WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from January 7

Every week on Bleacher Report, I take an in-depth look at WWE SmackDown to recap the action, offer analysis and grade the matches, segments and anything else that takes place on the show, as well as make a few predictions for future events.

Thursday was a night of new beginnings for the blue brand. The show has officially moved to the USA Network, Mauro Ranallo debuted as the new lead commentator and the show kicked off with an appearance from John Cena.

Unfortunately, we now know that Cena will be out of action for a little while after he tweeted about needing surgery on his shoulder.

Two title matches made up half the card for Thursday's show, and both of them provided some great technical wrestling and entertaining moments.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.

Opening Segment and Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio

Say what you will about John Cena, but he is the face of WWE, and his presence on SmackDown instantly elevates the brand's importance.

He kicked off the show by attempting to goad Alberto Del Rio into defending his United States Championship, but the League of Nations member wasn't going to fall for his tricks again.

Cena instead brought out Kalisto, and after the Slammy winner sent the U.S. champion out of the ring, a match between the two got started.

The bout was decent, but the best part was seeing Kalisto score the upset victory. It's possible he is being booked as a challenger for Del Rio's title, but we will have to wait and see what happens.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• The referee for this match appeared out of thin air like a striped ninja.
• It's great to see WWE giving Kalisto something to do while Sin Cara is injured. He is too talented to waste on the sidelines.
• Cena staying at ringside to support Kalisto gave the luchador a little boost.
• Either WWE edited the crowd's response or Cena got the best reaction he has received in a long time.

MizTV and 8-Man Tag Match

The Miz hosted a special episode of MizTV dedicated to the Royal Rumble. He tried to talk about how important this year's event is since the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is on the line, but he was quickly interrupted by The New Day.

They were soon joined by Dolph Ziggler, Goldust, Neville and The Miz's former tag team partner, R-Truth. Ziggler seemed like he was the only person who was happy Truth was there, but he wasn't there to enter the Rumble. Truth thought he was answering a U.S. Open challenge from Del Rio.

As expected, a brawl erupted that led to an eight-man tag match. These kinds of bouts can either be highly entertaining or a total letdown.

Unfortunately, this one didn't pick up until Neville and Kofi Kingston started doing all the things that make them fun to watch.

Ziggler got the win for his team with a superkick to The Miz. Then he made a statement by superkicking Truth and throwing Goldust over the top rope as a way of showing how much he wants to win the Royal Rumble.

The talk show segment and match provided some good entertainment, and that is really the best we can hope for when this many people are involved.

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• I love how Big E informed everyone of the correct pronunciation of .gif. It actually is pronounced like the peanut butter brand.
• The Miz getting upset about losing control of his own show will never get old. He is a lot funnier than people give him credit for.
• The New Day, Ziggler, Truth and The Miz contributed to making this one of the better episodes of MizTV in quite some time. Truth's weird gimmick is getting funnier every time he appears because it happens sporadically instead of every week.
• The Miz dancing with The New Day provided a few laughs.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Charlotte is in full heel mode now that she and Becky Lynch have parted ways, and it is allowing her to get back to what made her so great in NXT.

When she became a babyface, she lost a lot of the edge that made her entertaining. Using her father's legacy to justify her actions is a great way to generate heat, but having him at ringside to provide illegal assistance is even more valuable.

People will talk about how she needs to stand on her own two feet, but she has plenty of time to develop her own legacy. Using Ric Flair to help build her up early on can only help.

The first several minutes featured a lot of great technical wrestling from both women. They showed off all the skills that helped them make NXT's women's division so great.

They were given two full segments to work with, and they used every minute to tell a story. Thanks to a little help from her father, Charlotte was able to steal the win and retain her Divas title.

Grade: A

Notes and Highlights

• While it's great to see Lynch getting a title shot, it never felt like she had a chance to win. This match seemed like it was only booked so WWE could hype having two title bouts on the show.
• This is one of the first times since the start of the Divas Revolution where it felt like we saw the same kind of fire and passion we saw from these women in NXT.

Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

The main event featured Dean Ambrose defending the Intercontinental Championship against the man he won it from, Kevin Owens.

These men are what you would call workhorses. They go out there every night and treat every match like it's on a pay-per-view. They have worked well together in every encounter, and this was no exception.

It was a welcome surprise to see them take a more technical approach in the first half of the match instead of relying on their brawling skills. They are great at adjusting their styles to make sure every encounter is different. 

They were given a lot of time to fight, and they did a great job spacing out the big spots and ramping up the intensity toward the end.

Having both men counted out is usually a cheap way to end a title match, but it felt like the right call in this situation. It kept the title on Ambrose without having Owens suffer a loss.

They fought into the crowd and ended up on the stage. The show ended with both men crashing through two tables and a pile of boxes.

Grade: A

Notes and Highlights

• Owens should teach a class at the performance center called how to be a heel. He is so good at inciting the crowd and mocking his opponents.
• Owens and Ambrose are making their storyline more entertaining than the WWE World Heavyweight Championship feud.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

The first episode of SmackDown on the USA Network could have gone two ways. WWE could have either packed the show with too much to handle or given a few select matches and storylines enough time to play out properly.

Thankfully, we got the latter. All four contests were enjoyable for different reasons, and the two title bouts exceeded expectations.

Those who aren't familiar with Ranallo's style of broadcasting will need some time to get used to him, but he brought an energy and a more traditional approach to the commentary table that has been missing in WWE.

As a whole, it was a fun show to kick off the new year. If WWE continues to put more effort into SmackDown, it could become almost as important as Raw.

Predictions

• Ranallo will be on the Raw announcing team by the end of the year.
• Owens and Ambrose will have another title match at the Royal Rumble.
• So will Charlotte and Lynch, but they might be joined by a third competitor.
• Brock Lesnar will announce his intentions to win the Rumble on Raw.
• Kalisto will be granted a shot at the U.S. title.

What did you think of the first SmackDown of 2016?

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.