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Winfree’s WWE Smackdown Review 12.25.20
Loading...Hello everyone, Merry Christmas. I’m Robert Winfree, with nothing better to do on freaking Christmas than be here relaying the action from WWE Smackdown. Lest you take that bit too seriously, if I’m unfairly grumpy it’s more to do with dental pain than the holiday. Anyway the fallout from TLC is here, both of the titles that were on that show were retained and now we start the build towards the Royal Rumble. Roman Reigns retained the Universal title and unless they’re going to have his feud with Owens continue until the Rumble he’ll need another placeholder feud so that should get started tonight. The IC title got a bit of clarity as the WWE seems to be committed to a Sami Zayn and Big E program, Big E might be using that title as a stop gap because him being in the main event seems like a clear goal for around Wrestlemania. There’s still the tag champs kicking around, and Sasha Banks retained the women’s title though her program with Carmella being extended isn’t out of the question despite their match at TLC. Well let’s see what’s in store for us tonight. Well, technically not tonight as this is a pre-recorded show but you know what I mean.
Universal champion Roman Reigns is here to start the show, he’s in a match apparently. Nice job promoting things WWE.
Match #1 – Steel Cage Match for the Universal Title: (c) Roman Reigns w/ Paul Heyman vs. Kevin Owens
This will be a pin, submit, or escape cage match. We get brawling to start, Roman gets the better that with headbutts. Owens runs into a big boot, that gets a 1 on the cover. Roman throws Owens into the cage a few times then hits a Samoan drop for a 2 count. Owens counters a superman punch into a DDT and both men are down. They trade blows again, this time Owens gets the better of things and throws Roman into the cage. Right from Roman, Owens off the ropes with a lariat then a senton splash. Owens catches a kick and starts landing blows in the corner then hits a cannonball senton for a 2 count. Roman counters a pop up powerbomb with a leg lariat, nice counter, for a 2 count. Owens set on the top rope, Roman tries to follow him up but Owens drops him with elbows then hits a frog splash for a near fall. That near fall sends us to break.
We come back as both men are slugging it out. Roman blocks a super kick, hits a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Rights from Roman in the corner, he’s really unloading and Owens collapses under the barrage. Owens up though and they start trading rights again, Roman runs into a pop up powerbomb for a near fall. Roman drives Owens to the corner and starts laying in strikes again. Roman puts Owens on the top rope again, he follows him up and they start trading blows again. Superplex attempt from Roman, Owens is trying to fight it off, Owens counters with a top rope fisherman’s buster but again only gets a 2 count on the pin attempt. Owens is first up, he wants the stunner but Roman counters and hits a superman punch for another 2 count. Roman is pissed now, he throws Owens into the cage a few more times and unloads with punches, Owens is on the outside of the ropes pinned against the fence. Roman grabs the guillotine choke, Owens grabs the back of Roman’s head and pulls his throat over the top rope to choke Roman and force him to break the hold. Nice counter from Owens there. Both men fight to their feet in opposite corners, Roman charges but Owens hits a stunner for the closest of near falls. The visual of a disbelieving Owens sends us to another commercial break.
Owens is trying to escape as we come back. Roman is halting that action, then climbs up onto the ropes with him and they trade blows again. Owens tries a headbutt, that was silly. Eventually Owens does headbutt Roman to the mat, he gets to the top of the cage but Roman jumps up and grabs him to pull him back into the structure. Headbutts from Roman now, they trade blows on the top rope then Owens lands a super kick, Owens tries the swanton bomb but the knees from Roman are up, he hits a spear after that but Owens kicks out at 2. Really great near fall. Roman is the one in a state of disbelief now, he orders the cage door open and moves towards it. Owens grabs at his legs to stop him, Roman drags him along closer then talks trash but Owens slams the door onto Roman’s head. Owens goes nuts slamming Roman into the cage and Roman collapses to the mat. Jey Uso shows up, but Owens slams the door into him and nearly escapes but Roman grabs him and drags him back into the cage. Super kick from Owens, tries the pop up powerbomb but Roman counters in mid air with a superman punch. Roman tires a spear, Owens dodges, Roman spears the cage then Owens with a stunner. Rather than cover he moves to the door, but Jey intercepts and handcuffs Owens to the cage. Owens is livid, he can get his feet out of the door but can’t get them to the floor. Roman sees this and smiles, he then saunters out of the cage to retain the title while Owens curses at him.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Roman Reigns won via escape
Rating: 3.5 stars
The ending knocks that last half star off as they had a darn good match going, but even with the borderline overbooked ending the action was great.
