11/29 Barnett's WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage: The Thanksgiving edition of Smackdown, guaranteed to be at least 80% sillier than you'd think, plus Mark Henry, Antonio Cesaro and others

By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage
Taped 11/26 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

[Q1] Renee Young stood mid ring to open the show, and introduced Randy Orton. He headed towards the ring to a mixed reaction. Renee said their was quite a bit of controversy on Sunday when Big Show knocked him out. They showed still photos of the KO blow, and Renee said that all Show had to do was cover him for the win. But, the Authority came out and interrupted the match, and allowed Randy to recovery, hit the RKO and a punt, and retain his championship.

Randy said he differed. He has an iron jaw, and he was playing possum. He didn’t need the appearance from the authority to defeat the Big Show, and in the end they tainted what would have been his eventual victory. Renee said there was more controversy on Monday, and showed a clip of Cena challenging Orton to a title vs. title match. She said it was eventually accepted by the authority as a TLC match for the upcoming TLC PPV, and asked Randy if he felt betrayed or abandoned by The Authority. Randy looked upset as Renee continued to use different adjectives trying to get him to respond. Randy eventually walked up the ramp without saying a word.

Cole with JBL Happy Birthday, and said Vickie was throwing a Thanksgiving leftover party backstage. Vickie gave a speech welcoming everyone, and said this party, like other WWE parties, will not end in a food fight. She said they would have a food eating contest, and Khali and Titus tried to cram a plate of food down as fast as they could. In the arena, Mark Henry’s music hit and he made his entrance, accompanied by Big E Langston…[c]

My Take: I like Renee Young as an interviewer, but they didn’t really break any new ground there with Orton. He’s still stuck in limbo as to whether or not the authority is working against him. The Thanksgiving skits always make me regret leaving my cyanide caplets in my other pants.

Curtis Axel made his entrance along with Ryback.

1. Curtix Axel vs. Mark Henry: Henry started out early with power and splashed Axel in the corner. Ryback blasted Langston at ringside, and that distracted Henry and gave Axel time to recovery. He hit a low dropkick and a DDT on Henry. He tried to cover, but Henry nearly threw him out of the ring with a kick out. Axel did as much damage to Henry as he could on the ground, and then applied a chin lock. Henry fought to his feet and hit Axel with a bit boot and a head butt. He then got down on all fours and did some JYD head butts.

Axel rolled to the outside and found himself in between Henry and Langston. Ryback tried to pearl harbor Langston, but Langston saw it coming and clotheslined him. Henry tossed Axel back in the ring and hit the World’s Strongest Slam for the win.

Mark Henry defeated Curtis Axel at 3:08.

[Q2] Henry and Langston celebrated with the crowd. Backstage R-Truth and Xavier Woods watched his entrance from Monday. Brodus Clay walked up and said he didn’t need new talent like Woods stealing form Main Event Players like himself. Woods acted shocked and Tensai and Truth stepped in to separate them. Cole and JBL plugged The Shield vs. Cody and Goldust for later…[c]

My Take: That match was ok if you’re into squashes, but that backstage segment made Brodus Clay look as dumb as a box of hammers. He gave Woods permission to use his dancers and his music, but raged out when he “stole his act”? Creative must have taken a bunch of Benadryl.

Backstage, Khali and Titus were still eating. AJ and Tamina walked up to Vickie and said they thought they’d crash the party. Tamina said they invited themselves. Vickie said she would turn it into a food fight, with everyone against them, if they stayed. They walked off. Khali passed out while eating. Titus was announced as the winner, and was told his prize was a match later on with Antonio Cesaro.

The Rockers music hit, and 3MB made their entrance as the Plymouth Rockers. Los Matadores made their entrance next, with El Torito in action for the first time. This is match 329 in their best of 700 series.

1. Los Matadores vs. The Plymouth Rockers: Slater started with El Torito. They danced around each other to start, and all three members of 3MB entered the ring. Los Matadores entered and it broke down. All three members of 3MB ended up on the outside, and they all dove onto 3MB on the outside. Fernando tagged in when the match came back together, and 3MB cut him off in their corner. McIntyre clubbed him knocked Diego from the apron.

El Torito fired up the crowd and did a head scissors from the top. He then gored the rest of 3MB off the apron, and did some kind of arm drag where McIntyre did 100% of the work. Deigo tagged in and he and Fernando hit their finisher to win clean.

Los Matadores defeated The Plymouth Rockers at 3:05.

