411’s WWE Smackdown Report 1.03.14

A Smackdown report for the second week in a row. We at 411 apologize for breaking the internet in the process.

As with last week, Instant Analysis will accompany this separately. Your regular SD reporter (do we even have one?) should be back next week.

One last thing – Something for you to talk about in the comment section: What’s your favorite Smackdown match from 2013? Personally I think Cena vs Rollins from last week would be way up there unless there’s a match or two omitted from my memory. Get ’em down and we’ll go through some of them in the Instant Analysis next week to see if we’ve got a clear cut winner.

Disclaimer: Because the show is broadcast earlier internationally than in the States, that’s the version I’ll be covering. Usually it’s exactly the same as what is shown in the US, but for all intents and purposes every effort has been made to make sure that everything is covered from the show, in the correct order, and nothing has been omitted. If something is missing, or the order has changed slightly, then you know why.

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Smackdown for 1/3/14.

– Taped from Washington DC.

– Cole and JBL on commentary.

– The Shield comes out to cut a promo in the ring. Ambrose on the stick first; He says they’ve heard the rumblings about The Shield not being on the same page anymore. Some say they’re crumbling and some egos have gotten out of control. They’re dead wrong and CM Punk is dead wrong if he thinks he can divide and conquer them. What Punk fails to understand is that they can’t be conquered because they can’t be divided. Roman Reigns on the mic now, saying that Punk is trying to attack their weakest link, but as it pertains to the Shield, there is none. Seth Rollins takes over the speaking duties, saying any recent setbacks they’ve had are only temporary, and in the end they will prevail. Because they will do what they do best, they’ll come together and dominate. Believe that, and believe in the Shield.

Match #1: The Usos vs The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins w/Dean Ambrose)

Author’s note: Whilst every effort has been made to establish which Uso twin is which, I may have quite easily gotten them the wrong way round, for which I can only apologize. After all, It’s not like recapping a Bella’s match where they can easily be identified because one of them has bigger tits than the other.

Dean Ambrose joins Cole and JBL on commentary. Roman and Jimmy in there to start off and Reigns gets the upper hand throwing Jimmy hard into the corner. Tag to Rollins but Jimmy turns the tide with a couple of clotheslines. Tag to Jey who lands a big forearm smash in the corner as Jimmy holds Rollins in position. Jey gets 1 after whipping Rollins off the ropes and landing a standing elbow. Tag to Jimmy, double-team elbow drop keeps the Usos in control and it gets 2. Big back body drop on Rollins gets 2. Tag to Jey but Rollins recovers with a jawbreaker to ground him. Blind tag to Jimmy, Jey blocks a kick to the gut and Jimmy clotheslines Rollins over the top rope and out to the floor. Double superkick to the gut of Roman Reigns and he gets clotheslined out too. Rollins tries to charge back in but the Usos back body drop him out over the outside again and onto his partner Reigns. We go to commercial and we return with Rollins getting a blind tag to Reigns who gets a good elbow smash onto Jey for 2. Reigns has Jey on the apron and delivers a big clubbing blow to his chest (Like Sheamus does). Big suplex from Reigns gets 2 more. Tag to Rollins, who comes in off the top turnbuckle with a blow to Jey before throwing him into the turnbuckle. Interestingly, on commentary they tease the possibility of a title unification match between Big E Langston (IC Champ) and Dean Ambrose (US Champ). Jey fights out of a rest hold with an arm drag but can’t get to his corner for the tag, and Rollins cuts him off by dropping him onto the ropes. Reigns tags in, big elbow drop for 2. Jey recovers and sends Reigns to the outside again. Reigns back in but can’t cut off the tag, and Rollins blind tags in. Jey with the hot tag to Jimmy, Forearm smash to Reigns in the corner and he dodges a Rollins charge. Clothesline, superkick to the gut. Rollins tries kicking him in the head to block an Irish Whip, but doing that to a Samoan is harmless and he gets Samoan Dropped for his troubles. Rollins rolls out of the way of the Rikishi-butt run move and retreats to the outside. Enziguri to Roman Reigns and he gets tossed to the outside as well. Both Usos prepare for a double-team dive to the outside, but Ambrose leaves the commentary position and cuts it off, drawing the DQ.

Result: The Usos via DQ. – Good opener which sets up the main event for later on (read the next couple of lines).

– The 3-on-2 assault continues, until CM Punk runs out to make the save and send the heels into retreat.

– During the commercial break, Vickie Guerrero comes out to make a 6-man tag main event between the entire Shield vs CM Punk & The Usos.

Match #2:Fandango w/Summer Raye vs R-Truth w/Xavier Woods

Woods goes to the commentary booth. Fandango on top to start with some stomps in the corner. Truth recovers, backflipping over Fandango and nailing him with a high arm-drag. Fandango recovers by dropping to the outside and catching R-Truth on the ropes in the process. Spinning wheel kick back in gets 2. Suplex for Fandango gets 2. Truth recovers and builds up momentum but Fandango blocks a charge in the corner. The Funkadactyls come out and start dancing, as per Woods’ request at the announce table. This distracts Fandango and he takes the Lil’ Jimmy (Jumping Reverse STO) for the 1, 2, 3.

