Smackdown
Date:
December 6, 2013
Location:
BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators:
John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
closing in on TLC and a lot more of the card has been set in stone.
The main stories coming out of Raw are the two handicap matches for
TLC with Punk taking on the Shield and Bryan facing the Wyatts.
Tonight it's Punk against a member of Shield to be announced tonight.
Other than that we're likely to get talking from Orton and/or Cena.
Let's get to it.
Theme
song.
Here's
Orton to open the show. He talks about becoming the champion of
champions at TLC (still sounds better than Unified Champion) and
shows us a clip from the end of Raw where Cena put him through a
table. Even though Orton has about five injuries as a result, he'll
still prove his greatness at TLC. He may not be the most likeable of
characters but he's never liked any of us or John Cena. Orton does
however revere Stephanie and HHH because they know what's best for
business. Maybe he's taken some things they've done for him for
granted so Orton would like to apologize.
Before
he can get all the way through though, here's Daniel Bryan to point
his fingers in the air a lot. Bryan says Orton needs to apologize
for being a champion. In all of their title matches, Orton never
once legitimately beat him. Just because Bryan has been targeted by
the Wyatts, he hasn't forgotten about Orton or what Orton did to him.
Daniel says that after TLC, he's going to be first in line for a
title shot at the new champion. Tonight though he's looking at the
face of the WWE and feels like putting a knee on that face. Orton
says no but Bryan appeals to the crowd for a YES chant. Randy just
stands there.
Big
E. Langston vs. Fandango
Non-title
and Sandow is on commentary. Langston's music seems to have been
remixed. The champion throws Fandango around with ease and drives
his shoulder into Fandango's ribs. Fandango is sent to the floor but
Langston takes too much time going after him and gets clotheslined
down. Back in and Fandango puts on a front facelock but shoves
Fandango off like he's a cruiserweight. Some clotheslines set up the
Warrior splash but Fandango comes back with a kick to the head and a
knee to the jaw for two. Langston shrugs it off and hits the Big
Ending for the pin at 2:35.
Post
match Sandow gets in the ring to point at Langston's belt. Dang
they're warming up for the Wrestlemania Point early this year.
We
get the opening of Smackdown from WWE 2K14 via Youtube. Riveting
stuff of course.
Cody
Rhodes/Goldust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel
Non-title.
This is fallout from Main Event where Goldust had Ryback beaten but
Curtis came in for the DQ. Cody starts with Ryback as JBL tries some
portmanteaus of Ryback and Axel's names. Goldust quickly comes in
and gets caught in a gorilla press for two. Ryback hits a middle
rope splash and Axel drops a middle rope elbow for two as the
announcers talk about Superstar of the Year. The former Heyman Guys
take turns on Goldust until it's off to Axel for a chinlock.
Back
up and Axel misses a dropkick and walks into a powerslam to give
Goldie a breather. The not hot tag brings in Cody with a missile
dropkick and the sunset flip out of the corner for two. Cody's
moonsault press gets two and everything breaks down. Goldust knocks
Ryback to the floor and Cody lays him out with a Disaster Kick off
the announcers' table. Rhodes heads back inside and is immediately
rolled up by Axel for the pin at 4:24.
Rating:
D+. This didn't have time to go
anywhere, but are we really jobbing one of the hottest acts in the
company to Axel and Ryback? I was hoping this whole “champions
lose to set up a title match” bit was taking a hiatus but
apparently WWE was just luring me into a false sense of security.
Orton
vs. Bryan is official for later.
Bad
News Barrett tells us that we're all sheep who will follow each other
to the slaughter.
Alberto
Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston
Del
Rio jumps Kingston on the floor before the bell and sends him into
the barricade. Kofi gets put in the armbreaker for some screaming as
referees try to pull Del Rio off. No match, but haven't we seen Del
Rio destroy Kofi after a loss before?
We
recap Punk's issues with Shield leading up to the handicap match at
TLC.
Shield
promises to hurt Punk tonight but they're going to leave him healthy
enough to make it to TLC. It's going to be Ambrose facing Punk
tonight.
Dean
Ambrose vs. CM Punk
Non-title
because the US Title is nothing but a trophy again. Rollins and
Reigns stay in the crowd to keep it one on one. Punk has bad ribs
coming into this. Cole: “Punk didn't tape his ribs. Why put a
target on his back?” Punk grabs a headlock to start but misses the
high kick as Ambrose hangs onto the rope. Dean charges into a big
boot of all things from Punk, setting up four straight legdrops for
two for Punk.