Cole and JBL plugged Rollins and Reigns vs. Goldust and Cody as the main event for later…[c]

Barnett’s Brief: The first half hour of this show was TV tryptophan.

[Q3] The Funkadactyls and Tons of Funk danced out to the ring. R-Truth made his way out with Xavier Woods as a partner.

R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs. Tons of Funk: Tensai and Truth started, and bumped fists or something. Sweet T and Truth traded off reversals and dance celebrations, until Tensai finally got serious and hit a back drop. He hit a splash in the corner, but Truth got his feet up on the second one. Woods tagged in and took a shot at Brodus on the apron. Woods hit about 11 kicks on Tensai, but couldn’t knock him down. Clay made a blind tag, and clocked Woods. He knocked R-Truth from the apron, and then hit a second rope splash on Woods for the win.

Tons of Funk defeated Truth and Woods at 2:14.

Backstage, CM Punk was interviewed by Renee Young. Punk said he hasn’t heard from Bryan since he got carted out on Monday. He said he’s got bruised ribs from a spear, and he doesn’t know why The Shield attacked him. He said he thought they might have been acting on orders from someone with authority. He said he would get to the bottom of it, and The Shield would need to fear him.

My Take: Holy shit, kill me now.

A clip was shown from Monday of the finish of Punk and Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family and the Bryan kidnapping. The Wyatt’s interlude flashed. Bray said his visions come to him in his dreams. He sees mannequins acting as people, and he knows what it’s like to be thown into a pit. He said nobody knows us better than he does, and that Daniel Bryan will be safe with them. He will the Lion’s Den as a man, and he will emerge a monster.

[Q4] Titus O’Neill was in the ring with Antonio Cesaro.

3. Antonio Cesaro vs. Titus O’Neill: Titus feigned being really sluggish after his pig out on Thanksgiving food. Cesaro controlled the early action, until Titus hit a big boot. Cesaro tried to taunt, and feigned having issues with his stomach. Cesaro hit a few knees to the gut, and then hit the Cesaro Swing. Darren Young interrupted the match to end the Swing.

Antonio Cesaro defeated Titus O’Neill by DQ at 1:59.

After the match, Titus barfed in JBL’s hat, and then put it on Cole’s head. He should probably be arrested for that. He then barfed on Zeb Colter’s head. The cast of total divas tried to sell you merch, and they were really bad at it, as you would expect..[c]

My Take: Mail your complaint letters to 1241 East Main Street, Stamford, CT 06902…

[Q5] A Raw Rebound aired that focused on Randy Orton’s conflict with The Authority, and the pivot onto John Cena. They showed most of the promo that set up the Title vs. Title match, and the main event.

Goldust and Cody Rhodes made their ring entrance. The Shield followed.

4. The Shield (Reigns and Rollins) vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Cody and Rollins began the match, and Rhodes applied a side head lock. Ambrose was on commentary. Rhodes hit a body slam and tagged in Goldust. He hit a knee drop and covered for a two count. He made a quick tag to Cody, who dropped the elbow on Goldust’s arm twist. Cody hit a suplex and covered for a two count himself. Goldust tagged back in, and Reigns tagged in as well. Reigns hit a shoulder block that sent Goldust to ringside. He and Cody regrouped on the outside. Goldust reentered and hit a dropkick. The match broke down a bit and all four men were in the ring. The faces cleared the heels from the ring and taunted them from the ring…[c]

Cody went for an Alabama Slam, but Rollins reversed for a near fall. Reigns tagged in and worked power, and quickly tagged back out to Rollins. They isolated Rhodes in their corner, and kept Rhodes grounded. Cody showed some signs of life, but Reigns continued to stop his momentum. [Q6] Rhodes finally recovered and back body dropped Rollins over the top. Goldust got the hot tag and Reigns also entered. He hit a bulldog and other signature offense, and a nice powerslam for a near fall. Rollins tried to jump at Goldust from the top, but he caught him in an atomic drop. Reigns clotheslined Goldust over the top…[c]

Rollins continued an assault on Goldust that we were told went all the way through the break. Goldust showed some signs of life, but Rollins stayed in control. After a missed dropkick, Goldust hit a DDT. Reigns tagged in and knocked Cody from the apron. Reigns the tried to cover Goldust, but Cody quickly recovered to break the count. Goldust broke up a double team attempt with a back elbow to both Rollins and Reigns. Cody made a hot tag and hit a missile drop kick on Rollins. Cody rolled him up with a victory roll for a near fall. He went for a moonsault next, but Rollins picked him up off the ropes.

