Jim Cornette Reviews WWE Smackdown (January 9, 2026)

What this episode is about

In Jim Cornette's review of WWE Smackdown from January 9, 2026, he discusses the show's setting in Berlin and reflects on the impact of international audiences on wrestling events. He contrasts the current landscape of WWE with simpler times, highlighting the geographical education that wrestling once provided while hinting at significant surprises and title changes that occurred during the show.

Key takeaways

• WWE's international events remind us: geography lessons can be learned via headlocks and body slams!
• Three-hour shows might extend the action, but they risk testing fans' patience more than their wrestling knowledge.
• Once, kids learned geography through wrestling; now, they'd rather Google 'where's Stoutgart?'—progress or decline?
• Nostalgia hits hard: remember when wrestling rivalries unfolded over months, not just in three-hour marathons?
• Cody vs. Drew shows the evolution of storytelling—who needs downtime when you have gimmicks at the ready?

Who speaks in this episode?

• Jim Cornette (Host) · 20 min speaking
• Brian Last (Guest) · 8 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Royal Rumble, Dusty Rhodes, AEW, Moscow
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Cactus Jack, Eddie Gilbert, Joel Goodart, False Count Anywhere
3. 10:00 – 15:00: WWE, Tony Khan, Triple H, Lee Fitting
4. 15:00 – 20:00: False Count Anywhere, Drew McIntyre
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Drew McIntyre, Jacob Fatu, No DQ
6. 25:00 – 28:04: Drew McIntyre, Jacob Fatu, Cody Rhodes, Royal Rumble

Notable quotes from "Jim Cornette Reviews WWE Smackdown (January 9, 2026)"

• And then after this, of course, I'm looking forward to the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Hey, if you don't mind, let me ask you a couple questions before we get into the main event match.

  about Royal Rumble · at 4:56

• One of them was either false count anywhere or no DQ.

  about False Count Anywhere · at 6:49

• Bottle over my head. And they didn't bake it. He thought that they just hit, but Eddie was really trying to work it. And that just makes it worse because then he just was bap bapping. You heard the clon clonk on Cactus's head.

  about Eddie Gilbert · at 7:44

• It's the same bunch of people. And that's why it's starting to feel more and more like the same old show just with Lee Fitting producing it. The backstage segments, they're turning back into what they used.

  about WWE · at 12:10

• Of we're going to have a new set for the show. We're going to have a new [ __ ] look for the show. Lee Fitting brought a lot of new production in and it looks so much better than the Kevin Dunn days, but the what they're shooting.

  about Lee Fitting · at 13:42

• The turnbuckle pad off and as the referee grabbed it was going to try to replace it, Drew kicked Cody in the balls and hit him with a claymore. Boom.

  about Drew McIntyre · at 15:08

• Door and there's a hooded figure and it's Jacob Fatu and they stare at each other and then Drew runs from him like he's seen a ghost and tries to climb out and Jacob gets in the ring again.

  about Jacob Fatu · at 22:21

• And Drew McIntyre the champion on the other. We'll see what happens there. And Cody Rhodess, his title reign is over and we'll see what happens there. And Jacob Fatu is back…

