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WWE SMACKDOWN TV REPORT
DECEMBER 10, 2021
LOS ANGELES, CA AT STAPLES CENTER
AIRED ON FOX
REPORT BY ALEX McDONALD, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
[HOUR ONE]
-The show opened with a crowd shot. Michael Cole said that WWE goes Hollywood tonight. Pat McAfee called it the city of angels and stars. Sami Zayn’s music hit and he made his entrance. He was wheeled onto the stage in a wheelchair by two male nurses. Zayn was wearing a neck brace and a boot on his foot. Cole threw to a video package that recapped last week’s Smackdown segments featuring Zayn and Brock Lesnar. After the recap, Zayn was in mid-ring with the mic. He said his name is Sami Zayn and he is the toughest man in WWE history. He said it took the two most dominant athletes in WWE history to put him in the wheelchair. Zayn said it was weird that two guys who can’t stand each other, worked together to make sure he wouldn’t become Universal Champion. He said he’s not going to call it a conspiracy. Zayn said Lesnar’s betrayal is what hurt the most, and he now has to sue. He said he’s going to sue Adam Pearce, Sonya Deville, the referee, Roman Reigns, Lesnar, and Paul Heyman. He said he’s going to sue anyone that had anything to do with him not winning the Universal title. Paul Heyman appeared. He said he’s sorry everyone had to listen to Zayn. Heyman said that Zayn is doing “his” people’s schtick. He said that his name is Paul Heyman. Zayn cut him off, and he told Heyman to get out of the way because he’s blocking his shot. Heyman continued and called himself the counsel for Reigns. Zayn stood up and told Heyman he wasn’t done talking. Zayn said Reigns isn’t here. Heyman said Reigns is in Samoa training for Day One. Zayn told Heyman that he is a world class athlete and he will rip Heyman’s head off. Zayn said there is no one to save Heyman. Lesnar’s music hit and he made his entrance wearing overalls. McAfee said Lesnar is fresh off the farm.
-Lesnar picked up a chair at ringside and slammed it on the announce table. Cole said Lesnar is in a mood tonight. Lesnar entered the ring and set up the chair. McAfee told Zayn to wheel his ass out of there. Lesnar approached Heyman and asked for the microphone. The crowd chanted “Suplex City”. Lesnar sat in the chair and asked Zayn how he was doing. Zayn said not great. Lesnar listed Zayn’s injuries and said male nurses. Zayn told Lesnar to shut his mouth. Lesnar apologized, then asked Zayn on a scale of one to ten, how bad it hurt. Zayn said the physical pain is a ten, but his feelings, are a twenty. Lesnar asked Zayn if he thought he could have beaten Reigns by himself. Lesnar said he did Zayn a favor because he was never going to beat Reigns. Zayn asked if Lesnar injured him on purpose, so that Reigns’ win wouldn’t count. Lesnar said Zayn is smart, then asked what part of Canada he’s from. Zayn responded with Montreal. Lesnar spoke some French to Zayn. Lesnar invited Zayn to go hunting and fishing. Zayn said he was vegan. Lesnar said they should get out of Hollywood and go do something more fun. Lesnar wheeled Zayn towards the ropes. Heyman asked what he was looking at, He said he spent too much time at the dispensary and the edibles are kicking in. He then said three years ago that would have been a ticket to Suplex City, but now he’s watching Canadian best friends. Heyman went into his usual Lesnar hype speech. Lesnar snapped and attacked the male nurses. Lesnar then went after Zayn and tossed the wheelchair out of the ring. Lesnar then hit an F-5 on Zayn. Cole hyped the match between Lesnar and Reigns at Day One.
-They cut to a graphic of the New Day vs. RK-Bro vs. The Usos later on. Cole said it will decide who the best team in WWE today is. Lesnar stood at the top of the ramp and Cole said that Kayla Braxton will attempt to speak with Lesnar, next. [c]
(McDonald’s Analysis: Well, that’s interesting. First off, Lesnar without Reigns is very strange. But it’s different. I wonder how Reigns will react to what Heyman did here. Also, Lesnar did, kind of, save Heyman. I hope they go back to that dynamic and don’t just drop it completely after what happened at Crown Jewel. Lesnar was great on the mic here. I like him as a face. He seemed much more comfortable this week than last. He and Zayn are great together. I’d be all for more of that moving forward. I’m disappointed that Reigns won’t be on the show tonight, but we have three weeks until Day One, so they have some time to build this. On a separate note, as a figure collector, I really hope Mattel can crank out a figure of Brock in the overalls. I would love one of those.)
