Report on what was initially planned for the opening segment of WWE Smackdown’s three-hour premiere

The January 3rd 2025 edition of WWE Smackdown opened with a Cody Rhodes promo that was interrupted by Drew McIntyre. Kevin Owens ended up attacking Cody from behind and there was a brawl.

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Shawn Daivari produced the segment and there were “a lot of late revisions.” Johnson noted the following in regards to what was initially planned…

Originally, the segment was designed to open with a Kevin Owens promo that would see Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes get involved. There was a lot of bouncing back and forth on what would best for everyone involved creatively and they landed on the version that played out. There was even talk of Jey Uso being involved at one point before they went into a different direction.”