SMACKDOWN LIVE SUPERTHREAD

beakerjoe

You still may get that. Its early days yet.

Lithium93_

Luke Harper targets The Lunatic Fringe
In recent weeks, The Wyatt Family has been on an absolute tear, capturing the SmackDown Tag Team Titles and gaining a strong foothold on SmackDown LIVE. But in last week’s Fatal 4-Way Elimination No. 1 Contender’s Match, Luke Harper failed to emerge from the chaos with a WWE Title opportunity after Dean Ambrose hit him with Dirty Deeds for the pin.

Tonight, Harper will attempt to unleash his own dark brand of retribution on The Lunatic Fringe. Will he take down the unstable Superstar? Or will Ambrose introduce his bearded opponent to the Ambrose Asylum?

When will the WWE Universe finally learn who attacked Nikki Bella?
Last week during Natalya’s match against Carmella, The Queen of Harts once again tried to explain that it wasn’t she who attacked Nikki Bella at Survivor Series. However, in the heat of the moment, Natalya pushed Nikki. Was she simply shoving the fearless competitor out of the way of The Princess of Staten Island? Or was Natalya, for one moment, outing herself as Nikki’s attacker all along?

In any event, the lingering controversy continues to surround all three Superstars like a dark cloud that refuses to dissipate. Will we finally learn who attacked the star of both “Total Divas” and “Total Bellas” tonight on SmackDown LIVE?

Is SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss really injured?
Forced to compete in a SmackDown Women’s Title rematch against Becky Lynch by SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon last week, Alexa appeared to suffer an injury and was unable to finish the match … or did she?

Moments after the bell, The Wicked Witch of WWE attacked her opponent and seemed absolutely fine. Later, on WWE Talking Smack, we learned that the titleholder hadn’t even gone to the trainer to get checked out.

Will Shane-O-Mac and Daniel Bryan get to the bottom of this controversy? Regardless of what they determine, we are pretty sure Becky Lynch will have a few things to say about it.

“Shooter” star Ryan Phillippe is coming to SmackDown LIVE this Tuesday
Ryan Phillippe is coming to SmackDown LIVE.

The star of films like “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Cruel Intentions,” Phillippe currently leads USA Network’s hit show “Shooter,” playing Bob Lee Swagger, an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to assassinate the president. WWE Superstar Randy Orton recently guest starred on the show as a former Navy SEAL and leader of a militia group who comes into contact with Phillipe’s character. Don't miss new episodes of "Shooter," Tuesday nights imediately after SmackDown LIVE.

Phillippe is no stranger to the world of WWE, having guest co-hosted Raw in 2010 on a night that saw R-Truth blown up by “Saturday Night Live” character MacGruber.

SKY SPORTS 5 1 A.M

Agent Coulson

Is Phillippe the one that used to work for them backstage?

LeeJM

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Is Phillippe the one that used to work for them backstage?

Yep.

CastorTroy

I know Freddie Prinze Jr did for a while

Agent Coulson

CastorTroy wrote: »

I know Freddie Prinze Jr did for a while

Yes Buffy's husband that's who I was thinking of.

CastorTroy

Now voicing Kanan in Star Wars Rebels, so I assume he's done writing for wwe

Agent Coulson

Buffy is doing voice work on it as well how her career has dropped off all she is doing is voice work these days.

J. Marston

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Buffy is doing voice work on it as well how her career has dropped off all she is doing is voice work these days.

Probably doesn't need to work with all her Buffy money.

Agent Coulson

Upset of the year on the cards Title match opening Smackdown :P

Agent Coulson

Ellsworth gets decimated lol


The guy deserves a "Slammy" for best selling of a beating of the year.

Agent Coulson

The Miz is AWESOME!

Telling the WWE Universe live in the ring while Renee is interviewing him that Renee and Dean are sleeping together.

Agent Coulson

Edgy Smackdown tonight along with the above silicon implant joke about Cena's Bella's implants.


And Nattie calls Cena's Bella a bitch.

