Live from Footprint Center in
Phoenix, Arizona
On Sunday, December 12, 2021WWE Commentary Team: Mauro Ranallo, Tony Schiavone and Corey Graves
WWE Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel
WWE Backstage Reporter: Mean Gene Okerlund
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PRE-SHOW BONUS MATCH - WINNERS CHALLENGE HART FOUNDATION FOR THE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: SOCIAL OUTCASTS vs. BEER MONEY INC. : Because Rey Fénix was not medically cleared to compete tonight after he sustained an undisclosed injury in his match versus Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart two nights ago on Smackdown, a match was held between Heath Slater and Bo Dallas of the Social Outcasts and “Glorious” Bobby Roode and “Cowboy” James Storm of Beer Money Inc. to decide who would challenge the Hart Foundation for their titles later in the evening. Roode and Storm won the match when Roode pinned Dallas after he and Storm executed Drinking While Investing on him. (5:41) --
Winners by Pinfall: Beer Money Inc.
TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR THE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: WALTER {c} vs. DANIEL BRYAN vs. BRIAN CAGE : After taking WALTER down to the mat with a running clothesline, Bryan dove off the turnbuckle and hit WALTER with a front missile dropkick. He kicks WALTER with a series of Yes! Kicks before applying the Yes! Lock. WALTER couldn’t escape, but was saved by Cage, who broke it up and gave Bryan a release German suplex. Cage hit Bryan with a discus clothesline and then gave him the Cage Breaker. Before he could go for the pin, WALTER nailed him with a running big boot. The Ring General grabbed Cage and gave him a folding powerbomb, then lifted Cage up and gave him a second one. WALTER made the cover, but Cage kicked out at two. WALTER climbed the turnbuckle. Bryan got up and shook the top rope to trip him up. Bryan climbed up and went for a frankensteiner, but WALTER held onto the top rope. When Bryan got back to his feet, Cage hit him with a superkick before lifting him into a military press and dropping him over the top rope. Meanwhile, WALTER got himself up on the top turnbuckle and nailed Cage with a diving front missile dropkick. WALTER connected with a big running knife-edge chop and then gave Cage a powerbomb. He climbed to the top rope and executed a diving splash. 1…2…3! (12:35) --
Winner by Pinfall: WALTER
DUDLEY BOYZ vs. THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON : Bubba Ray tagged in D-Von, who climbed to the top turnbuckle and dove off to land the What’s Up diving headbutt to The Miz’s crotch. They set up to give him the 3-D, but John Morrison intercepted with a springboard crossbody on D-Von. The Miz tagged out. Morrison hit Bubba with a spinning heel kick and then gave the Moonlight Drive to D-Von when he charged at him. Morrison went for the cover, but D-Von kicked out at two. Morrison dragged him to the corner and went for Starship Pain, but D-Von put up his knees. Both men crawled to their corners to make the hot tags. Bubba Ray jabbed The Miz several times and gave him a bionic elbow. Then, he gave him a Bubba Bomb. Morrison charged at him and got a big back body drop and then a clothesline out to the floor. The Miz tried for the Skull Crhsing Finale, but Bubba Ray slipped free and made the quick tag. The Miz went for the whip but Bubba Ray reversed and D-Von got in position for the 3-D! 1…2…3! (9:53) --
Winners by Pinfall: The Dudley Boyz
BECKY LYNCH vs. PAIGE : Paige caught Becky Lynch under the chin with a superkick and went for the cover, but Lynch kicked out, so she tried to put her in the PTO. She couldn’t secure Lynch’s arms so the hold had to be broken when he got to the ropes. Paige sent Lynch into the corner and charged in. Lynch moved out of the way and Paige hit the turnbuckles hard. Lynch beat her down in the corner and gave her a Flying Fire-arm. She dragged her out of the corner and went for the pin. When Paige kicked out, Lynch applied the Disarmher. Paige was close to tapping, but managed to turn enough to get a foot on the ropes. Lynch tried to stay on the attack, but Paige gave her an inverted atomic drop and then a snap vertical suplex. She picked up Lynch and tried to set her up for a Ram-Paige DDT, but Lynch countered with a bridging northern lights suplex, getting a 2-count on it. They both got up slowly, with Paige making the first attack attempt, but Lynch dropped her with a leg lariat and then put her in the Disarmher again. This time, Paige was too far from the rope and tapped out. (9:00) --
Winner by Submission: Becky Lynch
