WWE Smackdown house show results
December 1, 2012
Columbia, S.C.
Results submitted by Jim H., PWTorch correspondent

Hard to guess the crowd size in such a large arena, but I'd guess about 4,000. Another hot crowd. The Twitter poll was whether Ricardo Rodriguez would be allowed at ringside for a Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio match. Tony Chimel was the announcer.

(1) The Miz defeated Damien Sandow. Sandow came out first and cut a promo to a ton of boos. He repeatedly asked for silence, which only made the boos louder. Sandow stated that since we wouldn't listen, he would have to make his point tonight through physicality. Miz came out to a decent reaction. He seemed to enjoy playing the face and really played it up for the crowd. Sandow began with some calisthenics. He frustrated Miz early, while taunting him and doing a cartwheel. But, Miz fought back and did some trash-talking of his own. Sandow tried to take a walk, but Miz brought him back. They went back and forth for a while, but Miz hit the Skullcrushing Finale for the win.

(2) Fandango defeated Ted DiBiase. Fandango began with some calisthenics and dance moves. DiBiase countered and mocked Fandango with some dance moves of his own. DiBiase hit a suicide dive and they brawled on the outside. Fandango eventually won by pinfall, but to be honest me and many others at ringside were distracted checking our phones to try and figure out what was happening at the end of the SEC Championship Game, so I can't even really recall the finishing sequence.

Alberto Del Rio and Roberto Rodriguez appeared on the video screens hyping Del Rio's match with Orton.

(3) Layla & Paige defeated Natalya & Aksana. Natalya came out first to mostly cheers, although she managed to get herself booed once the match started. Then, Aksana came out. Layla and Paige came out as a team and got a really nice reaction from the crowd. Layla started against Aksana and pretty much had her way with her. Layla incorporated some of her butt-based offense, much to the crowd's delight. Aksana begged off and went crawling to Natalya. Natalya tagged in but fared no better initially. Layla tagged in Paige, but Paige soon ran into trouble thanks to some double-team tactics behind the referee's back. Natalya worked over Paige for a while. Finally, Paige got a hot tag to Layla. Layla cleaned house. Aksana came in, but Paige tripped her and pulled her out of the ring. Layla hit the Bombshell on Natalya and got the pin.

[ Jim's Reax: I have to say that this match gave me hope for the future of the Divas division. It was night and day from what we see on TV. The crowd was very into it, the ladies were given sufficient time, the match was paced well, and everyone executed very well. It really was a very good Divas match. Paige didn't get too much offense in, mainly playing the babyface in peril, but hopefully this is an indication that a main roster call-up is near. ]

Wade Barrett appeared on the video screens, telling us he was going to tame "The Wildcat" and take the Intercontinental Title, since Kofi Kingston was no match for the Barrett Barrage.

(4) IC champion Kofi Kingston beat Wade Barrett to retain the Intercontinental Title. Another really good match. Barrett got in a variety of offense and played the arrogant heel well. Kingston was on the receiving end most of the match, but also got in some spots. Barrett mocked Kofi's mannerisms, but Kofi made him pay. Barrett hit Winds of Change, but Kingston kicked out. Kingston hit the Boom Drop and the SOS, but Barrett kicked out of each. Finally, Kingston hit Trouble in Paradise from out of nowhere to get the pin.

Next was Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio. Ricardo was allowed to stay based on the fan vote. Orton got a huge pop.

(5) Randy Orton defeated Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez). Match of the night. Orton was in control early and Del Rio tried to escape over the guardrail through the crowd. Orton caught him and pulled him back and Del Rio grabbed a security guard to try and prevent him from doing so. It was pretty funny, because I'm not sure the security guard knew what was going on. Del Rio gained the advantage and began working on Orton's arm, setting up for the cross arm-breaker. He applied it twice using the ropes, but obviously had to break it by the five count. He got it on another time, but Orton made it to the ropes. Ricardo got in some cheap shots. Orton went for a powerslam, but Del Rio stopped short. Orton went for the RKO, but Del Rio blocked it and hit a backstabber. Later, Orton went for the Hangman DDT, but Del Rio blocked it. Del Rio charged at Orton, but Orton side-stepped it and sent Del Rio outside through the middle rope. Del Rio made it back in the ring at nine. Orton hit the powerslam, but Del Rio kicked out. Orton hit the hangman DDT (vintage Orton!), but Del Rio kicked out. Lots of nearfalls. Del Rio went for the RKO, but Orton blocked it. Del Rio applied the cross arm-breaker again, but Orton countered. Rodriguez jumped up on the apron and grabbed Orton in the corner. Del Rio went for an enziguiri, but Orton side-stepped it and he hit Rodriguez instead. Orton hit the RKO for the pin.

[ Jim's Reax: Really good match between these two, with exciting nearfalls, even though the finish was never in doubt. Better than their PPV match a couple months back. ]

[ Intermission ]

(6) Great Khali (w/Hornswoggle) defeated David Otunga. Hornswoggle distracted Otunga early. Otunga apparently had enough and attacked Hornswoggle outside. Khali went to go aid Hornswoggle, but Otunga caught him by the leg and swung it against the ring ropes. Otunga worked the legs for a while, but eventually Khali had enough and won with a chop. After the match, Hornswoggle hit the Tadpole Splash on Otunga.

(7) Rey Mysterio & The Usos defeated 3MB. 3MB came out to all kinds of weird machinations and gyrations. McIntyre had them huddle up at the start and they discussed some sort of gameplan. After Mysterio tagged in for some early offense, 3MB isolated one of the Usos and worked him over for a while. McIntyre assured us that we wouldn't see the 619 tonight. Eventually, a hot tag was made to Mysterio. The Usos superkicked Mahal and McIntyre to the outside. Despite McIntyre's earlier assurances, we did in fact see the 619 on Slater. That led him into a double superkick by the Usos, and then Mysterio "dropped the dime" (as Michael Cole would say) for the pin.

Next was the main event of Sheamus vs. Big Show for the World Title. Big Show came out to a mixture of cheers and boos. Some people were cheering him because he is from South Carolina. Sheamus came out to a large pop.

(8) Sheamus beat World Hvt. champion Big Show via DQ; Show retained the World Title. Sheamus tested the Big Show's strength early, to no effect. Big Show went outside the ring. Sheamus followed him, but got shoulder-blocked when he came back in. Big Show hit some chops. Sheamus hit about five clubbing blows before Show blocked them. Sheamus went for a battering ram, but got caught. Big Show went for a chokeslam, but Sheamus blocked it. Sheamus hit White Noise, but couldn't get the pin. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Big Show pulled the ref in front of him. Sheamus managed to hit the brakes before he hit the ref. Big Show then shoved the ref down, resulting in a DQ. Cheap finish, even by house show standards/

Post-match, Big Show retrieved a chair from outside the ring and went to hit Sheamus with it, but Sheamus blocked it. Sheamus hit Show with the chair and then hit the Brogue Kick. Sheamus celebrated with the fans while Show lay in the ring selling the effects of the Brogue Kick. Chimel thanked us all for coming. After about ten minutes, Show finally got up and Chimel announced that he was still the World Heavyweight Champion.

Overall, a strong show. Had a great time.

Biggest Pops:

- Orton
- Sheamus
- Mysterio
- Kingston
- The Miz

Biggest Heat:

- Sandow
- Barrett
- Big Show
- Del Rio
- Natalya

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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