WWE SmackDown Preview (1/2/26): Start Time, Match Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

The first WWE show of 2026 is tonight as the road to the Royal Rumble kicks-off in Buffalo, New York.

It's a new year and a new format for Friday Night SmackDown. The crowd packed inside the KeyBank Center will be treated to three hours of action, headlined by Damian Priest and Aleister Black battling each other in a rarely seen Ambulance Match.

It's been well over a year since the last iteration of this contest in WWE, and these two men are looking to utilize its no-disqualification rules to put an end to their months-long rivalry. But which man will end up needing that trip to the hospital by the end of the night?

THREE STAGES OF HELL?!??

These two are going to absolutely destroy each other 🫣@DMcIntyreWWE @CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/n8MS0mWkUB
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

The violence inflicted by Priest and Black tonight in Buffalo could pale in comparison to what Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre do to each other next Friday night in Berlin, Germany.

The American Nightmare and The Scottish Warrior are set to face each other in a Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship on January 9, and while neither man has been announced for the show tonight, they are expected to be in attendance.

The WWE Women's Division will be active to start off 2026, as Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY team up to face The Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax, and Lash Legend in an 8-Woman Tag Team Match. WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill is also scheduled to wrestle Michin in a non-title match.

"I don't need weapons. I AM the weapon."@Jade_Cargill had to remind Michin who she's up against 😮‍💨@MiaYim pic.twitter.com/BQ3NZJf3vH
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2025

New Men's United States Champion Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, #DIY, Fraxiom, Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green, Solo Sikoa and The MFTs and The Wyatt Sicks are all expected to be in Buffalo tonight as well.

Here's everything we currently know about tonight's episode of Friday Night SmackDown. Check back for updates as more matches and segments are announced throughout the day.

Ambulance Match: Damian Priest vs. Aleister Black

Aleister Black has made it his mission to force Damian Priest into revealing his true nature to the WWE Universe. He is convinced that there is a much darker version of the former World Heavyweight Champion hiding behind his good guy persona.

If Priest wants to finally leave Black and Zelina Vega in the past, win, lose or draw tonight, then he's going to have to dig down deep and take his anger and aggression to a place he may not know even exists.

Charlexa & RhIYO vs. Kabuki Warriors, Nia Jax & Lash Legend in an 8-Woman Tag Team Match

The WWE Women's Tag Team Division is arguably hotter than it's ever been, with several teams chasing after the Kabuki Warriors' tag team titles. Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY will get their opportunity to capture the gold this coming Monday night on Raw, but Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss are eager to call next.

Nia Jax and Lash Legend also want in on the action, while Asuka says no one is ready for herself and Kairi Sane. After all these women nearly got into a backstage brawl last week, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis decided to let them take out some of their aggression tonight in an 8-Woman Tag Team Match.

WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill vs. Michin

Jade Cargill has adopted a new 'take no s---' attitude ever since she won the WWE Women's Championship, and no woman in the SmackDown locker room is immune from enduring her wrath if she feels she's been disrespected. After her friend B-Fab got trapped in the eye of the storm, Michin and her kendo stick stepped up to obstruct the champion's path of destruction over the past few weeks. She's now scheduled to face Cargill one-on-one later tonight.