WWE Smackdown review
January 3, 2014
Taped 12/29/13 in Washington, D.C.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- A video package opened the show, chronicling Daniel Bryan joining the Wyatt Family on Raw.

- A weirdly subdued Michael Cole welcomed fans to the show tonight as the camera panned the crowd.

- A graphic aired for the Wyatts taking on the Rhodes Brothers for the tag titles tonight.

- The Shield made their way to the ring through the crowd. Dean Ambrose had a mic and said he has heard the rumblings that say The Shield isn’t on the same page. He said some people believe egos have gotten out of control – as he said this, he stood next to Roman Reigns and put his hand on his back. Ambrose said they are dead wrong. He specifically talked about C.M. Punk and said The Shield cannot be divided. He handed the mic to Reigns and Reigns agreed with Ambrose. He said to take down any group, you have to attack its weak link (and he looked to Seth Rollins as he said this). But he said The Shield has no weak link. Rollins took the mic and said they’d prevail because they’ll do what they do best – come together and dominate.

1 – ROMAN REIGNS & SETH ROLLINS vs. THE USOS

Dean Ambrose joined in on commentary for this one. Some back-and-forth action began the match, though the Usos were able to contain Rollins. They used frequent tags and double-teams to do so. Rollins made the mistake of trying to send Jimmy Uso’s head into the turnbuckle. Jimmy no-sold, as he is Samoan. A jaw-breaker by Rollins turned the tide. However, the Usos came back and sent both participating members of The Shield over the top rope. Rollins came back in and was dumped back out onto Reigns. They went to break at 3:23 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:15 of the match. Ambrose was acting stranger than usual on commentary, if that’s possible. The Shield was in control of the match. Standing suplex by Reigns for two at 7:27. Cole brought up the possible unification of the US and IC Titles, and Ambrose wasn’t for it because he didn’t want to carry two belts around. Jey tried to make a tag but Rollins grabbed him and dropped him throat-first across the top rope. Reigns missed a charge and Jey low-bridged him. Jey tried to parlay that into a tag, and even though Rollins tagged in, Jey tagged Jimmy at the 11:00 mark. The two fresh men traded offense, with Jimmy landing a Samoan drop. Kick to the head of Reigns, and The Usos tossed him out of the ring. Ambrose left commentary and tripped up one of The Usos as they hit the ropes and were set for a high-risk move onto the other Shield members. That drew a disqualification.

WINNERS: The Usos, via DQ, at 11:50. Pretty unsatisfying finish to just an okay match.

The Shield tried to get a few more shots in on The Usos, but Punk came out and ran the heels out of the ring. The Usos and Punk celebrated/taunted The Shield in the ring.

- Divas and Superstars gave their New Year’s Resolutions: Titus O’Neil said he wanted to impact others positively throughout the globe. Darren Young wanted to come up with his own version of his aunt’s famous recipe. They closed with the Millions of Dollars dance.

- Back in the arena, Vickie Guerrero came out while the babyfaces were still in the ring. She said nothing as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

- During the break on the App, Vickie Guerrero made a six-man tag main event tonight featuring The Shield vs. C.M. Punk & The Usos. They showed the entire announcement.

2 – FANDANGO vs. R-TRUTH

Xavier Woods came to the ring with Truth, while we only saw the end of Fandango’s entrance. Woods joined the announcers and took a quick selfie of him and the announcers. Cole afforded Woods the opportunity to tell the WWE Universe who he is and what he’s about. Truth used some high-energy offense to neutralize his opponent early on. Cole also asked Woods the same thing he asked him on Raw, that being how he knows Truth. Truth ran into a Fandango boot in the corner. Woods climbed on the announce desk and called down the Funkadactyls. They danced out from backstage as Woods danced on the table, still on commentary, and wearing JBL’s cowboy hat. So Truth hit his finisher and won the match.