  about Cody Rhodes · at 27:41

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Drew McIntyre — Person · Core topic · 7 mentions · first at 14:52
  Central figure in the main-event analysis: wrestles Cody Rhodes in a multi-stipulation 2-out-of-3 falls match and wins the championship via interference.
• Cody Rhodes — Person · Core topic · 1 mention · first at 27:45
  The episode’s main match revolves around Cody losing his title to Drew McIntyre; his booking and the finish are heavily critiqued.
• Jacob Fatu — Person · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 22:25
  Interferes in the cage fall, attacks Cody, and directly causes the title change; his alignment (face/heel) and portrayal are debated.
• Cactus Jack — Person · Referenced historical example · 3 mentions · first at 5:35
  Used as a precedent for a 2-out-of-3 falls with different stipulations in Tri-State Wrestling; bottle spot is recalled.
  Obviously, when Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert did it for Joel Goodart, it was spread throughout the night.
• Tony Khan — Person · Referenced comparison point · 2 mentions · first at 11:15
  Used as a shorthand for a certain booking style (tournaments/qualifiers); speaker rhetorically asks if he is 'booking Smackdown'.
  Before Tony Khan existed as a wrestling booker, if you think of all the things we were complaining about with WWE and Vince McMahon deserves the lion.
• Triple H — Person · Referenced decision-maker · 2 mentions · first at 12:01
  Cited as part of the creative leadership and directly criticized for WWE TV direction; also referenced via a claim about South Korean fans rejecting his booking.
  It's Bruce Pritchard. It's Ed Ksky. It's Triple H. It's Road Dog. It's all the same crew. Michael Hayes.
• Dusty Rhodes — Person · Referenced legacy figure · 1 mention · first at 4:32
  Invoked to frame Cody’s motivation (watch/picture angle) and compared to classic Dusty promo ethos about the Superdome.
  And last week he may have burned a picture of me and Dusty or whatever, but that's lazy, Drew, because Dusty doesn't make the comeback. I make the comeback.
• Eddie Gilbert — Person · Referenced historical example · 3 mentions · first at 5:35
  Paired with Cactus Jack in the referenced Tri-State multi-stipulation series; cited for the bottle spot execution.
• Joel Goodart — Person · Referenced promoter · 2 mentions · first at 5:35
  Named as the promoter behind Tri-State Wrestling and the historical multi-stipulation booking being compared to WWE’s approach.
  Obviously, when Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert did it for Joel Goodart, it was spread throughout the night.
• Lee Fitting — Person · Referenced production figure · 2 mentions · first at 12:15
  Credited with improving production look versus the prior era, but the speakers argue the underlying TV patterns remain stale.
• Bruce Pritchard — Person · Referenced creative staff · 1 mention · first at 12:01
  Named as part of the WWE creative leadership group blamed for repetitive TV patterns and booking habits.
  It's Bruce Pritchard. It's Ed Ksky. It's Triple H. It's Road Dog. It's all the same crew. Michael Hayes.
• Ed Ksky — Person · Referenced creative staff · 1 mention · first at 12:01
  Listed among the 'same crew' responsible for WWE’s current creative approach being criticized.
  It's Bruce Pritchard. It's Ed Ksky. It's Triple H. It's Road Dog. It's all the same crew. Michael Hayes.
• Road Dog — Person · Referenced creative staff · 1 mention · first at 12:01
  Named as part of the WWE creative group associated with repetitive tropes and the 'same old show' feeling.
  It's Bruce Pritchard. It's Ed Ksky. It's Triple H. It's Road Dog. It's all the same crew. Michael Hayes.

Companies & orgs

• WWE — Company · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 12:13
  The show’s structure, production, and booking philosophy are discussed and criticized, including comparisons to past eras and AEW-style tropes.
• AEW — Company · Referenced comparison point · 1 mention · first at 3:41
  Referenced as a style comparison for presentation and arena brawling tropes; used to critique WWE segments feeling 'AEW type'.
  And I This is a AEW type presentation here. the painted faces and the [ __ ] Halloween masks and everything. And then we were at 9:30.
• Tri-State Wrestling — Company · Referenced historical promotion · 1 mention · first at 6:05
  Serves as the historical comparison point for structuring multi-stipulation matches across a card rather than in one continuous segment.
  We're just assuming these young whippers snappers, one of the big independent promotions of the early 90s was the Joel Goodart's Tri-State Wrestling in Philadelphia.

Concepts & topics

• False Count Anywhere — Concept · Core match stipulation · 3 mentions · first at 6:49
  A key stipulation in the Cody–Drew match and in the Tri-State historical comparison; criticized as formulaic arena-wandering.
• No DQ — Concept · Referenced stipulation concept · 2 mentions · first at 6:49
  Mentioned as a possible stipulation in the Tri-State series and discussed in the context of interference being allowed/visible.
  One of them was either false count anywhere or no DQ.
• Barbwire — Concept · Referenced stipulation concept · 1 mention · first at 6:45
  Cited as the final stipulation in the Tri-State multi-match series; used to illustrate escalation and variety.
  Do you remember them off top of your head? They ended up in the barbwire, right?