There will be a lumberjack match for the IC title later tonight between champion Sami Zayn and Big E, plus Daniel Bryan will battle Jey Uso all coming up later tonight. But up next the new women’s tag team champions will be here.
Asuka and Charlotte, the new women’s tag team champions, make their way to the ring. They get separate entrances, because of course they do. Asuka also the Raw women’s champion, which will likely be the sticking point going into Mania so Charlotte can get another title reign on the big show. Charlotte says Christmas came early, Asuka speaks Japanese, then Bayley’s music cuts them off. Bayley says she’s more impressive than those two, while the world was having a downer year she became the longest reigning Smackdown women’s champion of all time. Sasha Banks’s music cuts that off. What are we trying to accomplish here? Banks heads to the ring, she mocks Bayley for not being the reigning women’s champion, but that’s all she gets out before Bianca Belair shows up. Belair says the most impressive thing is being the -est of WWE, then Carmella’s music hits. Carmella mocks everyone, noting everyone would rather look at Carmella than the rest of them. Charlotte covers Asuka’s eyes. Carmella says she’s the only one who’s naughty and nice, as well as nice and naughty. Banks shoves Carmella, we cut to commercial before the next match. Well, that certainly was a way to drag out a segment.
Match #2 – Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team bout for WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: (c) Asuka and Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair vs. Bayley and Carmella w/ Reginald
Charlotte is working over Bayley as we come back, she tags in Asuka and they double team Bayley for a bit. Bayley lands a right and a chop then tags in Carmella. More chops to Asuka, Asuka shoves Carmella off. Carmella with a cheap shot to Banks but that let’s Asuka take over with a couple of hip attacks. Asuka runs into a kick, Carmella with the reverse triangle choke over the top rope. Kick from Asuka, but she backs into the wrong corner and Banks tags herself in. Banks abuses Carmella a bit, then tags in Belair. Shoulder strikes from Belair, then a scoop slam attempt but Carmella slips free then tags herself out on Charlotte. Charlotte grabs a side headlock on Belair, they run the ropes then run into each other but neither woman goes down. Mocking gymnastic routine from Charlotte, Belair then does one of her own. They both try drop kicks then kip up at the same time. Charlotte kicks Belair, Belair shoves Charlotte into the turn buckles, then runs into them and both women tag out. Asuka and Bayley are legal now. Charlotte and Carmella are brawling around the ringside area, Banks with a meteora to Charlotte and Carmella shoves her into the barricade. Hip attack from Asuka to Belair, Asuka and Bayley into the ring. Bayley with a Bayley to belly for a near fall and sends us to break.
Back and Asuka is still working Bayley. Asuka with a drop kick, that gets a 2 count. Bayley hits a clothesline and tags in Carmella. Stomps from Carmella in the corner, then a bronco buster for a near fall. Suplex from Carmella for another 2 count. Bayley tagged in, lays in kicks to the abdomen and then Carmella is back in. They’re tagging in and out frequently and trying to isolate Asuka. Bayley with a cheap shot to Charlotte. Asuka tries to fight back, Carmella tagged in though and slams Asuka to the mat by the hair. Bayley in, and another cheap shot to Charlotte. Asuka with a modified go to sleep, and tags out to Belair as Charlotte is still down on the outside. Belair runs wild on Bayley, hits a delayed vertical suplex but Carmella breaks up the pin. Banks in to attack Carmella, Charlotte’s in and hits a fall away slam onto Banks. Belair with a glam slam to Charlotte, Bayley in with a roll up but Belair kicks out and hits a spinebuster. She tags Banks who hits a front splash to pin Bayley and eliminate the heel team of Bayley and Carmella.