RANDY ORTON vs. UMAGA w/ PAUL HEYMAN : Orton went for a snap powerslam, but Umaga clung to the ropes and then bowled over Orton with a running lariat. He went for a senton bomb, but Orton rolled out of the way. Orton charged at Umaga, who countered with a Samoan drop. Orton rolled on impact, all the way to the floor. Umaga left the ring and slammed him into the guardrail before whipping him into the steps. He charged at Orton, who moved and Umaga slammed into the steps. Orton climbed into the ring and when Umaga tried to enter the ring, Orton caught him in a headlock and gave him the hangman’s DDT. Orton made the cover but Umaga kicked out. Orton went to the chinlock and Umaga eventually powered out. After he broke the hold with elbows to the abdomen, he ran to the ropes. This time Orton pulled off the snap powerslam. He pinned him for 1…2… kick out! Orton backed into the corner, dropped to the mat and slammed it with his fists a few times. He went for the RKO, but Umaga had it scouted, instead shoving Orton into the turnbuckles before getting him with a Samoan wrecking ball. He pinned him for 1…2… kick out! Umaga lifted Orton onto his shoulders and started up the turnbuckles, Orton broke free and brought Umaga off the second turnbuckle with a jumping neckbreaker! He made the pin. 1…2… kick out! Orton backed away again, but this time, he went for a punt kick, Umaga lifted his head to avoid it and then struck Orton with a Samoan Spike when he turned around! Umaga made the pin. 1…2…3! Not content for that to be the end, Paul Heyman demanded Umaga pick up Orton, place him on his shoulders and climb the turnbuckles to give him a Super Samoan Drop, and he did. Afterwards, Orton would be taken from the ring to an ambulance on a stretcher. (15:48) --
Winner by Pinfall: Umaga
SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS MATCH: HART FOUNDATION {c} vs. BEER MONEY INC. : Hart draped Storm’s leg over the bottom rope and gave him some seated sentons into his knee. He gave him some wrapped kneebreakers, followed by a lifted kneebreaker and a pendulum backbreaker. He made the pin and got a 2-count. Hart tagged in Neidhart, who peppered Storm’s torso with falling double axehandle smashes before picking him up and executing a bodyslam. He tagged Hart back in and together they gave Storm a wishbone leg-splitter. Hart followed it up by putting Storm in the Sharpshooter. Roode ran in and clotheslined Hart from behind. Neidhart came in and hit Roode with a series of jabs before giving him a bionic elbow. He went back to the ring apron to take the tag. Neidhart lifted Storm and Hart ran to the ropes. Roode took Neidhart down with a chopblock. Storm landed on top of him for the pin, but Neidhart kicked out at two. Meanwhile, Roode clotheslined Hart over the top rope. He went back to the ring apron to take the tag. Roode and Storm executed Drinking While Investing on Neidhart. Roode made the cover. 1…2… Hart broke it up with a diving double axehandle. Hart brawled with Storm, who got him near the ropes and went for the Last Call. Hart blocked it and gave him a teardrop suplex. Roode kicked Hart in the mid-section and got him in position for the Glorious DDT but Neidhart grabbed Roode in a rear waist lock and executed a release German suplex. When Roode got to his feet, Neidhart took him down with a dropkick, then lifted him into the air for Hart to hit the clothesline – Hart Attack! Hart got out of the ring and Neidhart made the cover. 1…2…3! (16:06) --
Winners by Pinfall: The Hart Foundation
STEEL CAGE MATCH: “STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN vs. “THE MILLION DOLLAR MAN” TED DIBIASE : DiBiase repeatedly slammed Austin’s face into the side of the cage until he slumped over. Happy with his work, DiBiase crossed the ring to exit via the door. The door opened and as he approached the corner, Austin got up, ran across the ring and shoved DiBiase into the turnbuckles from behind. He turned him around and put the boots to him until he was on his butt, then Austin gave him a double middle finger salute and stomped a mudhole into him. When he was done, Austin brought DiBiase to his feet and sent him across the ring with a cross-corner whip. DiBiase hit hard and popped right out of the corner into a back body drop. When DiBiase got up, Austin grabbed him from behind and threw him over the top rope, into the side of the cage. Austin stomped at him some more and choked him with his boot. Irwin R. Schyster holled at him to stop, but Austin gave him a middle finger, then got down and shoved DiBiase’s face into the cage, grinding it for a few moments.