-Lesnar walked in the back. Kayla stopped him and asked why he came to ringside. Lesnar told her to ask his advocate, Paul Heyman.
(McDonald’s Analysis: There we go. Is this a game of cat and mouse? Are Heyman and Lesnar aligned? How will Heyman react to this? How will Reigns react to this? The small quick comments are perfect to make us wonder.)
-Los Lotharios were in the ring with their music playing. Rick Boogs appeared on the stage and introduced Shinsuke Nakamura.
(1) RICK BOOGS & SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. LOS LOTHARIOS (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo)
Carrillo started against Boogs. Boogs attacked Carrillo and quickly took him down. Boogs lifted Garza into the ring also. Boogs press slammed Garza over the top rope to the floor. Carrillo attacked Boogs from behind and took him down. Boogs fought out and lifted Carrillo by both arms, then spun him around and dropped him. Boogs tagged in Nakamura who kicked Carrillo and pinned him for the win.
WINNER: RICK BOOGS & SHINSUKE NAKAMURA in 1:00
-In the back, the Viking Raiders, Kofi Kingston, and a couple of 24/7 guys were crowded around a pile of purple robes. One of the Viking Raiders tried to touch it, but Kingston slapped him and said not yet. The bottom said Woods Crowning Ceremony. [c]
(McDonald’s Analysis: Why would Cole mention that Los Lotharios were undefeated since coming to Smackdown if they were going to get squashed in a minute? I like Boogs and his power moves, but I would rather see him in a longer match to see how much he can actually do. I had high hopes for Lotharios, but I’m starting to lose some of that hope after this. With that said, WWE could have them be dominant for a month after this and it’ll be like it never happened. Yet another week with no Intercontinental Championship defense. Where is Jack Tunney? Why does no one care that this guy hasn’t defended his title in months?)
-Back from break, they showed cartoon graphics hyping the tag team triple threat later tonight. Kingston was shown in the back with his “crew”. Xavier Woods joined. Kingston unveiled a new crown, adorned with an “X”. Woods put the crown on, then spoke in “old” English, then led the crew in a “huzzah” chant. Back in the arena, Cole and McAfee were ringside. They threw to a video package that recapped Drew McIntyre being excluded from the battle royal.
-Drew McIntyre appeared in Adam Pearce’s office with his sword. McIntyre said Pearce is the reason he wasn’t in the battle royal. Pearce said that Deville said it was a higher authority. Pearce said the higher authority also said that McIntyre wasn’t allowed to take the sword to the ring tonight. McIntyre raised the sword and stabbed it into Pearce’s desk.
-Sheamus made his entrance. They showed Cesaro watching on a monitor in the back. They showed a graphic for McIntyre vs. Sheamus, next. [c]
-They showed a graphic for Charlotte Flair vs. Toni Storm later. They showed Storm in the back. Sasha Banks approached her. Banks said she was proud of Storm for getting back at Flair last week. Banks said when Storm beats Charlotte tonight it will be Toni time.
-McIntyre made his entrance to a great pop. They showed Pearce in the back trying to get the sword out of his desk. McIntyre grabbed Sheamus’ shillelagh and tossed it to the outside.
(2) SHEAMUS vs. DREW McINTYRE
Both men went right after each other with stiff shots. McIntyre got the upper hand with a couple of chops, but Sheamus recovered. Sheamus went for the Ten Beats, but McIntyre caught him, and delivered an elbow. McIntyre went for the Ten Beats himself, but Sheamus recovered with a stunner on the top rope. Sheamus hit the Ten Beats finally and knocked McIntyre to the floor. Sheamus followed him out, but McIntyre recovered and hit a belly to belly as they cut to break. [c]
Sheamus set up McIntyre for an Alabama Slam, but McIntyre rolled through. Sheamus then hit an Irish Curse for a near fall. Sheamus stayed on the attack but McIntyre recovered an hit a Future Shock DDT. McIntyre measured Sheamus for a Claymore and did the countdown, but Sheamus caught McIntyre with a knee coming in for a near fall. Good timing there. Sheamus taunted and went for the Brogue Kick, but McIntyre rolled him up for a near fall. They traded headbutts, then McIntyre hit a Claymore out of nowhere for the win.