Result: R-Truth Average TV match.

– Truth, Woods and the Funkadactyls all dance after the match.

– We get a recap of Daniel Bryan joining the Wyatt family on Raw.

Match 3: WWE Tag Team titles- Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs The Wyatts (Harper & Rowan)

No Bray at ringside. Cole on commentary mentions that Daniel Bryan’s fiancee Brie Bella has heard that Bryan is “Ok.” Harper and Goldust start, and Harper gets a big shoulderblock on Goldust early on. Tag to Cody though and the Brotherhood nail a double-team suplex on Harper. Cody with a dropkick to the knee to keep Harper grounded and then tags back out to Goldust. Rowan tags in and has a slugfest with Goldust. He holds him in the heel corner and tags out to Harper, but Goldust blocks a clothesline attempt to land one of his own. Big forearm smash to Goldust from Harper to recover. Tag to Rowan who whips Goldust from buckle to buckle and works him over with clubbing blows by the ropes. Harper back in with a nasty looking uppercut before Goldust fights out of a resthold. Goldust nails the Canadian Destroyer/Code Red to buy himself some time. Hot tag to Cody, Missile Dropkick to Harper. Cody keeps the rally going and sends Harper to the outside. Disaster Kick to Rowan on the apron. Cody leaps to the top rope and nails a huge dive to the outside on Harper. Harper manages to recover though and throws Cody into the crowd wall and then the ring steps. Commercial break, and when we return Rowan has Cody in a bearhug and rams him into another turnbuckle on the outside. Rowan has got Cody in a cool resthold where he uses both fists to squeeze his skull. Cody recovers briefly but gets tossed high into the air by Rowan and essentially slam-dunked back down to the canvas for 2. Cody fights out of a backdrop but Rowan recovers with another set of clubbing blows. Harper tags in and gets a charge in the corner. Cody tries fighting out of another resthold but Harper stops him and then boots Goldust off the apron too. Cody makes another recovery with a big clothesline. Tag to Rowan and he cuts off the tag to Goldust. More clubbing blows until Cody ducks a charge which sends Rowan over the ropes to the floor. Cody comes close to making the hot tag, but Rowan tags in Harper and it’s cut off AGAIN and Harper nails Goldsut off the apron a second time. He grabs Cody…SITOUT POWERBOMB! One, Two, Goldust cuts it off at the last second! Goldust clotheslines Rowan to the outside but then Harper tosses him out immediately afterwards. He tosses Cody into the corner, but Cody recovers and rolls him up for 2. Big boot to Cody and he looks to be toast. Harper tries prepping a back suplex off the top turnbuckle but Cody elbows him off and hits the standing moonsault. Rowan tags in and Cody almost misses the hot tag again, but Goldust manages to get a quick blind tag and he’s in. Cody gets back body-dropped but Goldust rolls up Rowan from behind and gets the pin, the win and the title retention! Rowan never saw the blind tag!

Result: The Rhodes Brothers retain – Another good tag match, pity we didn’t see much of a comeback from Goldust as the hot tag kept getting cut off but a great bout all the same.

-Rene Young is with Big E Langston. She asks about Mark Henry and the brawl with Brock Lesnar on Raw this week. Big E says Mark is a little beat up but he’ll be OK. He appears to start making a threat towards Brock Lesnar, but gets interrupted by a giggling Curtis Axel. Axel isn’t laughing about Mark Henry. Oh, wait, of course he is, and he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank when he beats Big E tonight. Big E assures Rene that after their match, Axel wont be laughing at all.

Match #4: Aksana vs Nikki Bella

This was set up after Aksana got the pin on Nikki Bella during a divas tag match on Raw. Nikki gets the early momentum with an armdrag and a scoop slam. Shoulder charges from Nikki in the corner followed by a suplex for 2. Aksana manages to regroup on the outside and rams Nikki’s arm into the ringpost twice. Aksana keeps working over the left arm on the ropes and follows up with a sideslam for 2. Nikki fights out of a resthold with a monkey flip and a rally with a clothesline and a dropkick. Bulldog on Aksana gets 2. Aksana misses the charge and Nikki gets her up in the torture rack, before dropping to her knees and getting the cover for the win.

Result: Nikki Bella Good divas bout, actually.

– We get the same Randy Orton career retrospective video from Raw.

Match #5: (non-title)Big E Langston vs Curtis Axel

Slugfest to start, which ends when Axel goes for a chop and Big E returns that with a giant clothesline. Shoulder charges in the corner from Big E. Axel blocks a charge in the opposite corner and goes up top, but Big E crashes right into him on the way down with a shoulder tackle for 2. Axel recovers and gets a clothesline from behind. Big E fights out of a resthold by powering up and hitting a back body drop to Axel. Clotheslines and a belly to belly suplex from Langston followed by his majestical big splash . Axel manages to avoid the Big Ending by grabbing the ropes. He bounces Big E’s head off the ropes, but back in the ring takes another meaty clothesline. Down come the straps, and this time he hits the Big Ending for the 3 count.