Places & events

• Royal Rumble — Event · Referenced milestone event · 3 mentions · first at 4:58
  Positioned as a key upcoming destination for title shots; discussed in relation to qualifying matches and WrestleMania direction.
• Wrestlemania — Event · Referenced milestone event · 2 mentions · first at 5:01
  Discussed as the likely end-goal for the title picture; question raised whether Drew will be champion at WrestleMania.
  And then after this, of course, I'm looking forward to the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Hey, if you don't mind, let me ask you a couple questions before we get into the main event match.
• Stoutgart — Place · Referenced geography example · 1 mention · first at 0:33
  Mentioned as a booked hometown reference and as part of a discussion about learning geography through wrestling.
  IN Berlin they were in because Stoutgart was booked.
• Moscow — Place · Referenced geography example · 1 mention · first at 0:52
  Used as an example of classic billed hometowns for foreign heels (Ivan Koloff).
  [ __ ] Ivan Koloff was from Moscow, Russia.
• Superdome — Place · Referenced classic promo setting · 1 mention · first at 4:53
  Referenced via a Dusty Rhodes quote to evoke old-school stakes and crowd scale.
  Version of Dusty saying, Well, I ain't going to do no jobs in front of 70,000 people in a Superdome.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:01 All right. Well, all righty then. Remains your show. Well, not for long because now we have come to our closing segment where we are going to talk about the earth shaking events that have occurred in the world of the WWE. I guess that's redundant. World of the World Wrestling Entertainment, which world wrestling entertainment still doesn't work for me, but nevertheless, THEY WERE IN BERLIN. IN Berlin they were in because Stoutgart was booked. That's how I learned geography from the the the global geography from the hometowns of all of the foreign menace heels that were in wrestling.

0:47 Baron vonki was from Stoutgart, Germany. [ __ ] Ivan Koloff was from Moscow, Russia. Was there ever a wrestler from Greenland?

1:00 Oo, not off the top of my head that I could think of one, but there must have been someone. But you're right about that. That's something that's pretty much gone right now. It used to be, especially for America, if you were a kid and you watch wrestling, you would learn geography before all of your friends. You would know the map. You would know the states and the big cities in the States before everyone.

1:22 But it was a simpler time back then. Now the kids can look anything up. That means they don't know anything and they never look anything up. They just don't bother to learn it because they know they can look it up. Anyway, they were in Berlin and they're back to three hours. And just to be perfectly honest with you, I'm going to tell you what we're not going to talk about here at the top of this so we can get to the big news, the big main event, the big earth shaking cataclysmic Godzillaized surprise title change on the television.

1:58 They're in I know they're in Berlin and those people are going to like anything because it's it's the international audience syndrome where they don't get to see this live and in person some people probably that were there the first time in their lives but not often in their markets so they're naturally forgiving. But they've gone back to three hours and this is what they gave us before the main event started. Trick Williams versus Ray Phoenix. And about that that was after Trick interrupted Randy Orton's promo. So Orton beat him up and then Miz jumped Orton and Orton beat him up too.

2:38 And it that was that sounds more exciting than it was. Trick Williams and Ray Phoenix trick tricked him. We got Alexa Bliss against Julia. And then boy, I'll tell you what, old lash legend, she may have opened a branch of [ __ ] frigid air next to Nia Jax because if Nia's the the refrigerator, I think Lash is the freezer. With apologies to Freezer Thompson from the old Memphis TV. Uh they're pretty comparable in in size. I think Lash has got an inch or two and they beat up Alexa Bliss. It looked like two parade balloons beating up a Barbie doll.

3:24 So I felt sorry for her. And that was the first hour of the show. At 9:00 we got solo and all of the Tongas against the Wyatt and all of the six. And I This is This is a AEW type presentation here. the painted faces and the [ __ ] Halloween masks and everything. And then we were at 9:30. Then we got Alba Fire against Jordan Grace and Carmelo Hayes in a long match against Shaky Nakamura. And we were at 10:15 that two hours and 15 minutes for what basically what I described and the intermittent Traval log, commercial spot, plug, billboard, backstage, update that takes up the rest of the time.

