From PROWRESTLING.NET

12/20 WWE Smackdown Live Coverage: John Cena and CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose, Big E Langston vs. Jack Swagger, and Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan

Posted in: WWE TV Reports, MUST-READ LISTING
By
Dec 20, 2013 - 07:00 PM

By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage
Taped December 17 in San Antonio, Texas.


[Q1] Footage aired from Raw of the opening segment and the main event. It focused mostly on John Cena, Randy Orton, and John Cena’s little buddy Daniel Bryan. In the arena, Lilian Garcia announced Randy Orton, who came to the ring. Cole spoke about how Orton came to become the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday.

Orton said at TLC he cemented his legacy in the most monumental match in the history of the WWE. He defeated John Cena, and became the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Orton then complained that he was not rewarded by the Authority, he was put in a match the next night with an undeserving troll Daniel Bryan. Orton claimed he beat Bryan, and then left John Cena laying in the middle of the ring when he came to the rescue.

Orton called himself the champion of champions, and quite frankly, he doesn’t give a damn. Cena then interrupted and walked quickly to the ring. Orton told Cena that he could feel the jealousy oozing out of his pores, and it was pathetic. Orton said he was standing where he belonged, and it used to be his spotlight, but he needed to relax because it was his spotlight now. Cena said TLC was historic because of the two Championships that Orton now holds, and if you don’t want to be a champion, there’s a door you can get the hell out of. Cena said he wanted to hit him with some truth, and now all eyes are on him.

Cena said everyone is watching him, and he can’t get away anything anymore. Cena asked him how he wanted to be remembered. As a champion of champions, or the coward we saw Monday Night. Orton said he did what he had to do to win, and Cena reminded him that Bryan won by disqualification. Cena said he said for weeks that Orton always takes the easy way out, and he showed up at TLC and became a man, but it lasted for less than one night. Orton said he sees what Cena is trying to do, but it doesn’t matter, and Bryan is not getting another shot.

Bryan then came out to a strong reaction with a microphone. Bryan said he gets it. He gets why Orton did what he did Monday Night, and he gets why he won’t give him another rematch. It’s because Randy Orton is afraid. Orton is afraid that once he beats him, that all the myths Randy has been told since he was little kid about being better than everyone will fall apart. Orton is afraid to admit that he doesn’t deserve to be call the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Bryan said he made his peace with it, and he knows Cena will win his rematch and live up to his word and give him a real shot.

Orton said that will never happen, because the Authority won’t allow it. They recognize his superiority and call him the face of the company. Bryan asked the crowd if he was the face of the company, and said they can say it louder than he can. He screamed No! and the crowd followed along with him. The Shield’s music hit at that point and they made their way to the ring through the crowd. Bryan and Cena stood in the ring ready to fight, when CM Punk’s music hit and he headed out to the ring. The three main babyfaces in the company stood strong in the ring in the opening segment. Vickie then walked out on stage and got mega heat for interrupting them. She said the Authority asked her to come out and make the main event for the show, and it was The Shield vs. Punk, Cena and Bryan….[c]

My Take: Eh, this is the John Cena I dislike. It’s not that I didn’t like his promo, it’s that he subjugates Bryan as his inferior little buddy, even though a far higher percentage of the audience is behind Bryan. The promos themselves were all pretty good, and Orton comes across as very heelish, but Bryan needs to do more speaking for himself.

Jack Swagger was in the ring with Colter and Cesaro. Big E Langston made his ring entrance with Mark Henry. Footage was shown of Langston and Henry defeating The Real Americans on Raw.

[Q2] 1. Jack Swagger vs. Big E Langston: Langston hit a very athletic leap frog early on that was notable, but most they just traded moves back and forth. Swagger hit a nice looking clothesline for the first near fall of the match. Langston powered out of a chin lock and hit a power slam. Langston hit a Warrior Splash and covered for a near fall. Cesaro jumped on the apron, but Henry prevented any interference. Langston won with the Big Ending a few seconds later

Big E defeated Jack Swagger at 2:53.

Post-match, Cole plugged the main event, and AJ and Tamina were shown backstage heading towards the ring…[c]

My Take: A squash for Langston, mostly. It’s weird how the Real Americans vacillate between being title contenders and being enhancement acts.

2. Tamina vs. Brie Bella: Tamina used her power to toss around Brie in the early going. She tossed her out to the outside and pushed her into the apron. Brie hit a running knee with Tamina fell over the bottom rope. Tamina hit a huge superkick late in the match, which Brie kicked out of. Tamina climbed to the top and landed on Brie’s knees, who rolled her up for the win.

Brie Bella defeated Tamina at 2:51.

