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WWE Universe, 2026 is here, and the first show of the Blue brand ushers in the “three-hour” era for Friday Night Fight Night. The next couple of weeks will be hectic, with SmackDown going to Berlin for the showdown of the century for the Undisputed WWE Championship, and it all begins on the first WWE show of the new year. We all know you’re hyped up, so let’s get into it. Here are WWE SmackDown results for January 2, 2026.
Let’s run it down.
Live Venue – Where Is SmackDown Tonight?:
WWE SmackDown on January 2, 2026, airs live from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Broadcast Details – What Time Is SmackDown Tonight, January 2, 2026?
- Time: 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) – Account for Daylight Savings Time / 7 p.m. Central Time (CT) /
- Channel: USA Network
- Streaming: Netflix internationally, with early feed available in select markets; Fubo TV, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, and Hulu+ Live TV for U.S. streaming
WWE SmackDown Card Tonight (1/2/26):
- Jade Cargill vs. Michin
- Ambulance Match: Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black
- 8-Woman Tag Team Match: Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY vs. Nia Jax, Lash Legend & The Kabuki Warriors
- Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes Appears Live
- United States Championship Match: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
- Women’s United States Championship Match: Chelsea Green (c) vs. Giulia
WWE SmackDown Results (1/2/26):
- SmackDown’s commentary team, Michael Cole and Corey Graves, welcomed the WWE Universe to the first episode of the Blue brand for 2026. Before they could go further, The Miz would interrupt them, airing out his grievances. Miz talked about how there was an obligation for him to face John Cena and be the one to tap him out, but it was not met. Second, the “A-Lister” aired out his dirty laundry regarding Carmelo Hayes. Miz would go on and on, even calling Timothee Chalamet for a role that Miz was supposedly “primed to get.” Finally, Miz took exception to Joe Hendry and his actions last week. Miz let it all hang out, saying that he’s the new face of WWE and he’s the gateway and locker room leader as Cena is now retired. A legend would return to SmackDown, taking The Miz out in one fell swoop.
- For the first match of the evening, a stellar 8-Woman Tag Team Match is next, involving The Kabuki Warriors, Lash Legend, and Nia Jax taking on Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, and IYO SKY. Asuka, Kairi Sane, Legend, and Jax came out of the gates fast, dominating every competitor who dared to tag into the match. They isolated Alexa Bliss in the beginning, and even thwarted the attempts of Charlotte Flair and IYO SKY to mount a comeback. Unfortunately for them, Rhea Ripley would get tagged in, running roughshod over the match. Rhea would catch Kairi Sane in mid-air, then prop her up for a Riptide. Ripley would tag in her partner IYO SKY, as the “Genius of the Sky” would hit an Over the Moonsault to pick up the victory for her team.
- We see Nick Aldis speaking with a huge NXT star, before getting interrupted by Women’s United States Champion, Chelsea Green. Chelsea refused to defend the title; Aldis would make it known that if she didn’t, she would be stripped of the title.
- A “brand new” Kit Wilson is in action next on SmackDown. Wilson got his backside handed to him in quick succession, as he was met with the newest WWE SmackDown signing and a returning star.
- Sami Zayn pours his heart out to the WWE Universe. Zayn made it clear that he’s not here to play around anymore, stating that he intends to become world champion in 2026. Sami would get interrupted by a debuting former NXT star, essentially promising a confrontation between the two sooner rather than later.
- #AndNEW United States Champion Carmelo Hayes defends the title for the first time against Johnny Gargano. Johnny Wrestling had control for the early part of this match, due to the new champion seemingly having nerves for his first title defense. Fortunately, Melo would bounce back, creating openings for himself to mount a comeback. From then on, the match was a back-and-forth affair. In the ending moments of the match, Gargano performed an Air Raid Crash, which was more than enough to put anyone away, but not Carmelo. The champion would get into a groove, hitting the First 48, and leaving no room to breathe as he hit hits Nothing But Net to secure his first successful title defense.
- There was a lot that went on backstage after the match, as WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill got confronted by Jordynne Grace, and the two spewed out fighting words. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes also got into it with would-be challenger Sami Zayn before Nick Aldis entered the fray, and Rhodes said that he was looking for McIntyre. Even if he’s not here right now to name his stipulations, Rhodes will be coming out to the ring to handle business. McIntyre would name his stipulations and make reprehensible comments about Cody Rhodes and the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes before doing something, only, as Nick Aldis would describe it, something that only someone who’s “sick in the head” would do.
- Women’s United States Champion Chelsea Green defends the title against Giulia. Green was on top of her game tonight; unfortunately, no matter how much Alba Fyre interfered, Giulia had a chip on her shoulder. After a Northern Lights Bomb, Giulia becomes the #AndNEW Women’s United States Champion, marking her second reign with the title.
- For the first time in SmackDown history, an Ambulance Match will take place, as Aleister Black takes on Damian Priest in the main event to finally end their long-standing rivalry. If you crave brutality, this was the match to watch. These two brutalized each other in unthinkable ways, hitting each other with all sorts of plunder, such as a crutch, a stretcher, and even a lighter that saw Damian Priest blow fire into the face of Aleister Black, revenge for the fireball that Black threw in the face of Priest months ago. Despite that, Black still had Priest rocked towards the end of the match and called for his wife, Zelina, to open the ambulance doors. Waiting for Zelina was all manner of retribution, as Rhea Ripley had Priest’s back and chased off Zelina. Priest would go into another mode, hitting Priest with an equipment box, and launching him into the windshield of the ambulance with a Razor’s Edge. The “Archer of Infamy” was by no means done. On top of the ambulance, Priest would hoist up Black for a Chokeslam through a table he set up near the back of the vehicle, obliterating Aleister into pieces. Once and for all, Damian Priest would exorcise his demons, closing all the doors to the ambulance, capping off the night, and beginning the new year as he puts an end to this blood battle on the first SmackDown of 2026.
That’s all for REAL-TIME WWE SmackDown results for January 2, 2026, as they happened LIVE.
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