WWE SmackDown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reactions and Highlights From Jan. 9
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE SmackDown on January 9.
After returning to a three-hour format last week, the blue brand hosted one of its biggest matches in years with Three Stages of Hell this week.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Friday's show:
- Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre (Three Stages of Hell, WWE Championship)
- Trick Williams vs. Rey Fenix
- Wyatt Sicks vs. MFTs
- Giulia vs. Alexa Bliss (United States Championship)
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's SmackDown.
The Viper is Back
1 of 8
After a quick intro, Randy Orton made his way to the ring for his first real promo since returning last week and hitting an RKO on The Miz without saying a word.
Before The Viper could even get out two sentences, Trick Williams interrupted him. He came out dressed for his match with Fenix, but he wanted to trade words with Orton first.
Williams said it was 2026, not 2006, which seemed to indicate he thinks Orton should step aside for newer guys. Orton said he sees a star in Williams, but he made the mistake of interrupting The Legend Killer.
As expected, things eventually got tense and turned into a fight. Orton hit a few punches and a draping DDT on Williams. The Miz attacked Orton from behind, but The Viper turned his finisher into an RKO.
This was a pretty run-of-the-mill segment. It set up a potential feud for Orton with both The Miz and Williams, but it also made the new guy on SmackDown look kind of dumb before his first match as a member of the main roster.
Grade: C-plus
Notable Moments and Observations
Rey Fenix vs. Trick Williams
2 of 8
Last time in action: Fenix and Rey Mysterio defeated Dom Mysterio and El Grande Americano (AAA, Dec. 20), Williams lost to Myles Borne (NXT, Nov. 18)
Fenix made his way to the ring and fist bumped Orton as they passed each other. This was Williams' first official match as a member of the SmackDown roster, so there were a lot of eyes on him to see how he performed.
They locked up and Trick Willy showed off his power by easily pushing Fenix to the ropes. They traded a few near-falls, but Williams kept the upper hand.
Fenix hit a few nice moves, but most of this match was dominated by Williams. He has always worked well with smaller guys, but he seemed to take things a bit slower in this match than we usually see from him.
If they had picked up the pace a little sooner, this would have been a great match, but it felt like they were taking it easy until the final couple of minutes. We know both of these guys are great at what they do, so it was a little surprising that they didn't do more.
Williams ended up countering a pin with a handful of tights to get the win. Making this a dirty victory might be an indication that they will have another match soon.
Result: Williams defeated Fenix
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Giulia vs. Alexa Bliss
3 of 8
Last time in action: Giulia defeated Chelsea Green (SD, Jan. 2), Bliss won an eight-woman tag match (SD, Jan. 2)
The United States Championship was on the line in the next match when Bliss challenged Giulia for the belt that she just won from Green last week. James was by her client's side, as usual.
Bliss was solo this week due to Charlotte Flair being sick, so she came into this bout at an immediate disadvantage.
They started the match with an exchange of strikes that ended with the champion hitting a snap suplex and a missile dropkick for a two-count.
Bliss didn't start to gain any momentum until after a commercial break, but Giulia didn't make it easy on her. She kept finding ways to combat the former world champion's offense.
James distracted the ref while Bliss was preparing to hit Sister Abigail, but The Goddess took her out. Lash Legend ended up interfering out of nowhere by shoving Bliss off the top rope, which allowed Giulia to hit a Northern Lights suplex for the win.
There was some good energy in this match, but having another dirty finish right after we had one in the first match wasn't ideal.
Jax and Legend destroyed Bliss after Giulia and James had left.
Result: Giulia defeated Bliss
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
.jpg?w=256 "WWE NXT Live Grades")
MFT vs. Wyatt Sicks
4 of 8
Last time in action: MFT vs. Wyatt Sicks ended in a No Contest (SD, Dec. 15)
Solo Sikoa, Talla Tonga, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa were accompanied by JC Mateo for their match against Uncle Howdy, Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan and Dexter Lumis, who had Nikki Cross by their side.
The arena lit up with the fireflies as The Wyatt Sicks made their way to the ring. It was great to see the crowd still so into the group despite WWE being inconsistent when booking it.
Lumis and Loa started for their teams and the Wyatts took control with a little double-team offense from Gacy and Lumis.
The MFTs took control during the break and we returned to see Sikoa hitting Gacy with a signature running hip attack.
This was a fast-paced match with a lot of physicality from both sides, but the showdown between Howdy and Sikoa was what all of this was leading to. Sikoa used the lantern to draw Howdy's attention away from the ring, allowing Tama to hit his finisher and get the win for his team.
Result: MFT defeated Wyatt Sicks
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Alba Fyre vs. Jordynne Grace
5 of 8
Last time in action: Fyre and Green lost to James and Giulia (SD, Dec. 19), Grace lost to Kelani Jordan (NXT, Dec. 9)
It was a week of debuts with Williams having his first match earlier in the show and Grace having her first outing against Fyre.
Grace started unloading as soon as she got her hands on Fyre. She hit a few short-arm clotheslines and a modified sidewalk slam before Fyre shot back with a kick and a DDT for a two-count.
Green distracted the ref while Grace was trying to pin her opponent, so The Juggernaut threw Fyre into her to knock her off the apron. She hit a torture rack bomb for a quick and easy win.
