Precap to the Dec. 28, 2012 episode of WWE 'SmackDown', or to smackdown is human

Show! Sheamus! Ziggler! AJ! Big E! Cena?? World Heavyweight Championship! Money in the Bank! Holding Pattern! Final Descent!

My dear Cagesiders, I don't have to remind you, that this time of year is always tough for WWE fans. The road to WrestleMania 29 can't begin until we turn the corner into 2013. Then we have Royal Rumble on Jan. 27, Elimination Chamber on Feb. 13, and then finally "The Granddaddy of Them All" goes down on April 7.

When The Rock returns on the Jan. 7 episode of Monday Night Raw, we will have three straight months of action and legitimate plot advancements. As you can probably tell from looking at your calendar, though, we are not yet at that point.

We are in a weird place where nothing is allowed to happen, yet the show must go on each week. Angles cannot move forward, but content has to be produced and televised.

I, for one, throughly enjoyed the Christmas Eve edition of Raw, but there is only so much campy shenanigans WWE can use. What is left for the promotion to do?

Is Alberto Del Rio planning to steal Baby New Year next week? Because if he is, that would be kind of awesome.

WWE, and SmackDown in particular, is simply spinning its own wheels waiting for something to happen. The Big Show and Sheamus continue to feud, but it has yet to be determined if the World Heavyweight Championship is up for grabs. Show is 2-1 in the last three Pay-Per-Views (PPV's), with the one loss being a disqualification.

While I understand that there is still animosity between the two parties, and all that jazz, but Show has won this feud in about as clean of a sweep as possible. To continue having these two butting heads is just absolute overkill.

Dolph Ziggler has now surrounded himself with the lovely AJ Lee and the imposing Big E Langston. I'm a sucker for a good heel stable, and this is about as good as it gets; a young and charismatic leader, a female companion who can hold her own, and a monster of a bodyguard. Honestly, they are just missing the wily veteran to complete the archetype.

Maybe down the road another member will be added to the crew?

As it stands, though, Ziggler is still holding the Money in the Bank briefcase. It is good for 365 days after July 15's Money in the Bank 2012. That means we have another 200 days before Ziggler has to cash in. The way WWE has positioned him, the cash in could come at any moment. It could come tonight (hint: it's not coming tonight). It could come next week. It could come at Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 29.

Hell, I wouldn't put it past WWE to have him cash in at the last possible moment. July 15 falls on a Monday this year. I'm not saying that is what will happen, but it is certainly worth pointing out.

If Ziggler and Co. aren't going after the World Heavyweight Championship, what exactly will they be doing? AJ still seems hung up on John Cena, and if last Monday's actions were any indication, that angle will not be fading into the background.

However, with WWE's biggest season coming up, it doesn't really make sense for Cena to be so far down the card. I truly wonder how these parties will split with everyone looking strong. It is one thing for Cena to close out last year's Elimination Chamber AA'ing Kane off of an ambulance. It is quite another if he goes over a future World Heavyweight Champion clean.

As previously stated, SmackDown is in an odd position. Things will start making a lot more sense in the coming weeks. Right now, though, it will be more of the same. At the very least, hopefully we get a few good matches and segments to keep us entertained until then.

Hopefully, this has prepared you for the night's festivities. Leave a comment below about what you are looking forward to, and please join myself and the entire CSS Friday night gang in the live blog right here.