WINNER: DREW McINTYRE in 7:00
(McDonald’s Analysis: These two always have great, hard hitting, realistic looking matches. With that said, why are we having them wrestle for no reason? And a whole seven minutes? I get that we’ve seen it a bunch of times, but these two could have another feud and have a great match that means something on PPV. Instead, we get throwaways. I wonder what happens with McIntyre now that his partnership with Jeff Hardy is off the table. I hope they find a real feud for him soon. He’s too good to have nothing to do. I feel the same way about Sheamus. These two guys should be the backbone of Smackdown around Reigns.)
-Mad Cap Moss and Happy Corbin were in Pearce’s office. They rolled Pearce’s desk with McIntyre’s sword in it out of the room. Back in the arena, Cole mentioned the passing of Blackjack Lanza and threw to a video package that celebrated his career.
-Naomi made her entrance and the announcers hyped her match against Sonya Deville, next. [c]
-Back from break, they showed the cartoon graphics for the triple threat tag team match again. Cole mentioned a poll on Twitter about the three teams.
-Heyman was in the back and Kayla approached him. Heyman told her to stop doing that. Kayla said that Lesnar told her to ask Heyman why Lesnar was at ringside earlier. Kayla asked Heyman if he was the advocate for Lesnar. Heyman told her to stop doing that, too. Kayla asked how Heyman thought Reigns was going to react. Heyman looked around, he seemed concerned, then stared at Kayla and walked off.
(McDonald’s Analysis: Heyman was great here. I love that Kayla just asks him the questions that viewers want the answers to. I love that Heyman knows Kayla is a good interviewer, but still won’t answer her. His facial expression after Kayla mentioned Reigns was awesome. It was almost as if Heyman forgot Reigns watches the show.)
-They showed a recap of the Deville-Naomi feud over the past several weeks.
[HOUR TWO]
-Naomi was in mid-ring and she had the mic. She told Deville to “take off the suit, Cruella, and come get this glow.” Deville’s music hit and she made her entrance. This time in new gear. Very sleek looking. Deville took the mic. Deville introduced the guest ring announcer, Natalya. Then Deville introduced the guest timekeeper Shayna Baszler. Naomi left the ting and attacked Baszler. Natalya then leapt on the apron and Naomi took her out with a kick. Deville rolled out of the ring and rallied Baszler and Natalya. Baszler, Natalya, and Deville surrounded Naomi. The lights flickered, then Xia Li made her entrance, complete with lightning and glow circles. Li entered the ring alongside Naomi and they attacked. Li went after Natalya, then helped Naomi take out Baszler. Naomi and Deville went face to face. Naomi and Li took down Deville. Baszler and Natalya pulled Deville out of the ring before Naomi could finish her off.
(McDonald’s Analysis: Well, we didn’t get a payoff, which is what I expected. This was more than I thought we would get though. I know I’m going to get some heat for saying this, but the Xia Li entrance was really cool. It reminded me of a cross between Mortal Kombat and the sorcerers from Doctor Strange. This was a different way to debut her and it makes sense with the story they’ve been telling in the vignettes. I hope they find some local women for her to destroy in the coming weeks. I wonder how long it’ll be before Asuka shows up on Smackdown and they become a tag team because WWE doesn’t know what to do with either one of them.)
-They cut to Matt Riddle and Randy Orton in the back. Riddle told Orton he had to meet his friends. Riddle introduced Orton to the cast of Jackass Forever. The Jackass guys did their schtick. Riddle asked Orton if he had anything to say. Orton said no and walked off. Riddle joked with the Jackass guys as they cut back to the arena.
-Charlotte Flair made her entrance. Cole said that Charlotte calls herself the opportunity and she is providing a large opportunity for Toni Storm tonight. McAfee said that Storm seized the opportunity. They showed the graphic for Charlotte and Storm, next. [c]
-Back from break, they showed a recap of the pie incidents between Charlotte and Storm from the past two weeks. Storm made her entrance.
