— Following last night’s WWE Smackdown, two matches are official for next week’s episode in Phoenix, AZ. The WWE Women’s Title will be on the line as Nia Jax defends against Naomi. The two were on opposites on yesterday’s show with Naomi teaming up with Bayley and Bianca Belair and coming out on top over Jax, Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae in a trios match. Also announced for next week’s Smackdown is a non-title match with United States champion Shinsuke Nakamura taking on Andrade.
— Meanwhile, WWE also announced that the scheduled Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley match on the January 6 episode of Raw (which would be the Netflix premiere) will now be a Last Woman Standing Match.
— Finally, it was announced that Kevin Owens will challenge WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes at Royal Rumble and it will be a Ladder Match. Owens has been carrying around the “Winged Eagle” belt ever since he felt he got robbed at November’s Saturday Night’s Main Event while Rhodes has his normal Undisputed title. In the match, both belts will be suspended above the ring and ladder. This is the first announced matches for the PLE, apart from the men’s and women’s 30-person Rumble bouts.
