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The brand split which existed in the WWE after the Monday Night Wars might not be in relevance at the current time, but SmackDown still draws more crowd that the entire promotions like TNA and Ring Of Honor.
The company giving importance to Raw, not being shown live and the lack of regularity by the main event stars have been haunting the Friday night show for some time now. The year didn’t go that well for the company either as the comparison to Attitude Era and criticism on stale storylines got to them. Amidst all these chaos the creative still managed to stitch out some solid SmackDown this year, so here is a look at the top ten SmackDown episodes of 2013.
10. May 31
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns
The hottest storyline of this time was the feud between The Shield and Team Hell No. the main highlight of the show has to be the match between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns which could well be a main event of a future pay-per-view.
Bryan’s partner Kane went against Seth Rollins while Bryan gave it all to prove that he was not the weak link in the team. Chris Jericho gave a solid match with Cody Rhodes while Randy Orton hyped some more push for the Shield when he wrestled Dean Ambrose.
Kane defeated Seth Rollins (9:46)
Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan by DQ (9:14)
Curtis Axel defeated Sin Cara (2:01)
Big E. Langston (w/ AJ Lee ) defeated Alberto Del Rio (4:55)
Ryback defeated Kofi Kingston (2:27)
Chris Jericho defeated Cody Rhodes (4:52)
Randy Orton defeated Dean Ambrose by DQ (12:45)
Dark match: Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) & Randy Orton defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) by DQ
9. June 21
Daniel Bryan
The Show had Payback smelling all over it. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton gave the fans a classic match while Paul Heyman tried his best to push Curtis Axel. Sheamus had a starting bout with Cody Rhodes and it was followed by Axel’s title defense against Wade Barrett.
Apart from Bryan- Orton match, Jericho and Alberto Del Rio also had a lot of emotions being stirred but a weak ending cost the match heavily. It also featured a promo of Paul E hyping the feud between Brock Lesnar and CM Punk. The brilliance with which he pulled off the segment once again proved why he is such a successful wrestling genius.
Sheamus defeated Cody Rhodes (w/ Damien Sandow) (5:34)
Curtis Axel (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Wade Barrett to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship (4:32)
AJ Lee (w/ Big E. Langston) defeated Natalya (5:54)
Alberto Del Rio (w/ Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated Chris Jericho by DQ (10:34)
Christian defeated Drew McIntyre (w/ Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal) (3:54)
Daniel Bryan defeated Randy Orton by Count Out (14:48)
Dark match: Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton & Sheamus defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins)
8. January 25
Six man tag team match
This show came after an excellent 700th episode and had a lot of expectations riding on it. CM Punk and The Rock added fuel to their feud which has heading to Royal Rumble.
The match that stood out actually came from the undercard when Sheamus and Wade Barrett fought it out for almost 8 minutes of fast paced action with many twists and turns. Though the episode didn’t live exactly up to the expectations, it gave a thrilling six man tag team elimination bout which had the lights of Team Hell No, Rhodes Scholars, Big Show and Del Rio.
Dark match: Kaitlyn defeated Aksana
Sheamus defeated Wade Barrett (7:50)
Natalya (w/ Hornswoggle & The Great Khali) defeated Rosa Mendes (w/ Epico & Primo) (2:56)
Randy Orton defeated Drew McIntyre (w/ Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal) via Disqualification (1:05)
The Miz defeated Darren Young (1:54)
Alberto Del Rio & Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) defeated Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) & The Big Show in a Six Man Tag Team Elimination Match (10:12)
Kane eliminated Damien Sandow (2:20)
Kane counted out (3:41)
Daniel Bryan counted out (6:28)
Big Show counted out (8:35)
Alberto Del Rio eliminated Cody Rhodes (10:12)
Dark match: Alberto Del Rio (c) defeated The Big Show in a No Disqualification Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
7. July 12
Daniel Bryan and Christian
The show before Money in the Bank, started off with an amazing match between Christian and Daniel Bryan. It was almost a contrast seeing both men in the ring as Christian came in with the experience of the Attitude Era while Daniel Bryan fed on the sheer intensity inside the ring.
In other attempt to make Curtis Axel a top star, Paul Heyman would book him againt Chris Jericho which ended with the veteran getting a win. Fandango’s push also excelled when he defeated Wade Barrett under two minutes.
A great episode had a main event featuring Sheamus and Randy Orton but ended in a no contest to hype the all-star Money in the Bank clash which was around the corner.
Daniel Bryan defeated Christian (9:38)
Seth Rollins (w/ Roman Reigns) defeated Jey Uso (w/ Jimmy Uso) (4:08)
Chris Jericho defeated Curtis Axel (w/ Paul Heyman) by Count Out (7:21)
Ryback defeated The Miz (5:53)
Fandango defeated Wade Barrett (1:48)
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus ended in a No Contest (9:42)
6. August 23
Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett
The SmackDown after SummerSlam carried a lot of emotions. Randy Orton was a newly turned heel and Daniel Bryan was the fan favorite suppressed by the company. Christian and Del Rio would have another go at it inside the squared circle after their SummerSlam classic.
Bryan was on a mission to prove the Authority wrong and was booked against Wade Barrett in a Steel Cage match. The match punished each men to their limits and Bryan gave one of the performances of his life when he pinned Barrett after almost 15 minutes.
Curtis Axel (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Cody Rhodes (8:21)
Dolph Ziggler defeated Big E. Langston (w/ AJ Lee) (2:00)
Alberto Del Rio defeated Christian (13:05)
Big Show & Mark Henry defeated 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal) in a Handicap match (3:07)
Darren Young defeated Antonio Cesaro (2:31)
Daniel Bryan defeated Wade Barrett in a Steel Cage match (13:30)
Dark match: Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry & The Big Show defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins)
5. April 26
Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose
We don’t always see the Undertaker make an appearance in SmackDown and we definetly don’t get to see him squaring off against a young talent. But this episode redefined those dynamics as it boasted a main event of Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose.
