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WWE SmackDown comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Dec. 25, 2020) with a show from the ThunderDome inside Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Advertised for tonight: Roman Reigns defends the Universal championship against Kevin Owens inside a steel cage, Sami Zayn defends the Intercontinental championship against Big E in a lumberjack match, Asuka and Charlotte Flair defend the women’s tag titles in a triple threat elimination match, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the SmackDown live blog kicks off once the show starts on FOX. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
NOTE: Spoilers are out there for this pre-taped broadcast (including here), but many Cagesiders don’t partake. If you are going to post or discuss spoilers for this show before they happen, do it in the spoiler post, or use the spoiler bar in your comment.
WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR DEC. 25
I’ll tie a knot in rainbow’s end, organize the breeze, light my candle from the sun. I’ll give you daylight for a friend, I’ll do all of these, I’ll prove that it can be done, and I’ll liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you too, folks.
The show opens, seven minutes late for some unconscionable football-related reason that almost gave me a panic attack, into the ThunderDome setup.
Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns (c) (WWE Universal Championship Steel Cage Match)
Right into Frye/Takayama punches, Reigns with headbutts in the corner, smashing Owens’ face into the turnbuckles, hammering him with more punches. Whip across, big boot, prowling after KO and throwing him into the steel cage wall! Samoan Drop for two, Roman calls for it but Kev ducks the Superman Punch and hits a DDT for some separation! Front kick into punches, overhead elbows, throwing Reigns into the steel!
Whip reversed, Owens with a big lariat into a senton! Boot up, KO sees it coming and unloads with punches and kicks in the corner to set up the cannonball! Owens draws him up for a punch, off the ropes, pop-up powerbomb countered with a guillotine leg drop... NO GOOD! Setting Kev up in the corner, jockeying for position, KO hits a frog splash... NO GOOD!
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Reigns with the sitout powerbomb... NOPE! Corner lariats to follow, both men slugging it out in the middle of the ring and this time KO gets the pop-up powerbomb... NOT ENOUGH! Shoulder thrusts into the corner, big slicing right as the Big Dog reasserts himself. Up in the turnbuckles, jockeying for position... KEVIN OWENS HITS THE AVALANCHE FISHERMAN BUSTER BUT ROMAN FINDS THE WILL TO KICK OUT!
Stunner blocked, Superman Punch connects... SO CLOSE! Throwing Owens into the steel again and again, punching away at him, guillotine choke applied in the ropes but KO manages to choke him back and get away! Both men slow to capitalize, but Kev hits the Stunner... AND REIGNS BARELY KICKS OUT AT THE LAST FRACTION OF A SECOND!
Back to break we go.
Back from commercial, Owens is trying to escape the cage and Reigns climbs after him. Kev knocks him down and gets to the top of the cage but Roman returns and cuts him off! KO knocks him down and hits a swanton but Reigns had the knees up! Spear... KEVIN OWENS KICKS OUT! Owens bleeding from the forehead, the Big Dog trying to figure out what he needs to do to keep him down.
Roman calls for the door but KO grabs his ankle to block! Owens smashes the door on Reigns and smashes his head into the chain link over and over again! Jey Uso comes down to close the door but Kev hits him with it and knocks him down! Roman manages to pull him back inside! Superkick connects, off the ropes, pop-up powerbomb countered into the Superman Punch! Spear sidestepped, Reigns eats cage and Owens hits a Stunner!
Kev crawling for the door but Uso handcuffs him to the cage! Owens tries to get his feet on the floor anyway but just can’t reach! Roman casually walks out the door while KO yells at him, calling him a bitch...
Roman Reigns wins by escaping the cage to retain the WWE Universal Championship.
Paul Heyman presents the Big Dog his title.
We see Asuka and Charlotte Flair walking backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Asuka and Charlotte Flair make their entrances and get on the mic to talk about being glad to be back as champions.
Bayley, Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, and Carmella all make their entrances in turn and cut quick promos about how they’re great. Banks and Carmella get into a shoving match and we go to break before the actual wrestling match begins.