Charlotte and Banks square off, Banks with a tilt a whirl face buster into the Banks Statement but Charlotte fights up and goes for the figure 8 but can’t lock it in. Kick from banks, Charlotte with a running boot to floor Banks. Figure four from Charlotte, Belair tosses her braid to Banks who uses it to drag herself to the corner and tags Belair. Belair with a gymnastic routine into a moonsault for a near fall on Charlotte. Belair up top, Charlotte cuts her off and slams her. The leg of Belair is hurt, she tries a roll up but Charlotte gets the figure four, Banks comes across with a meteora to Charlotte. Charlotte tags Asuka who hip attacks Banks into Reginald. Bayley distracts Belair, Asuka with kicks to Belair. Belair catches a kick, hits a powerbomb for a 2 count. There’s no Banks for Belair to tag out, and Bayley mocks her for being all alone. Charlotte tags in, Asuka with a codebreaker, Charlotte with a natural selection to pin Belair and retain the titles.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Asuka and Charlotte retained the titles
Rating: 2.5 stars
A little too chaotic for my liking, but the action was mostly clean. Mostly I kind of question what that accomplished, if we’re not going to have any of those other teams establish themselves then I don’t really know what that did.
In the back the Street Profits do the Greek Chorus thing again, in case you missed anything that happened already or is about to come up later in the show. Sami Zayn is asking a social media worker who authorized the lumberjack stipulation. The Profits mock Zayn, Zayn doesn’t have time for their nonsense, Ford has a gift for him. They open it to reveal a t-shirt predicting Zayn losing the title. They all laugh, then Zayn says that wasn’t funny. Dawkins asks why he left without his new shirt.
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring, but Jey Uso jumps him. Bit of a beating from Jey, refs show up to try and separate them. Scoop slam on the ramp to Bryan as we head to break.
Back from break, Bryan wants the match with Jey to start and fights his way into the ring.
Match #3: Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso
Jey with rights early to floor Bryan again. Jey tosses Bryan out of the ring and hits a suicide dive. Bryan gets thrown into the ring steps for a bit then shoves him back into the ring. Jey barks questions at Bryan about coming back. Chops from Jey to Bryan, Bryan starts chopping back then lands a kick. Bryan backflips out of the corner but runs into a Samoan drop for a near fall. Jey lays in some rights then with another scoop slam. Bryan avoids a running headbutt. Jey avoids a corner drop kick and hits a running hip attack. Bryan has had no real offense so far. Jey charges at Bryan but gets tossed over the top rope to the outside. Bryan with a suicide dive, Jey tried to both catch and avoid Bryan at the same time so I’m not sure what was supposed to happen. Back in the ring, Bryan up top but Jey catches him. Bryan slips out, crotches Jey and tries a top rope back suplex and hits it to send us to break.
Bryan with a running kick to the leg as we come back. Jey tweaked his left leg when he was tossed to the outside. Running drop kick from Bryan, then he ties up the leg of Jey in the ropes and kicks the crap out of it. Bryan puts Jey on the top rope and hits a hurricanrana for a near fall. Kicks from Bryan to Jey to floor him. Bryan sets for the knee plus but runs into a super kick. Jey with a kneeling super kick then up for the Uso splash and hits it but he hurt his leg again. The slow cover means Bryan can kick out. Jey tries to hit the splash again, but runs into the knees of Bryan this time. Bryan into the Yes Lock, Jey pulls free but Bryan into a half crab on the injured leg. Jey crawls to the ropes and forces a break. Some mounted strikes from Jey, Bryan sweeps and they start trading top position and blows. Jey gets the best of it and lands a headbutt but both men are down. Jey sets in the corner, but misses a super kick, knee plus from Bryan and he wins.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Daniel Bryan pinned Jey Uso
Rating: 3 stars
I might be a tad generous there, but these two work well together and Bryan having to go to limb manipulation to overcome the more aggressive Jey was a solid story.