Austin walked away to a different side of the cage and started scaling it. IRS told DiBiase to get up immediately, then he ran around and started climbing the outside of the cage. Austin was blocked from going over the side of the cage by IRS. DiBiase grabbed Austin by the foot and started pulling him back down. Austin grabbed IRS by his tie as he was going down. IRS was choked and his face slammed into the side of the cage, causing him to let go and fall all the way to floor! DiBiase and Austin fought as they balanced on the top rope. They took turns slamming each other’s faces into the cage. DiBiase thumbed Austin in the eye, slammed his face off the cage and gave him a side Russian legsweep off the top rope, back into the ring. When DiBiase got up, he put Austin in a figure-four leglock. Eventually, Austin turned it over. DiBiase got to the ropes, but there are no rope breaks in a cage match.
DiBiase was in the hold for a long time. He appeared to be on the verge of tapping out when JBL ran down and entered the ring. He hit Austin with a steel chair! JBL picked up Austin and gave him a fallaway slam into the side of the cage. JBL tended to DiBiase, helping him to his feet. DiBiase’s knee was in serious pain, so JBL helped him hobble across the ring. As they got near the door. Austin smacked JBL in the back with the chair. He gave him a kick and a Stone Cold Stunner! Meanwhile, DiBiase was climbed through the ropes, going for the open door. Austin kicked the middle rope, causing the vibration to stop DiBiase in his tracks. The Million Dollar Man was feeling it where the sun don’t shine, when Austin grabbed him and suplexed him back into the ring. Austin whacked him with the steel chair a few times.
IRS entered the cage and came at Austin. He took him down with a Lou Thesz Press and punched him several times. Austin brought him to his feet and gave him a kick and a Stone Cold Stunner! DiBiase snuck up from behind and put Austin in the Million Dollar Dream. Austin started to fade and slump towards the mat. Just in reach was the steel chair. He picked up, swung it backwards over his head and hit DiBiase in the face with it. Then a kick and a Stone Cold Stunner! Finally, Austin walked out of the cage, leaving the Million Dollar Man, JBL and IRS all laid out on the mat. (19:11) --
Winner by Exiting the Cage: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: BAYLEY {c} vs. EMBER MOON : Ember Moon gave Bayley a handspring Stinger splash before taking her out of the corner with a double underhook suplex. Moon climbed the turnbuckle but Bayley got up a touch too quickly. Seeing where Moon was, Bayley bailed from the ring. Moon got down, then ran across the ring and sent Bayley into the barricade with a suicide dive. Moon brought her into the ring and gave her a slingshot leg drop. Moon made the cover. Bayley kicked out at two. Moon bent over to pick up Bayley but got a jawjacker, which Bayley followed up with a headscissors takedown into an armbar. It took her a bit of time, but Moon got to the ropes to force the break. Bayley whipped Moon into the corner and charged in but got a discus elbow smash and fisherman’s suplex instead. 1…2… Bayley kicked out! Moon climbed the turnbuckle. Bayley got up and tripped her. She climbed up and they traded blows until Bayley went for a frankensteiner. Ember Moon held onto the ropes to block. Then, Moon climbed up and went for a diving crossbody. Bayley grabbed the referee by the arm and pulled her into Moon’s path. Everyone was down, but Moon got up first. She checked on the referee as Bayley quietly left the ring. Bayley went to the timekeeper’s position, collected her title and started away from the ring. Moon ran out to stop her. Bayley clocked her in the face with her championship before giving her the arm-trap headlock driver on the floor. Bayley picked up Moon’s lifeless body and pushed her into the ring. After slapping the referee to wake her up, Bayley pinned Moon and the referee administered the pinfall count. 1…2…3! (12:51) --
