SmackDown Results: Big twist sees change in title match for Royal Rumble; No.1 Contender crowned
Roman Reigns was backstage before SmackDown and was looking over his Royal Rumble match contract. Paul Heyman told him that there needed to be a stipulation so that Reigns can really punish Pearce and offered to handle it.
Jey Uso kicked off SmackDown and said that all the Superstars in WWE should thank Roman Reigns for providing them with exposure and everything else. He said that he was going to enter the Royal Rumble and win it before going to RAW to challenge Drew McIntyre or Goldberg, whoever the WWE champion is at the time.
He then started trash-talking Nakamura who almost won the Gauntlet match before the Artist came out to face him. Nakamura called Uso a little puppy and hit a knee strike to the face before we headed for commercials.
Jey Uso vs. Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown
Back on SmackDown, the match was underway and Uso had the upper hand early as he wailed on Nakamura in the corner before hitting a slam for a near fall. Nakamura locked in a chin lock and sent him into the corner with some kicks before Cesaro made his way to the ring.
Nakamura drove Uso into the ring post and after a short break, Cesaro was on commentary and Uso resumed control of the match. Cesaro announced his Royal Rumble entry and said that he planned to eliminate Daniel Bryan.
Nakamura came back in with a knee strike and took back control before taking a boot to the face. Uso hit a Samoan Drop for a near fall and then another with a neck breaker.
Shinsuke set up for the Kinshasa but Uso countered with a superkick. Uso went for a dirty pin but the referee caught him and broke the count. Shinsuke rolled Uso up and then hit the Kinshasa as he was arguing with the ref and picked up the win on SmackDown.
Result: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jey Uso
Match rating: B