13th December 2016

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Tempers flare and bedlam breaks out on “Miz TV”



With it being announced moments prior that James Ellsworth’s WWE Championship opportunity had been suspended due to him coming down ill on SmackDown LIVE, the show-opening “Miz TV” became the hot stove for all things title talk.

WWE Champion AJ Styles was the initial guest of Intercontinental Champion The Miz and it didn’t take long for The A-Lister to more than subtly suggest that he should be the new No. 1 contender for Styles’ title.

However, the two were quickly interrupted by Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, both of whom seemed ready to fight.

Ziggler and Miz, naturally, got into it, leading to Miz hitting Ziggler with a Skull-Crushing Finale and Ambrose striking both Miz and Ziggler with Dirty Deeds while Styles got out of dodge.

Things only became more layered when Luke Harper suddenly appeared in the ring behind The Lunatic Fringe, with him laying out Ambrose.

Carmella def. Natalya



With the controversy over who actually attacked Nikki Bella at Survivor Series still raging, Natalya attempted to diffuse Carmella’s claims that it was her before the match began by addressing Nikki (who was on commentary).

The Princess of Staten Island quickly cut that off though, making her way to the ring to get the contest rolling.

The Queen of Harts would not be deterred, however, still trying to plead her case to Fearless Nikki even while wrestling the match. However, a questionable moment came when Natalya, trying to reason with Nikki on the outside shoved The Fearless One.

Whether or not she was shoving her out of the way of Carmella or simply shoving her is a mystery.
All of these distractions for Natalya, however, led to Carmella taking advantage, finding a three count with a roll up for the victory.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contenders’ Battle Royal



The teams of SmackDown LIVE squared off for the chance to become the new No. 1 contenders for The New Wyatt Family’s SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

The kinetic pace of the match was palpable, with each team scratching for the major title opportunity.

An interesting wrinkle to the match was that both members of the team had to be eliminated to be officially ousted from the contest.

In the end, it came down to Zack Ryder of The Hype Bros and Konnor of The Ascension, with Ryder pulling out the W, being able to outsmart Konnor and eliminate him.

After the match it was revealed that Zack Ryder suffered a knee injury.

Becky Lynch def. SmackDown Women's Champion Alexa Bliss via Count-out



The match was originally scheduled to be SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss taking on a local competitor … but then Alexa Bliss pulverized her before any bell could ever ring.

The beat down prompted Becky Lynch’s arrival, which led to a verbal spat, which led to Lynch asking for her championship rematch right then and there, which led to SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon making the match official … which led to a very disgruntled Ms. Bliss.

Lynch was on fire (no pun) throughout the impromptu contest, keeping SmackDown Live’s resident Wicked Witch reeling.

It appeared that The Irish Lass Kicker may have been closing in on regaining the title … but then Bliss seemed to injure her leg, causing her to limp around ringside, resulting in her being counted out to lose the match, but keep the championship.

Lynch was ruthless, attacking Bliss after the 10-count, however, Bliss suddenly appeared to be OK once Bliss came back at her.

Bliss retreated yet again, with her title and her leg apparently ailing her again.

Dolph Ziggler def. Dean Ambrose, The Miz and Luke Harper in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match to become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship



After the chaotic “Miz TV” earlier in the evening, it was announced that a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match would be had to determine the new No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship.

AJ Styles sat on commentary as these four Superstars battled for the right to take him on for the most coveted prize in all of WWE. The Miz was ousted first when Dean Ambrose caught him in a rollup for three.

The A-Lister’s elimination was followed by Luke Harper, who was taken out by a combo of a Dolph Ziggler Superkick and an Ambrose Dirty Deeds.

The thrilling contest came down to a SummerSlam rematch between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler.

Ambrose and Ziggler went back and forth in a series of thrilling exchanges, until Ziggler, thanks to some involvement from The Miz (who was seemingly out there just to cause a ruckus), was able to catch Ambrose with a Superkick for the victory and the opportunity to capture SmackDown LIVE’s top prize.