By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown on Fox
Aired live on December 20, 2019 from Brooklyn, New York at Barclays Center
[Hour One] A recap of the Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan segment aired… Michael Cole and Corey Graves were on commentary…
Daniel Bryan made his entrance dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. Graves said Wyatt better be prepared to “enter the dragon.” Bryan recalled Wyatt ripping out his head and facial hair. Bryan said that his daughter cried when she saw him without the long hair and facial hair. “She looked at me like all she knew was Daniel Bryan the brand,” Bryan said. “She didn’t recognize me, but I recognized me.”
Bryan said he looked in the mirror and saw the man who never main evented WrestleMania and had to fight, scratch, and claw for everything. Bryan said Wyatt likes to talk about changing people and he succeeded. Bryan recalled Wyatt saying that he’s taught himself to not feel pain. Bryan challenged Wyatt to come out so that he could prove him wrong.
The Miz’s music played and he made his entrance. Miz said that what happened to Bryan was awful, but Wyatt invaded his home. Miz said Wyatt is sick and a monster. Miz said Wyatt will never have a family, so he is going to take the thing he cherishes most, the WWE Universal Championship.
King Corbin made his entrance. Corbin mocked Miz for being afraid that a scary doll showed up in his home. “Maybe if your daughter had a few more of your wife’s genes it wouldn’t have been so scary,” Corbin said. He turned his attention to Bryan and laughed at his daughter crying over her father looking like Baby Yoda. Corbin boasted about some of his accomplishments and footage aired in a loop of Corbin being announced the winner in his match against Roman Reigns at WWE TLC.
Corbin entered the ring and told Bryan and Miz that they failed as WWE superstars and as fathers. Corbin laughed at Bryan and Miz, who looked at one another and dropped their mics. Before they could attack Corbin, Dolph Ziggler attacked them from behind. Ziggler shoced Bryan down and superkicked Miz (looked terrible) and then Corbin gave Bryan the End of Days… [C]
Powell’s POV: Bryan delivered a good promo. Miz is still talking about defending his family while ignoring the fact that he was fed to Wyatt in short order. The attack likely sets up a tag team match. By the way, I missed the opening minute of the show, but I don’t believe I missed anything other than the AC/DC opening (are you ready for a good time?) and part of a video package.
Cole set up a recap of the opening segment for the idiots (like me) who may have tuned in late. Sure enough, the expected tag match with Bryan and Miz vs. Corbin and Ziggler was announced… Cole noted that there would be a Miracle on 34th Street Fight…
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Otis and Tucker about being in the Miracle on 34th Street Fight. Otis was still bummed out about his gift of a ham being rejected last week. Tucker patted Otis’s chest and said that’s the only part of the big man that is vulnerable. Mandy Rose showed up and said she his Secret Santa. She presented him with a ham, kissed him on the cheek, and wished him a Merry Christmas…
Powell’s POV: Mandy was awfully nice for a heel.
1. “Heavy Machinery” Otis and Tucker vs. “The Revival” Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. Otis brought his ham gift to ringside and left it with the broadcast team (what could possibly go wrong?). Cole hyped that the WWE year end awards would be issued on WWE Backstage next week. Heavy Machinery worked in Santa jackets and their regular gear. The Revival duo slammed Tucker onto the broadcast table. Dawson grabbed some cookies that were set up at ringside and shoved them in Otis’s mouth (oh the humanity!). The Revival slammed Otis from the apron through a table heading into a break. [C]
Dawson rolled a bowling ball down the ramp at Tucker while Dawson held him in place. A short time later, The Revival tossed Tucker onto the broadcast table and knocked the ham onto the floor in the process. “Don’t mess with a man’s ham,” Cole said. Otis got pissed and performed a fallaway slam on Wilder and sent him crashing into a Christmas tree next to the barricade. Otis set up a bunch of legos inside the ring. Otis slammed Dawson onto the legos. A short time later, Heavy Machinery performed their Compactor finish on Dawson and scored the pin…
Heavy Machinery beat The Revival in 12:15 in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight.
After the match, Otis ate some of the ham even though it had fallen onto the floor…
Backstage, Lacey Evans introduced a girl (presumably her daughter) to Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss, and Nikki Cross… [C]
Powell’s POV: Both teams worked harder than they should have for a silly sports entertainment holiday spectacle match. The live crowd had fun with it, but I was really hoping we’d avoid WWE Christmas campiness given that the show doesn’t actually air during Christmas week. No luck.
Backstage, Otis brought was was left of his ham backstage where Mandy Rose was talking with Sonya Deville. Sonya said she had to go because she had a match. Otis told Rose that he was sorry about the ham and shouldn’t have brought it out there. She told him it was okay and then hugged him. When she pulled away, she realized her dress was covered in his sweat…
The Revival stood in the ring and grumbled about gimmick matches. They wondered what happened to good old fashioned tag team wrestling (good question). Dawson said something about living in the world of sports entertainment.
Elias interrupted The Revival by strumming his guitar. Elias walked onto the stage and said he understood their frustrations and put them into a song. Elias sang that he let his grandmother watch one of their matches and now she’s on life support. He said they need to make a big change, kinda like Caitlyn Jenner. Elias wished them Merry Christmas and went backstage…
Sami Zayn approached Braun Strowman in his locker room. Zayn told him that he drew his name for the Secret Santa and asked him what he would like. Strowman complained that Zayn buried the holidays and everything to do with the spirit of Christmas. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro showed up and asked if there was a problem. Strowman said that if Zayn really wants to give him what he wants to Christmas then he’d give him a shot at Shinsuke Nakamura’s Intercontinental Championship. Zayn said they couldn’t do it because Nakamura and Cesaro were booked in a tag team match…
Carmella made her entrance heading into a break… [C]
2. Carmella vs. Sonya Deville. Deville’s entrance was also televised. Carmella applied the Code of Silence and won via submission…
Carmella defeated Sonya Deville in 1:30.
