WWE Friday Night SmackDown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Live on the USA Network | January 30th, 2026 — The Episode Recap:

Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn grabbing the WWE Undisputed Title in a tug of wars as both men have one goal and that's being WWE Undisputed Champion. (Image courtesy of WWE)

The January 30th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Match Results:

The Opening Match: Carmelo Hayes (c) defeated Rey Fenix in a WWE United States Title Match | via Pin-Fall — (14:00)

The 2nd Match: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair defeated The Judgement Day (Liv Morgan & Roxanne Perez) (with Raquel Rodriguez) in a Tag Team Match | via Pin-Fall — (12:30)

The 3rd Match: Axiom (Nathan Frazer) defeated Johnny Gargano in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall: — (00:00)

The 4th Match: Ilja Dragunov defeated The Miz in a Singles Match | via Pin-Fall — (11:40)

The Main Event Match: Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Randy Orton & Sami Zayn defeated The Vision (Austin Theory, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed & Logan Paul) (with Paul Heyman) in an Eight-Man Tag Team Match | via No Contest — (13:00)

My Thoughts on the January 30th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown:

My Thoughts: SmackDown has once again delivered a consistent run of five strong episodes to kick off the 2026 calendar year. This week’s show was particularly enjoyable, offering a number of meaningful developments heading into the Royal Rumble event tomorrow. What stood out most about this episode was the renewed focus on storytelling, especially in relation to both Royal Rumble matches. For the first time in this build, there was a real sense of tension and direction, as if WWE is finally investing effort into establishing compelling narratives for the participants. While the overall road to the Rumble has felt lackluster up to this point, tonight’s episode showed clear signs of improvement and intent. A major highlight of the show was the final face-to-face encounter between AJ Styles and Gunther ahead of their highly anticipated clash tomorrow. Their interaction added intensity and gravitas to their upcoming match, reinforcing the significance of their rivalry and raising expectations for how it will play out at the event. Another intriguing thread is the ongoing journey of Cody Rhodes as he continues his pursuit of the WWE Championship. The question now is whether Cody is becoming increasingly desperate in his quest for the title. Is he willing to tap into a darker side of his character to achieve his goal? This episode planted seeds of doubt and curiosity, suggesting that his story may be heading into more complex and morally ambiguous territory. Overall, SmackDown succeeded in creating anticipation for tomorrow’s Royal Rumble. Several key storylines gained momentum, important feuds were given added depth, and the stakes for the event feel clearer and more compelling. A lot of questions remain heading into tomorrow night, and that sense of uncertainty and excitement is exactly what a go-home show should deliver.

The January 30th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Match Ratings:

The Opening Match: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Rey Fenix in a WWE United States Title Match | The Match Rating: ****.50 — This was such a fun opening match. Carmelo Hayes has had an excellent title reign, and it continued with him taking on Rey Fenix as he tries to get his piece of gold in WWE. This had everything for me: the high-flying spots, the cool back-and-forth action, and I loved the reversal spot, which led to both men falling to the ground. Rey Fenix hasn’t been on the same level as his other luchador pals like Dragon Lee, Penta & Rey Mysterio, but I really hope he’s in the Royal Rumble tomorrow because that would help him a lot in gaining some type of momentum. But the ending of the match went as expected, as Carmelo Hayes retained. I don’t know if Carmelo Hayes is going to be in the Royal Rumble, but it would be nice to see. But this was a lot of fun, and Camrelo Hayes is on a tear.

The 2nd Match: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. The Judgement Day (Liv Morgan & Roxanne Perez) (with Raquel Rodriguez) in a Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: **.75 — This was a decent match. Before the match, we saw some tension between Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair about the Royal Rumble and how Alexa Bliss stated not everything about Charlotte Flair, which is leading me to believe the breakup is coming very soon. To add more insult, The Judgement Day came out trying to wedge more into the tension, but then Nick Aldis declared a match, and The Judgement Day, I thought, needed the win. They've been suffering losses after losses, but this makes me believe maybe tomorrow one of the members is going to have a major Royal Rumble run tomorrow night. But Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair got the win, but the tension between the two is still there. We'll see tomorrow who can be trusted at the Royal Rumble.

The 3rd Match: Axiom (Nathan Frazer) vs. Johnny Gargano in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: ***.75 — This was a very fun match this seem to be the end of the rivalry between Fraxiom and Johnny Gargano. Axiom is someone I want WWE to really focus on booking because the talent and everything are there. Johnny Gargano is trying to get at Axiom and rip his mask. This has been the whole premise of the storyline: trying to reveal who Axiom is and take his mask. Now, can they do a better job in booking both men? Yes. But this match got “This is Awesome” chants by the Saudi Arabia crowd, and as Johnny Gargano thought he had the upper hand, Axiom pulled back his old mask and got the win, seemingly ending the feud between both men. Now have Axiom & Nathan Frazer back in the Tag Team Scene, and with Johnny Gargano, you can do a lot and make him a solid upper mid-card guy.

The 4th Match: Ilja Dragunov vs. The Miz in a Singles Match | The Match Rating: *** — This was actually not a bad of a match. I thought this was going to be Ilja Dragunov squashing The Miz like a bug, but The Miz actually held his own in this match. The Miz has been trying to cause a wedge between Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov, which he has done with tension between both men before the match. The Miz was trying to get the upper hand on Ilja Dragunov on many occasions in this match, and I thought The Miz was trying to reach the same intensity that Ilja Dragunov usually gives off in his matches. But Ilja Dragunov comes away with the victory and now shifts his focus to winning the 2026 Royal Rumble Match tomorrow night.

The Main Event Match: Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Randy Orton & Sami Zayn vs. The Vision (Austin Theory, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed & Logan Paul) (with Paul Heyman) in an Eight-Man Tag Team Match | The Match Rating: N/A — This was a very fun All-Star Tag Team Match before it was ended in DQ thanks to Drew McIntyre attacking Sami Zayn. But this was a lot of fun. I have stated recently that I felt like WWE needs to tap more into All-Star Matches, and they have been doing so, and it has been some fun stuff. The star power in this match was ridiculous as well. I loved how after the DQ finish we saw Jacob Fatu come out, and Cody Rhodes & Sami Zayn trying to get a grab at the WWE Title but were speared by Bron Breakker, in which he was standing tall at the end of the show. The Royal Rumble is stacked; there are so many stars in this match for tomorrow night, it’s unreal. But this was a fun Main Event, and the aftermath of the Main Event Match was some good stuff, building up the Royal Rumble even more.

The January 30th WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Match of the Night: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Rey Fenix in a WWE United States Title Match | The Match Rating: ****.50

The January 30th Episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown — The Episode Grade: 7.25/10 (B-) — SmackDown again has had a consistent five episodes to start off the 2026 Calendar Year. This was a very fun show with a lot of new developments before the Royal Rumble Event tomorrow. What I like about this episode is the fact that we saw some tension, like they actually built some story for both Royal Rumble Matches tomorrow. Which they haven’t done whatsoever, the build has been poor, but they shown some effort tonight. AJ Styles and Gunther had one last showdown before the match tomorrow. And is Cody Rhodes starting to become desperate for the WWE Title? Will he dig into his dark side? A lot of answers need to be answered for tomorrow’s event.