By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped 11/15 in Bridgeport, Conn.

[Q1] The show opened with Mark Henry as he tossed Daniel Byran around backstage. He threw him into some storage chests and then dragged him out into the arena through the production area. Bryan ate a headbutt as they got closer to the ring, and then Henry tossed him in the ring and continued the assault. Henry hit a big chop and then a splash and Bryan writhed on the mat. Henry then followed up with the World's Strongest Slam twice. The second one was right in front of a gaggle of refs.

The refs rolled Bryan out of the ring and Henry called for a microphone. Henry said Byran was now in pain, and he promised there was plenty more where that came from. He then said Big Show felt the pain, but it obviously wasn't enough because he's back for more. He promised that at Survivor Series that one of them would get carried out, and it wouldn't be him. He would leave as World Heavyweight Champion.

Barnett's Brief: That was awesome. Henry is a badass, and I'm glad they are keeping Bryan in the mix. His slow climb back up to Henry (or whoever else) for Mania will be a lot of fun.

The announce team mentioned that Big Show is not booked to compete, but they thought he would have to make some kind of impression on the show. They also plugged Orton and Sheamus vs. Rhodes and Barrett for the main event.

Sin Cara's music played and he headed toward the ring...[c]

Ziggler and Vickie were already in the ring. Vickie introduced Ziggler as the only man who will compete in two matches at Survivor Series. She got her usual insane amount of heat.

1. Dolph Ziggler defeated Sin Cara at 4:16 Ziggler worked some mat wrestling to start, and grounded Sin Cara. Both men got back to their feet and Ziggler slapped Sin Cara and smiled. Ziggler then hit a fireman's carry and locked in an arm bar. He then released and stomped Sin Cara. The action slowed as both men circled, until Sin Cara hit a back elbow and a head scissors that send Ziggler to the outside. He then hit a suicide dive to the outside and landed on Zigger. Ziggler then climbed in the ring and kicked Sin Cara off the apron after he attempted to re-enter.

Ziggler tossed Sin Cara back in and dropped an elbow. He then locked in an armbar for a moment, but Sin Cara fought out and hit some kicks. Sin Cara then hit a rather complicated arm drag from the top rope, and then missed a swanton bomb. Sin Cara then rolled up Zigger after recovering quicky, but Zigger reversed it and grabbed the tights for the three count.

[Q2]After the match, Sin Cara assaulted Zigger by hitting a hurricanrana and a drop kick, followed by stomps in the corner. Swagger then ran out and hit a clothesline, and they followed it up with a double team rocker dropper type move. Mason Ryan made his way out to save Sin Cara, and sent Zigger about a mile into the air and he pancaked onto the mat.

Barnett's Brief: Ok action, but it felt like a filler match. I'm not sure what storyline was supposed to be serviced here, but it didn't feel all that momentus.


2. Mason Ryan defeated Jack Swagger at Swagger gained control early with a waist lock, but Ryan was able to power out easily and hit a spear in the corner. Ryan followed up with a power slam attempt, but Swagger slipped out and hit his Swagger bomb in the corner for a two count. Swagger continued the assault in the corner with punches and kicks, and a series of clotheslines. Swagger locked Ryan in a waist lock again, but he powered out and hit a suplex.

Ryan hit a couple of clotheslines of his own and then a big boot. He fired up and hit a power slam for a two count. Ryan locked in a full nelson a moment later and then turned it into a full nelson slam for the win.

Barnett's Brief: Wow, that was a snoozer. Swagger tried to up the pace, but Ryan needed two rather long rest holds in a 4 minute match. Yikes.

[Q3]Backstage Alicia Fox flirted with Justin Gabriel. Ryder walked up and asked them to sign the petition for him to get a US Title Shot. Big Show then walked up way too happy and grabbed Ryder's phone and signed it. Ryder and Gabriel then broke it to him what happened with Henry and Bryan earlier in the show and he walked off upset...[c]

Teddy Long walked up and interrupted Dibiase and Hornswoggle as they played WWE 12. He congratulated him on his recent wins and then hastily excused him away when Aksana walked up. There were joystick jokes made about WWE 12, and then Teddy asked Aksana to come back later so they can play together.

In the arena, Christian's music hit and he made his way out in a cast and neck brace. He spoke about being chokeslammed two weeks ago, and claimed it caused a serious neck injury. He then said he fought last week instead of getting time off, and also fought Sheamus all over Europe, and as a result he hurt his ankle. He then he has to walk away from Team Barrett, but will support them emotionally. He said he will inspire and make everybody better. He blamed Teddy Long and his incompetence for his injury, and said now he just dreams of one more match in his career.

He lambasted the fans for being complicit with Long and said that they are part of the reason why his career might never be the same. He said he was ashamed of them and said good riddance. Backstage, AJ was with Daniel Bryan when Big Show walked up. Big Show blamed himself and said this wouldn't have happened if he was there earlier. Show said he needed to go find Mark, and he then stormed off.

Barnett's Brief:Well, that was a lot of talking, and the only thing that wasn't really entertaining was Long and Aksana. The rest served its purpose, and hopefully this injury will set up a new character and storyline for Christian.

[Q4] Ted Dibiase made his way out for a match. He still comes from money. Derrick Bateman was already at ringside with Maxine. They played a brief video from Bateman and Maxine where they called themselves NXT's power couple.

3. Ted Dibiase defeated Derrick Bateman at 2:28. Dibiase took control early with a dropkick and a clothesline. Maxine distracted Dibiase and Bateman went to work. He hit some stomps and clotheslines and a neck breaker for a near fall. He then threw Dibiase into the corner with authority and locked in a chin lock.