Rollins climbed the ropes himself, but Cody picked him up for a musclebuster. Cody covered for a near fall. Reigns entered the ring, but Goldust intercepted. Reigns and Goldust brawled outside the ring, and Reigns got the better of it. Cody dove from the top rope to the outside to take out both Rollins and Reigns. Cody climbed back up to the top, but missed a moonsault. Rollins climbed to his feet to hit a Springboard move, but Cody got out of the way. Cody went for CrossRhodes, but Ambrose broke it up for a DQ.

Cody Rhodes and Goldust defeated The Shield by DQ at 26:13.

CM Punk ran down and cleared The Shield from the ring with a chair. Vickie popped up and said since Punk wanted him some of the Shield, they would turn this into a six man for next…[c]

Barnett’s Brief: That was a long and very good TV match. I think they might have overexposed the feud now though, as I’m not sure what’s left to do in the ring between these teams.

[Q7] 5. CM Punk, Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. The Shield: The match was joined in progress. Punk knocked around Ambrose with kicks. Goldust tagged in and hit a clothesline. Cody tagged in and Ambrose showed some flashes of offense, but Cody hit a back body drop to regain control. Punk tagged back in and missed running knee in the corner. Rollins tagged in, and Punk recovered to tag in Goldust. He went after Rollins knee and then tagged in Cody, who sent him out to the floor. Cody followed to the outside and sent Rollins into the barricade.

The babyfaces continued to do quick tags in and out. CM Punk applied an inverted STF. Cody Rhodes helped him out and put a half crab on the other leg. Rollins avoided a drop kick and tagged out to Ambrose, who dove on Rhodes and attacked…[c]

Ambrose and Rhodes traded offense, with Rhodes hitting a nice drop kick that allowed him to tag out to Punk. He entered and hit a running high knee and a clothesline on Ambrose. He signaled for the GTS, and the Wyatt’s noise hit. Punk got distracted and The Shield dragged him to their corner. Rollins tagged in and the match quickly broke down afterward. Punk was about to make a hot tag, when all six men and the Wyatt’s entered the ring. The Uso’s and Mysterio came out from the back. Mysterio was interrupted in the middle of a 619 by Ambrose. Vickie came down and restarted the match as a twelve man tag.

My Take: Wow. They are really committed to making this take up the entire second hour, aren’t they?

[Q8] 6. The Wyatts and The Shield vs. CM Punk, The Uso Brothers, Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes and Goldust: Harper and Jimmy Uso started, and Harper got the best of it. Rollins tagged in and the heels isolated Jimmy Uso in their corner. There were quick tags around the horn for the heels, as they took turns controlling Jimmy on the ground. Harper did some gator rolls, and Jimmy escaped shortly thereafter to tag Mysterio in. He got in some flashy kicks and a seated senton from the top on Harper, but ate a big boot to slow him down.

Bray Wyatt tagged in and hit a big splash on Mysterio in the corner. Bray smiled at the babyface corner and dragged Rey back to tag Rowan. He threw up Mysterio in a bear hug like a child and rag dolled him around. Mysterio escaped and walked right into a sidewalk slam for a two count. Rowan draped Rey over the top rope in the corner and hit him with clubbing blows. Ambrose tagged in and applied a half crab, and then transitioned into a front face lock. Ambrose tagged in Rollins, and Rey got the better of them both. He dumped Ambrose to the outside and hit an enziguri on Rollins.

Punk go the hot tag and Rollins tagged in Rowan. Rowan took a number of shots but wouldn’t go down. Punk dumped him to the outside and hit a suicide dive. He then hit three consecutive running high knees in the corner, and then a top rope elbow drop. Punk covered, but Reigns broke up the pin. The match broke down here, and everybody got their shit in. The Uso’s got in some double super kicks. Reigns hit a spear. Mysterio hit a 619 on Rowan. Punk then hit the GTS on Rowan for the win.

CM Punk pinned Erik Rowan at 12:28 to get the win for his team.

The babyfaces celebrated to close the show.

My Take: A fun series of matches that didn’t really feel consequential, but was entertaining to watch. They turned off the Thanksgiving awfulness in the second hour, thankfully, and we got some good wrestling. I guess if that’s what you were looking for, the second hour of this show is worth tuning into. Otherwise, you can feel pretty safe skipping this one. Anything of consequence is repeated on Monday anyway.

Do you have questions, comments or concerns? Contact me at Barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.