WWE SmackDown Live: 5 things we learned from this week's episode (January 1, 2019)
It's a new year, yes it is!
SmackDown Live started off with a bang as the first day of the new year came along with a really good episode for the blue brand of WWE.
One of the highlights of the night was the return of John Cena who took to the ring only to be interrupted by The Man of WWE, Becky Lynch. The duo competed in a Mixed Tag Team Match against Almas and Zelina Vega.
Naomi battled it out with Sonya DeVille after Mandy Rose pulled out of their scheduled match, which was won by DeVille after some distractions from Rose.
The main event of the night saw four veterans of SmackDown Live and a newcomer face each other for the number one contender's spot for the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan at the Royal Rumble.
AJ Styles came out on top in the match which included Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Mustafa Ali.
Overall, we learned at least 5 things from this week's episode which was filled with some highs and lows. What were they? Take a look and share your thoughts in the comments section below.
#5 Shinsuke Nakamura may be the exception
We learned on Raw this week that there will be no automatic rematches for champions who lose their championships after Triple H confronted Seth Rollins.
This is something that will help change WWE for the better as new wrestlers will get a chance to come out and shine, which we saw on Raw, where Apollo Crews won a battle royal and got a shot at the Intercontinental Championship against Dean Ambrose.
However, Shinsuke Nakamura came out to attack Rusev a week after the latter beat the former for the United States Championship. Nakamura did so while Rusev was celebrating his victory with his wife Lana, in front of the WWE Universe.
With this, it can be assumed that Nakamura will compete against Rusev once again in an attempt to win back the championship he lost last week. If that is the case, it means that he will get his automatic rematch without the label being attached to it.