WWE Smackdown review
December 5, 2014
Taped 12/2/14 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- The show opened tight on Santino Marella’s mug backstage. The camera pulled back after he introduced himself, showing him sitting at a desk with various Santino-related tchotchkes around him. He said he’s in charge tonight.

- WWE Open.

- Last Monday on Raw, John Cena attempted to close the screen on the Anonymous G.M. It didn’t work. The video package proceeded to show Seth Rollins’ attack on Cena and the involvement in the brawl of most of the two main event Survivor Series teams.

1 – DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. LUKE HARPER – INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

As Ziggler came to the ring, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole and JBL were shown at ringside. When Harper came to the ring, they showed the finish to this match last week, in which Harper was counted out. Eden Stiles handled formal ring introductions. Once the match began, Ziggler got a few early near-falls, but Harper swatted away a dropkick attempt. Neck-breaker by Ziggler for only one. Jumping elbowdrop, again for a one-count. Ziggler brought Harper down throat-first across the top rope. That made the big man angry, so he booted Ziggler off the apron and to the arena floor. They cut to break at 3:03 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:53 (a relatively short commercial break) with both men down and Harper selling a shoulder injury. They replayed Harper running shoulder-first into the ring post. DDT by Ziggler at 7:01 of the match garnered him a two-count. JBL compared Ziggler’s dropkick to Kevin Von Erich’s. Fameasser by Ziggler and Harper kicked out again at two. Ziggler slipped out the back on a powerbomb attempt and rolled him up for two. He followed it up with a superkick for a two-count. Harper blatantly kicked Ziggler between the legs though it took the referee a while to actually call for the bell.

WINNER: Ziggler, via disqualification, at 9:26. The definition of a back-and-forth match. The near-falls began from the first minute and were used liberally throughout. It was hard to get a match flow going because of it. All the moves were crisp and well-executed, however.

After the match, Harper retrieved a ladder from underneath the ring. Harper tried to powerbomb Ziggler onto the side of the ladder, but Ziggler instead brought Harper down face-first onto it. After a replay, as Harper recovered at ringside, Ziggler tossed the weapon at him, and it hit Harper on the head (he got his hands up to protect himself). Santino Marella’s music interrupted Ziggler’s. Marella had an “aha!” moment, booking Ziggler vs. Harper in a Ladder Match for the I.C. Title at TLC. Ziggler’s ladder throw was replayed.

- The remnants of The Authority (L to R on your TV: Jamie Noble, Kane, Seth Rollins, Big Show, and Joey Mercury) were walking backstage. They’re out next.

[Commercial Break]

- What’s left of The Authority was in the ring out of break. Give Big Show credit, he picked the wrong horse at Survivor Series but he’s sticking with them in a very public way. Rollins insulted Christmas (because he’s a HEEL) and talked about WWE’s version of a demolition derby (which must be the new initiative from Vince about how to describe the PPV), TLC. Rollins reminded fans that he’ll be facing John Cena at that show. Rollins reveled in the idea that he could take away everything Cena is working for by costing him his #1 contendership for the World Title, as per the stipulation of their match. He seemed confident he could put Cena through a table again. Rollins again threw out the demolition derby comparison and laughed about Cena getting splinters in his butt along the way.

Big Show took the mic (that joke really wasn’t good enough for Rollins to go out on, but whatev) and said he’s had thousands of matches but this is his first steel stair match. He said he can swing the stairs right into Erick Rowan’s body. He offered a demonstration of what he’ll do to Rowan, and he proceeded to slam the top step into the bottom step and the ring post outside the ring, complete with in-and-out camera zoom. Show said he doesn’t care if Rowan is a genius as none of it prepares Rowan for what Show will do to him at TLC. He vowed that Rowan would eat the steel stairs.

Kane was next, bringing up Ryback. He said at TLC, the only thing Ryback will be fed is chair after chair after chair…and it went on like this until Santino’s music interrupted again. Marella made a tag match tonight featuring Rollins and Big Show vs. Ryback & Erick Rowan. And it’s the main event. This felt a little long, but they did a nice job setting the foundation and importance of three PPV matches.

- The announcers talked on-camera about the Tag Team Turmoil match from Raw and how The Miz “insulted” Naomi by offering her a business card backstage. They showed Miz’s alleged faux pas and Jimmy Uso’s attack on Miz later in the show. Then on Main Event, Miz apologized…sort of.

- Tonight, Jey Uso takes on Miz. It’s like they set up how hot Jimmy vs. Miz was and then instead of giving us that match, they said “here’s Miz vs. the other one!”

- The New Day is coming up next.

[Commercial Break]

2 – CESARO & TYSON KIDD vs. KOFI KINGSTON & XAVIER WOODS

Natalya was in the ring with Cesaro and Kidd out of break. When New Day came out, Natalya was shown dancing to the music at ringside, with Kidd admonishing her. They also showed The New Day being eliminated from the Tag Team Turmoil match on Raw. In a fact that probably bothers only me, their Twitter is @ANewDay while they’re billed as THE New Day.

