By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped 11/27 in Bossier City, LA

[Q1] The WWE Narrator recapped the major feuds in WWE, focusing on Punk/Ryback, Ziggler/Cena, and Show/Sheamus. John Cena made his entrance and ran to the ring to start the show. Mathews and Cole spoke briefly about TLC and then introduced a video that recapped Ziggler and Cena’s match from Monday. Cena welcomed the crowd to Smackdown and told home viewers not to adjust their TVs, as he was in fact John Cena (You were on the show last week, John!). Cena said Ziggler has been up in his business, and now he was out there to point the finger back at him. He said Ziggler’s greatest accomplishment was his 120 second title reign, and that without the briefcase he has no identity.

Cena said he was excited that tonight Dolph Ziggler wasn’t in a match, he was in a fight. Somehow, he had to survive a match with Sheamus. Alberto Del Rio then interrupted, and said Cena should worry about him, as this is his show. Cena pandered to the crowd and said the show belonged to them. Del Rio said Cena was stupid, and asked if he needed to remind him of all of his various WWE accomplishments. Del Rio then said that he wanted to remind him that the last time they were in the ring together, he beat him. He then told Cena to leave his ring.

Cena said he remembered all those things. Cena then said he has a match, with Del Rio, right now. He then punched Del Rio and sent him rolling to the outside…[c]

Barnett’s Brief: Well, that was boring. Typical Captain America Cena stuff.

1. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio applied a head lock to start, which Cena quickly pushed off and sent Del Rio into the ropes for a hip toss. Del Rio rolled to the outside to take a breather, and baited Cena to run at him, at which point he hung him on the top rope. Del Rio then hit several kicks, and tossed Cena into the announce booth at ringside. He then climbed the ropes and hit a double axe handle on Cena for a two count. Del Rio continued the assault, mocking Cena along the way. Del Rio got a two count after a suplex, and then applied a head and arm lock.

{Q2] Cena hot a hope spot in with a suplex, but Del Rio evaded a spear attempt and sent Cena shoulder first into the ring post. Del Rio continued to apply pressure with kicks to the shoulder he’s been focusing on. He then climbed to the top rope and hit another axe handle for a near fall, and then went back to leveraging the shoulder…[c]

Del Rio missed a top rope senton, and Cena charged back with his signature spots leading to the five knuckle shuffle. Cena went for the AA, but Del Rio countered with a back stabber for a near fall. Del Rio kicked Cena in the ribs. He set up for the cross arm breaker, but Cena countered into a neck breaker. Cena climbed to the top rope, but Del Rio hit a springboard enziguri for another near fall. Del Rio went for another enziguri, but Cena ducked. Del Rio hit a nice tilt a whirl back breaker for another near fall.

Del Rio stalled for a few seconds before climbing the top rope. He dove at Cena, who hit him with a drop kick. A moment later, Del Rio went for the Cross Armbreaker again, but Cena was able to counter into the STF. Del Rio eventually made it to the ropes. Del Rio rolled to the apron, and Cena approached him. Del Rio locked in the Armbreaker over the top rope, and broke at the ref’s 4 count. He went to dive at Cena over the ropes, but Cena caught him into position for the AA. Del Rio rolled out, though, and hit a german suplex for a near fall.

Del Rio set Cena up on the top rope and kicked him into the tree of woe. Del Rio charged at Cena from across the ring, but Cena sat up and Del Rio hit the post between the first and second rope. Cena then climbed the ropes and hit a diving leg drop for the three count.

John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio at 16:14.

Post-match, Cena celebrated up the ramp, and got blasted by Ziggler with the briefcase when he turned his back towards the entrance to face the crowd.

Barnett’s Brief: This was a good outing for both men. Both men got in a great amount of offense and Del Rio didn’t look weak at all at the finish. The Ziggler attack was well timed and look good on TV.

[Q3] Mathews and JBL showed footage of Kane and Bryan being laid out by The Shield. Backstage, Kofi Kingston was backstage with Team Hell No as they stared each other down. Kofi asked them if they could get along for their 6 man tag later on. They complimented each other and said the WWE would find out how dangerous they are when they work together. They left chanting “Yes!”…[c]

Cena was backstage with Booker T, and Cena said as soon as Ziggler shows his face again, he’s going to blast him. Booker pleaded with him by saying that the ratings will suffer if the Sheamus and Ziggler match doesn’t happen. Cena agreed to let it happen, and shook his head. In the ring, the bell run and The Great Khali and Otunga started their match…

2. David Otunga vs. The Great Khali: Khali slapped down Otunga, who rolled to the outside. Hornswoggle sat on him and Otunga chased him around the ring. Khali pulled Otunga in the ring and hit his big chop for the win.