Asuka & Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley & Carmella vs. Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Match)
Bayley and Charlotte to start, brawling away, Asuka with a quick tag and tandem strikes follow. Soon enough Carmella gets the tag and ducks a lariat to knock Banks off the apron. The Empress takes advantage and hits a running hip attack, boot up on the charge, Mella with the hanging figure four headscissors over the ropes! Banks tags in on Asuka and hits a Meteora and some strikes for two!
Passing Carmella into the corner, knees, tag to Belair and the Princess of Staten Island is on the back foot. Flair tags in and tests her strength against Bianca, double dropkick into stereo kip-ups! Float over an exploder suplex, put Charlotte into the turnbuckles, she sidesteps and puts Belair in as well! Bayley tags in and the match breaks down on the floor as she and her partner brawl with the champs!
Sasha hits a Meteora to the floor to take Flair out, Asuka with a hip attack on Belair, back inside, Bayley-to-Belly hits... ASUKA KICKS OUT AND WE GO TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, Bayley is choking Asuka over the ropes. Asuka springboards off a whip into a missile dropkick... NOPE! Tag made, Carmella with stomps, the Bronco Buster gets two, another tag as the heat segment rolls on. Keeping her tight in the corner, punching and choking, but the Empress gets the Alarm Clock knee off and tags out to Belair!
Bianca in with shoulder blocks, dropkick into a kip-up, shoulder thrusts in the corner running wild! Kicks in the corner, delayed vertical suplex with the squats... CARMELLA BREAKS IT UP! Banks in, Flair catches her with a fallaway slam but Belair hits a Glam Slam on the Queen! Bayley legal from behind, schoolboy for two! Bianca catches her with a spinebuster for two in return!
The Boss tags in and goes up top...
Bayley & Carmella are eliminated by pinfall with a frog splash from Sasha Banks.
Flair and Banks, tilt-a-whirl Bank Statement but Charlotte stands and breaks it! Leg pin, spinning toehold, reversed into a pin for two! Buzzsaw roundhouse connects, both women off the ropes, Flair with a big boot! Spinning toehold, figure four leglock, bridging back, Banks crawling, desperate for the tag and Belair throws her her braid as a lifeline for the tag!
Bianca with a handspring moonsault... SO CLOSE! Up top, Charlotte knocks her down with a boot, small package for two! Leg pick, spinning toehold, figure four leglock applied but Banks hits a Meteora to break it up! Tag to Asuka, she knocks Sasha off the apron and into Carmella’s sommelier, who’s still at ringside for some reason. Bayley up on the apron for a distraction, Asuka from behind, O’Connor roll for two!
Chest kicks, Bianca catches the buzzsaw and deadlifts her up... SITOUT POWERBOMB GETS TWO! Suplex blocked, Flair tags in, Codebreaker from Asuka sets her up...
Asuka & Charlotte Flair win, last eliminating Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks by pinfall with Natural Selection from Flair on Belair to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Backstage, the Street Profits hyping up the rest of tonight’s show when they hear Sami Zayn ranting at some crew member. They sneak over to listen in and she walks away while Sami continues ranting. He shifts his focus to rant at them about how he doesn’t have time for their nonsense but changes his tune when they say they got him a gift. He apologises for going off on them and they give him his present...
A t-shirt that says “I *was* Intercontinental Champion.” He screams at them about how they’re not funny and storms off without taking the shirt.
Daniel Bryan makes his entrance and Jey Uso ambushes him on the ramp, throwing him into some presents! He slams Bryan on the ramp as referees and road agents swarm and we go to break before they can wrestle.
Back from commercial, Daniel Bryan tells road agent Pat Buck and referee Danilo Anfibio that he can go and we get a bell!
Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso
Uso right on him, stomping away, Bryan to the floor and Jey dives on him! Throwing Dan into the steps, back inside the punishment continues with chops. Backflip up and over, criss-cross gets a Samoan Drop for two! Back and forth, Uso misses a falling headbutt! But he sidesteps and leaves Bryan down and out in the corner for the Ode to Rikishi!
