Match Ratings For Smackdown Live 1/16/18 From Sean Ross Sapp

WWE United States Championship Tournament Semifinals
Jinder Mahal (w/ Singh Bros.) defeated Xavier Woods (w/ New Day)
4.75/10

• New Day cut a dumb promo about pancakes and freedom.
• Jinder Mahal controls the match straight out of the jump.
• He's lost some size because of a labrum injury.
• Big E frisbees some pancakes at The Singh Bros. 
• 22 minutes into the show, Xavier finally gets some offense. This match is less than exciting until a series about 16 minutes in.
• Jinder Mahal pretty much uses the Enzo Amore concussion spot on the ropes.
• Jinder wins. 18 minute Jinder Mahal matches are actually not my jam. 

Backstage Crappenings

• AJ Styles makes a bad fat joke, and cuts a bad promo trying to get "Kami" over.
• So Mojo Rawley cut a bad ass promo on his phone, so WWE thought the answer was to script the promos their wrestlers cut via phone.  Almost infuriating how subtle or clueless they are about insulting the viewer's intelligence

WWE United States Championship Tournament Semifinals
Bobby Roode defeated Mojo Rawley
3.75/10

• This has been one of the worst first hours of Smackdown I've seen in a while. 
• This match plays like 2015-2016 TNA in-ring. That's not good.
• It's Mojo Rawley running into Roode for twelve minutes, then they finally do a couple of moves. 
• Glorious DDT. Pin. This sucked.
• The Singh Bros. attack after.
• Bobby Roode challenges Jinder Mahal to do the match tonight, but Jinder declines.
• Daniel Bryan says NAH and books it tonight.
• I never complain about having to cover wrestling, but what did we do to deserve this?

Riott Squad defeated Naomi, Charlotte & Becky Lynch
5.5/10

• This will be the seventh 6-woman tag on WWE TV since Absolution and Riott Squad debuted.
• Naomi's entrance is the best thing about SDL so far.
• Charlotte tosses the piss out of Liv.
• Sarah Logan looks like she cut off Braun's pants and wore them.
• Naomi gets a hot tag after some really basic back and forth work. She looks good outside of the Speedball kicks. 
• Morgan uses a Codebreaker to win. Best match of the night so far.
• Later, we see Training Day attack the Usos.

WWE United States Championship Tournament Finals
Bobby Roode defeated Jinder Mahal to become WWE United States Champion
5/10

• This match is a lot of nothing until the last two minutes, per usual.
• There are a couple of nice transitions towards the end.
• Roode counters the Khallas with a Glorious DDT to win the title. This show was just a fart noise, but it got better in the last hour.
• WWE has loved putting titles on people that couldn't beat the actual champion of late