Ringside Intel brings you play-by-play and results for tonight’s Smackdown Live (12/18/2018) broadcast. Pre-show starts at 7:50 pm EST and the main show starts at 8 pm EST.  The championship reign of Asuka kicks off. Tweet and follow @RingsideIntel on Twitter.

Smackdown Live: 8 pm EST

Show opens up and Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon gives a speech to the SD roster. He says the McMahons began a new era last night. They are going to be listening to the WWE Universe from here on out. The talent needs to do more than reach for a brass ring. They need to grab it and bear everything that goes with that responsibility. Then Shane brings Paige in and thanks her but reveals she will no longer be General Manager of the blue brand.

***

Becky Lynch comes out to the ring to cut a promo on Ronda Rousey for costing her the Smackdown Women’s Championship at TLC. Charlotte Flair’s music hits and she comes out to interrupt. Charlotte says Rousey also cost her an opportunity, as it was a Triple Threat match after all. Champ Asuka comes out to interrupt. Asuka tells them to forget Ronda because she’s champion now. As they all start to bicker, suddenly Vince McMahon’s music hits and he comes out.

Vince tells Becky and Charlotte to get over their grievances. It was a TLC match and anything goes. Vince then asks Asuka if she’d like to defend her title tonight. Asuka seems open to it. Becky and Charlotte seem to assume it’ll be one of them and they strut and display their interest in the match. But Vince brings out Naomi and Charlotte and Becky’s faces drop. Naomi tells Becky and Charlotte they’ve both had their opportunities, and now she wants it. Vince says Asuka vs. Charlotte goes down right now for the title.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Naomi

Naomi battle valiantly but eventually falls to the Asuka Lock.

Winner: Asuka (c)

***

Rusev cuts a promo and says he hopes the McMahon family was watching when he pinned United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura last week.

***

Jeff Hardy comes out, as Samoa Joe is apparently set to issue an apology to him for the unkind things he’s been saying about Jeff’s past demons. Jeff says some of the thing Joe said were true, but that was all in the past. Jeff looks in the mirror everyday now and worships the face that he’s still alive and well. Jeff says he wants to hear Joe’s apology face-to-face. Joe comes out and says he’s sorry. He’s sorry because this isn’t actually going to be an apology. What this is going to be is an intervention.

Joe says this should have been done a long time ago. He knows Jeff’s demons are bound to come rolling back on him. Jeff says he sees right through Joe. He sees Joe’s demons. What is this all about? Is this about the fact that Joe has been on the roster 2 years and hasn’t won one championship? Joe paces and then turns to slug Jeff but Jeff catches him first and drops him. Then Jeff leaves and Joe looks on angrily from the ring, holding his jaw as Jeff backs his way up the aisle, meeting Joe’s gaze.

***

Mixed Tag Team Match: The Miz & Mandy Rose vs. R-Truth & Carmella

The Miz and Mandy Rose secure victory.

Winners: The Miz & Mandy Rose

***

The Usos come out and call out tag champs The Bar, but instead Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson enter. They say that every week it’s the same thing in the tag division. Gallows & Anderson remind everyone they’ve been off TV since August and things are about to change. The Usos tells them they’re gunna have to earn their spot. They all come face-to-face in the ring and a match between them is announced to begin right now.

Tag Team Match: The Usos vs. Gallows & Anderson

Jimmy Uso looks to hit a frog splash for the finish. The Bar comes out but before they can do anything SAnitY ambushes everyone in the ring and delivers a beatdown of their own.

No Winners

Afterwards, The Bar takes advantage of the battered men in the ring and batter the four of them some more.

***

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan comes out to the ring. Bryan chastises the Fresno, California audience for having the highest amounts of pollution in the whole state. Then he denounces them all, shouting “Shame!” Bryan says they’re all lucky they have a role model like him.

Tag Team Match: WWE Champion Daniel Bryan & Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs. AJ Styles & Mustafa Ali

Styles and Ali pick up the win.

Winners: AJ Styles & Mustafa Ali