6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (31 Jan - Results & Review)

1. Real Potential In Priest Working Fatu

That main event tag set up and then the actual match itself was a fun ride.

Damian Priest announced himself for the Rumble, refused to back down once Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga got in his face, then accepted LA Knight's help before making it clear it'll be every man for himself on Saturday night. Clearly, Tonga is always going to be take the fall in this sort of setting at the moment, but that's fine. He and Fatu are a good tag, but Jacob is the definite priority of the duo.

Priest vs. Fatu could be something special if WWE builds it properly as a ‘Streets vs. Streets’ battle. That looks like one of Triple H's master plans for 2025; Priest pinned Tonga (he needs to make that seated clutch into a South Of Heaven tease part of his regular arsenal - just saying), then Jacob destroyed him to end the show just like he wrecked Braun Strowman back at Saturday Night's Main Event.

Could WWE spin this all the way out until 'Mania? You bet. That'd be a hot undercard match on night one or two. Priest vs. Fatu has a heavyweight quality to it, and it'd be unbelievably cool if they went hammer and tongs in a number one contenders showdown (or something like that).

Priest is off to a top start on Friday nights. He looked every bit the big time star last week, and that carried over into this episode. In a clever twist, the writers brought Fatu up to that level too. Superb.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 5 Things That NEED To Happen At WWE Royal Rumble 2025 and WWE Royal Rumble 2025: 5 Shocks WWE Could Pull!