4:26 And then there's Cody in the back and he does a little pre-match promo about Drew may have Dusty's watch and last week he may have burned a picture of me and Dusty or whatever, but that's lazy, Drew, because Dusty doesn't make the comeback. I make the comeback. It was kind of like the modernday version of Dusty saying, "Well, I ain't going to do no jobs in front of 70,000 people in a Superdome." And then after this, of course, I'm looking forward to the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Hey, if you don't mind, let me ask you a couple uh questions before we get into the main event match here. One, actually, just a statement. I will say, and I could not blame you for not wanting to watch him against Nakamura. Carmelo Hayes is on a string of having some good matches. Uh they gave him a long time, but the show is now three hours. And

5:21 yes, I'm I'm happy for him. Secondly, with the Cody McIntyre main event, the three different stipulations for the three different falls of a two out of three fall match technically. Obviously, when Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert did it for Joel Goodart, it was spread throughout the night. They did it all in one lump at the end of the show after having to sit through everything. Do you think they should have split it up so that it started with that maybe around the nine o'clock hour is the second match and then you end with it?

5:57 Well, see that's what I was thinking also. And for people who don't know, cuz we're just assuming these young whippers snappers, one of the big independent promotions of the early 90s was the Joel Goodart's Tri-State Wrestling in Philadelphia. This was prec. They had the they booked the the show with Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert to have a two out of three match series where they did they didn't phrase it exactly like they did with Cody and Drew here. They told people ahead of time, we're have three different matches. One match is going to be the one stipulation and what what were they?

6:43 Do you remember them off top of your head? They ended up in the barbwire, right?

6:47 Barbwire was, I believe, the last one. One of them was either false count anywhere or no DQ.

6:52 I think false count anywhere. So, it was a false count anywhere. It was a barbedwire match and it was some other stipulation. And like you said, they did the first first match at the first of the show and then gave them matches in between so they could rest because they had full [ __ ] matches. And I was there. Um, again, I I don't have it in front of me what the time on every match was, but they were full matches of at the time was normal to be between 10 and 20 minutes. Were you there that night live?

7:31 Unfortunately, I was not. Ah, I wish I was. But nevertheless, um, you know, they they they and I mean, that was the one where Cactus had told Eddie, "Break the bottle over my head." And they didn't bake it. He thought that they just hit, but Eddie was really trying to to work it. And that just makes it worse because then he just was bap bapping. You heard the clon clonk on Cactus's head. Oh, god damn it. Um, but anyway, that that was what they did there. I I can see the argument that it would have been better here on this three-hour television program to spread them out. Go a little bit longer in at least the first one. We'll get to my breakdown here in a second.

8:28 But they wouldn't have been able to do the match like this that they wanted to have because each finish led into the other one. And there was a reason why that at the end of fall two before the cage lowered that, you know, Drew had to be down where he could be trapped and blah blah blah. So what they did here flowed from one thing to the other. they would have had to done different finishes and it might again I think it might have helped the viewership because it would build more drama. We want to see how this is going to turn out. And they've sprinkled it through the show, but it also might have made it more difficult for the participants to come up with some [ __ ] to do the again because again it amounts to they had three well they had a regular match and two what used to be blowoff matches.

9:25 Falls count anywhere and inside a steel cage and then they still had a [ __ ] finish. So I mean the modern booking it's not as easy as it used to be. It was to in in the 80s a lot of times we didn't like two out of three fall matches just regular two out of three fall matches because the people didn't see that many of them anymore and so a lot of times they didn't understand it. You know they would say the you know the big pop would be on the first fall because they oh that's it. Oh, there's two more. And then it it was awkward trying to get three finishes, you know, out of a an angle match in the same night blah blah blah.

10:12 But I'm droning on. Point is, what they did with this was just immediately one went into the other. And did you notice that they have brackets when they because they couldn't lower the cage in the old days. Nobody had that budget. When they lower that [ __ ] cage, there's those brackets right by the apron, the box-like metal things that the cage anchors into. And boy howdy, a guy trying to take a bump through the ropes or off the apron and not being used to those being there. I was that was making me nervous the whole time because that could [ __ ] you up and that's just you know anyway it's not a an issue when the cage is in place because you you couldn't [ __ ] yourself up but you could while they're bumping with that [ __ ] already there.

