Survivalist.
Five nights after Survivor Series, the 797th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, IN. At Survivor Series this past Sunday, interference from the debuting Sting and the unreal resiliency of Dolph Ziggler would lead to a Team Cena victory over Team Authority and, as a result, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon are no longer in charge of WWE. One man who is more ecstatic than most about The Authority losing their power is former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, who made his surprise return to WWE this past Monday night on RAW to run the show and, as part of the deal, the leader of the “Yes” movement would also be in charge of this week’s SmackDown! What will WWE’s most popular Superstar have in store for SmackDown?
The Survivor Series name never had more of an appropriate meaning than it did for Dolph Ziggler on Sunday night as “The Show-Off” survived a series of events that should have ended the match for Team Cena, but Ziggler survived everything that Team Authority, not to mention Triple H, had to throw at him and Dolph emerged as the sole survivor of Team Cena. In what has been a landmark week in the career of Dolph Ziggler, “The Show-Off” would get the opportunity to regain what was unceremoniously taken from him on last week’s RAW as, per the orders of Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler would challenge Luke Harper for the Intercontinental Championship!
While the WWE debut of Sting and the triumphant victory by Team Cena may have overshadowed the moment at Survivor Series, no one has forgotten about the giant betrayal during the crucial Survivor Series main event where Big Show turned his back on his team by knocking John Cena out and walking out on the match. After trying to explain himself on RAW, Big Show showed his true colors as the angry giant condemned the fans for judging him and daring any Superstar in the back to come out and tell him he’s a traitor. This would lead to Erick Rowan taking “The World’s Largest Athlete” to task, claiming that he doesn’t like “bullies” and, on SmackDown, new WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & Damien Mizdow would host The Miz’s signature talk show segment, Miz TV, and their special guest would be none other than Big Show.
Match Results
- United States Championship: 20-Man Battle Royal: Rusev (c) (with Lana) def. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter), Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Jey Uso, Titus O’Neil, Jimmy Uso, Gold & Stardust, Damien Mizdow, The Miz, Erick Rowan, Big Show, Los Matadores, Adam Rose, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Sin Cara, & Justin Gabriel to retain.
- Non-Title: Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) def. Emma by pin following the Rack Attack.
- Ryback def. Seth Rollins (with J&J Security) by DQ after Kane enters the ring.
- 6-Man Tag: The New Day def. Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, & Titus O’Neil by Xavier Woods pinning Heath Slater following the double Big Ending by Big E & Xavier Woods.
- Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler def. Luke Harper (c) by count-out. As a result, Luke Harper (c) retains.
See page 2 for detailed results.
