The December 15th episode of SmackDown took place at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Bloodline kicked off the show. Roman Reigns announced that Solo Sikoa would be the next Tribal Chief. Randy Orton interrupted Reigns and said that he would be coming for the title. The Viper challenged Tribal Chief to a match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. However, Reigns told Orton that he didn’t earn a title opportunity. Randy Orton tried to hit an RKO on Reigns, but he escaped.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Grayson Waller to advance to the next round of the United States Championship tournament.
Kevin Owens defeated Austin Theory to qualify for the next round of the United States Championship tournament.
In a pre-taped segment, Bayley praised Iyo Sky. The Role Model then said that she would win the Royal Rumble to challenge Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship. She also said that The Kabuki Warriors will be coming for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
In the main event, Randy Orton faced Jimmy Uso. Solo Sikoa tried to interfere in the bout. LA Knight attacked Solo. Orton hit an RKO on Jimmy to win the match. Roman Reigns then ambushed Knight. The Bloodline attacked Orton and Knight before AJ Styles made the save. However, Styles hit a clothesline on Knight.
According to Nielsen via SpoilerTV, the December 15th episode of WWE SmackDown drew 2.154 million viewers on FOX and a 0.51 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
WWE SmackDown viewership & ratings for the past few weeks
| Episode of WWE SmackDown | Viewership | 18-49 demographic |
| December 15 | 2.154 million | 0.51 |
| December 8 | 2.384 million | 0.63 |
| December 1 | 2.044 million | 0.59 |
| November 24 on FS1 | 789,000 | 0.24 |
| November 17 | 2.206 million | 0.62 |
| November 10 | 2.195 million | 0.57 |
| November 3 | 2.119 million | 0.53 |