WWE Smackdown TV report - Sheamus & Orton vs. Cesaro & Show

By James Shannon: j_pats@hotmail.com

Randy Orton was the first man in a SmackDown ring for 2013. His new year's resolution is to be champion. He announced his entry in the Royal Rumble. Sheamus came down and said he planned on coming down to do the exact same thing, he too will be in the Rumble. He then thanked Orton for his help with the Shield on Raw. Orton said they attacked him a month ago, so he attacked them on Raw for himself. Orton said he would eliminate Sheamus from the Rumble and things got tense for a moment, before Big Show's music played.

He said if either of them managed to survive the Rumble, they won't get a shot at his belt, they will get a shot at his fist. His lines to start were awful, but he nailed the promo until being cut off by Antonio Cesaro.

Cesaro is like an adult sized kindergardener. Something about his slow delivery and expressive face. Cesaro crapped on America for a little but until Orton threatened to fight him. Booker came out booked these for a tag for later. Paint by numbers SmackDown.

Match Number One: The Miz Vs. Heath Slater w/ 3MB.

Miz has had issues with 3MB since he hosted them on MizTV during TLC. If you don't remember it, that was Del Rio's face turn.

3MB spent some time on the apron trying to interfere. Miz was the first to make use of it, poking Slater in the eye when the referee dealt with Jinder. The referee ended up sending 3MB to the back after Drew tripped Miz and Jinder got back on the apron. When 3MB were going up the aisle, Miz tried to roll up Slater as he protested, but he only got two.

Slater worked over Miz's arm after an adbreak. The match went a lot longer than I expected. There was a comeback by Miz before another prolonged working of the arm. Slater just kept cutting off Miz comebacks. Miz did have a cute spot where he would point to a specific group of fans who would then say “Awesome”, but for how long it took Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale (Which he did finally do after his running clothesline to the corner), and how many times he was cut off by Heath Slater, he hardly came out looking great.

Winner: The Miz, Pinfall.

Striker interviewed Barrett in the back, congratulating him on winning the IC title. Barrett cut him off and assured us that he would beat Kofi tonight, and Kingston would be out of options.

Match Number Two: The Great Khali, Hornswoggle & Natalya Vs. Rosa, Primo & Epico.

Natalya and Rosa started, but Rosa tagged out when Natalya looked for the Sharpshooter. Epico was the man tagged and they made it clear that there would be no intergender confrontation. Natalya had to tag someone, so she chose Kahli. Epico then blind tagged Primo and ran out.

Hornswoggle was tagged in after Khali took control and hit a pair of stunners on Primo & Epico. They then took over on Hornswoggle. They worked over Swoggle until he got a tag to Khali. He took out both Primo and Epico, winning by pinfall after a big chop.

Winners: The Great Khali, Hornswoggle & Natalya, Pinfall.

Striker now had Kofi backstage. He brought up Kofi beating Wade on MainEvent after losing his title on Raw. He said momentum meant nothing. Barrett got the best of him and his back was now against the wall. He said this was nothing new, his back had been against the wall his whole life. He said he may be running out of options, but Barrett would be running into Trouble in Paradise. One of Kofi's better interviews.

Match Number Three: Kofi Kingston Vs. Wade Barrett (c), IC Championship Match.

Kofi came out super aggressively. He chased Barrett outside when he tried to slow things down, and continued to work over Barrett. The match slowed down when Barrett gained control. Kofi did hit a dive to the outside though after pulling the top rope down as Barrett charged at him, sending Wade outside.

Barrett drove Kofi's back into the ring apron as Kofi tried to pull him into the ring. Barrett then took a knee by the announcers' table and told the ref to count him out because he was hurt. Kofi dragged Barrett back into the ring as the ref counted to 9.

They went to an adbreak and Barrett was back in control. Kofi knocked Barrett off the top rope as he tried for a superplex and hit his frog cross body on Barrett for a nearfall. He then got another nearfall with the SOS. He landed the Boom drop and called for Trouble in Paradise but Barrett avoided it. Barrett hit the Boss Man Slam for his own nearfall. It was the best looking move of the match. Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise as Barrett was looking for the Bull Hammer, but Barrett fell to the outside.

Kofi muscled Barrett inside but by the time he got on top he only got two. Barrett caught Kofi with his big elbow as Kofi looked for a reverse springboard for the pinfall. A fun mid-tier title match for SmackDown.

Winner: Wade Barrett, Pinfall.

Match Number Four: Layla Vs. Tamina.

Tamina bullied Layla around the ring to start. Layla tried a small package but Tamina went straight back to bullying and muscling Layla around. Tamina put her in a chin lock as Layla did the splits. Tamina caught Layla during a cross body, threw her up on her shoulders and hit a Samoan drop, before slowing going to the top rope and hitting the superfly splash for the clean pinfall.

Winner: Tamina, Pinfall.

Match Number Five: The Big Show (C) & Antonio Cesaro (c) Vs. Randy Orton & Sheamus.

Cesaro started with Sheamus. Show yelled insults at Sheamus from the apron. Sheamus eventually got on top and hesitantly tagged in Orton. They worked well as a team to start, tagging frequently. They cleared the ring together to send the match to an adbreak.

After the ad, Sheamus beat on Cesaro with his forearms in the ropes. Show managed to get a blind tag though and speared Sheamus to take over. He followed it up by standing on him and hitting a running elbow drop. Show called for the WMD but Sheamus ducked and hit the Brogue Kick. Both men were down but Show was right in his corner. Cesaro tagged Show but was met by the hot tag to Orton.

Cesaro avoided the draping DDT and Sheamus tagged himself in which frustrated Orton. Sheamus hit the White Noise on Cesaro to continue the comeback. Orton wasn't standing on the apron, as he was pacing on the floor figuring out what happened. Sheamus called for the Brogue Kick but just as he was about to run, Orton slipped in and hit the RKO. He then left the ring, motioning for Sheamus to go ahead and take the pinfall. Sheamus was cautious but did, getting the three.

Winners: Sheamus & Orton, Pinfall.

Orton and Sheamus kept their eyes locked for a while, but Orton walked up the ramp.

So the road to the Rumble has begun. I really liked the dynamic between Sheamus and Orton during the match. It was also nice that Cesaro was put in with these four and felt completely up to scratch.