Bryan sparks a brawl.
Nine nights before WWE Elimination Chamber, the 651st edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. Before he defends the World Heavyweight Championship inside the Elimination Chamber a week from Sunday, World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan would go one-on-one with one of his five challengers inside the Chamber, “The Viper” Randy Orton, as Bryan and Orton will face off for the first time ever in this non-title clash.
Match Results
- The Great Khali def. Jinder Mahal by pin following the Punjabi Plunge.
- Non-Title: Beth Phoenix def. Alicia Fox by pin with the Glam Slam.
- Sheamus & Big Show def. Wade Barrett & Cody Rhodes by Sheamus pinning Wade Barrett following the Brogue Kick.
- Ted DiBiase def. Hunico (with Camacho) by roll-up.
- Non-Title: Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton by DQ after Big Show interferes.
Detailed Results
Twelve nights after he won the 2012 Royal Rumble Match to earn a shot at either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII, SmackDown kicks off with “The Great White” Sheamus. Sheamus reminds everyone that, by winning the Royal Rumble Match, he has earned the right to be in the main event of WrestleMania. Sheamus then says that he will be watching both Elimination Chamber Matches and, by the end of WWE Elimination Chamber, he will let the world know which title he will challenge for. Sheamus continues that, when he got to the WWE, everybody told him to not spike his hair, to get a tan, and stop talking in a “funny accent”, but he did not listen and now he has a spot in the main event of WrestleMania. Sheamus then proclaims that he is a “pasty-faced, red-headed Irishman” and “damn proud of it”. Sheamus is then interrupted by one of the six participants in the Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title, Wade Barrett, who tells Sheamus that he needs to go for the WWE Championship because he will walk out of the Elimination Chamber Match as the World Heavyweight Champion, adding that he can and will beat Sheamus. Before Barrett can continue, another participant in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes, interrupts as Rhodes tells Sheamus and Barrett that, unlike the two of them, he knows what it is like to be victorious at WrestleMania and he also knows what it is like to be a reigning champion. Rhodes then says that the Elimination Chamber Match is his to win and, at WrestleMania, Sheamus will fall to the dual-champion that he will become.
The largest participant in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match then interrupts as “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show makes his way to the ring. Show threatens to “slap the taste” out of Rhodes’ mouth. Show then says that he is not out there to crow about how he is going to win the World Heavyweight Title in the Elimination Chamber Match, but he instead wants Sheamus to think about the idea of the two of them squaring off for the gold in a match that is worthy of the “main event of WrestleMania”. Barrett jumps in, calling Show a “WrestleMania punch line” and Rhodes adds that “giants” can win the Super Bowl, but not matches at WrestleMania. Rhodes continues that Show is like the “reverse Undertaker” before asking who Show will lose to this year. Big Show responds by delivering a slap to the chest of the Intercontinental Champion before Show sends Rhodes out of the ring and Sheamus does the same with Wade Barrett.
Nine nights before he steps foot into the Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship, The Great Khali went one-on-one with familiar rival, Jinder Mahal, in the opening match on SmackDown. In the end, it was The Great Khali hitting the Punjabi Plunge on Jinder Mahal en route to picking up the win.
The Divas Champion was in action on SmackDown as Beth Phoenix went one-on-one with Alicia Fox in a non-title match. In the end, it was Beth Phoenix picking up another dominant win after hitting Alicia Fox with the Glam Slam. After the match, Beth Phoenix was set to deliver a second Glam Slam to Alicia Fox, but Tamina makes the save before Tamina and the Divas Champion go face-to-face.
After squaring off earlier in the night, the winner of the 2012 Royal Rumble Match, Sheamus, teamed with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show to face the team of Wade Barrett and Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. In the end, it was Sheamus blasting Wade Barrett with the Brogue Kick en route to picking up the win for himself and Big Show.
For the first time since being inadvertently knocked down at ringside by Big Show a month ago, Daniel Bryan’s girlfriend, A.J., would be interviewed by Michael Cole. A.J. says that she is still feeling some stiffness in her neck and she will be getting the neck brace off next week before beginning to thank everyone for all the support. Before A.J. can continue, Cole interrupts and says that no one even knows who A.J. is, so who could be supporting her. Cole then asks why A.J. was even at ringside on RAW. A.J. says that she was out there to support Daniel Bryan and that she knows that Big Show would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. A.J. then says that Cole have caused “more damage” than Big Show because Cole has done nothing but “stir things up”, saying that Cole has insulted her, Daniel Bryan, and the entire Divas division. A.J. then calls Cole a “biased, obnoxious jerk” before saying that the WWE would be a “better place” if Cole would just shut his mouth. Cole argues that it is called doing his job and he gets paid for his personality and that everyone is saying that Daniel Bryan set A.J. up. Cole continues that Bryan has “no guts” and that A.J. has “no self-respect” before saying that, after WWE Elimination Chamber, both Daniel Bryan and A.J. will be nothing more than “footnotes”.
As an upset Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring, Cole quickly hands the microphone to A.J. and makes a quick exit from the ring. The World Heavyweight Champion says that he is “more than just a footnote” because he is a “great wrestler” and he is the World Heavyweight Champion. Daniel Bryan then goes on a tirade about recycling and his care for the environment, adding that he cares about A.J. Bryan then states that, since the fans have been “inhospitable” to her, he is taking her home right now. Bryan and A.J. then make their way to the parking lot, but are stopped by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long as Bryan requests a “personal day”. The GM then says that he will be happy to arrange transportation for A.J., but if Bryan leaves the arena, then he will take the World Heavyweight Title away from Bryan!
Despite having his broken wrist assaulted by Hunico two weeks ago, Ted DiBiase went one-on-one with Hunico, with Camacho in his corner. During the match, Camacho would deliver a kick to DiBiase’s mid-section behind the referee’s back moments before Hunico slams DiBiase’s broken wrist into the steel ring post. Hunico continued to work on the wrist throughout the match, but DiBiase manages to come out of nowhere with a roll-up en route to picking up the win over Hunico.
After trying his best to get out of the match, World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan went one-on-one with one his five challengers in the Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title in “The Viper” Randy Orton as Bryan and Orton would go one-on-one for the first time ever with Big Show a guest on commentary. During the match, Randy Orton was set to deliver the RKO to Daniel Bryan, but Bryan slips out of the ring and grabs his title belt. When it looked like Bryan was trying to walk away from the match, Bryan tries for a cheap shot on Big Show, but Show retaliates, leading to the disqualification. Show would then throw Bryan into the ring where Orton would hit the RKO on the champion. Once Orton realized that Show had cost him the match, Orton storms to the outside of the ring and it does not take long for a brawl to break out at ringside between Orton and Big Show! What will happen when all three of these men join Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, and The Great Khali in the Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship?
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