WWE SmackDown Spoilers: Complete Results and Analysis for January 2, 2015

Tuesday night, WWE presented its weekly SmackDown television tapings. Spoilers from that show indicate that the first broadcast of 2015 will feature some of the brightest young stars on the roster and one giant feud that will undoubtedly have Royal Rumble implications.

Roman Reigns was well on his way to victory over Seth Rollins on Monday's Raw when he was attacked by The Big Show. Flung over the announce table and buried underneath it, Reigns' night ended on a much worse note than he could have ever imagined.

It was the latest chapter in what is an intensifying conflict between the two heavyweights.

Friday night on SmackDown, Reigns and Big Show will be under the same roof for the first time since the events of Monday.

What will the former powerhouse of The Shield have in store for the World's Largest Athlete?

More importantly, will he be healthy enough to get a measure of revenge, or will the giant punish him and leave him lying for a second consecutive night?

With Edge and Christian in charge and Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt scheduled to appear, this week's SmackDown is sure to be interesting. What will the tag team greats have in store on the final show before The Authority resumes control of the company?

Get all of the answers now, courtesy of our friends at WrestlingInc.com. 

Venue

Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia

Broadcast Team

Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield and Tom Phillips

Results

• Edge and Christian kicked off the show. Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble interrupted, handing them an official statement that indicated Rollins and Big Show are not to blame for the events of Monday night. Furthermore, Noble and Mercury would oversee the guest general managers for the entire evening. Edge responded by announcing Big Show vs. Ryback and Reigns vs. Rusev for the night's co-main events.
• Wyatt pinned Erick Rowan. After the match, he cut a promo about Monday's Ambulance match against Ambrose.
• The Big Show defeated Ryback via count-out when the Russian flag appeared, and Rusev and Lana made their way to the ring, providing a distraction. After the match, Rusev attacked Ryback but was clotheslined out of the squared circle.
• Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeated Los Matadores.
• Ambrose attacked Curtis Axel before a scheduled match, leaving him lying before cutting a promo on Wyatt. Ambrose approached an ambulance, but it drove off.
• The Ascension squashed two jobbers.
• The Usos and R-Truth defeated Gold and Stardust and Adam Rose.
• Reigns defeated Rusev by disqualification when Big Show interfered. The World's Largest Athlete attempted a Spear, but Reigns ducked, and Show was sent crashing over the announce table. Proving that turnabout is fair play, Reigns dumped the table over on Big Show to close out SmackDown. 

Analysis

With half of the roster headed to Los Angeles for a live event on the 2014 WWE Holiday Tour, SmackDown worked with a somewhat depleted roster.

Sure, Reigns, Ambrose, Big Show and Wyatt are four Superstars who have been integral parts of WWE programming in 2014, but they are not the headline talent one would hope to see coming off of a huge show-closing angle from Raw such as the return of The Authority.

In fact, given the developments detailed in the SmackDown spoilers, it feels very much like a placeholder show. The company is preparing for an episode of Raw that will not only reintroduce Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to the WWE Universe but also continue the build to one of the biggest shows of the year, the Royal Rumble.

Still, there is angle development in that Reigns avenges his assault from Raw by doing the same to Big Show.

Ambrose and Wyatt hype what should be a very good brawl come Monday night, and Edge and Christian return to complete their week of playing guest general manager.

With so many recognizable faces missing from this week's show, one cannot help but wonder if Triple H and Stephanie celebrating their return to the top of the industry would have been a better way to hook viewers than what WWE Creative ultimately came up with, but fans of SmackDown are used to the show being treated like the redheaded stepson of the company.

Pass on this week's SmackDown, and check out the brief, two-minute recap videos the company puts on YouTube immediately following the show (unless, like this writer, you have nothing else better to do).