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WWE SMACKDOWN PRIMER
DECEMBER 27, 2019
DETROIT, MI. AT THE LITTLE CAESAR’S ARENA
AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Arena, Top 10 Moments of Last Week’s Show, and Items Advertised by WWE
WWE Smackdown returns to the Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, MI. after appearing just four months ago in the run-up to SummerSlam. The building is home to the NHL’s Original Six franchise Detroit Red Wings and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. It opened in September of 2017 and has been a frequent host to WWE events.
Here is the YouTube clip of the top 10 moments of last week’s show:
We get ready to close out 2019 with tonight’s show and the upcoming Raw on Monday and await what’s to come in 2020. I’m writing this before WWE puts up their official preview, so we’ll take a look at what’s advertised for tonight’s show thus far as well as the talking points from last week and speculate on where things could be headed:
Daniel Bryan, the Miz, and King Corbin battle for the right to face “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble
Lacey Evans to appear on A Moment of Bliss
Matches & Segments
Triple Threat Match for Right to Face Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble for the Universal Championship: Daniel Bryan vs. the Miz vs. King Corbin
Last week on Smackdown, Daniel Bryan opened the show talking about his new look and how he saw the person that had to scratch and claw for everything he had, and who hadn’t main-evented WrestleMania (prior to 2014 of course). Miz interrupted and talked about how Bryan doesn’t know about having his family’s home invaded. He said at TLC he was protecting his family and now wants to take the Universal title from Bray Wyatt. King Corbin came out and, well, insulted Miz and Bryan and bragged on and on while the crowd booed. He said he should be in line for the title. He then said Miz and Bryan failed as fathers. Not taking too kindly, Miz and Bryan dropped their mics and pursued Corbin while Dolph Ziggler came out to attack Miz and Bryan. We all knew what was coming in the main event.
Miz and Bryan would form an unlikely duo and defeat Corbin and Ziggler. They did so when Bryan hit Corbin with his running knee. Moments later, Michael Cole announced that Bryan would face Miz and Corbin in a triple threat match next week (tonight) for the right to face Bray for the Universal title at Royal Rumble. With Miz and Bryan in the ring, the lights went dark and The Fiend’s sinister laughter would be heard to close out the show.
Frank’s Analysis: What about Dolph Ziggler? It SHOULD BE HIM competing for the right to face Bray! I’m kidding but, in all seriousness, it’s likely Bryan gets the nod to face Bray. They could go with the Miz again, but it’s not all that likely since they probably want to keep Bryan away from the Royal Rumble match itself especially if Reigns is earmarked to win it this year. Corbin isn’t exactly impossible, but that puts Fiend in the babyface position which I don’t see happening. I would get a kick out of Corbin talking trash but then being scared of the Fiend, but let my guilty pleasure get in the way of better booking.
A Moment of Bliss: Alexa Bliss with Lacey Evans
Last week in a show that featured three women’s matches, Lacey Evans took on Sasha Banks in an impromptu contest following Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley defeating Dana Brooke in a non-title match. Bayley and Sasha were taunting Dana when Lacey came out and called Sasha a bully and not a legit boss.
The match went to a double count-out, but featured Lacey’s six-year-old daughter getting involved. As Sasha was going after Lacey, her daughter made and angry face and swatted at Sasha. Bayley got involved and Dana did as well, before the match ended.
These four women have been involved with each other one recently. WWE announced on their Twitter account Thursday that Lacey Evans will join Alexa Bliss on A Moment of Bliss tonight. Here’s the announcement by WWE as well as some Twitter trash talk:
What will @LaceyEvansWWE have to say about @SashaBanksWWE and @itsBayleyWWE when #AMomentOfBliss returns to #SmackDown tomorrow night?! @AlexaBliss_WWE https://t.co/QtTdEuIKXo
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/laceyevanswwe/status/1210159789847830528?s=21
https://twitter.com/laceyevanswwe/status/1210209684247977985?s=21
https://twitter.com/alexabliss_wwe/status/1210220053280501760?s=21
Frank’s Analysis: We all know they’re going to run an angle that’s going to lead to some kind of match. Initially I was thinking Lacey and Dana vs. Sasha and Bayley, but we’ll see now that Alexa is getting involved.
Roman Reigns and King Corbin
WWE did not address the closing of TLC where Roman Reigns and King Corbin brawled with wrestlers from both Smackdown and Raw. Earlier in that show Corbin defeated Reigns in a TLC match with the assistance of Dolph Ziggler and the Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder). Nobody helped Roman Reigns.
Earlier in this report I discussed the plans for Corbin tonight, but I suspect the story is not over with Reigns given the interference in the TLC match and the brawl. How that unfolds remains to be seen. Both men have been quiet on social media in regard to their feud.
Frank’s Analysis: They’re going to want Reigns to ultimately win this feud, so you have to expect another match. Sometimes they like to start off the new year with something big. Considering Smackdown will be the first televised live WWE show in 2020, we can expect something tonight to set up a match for that show. I don’t know if they’ll do another TLC, but some stipulation would likely be added.
Heavy Machinery, Revival, and the flirtation between Otis and Mandy Rose
Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker) defeated the Revival in a “Miracle on 34th Street Fight.” After the match Revival cut a promo questioning what ever happened to good old-fashioned tag team wrestling (as they’ve done before). Elias came out and trolled Revival and made a reference to Caitlyn Jenner.
Prior to the match, Mandy Rose gave Otis a ham and kissed him on the cheek. Later on, in a somewhat awkward segment, Mandy hugged Otis and he gave a smile as if at that point he was popping a (yeah, I probably shouldn’t finish that sentence). Anyway, he got his man sweat on her shirt.
As we head towards the new year, we’ll find out what’s in store for the tag division as New Day will need new challengers in the near future. Here are some WWE exclusive videos with Heavy Machinery and Mandy:
Frank’s Analysis: Otis and Mandy are reminding me a little of Sunny and Phineas Godwinn from the mid-90s if anybody remembers that. It’s cute and it’s funny and whatever Otis does is comical, so it’s fine. As far as Elias goes listen, you can have your feelings about Jenner, but it’s not necessary to include that in a promo much less from (I think) a babyface Elias. Find something else to joke about. As far as the Revival goes, I don’t think anything big is in store, but with Heavy Machinery winning I could a triple threat in the near future considering they’ve done a lot of the Revival vs. New Day recently.
Other Match Results from Last Week
- Carmella defeated Sonya Deville. Sonya continues to be fodder for everyone and a loss to Carmella, no disrespect meant, is not a good sign.
- Smackdown Tag Team Champions New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) defeated Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro (with Sami Zayn in their corner) in a non-title match. After the match Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami went after New Day when Braun Strowman came to their aid. Earlier in the evening Strowman challenged Nakamura to an Intercontinental Championship match.
- Long-time Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia attended the Barclays Center and got a mixed reaction when put on the screen, which wasn’t surprising considering you likely had a mix of Yankees and Mets fans in the building. (I know what the Mets fan writing this would do!) He did a WWE exclusive afterwards.
Closing Thoughts
As I said, it’s a fairly quiet week. Given it’s the holiday week, I don’t expect much outside of what they’ll do with the triple threat and potentially with Roman Reigns. Going forward, it’ll be interesting to talk Royal Rumble possibilities as right now it looks like things are lining up for Reigns to win. As we get into the new year, I’m certain that discussion will start to heat up as we start to get closer to the Rumble itself.
Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!
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