LeeJM

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Edgy Smackdown tonight along with the above silicon implant joke about Cena's Bella's implants.


And Nattie calls Cena's Bella a bitch.

Cena's Bella?! Im not one to normally do this but she has a fairly well publicised name. She isnt just Cena's Bella. Cant believe anyone would actually type that in 2016

Agent Coulson

Mauro having another nightmare episode calling the show and JBL & Otunga pulling him up on it as well.

Agent Coulson

Ellsworth has got himself some Carmella lol

PTH2009

Seeing Styles on commentary reminds me of the
Glasgow tapings for the main event when he walked (jogged) out to the announcer table during the commercial break without any music to commentate, half the crowd prob had no idea he was there lol

Ben Gadot

That schlap from Renee.....brilliant. Curious to see how much they involve her.

Pentecost

Smackdown looked like fun last night judging from the clips doing the rounds. Lucha Lyncha.

beakerjoe

Smackdown was a decent watch, nothing blow away but they do all the little things right and very little seems like a chore.

Carmella and Bliss are excellent in their roles and both have been built up from nothing to integral parts of the show. Great stuff. Nattie turning on Nikki last night was great and she stepped things up with her vicious promo. Its been a long time since she was relevant and this promo changed all that.

Ellsworths destruction at teh hands of Styles was great. As AJ stated it was a long time coming and the visual of him being stretchered off mid promo was a nice touch.

Baron Corbain has been slowly improving. While hes no where near ready for a main event feud, he has been doing very little wrong since joining SD and his promo skills and delivery are on the up too.

The Mizs line which gave him a slap came out of no where, tremendous stuff. He came across as a cnut and rightly so.

The overall subtle edgyness of the writing is a welcome step in the right direction. It gives the characters purpose and realism, without going too far or just saying stuff for the sake of it.

Overall, Smackdown is leaps and bounds ahead of Raw. Vince and others still over see the show but its obvious there is a different writing team on SD and Raw

SureYWouldntYa

Style's wins proper in the middle of the ring next week, then cuts a promo

"There isn't a man alive who can beat me"

And then goes the bong, "But the dead man will make you ressssstt innnnnnn peeeeeeace"

I'd give my left nut for those 2 at the Rumble

beakerjoe

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Style's wins proper in the middle of the ring next week, then cuts a promo

"There isn't a man alive who can beat me"

And then goes the bong, "But the dead man will make you ressssstt innnnnnn peeeeeeace"

I'd give my left nut for those 2 at the Rumble

Im guessing here, But id say that its been made a three way to take some of the pressure off Styles whos still nursing an ankle injury.

I wouldnt mind seeing Taker and Styles at the Rumble.

My theory is that the Cena would cost Taker the match. Cena could return to Smackdown in the run up and throw his name into the rumble hat. Gallows and Anderson (who would be there since its a joint PPV) could run in, prompting Cena to make the save and he accidentally costs Taker the match. Taker extracts revenge by taking Cena out of the Rumble. Easy peasey.

PTH2009

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Style's wins proper in the middle of the ring next week, then cuts a promo

"There isn't a man alive who can beat me"

And then goes the bong, "But the dead man will make you ressssstt innnnnnn peeeeeeace"

I'd give my left nut for those 2 at the Rumble

My guess Cena will come out and challenge Styles after he beats Ziggler and possibly Taker might appear as well.

Triple threat at the rumble Styles vs Cena vs Taker. Taker chokeslams styles but Cena knocks taker out of the ring and pins styles to win the match. SD a few weeks later Taker pissed at Cena comes out and challenges him to a match at mania

Styles could move on and do a cross brand match with someone

sky88

Can you even imagine this time last year that theres a possibility that Aj styles vs the undetaker might be happening. crazy

Lord TSC

Anyone else instantly recognize those Boulder Shoulders of "La Luchadora"? :P

Anyway, next week's show looks STACKED!

WWE Championship AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler

Tag Team Championship Orton/Wyatt vs Slater/Rhyno vs Usos vs American Alpha

Women's Championship Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss

Wouldn't be shocked if Ambrose vs Miz gets added.