Good teamwork early on from Woods and Kingston. The heels showed some quality communication of their own, with Cesaro choking Woods while the ref was dealing with Kidd. Woods made the tag to Kingston after battling out of the opposite corner. Kingston hit all of his usual moves, including the Boom Drop. He set up for Trouble in Paradise, which was avoided. SOS connected but Cesaro broke up the pin. Woods tagged himself in and while Kofi gave Kidd a back-breaker, he held Kidd there while Woods came off the top with a double-stomp to Kidd’s face. The pinfall followed.

WINNERS: Kingston and Woods, at 2:41. These are basically the same three characters with the same in-ring moves, only with new blue tights. All those vignettes for this?

Goldust and Stardust came on the Titan-Tron. Stardust asked where the bright side is that New Day speaks of. He sees only darkness, a black hole. Goldust said New Day’s positive message means nothing and darkness will fall on them. As he said that, the lights went out. Woods got a mic and said what Goldust and Stardust don’t get is that darkness will not prevail and when they’re together, no force in the cosmos will hold them back. Kofi said The New Day is about strength, trust and camaraderie. Kingston said they’ll take the cosmo cowboys back where they came from. Big E. cut his preacher promo that was so universally panned the first time he did it so of course he’s still doing it. He said Goldust and Stardust will feel the power of The New Day.

- Still to come, Ryback & Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins & The Big Show

[Commercial Break]

- Clips aired of Vince McMahon on the Steve Austin podcast from Monday night. They showed Vince talking about the Monday Night War, and Austin asking McMahon if Randy Savage would be in the Hall-of-Fame. McMahon’s answer wasn’t shown, but the replay will air on the WWE Network after Smackdown.

- The announcers reacted to the podcast and Cole even mentioned Austin asking about C.M. Punk.

- Naomi was admiring some recently-sent roses when Jimmy Uso walked up. She thanked him for them, but Jimmy said he didn’t send them. It was an apology bouquet from The Miz. Jimmy threw them on the floor in anger (complete with glass breaking sound effect) and Naomi wasn’t happy as Jimmy walked away.

- JBL chastised Jimmy for his temper and said he should be ashamed for what just happened. Tom Phillips updated us on Zeb Colter’s injury from Raw, saying Colter suffered a severe leg injury and would be out indefinitely. They showed a Jack Swagger promo from Main Event where Swagger said everything he does from here on out will be an effort to take the U.S. Title from Rusev. So what happens when he fails again?

- Rusev takes on Dean Ambrose, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Dean Ambrose came out for his match, but first he got a mic. Ambrose said he really enjoyed himself on Monday night, destroying Bray Wyatt’s rocking chair. He suggested some possible reasons why the chair meant so much to Wyatt. He said the chair was a symbol to Bray, but now it’s a symbol to him, a symbol of what he’ll do to Wyatt at TLC. Rusev and Lana came out. Lana said Rusev wouldn’t be fighting tonight, they we saw Swagger attacking Rusev from Raw. Lana said they won’t be subjected to the intimidation of Americans. Lana got mad at the fans and said their mere existence in the world is a disgrace. Rusev addressed Swagger, saying he’ll stomp every bone in his body just like he did to Colter. He said his U.S. Title belongs to him, Mother Russia, and Vladimir Putin (cue the Putin pic on the Titan-Tron).

Ambrose said he tuned them out and told Lana to stop batting his eyes at him. Ambrose said he was going to get a fight tonight and left the ring to approach the Russians (who were on the stage). Bray Wyatt attacked Ambrose from behind. He took too much time grabbing a chair from under the ring, allowing Ambrose to recover and go after Bray. Bray got the better of it, though, and threw Ambrose into the side of the ring. He chaired Ambrose right in the back. “That was her chair!” he said to Dean. Wyatt put the edge of the chair up to Dean’s throat and slammed the bottom into the ring steps. Referees and medics checked on Ambrose as replays of the attack were shown. Wyatt got in one last kick as Ambrose was loaded onto a backboard, then a stretcher. A “Dean Ambrose” chant broke out as Wyatt headed to the back and Ambrose was being worked on by the paramedics. They stayed on this for a pretty long time. They put an oxygen mask on Ambrose and then showed yet another replay of Wyatt’s attack. Ambrose was being wheeled backstage as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

- Phillips plugged a one-year subscription to WWE Network as a gift, complete with Roku Streaming Stick for free. WWEHoliday.com has all the details.

- The Miz and Damien Mizdow came out for Miz’s match. Miz couldn’t understand what’s wrong with Jimmy Uso. Insecurities? Jealousy? Miz said he was just trying to pass along the name of an agent from the William Morris Agency. Miz said the agent loves Naomi and thinks she is a star. Miz also passed the message along that he thinks Naomi is hot.