WINNER: Truth, at 2:55. I really didn’t think the distraction was necessary or made sense, but it’s more important to see people dancing than to put wrestlers over cleanly, I guess.

- A Tribute to the Troops video package aired. It had clips of this year, as well as previous years, too.

- Up next, we’ll see clips from Raw where Daniel Bryan apparently joined the Wyatts.

- Cody Rhodes & Goldust defend their Tag Titles against Luke Harper & Erick Rowan later tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- They showed the Washington Monument in D.C.

- Renee Young was backstage with Big E. Langston. She asked him about what happened to Mark Henry on Raw. Langston said Henry was looking for a wrestling match, not a brawl. He said he wouldn’t want to be Brock Lesnar right now. Curtis Axel walked into frame, laughing. Axel said he’s so sorry about what happened to Henry. Axel said he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank when he beats Langston tonight. Langston assured Young that Axel wouldn’t be laughing at all after their match. Langston is still rough on promos, but he shows potential.

- Cole sent it to a video package chronicling the main event and post-match happenings from Raw.

- Cody Rhodes & Goldust came out for the tag title match. Those titles are on the line, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Damien Sandow didn’t have a Resolution for 2014, because he doesn’t set unattainable goals, only to abandon them in February; he says something, then he does it.

3 – CODY RHODES & GOLDUST vs. LUKE HARPER & ERICK ROWAN – WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

There was no Bray Wyatt or Daniel Bryan at ringside, though the rocking chair was in the aisle. Double-team suplex by Cody and Goldie on Harper. Goldust had a difficult time dealing with both Rowan and Harper, when Harper was the legal man. Rowan then tagged in and whipped Goldust hard into the corner. Both Goldust and Harper were down at 3:45, and Rhodes tried to get the fans into it. He did, and then made the hot tag. The fight went to the outside, where Harper returned the momentum to the challengers by whipping Rhodes into the barricade. A standoff between the Wyatts and Goldust ensued as they cut to break, 5:00 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

At 8:06, Rhodes was trying to fight back into the match, but he had a difficult time doing so against Rowan. Harper and Rowan both worked over Rhodes as Cody did near a tag a few times. Just like in the previous tag match, sending a heel over the top rope led to a teased hot tag. Harper nailed Goldust off the apron though and Harper powerbombed Rhodes. Goldust made the save and sent Rowan outside. Harper dumped Goldust. A big boot seemed to at least temporarily knock out Rhodes. Rhodes knocked Harper off the middle rope and moonsaulted onto Harper. Both men were down at 12:47. Goldust made the tag, which Rowan never saw as it was a blind tag, and Goldust rolled up Rowan (after Rowan back-dropped Rhodes) for the win.

WINNERS: Rhodes and Goldust, at 13:20. I liked that finishing sequence. The match was good on the whole as well.

- A six-man tag main event is still to come tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- The Miz’s New Year’s Resolution: Be a better person than he was the year before.

4 – AKSANA vs. NIKKI BELLA

No entrance for Aksana, though they showed her getting the pin in the ten-Diva tag match on Raw. Aksana stuck her finger in Nikki’s chest several times, and Nikki didn’t take very kindly to that. Suplex by Nikki for two. Sidewalk slam from Aksana, who then crawled around the ring in lieu of pinning Nikki. When she finally did, Nikki kicked out at one. Monkey flip by Nikki on Aksana, breaking out of a rest-hold. Nikki made a comeback and covered Aksana after a face-buster. Nikki took Aksana up in the Torture Rack and brought her down in a back-breaker for the pinfall win.

WINNER: Nikki, at 3:45. I can’t remember the last time Aksana wrestled a singles match that went that long. And there’s a good reason she hasn’t.

- A graphic aired for John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Title at the Royal Rumble.

- A Randy Orton video package aired, chronicling his career.

- Big E. Langston was walking backstage. He takes on Curtis Axe next.