(3) CHARLOTTE FLAIR vs. TONI STORM
Charlotte took down Storm right away. Storm recovered and took Charlotte down in the corner. Storm got a waistlock, but Charlotte elbowed out. Storm hit a running crossbody for a near fall. Storm hit some European uppercuts, but Charlotte recovered with a big boot. Charlotte went to the top for a moonsault and missed, landed on her feet, and botched the standing moonsault. Never touched her. Charlotte attacked Storm’s legs and went for a Figure Eight, but Storm rolled her up for a near fall. Storm then hit a German suplex for another near fall. The crowd chanted “let’s go Toni”. Charlotte recovered and slammed Storm’s shoulder into the ring post then pulled her to the apron. Charlotte forced Storm down into the corner on the apron, then stomped her repeatedly into the ringpost. The ref warned Charlotte. Charlotte ignored him and continued. The ref called for the bell and disqualified Charlotte.
WINNER: TONI STORM by DQ in 5:00
(McDonald’s Analysis: Well, Storm didn’t look terrible, but it’s not like they gave her any time to shine either. This finish was fine for what it was. I assume the thought process is that Storm is in Charlotte’s head and caused her to lose her cool and destroy Storm? Either way, this feud is far from over. I wish they had given them a little more time and been a little more creative with the finish. Unfortunately, this is what we’re going to get because WWE books matches like this with no intention of giving us a real finish. The Storm character needs a lot of work, but she’s solid in the ring. They should use that to their advantage. I hope these two have a great match at Day One, because they’re certainly capable of it.)
-Charlotte took Storm back into the ring and stood over her. They cut to Cole and McAfee at ringside. They showed a recap of the first segment of the night involving Lesnar, Heyman, and Zayn.
-The Usos music hit and they made their entrance to a solid pop. They showed the graphic for the triple threat match once again. [c]
-Adam Pearce was in the back. Lesnar approached. Pearce dropped his pad and pen. Lesnar asked if Pearce remembered the suspension and the million dollar fine. Lesnar said he never got a chance to thank Pearce. He said he heard his fine went to charity, so he thanks Pearce for that. Lesnar said he also appreciated the time off as he went hunting and caught a two thousand pound moose. Lesnar showed Pearce pictures on his 2005 flip phone. Lesnar said he couldn’t figure out the phone and snapped it in half. Lesnar talked about gutting the moose. He said that he named the moose after Pearce and hung it on his wall so that he can remember that he got the time off to enjoy his favorite passtime, moose hunting. He patted Pearce on the shoulder and walked away.
(McDonald’s Analysis: Lesnar has been gold tonight. The bit here with the phone was great because Lesnar seems like the kind of person who would have an old phone he doesn’t know how to use. The part about appreciating the time off was also good stuff. Pearce was solid here with his facial expressions during Lesnar’s explanation of gutting the moose. You can tell Lesnar is having a great time being this face character, and for the most part, it all comes across as very genuine. Like this is actually what I think/thought Lesnar was like in real life. We need more of this. It’s a shame we can’t have this and Reigns being Reigns on the same show every week. It would be easier to forget about some of the garbage they surround these two with.)
-The Usos were in mid-ring, they said they don’t care about Woods’ new crown or RK-Bro walking around backstage. They said they only care about getting the win tonight and getting the win at Day One, because they are the Bloodline, they run this show, and they are the ones.
-New Day’s music hit and they made their entrance to a decent reaction. They showed the “who is the best tag team” graphic again. Cole said we are going to get the results of the Twitter poll. McAfee said this is a PPV main event on a Friday. [c]
-RK-Bro made their entrance. They won the Twitter poll. I know, you’re as shocked as I am.
