WWE SmackDown Notes: Results, Carmelo Hayes Makes Surprise Appearance, Karrion Kross Reveals Group Name, Austin Theory Suffered Head Injury

WWE SmackDown Results โ€“ Jan. 12, 2024

January 12, 2024
Lincoln, NE โ€“ Pinnacle Bank Arena
Commentary โ€“ Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves

Quick Match Results

  1. Cameron Grimes vs. Grayson Waller went to a No Contest
  2. Legado Del Fantasmo (Angel & Humberto) defeated LWO (Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro) via Sitdown Pin
  3. Bianca Belair defeated Bayley via KOD (pinfall)
  4. Austin Theory vs. Carmelo Hayes went to a No Contest (ref stoppage)
  5. 3-on-2 Handicap match – AJ Styles, LA Knight, & Randy Orton defeated The Bloodline (Jey Uso & Solo Sikoa) via RKO (pinfall)

Carmelo Hayes Makes Surprise Appearance at Friday’s SmackDown Show

Friday’s SmackDown show featured NXT talent Carmelo Hayes making a surprise appearance for the SmackDown brand.

In a backstage segment, Hayes was seen sitting down in SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis’ office. Hayes asked Aldis about a potential spot in this year’s Men’s Royal Rumble match but before anything else could happen, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory walked in and interrupted their conversation. After some banter between Hayes and Waller, Hayes issued a challenge for a match between the two which Waller rejected but offered Theory in his place instead. Hayes accepted Waller’s offer and Aldis made the match official for tonight’s show.

This was Hayes’ first appearance in SmackDown since the December 15, 2023 SmackDown show.


Show Long Mystery Partner Storyling for Bloodline’s Six-Man Tag Match at Friday’s Show Ends Up Being Nobody

Friday’s SmackDown show also feature nobody being revealed as the mystery partner for The Bloodline’s Six-Man tag team match storyline that took place throughout the entire show.

This was setup following an in-ring promo segment involving The Bloodline and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. Following the Bloodline attacking Cameron Grimes causing his match against Grayson Waller to be thrown out before it started, Paul Heyman gave a promo stating that they are not the bad guys over what happened on last week’s show and instead Aldis is for making Roman Reigns have to defend his Undisputed WWE Universal title against three other people at Royal Rumble 2024. This led to Aldis coming out and stated that this was the second match in as many weeks that the Bloodline ruined but tonight’s show will not be the case since the Bloodline will be competing in the main event. Aldis stated that this will be a Six-Man tag team match of AJ Styles, LA Knight, & Randy Orton vs. The Bloodline. Heyman responded stating that Reigns was not at the show tonight which led to Aldis responding back that they have until the start of their match to find a third person or else it will be a 3-on-2 Handicap match instead.

In a follow-up backstage segment, Heyman tried to recruit Carlito to be on the Bloodline’s team for the night and even offered an apple as a gift. Carlito responded rejecting Heyman’s request since he only wants to fight Santos Escobar but still took the apple to eat and walked off with the rest of the LWO.

In another follow-up backstage segment, Pretty Deadly went up to Heyman and offered to team up with the Bloodline for their match tonight. Heyman responded that the Bloodline only needs one tag partner not two, which led to Pretty Deadly dropping their offer and apologized and slowly walked away.

In another follow-up backstage segment, Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits were seen walking backstage only to be interrupted by Heyman who offered Lashley a spot on the Bloodline’s team for their match tonight. Lashley rejected the offer and stated that the only time he wants to be in the ring with the Bloodline is when he goes face-to-face against Roman Reigns. Lashley and the Street Profits then walked away leaving Heyman still empty handed on his quest to find someone for the Bloodline’s team.

In another follow-up backstage segment, Jey Uso asked Heyman if he had found someone which led to Heyman going on a rant about nobody stepping up to take a spot and closed the door on the offer. This led to Uso stating that he was concerned about being at a disadvantage while Solo Sikoa stated he was not which led to Uso changing his mind.

Before the start of the Six-Man tag team match, The Bloodline ambushed Orton from behind and took him out of the match turning the 3-on-2 Handicap match into a regular tag team match instead. This was all for naught due to Orton showing up later in the match to make it back into a Handicap match.


Karrion Kross Reveals “The Final Testament” as Official Name of His New Group

Friday’s SmackDown show also featured Karrion Kross revealing that the official name of his new group is called “The Final Testament.”

This announcement was made during a segment involving Bobby Lashley, The Street Profits, and Paul Ellering. Lashley and the Street Profits came out to the ring and Lashley talked about Kross and AOP’s attack on them at last week’s show. Lashley then called out Kross and his group for a fight which led to the lights going out and dimmed when they came back on. Ellering came out and pointed to the giant screen which played a promo video by Kross and Scarlett. After some words by Kross hyping up his new group as a threat and being the dawn of a new era, Kross revealed that his group’s official name is “The Final Testament.”

Final Testament is the same name of a trademark that was filed by WWE this past Sunday.


Austin Theory Suffered Head Injury at Friday’s SmackDown Show

Friday’s SmackDown show also featured Austin Theory suffering a head-related injury during his match against Carmelo Hayes.

This injury took place following Theory blocking Hayes from hitting a First 48 from the top rope and countered with a middle rope Spanish Fly resulting in Hayes landing on Theory’s head and both guys landing hard on the mat. After the referee checked on both guys, the referee called for the bell due to Theory being unable to continue.