Bryan celebrates, it’s unclear if he’ll actually feud with Jey or move on to Roman Reigns but either could happen next for him.
In the back Big E gets pumped up for his title match.
Kayla is in the back to interview Bryan after his win to bring us back. I imagine he’ll get jumped. She asks him what he’s looking forward to now that his issue with Jey is behind him. He wants to win the Royal Rumble, because he’s never won one before and wants to accomplish that, then announces his entry into the Rumble match. Sami Zayn shows up, to make fun of Bryan and says Bryan has had it out for him forever. He thinks Bryan is behind his recent increase in title defenses, and thinks Bryan stooged to management to make it happen. Zayn says karma will take care of Bryan, and promises that Bryan will fail in the Rumble match. Bryan speculates that Zayn is grumpy because he didn’t get a PS 5.
We get a video of Big E getting one over on Sami Zayn last week, then their backstage interaction at TLC when Big E got serious after Zayn accused him of treading water ever since New Day got broken up. I mean, Zayn was telling the truth there. The lumberjacks come out, then the participants in the match. Big E enjoys being in the ring as we head to break before the match.
Back and Sami Zayn makes his way down to the ring. He complains to the lumberjacks about their existence and heads into the ring.
Match #4 – Intercontinental Title Lumberjack Match: (c) Sami Zayn vs. Big E
They tie up early, Big E with the power advantage early. Zayn tries wrestling now, he gets a rear waist lock but Big E breaks his grip and hits a fireman’s carry. Side headlock from Zayn, Big E makes him run the ropes then hits a back elbow. Big E charges in the corner but Zayn with a drop toe hold into the corner. Out of the ring Big E gets mugged then tossed back into the ring by the heels. Zayn throws him back into the group of heels to repeat that spot. Cover from Zayn for 1. Roll up from Big E, then a stretch muffler but Zayn gets into the ropes. Zayn out by the faces who menace him but don’t touch. Big E drags him to the apron, Zayn slams him into the corner but Big E blocks a repeat attempt then clotheslines Zayn on the apron. Apron splash from Big E misses though and the heels abuse him but Big E fights back. Zayn with a dive onto Big E to send us to break.
Zayn still in control as we come back. Zayn runs into a belly to belly. More belly to belly suplexes from Big E, Zayn fights out of one then sets for a helluva kick but runs into a ST-Joe for a near fall. Big E wants the big ending, Zayn escapes to the outside and the lumberjacks jump him then shove him back into the ring. Zayn with a thumb to the eye, rolls up Big E for 2. Big E avoids a rush, but runs into a knee from Zayn. Zayn up top, but Big E cuts him off. They trade blows on the ropes, Zayn tries a sunset flip powerbomb, gets it for a 2 count. Zayn sets for another helluva kick, misses again and then Big E with a spear and both men are out of the ring on the floor. The heels come over and toss Big E back into the ring. The faces abuse Zayn, but the lumberjacks wind up brawling with each other. Zayn tries to escape and win by count out but Apollo Crews cuts him off and the faces drag Zayn back to the ring. Big E is salivating in the ring, Zayn runs into another belly to belly then a big splash from Big E. Big E wants the big ending, he gets it and wins the title.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Big E pinned Sami Zayn to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion
Rating: 2 stars
About as good as a lumberjack match is going to be. This needed a hot crowd, and that lack of energy hurts things when it comes to a chickenshit heel getting their comeuppance.
Big E celebrates as Zayn is a sad panda on the outside. The faces are in the celebrate with Big E, he gets confetti as the show ends.