New Day’s made their entrance shortly after the women’s match. Carmella met them on the stage and danced with them heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: What’s there to say about a throwaway 90-second match?
A Sheamus vignette aired. He said things didn’t change for the good when he left Smackdown. He said the soul went with him and all that were left were cowards, crybabies, and the misbegotten. He said the once great warriors became soft and small. Shemaus said he’s back and he’s ready to do battle for the soul of Smackdown…
Powell’s POV: With Sheamus making a “small” reference, one has to assume that means he’ll be feuding with Shorty G. It’s too bad because someone really does need to fight for the soul of this brand.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro made their entrances…
[Hour Two] 3. Smackdown Tag Champions Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro (w/Sami Zayn) in a non-title match. Big E was isolated by the heels heading into a break. [C] Cesaro performed a Swing on Kingston and then performed a double stomp for a near fall. Kingston caught Cesaro in an inside cradle and pinned him.
Big E and Kofi Kingston beat Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in 12:05 in a non-title match.
Zayn got involved in the post match beatdown. Braun Strowman came out and worked over the heels. Zayn saved Nakamura from taking a powerslam from Strowman…
Powell’s POV: A well worked match and the highlight of the show thus far. That said, if they were going to give New Day the win then why not just make this a title match?
Backstage, Miz thanked Daniel Bryan for saving him from Wyatt smashing his head in at WWE TLC. Bryan said he did it for himself. Miz was about to walk away when Bryan stopped him and told him that he was sorry about what Wyatt did to his family. They got into a debate over which one of them disliked the other more. Miz said they had to work together against Ziggler and Corbin. “After that, Bray Wyatt is mine,” Miz said…
Bayley and Sasha Banks made their entrance for Bayley’s non-title match… [C]
4. Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley (w/Sasha Banks) vs. Dana Brooke in a non-title match. Brooke’s entrance was televised and the reaction to her was flat. Brooke performed a top rope senton on Bayley and had the pin, but Bayley grabbed the bottom rope to break the count. Brooke performed her usual handspring elbow, the followed up with a cartwheel into a splash for a near fall. Bayley caught Brooke charging in the corner and pressed her into the corner where Brooke appeared to sell it like her head hit the ring post. Bayley slammed Brooke’s face into the mat and pinned her.
Bayley beat Dana Brooke in 4:10 in a non-title match.
After the match, Bayley and Banks taunted Brooke until Lacey Evans made her entrance and ran them off. Evans took the mic and asked Sasha where she was going. Evans said Banks calls herself a legit boss and instead looks like a legit bully. Evans said she was raised to never let a bully win. Evans challenged Banks to a match and said she would make her a legit loser… [C]
Recently retired MLB pitcher CC Sabathia was shown in the crowd…
5. Lacey Evans (w/Dana Brooke) vs. Sasha Banks (w/Bayley). The women fought to ringside in front of Evans’ husband and daughter. Banks worked over Evans and both women were counted out. The daughter made an angry face and reached out to go after Banks. Evans snapped and went threw Banks into the barricade. Brooke pulled Evans back…
Lacey Evans fought Sasha Banks to a double count-out in roughly 5:00.
Separate shots aired of Bryan and The Miz in different parts of the backstage area… [C]
Powell’s POV: Why would Brooke hold Evans back, especially after the heels had just taunted her after the previous match? More importantly, Lacey’s daughter’s angry face was adorable and hilarious.
All four wrestlers in the tag team main event received separate introductions… [C]
6. Daniel Bryan and The Miz vs. King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. Bryan and Miz performed stereo kicks on the heels. Bryan went to the ropes and led yes chants going into a break a minute into the match. [C] The Miz put Ziggler in a figure four. Corbin tried to break it up, but Bryan hit Corbin with running knees in the corner. Miz arched into a Figure Eight and got the submission win…
Daniel Bryan and The Miz defeated King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler in 10:30.
After the match, Cole hyped Bryan vs. The Miz vs. King Corbin in a Triple Threat for next week with the winner earning a shot at Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. The lighting changed and the Bray Wyatt laugh track played to close the show, which went off the air a couple minutes before the top of the hour…
Powell’s POV: Given the Triple Threat that was announced for next week, Ziggler was the obvious person to lose this match. My guess is that Bryan will be in the title match unless the plan is for him to win the Royal Rumble match. I don’t think the creative forces want to risk the possibility of the fans turning on the Rumble match if Bryan enters and doesn’t win. The main event was solid. And there were elements of this show that were decent, but this felt like the type of show that was fine if you saw it and fine if you didn’t. And that’s fine for a holiday season episode. The problem is that Smackdown has felt that way nearly every week since the premiere on Fox. I will have more to say about this episode in my same night audio review for Dot Net Members. Let me know what you thought of Smackdown by grading it in our weekly post show review. Thanks for watching along with me. Have a great weekend and enjoy the holidays.
“That said, if they were going to give New Day the win then why not just make this a title match?”
You constantly bitch about WWE being predictable about having champions lose non title matches and then, when they win one, bitch about the champs going over even though it was non title.
Pick a freaking side.
I didn’t complain about the champions winning. But why not bill it as a title match, especially when you had another non-title match coming up with Bayley and Brooke? They advertised two non-title matches. That’s it. Yawn.
I think he’s just saying add a “hook” to the match, to hype it. I mean the Revival should be credible enough to believably win the tag titles, if they weren’t so horribly mishandled. Unfortunately, pancakes, ham, or any other type of food isn’t part of their act, so they’re fodder.
My bad, got the teams crossed up. That’s how utterly forgettable this show is though 30 seconds after reading the review.