WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from January 9

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. I also provide some predictions on the direction of storylines.

SmackDown moves to Thursday starting next week, which means this was be the final Friday show for the foreseeable future.

SD got its start on Thursdays way back in 1999, but the blue brand has spent a significant amount of its life on Friday night.

You would think WWE would celebrate its time closing out the work week for most of the country with some kind of recap or various clips, but the move was all but ignored.

Oh well. Let's take a look at what happened on the final Friday edition of SmackDown.

Rollins Rejoices

The show opened with Seth Rollins celebrating the return of the Authority this past Monday night. He mocked John Cena and rubbed in the fact that three men are now without a job.

Rollins made sure to remind everyone that he was added to the main event at the Royal Rumble while waving his battered briefcase over his head.

During a moment of silence for those who lost their careers, Roman Reigns made his entrance through the crowd to confront his former Shield teammate.

Watching these two go face-to-face in a talking segment really showed how much better Rollins is than Reigns on the mic. Reigns sounds too scripted sometimes.

However, the Samoan Superman got the last laugh when he sent Rollins, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury running up the ramp after a short scuffle.

Kane and Big Show came out and announced that Rollins and Show would face Reigns and anyone he could get to team with him later in the show.

It was a decent opening segment, but it lacked any kind of real pop. Big Show tried to be intimidating, but it's hard to take him seriously when he has lost to so many people who are much smaller than him.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights:

• It looks like they might finally be working toward a Reigns vs. Rollins feud. It's about time.
• Noble and Mercury need more to do. They were kind of funny when they got the chance to talk, but now all they do is stand by Rollins' side and take beatings.
• I am sure many of you have already thought this, but Reigns' shirt looks a lot like the old Hardy Boys symbol.

Adam Rose vs. Big E

Tyson Kidd and Cesaro accompanied Adam Rose to the ring, since they were the reason this rematch came about in the first place.

Rose looked very aggressive against the much larger Big E, but he ended up being put down with the Big Ending.

Cesaro and Kidd left ringside without incident after the match was over, but it looks like their feud with the New Day will continue.

It's hard to say if they will continue to align themselves with Rose, especially since he still has unfinished business with the Bunny.

This was a short, uneventful match that really only served to let us know Kidd and Cesaro had their eyes on WWE's most positive group.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights:

• JBL saying Tyson Kidd looked like Giant Gonzalez's son during a replay might be the only time someone brought up Gonzalez without talking about how bad he was.
• It looked like a much smaller group of Rosebuds than what we usually see. They must be scaling back on his gimmick so they don't have to pay as many extras.

The Ascension

The Ascension gave another quick promo before the match about how they are better than teams like the Legion of Doom.

Just like their previous bouts, they ran through two local jobbers in less than two minutes before picking up another meaningless win.

If you saw these guys in NXT, you know they are capable of great things. They don't need to face jobbers to build up momentum. They should have been brought in and made to look dominant by immediately beating top teams.

They will be champions eventually, but it's going to take a lot longer than it should if they keep giving bad promos and wrestling short matches.

Grade: C-

Notes and Highlights:

• It's official. Konnor and Viktor need a manager to do their talking for them.
• Where does WWE find these jobbers? They almost never look like they have any business in a wrestling ring.
• How amazing would it be if Paul Ellering was brought in to manage the Ascension?

Naomi vs. Alicia Fox

Naomi and Alicia Fox began a little program on Raw after Foxy attacked Naomi, seemingly out of nowhere and for no reason.

Naomi was on a roll, but Fox stole the win by using the ropes for leverage during a pinning combination. It was one of the shortest Divas matches we have seen in recent memory.

Both of these women have a lot of good qualities, so the fact they were given so little time should really tell us how the division is perceived by management.

Grade: D

Notes and Highlights:

• It's too bad Naomi doesn't have a shirt Jimmy Uso can wear to support her.
• Naomi needs to improve in the mic. It might be the main reason she has never won the Divas title.
• Does Alicia Fox even have a finisher anymore?

The Usos vs. Gold and Stardust vs. Miz and Mizdow

All three of the teams involved in this match have proven themselves to be competent and entertaining just about every time they step foot in the ring, so it should come as no surprise that this was a solid bout.

They might have relied on the goofiness of Stardust and Damien Mizdow a little too much in the first half, but there was still a lot of great action.

Mizdow finally got to spend a significant amount of time as the legal man, but he was on the receiving end of a beating almost the entire time.

The Usos picked up the win to retain their titles in what was almost definitely the best match of the night.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights:

• Mizdow really does perform Miz's moves better than Miz.
• Who do you think has the better superkick, Dolph Ziggler or the Usos?
• Mizdow's gimmick doesn't feel that special anymore. WWE should capitalize on his popularity soon and have him get angry at Miz for never letting him be in the spotlight.

Bad News Barrett vs. Sin Cara

In what could be the biggest upset we have seen in over a year, Sin Cara picked up a clean win over Bad News Barrett.

There was no interference or distraction; Sin Cara was actually booked to win a match outside of NXT. It's still hard to comprehend how that happened.

It was a quick match, but Sin Cara's quick offense made it entertaining. Barrett obviously didn't take the loss well and attacked Cara with his patented Bull Hammer.

Grade: C

Notes and Highlights:

• Sin Cara should be allowed to bring his NXT tag title to the ring. It would help with pushing the WWE Network and bring attention to his team with Kalisto.
• Sin Cara will probably get an Intercontinental title shot so Barrett can have an easy title defense to get his reign going.

Seth Rollins and Big Show vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose

It looked like Roman Reigns was going to have to face Seth Rollins and Big Show along, but then Dean Ambrose came out to finally put all three members of the Shield back in the same ring once again, albeit on different sides.

With three young talents such as Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose and a veteran like Big Show all involved, you are usually going to be in for a good show.

The young guns all kept the pace quick, while Big Show would come in to slow things down and give everyone a little time to rest. It all worked like a well-oiled machine.

Even with Kane, Noble and Mercury trying to keep them down, Ambrose and Reigns pulled out the victory to cap off the final SmackDown on Friday night.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights:

• The look on Rollins' face when Ambrose's music hit was priceless.
• Seeing Reigns and Ambrose on the same team again felt good. You never know how much you will miss something until it's gone.
• Big Show and Ambrose's trash talking was kind of funny.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

There were a few high points, but this week's episode of SmackDown largely dropped the ball. It just didn't feel like there was much effort put into anything that happened on the storyline side of things.

The tag title match and the main event were both exciting to a point, but two good matches can't make up for a lackluster card.

The shocking victory Sin Cara managed to steal from Wade Barrett will likely lead to some kind of short-term program between the two, but don't expect the masked luchador to win the IC title.

With the Royal Rumble just two weeks away, WWE needs to pick what other matches will be featured beside the main event and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout. This week's predictions will deal with filling up the rest of the Rumble card.

Predictions:

• Ryback, Dolph Ziggler and Erick Rowan will be rehired just in time to enter the Royal Rumble match.
• Wade Barrett will defend the IC title against Sin Cara.
• Nikki Bella will defend the Divas title against Naomi.
• There will be at least two legends who appear in the Rumble match.
• Seth Rollins will cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase after failing to win the title in the main event.

What did you think of this week's SmackDown?

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