From the undercard itself it had some intriguing matches with Jack Swagger getting one over Alberto Del Rio in a no disqualification match while Big Show went on against Sheamus. The show aired from London and the crowd even got to see hometown heroes Wade Barrett and William Regal going at it in a short but good match.
Jack Swagger (w/ Zeb Colter) defeated Alberto Del Rio (w/ Ricardo Rodriguez) in a No Disqualification Match (14:05)
Layla defeated Aksana (2:59)
Fandango (w/ Summer Rae) defeated Justin Gabriel (2:56)
The Big Show defeated Sheamus (12:11)
Wade Barrett defeated William Regal (0:59)
Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton by DQ (4:49)
The Undertaker defeated Dean Ambrose (4:55)
4. January 18
Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus
The 700th episode of the weekly show started off with a bang and ended the same. Cesaro left the critics speechless when he produced another great performance against Kofi Kingston. Del Rio launched a celebration after his match with Big Show in the last week and the whole festival atmosphere went to a different level as the fans got involved.
Randy Orton teamed with Hell No to face Rhodes Scholars and Wade Barrett but the climax of the show stood out when Sheamus teamed up with Alberto Del Rio to face Big Show and Dolph Ziggler.
Antonio Cesaro defeated Kofi Kingston (3:02)
The Great Khali (w/ Natalya) defeated Tensai (1:24)
Randy Orton, Kane and Daniel Bryan defeated Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and Wade Barrett (7:44)
The Miz defeated Primo (w/ Rosa Mendes and Epico) (5:48)
Kaitlyn defeated Aksana (3:29)
Sheamus and Alberto del Rio (w/ Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated The Big Show & Dolph Ziggler (w/ AJ Lee and Big E. Langston (14:28)
3. March 1
Antonio Cesaro
The first Social media SmackDown witnessed all hell breaking lose as Randy Orton went one on one against Big Show in the main event. It also had a great promo featuring hall of famer Jim Ross and Jack Swagger while Antonio Cesaro proved why is was so successful in the Indy circuit.
Cesaro went against The Miz in a two out of three falls match for the United States championship in and effort to replicate the epic encounter he pulled off against Sami Zayn at NXT. Though this match didn’t reach that level, it certainly gave an action packed ride for the fans.
At the Main Event, Big Show and Orton had a great match before the Shield interfered to give Orton a win by disqualification.
Dark match: Bo Dallas defeated Curt Hawkins
Alberto Del Rio (w/ Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated Damien Sandow
Antonio Cesaro (c) defeated The Miz [2:1] in a Best Two Out Of Three Falls Match to retain the WWE United States Championship
The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O’Neil) defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane)
Randy Orton vs. The Big Show ended in a No Contest
Dark match: Kane, Randy Orton & Sheamus defeat The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins)
2. November 29
12 man tag team match
The thanksgiving edition of SmackDown will be remembered for the one hour long segment which ended in a big 12-man tag team match featuring names like the Rhodes Brothers, The Shield, Wyatt Family, Rey Mysterio and CM Punk.
The show started with Randy Orton giving a promo for the Unification match at TLC and then featured a fresh looking Mark Henry defeat Curtis Axel. It also featured the puke angle of Titus O’Neil and sowed the seeds for Brodus Clay’s heel turn.
But the show was stolen by the 12-man tag team match, which started as a tag team bout between the Rhodes Brothers and The Shield. The match would be then expanded first by adding CM Punk and later adding Rey Mysterio, The Usos and the Wyatt family. The match went to and fro with lot of chaos and ended up being one of the best matches that happened in SmackDown this year.
Mark Henry (w/ Big E. Langston) defeated Curtis Axel (w/ Ryback) (3:08)
Los Matadores (Diego, El Torito & Fernando) defeated The Plymouth Rockers (Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal)) (3:05)
Tons Of Funk (Brodus Clay & Tensai) w/ The Funkadactyls (Cameron & Naomi) defeated R-Truth & Xavier Woods (2:14)
Antonio Cesaro (w/ Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter) defeated Titus O’Neil (w/ Darren Young) by DQ (1:59)
Cody Rhodes & Goldust (c) defeated The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) (w/ Dean Ambrose) by DQ to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship (26:13)
CM Punk, Cody Rhodes & Goldust defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) by DQ
CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Goldust, Rey Mysterio & The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) & The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper) (12:18)
1. January 8
Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show
Episode number 699 of SmackDown saw The Rock return after a 10 year gap. But it was overshadowed by a superb encounter between Alberto Del Rio and The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Then SmackDown general manager Booker T was on a mission to outclass Raw and gave an existing card to look forward to. Randy Orton and Antonio Cesaro had a technically sound encounter while AJ Lee was teamed with Dolph Ziggler for a mixed tag team match.
Sheamus showed his dominance when he knocked out the 3MB in just 47 seconds. Then the show was capped off with a grueling last man standing match between Del Rio and Big Show with Del Rio emerging as the winner.
Randy Orton defeated Antonio Cesaro by disqualification (5:47)
Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee defeated The Great Khali and Natalya (w/ Hornswoggle) (2:45)
Sheamus defeated Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, and Jinder Mahal in a 3-on-1 Handicap match (0:47)
Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) defeated The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil) (2:20)
Alberto Del Rio (w/ Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated The Big Show (c) in a Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Championship (14:08)