11:09 Uh, oh, and one more thing, Brian, before we get to this deal. Is Tony Khan booking Smackdown now? Have we heard this on the

11:21 What makes you say that? Well, next week in London, they're going to have four qualifying matches, and the four winners of those matches are going to have a four-way at Saturday night's main event with the winner of that getting a title shot at the Royal Rumble. You know, before Tony Khan existed as a wrestling booker, if you think of all the things we were complaining about with WWE and Vince McMahon deserves the lion share of the blame because he was in charge and people were writing to please him. And if it wasn't something that pleased him, he'd have to go rewrite it the day of the show, whatever it may be.

11:58 But it's the same people. It's Bruce Pritchard. It's Ed Ksky. It's Triple H. It's Road Dog. It's all the same crew. Michael Hayes. It's the same bunch of people. And that's why it's starting to feel more and more like the same old show just with Lee Fitting producing it. The backstage segments, they're turning back into what they used to be. Just ignore the camera right in front of you and have these personal conversations. When things are hot, you get away with it. They did. things aren't that hot anymore in terms of at least the feeling around the TV and certainly the ratings seem to reflect that what we hear about these shows.

12:41 It's not a good show. There's a reason Triple H his booking was rejected by the South Korean wrestling fans. I think more and more you're hearing people fed up with the way WWE TV is being done right now.

12:57 Well, but here's the thing. It's not even necessarily conf the booking or confined to the booking or the booking being the biggest part of it. It's that they're doing the same thing. They're in a they're in a habit. They're in a rut. They're in a in not the multiple man matches over and over and the the tropes as the kids call them now that they have started what you know within 10 or 15 years ago or whatever a lot of this stuff that now they just keep doing it because they don't remember how they used to do it before they started doing that. But now if they would do that it would look so much fresher.

13:39 But there there used to be some element of we're going to have a new set for the show. We're going to have a new [ __ ] look for the show. Lee Fitting brought a lot of new production in and it looks so much better than the Kevin Dunn days, but the what they're shooting still kind of looks the same and they do it all the same and the music gets cued the same way. when they it's just they need to break some of these, you know, it's just over and over. They need to break some of these patterns. But having said that, finally two hours and 22 minutes into the show, we the main event, here comes Drew and here comes Cody. And they have the introductions and they ring the bell.

14:30 It's 10:30 and the last hour is commercial free. See? Okay, they're going to they're going to go a while. Well, the regular match was first and it started hot. Cody's on fire and Drew tried to get Cody to get disqualified at one point, but Cody wouldn't fall for it, but he was still kicking Drew's ass and all over him. And Drew McIntyre, for a guy that size, he knows how to sell as a heel. And Cody Germaned him. Boom. and he went to Germany again later on and Drew was holding on and he pulled the turnbuckle pad off and as the referee grabbed it was going to try to replace it, Drew kicked Cody in the balls and hit him with a claymore. Boom.

15:19 One, two, three in four minutes. And okay, that was my favorite part of this whole goddamn match was when they were actually in the ring having a match without cages or no disqualifications or whatever the [ __ ] I I could have taken some more of that. But basically that would Drew [ __ ] a baby face in a straight match. You know, it's the old Jerry Jarrett principle. When everybody's dream match backfired, they would have thought that the baby face would win the straight wrestling match. So, Drew cheats and wins. That's fine.

16:04 But now they got the false count anywhere. But before I we talk about that, what did you think about the little mini movie trailer of a match that they did here? I I I It was all right. I guess I don't know. This whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.

16:27 Well, that's what you said. YOU KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS? THAT MASSAGE parlor in Bergen.

16:31 You know what the problem is? Honestly, the results got out before it aired. So, I didn't go into this fresh. The results came out a few hours before this aired. So, I knew where it was going because it was unavoidable. And I know the European fans love their wrestling, but god damn it, stay off the internet for a few hours until it airs in the States, unless of course you have uh Surf Shark and you're in Canada.

16:58 But that's the problem. I knew where it was going, so it was hard for me to it was hard for me to enjoy it.

