WWE Smackdown review
November 22, 2013
Taped 11/19/13 in Atlanta, Ga.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

- Tonight’s main event was plugged by the announcers at the outset, Luke Harper vs. Daniel Bryan.

- Also tonight, in a six-man tag match, The Usos team with a returning Rey Mysterio to take on The Shield.

1 – GOLDUST & CODY RHODES vs. THE REAL AMERICANS – WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

As Goldust and Cody came to the ring, they showed a clip of the Real Americans beating the champs last month on Raw. A dropkick by Goldust set in motion the first near-fall of the match, under a minute in. Rhods and Antonio Cesaro tagged in, and Rhodes gave him a front suplex. The babyfaces made frequent tags and worked well together in isolating Cesaro. Cesaro backed Rhodes into his corner but couldn’t make the tag. Instead, Rhodes rolled him up for two. Cody ended up on the apron where he had to take care of Swagger and Cesaro. Cesaro kicked him off the apron and to the floor as they cut to break at 3:16 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:08 of the match with Cesaro slowing the pace against Rhodes. Rhodes fought off both Swagger and Cesaro, but Swagger, from the outside, pulled Goldust off the apron to prevent a tag. Cesaro reversed an Alabama Slam into a roll-up attempt, but Rhodes sat down for a two-count. Bolo uppercut by Cesaro for a near-fall. Rhodes finally made the tag at 9:32. Cesaro tagged Swagger as well. Goldust cleaned house on Swagger with the crowd vocally behind him. Swagger ran into a powerslam for two, as Cesaro pulled Goldust off the cover. Swagger was low-bridged on a charge, leading to Cody being back-dropped onto the Real Americans by his brother. Swagger put Goldust on his shoulders, then dropped him face-first and hooked on the ankle-lock. Goludst couldn’t make the ropes, but Cody came in and hit the Disaster Kick to break it up. Cesaro got Cody in the Giant Swing, much to JBL’s delight. After some commotion, Swagger rolled up Goldust for a very near-fall. Goldust gave Swagger The Final Cut for the win.

WINNERS: Rhodes and Goldust, at 12:30. Good, energetic match with a nice near-fall by Swagger at the end.

- Rey Mysterio returns to Smackdown for a six-man tag match tonight. I can’t help but feel limiting Rey’s in-ring appearances would be wise at this point. As in, don’t throw him in an unannounced Smackdown tag match before his return to PPV.

- Ryback was walking backstage. He’s expected to make some sort of challenge next.

[Commercial Break]

- Exterior shots of the arena were shown.

- Ryback was in the ring, bragging about being a bully. He issued an open challenge to anyone…and The Great Khali accepted. This again?

2 – RYBACK vs. THE GREAT KHALI

Ryback went after Khali, but Khali clotheslined him. JBL made his contractually-obligated mid-match Ranjin Singh joke as Khali hammered on Ryback in the corner. Ryback tried to avoid Khali but ended up suckering him in and working the arm. He got Khali down in the corner but couldn’t capitalize. Brain chop to Ryback for two as Ryback reached the bottom rope. Running meat-hook clothesline by Ryback took Khali down again. Shellshock to Khali for the win.

WINNER: Ryback, at 3:20. The Shellshock looked impressive. That was about the only impressive thing in this match.

The finish was replayed.

- A.J. Lee and Tamina were chatting idly backstage when Vickie Guerrero came up. Vickie said she apologized to The Authority for what happened on Raw, then blamed Brad Maddox for everything. Vickie talked about how huge the Divas elimination tag match is this Sunday. She said A.J. needs to show her teammates what a fierce leader she is. Vickie put her in a two-on-one match against the Funkadactyls tonight. A.J. said she’s not medically cleared because of an ankle injury. Vickie said she checked with the WWE training staff, and they cleared her. A.J. felt Vickie was being vengeful but Vickie insisted it’s what’s best for business.