The Great Khali defeated Otunga at 1:15.

Barnett’s Brief: Why?

WWE showed footage of their latest visit with the troops. Mathews plugged Team Hell No and Kofi vs. Wade Barrett and the Primetime Players for next…[c]

Barrett and the Prime Time Players were already in the ring. Team Hell No made their entrance to Kane’s music, and then Kofi made his ring entrance.

[Q4]3. Team Hell No + Kofi vs. The Prime Time Players and Wade Barrett: Kane knocked around Darren Young, and then made a tag to Daniel Bryan, who also knocked around Darren Young. Kane tagged in a moment later and hit a running leg drop for a two count. Kane then dropped a knee of Young’s arm and applied a wrist lock. Young escaped briefly and made a tag to Titus, who was sent out of the ring by Kane with a big boot. Bryan then hit a diving knee from the apron…[c]

Kofi hit young with a very high dropkick for a near fall. Kane tagged in and stomped on Young. Bryan then tagged in and they hit a double team hip toss for a two count. Bryan traded strikes with Young. Titus got a blind tag and Bryan walked into a big boot. Titus then barked like a seal and tagged Young back in so they could hit a double shoulder block. Young hit a back breaker covered Bryan for two.

Titus tagged Barrett and he hit a pump handle slam on Bryan for a two count. Barrett then cinched in a chin lock, which Bryan eventually struggled out of. Bryan managed to get in an elbow, but ran right into a side walk slam. Barrett dragged Bryan back into his corner and tagged in Titus. Titus stomped away on Bryan, and then distracted the ref so Barrett could drop a leg on Bryan. Titus slammed Bryan and tagged in Young, who hit some strikes and a suplex. Young applied a chin lock briefly, but couldn’t hold it. He and Bryan traded strikes until Young hit a suplex and bridge for a near fall.

[Q5] Titus tagged in and hit a trio of back breakers on Bryan. He then took a three point stance, but ran into Bryan’s feet. Both men tagged and Kane put a beating on Young. Kane knocked Barrett off the apron and hit a side walk slam on Young for a very close near fall. Kane went to the top and hit a clothesline and covered, but Titus broke it up. Things broke down, and Kofi sent Titus and Barrett to the outside. Young tried to dive at Kane from the top, but got caught with a choke slam. Kane tagged Bryan, who hit a diving head butt and locked in the Yes/No Lock for the submission victory.

Team Hell No + Kofi defeated Barrett and the Prime Time Players at 14:35.

Barnett’s Brief: A very solid tag match. Bryan and Kane look to be taking themselves seriously again, which mean their tag team blows up In a few weeks. Kofi didn’t get much time, but he and Barrett both looked good in their limited in ring time.

Sheamus was interviewed by Matt Stryker, doing his best Austin Aries impersonation. Sheamus delivered some paint by numbers stuff, saying all of his opponents look like Big Show in the ring, and that didn’t bode well for Ziggler. He said he was going to kick ZIggler’s head clean off his torso, and then ate a big spoonful of lucky charms. Ok, maybe that was a hallucination, but you get my point. The announcers plugged a Raw Rebound about the shield for after the break…[c]

A video recap of The Shield attack on Team Hell No and Ryback was shown, with their promo laced in the background to put emphasis on their stated motives. Good stuck. Damien Sandow made his ring entrance and told the crowd that he won’t give up his personal quest, but will no longer focus on the masses. He said he will be sharing his knowledge individually with the audience, and would pick someone from the crowd to be his apprentice. He insulted a few people around the ring before bringing a “fan” into the ring and said he must answer 3 questions correctly to be his apprentice.

[Q6] He asked him how many wheels on a tricycle and how often the US has Presidential Elections. He then asked him what the orbital velocity of Jupiter’s Moon Europa was. The guy couldn’t answer, and Sandow scolded him. He told him he was an embarrassment to his family and the State of Louisiana, and that he should leave the country for the good of us all. He then told the crowd thank you. Mathews plugged Sandow in action next…[c]

4. Tyson Kidd vs. Damien Sandow: Kidd got some early offense, but Sandow rolled to the outside and pushed him into the apron on the outside. Sandow hit the Elbow of Disdain for at two count, and then locked in a chin lock. Kidd broke the hold and hit a cross body block, followed by a trio of kicks. Kidd hit an enziguri in the corner and a low drop kick for a near fall.