17:04 See, you ought to be more like me and not give a [ __ ] about anything. And I didn't I didn't even know they were in Berlin and didn't know the show happened before it happened and didn't even watch the goddamn thing until the following morning which was just a few hours ago. But that's the thing. It was just like it was okay. I'd like to see some more of this and it was over. But then became the false count anywhere. And immediately they Drew pulls out a table and powerbombs Cody through the table on the floor and gets a twocount.

17:36 And I'm like, Christ, here we go. And they fought in the entranceway and all around ringside and over the rail into the people. And once again, it took a long time. It's not like it was as exciting as this. They tried. They were working hard. It wasn't silly in terms of like one of the AEW type of walk fights around the arena, but it was it was a walk fight around the arena into the stands, the standard [ __ ] They go into the back of the arena and fight there. They, you know, rattle each other off the garage doors. Then they go back into the arena where they're wasting some time. And Cody ran Drew into the bleachers and put him on a table and climbed up went up to the top of the breezeway archway there and jumped off the bleachers and splashed him through the table and got a twocount and then they went back to ringside and Drew hit him with a chair a couple times and Cody cleared the desk off and

18:43 crossroads is is him. crossroads him through the desk. One, two, three, and that was an eight-minute match and they never used the ring. And now I'm like I'm like you were earlier. I it kind of now they've lost my interest. It's all this by the number. Well, here's the spot where we go and fight on the steps, and here's where we go back in the back and rattle each other off the garage door, and here's where we get [ __ ] same [ __ ] that every jabron does in every goddamn indie match.

19:19 Yeah, that's the problem, too. Even the stuff that a few years back would have been the spectacular thing. We've seen that a bunch of times, Cody climbing up and jumping off, we've seen that exact spot from other people in both companies before. Well, yeah, but besides that, it that's what it is. It's a spot. It's 5 seconds. He jumped off the balcony and splashed him through the [ __ ] table, and it wasn't even the finish, but it's 5 seconds. It took him eight minutes of wandering around the goddamn arena to see that. I don't care. I was enjoying them exhibiting their talents in the [ __ ] standard wrestling ring that we don't see often enough.

19:59 But at least then, as I was saying, that flowed into the next thing because now Drew is down so Cody can drag him back into the ring and roll him in and the cage can lower so that the heel is stuck and they're one in one and but now they've started the cage match as we got 15 minutes on the air. They start the cage match in the middle where they're trying to start climbing or getting out or whatever and they're back and forth and at least the people now because they know well this one's the one. So Drew started to get some heat, get some two counts, and then Cody hit a crossroads and got a big pop for a twocount and, you know, hit a cutter and a couple of crossroads and Drew gouged the eyes and then Cody dove at Drew, but hit the unpadded buckle and Drew hit the claymore. I got a twocount.

21:02 I'm like, son of a [ __ ] That was a world title change finish. The babyface champion has hit his finish twice and is going for the third, but the heel gouges his eyes. And when the blind babyface charges the heel, he moves and the baby face hits the buckle that the heel had taken the pad off of earlier. And then the heel hits his finish. That's the world title. that if they wanted to if they wanted Drew McIntyre to be a goddamn star, that's what they would have done. Do you see what I'm do? Hand me what I'm telling you.

21:43 Yeah. And again, this is another one of those things that we see all the time now. How many matches, even matches you don't like, how many matches have the perfect finish, the perfect finish,

21:53 and then they just keep going another 10 minutes. Yes. Yes. So instead, that's a twocount. They both sell. They fight on top of the cage. Uh Cody kind of does a cutter off the cage, two count, but it didn't land lovely. And they both crotch themselves on the top rope trying to climb out of the cage. And then Drew is crawling for the door and there's a hooded figure and it it's Jacob Fatu and they stare at each other and then Drew runs from him like he's seen a ghost and tries to climb out and Jacob gets in the ring again right in front of the referee which of course it's no disqualification but you didn't used to have to worry about somebody interfering in front of the referee at a cage match because you can't interfere in a cage match because the door shouldn't be open.

23:00 this bogus ass WWF escape the cage [ __ ] But normally you would be locked in the in the [ __ ] cage and if the guy did interfere, if the referee got knocked down, maybe somebody climbs in, whatever the [ __ ] But now he's just in the ring beating up one of the people in the match in front of the referee. And then when Cody see, wait a minute, what the [ __ ] He spins Fatu around and Jacob lays into Cody and beats him up. And while he's doing that, Drew crawls out the door and is the new champion. And ding ding ding.