Dibiase fought back with an inverted atomic drop and a couple of clotheslines. He then followed up a moment later with Dreamstreet for the victory.

Barnett's Brief: The introduction of Bateman and Maxine was ok, but Dibiase's character is almost intolerable. He's like a 30 year old frat boy. The match was fair, but not much you can do in 2 ½ minutes.

Big Show was backstage and kicked in a door looking for Henry. He ran into Jinder Mahal and Tyson Kidd backstage, and Kidd told him Henry left. Mahal talked smack in Punjabi, and got KO'd for his trouble. Kidd just walked off slowly. They then aired a recap of the Henry attack on Bryan from earlier.

Big Show's music blared in the arena and he headed to ringside. Show said its too bad Henry left the building because they could have had their match tonight. Show said he has to keep focused, otherwise his anger and rage will get hid disqualified. He then said he carries a certain piece of footage wherever he goes, and he then aired the footage of Henry and Show from Money in the Bank where he was injured. Show said the footage is a reminder to to stay focused on his goal.

[Q5] He said he heard Mark Henry say that one of them would get carried out of Survivor Series, and he promised it would be Mark Henry. He said he would take the World Heavyweight Championship. He then balled up his fist and told Henry it was coming for him.

Barnett's Brief: Serviceable promo from Show. He continues to improve on the mic since his return, but he needs to work on smiling at the wrong time.

Kofi Kingston made his way out for a match...[c]

Hunico made his way out next. He grabbed a mic from ringside mostly in Spanish.

4. Kofi Kingston defeated Hunico at 5:02. A flurry of arm drags early from both men. Hunico took control with a seated dropkick and a facebuster for a two count. Hunico then locked in an STF like submisssion, but Kofi slipped out. Kofi rolled up Hunico for two count, but Hunico recovered and hit another drop kick. Hunico then attempted a twister submisison, but Kofi slipped out again. Hunico continued the offensive pressure with a choke and strikes in the corner.

A moment later, Hunico hit a nice looking Samoan drop. Kofi avoided an aerial move and hit a dropkick of his own. He then hit a flying clothesline and the boom drop. Kofi fired up the crowd for Trouble in Paradise, but Hunico ducked. Kofi went up top and hit a splash, but Hunico rolled through for a close near fall, which the refs sold as a possible three count. Kofi hit his forward roll into a pin for the three count right afterwards.

The same Zeke Jackson video that played last week aired here again. The announce team plugged the main event for later in the show...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Hunico shows a lot of promise in the ring. He did well keeping up with Kingston and showed a very broad range of offensive ability.

[Q6]5. Beth Phoenix and Natalya defeated AJ and Kaitlyn at 2:38. Kaitlyn got in some offense early, but Beth quickly gained control and tagged in Natalya. They hit a double team back suplex on Kaitlyn for a two count. Natayla attempted a second cover and got the same result. Natalya locked in an abdominal strech, but Kaitlyn hip tossed out. Natty hit a body slam, but Kaitlyn slipped out of a toe hold and tagged in AJ. AJ went for a Sunset Flip, but missed and got locked into the Sharpshooter and was forced to tap out.

The announce team plugged a “special look” at the Rock return as next...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Well, that was short and sweet. Squash match heading into the PPV.

[Q7] The announce team introduced a video of The Rock's return from Monday. It was basically a replay of the main event segment from Monday.

After the footage from Moday, the announce team went through the entire Survivor Series card match by match. After the plug, Randy Orton's music hit and he headed towards the ring for the Main Event...[c]

Sheamus made his way out after Orton. Barrett and Rhodes followed.

[Q8] Randy Orton and Sheamus defeated Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes at Rhodes started off with Sheamus, and Rhodes got tossed back into his own corner and tagged in Barrett. Wade got in some strikes before Sheamus took control with his clubbing blows while Barrett was tied up in the ropes. He then hit a suplex for a near fall. Barrett hit a back kick to the gut and a flying forearm to take over the match. Sheamus escaped a wishbone and tagged in Orton.

Orton hit a power slam on Barrett immediately and then followed up with his second rope DDT. Orton charged up for the RKO, but Rhodes distracted him by jumping into the ring from the top rope. Orton took out Rhodes, but Barrett recovered and hit a big boot...

Christian was down at ringside as we got back. Barrett and Orton brawled in the ring, and Barrett got the better of it with a knee to the gut. He then tagged in Rhodes, who continued the assult. Rhodes got double underhooks, but Orton slipped and hit a back body drop. Orton crawled for the tag, but Barrett tagged in and stopped him. Barrett hit a neck breaker and a knee drop for a two count.

Barrett locked in a chin lock on the mat. Orton elbowed out a moment later and hit his signature back breaker. Both men tagged and Sheamus was a house of fire. He beat the tar out of Rhodes in the corner then hit his diving shoulder block from the top rope. Sheamus set up for the Brogue kick, but Christian hit him with his crutch for the DQ. The heels beat down Sheamus in the ring briefly. Sheamus was able to get ahold of the crutch from Rhodes after he hit him with the Brogue Kick. Orton then snuck in the ring and hit Barrett with an RKO. Sheamus then hit a Celtic Cross on Rhodes.

Barnett's Brief: Meh. I mean, the action was good and everybody involved looked crisp, but this was about as formulaic as it gets for WWE go home tag matches. I guess I should expect it by now, but it never ceases to leave a bad taste in my mouth. It bums me out whenever strong babyfaces go over on a go home show, especially when they had done such a good job of getting Barrett over as an equal to Sheamus and Orton over the past few weeks.

Questions, comments, or concerns? Contact me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: