12/21 Powell's WWE Super Smackdown Live Coverage report: John Cena and Sheamus vs. Big Show and Dolph Ziggler, Miz TV with Dolph Ziggler and A.J. Lee, commercial-free broadcast originally aired on 12/18

This is Jason Powell's report from the live Smackdown special on USA. That show was aired commercial free, while this show is expected to have commercials, so expect some differences.

By Jason Powell

WWE Super Smackdown on the USA Network
Same night delay from Pittsburgh, Pa.

[Q1] A recap video aired... Michael Cole, JBL, and Josh Mathews were on commentary... The Miz stood in the ring and introduced Miz TV. He told a joke about how his guests did more damage than Lindsey Lohan and a moving vehicle. The joke bombed. The Miz introduced Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee, who came out with Big E Langston.

Ziggler and AJ kissed as they walked to the ring and Langston walked a step behind them. Footage aired from Raw of Langston roughing up John Cena. Miz asked AJ to address why she did what she did to Cena. She said Miz should ask Cena why he toyed with her heart.

AJ said she lost her job as the Raw general manager because she wanted to keep his good name clean. She aired footage on the big screen of Cena kissing her. She said it won a Slammy Award. She said he was just playing games with her heart. Footage aired of Cena talking about the weird ribbons that Vickie Guerrero claimed to find in AJ's locker room.

AJ said she made the "bows" and Cena didn't appreciate it because he only cares about himself. AJ set up another video that showed her trying to support Cena by going to the ring with him, only to have Cena ask her to stay backstage while talking to her like she was seven. AJ said Cena wanted to keep her hidden like she was her dirty little secret.

AJ said Cena was supposed to be different than Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, but Cena used her, humiliated her, and threw her away like a piece of trash. "John Cena broke my heart," AJ said. "And so I helped Dolph Ziggler break John Cena." Miz mocked them by calling them American's sweethearts and questioned whether Ziggler is on the crazy train.

Langston stepped up and glared at Miz. AJ said Langston is a friend of hers who doesn't like it when people use that word. Miz told her to skip around the ring a few times while he thinks up an apology. Dolph said AJ isn't crazy, she's passionate. He said he learned that when AJ crushed Cena and also gave him the "hottest kiss" in Raw history.

Ziggler said he doesn't need a Slammy award because he kept his Money in the Bank contract. Dolph said he stole the show and Cena's girlfriend. Miz said he hopes Ziggler can satisfy AJ's multiple personalities. Miz mocked all the men AJ has been with and said she's now settling for the sixth member of One Direction.

Ziggler nodded and then Langston stepped up and delivered a double arm clobbering of Miz and then performed the move he used on Cena during Raw. A.J. looked down down at the fallen Miz and said "Show Off." AJ skipped around everyone in the ring...

Backstage, Teddy Long told Booker T that he had someone Booker should take a look at. Brad Maddox introduced himself. Booker complained to Teddy about Maddox's past antics. Long said Maddox has a great social media following and asked if Booker has seen his Youtube show.

Teddy also asked if Booker is afraid of controversy. Teddy said Booker also knows better than anyone that a man deserves a second chance and lobbied for him to get another shot. Booker gave in and said Maddox would find out who his opponent is once he gets to the ring...

Powell's POV: A good explanation from AJ and I like the Langston is the muscle of this trio. It's a good role for him and it enhances the overall act. I'm ready for AJ to drop the annoying skipping routine. It feels played out. I'm not sure what to make of Long's antics, but I wonder whether we'll find out later that he and Booker were working together to set up Maddox for another fall.

[Q2] 1. Damien Sandow (w/Cody Rhodes) vs. Sin Cara (w/Rey Mysterio). Mysterio's music played, but he didn't come out. The announcers noted that the saw Mysterio earlier in the day and questioned why he didn't come out. The announcers raved about Cody returning from his injury in only 25 days.

Sin Cara set up for a springboard move, but Cody tripped him up from the outside. JBL was fun on commentary while talking about famous mustaches. He did the right thing by including the name Ron Burgundy. Late in the match, Sin Cara performed a suicide dive onto Sandow and Rhodes at ringside.

The Shield entered the arena from the concourse area and ran to ringside. Roman Reigns pulled out Mysterio's mask and tossed it into the ring. Sin Cara picked up the mask and Sandow took advantage of the distraction by performing his finisher for the win...

Damien Sandow defeated Sin Cara in 6:15.

After the match, Sandow and Rhodes split. The Shield entered the ring and attacked Sin Cara. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns held Sin Cara's legs apart. Seth Rollins went to the top rope and came down knee first onto Sin Cara's knee. Trainers entered the ring to check on Sin Cara...

Powell's POV: A good attack with a fresh move from The Shield. I didn't like Cole's call of it. He acknowledged Sin Cara's prior knee surgery, yet he also seemed nonchalant about the potential damage of the move as Sin Cara was writhing in pain. JBL mentioned that The Shield live by a code. It will be interesting to see what logic they come up with to defend their attack on Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio.