23:45 And then [clears throat] Drew's in the entranceway with the belt, you know, laying there selling and, you know, happy or whatever. And Jacob is staring at him and Cody comes from behind and just gives Fatu like a weak shove into the cage and Fatu sells it. Goes down like he's knocked out and then Cody just has to stare there. So why why would you build this guy up as being the monster that just caused the title to change hands and then Cody knocks him out with a two-handed shove from behind? I don't I don't know what the [ __ ] Uh I know obviously Jacob is a baby face and that's going to be Drew's probably first program here and Cody ain't going to be happy about all of this. But Jesus Christ on a cracker. I think it' been if they wanted to put the belt on Drew, they did the perfect finish for it here that the heat would go all on Drew, but they didn't capitalize on that. And now I'm not sure

25:00 how does Drew have any heat out of this. He crawled out with by the skin of his teeth while one of the baby faces was beating up one of the other baby faces. You're assuming that Jacob Fatu is still a baby face.

25:13 Well, why the [ __ ] wouldn't he be beat up Cody Rhodess? He cost Cody Rhodess the belt.

25:18 But here's when last we saw him, was he not a baby face that everybody was cheering for because he's the wild [ __ ] werewolf that gets over when he comes back. And the thing is Cody spun him around like, "What are you doing?" and he [ __ ] starts fighting Cody. But then he when he turns around and sees that Drew's gone, that's his focus. But then if they're going to turn the guy heel, then would Cody have just shoved Jacob and Jacob take a bump and lay out or would Cody have spun him around again and this time Jacob gets some goddamn heat on the vulnerable babyface champion that's just been [ __ ] So regardless of what they're doing, was this a shitty finish?

26:13 I wasn't crazy about it. I mean, I guess in terms of the Drew McIntyre storyline of always getting cheated and ripped off by everyone, the company and Roman Reigns and CM Punk and Cody Rhodess, he finally got one. You just said that when we reviewed the fact that he won most underrated and most pitiful

26:32 in the South Korean Wrestling Awards. You said he's got to win one. I don't mind being I don't mind being underrated, but when people think I'm pitiful,

26:39 you said he's got to win one. He's got to win one. And now he's got it by hooker by crook. He got it. Billy Graham had his feet on the ropes. You know, he got the belt.

26:49 And now we'll see where they go. I mean, I'm not excited about the prospect of a three-way feud

26:58 with Cody and McIntyre and Fatu. I'm not excited about another Royal Rumble that Cody would have to win to get a title shot. But again, you have Elimination Chamber 2 right around the corner. We'll see. Will Drew McIntyre be the champion at WrestleMania? Will be the champion when they leave Europe. We'll see what they do there. But, uh, uninspired finish, I guess. Maybe it felt

27:25 uninspired. That might be more than shitty. Ju way a better way to describe it. Unins uninspired. Just all the stuff that always happens.

27:36 Well, there it is. new champion now. CM Punk world champion in one on one show and Drew McIntyre the champion on the other. We'll see what happens there. And Cody Rhodess, his title reign is over and we'll see what happens there. And Jacob Fatu is back and he's got Austin Theory's hood. We'll see what happens there. We'll see what happens on Smackdown over there.

27:59 We're going to see all the things that happen.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Jim Cornette Reviews WWE Smackdown (January 9, 2026)"?

Jim Cornette (Host), Brian Last (Guest).

What is "Jim Cornette Reviews WWE Smackdown (January 9, 2026)" about?

In Jim Cornette's review of WWE Smackdown from January 9, 2026, he discusses the show's setting in Berlin and reflects on the impact of international audiences on wrestling events. He contrasts the current landscape of WWE with simpler times, highlighting the geographical education that wrestling once provided while hinting at significant surprises and title changes that occurred during the show.

What is mentioned in this Official Jim Cornette episode?

24 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, WWE, Jacob Fatu, Royal Rumble, False Count Anywhere. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Jim Cornette Reviews WWE Smackdown (January 9, 2026)"?

The episode runs 28 min; the transcript is about 4,469 words in 50 timestamped sections.

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