Dean
comes back with a knee to the ribs to take over and Cole completely
ignores it to read more nominees. We hit the chinlock for a bit but
Punk fights out and forearms Ambrose in the head. The GTS is
countered with another shot to the ribs but Ambrose bails to the
floor as we take a break.
Back
with Dean stomping on the bad ribs like the smart heel that he is.
Dean keeps taunting Punk as he peppers him with right hands before
hooking a crossface chicken wing. Punk is down so Ambrose goes up,
only to miss a top rope elbow drop. The springboard clothesline gets
two for Punk and the running knee in the corner gets the same.
Ambrose counters the swinging neckbreaker into a backslide which sets
up a Fujiwara Armbar to stay on the arm.
Dean
lets it go for some reason but counters another GTS attempt into a
sleeper. Punk rolls through that into the Anaconda Vice but Dean
quickly makes a rope. The Macho Elbow is broken up with a superplex
for two and Dean goes back to the armbar. Punk gets into the ropes
as well and finally scores with the high kick for two. The GTS,
Bulldog Driver and another GTS are all countered and Punk is sent
shoulder first into the post, giving Ambrose a rollup (with a handful
of trunks) for two more. Not that it matters as another high kick
sets up the GTS for the pin at 13:00.
Rating:
B-. Good match, annoying
booking. There are three Shield members to pick from. One is a
champion, one is the golden boy and the other is Seth Rollins. Why
in the would wasn't this Rollins doing a job for Punk? The match
would have been entertaining and you keep the title looking strong at
the same time. It's really not that complicated of an idea but WWE
continues to mess it up. The match was what you would expect from
Punk vs. Ambrose for 13 minutes, but why did Ambrose go after the arm
so much when Punk had bad ribs coming in?
Renee
Young (looking stunning in a red dress) is with Rey Mysterio in the
back. She asks Rey which world title means more. Before Rey can
answer, the Real Americans (now in matching jackets with Cesaro's
saying Toni and Swagger's saying Big Hoss) come up and asks to see
Rey's papers.
Colter
wants to know what's up with Mysterio's mask, if that's even his real
name. Rey says he was born and raised in San Diego, California but
is Mexican in his heart. Colter thinks Rey's title reigns should be
stricken from the record books but Rey thinks the Real Americans
should be stricken from the building. Zeb throws out a challenge for
a tag match with Rey getting a partner. Rey says si.
Natalya
vs. Tamina Snuka
AJ
is on commentary and talks about how she was the most interesting
Diva in the match just by skipping around in a circle. Tamina gets
caught by a quick clothesline for two but she easily shoves Natalya
to the floor. Nattie gets rammed ribs first into the apron a few
times before Tamina takes it back inside to crank on Natalya's arms.
Cole
spends the match trying to make AJ into a heel by asking why she
thinks she's above the title which just isn't working. Natalya gets
two off a low dropkick but Tamina kicks out of the Sharpshooter. A
Samoan drop puts Natalya down but she misses the Superfly Splash,
giving Natalya the pin at 2:59.
Post
match Natalya yells at AJ to no effect.
The
Funkadactyls sell stuff and annoy me by existing.
Real
Americans vs. Rey Mysterio/???
The
mystery partner is Big Show, who apparently is just going to forget
about the whole Authority ruining his life thing. Big Show chops
Swagger in the corner and headbutts him down to start. Off to Rey
for a top rope hurricanrana but Swager counters the sitout bulldog
into a wheelbarrow slam in a nice move. Cesaro gets in a neck snap
across the top rope as Cole brings up Cesaro making Titus sick last
week.
Mysterio
fights out of the corner but Jack sends him out to the floor. Back
in and the Real Americans take turns pounding on Rey until the sitout
bulldog takes Swagger down. Double tags bring in Cesaro and Big Show
so the giant can clean house. A spear gets two on Cesaro as Swagger
makes the save, only to have Rey hit a quick 619 to Jack. Big Show
chokeslams Cesaro, setting up a Rey splash from Big Show's shoulders
for the pin at 4:20.
Rating:
D+. Just a match here with a
very short version of the tag team formula. Big Show being in the
midcard again is a better fit for him, but I really hope this doesn't
lead to a big man/little man tag team. The Real Americans continue
to go from hot to cold like no one else on the roster.
We
get a video package of various champions over the years, talking
about what being champion meant to them. It's mainly a collection of
promos from their careers with a few guys sitting down to talk about
what the win means. Cool stuff.
HHH's
sitdown interview talks about how great the unification match will be
and guarantees that the King of Kings will crown the Champion of
Champions.
Bad
News Barrett has some good news for us. There will be a Champion of
Champions after TLC, but that man will have a target on his chest.
