Wrestling Roundup: February 1, 2020

The Wrestling Roundup is here to bring you all the news and rumors you need to know in one place.

WWE SmackDown Results

Friday was the first SmackDown since the Royal Rumble. With Drew McIntyre on Monday nights, someone will have to step up to challenge The Fiend. What other Wrestlemania feuds will be set up? Let’s get to the results:

• John Morrison & The Miz def. Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party, & The Revival to earn a shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
• Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. Fire & Desire
• Braun Strowman def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to win the Intercontinental Championship
• Sheamus def. Chad Gable
• Roman Reigns & The Usos def. King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

WWE SmackDown Takeaways

We have a new Intercontinental Champion, and it came at a great time. Braun Strowman looked primed for a singles title run a few times before, so now was not the most ideal time to pull the trigger on him. Still, Nakamura’s reign was uneventful. Strowman is popular and will be great in a featured match at Wrestlemania. 

With the ending we received to the main event, does that mean this dog-based feud is over? There aren’t many places for the King Corbin-Roman Reigns battle to go. This felt like an ending for these two and their respective crews, so now it’s time for something new. Let Reigns move back up into the Universal Championship picture, and maybe have Corbin target Braun Strowman’s new title.

It's never too early to start planning next year's Christmas card, Uce.#SmackDown @WWEUsos @WWERomanReigns @BaronCorbinWWE pic.twitter.com/7AQ0d3dyyC

— WWE (@WWE) February 1, 2020

Suddenly, the SmackDown tag team division looks full once more. Miz & Morrison will have a tremendous battle with New Day. After them in the pecking order are Heavy Machinery, The Revival, The Usos, and more. SmackDown may be better prepared for a multi-team match at Wrestlemania than the Raw side is.

Revival Reportedly Ask For Release

It continues to look like Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder are on their way out. According to Bryan Alvarez on the latest Wrestling Observer Live (h/t PWMania) the Revival have requested their release. This makes it the second January in a row that we know of where they’ve requested their release. 

More details were given in an exclusive from Cassidy Haynes at Bodyslam.net. The deal that was offered and turned down by The Revival last year was a five year deal with $550,000 a year. This deal was even larger at over $700,000 a year. It was still turned down. Bodyslam says that The Revival are “just ready to go”. Dawson’s contract expires in April, while Wilder’s expires in June.

Five New NXT UK Competitors Announced

The roster for NXT UK continues to get deeper. WWE announced five new signings for the roster (h/t WrestlingInc). They include:

• Candy Floss, a 20-year-old wrestler who has appeared on NXT UK before
• Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley), a pair who have been on NXT UK recently
• Levi Muir, a powerlifter who has appeared in PROGRESS
• Dani Luna, another wrestler with experience in PROGRESS

WWE confirms five new NXT UK signees https://t.co/DV1LYLwdOL pic.twitter.com/DiXFmlu9Dv

— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) January 31, 2020

One for the Road:

The F9 trailer is here, and it’s got John Cena as Vin Diesel’s heel brother. Heck yeah.

Not all blood is family. Watch the trailer for #F9 and get your tickets now – in theaters May 22! https://t.co/W9rR5NgTOH pic.twitter.com/LeFmC1njS0

— #F9 (@TheFastSaga) January 31, 2020