3 – THE MIZ vs. JEY USO

Before Jey and Miz even locked up, Jimmy went crazy and got into the ring trying to go after Miz, who was playing it up for all it’s worth. The ref sent Jimmy to the back less than a minute in. High knee on Jey by Miz, then a running boot to the seated Uso. He settled into a rear chinlock early on. Jey broke out and gave Miz a Samoan drop. Miz dodged a butt splash but he was hip-tossed back in the ring. Mizdow hip-tossed himself in on the other side of the ring. That distracted Jey enough for Miz to hit the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.

WINNER: Miz, at 2:24. I’m still not completely on board with Miz as the heel and Jimmy as the face in this particular scenario. Cole actually did a nice job explaining Miz’s heel motivations behind this, but either way, Jimmy comes off as way too jealous and angry than the situation has warranted.

- Still to come, Ryback & Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins & Big Show.

[Commercial Break]

4 – NAOMI vs. BRIE BELLA

A.J. Lee was on commentary for this one. When the Bellas came to the ring, they showed Nikki’s mic work taunting A.J. from last week and A.J.’s subsequent attack. Middle rope dropkick by Brie was the first high-impact move of the match. A cover by Brie only netted her a one-count as A.J. spoke longingly of missing her Divas Title. Big clothesline by Brie to Naomi for two. Nikki was taunting A.J. by posing with the title at ringside. Brie was sent to ringside and a baseball slide by Naomi took out both Bellas. Nikki got on the apron and A.J. left commentary to take her out. Naomi rolled up Brie for the victory.

WINNER: Naomi, at 2:37. I still can’t believe, for as much time as they’ve invested in the Bellas feud, they’ve failed to adequately explain Brie turning to side with her sister.

- The tag match main event was again plugged.

[Commercial Break]

- The announcers discussed the upcoming Slammy Awards, taking place on Raw Monday night. Voting begins tomorrow on WWE.com at 9am EST. Also, the Slammy pre-show will be on the WWE Network beginning at 7:30 EST.

- Santino was backstage appearing to talk to himself about the pressure he’s feeling tonight. The camera panned back to show he was talking to The Bunny. Marella was revealing his troubles and told The Bunny to be careful what he wishes for. “Don’t touch my face, Bunny” Santino said as The Bunny tried to raise Marella’s chin in a silent “chin-up” sort of comment.

- Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins were readying for Show and Seth’s main event. Show admitted all of them are very selfish and the only thing they need to be on the same page about is getting rid of Rowan and Ryback tonight. Once Show walked away, Rollins told Kane they’d be alright.

- Ryback made his entrance. Phillips said the tag match was “next on Main Event.” Surprisingly, no announcer jumped on him for that (though I had to replay to make sure he didn’t say “next in the main event). They went to the announcers who again plugged the Stone Cold podcast on WWE Network following Smackdown. They showed clips of Austin from the interview saying WWE needs more depth on the roster. Vince agreed. Austin was then shown asking McMahon if he wants to talk about Punk. McMahon’s reaction, before even answering “yes” or “no,” was interesting to see.

[Commercial Break]

5 – RYBACK & ERICK ROWAN vs. SETH ROLLINS & THE BIG SHOW

Kane and J&J Security accompanied Rollins to the ring. Rowan and Rollins locked up, with Rowan backing Rollins into the corner allowing a tag to Ryback. Ryback slammed Rollins into the corner and worked him over there. Ryback hit the ropes, but Rollins dropkicked him. They went to break at 2:18 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

The show returned at 5:14 of the match. Show was continuing to dominate Ryback. Rowan finally tagged back in and was able to take Show off his feet with a clothesline. At ringside, he plowed through J&J Security, but it also allowed Show to recover and deck Rowan. Back in the ring, Rollins made the tag and choked Rowan in the ropes. Snap-mare by Show, followed by a kick to the chest. Show DDT’d Rowan for two at 8:53. Bodyslam by Show, complete with primal scream. An elbowdrop missed the mark, however. Both Ryback and Rollins tagged in and Ryback treated it as feeding time. Ryback went for a swinging side slam, but Rollins turned it into a crucifix pin for two. Ryback signaled for the end, but Noble and Mercury got on the apron. They were disposed of quickly, but it allowed Rollins to take over. Spinebuster by Ryback after a missed curb stomp. Kane got on the apron next and was clotheslined down. Kick to the head by Rollins and Kane again got on the apron. Referee John Cone sent Kane to the back. Four referees came from the back to escort Kane from ringside. Show tagged in but the ref didn’t see it. Rowan gave Show a big boot. Rollins argued with the ref and Ryback gave Rollins the Meathook clothesline. Shellshock for the finish.

WINNERS: Rowan and Ryback, at 13:03.

The heels convalesced at ringside while the babyfaces celebrated in the ring. Cole got in one last plug for the Slammys before Smackdown went off the air.


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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