An ad aired for Tribute to the Troops...

[Q3] 2. Santino Marella vs. Tensai. Footage aired of their comedy segment from Raw.

Santino Marella pinned Tensai in 4:20. Santino bodyslammed Tensai at one point. Tesnai went on a roll, but Santino came back with The Cobra for the win...

Powell's POV: The announcers spoke played up Tensai's losing ways. It was hard to tell whether they are setting up some type of redemption or if he's going to be a long term loser.

Cole announced that they received word from backstage that Sin Cara had suffered serious knee damage when The Shield attacked him... Footage aired from Raw of the return of Ric Flair and his various segments...

Backstage, Kofi Kingston congratulated Kane and Daniel Bryan for standing up to The Shield and said it was about time someone did. Kane said it would be helpful if he grew eyes in the back of his head since everyone knows The Shield is there. Kingston asked them to let him get his hands on Wade Barrett when they teamed. Daniel Bryan was pissed because he didn't win a Slammy...

3. Kane, Daniel Bryan, and Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett and The Prime Time Players. Kingston got his time in the ring with Barrett, but then he ended up doing the long sell for his team a the heels worked him over. Cole noted that Mysterio had suffered a "severe neck injury" at the hands of The Shield.

[Q4] At one point during the match, they cut away from the ring to show a shot of an aisle in the lower level of the arena. It looked like a production error, but then Cole asked, "Are they here?" No, but the female usher at the top of the aisle was! In the end, Kane chokeslammed Darren Young and pinned him. The announcers noted that Kane didn't celebrate long because he was keeping an eye out for The Shield...

Kane, Daniel Bryan, and Kofi Kingston defeated Wade Barrett and The Prime Time Players.

Powell's POV: Kingston's character is so happy go lucky that he doesn't mind teaming with the guys who took the tag titles from him and R-Truth. The aisle shot was sappy since they shouldn't know which aisle they'd be coming from. The match

An ad aired for WWE online merchandise sale... After airing their own commercial, they went to ringside where Mathews boasted about being commercial free. They aired footage of Big E Langston's debut from Raw...

Backstage, Sheamus was telling a story to John Cena, who said he didn't get it. Cena told him that Big E Langston might be the strongest person in WWE. Sheamus said it sounds like his kind of fight.

Sheamus asked Cena what happened between him and AJ. Cena didn't want to say, but Sheamus said no one was around. Cena whispered to Sheamus, who laughed and made surprised and disgusted facial expressions. "Are you serious?" Sheamus asked. Cena told him he was just kidding. "But is that possible?" Sheamus asked...

[Q5] Lilian Garcia introduced C.M. Punk and Paul Heyman. Punk was still using crutches and they headed to the ring for a promo. Punk noted that his title reign is now 394 days. He said 20 years from now everyone look back at him as the greatest superstar of all time, yet the fans couldn't put aside their ignorance and bias and vote for him as WWE Superstar of the Year.

Punk said the fans turned "a very prestigious awards show" in a sham by voting for Cena. Funny. He said the fans who voted for fans are the types of people who have their kids play tee ball games where they don't keep score so the kids don't find out they are as big of losers as their parents are.

Punk said he expects that from the fans, but he expected more from Cena. He said you could tell by the look on Cena's face when he accepted the award that he wasn't the Superstar of the Year. He said Cena was a hypocrite when he gave the Slammy to Ric Flair. Punk encouraged the fans to cheer Flair and the guys who come back for a paycheck so they can pay alimony and child support..

Punk said the thing that's more impressive than winning the title 16 times is holding the title for 394 days. He said Flair has lost more title fights than he's won, whereas he does not lose anyone, including Cena and "the knuckle dragging Ryback who hurt me in the first place."

Punk said he's in Pittsburgh entertaining the fans despite undergoing surgery. He said the fans need it because "those women" the Pittsburgh Penguins are on strike. Punk said he will be back next year and no one will beat him for it.

Ryback's music played and he came to the ring. Punk held his crutches out as Heyman pleaded by Ryback by saying Punk isn't cleared to wrestle. "But according to doctors, he will be," Ryback said. Ryback said he has his sights set on the first Raw of the new year to become the new WWE Champion. He led the crowd in a Feed Me More chant...

Powell's POV: I thought they might hold off on this match until the second Raw of 2012 when the 20th anniversary special will air. Plus, the first Raw on January 7 goes head to head with the college football championship game.

Punk and Heyman left the ring. Antonio Cesaro headed to the ring for a match with Ryback...

4. Antonio Cesaro vs. Ryback in a non-title match. Ryback shoulderblocked Cesaro to ringside to start the match. Cesaro tried to leave again about two minutes in, but Ryback went after him. Ryback pressed Cesaro over his head, but Cesaro slipped away and ran Ryback into the ring steps. Cesaro had an offensive run against Ryback and caught him with an uppercut off the second rope for a two count.

