December 23, 2015
Super SmackDown Live hit the USA Network on Tuesday night with two title matches scheduled. Due to Christmas Eve being on Thursday night, WWE decided to air their Tuesday SmackDown taping live from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA.
This show had some pretty good matches inside the ring, but minimal storyline advancement. It’s hard to expect these storylines to really advance during the holiday season, but the action in the ring doesn’t stop, so SmackDown was actually a pretty good show.
Many of the WWE superstars wished everyone a Happy Holiday season during the show.
Here are the main stories coming out of SmackDown:
The main event of the evening pitted Dean Ambrose defending his Intercontinental Championship against former champions Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler. The match was really put together well and there were a few near falls that made me actually believe Ambrose wouldn’t be walking out of the arena as champion.
There was one moment when Owens dropped Ambrose on his head that made me think he would actually reclaim his Intercontinental Title, because Ambrose looked completely out of it.
How's he still wrestling? pic.twitter.com/yifQaqr8ME
— Nick Piccone (@nickpiccone) December 23, 2015
However, it either was some great selling by Ambrose, or he was able to gut out the pain and finish the match. He eventually caught Ziggler with Dirty Deeds and got the win.
The WWE World Heavyweight Champion made a surprise appearance on Tuesday night, as Roman Reigns interrupted the post-match attack by the League of Nations on his cousins, the Usos. Rusev and Alberto Del Rio would defeat the Usos in tag team action, but they didn’t want to stop there as Sheamus and King Barrett decided they wanted a piece of the Usos themselves.
As Sheamus was readying for a Brogue Kick, Reigns appeared and pulled him out of the ring before evening the sides with a couple Superman punches and superkicks by the Usos.
The New Day defended their WWE World Tag Team Championship against the Lucha Dragons, who are a team that have the New Day’s number recently. I didn’t expect a title change in this match, though it would have been a cool surprise if it did happen, as long as the New Day won the titles back shortly after.
It was good to see the champions actually get a win against this team, as they’ve sort of cooled off in terms of winning matches recently. They needed this win, and, as always, were the most entertaining part of the show. They’re heading into 2016 with some stalled momentum, but hopefully they’ll gain some steam as we head toward WrestleMania.
In a bit of storyline advancement, we saw Charlotte defeat Brie Bella by submission via her Figure Eight leglock, but she left her friend out to dry as she was getting beat up by Team B.A.D. on the outside.
Never #Nog @BeckyLynchWWE!! #SmackDown #TeamBAD @NaomiWWE pic.twitter.com/cp2AbZoyne
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 23, 2015
During the match, Sasha Banks, Naomi and Tamina would come down and confront Becky Lynch, who was on commentary. They’d spill egg nog on her and then attack her while Charlotte was in the middle of trying to put Brie away. She contemplated heading to the outside to help her friend, but decided winning the match was more important than helping Lynch take on her attackers.
.@MsCharlotteWWE is ... laughing?? ... at @BeckyLynchWWE's new eggnog shampoo? #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/UC6HCYLe0J
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 23, 2015
I liked this subtle storytelling, mainly due to the fact most people should side with Charlotte on this one. Winning a match should be the most important thing on a superstar’s mind, and nobody should blame Charlotte for putting that first and foremost. However, due to WWE storytelling, she’ll be painted as the bad girl for ignoring Lynch getting attacked.
The Wyatt Family seems to have convincingly won their feud with the Dudley Boyz, but sure, what’s another match? The Wyatts defeated the Dudleys, Ryback and Kane in convincing fashion. Will we see another match between the two sides next week on television? I wouldn’t bet against it.
Neville is still one of the coolest athletes on the roster. The Red Arrow is always awesome to watch, and the Breakout Star of the Year didn’t disappoint on Tuesday night.
Nobody can destroy Christmas. Not even the Cosmic Wasteland.
Thank goodness Santino is back. For now, at least.
Before SmackDown went on the air, the Prime Time Players exchanged Secret Santa gifts, and it was awesome.
• WWE World Tag Team Titles: The New Day [Big E and Kofi Kingston] (c) d. Lucha Dragons by pinfall after Big E hit the Big Ending on Sin Cara.
• Eight-Man Tag: Wyatt Family d. Dudley Boyz, Ryback and Kane by pinfall after Bray Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Bubba Ray Dudley.
• Rusev and Alberto Del Rio d. The Usos by pinfall
• Neville and Titus O’Neil d. The Ascension by pinfall via the Red Arrow.
• Non-Title: Charlotte (c) d. Brie Bella by submission via the Figure Eight.
• Triple Threat Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dean Ambrose d. Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler by pinfall after hitting Dirty Deeds on Ziggler.
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