[Commercial Break]

5 – BIG E. LANGSTON vs. CURTIS AXEL

No entrance for Langston, but Axel got one. Huh. Langston fought off punches and chops and used his power to keep Axel on his heels. Axel came off the middle rope, but Langston met him with a shoulder tackle. Axel, on the mat, took out Langston’s knee with a kick. Axel wore Langston down with an arm-bar. Not much of a reaction to Langston as he worked out of a potential submission move by Axel. Belly-to-belly throw by Langston. Big splash followed that up. Axel hung onto the ropes to break the Big Ending, but Langston ended up knocking Axel down with a clothesline anyway, then hitting his finisher.

WINNER: Langston, at 3:55. Good, effective victory for Langston, displaying his power and aggressiveness.

The finish of the match was replayed.

- Coming up next, we’ll see the attack by Brock Lesnar on Mark Henry.

[Commercial Break]

- The Raw Rebound aired.

- Cole said Mark Henry suffered only bruised ribs in the Lesnar attack.

- They showed a clip of a WWE.com exclusive of a Cole sit-down interview with Paul Heyman. Heyman said Lesnar returned because there’s only one major WWE Title now, and that’s what he wants to get his hands on. And he doesn’t care if he has to go through John Cena or Randy Orton to do it. He also said Lesnar will be on Old School Raw Monday, and he’s looking to do something rather “Old School.”

- Bad News Barrett was introduced to the crowd. He was back on his high-rise podium from Raw. Barrett’s bad news this week: No one will stick to any of the resolutions made, and everyone will be just as fat and unproductive as they are now.

- C.M. Punk came out. He teams with The Usos against The Shield, next.

[Commercial Break]

6 – C.M. PUNK & THE USOS vs. THE SHIELD – SIX-MAN TAG MATCH

Punk and Dean Ambrose started the match. Ambrose was sent into the corner and wanted Punk, but Rollins tagged himself in. High elbow, then a spinning neck-breaker on Rollins. Jey tagged in and put Rollins in a Boston crab while Jimmy came off the ropes and leg-dropped the back of Seth’s head. Superkick to the chest of Rollins by Jey. Jey clotheslined Rollins over the top rope and to the floor. Reigns stood in the way of Jey flying over the top and onto Rollins, however. They cut to break 3:47 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

The show returned from its final break at 7:20 of the contest. Reigns tagged in and relieved Ambrose. Leaping clothesline for a two-count. I thought Punk and Ambrose would’ve done more of the heavy lifting, given that the rest wrestled earlier in the night. Jimmy tried to make a tag, but Ambrose cut him off. This has not been JBL’s best night on commentary. Jimmy hit a Whisper in the Wind-like move off the top and onto Reigns. Punk made the hot tag and was a house afire. Top-rope elbowdrop attempt, but the numbers game worked to The Shield’s advantage. Punk rolled through a Rollins cross-body and applied the Anaconda Vice. Ambrose broke it up. The big finish occurred with the rest of the participants, until it was just Rollins and Punk. Rollins crawled to make the tag to Ambrose (though Reigns wanted it too, and he looked upset that Rollins chose Ambrose). Butterfly suplex off the middle rope by Ambrose. A cover got two at 12:45. Reigns wanted the tag, but Ambrose wasn’t even looking his way. Instead, Ambrose fell victim to a kick to the head. He was put up for the Go To Sleep, but Reigns helped him out, only to be kicked in the head himself. After the Usos took out Reigns and Rollins, Punk hit the GTS on Ambrose for the win.

WINNERS: The Usos and Punk, at 13:46.

Some of the high points of the match were replayed. The faces celebrated while Reigns and Rollins had a somewhat heated discussion in the aisle.

- A Bray Wyatt promo video aired. He talked about how Daniel Bryan was lost, and now Bryan only hears Bray’s truth. He said Bryan has a home now. The show ended when the video package did.


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. He is the host of “Moonlighting with Greg Parks,” a PWTorch VIP-exclusive audio show posted each weekend. 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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