[Q6] Ryback made his comeback and hit Shellshocked for the win...

Ryback pinned Antonio Cesaro in a non-title match in 5:05.

Powell's POV: Sadly, I assumed they only protected Cesaro on Raw so they could have him lose on Smackdown. They worked well together and Cesaro got in a nice run of offense, but I don't see how this helped him. WWE didn't even help themselves. Why not announce on Raw that a rematch had been set up for the live edition of Smackdown?

Another Tribute to the Troops ad aired with Miz flying...

Backstage, Kaitlyn was approached by AJ. Kaitlyn AJ makes it hard to be her friend by doing the same thing over and over again. AJ acted like she was crying, but when Kaitlyn said her name she looked up at her with a mean face. Kaitlyn said she had a title match. AJ asked if she was choosing a title match over her friend. Kaitlyn said she was choosing the title match over a lunatic. They fought and had to be separated...

5. Eve vs. Kaitlyn for the WWE Divas Championship. They actually replayed the footage of AJ attacking Kaitlyn backstage just in case you missed it 30 seconds beforehand. The announcers noted that Kaitlyn pinned Eve in a non-title match on Raw. Eve dominated the offense. Kaitlyn made her comeback. The crowd didn't seem to care. Kaitlyn went to the top rope, but Eve grabbed the ref's ankle to shield herself. She ended up tripping the referee, who disqualified her...

Kaitlyn defeated Eve by DQ in 5:45.

Powell's POV: This is another rematch from Raw that could have been hyped for Smackdown. I don't understand why WWE doesn't do more to encourage viewers of their flagship show to watch Smackdown. The match overstayed its welcome with the live crowd. WWE fans just don't care about the Divas division right now.

Backstage, AJ complained to Dolph about her fight with Kaitlyn while Langston stood by. Ziggler said she's jealous because AJ is with a future World Hvt. Champion. Big Show entered the picture and said he will knockout Ziggler if he gets even the slightest inkling that he's setting him up for a Money in the Bank contract cash in...

[Q7] An ad aired for the rest of WWE Week... Footage aired from Raw of Sheamus hitting Show with the giant chair, and Ziggler trying to cash in his contract only to have Cena break it up...

Brad Maddox came out and spoke as he headed to the ring. He said he's going to win his match and claim his contract...

6. Brodus Clay (w/Cameron, Naomi) vs. Brad Maddox. Clay won the match with a splash. After the match, The Shield entered through the crowd and attacked Clay. The trio hit their Triple Powerbomb and left Clay lying.

Brodus Clay pinned Brad Maddox in 2:05.

An ad aired for WWE Tribute to the Troops with Kid Rock...

Powell's POV: Kid Rock is slowly morphing into Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, who plays Otto Delaney on the show. I liked the backstage hostility from Big Show toward Ziggler earlier. Show should be threatened by Ziggler and attempt to care him out of coming after his title. I also liked that it was AJ who this time motioned for Langston not to go after Show when he made a quick move toward him. The trio has real potential.

Ring entrances for the main event took place. Cole announced that Santa Claus will be hosting the Christmas Eve edition of Raw...

Powell's POV: Our live coverage of the taping for Monday's Raw is already underway on the main page.

[Q8] 7. John Cena and Sheamus vs. Big Show and Dolph Ziggler (w/AJ, Big E Langston). Sheamus did the selling for his team until he hit a DDT on Big Show. Sheamus made the hot tag to Cena at 10:05. Cena hit his usual offense on Ziggler, which received a mixed reaction from the crowd.

Cena picked up Ziggler for the Attitude Adjustment, but Show entered the ring and punched him in the gut. Sheamus attacked Show and they fought out of the ring. Ziggler hit the Zig Zag on Cena, yet was only able to get a two count. Ziggler complained to the referee about the count.

Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment. Before he could go for the pin, Langston entered the ring and attacked him for the DQ. Langston hit the same moves on Cena that he used on Raw and on Miz earlier in the show. AJ skipped around the ring, then stopped and made out with Ziggler as they were both leaning over Ziggler. AJ went back to her tried skipping routine... An ad aired for WWE Tribute to the Troops...

John Cena and Sheamus defeated Big Show and Dolph Ziggler by DQ in 11:25.

Powell's POV: Let's just get this out of the way. WWE fibbed when it came to advertising this as a live, commercial-free show. It was aired on tape delay, and were got the usual assortment of WWE related commercials. There just weren't any non-WWE commercials. That said, it was a solid two-hour show with more storyline development than we see on standard editions of Smackdown.

This felt like a continuation of Raw. They really should have done more to make it clear going in that it would be a continuation by simply advertising the matches in advance, but those who saw the show had to be pleased that it was a little more newsworthy than usual.