WWE Smackdown TV taping report
December 18, 2013
San Antonio, Tex.
Report by Derek B., PWTorch correspondent

Smackdown SPOILERS 12/20

The main focus was on the Big Four of Randy Orton, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and C.M. Punk continuing the TLC PPV fall-out.

- The show opened with Michael Cole and JBL (Slammy in tow) on commentary.

- Randy Orton came out to HUGE heat to cut a promo on his greatness now that he’s WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The lights stayed dim with spotlights on Orton as he spoke about cementing his legacy at TLC and being “rewarded” by having to face Daniel Bryan on Raw. He said he beat him and that John Cena made the save. Orton said he dropped Cena, too, and didn’t give a damn. This brought out Cena to interrupt.

Orton said he knew why Cena was out there and that he was jealous and needs to recognize that this is his spotlight. Cena said he’s not out here for that, but instead to stop him from being a damn fool. He said everyone should be jealous of Orton and should want to be in his shoes. Cena continued, saying Orton needs to realize that everyone is now watching him and he is under a microscope. Cena asked how does he want to be remembered, as the true champion of champions, or that dude on Monday, “a big giant puss bag.” Orton replied, saying he knows what Cena is doing and Bryan is not going to get another re-match.

On cue, out came Bryan saying Orton is afraid and doesn’t deserve to be champion. He says that it’s okay that he won’t get a re-match because Cena will beat him with his re-match and then Bryan will finally get a fair shot at the title. Orton said he won’t allow that and neither will The Authority because they recognize him as the Face of the WWE. Bryan wondered if he really is the Face of the WWE and then asked the crowd what they think. A chorus of “No!” was interrupted by The Shield’s music.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins made their way to the ring as Orton exited over the barracade. Before The Shield could enter the ring, Cult of Personality hit as Punk came out to even the odds. “Excuse Me!” broke the tension and Vickie Guerrero came out to pull a Teddy Long, announcing that the Main Event tonight will be The Shield vs. Cena, Bryan, and Punk.

(1) IC champion Big E. Langston (w/Mark Henry) beat Jack Swagger (w/Antonio Cesaro and Zeb Colter). Zeb had a “Santa Claus is an illegal immigrant” sign and joined Cole and JBL on commentary. Quick match with Langston controlling most of it. Swagger tried to interfere, but was attacked by Henry. Langston hit The Big Ending for the win.

(2) Brie Bella (w/Nikki Bella) beat Tamina (w/A.J. Lee). A.J. joined Cole and JBL on commentary. Tamina controlled most of the match, dominating Brie with power moves. Brie got in a little bit of offense, but Tamina took the control back. Tamina went up for a Superfly Splash, but Brie got her knees up. This was enough for the win.

Post-match, both Bellas quickly attacked A.J., but nothing became of it. Tamina went to check on A.J. as the Bellas celebrated in the ring.

- A promo ran hyping the Santa vs. Santa match on Christmas Raw this Monday.

- Coming back from break, Bad News Barrett was introduced. Barrett said everyone should be happy because it’s the festive season, kids are out of school, and adults are out of work. For those who are happy, he has bad news. The crowd booed and Barrett used a gavel to try to regain control. The bad news is once they’ve opened presents and stuffed themselves, they’ve left themselves in massive debt that they will spend the next 12 months crawling out of, only to do it again next year.

(3) Sin Cara beat Drew McIntyre (w/Jinder Mahal). Typical Sin Cara match where it was mostly filled with lucha-style moves. McIntyre had some early offense, but Sin Cara got the win with a Swanton.

(4) Tensai beat Brodus Clay. Clay was introduced with no entrance music, Scott Hall style. Tensai (not Sweet T) came out to “Funk is on a roll.” There was a lot of early striking from Tensai, selling the rivalry. Clay regained offense and hit a series of splashes. After a failed pin attempt, Clay mockingly did his Funkasaurus hand gestures before “Funk is on a roll” played again, bringing out Xavier Woods. Tensai hit the quick roll-up on the distraction and was good enough for the win.

Post-match, an angered Clay attacked Tensai and beat him down until Xavier made the save. Clay left as Tensai, Xavier, and the Funkadactyls danced in the ring.

- A promo aired for the "Raw 20" DVD.

(5) Eric Rowan & Luke Harper beat WWE tag champions Goldust & Cody Rhodes in a non-title match. The match opened with a staredown between Goldust and Rowan, which ended with Goldust slapping the sheep mask off Rowan. The Wyatts isolated Goldust for most of the match. At one point, Goldust missed a cross-body and flew out the ring in front of Bray Wyatt. Harper and Rowan cut off Cody from coming to his aid, but there was never an attack from Bray.

A couple of faked hot tags built tension until Goldust hit the Cross Rhodes, giving him a chance for the real hot tag to Cody. Cody got in some quick offense, including a sloppy disaster kick. The match broke down with everyone knocked outside, Cody in front of Bray Wyatt. On the floor, Bray pushed Cody into the ringpost, then threw him back into the ring where he was greeted by a spinning lariat from Harper for the win.

Post-match, Rowan and Harper beat down Cody until Bray entered the ring. They held Cody up for Bray’s attack, but he was interrupted by Daniel Bryan running down with a chair. Bryan took out Harper on the ramp and Rowan on the apron. He mounted Bray and got in a few punches before Rowan distracted him long enough for Bray to escape. (This will set up a six-man tag match on Monday's Raw.)

