WWE SmackDown Live: 5 things we learned from this week's episode (January 15, 2019)
SmackDown seems to have found the right recipe to deliver good shows, as they have been hitting it out of the park week after week and keeping fans interested.
While Raw is struggling to increase its ratings, SmackDown is working towards a better route naturally and giving many new and old superstars room to perform and get recognized.
Once again we had the pleasure of watching both Asuka and Becky Lynch compete in separate matches on the same night, while AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan’s rivalry was taken a step further.
One of the weak points of the show was the Mandy Rose storyline, which seems to be going down the same line as Rusev, Aiden English, and Lana’s, but overall the show was solid.
Rey Mysterio and Andrade delivered an A-grade match which was definitely the strongest point of the show, while The Miz tried to carry his new angle with Shane McMahon forward.
Overall a great episode on the road to Royal Rumble, there were a few interesting things we learned from this episode.
Check out the 5 things we learned from this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, and share your favourite moments in the comments below.
#5 The IIconics are coming back to life
The IIconics had become a permanent feature of SmackDown Live in mid-2018, but slowly lost importance after the Evolution pay-per-view and were out of action largely through the end of the year.
On Monday night, the Women’s Tag Team titles were unveiled, which created a lot of excitement, and a Tag Team Elimination Chamber match for the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was announced for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
This means there will be no tournament and only one single match which will determine the new champions.
The IIconics' immediate return means that they will be one of the main tag teams from SmackDown who will compete for the titles, as they are one of the only pure female tag teams in WWE today.
Not only will their inclusion help WWE make the competition more exciting, but it will also offer a new edge to the race to the championship which will spice things up.