And Cena's back.

Lithium93_

Watching Smackdown is easier, it just moves along without the clunkyness/chore like feeling that comes with watching RAW.

ShagNastii

Panto-wise Miz is just the perfect heel. He has the full set. Smarm coming out his ears, a tw@t haircut, a ludicrously beautiful wife and a face that is so utterly punchable.

The sadness of Ryder writing himself off last week is only being exacerbated by the fact it looks like a Mojo singles push maybe on the cards.

*gets sick in mouth*

Neil3030

I think we need to take a moment of appreciation for how the WWE outdid themselves on screwing up the Ellsworth angle. The run-of-the-mill, vanilla flavoured f**k up would have been to run him stale, to the point where everyone was sick to death of him, before AJ tries to salvage some heel heat by beating the crap out of him. But oh you creative geniuses, you went one step further and gave us the double chocolate chip f**k up, by first running him stale, then inexplicably turning him heel, THEN have AJ (supposedly another heel) beat the crap out of him to thunderous applause from a smarky crowd.

Imagine that beating when Ellsworth was a white hot smark babyface at the beginning of his programme... sigh...

CastorTroy

It's always strange seeing WWE guys standing by a non wrestler. Like seeing the height of Mojo and Hawkins beside Ryan Phillipe reminds you how tall they are since Ryan is 5'9".

Wonder why they're coming out with Renee and Dean now. And they do seem more open about relationships these days. Lana/Rusev, Curtis/Alicia and of course the likes of Bellas and Nattie.

brianregan09

I'd have Styles Taker at the rumble 1st then have Cena interfere ...Then you make a triple threat for the title with Cena going for Flair's record aswell

the groutch

triple threat makes sense, allows Taker more rest time during the match without slowing the pace too much.

SureYWouldntYa

Nevermind yet another championship match with interference

I want to see Taker Styles 1 on 1 at the Rumble with a clean finish with the winner going on to face Cena at Wrestlemania

Going into the match either one makes sense for Cena to face later, you have the redemption story against Styles or the match we never got against Taker

PTH2009

With styles being a lot smaller than taker will a 1 on 1 match work ??? Promo wise the rivilary could be gold

Baron Corbain vs Taker would be a good match actually

Itssoeasy

PTH2009 wrote: »

With styles being a lot smaller than taker will a 1 on 1 match work ??? Promo wise the rivilary could be gold

Baron Corbain vs Taker would be a good match actually

A 1 on 1 match can always work when done right PTH. It's the basic building block of pro wrestling. I think the size difference would be overcome due to you having two veterans in the ring who know what they are doing in there and know how to build a story and aren't forced to do stuff by Vince et al. Let them work.

Sorry didn't mean to rant a bit. Pro wrestling isn't hard to do right. It's basically using peoples(the fans) emotions against them.

Lord TSC

Styles being in his prime vs Taker being old and obviously not physically at the top of his game will utterly negate the size difference.

sky88

Aj is taller than shawn michaels and the matches between taker/hbk were always believable

PTH2009

sky88 wrote: »

Aj is taller than shawn michaels and the matches between taker/hbk were always believable

Aj vs Shawn would of been a great match and Edge vs Aj Styles would of been amazing too

sky88

PTH2009 wrote: »

Aj vs Shawn would of been a great match and Edge vs Aj Styles would of been amazing too

think thats my dream match

SureYWouldntYa

sky88 wrote: »

think thats my dream match

Was rumoured for a while for the Rumble

I'd rather leave Michaels retired, don't like big retirement angles not being respected after they've happened, who liked seeing Ric Flair in TNA

Agent Coulson

They are going to swerve us all with Cena and just have him back to save his Bella from being bullied.

ERG89

Agent Coulson wrote: »

They are going to swerve us all with Cena and just have him back to save his Bella from being bullied.