(5) RK-BRO (Randy Orton & Matt Riddle) vs. THE USOS (Jey & Jimmy) vs. THE NEW DAY (Kofi Kingston & King Xavier Woods)
Riddle started with Kingston. Riddle went for an armbar, but Kingston rolled out. Kingston hit a dropkick from the second rope then tagged in Woods. The New Day hit a double team move and Woods covered Riddle for a near fall. Riddle fought back and punched at Woods, but Woods recovered and hit a sliding faceplant on Riddle for a near fall. Riddle fought back with forearms, but Woods recovered with a knee. Riddle hit a knee of his own and Jey Uso tagged in on the back of Woods. The Usos knocked all four other competitors to the floor then dove over the top rope and took everyone out as they cut to break. [c]
Back from break, Woods took down Jey with a spinning forearm. Woods tagged in Kingston who hit a crossbody off the top for a near fall. Kingston locked on an armbar and tagged in Riddle. Riddle hit a kick then a deadlift suplex on Jey for a near fall. Riddle whipped Jey off the ropes, Jimmy tagged in and grabbed Riddle. Orton tried to enter the ring but the ref intervened. The Usos double teamed Riddle as the ref was distracted. The crowd chanted “bro, bro” and “Randy, Randy” as the Usos pounded on Riddle. They hit another double team move, then raised the fingers to the crowd. Jey stalked Riddle, then locked on a rear chinlock. Riddle fought back up and reached for Orton, but Jey turned Riddle around and back into the Usos corner. Jey taunted Orton as he measured Riddle in the corner. Jey went for a splash, but Riddle moved. Riddle started to move toward Orton, but Jey grabbed him. Riddle kicked Jey off, but Jimmy ran around the outside of the ring and pulled Orton off the apron as Riddle went for the tag. Jey hit a pop-up neckbreaker as they cut to break. [c]
Riddle fought out of the Usos corner. Riddle hit a variation of the GTS on Jey. Woods tagged in and the New Day double teamed Riddle. Woods stayed on Riddle as the crowd chanted “Randy”. Woods hit a suplex for a near fall. Woods then put Riddle in a rear chinlock. The crowd chanted “we want Randy”. Woods hit an elbow and got another near fall. Riddle and Woods traded chops, then Woods kicked Riddle in the knee and took him down. Woods tagged in Kingston and Riddle fought back. Riddle took out Woods, then hit a bicycle kick on Kingston. Riddle finally tagged in Orton and Orton hit slams on both Usos. Orton then went for a draping DDT on Jimmy, but Jimmy recovered. Orton went for Jey but Jey escaped. Kingston went after Orton, but Orton slammed Kingston on the announce table twice. Back in the ring, Orton got the upper hand on Jey. Jey recovered and hit a superkick on Orton, then went for a splash, but Orton moved. Woods blind-tagged Orton. Orton hit an RKO on Jimmy. Jey took Orton out with a superkick. The New Day hit a double team move on Jey and got the win.
WINNER: THE NEW DAY in 16:00
(McDonald’s Analysis: Good action, but a little long on the beatdown of Riddle. For as good as Riddle is in the ring, they book him to get his ass kicked way too much. I didn’t expect the New Day to win, but I guess it makes sense. They need some wins heading into the PPV and they were the only team in the match without belts, so using WWE logic, that means they should win. For as much as the crowd cheered for Orton, you’d think they would have popped louder when he finally got tagged in. I wonder if they waited too long?)
-Cole proclaimed the New Day the best tag team in WWE “on this night”. The New Day celebrated as they cut a video package of Roman Reigns. They hyped Reigns’ return to Smackdown next week and ended the show with a graphic of Reigns.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Brock Lesnar show was a good show. The rest of the show wasn’t bad, but Lesnar was the star and his star shined brightly tonight. The new Lesnar is a great character who has layers. He’s funny, smart, and a dominant badass. I wish WWE had more characters even close to this. The most telling thing about this episode was the ending. The New Day gets a win, but they quickly cut to a video package of Roman Reigns and promise all of us he will be back next week. That tells you all you need to know. Also, I hate to complain about this, but can they at least bother to explain why RK-Bro are allowed to be on the show? Why? They are Raw wrestlers. Raw champions. No one challenged them to anything, it’s nor Survivor Series, they don’t have a feud going with any of these wrestlers. Why are they here? The mid-card is still a mess, but at least we got a good Sheamus-McIntyre match. I’ll never complain about those two wrestling each other. It’s always good, even if it’s been done over and over again. I really liked the Women’s Division tonight. I hope they have big plans for Xia Li and wrap up this Naomi-Deville thing soon. Storm and Charlotte have the potential to have a good match, but I don’t know if Storm can hold her own on the character side for this to be a real long term feud that sees her better off in the long term. Reigns is back next week. I can’t wait to see the interaction between him and Heyman. I would assume Lesnar will not be on next week, so I assume we’ll only see them face to face one time before the PPV, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
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