Sandow rolled to the outside and Kidd followed him with a suicide dive. Kidd tossed Sandow into the ring, and attempted a springboard elbow drop. Sandow got the knees up and delivered his signature neck breaker for the win.

Damien Sandow defeated Tyson Kidd at 2:30.

Barnett’s Brief: A good match for both guys. Kidd got in a good amount of offense and Sandow needs the wins at this point. A good follow up to the earlier promo.

A John Cena make-a-wish video aired, which is really just awesome stuff. You really have to respect what he does for children.

Backstage, Dolph Ziggler was interviewed by Striker. He claims Monday wasn’t a loss, and that AJ’s presence made it a handicap match. He called Cena’s a liar for hiding his relationship with AJ, and claimed that tonight would be no different with Cena lurking backstage. He then said Cena can’t be trusted. He then said he was the showoff, the show stealer, and the sole survivor, and he was sick of being so sick. Ziggler then called out Sheamus, and said when he was out in the ring later, he wasn’t looking at the Big Show, he was looking at the next World Heavyweight Champion.

Barnett’s Brief: More great stuff from Ziggler. If you don’t normally watch Smackdown, go out of your way to watch this promo. Ziggler is really starting to deliver on all fronts.

[Q7] The Uso’s made their ring entrance. Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal made their entrance with Drew McIntyre. Holy crap that gimmick sucks.

5. The Uso’s vs. 2 of 3MB The Uso’s shouted at the crowd, who were absolutely silent. Jay worked over Heath, and then tagged in Jimmy. Slater pulled Jimmy off the top rope and stomped on him. Mahal tagged in and hit some strikes, but Jimmy avoided a dive from the top rope and tagged in Jay. Jay worked over Mahal with kicks and hit a Samoan Drop. He then hit a splash in the corner, but Slater broke up his pin attempt. Mahal then sent Jimmy off the apron and distracted the ref, which allowed Slater to kick Jay in the back of the head. Mahal then hit his finisher for the win. 3MB celebrated after the bell

3MB defeated the Uso’s at 4:32.

Barnett’s Brief: 3MB is a terrible gimmick. I think it’s supposed to be so bad it’s funny, but the guys involved aren’t funny enough to pull that off.

A video aired that recapped Big Show having a hard time destroying a chair on Monday’s Raw, while Sheamus was forced to act terrified. Dolph Ziggler made his ring entrance for the main event…[c]

[Q8] Sheamus made his ring entrance.

6. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus: Sheamus got some early offense, but Ziggler quickly rolled to the outside. Sheamus continued the assault for a bit, before Ziggler hit a clothesline. That didn’t deter Sheamus much, who hit a suplex and an elbow drop for a two count. Ziggler recovered and tossed Sheamus to the outside. Ziggler went for a splash from the apron, but Sheamus caught him and hit a fallaway slam into the barricade. Sheamus tossed Ziggler back in, and hit a clothesline in the ring. He went for clubbing blows from out on the apron, but Ziggler dropped out and Sheamus was hung on the top rope and was sent to the outside.

Ziggler hit a splash in the corner and covered for two. He then got revved up for a jumping elbow drop for another two. He then appled a chin lock, but Sheamus quickly hit a back suplex to get out of the hold. Sheamus fired up with punches and a double axe handle, but Ziggler quickly tripped him onto the ropes and kicked him. Ziggler continued the assault with head butts in the corner. Ziggler attempted a splash, but Sheamus moved and he was sent out to the apron. Sheamus hit some clubs to the chest and attempted to climb to the top, but Ziggler forced him off.

Sheamus ducked a clothesline and attempted the Brogue Kick, but Ziggler avoided it and hit a jumping DDT. Ziggler went for a rocker dropper, but Sheamus avoided it and hit the Irish Curse Back Breaker. Ziggler hit a kick on a charging Sheamus and tried to roll him up, but Sheamus kicked out. He then locked in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Big Show intervened to cause the DQ.

Show hit some body shots and Ziggler stomped away on Ziggler. Cena made the save and hit an AA on Ziggler. Both men hit shoulder blocks on Big Show to clear him from the ring. The faces hugged and celebrated as the show went off the air.

Barnett’s Brief: That was a competent match, but I felt like I’d already seen it before. The finish was expected, but I’m surprised the faces went over so strongly there. Must be good to be the king. Ziggler could have used a win here, even with Big Show’s help. I hope they do something more interesting on Monday with both of these feuds.

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

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