- Cole and JBL plugged the 50 Years of WWE DVD. They showed interview clips with Bruno Sammartino, Pat Patterson, Ivan Koloff, and Ken Patera about Sammartino.

- A graphic aired for Harper vs. Bryan, tonight’s main event.

[Commercial Break]

- The kickoff panel for the Survivor Series will include Bret Hart, Booker T., and Mick Foley.

3 – THE FUNKADACTYLS vs. A.J. LEE – HANDICAP MATCH

Per a late ruling from Vickie Guerrero, the Funkadactyls do not need to tag in. A.J. hid behind Tamina, but the Funkadactyls shoved Tamina down and brought A.J. back into the ring. Tamina pulled Cameron off the apron and applied a sleeper, then just tossed her to the ground. A distracted Naomi turned her back on A.J. and was slammed into the mat. Neck-breaker by A.J. for two. Enziguiri by Naomi led to a two-count at 2:04. Cameron took down Tamina outside the ring, but A.J. knocked her off the apron. Rear View by Naomi for the win.

WINNERS: The Funkadactyls, at 2:24. WWE had done a very good job at making Tamina completely ineffectual as A.J.’s bodyguard.

They replayed the finish of the match as Tamina carried A.J. to the back.

- Backstage, Bray Wyatt cut a promo in the dark with his Wyatt Family in tow. Bray compared Daniel Bryan and C.M. Punk to mythological beasts. Wyatt said the two men are mere mortals, like the rest of us. “Follow the buzzards” was the last line, as usual.

- The Shield made their entrance for the six-man match. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

4 – THE SHIELD vs. THE USOS & REY MYSTERIO

The Usos got a quick advantage, but it didn’t take long for The Shield to take over. Jimmy and Jey handled all three members of The Shield, and dove over the top onto Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Jey missed a cross-body off the top however and Rollins got a cover for two. They went to break at 2:55 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

The show returned just over six minutes into the match. The Shield continued to work over Jey. Roman reigns suplexed Jey into the ring from the apron, but only got a two-count. Reigns went shoulder-first into the ring post, but it was in the heel corner, so Rollins was able to tag in. Mysterio tagged in for the first time at the ten-minute mark. Mysterio fought off Rollins and hit a seated senton. Tornado DDT for two. Ambrose broke up the pin. The Usos and the rest of The Shield got involved as well. Reigns speared both Jimmy and Jey, but Rey was able to dump him. Blind tag by Ambrose as Rey was setting up the 619 and the clotheslined Rey. Rey ended up hitting the 619 on Ambrose, then dropped the dime on Ambrose for the pinfall.

WINNERS: The Usos and Mysterio, at 11:47. They didn’t ask Mysterio to do much, which was the right move. A solid preview for Survivor Series on Sunday.

A few key moments at the end of the match were replayed.

- In the main event, Luke Harper faces Daniel Bryan.

- Big Show was backstage talking to a much smaller man. He plans to call out Randy Orton, next. Show, not the smaller man.

[Commercial Break]

- Big Show was just finishing up his entrance upon return from break. Show assured the fans that he didn’t come back for a paycheck; rather, he came back to make The Authority’s life hell. He said he wanted to rearrange the face of WWE and become Champion. He said it’s been almost ten years since he has held the WWE Championship in his hands. He vowed to lay it all on the line this Sunday. Before he could get any further, Randy Orton’s music interrupted and he walked out with a microphone in hand.

Orton noted that Show is all washed up. He said he will punish Show on Sunday. Show wasn’t intimidated. He made fun of Orton for not coming down to the ring to meet him face-to-face. He offered up footage of Orton getting in the face of The Authority backstage on Raw. Show said next, he’s going to show Orton acting like a petulant child. The video of that segment continued with Triple H telling Orton there will be no help for Orton on Sunday. Show said Orton has a lot of talent, and he should’ve been the face of WWE years ago, but all he’s done is what’s best for Randy Orton. So he waited for someone to hand him the WWE Title. Uh, this isn’t his first reign, Show. Orton said he’ll show Show that he can beat him without any help.