[Q3] Post-match, Brie shoved AJ over on of the announcers chairs. During commentary, AJ made jokes about Brie’s engagement and Nikki Bella’s chipped tooth….[c]

My Take: Brie is improving in the ring, but saying she got her knees up for Tamina’s splash is stretching it pretty thin. That looked really bad.


Drew McIntyre was in the ring for a match. Sin Cara then made his ring entrance.

3. Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre: Sin Cara immediately sent McIntyre to the outside and hit a somersault plancha to the outside. McIntyre took over momentarily, but Sin Cara got back on offense with an arm drag. He then hit another more high flying arm drag and tried to start a chant (sounded like Si se puede), then hit his Swanton finisher.

Sin Cara defeated Drew McIntyre at 1:45.

Cole plugged the main event as next…[c]

My Take: JBL said Zeb Colter was investigating Sin Cara, and said he had something to hide. JBL later remarked that he was looking better. I guess they are trying to blow Hunico’s cover again?

[Q4] Sweet T and Brodus Clay made their entrances.

4. Sweet T vs. Brodus Clay: Sweet T opened up a can early on, but Brodus came back with a thumb to the eye and a big splash in the corner. He then followed up with a headbutt and a couple of splashes. Brodus mocked his dancing gimmick, when his music hit and Xavier Woods made an entrance with the Funkadactyls. Sweet T then rolled him up for the win.

Sweet T defeated Brodus Clay at 1:48.

After the match, Woods and Tensai cleared Clay from the ring.Cole plugged the Main Event…..again…[c]

My Take: Man, that was the shits. Woods and Tensai couldn’t have been less over after the match. The crowd seemed upset that Clay didn’t destroy them.

Goldust and Cody Rhodes made their entrance. The Wyatt’s then made their entrance, which seemed excessively long for some reason.

[Q5] 5. The Wyatt’s vs. The Brotherhood: Cole certified Goldust referring to their team on Twitter as The Brotherhood as their official name. Rowan and Goldust had a stare down to begin, before Rowan took control. Cole put over the tag division on commentary, as Harper tagged in and Goldust took a shot at him. Cody tagged and, and he and Harper traded blows. Cody hit a nice clothesline and dragged Harper back to his corner for a tag.

Harper recovered quickly and used strikes and a clothesline to put a beating on Goldust. Harper dragged Goldust over for a tag, and Rowan continued the beating. He stepped on Goldust’s chest, almost like a submission. He then dropped some knees and used the ropes for a choke. Harper tagged in again and went right to work with a European Uppercut. He covered for a near fall. Goldust missed a cross body and rolled all the way out in front of Bray Wyatt…[c]

Harper hit a gator roll, and held on to a chin lock. Rowan tagged in and beat Goldust down in the corner. Goldust took control and hit a big clothesline on Rowan. He barely made a tag to Harper, who then knocked Cody off the apron. Goldust hit an inverted suplex and made the hot tag to Cody. Cody came in on fire and hit a disaster kick. He then hit a moonsault off the top, but Rowan broke the pin. Chaos broke out and everbody ended up on the outside. Harper hit a nasty big boot on Goldust at ringside.

Harper and Cody were still legal, and Harper dragged him back into the ring. He hit a huge clothesline from hell and got the victory.

The Wyatt’s defeated The Brotherhood at 12:40.

After the match, Bray entered and stalked Cody Rhodes. Daniel Bryan’s music then hit and he cleared the Wyatt’s from the ring with some help form a chair. He and Goldust talked trash to the Wyatts…[c]

My Take: Fun match, but the big moment was after the bell. The Wyatt’s entering the tag division seriously is great news. Hopefully Bray will branch out as a singles act that way.

After the match, Bray entered and stalked Cody Rhodes. Daniel Bryan’s music then hit and he cleared the Wyatt’s from the ring with some help form a chair. He and Goldust talked trash to the Wyatts…[c]

My Take: Fun match, but the big moment was after the bell. The Wyatt’s entering the tag division seriously is great news. Hopefully Bray will branch out as a singles act that way.

[Q6] Sandow was in the ring with a mic and said Christmas is corrupt adults asking for things they don’t need, and disgusting children asking for things they haven’t earned. The crowd booed, and Sandow told them they proved his point and they don’t deserve Christmas. Sandow said that’s why he would personally cancel Christmas on Monday’s Raw. The Miz interrupted and said where he’s from they celebrate the Holidays, and they celebrate Santa Claus. Miz said Sandow wasn’t Santa Claus, and that he couldn’t carry his sack.