- (Assumed Dark Match set up): A promo announcing WWE’s return to San Antonio in March aired. After the promo, The Rhodes and Bryan were still in the ring. Bryan grabbed a mic and called out The Wyatts for running out after wanting to beat down the Rhodes three-on-two. Bryan said that he knows Wyatt is a coward, but he doesn’t care that he has another six-man tag match later, he wants to fight Wyatt right now. This was answered by a chorus of "Yes’s" from the crowd.

Dark Match: Cody Rhodes & Goldust & Daniel Bryan beat The Wyatt Family. I’m assuming this was a Dark Match because both JBL and Cole looked completely disinterested throughout its entirety. The Wyatts had Cody isolated for most of the match, working very well together to take him out. After their offense wavered, Bryan got the hot tag and cleared the ring of The Wyatts. He hit his running knees to Harper and eventually covered him for the win. (This was the best match of the night, so I was a bit caught up in it).

- Back to Smackdown. Damien Sandow came out to some really good heat. Probably second behind Orton as far as that’s concerned. Sandow cut a promo on how he’s tired of being subjected to the hoopla (Truth Martini would be proud) of Christmas: all these ungrateful children asking for gifts they don’t deserve and filthy houses decorated with ugly ornaments. People don’t deserve Christmas, which is why he’s going to cancel it next week on Raw. "You’re…. Awwwesome!" Miz interrupted Sandow, saying he knows Santa Claus and Sandow is not he. Where he comes from, people celebrate Christmas and Sandow couldn’t carry Santa’s sack. (Isn’t Miz supposed to be mid-heel turn right now? This was confusing that he made the save, here.)

(6) Damien Sandow beat The Miz. Quick match with Miz getting the early offense and locking in the figure-four. Sandow got to the ropes and while Miz argued with the ref, Sandow got the roll-up and the win with a hook of the tights.

(7) Fandango beat Kofi Kingston. This match was a bit slow in the beginning, but picked up when Kofi made his comeback. He hit the Boom Drop and teased Trouble in Paradise, but Fandango ducked and rolled outside. Kofi teased a flying leap, but caught himself and landed on the apron. Fandago knocked Kofi off his feet and quickly hit his top-rope leg drop for the win.

- Backstage: Bryan was setting up for an interview with Renee Young, but was interrupted by Luke Harper standing in the distance. Then, Eric Rowan was shown on the other side of Bryan. Bray Wyatt showed up behind him and they all attacked. Rowan and Harper attacked in the distance as Bray dropped to his knees and sang, “Ashes, ashes. They all fall down.”

- Another promo for WWE’s return to S.A. in Match. The pre-sale started tonight and the promo code is RAWLIVE.

- Return from commercial break, and The Shield are already in the ring. They recapped The Wyatts’s attack on Daniel Bryan in the back and officials were shown checking on the downed Bryan. After Cena and Punk’s entrances, Vickie Guerrero emerged. She said Bryan’s attack was unfortunate, but the show must go on. The Main Event will now be a three-on-two handicap match.

(8) C.M. Punk & John Cena beat The Shield via DQ. Punk started the match with some really good offense. This ended when Cena tagged in and The Shield spent most of the match isolating him. Cena finally made a comeback when Rollins put him on the turnbuckle and Cena fought out of a suplex. Rollins quickly tagged in Ambrose, who received a top-rope DDT from Cena. Double hot tag brought in Punk and Reigns. Reigns ducked Punk's typical top-rope clothesline, but Punk followed up with a Mule Kick to the stomach. Punk then got in a good amount of offense and cleared the ring. He hit a suicide dive on Rollins to the outside. Punk made his way back into the ring and hit Rollins with his moveset, ending with the flying elbow. But, Reigns broke up the pin and all three Shield members pounced on Punk, calling for the DQ.

Post-match: Cena came in for the save and threw Reigns outside, then whipped him into the guardrail. Cena came back in the ring and isolated Rollins in the corner only to turn around into a spear from Reigns (who recovered really quickly from being thrown into the barricade). The Shield beat down both men, sending Punk out of the ring and hitting Cena with the triple powerbomb. Punk came back in, trying to fight off all three members of The Shield, but was eventually overpowered. The entire crowd was cheering for Bryan to make a save, but instead, Langston's music hit and he came down. Langston cleared Ambrose and Rollins, then he and Reigns squared off in the middle of the ring. Punk came in with a chair to watch Langston’s back, but nothing became of it as Ambrose and Rollins pulled Reigns from the ring. Langston’s music hit, presumably sending Smackdown off the air.

- After the show, Langston and Punk went to check on Cena, who was out on the floor. Punk even took JBL's hat, trying to fan Cena with it. Orton’s music hit and he came back to the ring with both titles. He grabbed a mic and asked both Punk and Langston to vacate the premises because he had an early Christmas gift for John Cena in the form of a title re-match. Cena climbed back into the ring, all the while being checked on by the doctors and official. The doc and ref had a conversation mid-ring and it looked with the ref was going to call it before Cena grabbed him and waived him off.

Dark Match: John Cena beat WWE World Hvt. champion Randy Orton via DQ. As the bell rang, Orton charged Cena, who seemed to be playing possum as he quickly fought Orton off. Good back and forth from both men with the finish coming with Orton grabbing his title belt and hitting Cena for the DQ. Orton then teased a punt, but Cena moved and hit Orton with the AA to send the crowd home happy.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE NEWS: Superstars SPOILERS - Results from Chicago Raw

WWE NETWORK: Monday, Oct. 12 Schedule - Raw pre-show, Sting DVD preview

WWE NEWS: Lana & Rusev reportedly engaged - follow the interesting 2015 timeline