SmackDown: December 12, 2014

John Cena and Seth Rollins table their discussion

COLUMBUS, Ga. — On the final stop before WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs … and Stairs, SmackDown became extremely volatile as a slew of Superstars and Divas fought for pay-per-view momentum, using every physical and psychological means at their disposal. 

John Cena and Seth Rollins have one final face-off before their Tables Match on Sunday.

Before 15-time World Champion John Cena could properly kick off SmackDown, Seth Rollins interrupted, making it clear to his imminent Tables Match opponent that his time was up while the “Future of WWE’s” time was, in fact, now.

A war of words | Full WWE: TLC coverage

As the war of words rose to a fever pitch, an intense Cenation leader made it known that, after Sunday’s pay-per-view showdown, the only thing Rollins would realize was that he just wasn’t ready.

The Usos def. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

The Usos collide with the newly formed tag team of Cesaro & Tyson Kidd.

In recent weeks, tensions have been extremely high between WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & Damien Mizdow and their  WWE TLC No. 1 contenders The Usos — over Miz’s recent interactions with Jimmy’s wife Naomi. In the shadow of that turmoil, the Samoan warriors earned a hard-fought SmackDown victory over Cesaro & Tyson Kidd with the Samoan Splash.

While the win was impressive, perhaps the more notable moment came when Miz and his stunt double made an early departure from the announce table to speak to Naomi about an apparent negative phone call from The A-lister’s agent. Click here to find out how that conversation played out as well as Naomi’s later conversation with Jimmy Uso.

Nikki Bella def. Alicia Fox

AJ Lee stops by the announcer's table while Alicia Fox faces off with Nikki Bella.

Ready to battle AJ Lee for her title at WWE TLC, Divas Champion Nikki Bella took on Alicia Fox on SmackDown. With her Slammy Award–winning Diva of the Year adversary looking on, Nikki overcame her opponent with the Rack Attack. She then delivered a post-match encore of the finishing maneuver to send a definitive message to AJ.

Nikki's Rack Attack statement

The New Day’s Big E def. Goldust

Big E steps inside the SmackDown ring with the bizarre Goldust.

With Stardust standing on the SmackDown announce table, the “Muscle of The New Day”  Big E overcame Goldust with the Big Ending. Will that be the final result when  Big E & Kofi Kingston go head-to-head with Gold & Stardust this Sunday on the WWE TLC Kickoff show?

Jack Swagger def. Titus O’Neil

"The Real American" Jack Swagger goes one-on-one with "The Real Deal" Titus O'Neil.

After Jack Swagger made Titus O’Neil tap out to the Patriot Lock, a  surprise Russian flag dropped in on his post-match celebration. While The Real American attempted to grasp what was happening, his WWE  TLC opponent Rusev — flanked by Lana — emerged to raise his United States Championship high in the air.

Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan def. Big Show, Kane & Luke Harper

Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan face the trio of Big Show, Kane & Luke Harper in the main event of SmackDown.

After being left in a pile of destruction on Raw, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan fired back at their WWE TLC opponents in  Six-Man Tag Team action on SmackDown’s main event. As chaos completely broke down in the match’s final moments, Ryback ultimately reigned supreme over Luke Harper with Shell Shocked.

WWE TLC:  Big Show vs. Rowan |  Ryback vs. Kane | Ziggler vs. Harper

But the action was just getting started. For in a post-match free-for-all, Ziggler and Rowan cleared house with a ladder battering ram as The Big Guy blasted his prey with a chair. The Showoff then leaped onto all three of their adversaries from the top of the ladder out into the ringside floor.