This past Friday’s SmackDown took place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The show kicked off with the contract signing segment. AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight signed the contract. Paul Heyman then informed Nick Aldis that Roman Reigns wouldn’t sign the contract. Aldis told Heyman that he would make a triple threat match for the vacant Undisputed WWE Universal Title if Reign didn’t sign the contract. Heyman said that Reigns wants a singles match at Royal Rumble. AJ Styles and LA Knight had a brawl after exchanging a few words. Randy Orton told Paul Heyman that he would beat Solo Sikoa to send a message to Roman Reigns.
Santos Escobar, Angel & Humberto defeated The LWO (Carlito, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) in a Six-Man Tag Team match.
Pete Dunn and Tyler Bate defeated Pretty Deadly in a Tag Team match.
Logan Paul appeared on the Kevin Owens show. After exchanging a few words, the United States Champion attacked Owens. The Prizefighter got back up and brawled with Logan. However, The Maverick got the upper hand.
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter defeated Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championship.
The match between AJ Styles and LA Knight ended in a no-contest.
In the main event, Randy Orton defeated Solo Sikoa. After the match, Roman Reigns Superman punched Orton. Reigns then signed the contract. Orton delivered an RKO on Reigns to end the show.
According to Nielsen via Wrestlenomics, the January 19th episode of WWE SmackDown drew 2.408 million viewers on FOX and a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
WWE SmackDown viewership & ratings for the past few weeks
| Episode of WWE SmackDown | Viewership | 18-49 demographic |
| January 19 | 2.408 million | 0.62 |
| January 12 | 2.384 million | 0.64 |
| January 5 | 2.465 million | 0.67 |
| December 29 | 1.355 million | 0.28 |
| December 22 | 2.108 million | 0.55 |
| December 15 | 2.154 million | 0.51 |
| December 8 | 2.384 million | 0.63 |