Show cued up a well-produced video package of what has happened when he and Orton have been in the ring without interference from anyone. Show told Orton he’s coming to take the WWE Championship on Sunday. Orton looked worried, clutching the WWE Title to his chest.

- R-Truth hawked some merchandise backstage. They did a dream sequence introducing Truth’s alter-ego and “cousin”… “Delicious” Pretty Ricky. He returns. The promo code is “Pretty” for 20% off WWEShop.com orders tonight.

- Big E. Langston and Dolph Ziggler were walking backstage. They’re in tag action next.

[Commercial Break]

5 – DAMIEN SANDOW & CURTIS AXEL vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER & BIG E. LANGSTON

No entrance for the heels. An early distraction by the heels led to the take-down of the Showoff. Dropkick by Axel took Ziggler to the mat. He then jawed with Langston. DDT by Ziggler planted Axel. Langston tagged in and clobbered both Ziggler and Sandow, including hitting his big splash on Sandow. Axel took out Langston’s knee from behind, but Ziggler gave Axel the Fameasser. Sandow was put on Langston’s shoulders for the Big Ending.

WINNERS: Langston and Ziggler, at 2:38. Good to see those two young men getting along again. Pretty quick turnaround given their recent feud.

Axel tried to attack Langston with the IC Title after the match, to no avail.

- They showed highlights of Wrestlemania’s pre-sale event in New Orleans.

- Harper. Bryan. Main event. Still to come.

[Commercial Break]

- Celebrities in the house: Chilli from TLC, singers Monica and Mark Wills (no chyron for him), along with Oakland A Josh Reddick and New York Met Zack Wheeler.

- Renee Young was backstage with Alberto Del Rio. She cued up video from two weeks ago with Del Rio trying to take out Cena’s injured arm with a chair. Then last Friday, during their arm-wrestling match, Del Rio attacked Cena and put him through a table. She also showed Cena suckering Del Rio into the ring on Monday. Del Rio claimed he wasn’t ready for Cena’s onslaught on Monday. He told Cena to enjoy his moment from Raw, because at Survivor Series, there will be no more games and no more fun. He said he’d hurt Cena, and hurt him bad. He promised that Cena will tap out on Sunday.

- A graphic was shown for Del Rio vs. Cena at Survivor Series.

- There’s a poll on WWE.com on who has the most devastating finisher in WWE. The moves were shown, via WWE 2K14. The options: C.M. Punk, Natalya, Alberto Del Rio, and Daniel Bryan. The winner: Nattie, with 46%. Punk had 24%, Bryan with 20% and Del Rio with 10%. The entire Hart Family must've voted on this thing.

- Bryan was walking backstage. The main event is next.

[Commercial Break]

6 – DANIEL BRYAN vs. LUKE HARPER

A slow, feeling-out process began things. A minute into the match, they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:18 of the match with Harper tossing Bryan around ringside, including into the barricade and the ring steps. The assault on Bryan continued inside the ring, where Harper bodyslammed Bryan and nearly (or he did) scraped Bryan’s head on the mat with the move. Bryan used his quickness to come back. Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan watched from the aisle. Bryan missed a kick, which allowed Harper to powerbomb Bryan for two. Harper worked a side-headlock mid-ring. Bryan created enough separation to hit a suicide dive onto Harper outside the ring. Wyatt caused a distraction, leading to C.M. Punk’s entrance. Bryan took advantage of the distraction and rolled Harper up for the win.

WINNER: Bryan, at 10:18.

Harper booted Bryan in the face after the match, while Wyatt and Rowan took control of Punk. They tossed him into the ring, where Harper clotheslined Punk down. Wyatt gave Sister Abigail to Bryan. “Follow The Buzzards!” shouted Wyatt, as he and his family posed over the prone babyfaces to end the show.


Did you watch Friday's Smackdown episode? Send your 0-10 score & Reax to pwtorch@gmail.com for our TV Reax feature.

Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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