He'll be the hunted, making him the envy of the locker room, meaning
he's doomed.
Daniel
Bryan vs. Randy Orton
Non-title
of course. They fight into the corner to start with neither being
able to get an advantage. Orton takes over with some right hands but
Bryan fights out of the corner with punches of his own. Daniel goes
after the arm as the announcers discuss Bryan joining the Wyatts.
Orton comes back with the backbreaker for two and a clothesline puts
Bryan down. Bryan scores with a dropkick to send Orton to the floor
but Orton moves before the FLYING GOAT can launch.
We
take a break and come back with Orton getting two off something we
didn't see before putting on a chinlock. Bryan fights out and
moonsaults over Randy to set up the running clothesline. A pair of
running dropkicks in the corner set up some kicks to Orton's chest
and a top rope hurricanrana gets two for Bryan. Daniel sends him to
the floor and now the FLYING GOAT connects.
Back
in and the missile dropkick drops Randy again and there are the YES
kicks. The big one misses as is the new custom and Orton gets two
off a powerslam. Orton connects with the Elevated DDT but Bryan
counters the RKO into a backslide for two. Now the big kick lays out
Orton and the Swan Dive.....doesn't launch because we've got Wyatts.
The distraction lets Orton hit the RKO for the pin at 8:44 shown of
12:14.
Rating:
C+. Bryan continues his roll
but it's clear his time on top is over. The ending keeps the Bryan
vs. Wyatts feud going but doesn't do much for Daniel himself. It
does however give Bryan some more momentum going into the PPV which
is a good idea, but unfortunately it's at Bryan's expense.
Post
match Bray pops up on screen and says tick tock over and over. He
doesn't mean to keep haunting Bryan, but how many times does Bryan
have to cross a burning bridge to know he doesn't have to fight this
battle alone? Bryan knows what they are, but at TLC he'll learn what
he himself is. Bray laughs to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C. They're doing a
decent job of building up to TLC but not everything was clicking
tonight. Bad News Barrett is going to bomb and it's going to bomb
badly. There's just nothing there at the moment and the insults are
as easy as you can think of. On the other hand, the handicap matches
are going to be solid with Bryan vs. Wyatts getting more interesting
every show. The world title match is looking more and more like a
screwy finish every week, but at least we have a new buzz phrase with
Champion of Champions.
Results
Big
E. Langston b. Fandango – Big Ending
Curtis
Axel/Ryback b. Cody Rhodes/Goldust – Rollup to Rhodes
CM
Punk b. Dean Ambrose – GTS
Natalya
b. Tamina Snuka – Pin after a missed Superfly Splash
Big
Show/Rey Mysterio b. Real Americans – Splash to Swagger
Randy
Orton b. Daniel Bryan – RKO
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
Bad News Barrett needs to make the transition from a comedy bit on the JBL and Cole Show (with Renee Young) to a wrestling character. Doing the same good news, bad news bit is not going to cut it. He probably needs to act more like Bad News Brown and/or hit someone as the bad news.
ReplyDeleteIf I was as good at my actual job as you are at promptly getting reviews posted I would... uh... be better at my job than I currently am.
ReplyDeleteThey need to transition that show into the Renee Young show with JBL and Cole.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMissed the beginning, but did the show open with the Born 2 Run song or did they fully switch to the new This Life song?
ReplyDeleteThe last few episodes seem more like the Renee Young Show than the JBL and Cole Show.
ReplyDeleteBorn to Run.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I need 'who booked this shit?' tattooed on my chest
ReplyDeleteSoooo...4 of 6 matches have a title involved but their all non-title matches? Why do the titles even exist anymore?
ReplyDeleteI don't normally prefer blondes but Renee...she would get it.
ReplyDeleteSame. Totally not my usual type but she has a quality
ReplyDeleteWWE: Look you see the ball? Go get it.
ReplyDeletehttp://1dayanimation.tumblr.com/page/3
Couple thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Cole actually promoting the current guys over the previous generation (even burying some of the old guys a bit). But he's just awful with AJ. Shouldn't commentators act neutral than respond to the heels bullshit? AJ sits down and Cole immediately starts asking these awful loaded questions.
Oh, and the reasons Ambrose was in the Punk match is to further planting seeds for the Reigns split. Yeah the title thing was annoying, but it's dropping hints for future shit.
Also, I think that's it's clear Reigns is going to be one of "The Guys" in the future along with Big E, but I have some good money on Cody Rhodes making something of himself. He's established himself, finally built a bit of natural charisma, gotten himself an iconic and pop-able moveset* and has a lot of history with guys. He's my sleeper pick for next big star.