Dan drawing himself up, whip reversed, Uso with a front kick, Bryan back body drops him to the floor and comes up lame in the left ankle! American Dragon goes for a suicide dive but Jey sidesteps and Bryan goes arm-first into the announce table! Back in, up top and jockeying for position, Dan slips out and crotches him! Climbing up behind him... THE BACK SUPERPLEX IS YOUR FIVE MINUTE WARNING TO SEND US TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, Bryan lands a knee and charges in for a running dropkick! Running dropkick to the injured leg, headed up top... AVALANCHE FRANKENSTEINER ISN’T ENOUGH TO KEEP JEY USO DOWN! American Dragon getting fired up, chest and back kicks as Jey staggers with the impact, the buzzsaw roundhouse kick lands square and true! Bryan lies in wait, Yes! fingers ahoy... USO COUNTERS THE BUSAIKU KNEE WITH A SUPERKICK!
A second superkick, Uso goes up top and hits the diving splash but the impact shocks his injured leg and Bryan kicks out of the cover! Jey goes back up top and hits another splash but the knees are up! Omoplata, hooking the face, the LeBell Lock is on but Uso breaks his grip! Bryan shifts to a single-leg crab and Jey crawls to the ropes for the break!
Trading strikes on the mat, Uso with vicious falling forearms but Dan still has gas in the tank! Bryan ducks a superkick, charges in...
Daniel Bryan wins by pinfall with the Busaiku Knee.
We see Big E backstage getting ready for his match to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Daniel Bryan is interviewed backstage about what’s next for him.
He says he’s always looking for new things to achieve, and he’s never won the Royal Rumble. That’s the next mountain he’s going to climb, and he’s entering the 2021 Royal Rumble to do so!
Sami Zayn rolls up to cut a promo being cranky about having to defend the title tonight and blaming Daniel Bryan for it, claiming he must have stooged to management.
He storms off and Bryan cracks a lame joke about how Sami must not have gotten a PS5 for Christmas.
The lumberjacks and Big E make their entrances and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get some hype for tomorrow’s episode of Talking Smack.
Big E vs. Sami Zayn (c) (WWE Intercontinental Championship Lumberjack Match)
Collar and elbow, struggling all around the ring, Zayn gets a go-behind but E breaks his grip and hits a fireman’s carry takeover! Sami with a boot in the corner, side headlock, shot off, drop down, leapfrog, back elbow from Big! Charging in, Zayn drop toeholds him into the turnbuckles and puts boots to him! Sami dumps him to the floor and the heel lumberjacks beat him up a little before throwing him back inside!
E with a schoolboy, he transitions it into a stretch muffler but Zayn gets the ropes! Babyface lumberjacks surround him and let Big pull him up, but Sami hangs his challenger across the top rope! Going to smash him into the turnbuckle, denied, E drops him with a lariat and follows to the apron, putting boots to him. Lined up... SAMI ROLLS AWAY FROM THE BIG SPLASH ON THE APRON!
Crashing to the floor, the heels attack E again, Sami off the ropes... TOPE CON GIRO TAKES E OUT! And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Zayn is in control and throws his t-shirt at E! Jabs, E gets two of the trifecta of belly-to-belly suplexes and Sami blocks the third with elbows! Charging in... BIG ROCK BOTTOM OUT OF THE CORNER FOR TWO! Get Zayn up for the Big Ending, he slips out and tries to run away but the babyface lumberjacks throw him back inside!
Big drags him over but Sami rakes his eyes and pins him for two! Again Zayn tries to run away, this time changing gears after cutting E off with a knee from the apron and heading up top. Big cuts him off, jockeying for position in the turnbuckles... SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB ISN’T ENOUGH TO KEEP BIG E AWAY FROM THAT TITLE! Charging in, E sidesteps again, Zayn on the apron... SUICIDE SPEAR THROUGH THE ROPES!
E to his feet first, heel lumberjacks attack him, babyfaces lumberjacks brawl with them, it’s chaos at ringside! Sami tries to run away in the chaos but Apollo Crews runs him down and the babyface lumberjacks drag him back to the ring! Big E hits a belly-to-belly suplex, off the ropes for the big splash, he’s fired up, gets him up...
Big E wins by pinfall with the Big Ending to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
E celebrates his second Intercontinental Championship victory in the ring with the babyface lumberjacks as confetti rains down.
That’s the show, folks.