Natalia & the charismatic two paws vs John & Nikki

sky88

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Was rumoured for a while for the Rumble

I'd rather leave Michaels retired, don't like big retirement angles not being respected after they've happened, who liked seeing Ric Flair in TNA

i think he will stay retired he seems happy with the fact unlike the rest who have retired which you have to admire.

SureYWouldntYa

sky88 wrote: »

i think he will stay retired he seems happy with the fact unlike the rest who have retired which you have to admire.

Here's hoping he will

Hopefully any rumours of him coming back will stop soon, always hated hearing rumours that Austin might be coming back for next years Wrestlemania for a couple years there when CM Punk was big

drugstore cowboy

ShagNastii wrote: »

a ludicrously beautiful wife and a face that is so utterly punchable.
*gets sick in mouth*

She is just amazing! :pac::pac:

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought that promo by Nattie was fantastic. I watched it several times.

Bounty Hunter

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I thought that promo by Nattie was fantastic. I watched it several times.

every promo does not need to be like that but that one definitely benefited from them letting it be a little bit more edgy. Talking about Nikki's boobs, calling her a B!atch twice and saying Cena will never marry her just seemed a little more than they would usually allow all in one womens promo. Similar to The Miz's very personal promo with Renee re Ambrose.

Lithium93_

The last Smackdown Live of 2016, plus the return of John Cena.

AJ Styles defends his WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin in a Triple Threat Match!
Following the controversial conclusion to their match on the Dec. 20 episode of SmackDown LIVE, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan declared that both Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin would receive an opportunity at “The Champ that Runs the Camp” in a WWE Championship Match on the SmackDown LIVE Wild Card Finals.

How will Styles adapt to the free-for-all that will completely erase any type of championship advantage? And will Ziggler or Corbin be able to make the most of their opportunity and close out 2016 as the new WWE Champion?

The Wyatt Family will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a Four Corners Elimination Match
In the wake of Zack Ryder’s unfortunate injury following he and Mojo Rawley’s win the No. 1 Contenders’ Tag Team Battle Royal, it has been announced that The Wyatt Family will now defend the titles against three other units as part of the SmackDown LIVE’s Wild Card Finals special event.

The Wyatts will put the Blue Brand’s Tag Team Championship on the line against The Usos, American Alpha and former champions Heath Slater & Rhyno in a Four Corners Elimination Tag Team Championship Match!

Which tandem will walk out as champions?

The return of John Cena to SmackDown LIVE
Fresh off his appearance hosting “Saturday Night Live,” John Cena is set to return to SmackDown LIVE after a two-month absence. The 15-Time World Champion will surely make his presence felt as Team Blue says goodbye to 2016 and ushers in 2017 as the Road to WrestleMania gets under way!

What will Cena have to say to the WWE Universe? Will he have his eyes squarely on the WWE Championship? Or has someone else drawn the ire of the Cenation?

Alexa Bliss puts her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Becky Lynch
One of SmackDown LIVE’s fastest growing rivalries will write another chapter on SmackDown LIVE's Wild Card Finals when Alexa Bliss defends the Women’s Championship against former titleholder Becky Lynch.

Will the Wicked Witch of WWE successfully retain the title against The Irish Lass Kicker? Or will Lynch go “Straight Fire” on Bliss and become the first two-time SmackDown Live Women’s Champion?

SKY SPORTS 5 - 01:00 A.M

Lord TSC

This is basically looking like a free two-hour pay per view show. Looks awesome.

Wouldn't be shocked if Becky regains the title tonight. I think they'll want a title switch, but I can't see any of the others moving to their challengers. Unless there's last second match for Miz added (Joe is gonna kill him! :P)

sky88

Think becky wins tonight then. Got to think nikki vs becky is the mania match

PTH2009

Looking like Cena will open the show and will be challenging for the WWE title. Love if Taker made a surprise appearance to confront him but it's not looking that way.

Possibly Cena wins the title off Styles at The RR and will face Taker at mania

Dolph and Corbin will no doubt go back to the mid card after they lose tonight against Styles

Hopefully the Orton turn on Bray Wyatt doesn't happen tonight