This wasn't a very long match and there wasn't much to it, but what little bit we saw looked good. Fyre is a reliable performer and Grace is great at the power moves, so they were able to have a few good spots.
As the victor was leaving the ringside area, Jade Cargill came out, sized her up and talked a little trash to her about how she's not special. It looks like WWE is going to throw Grace right into the title scene, which isn't surprising. She's proved herself, so there is no point in waiting.
Result: Grace defeated Fyre
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Carmelo Hayes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
6 of 8
Last time in action: Hayes defeated Johnny Gargano (SD, Jan. 2), Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kit Wilson (Main Event, Dec. 5)
Hayes held an open challenge for his United States Championship this week. We knew The Miz and Dragunov would not be answering the call, so his opponent was a genuine mystery until Nakamura's music hit.
Melo had a huge smile on his face when he squared up with a man who is no stranger to the U.S. title. They started with a clean lockup and takedown sequence.
With both men operating as babyfaces right now, it meant we were going to get a good clean match, which was a nice change of pace after a few dirty finishes earlier in the show.
We've been saying it for months, but the U.S. title bouts have become a weekly highlight on SmackDown thanks to the efforts of Zayn, Dragunov and now Hayes, and this match was no different.
Nakamura is a talented veteran and Hayes is a gifted young star who is just beginning to find his groove on the main roster, so it would have been shocking if they didn't put on a great match.
Nakamura worked on the leg of Hayes for a long time to soften him up and take away his aerial ability, but the young champion kept himself in the fight. They had a lot of time to make this fun and made the most of every minute.
The challenger put in a good effort, but Melo was able to counter the Kinshasa with The First 48 before hitting a diving leg drop for the win.
Result: Hayes defeated Nakamura
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre
7 of 8
Last time in action: Rhodes defeated Femi (SNME, Dec. 13), McIntyre's team won WarGames (Survivor Series 2025)
Throughout the show, WWE was hyping the Three Stages of Hell match between Rhodes and McIntyre that served as the main event. With zero commercials during the final hour, this felt more like a PLE match than a typical TV bout.
The first fall was a standard wrestling match, and it got started with exactly 30 minutes left in the episode. Rhodes came out of the gate hot and sent McIntyre out of the ring for a suicide dive.
The ref was distracted with a loose turnbuckle when The Scottish Warrior hit a low blow followed by a Claymore to win the first fall. The next stage was a Fall Count Anywhere match, which meant all the rules went out the window.
McIntyre immediately got a table from under the ring and set it up so he could powerbomb the champion through it for a close two-count. They fought in the crowd and used the environment to inflict a lot of damage on each other.
Rhodes put McIntyre through the announce table to win the second fall, which meant they had to go into a steel cage for the final stage of the match. Both men looked worn out as the cage lowered, but The American Nightmare was in a bit better shape.
Rhodes had the upper hand and sent his opponent into the walls of the cage a few times. McIntyre almost escaped through the door, but Rhodes brought him back in with a suplex.
Both men survived each other's finisher a couple of times and took each other apart for another 15 minutes. When it looked like McIntyre was about to win, Jacob Fatu showed up and got in the cage to start beating him up.
He ended up fighting Rhodes, too, and that gave the challenger the opportunity he needed to go through the door and win the WWE Championship.
This match was exactly what it needed to be. It made Rhodes look like a fighting champion, even in defeat. McIntyre winning the title is going to make a lot of fans happy, especially those who saw it live in Germany. There's not much more to say other than both men did a tremendous job.
Fatu returning immediately gives McIntyre another rival as he begins his reign, but he is also going to have an angry Rhodes to deal with since he cost him the belt.
Result: McIntyre defeated Rhodes
Grade: A
Notable Moments and Observations
- Aldis announced four qualifying matches, with the winners fighting in a No. 1 Contender's match at the next Saturday Night's Main Event. The winner of that gets their title shot at the Royal Rumble.
- It's wild to think that it's been 16 years since Rhodes and McIntyre were tag champs together. They were called The Dashing Ones.
- The sound McIntyre's head made when it hit the barricade was wild.
- The splash Rhodes hit from above an entrance to put McIntyre through a table was a great spot.
- Rhodes suplexing McIntyre from the apron back into the ring was an impressive display of power.
The Final Word
8 of 8It may seem strange, but somehow the past two weeks of SmackDown have made three hours easier to sit through that Raw, which is usually about two-and-a-half hours.
Giving us a solid mixture of different matches and competitors helps a lot, but the way the show is set up also makes a difference. It felt like there was more focus on the wrestling while still having a healthy mix of backstage and non-wrestling segments.
Hayes and Nakamura would have stolen the show any other week, but this week belonged to the main event with Three Stages of Hell.
Rhodes and McIntyre's feud has stretched on for what some might say is too long, but having it lead to The Scottish Warrior finally regaining the WWE Championship was the right call.
He has been one of the best heels in WWE in 2025, and it looks like that trend will continue in 2026. This was the first time the WWE title changed hands outside of a PLE in five years, so it made this episode feel special.
Grade: B+
.jpg?w=480 "WWE NXT Live Grades")
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