7. The Miz vs. Damien Sandow: Sandow hit about 11 knees to Miz’s face, and apparently didn’t hurt at all as he recovered immediately. Miz took control and locked on the Figure Four, but Sandow reached the ropes. Sandow rolled up Miz with the tights a moment later for the cheap win.

Damien Sandow defeated The Miz at 1:39.

Fandango was shown with Summer Rae in the back…[c]

My take: Sandow’s promo was sufficiently grinch-like, but The Miz and the match were down right bad. Is Miz a face now? Does he really think sack jokes are clever?

[Q7] Video was shown of WWE’s 50ThAnniversary video release. Bret Hart and The Undertaker were shown speaking about being “The Man”. Fandango and Summer Rae were shown towards the end of their ring entrance. Kofi Kingston was already in the ring.

8. Fandango vs. Kofi Kingston: They traded offense early, with Fandango getting a two count with a side kick. Fandango danced a little to taunt the crowd and beat down Kofi in a corner. He hit a back elbow for another near fall. Fandango then went for a knee drop from the second rope, but Kofi got out of the way. Kofi fired up and hit some chops, followed by a drop kick. He then hit the boom drop and signaled for Trouble in Paradise. Fandango ducked underneath, and both men ended up on the apron. Fandango kicked Kofi so that he was half in the ring under the bottom rope. He hit a top rope leg drop and pulled Kofi in and pinned him for the win.

Kofi Kingston defeated Fandango at 2:58.

Backstage, Daniel Bryan was approached by Renee Young. She asked him a question, when The Wyatt Family attacked him. Bray Wyatt told him they could have been friends, and then sang “ashes…ashes…they all fall down” as Rowan and Harper tossed Bryan off a nearby loading dock…[c]

My Take: I guess they had to make the main event fair somehow. They Wyatt’s getting their payback is alright, but did they need to go the attempted murder route?

The Shield were already in the ring. Footage was shown of what we just saw before the break, since this is short attention span theatre. CM Punk made his ring entrance, followed by John Cena. Vickie Guerrero came out and said what happened to Bryan was unfortunate, but the show must go on. This will now be a three on two handicap match.

9. John Cena and CM Punk vs. The Shield: Punk and Ambrose started. Punk dominated the brawl with Ambrose and tagged Cena. He continued the beating on Ambrose with a dropkick and some punches, and then tagged Punk back in. He hit a top rope forearm onto Ambrose and tagged in Cena…[c]

[Q8] Reings tossed Cena hard into his corner and put the boots to him. Rollins tagged in and continued to beat Cena down with kicks and knees. Ambrose tagged in and used a hammerlock to keep Cena from making a tag. Cena hit a back suplex and nearly tagged Punk, but Ambrose tagged in Reigns, who quickly stopped him. Reigns hit a Superman Punch, which Cole sold like he was Hercules. Rollins tagged in once again and missed a big splash in the corner.

Cena escaped in the wrong direction, and ended up in front of The Shield. Ambrose tagged in and once again stopped Cena from making a tag. Rollins took a cheap shot at Punk to knock him off the apron, who got fired up and argued with the ref. Cena picked up Rollins for the AA, but he slipped out and hit a jumping side kick that hit Cena in the jaw. Rollins then set Cena on the turnbuckle and went for a SuperPlex, but Cena fought him off. Ambrose tagged in and tried to stop Cena, but he ate a tornado DDT.

Cena finally made the hot tag and Punk hit some knees and a kick to Rollins. He then knocked Ambrose and Reigns off the apron. Punk hit a suicide dive on the outside on Rollins and then tossed him back in. He hit a running knee in the corner, an then a top rope elbow. Punk signaled that he wanted to put Rollin to sleep. Ambrose tried to interfere, but Punk hit Rollins and Ambrose with a DDT and a Neckbreaker simultaneously. The Shield beat on Punk three on one, and the ref called for a DQ.

CM Punk and John Cena defeated The Shield at 14:28.

Post-Match, The Shield put a beating on both Punk and Cena. Cena ate a spear and a Triple Powerbomb. Punk tried to muster up a fight after Cena got put down, but The Shield dominated. Big E Langston’s music hit and he cleared the heels from the ring. He and Roman Reigns had a stare down to close the show, and Punk came to assist Langston with a chair to run off The Shield.

My Take: A fun main event that ended with a new feud starting. That part was nice. The match itself wasn’t really anything special, even if it was entertaining. I’ve just seen too many Shield tag matches. Overall, a show that didn’t let anything set in. They moved pretty fast if it wasn’t something that revolved around their main event stars. I’ll have more to say in Audio with Chris Shore tomorrow.

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

© Copyright 2013 by PROWRESTLING.NET