SAN ANTONIO – SmackDown rang in the holiday spirit in volatile fashion, as unforeseen mayhem forced CM Punk & John Cena to battle The Shield in a Handicap Match, Tons of Funk looked to flatten each other and WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Goldust faced their own mortality against the creepy Wyatt Family.
In his first SmackDown as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton addressed the controversial ending to his Raw showdown with Daniel Bryan and his post-match RKO on John Cena with one overall message: “I am the Champion of Champions and I just don’t give a damn.”
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When the former World Champion entered the Friday night fray, Cena asked The Viper whether he wanted to be remembered as the Champion of Champions or the guy that took the easy way out against Bryan on Raw. The Beard, for his part, labeled Orton a coward who didn’t deserve his illustrious title, but was reassured that once Cena beat Orton in their inevitable rematch, he would finally get a fair title opportunity.
When Bryan used the WWE Universe to prove Orton wasn’t the Face of WWE, The Shield emerged to take issue. But The Hounds of Justice were stopped in their tracks as CM Punk joined the opposition. SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero then came forth, speaking for The Authority when she made a Six-Man Tag Team Match between the forces.
Prior to Jack Swagger’s showdown against reigning Intercontinental Champion Big E Langston, Zeb Colter held up a sign that called for the deportation of Santa Claus. The outspoken Founding Father then took a front row seat for the action alongside the SmackDown announce team.
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In the heated match that followed – just four days after Mark Henry & Big E defeated The Real Americans on Monday’s Raw – The World’s Strongest Man took out a meddling Antonio Cesaro outside the ring. This paved the way for Big E to score another huge victory over Jack Swagger with the Big Ending.
With Divas Champion AJ Lee sitting in on commentary, Tamina Snuka took on a determined Brie Bella, who was eager to get retribution on the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Snuka for delivering a fevered kick to Nikki Bella during a Raw Six-Divas Tag Team Match.
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And after lifting her knees to counter Tamina’s devastating Snuka Splash, Brie turned her powerful adversary’s world upside down with a quick pinfall. The “Total Diva” then followed up on her win by shoving AJ to the ringside floor.
The high-flying Sin Cara took his game to a new level, dropping in on 3MB’s Drew McIntyre from the top rope for another high-octane triumph.
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After Brodus Clay attacked his Tons of Funk partner, Tensai, during a tag match on Monday’s Raw, the two goliaths went to war on SmackDown.
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In the midst of the action, Xavier Woods and The Funkadactyls danced their way onto the top of the ramp, allowing Sweet T to roll up big Brodus for the three-count. Then, when the furious Funkasaurus attacked Tensai after the bell, Woods entered the fray and sent Mr. Clay packing.
To the delight of the crowd, Naomi, Cameron, Tensai and Woods celebrated with a Funky victory dance.
Back in October, it was the Rhodes brothers who handed The Wyatt Family’s Erick Rowan & Luke Harper a rare loss in WWE.
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Months later, dark vengeance would have its day. Despite the resilient champions doing everything they could, a non-title match of utter devastation by the Wyatt disciples culminated with a vicious clothesline from Harper for the monumental victory.
However, when Bray Wyatt looked to instill further punishment on the titleholders, Daniel Bryan emerged with a chair to clear the ring of all things creepy.
Before his match against The Miz, Damien Sandow laid out his own brand of Bah! Humbug!, explaining to the WWE Universe why none of them deserved Christmas and vowing to personally cancel the holiday on Monday’s Raw. Miz took issue en route to their impending clash, claiming that The Intellectual Savior of the Masses wasn’t fit to hold Santa’s sack.
Moments after Sandow reached the ropes to force The Awesome One to break the Figure Four Leg Lock in the height of the match that followed, The Enlightened One used Miz’s tights to pick up the quick three-count on the former WWE Champion.
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Despite the fierce offense of Kofi Kingston, Fandango ultimately danced his way into the victory lane, tripping up Kofi on the apron before taking him down with a leg drop off the top rope.
As Renee Young attempted to get a few words from Daniel Bryan in the back, The Beard found himself suddenly surrounded by The Wyatt Family, who proceeded to deliver a crushing assault on the former titleholder.
With Bryan now out, Vickie Guerrero forced Punk & Cena to take on The Shield at the disadvantage. However, their hard-fought efforts in the main event slugfest proved futile once The Hounds of Justice refused to relent in their 3-on-1 assault, ultimately drawing the disqualification.
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As The Shield continued their punishment of the decorated opposition in the aftermath – including a Spear and Triple Powerbomb on Cena – Intercontinental Champion Big E Langston emerged to turn back the Hounds singlehandedly! This spawned a heated stare down and a near collision between Langston and a fuming Reigns that sent the WWE Universe to Christmas week in absolutely chaotic style.