WWE superstar Kevin Owens slams Solo Sikoa onto a table on SmackDown before the Royal Rumble

WWE SmackDown saw Kevin Owens lay out Solo Sikoa after Sami Zayn turned up against the orders of Roman Reigns.

The former world champion faced one final obstacle before his hyped Undisputed WWE Universal Title match against the Tribal Chief tonight at the 2023 Royal Rumble as he faced The Bloodline enforcer.

At the top of the show, Sikoa arrived with The Usos when Sami sneaked up to them to thank Jey for having his back during Monday’s emotionally charged Tribal Court which saw his position in the group saved when all hoped looked lost.

After that moment on Raw, Roman had told Sami that he didn’t want to see him until the Rumble on Saturday night, where he will face his final test.

Perhaps he would have got away with his brief interaction with Jey, but the Honorary Uce then made his presence felt more obviously in the main event with Jimmy and Jey Uso banned from ringside after a confrontation backstage.

KO and Sikoa had the entertaining, physical battle you’d expect from the opening bell, and Owens looked to have things won when Sami pulled Sikoa out of the ring and got accidentally hit with an errant superkick.

Owens fought back and then powerbombed his opponent onto the announce table and cracked him with a steel chair after a tense moment with Sami, standing tall and delivering a warning to Roman for this weekend.

There is so much to look forward to with The Bloodline at the Rumble, from Sami’s allegiances to KO’s performance against the champ. This is going to be special.

Brock Lesnar attacks Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus replaced by Ricochet and Braun Strowman, and Uncle Howdy appears

In the first match of the night, Rey Mysterio overcame a formidable challenge in the form of Karrion Kross.

The villain’s overconfidence cost him as the masked legend reversed a powerslam into a crucifix rollup to win the bout.

Raw’s Austin Theory came out with the United States Championship to hype up his chances in the Royal Rumble, but he as met with The New Day and The Miz playing up their own involvement this weekend.

Brock Lesnar attacked Bobby Lashley once again (Picture: WWE)

Bobby Lashley came out and cleared house, but he was met by Brock Lesnar hopping the guardrail and attacking the All Mighty, laying him out with an F-5.

He revealed he will be part of the Rumble, adding another layer of drama with the two heavyweights both declared for the 30-man match.

Lacey Evans appeared as her latest character change got highlighted with a submission win over localt talent Jazmin Allure.

The Viking Raiders laid out Drew McIntyre and Sheamus (Picture: WWE)

Drew McIntyre and Sheamus were set to face Hit Row in a semi-final match in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Contender’s Tournament.

However, they got brutally attacked by The Viking Raiders beforehand, which led to Adam Pearce announcing they were pulled from the match with Braun Strowman and Ricochet taking their place.

LA Knight came out dressed as the original incarnation of Bray Wyatt (Picture: WWE)

What followed was a fun match – largely thinks to Ricochet and Ashante Thee Adonis – before Strowman picked up the win with a Monster Bomb to progress to the final.

Before the other semi-final, there was time for LA Knight to come out with a straw hat and Hawaiian shirt to mock the original Bray Wyatt persona, cutting a promo on his opponent for tonight’s Pitch Black Match.

Wyatt came out and insisted the time for taking was done, before warning Knight about the lights going out as Uncle Howdy appeared in a skybox.

In the penultimate match of the night, Imperium due Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser beat Legado del Fantasma’s Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde in a fantastic bout to progress to next week’s final against Ricochet and Braun.

WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.

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