* Watch the flurry he got coming in off the hot-tag, no "Leap in and clotheslines" it's cool, impactful, looks good and most importantly is different.
It's a sum is greater than the parts thing. If you look at her features independently they're not super attractive, but pieced all together they definitely work.
ReplyDeleteThat comment was very demeaning to women and made her sound like an object!
ReplyDeleteThis must be what a proud parent feels like.
That Diva match was the closest thing we would get to a female version of Hart vs Diesel.
ReplyDeleteShe's incredibly cute and that can really work. Her commentary on NXT makes her all the more appealing.
ReplyDeleteShe, she also seems somewhat sincere unlike the glass-eyed models that fill the ranks of the divas.
ReplyDeleteBiscuit likes women. Renee is a grown woman and I love it. Summer Rae and her ilk can just, er, mature.
ReplyDeleteWhy hand signals? Just have Austin use telekinesis to make all the fans boo him instead of cheer him. Your whole last scenario is far fetched. They don't commit to a heel turn of this magnitude and then abort bit if they don't get cheers in 2 minutes of it. I'd bet anything they knew it wouldn't get cheers in Texas.
ReplyDeleteI bet he believes in bigfoot, crystal heeling powers and voodoo dolls also
ReplyDeleteI've always been conflicted on HHH. Had an all time great run in 2000-2002. Was involved in big money angles, comtributed to some big wrestling moments, could put up great matches back in the day, and was really really over at times. Go down of the list of people he's feuded with and it's a fucking encyclopedia of all time greats....
ReplyDeleteThen there's all the political shit he pulls. I got respect for the guy - he's next level smart. Just don't like how he uses his smarts to the detriment of others and the business at times. He always claims he loves the business but has put his own interests in front of others. I'm not sure if he's delusional or just hypocritical.
II compare him to an athlete llike Clemens or Bonds...great talent that you liked watching but you can't really get behind or other reasons. So basically I have no idea where I stand on him
Tl; dr
Putting two DOA jobbers over the Rhodes bros makes no sense. Glad I skipped this one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, love the slightly annoyed "what's the obsession with 2001 Austin" response snarky reply by Scott
ReplyDeleteShe's obviously hot but a little too mousey for me to prefer over most of the fitness model divas. I think I prefer the one with fandango that's wrestling now. Also one positive thing I noticed from raw is that one of those twins was wearing tessmacher/tara style booty speedo. If-yyou've gotta have tna (the good kind) then do it right.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...he was garbage in 2002 though. Started with the Jericho match at wm18 that just had to go on last (starting a long tradition of him closing out mania with matches no one wanted to see) and was-ddown hill from there. I was even turned off by the 2000 character but at least he could work. 2002 hhh was on the decline big time. Also if you want to talk recent ring work his punk match was OK (and that was all punk) the sheamus matches were below average, the 2011 Nash match was an embarrassment and while I do think the wm28 umdetaker match is good the one at wm27 is maybe 1.5 stars and I could see it being even lower. Just an awful match. Seeing it live the crowd was hot but omg was it dull and on a rewatch its fucking bad
ReplyDeleteTl;dr I know exactly where I stand on him
ReplyDeleteI think a slower burn would have been effective for Austin. Do the chair shots at WM to show a heelish return to the DTA stuff. No McMahon handshake or forced heel turn antics. Have his matches and promos going forward reflect paranoia and a guy who is doubting himself after the injuries and return losses. Maybe even make the "I HAVE to beat you " turn into a quasi catchphrase. Works with Benoit or Angle, goes back to his Ringmaster mat work emphasis. Basically, we get a new look at our hero as flawed, conflicted, and needing to prove himself against the guys who rose up while he was gone. If he eventually descrnds into madness and joins Vince, great. If he stays super over as top face, great. Rock comes back for a SummerSlsm rematch and beats Austin clean at last. Go from there
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, man. I'm gonna sound like Punk here but I'd like to think that once Vince is gone that Triple H will get to do some things he wants to do. I think he has a lot of respect for some of the old school stuff done in the past. However, I thing he does put himself first most of the time and some, if not all, of his thought process is very similar to Vince's. That's disturbing to me going forward. I hope when he is in full control that the product will be different compared to what is now, bland and boring.
ReplyDeleteI remember up until I was 12 or so HATING when women were on wrestling because I wanted to see RASSLIN. Then again when I went through my smarkiest "WORKRATE" phase I hated it because they suck in the ring and I could go watch porn if I wanted to see hot women... now HAWT women is one of the few bright spots of the show... and now I'm depressed.
ReplyDeletei thought the BoD would explode since rey actually took his shirt off (had a singlet on underneath, but still)
ReplyDelete