This allowed Black to respond with a knee to the back of Orton. Black hit Orton with a running kick across the apron and threw him into the ring post. Back in the ring, Black smashed Orton with a running knee strike for a near-fall. Black applied a resthold on Orton and tried to maintain the pressure as best as he could. Orton got himself to his feet and fought out of the hold. Suplex attempt by Orton was blocked by Black, who again blasted Orton with a knee to the face. One, two… Orton kicked out at two.

Black again had Orton in the resthold with the arm wrapped around his foe’s head. Orton tried to battle back with a roaring uppercut, which sent Black onto the apron. Orton had Black in position for the draping DDT, but Black escaped with the rope guillotine. Black came right back with a boot to the face, followed by the shoulder to the chest of Orton. Again, Black had Orton in a resthold, but he got countered into a back suplex after a struggle. Orton got himself up and hit Black with the clotheslines, followed by his patented scoop powerslam. Orton dragged Black to the apron and connected with the draping DDT.

Orton zoned in on Black and had him dead to rights for the RKO. Black escaped it and rolled out of the ring. Black hit him with a strong kick to the face outside the ring. Orton tried for the back suplex across the table, but Black blocked it. Orton, however, managed to block a kick from Black and slammed him across the commentary table. With Black seemingly out cold, Orton dropped him with the draping DDT from the announce table onto the mat outside. As Orton rolled Black into the ring, Drew McIntyre smashed Orton in the face with the Undisputed WWE Title. Cody Rhodes gave chase to McIntyre.

In the ring, Black hit the Black Mass kick on Orton for the three in our main event

Before the fade out, a graphic honoring long-time WWE producer Kerwin Silfies was shown to end our night.

Aleister Black def. Randy Orton via pinfall

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That was a standard main event, but again, as we discussed last week, it’s clear that the road to WrestleMania 42 is mired in mediocrity. It’s telling when the “main” feud of Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes does not seem as exciting as the surrounding stories such as Sami Zayn’s seeming push towards turning heel or McIntyre trying to piss everyone off in his vicinity have a far greater appeal than this one McIntyre/Rhodes match that seems like the other big Mania title match aside from CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns.

Other than that, the in-ring action tonight was mostly good with the Williams/Hayes/Priest match being the standout of the evening. The overall stories are just decent and things don’t really feel like they’re building towards WrestleMania, but the actual wrestling is reliably good week-to-week, which helps make these three-hour SmackDowns feel enjoyable from time to time.