Result: Big E Langston – Nothing we haven’t seen from them before but it did a good job of putting Big E over.

– Raw rebound, Brock Lesnar returns and brawls with Mark Henry. We also get a clip from Cole’s interview with Paul Heyman on WWE.Com earlier this week. Cole asks Heyman why Brock has returned at this point. Heyman replies that it’s because there is one WWE World Heavyweight champion. When Lesnar noticed there was only one Champion, one opportunity to call yourself the man, Lesnar said that should be his position in life. It doesn’t matter at the Rumble who wins out of Cena and Orton, because they’ll have to contend with Brock Lesnar. Heyman confirms they’ll be at Old School Raw next week, and Brock is looking to do something a little “old school” to send a message.

– Bad News Barrett segment, from the rising podium next to the stage. He asks for decorum. He says he’s sure the WWE Universe have been making lots of resolutions about being healthier and more productive in 2014. But he’s got some BAD NEWS. Looking at the crowd, there’s no way any of them will be capable of sticking to their resolutions. He guarantees that this time next year, they’ll all be just as fat, unhealthy and as unproductive as they are now.

Match #6: CM Punk & The Usos vs The Shield

Ambrose and Punk start. Slugfest in the corner, which Punk wins and gets an elbow smash on Ambrose. He whips him back into the heel corner, and screams at them asking them who the weak link is. Rollins with the blind tag and initially Ambrose doesn’t want to the get back on the apron, but does so begrudgingly. Some nice transitions between Punk and Rollins end when Punk scores an elbow to the face and a neckbreaker before tagging out to Jey, who lands a headbutt. Tag to Jimmy, who lands a legdrop to the back of the head of Rollins while Jey has him locked in a Boston Crab. Nice dropkick from Jimmy who makes another quick tag out to Jey who lands a superkick to the gut. Slugfest ends when Jey scores 2 off of a big shoulder block. Rollins gets clotheslined over the ropes and Jey readies himself for a dive to the outside, but Reigns blocks his path on the apron. Jey manages to get to the outside but Rollins has recovered by now and rams him into the ring apron. Jey blocks a Rollins dive from the top rope and tags out to Punk who kicks away at Rollins. Suplex on Rollins gets 2. Rollins tags Ambrose in and they go for a double-team, but Punk manages to catch both of them with a dropkick. Tag back to Jimmy who tries working over the arm but Ambrose recovers with an elbow and a scoop slam. Ambrose goes up top, but gets caught out and back body-dropped ala Ric Flair by Jimmy, who gets 2 off of that. Knee to the gut from Ambrose to recover and Reigns is tagged in. Superman clothesline gets 2. Tag to Rollins who works over Jimmy in the corner. Rollins gets whipped hard into the corner buying Jimmy some time, but Ambrose cuts off the hot-tag once he’s been tagged in himself. Sleeper from Ambrose but Jimmy gets a jawbreaker. Ambrose recovers from that with a clothesline and tries for a back suplex off the top rope, but Jimmy elbows him off. Tag made to Reigns but he can’t get Jimmy off the turnbuckle either. Whisper in the Wind from Jimmy! Rollins cuts off the hot tag to Jey but misses a seated senton on Jimmy thereafter. HOT TAG to CM Punk. Springboard clothesline to Rollins. Boot to Ambrose knocks him off the apron. Dropkick and then a spinning neckbreaker to Rollins. Running knee to Rollins in the corner followed up by a clothesline. Punk goes up top, but Ambrose distracts him and Rollins knocks him off. Rollins up top now and gets a crossbody, but Punk rolls through it and locks in the Anaconda Vice, only for Ambrose to make the save before Rollins can tap. The Usos try to even the odds but Reigns takes out Jey with the Superman punch. Ambrose tags in and goes to work on Punk in the corner, screaming at Punk “You’re not better than me!” Ambrose sets him up on the top turnbuckle…DOUBLE-ARM SUPERPLEX!! Nice. That gets a close 2. Ambrose keeps staring down Punk as Reigns keeps asking for him to tag out, but Ambrose ignores it. Punk with a big kick to the head of Ambrose and Reigns comes in to stop a GTS attempt. Ambrose gets in his way and he moves him aside, but Punk nails Reigns with a kick to the head too and the Usos hit a double-team superkick which knocks Reigns to the outside. Rollins charges at them but gets sent flying over the top as well. Stereo dives to the outside from the Usos onto Rollins and Reigns! Punk gets the GTS on Ambrose and gets the pin.

Result: CM Punk & The Usos – Cracking TV main event with more teases about the cracks in The Shield. Big boost for the Usos too.

– On the version I’m watching there’s a video promo with Bray Wyatt right after the main event talking about how Daniel Bryan is now apart of his family, how he needed him, and how Sister Abigail always gets her way.

– Over and out. More to follow in the Instant Analysis.