Winner by Pinfall: Bayley
SMACKDOWN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: STING {c} vs. JOHN CENA : Sting went for a whip, but John Cena reversed it. Cena went for a clothesline, but Sting ran under it. Cena turned around and went for another at the same time that Sting threw one of his own, and they both went down. The referee administered a standing ten-count. Both men got up at the count of eight. They both threw punches and blocked them until Cena ducked one and lifted Cena into a spin-out powerbomb that got a two-count. Next, Cena gave Sting a pair of vertical suplexes and a half-nelson dropped into a neckbreaker. He made another cover. 1…2… kick out!
Cena kept Sting grounded with a headlock. Sting fought his way up to his feet, breaking the hold with elbows to the abdomen. He ran to the ropes and Cena went for a running crossbody, but Sting caught him and gave him a backbreaker-gutbuster combo. He covered and Cena kicked out at two. Sting sent Cena into the corner. He charged in for a Stinger splash, but Cena got out of the way. After Sting hit the turnbuckles, Cena took him out of the corner with a one-handed bulldog and he made the pin. 1…2… kick out! Cena flipped Sting over and tried to put him in the STFU, but Sting scrambled to the ropes to force a break.
Sting went out to the floor and Cena followed. When he caught up to Sting, he took a hard spinning right hand and then received a belly-to-back suplex. Sting broke the count and came back to the outside. As he tried to pick up Cena, the Face That Runs the Place lifted Sting up over head and gave him an Alabama slam! Cena picked up Sting and tossed him into the ring. He came in and covered with a lateral press. 1…2… kick out! Cena turned Sting over and applied the STFU. It took considerable effort, but Sting scratched and crawled his way to the ropes. Once back to his feet, Cena stayed on him with some jabs. He went for a whip, but Sting reversed it. Cena hit Sting with a leaping shoulder block. He gave him another one and then a spin-out powerbomb. Cena signaled that Sting couldn’t see him and went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Sting rolled out of the way!
Back on their feet, Sting hit Cena with alternative jabs and chops before sending him into the corner with an Irish whip. Cena popped out of the corner upon impact and walked right into a big back body drop. Sting knocked him down with a pair of clotheslines and then sent him into the corner again. He cupped his hands at his mouth and let out a WOO! Sting ran in for a Stinger splash! He sent Cena across the ring and gave him a second Stinger splash! He lifted Cena high in the air and dropped him with a gorilla press slam. He covered with a lateral press. 1…2… kick out!
Sting took Cena into the corner and gave him ten punches. Then, he lifted Cena onto the top turnbuckle. Sting went up, but after trading punches, Cena knocked him to the mat. As Sting was getting up, Cena executed a diving leg drop to the back of Sting’s neck. Cena flipped him over and made the pin. 1…2… kick out! Cena brought Sting to his feet and lifted him onto his shoulders. Sting hit him with elbows and knees, slipped free and executed the Scorpion Death Drop! He covered. 1…2… kick out!
After briefly questioning the ref’s count, Sting grabbed Cena by the legs and turned him over into the Scorpion Death Lock. Cena refused to quit and after powering up into a push up, he bravely pulled himself to the ropes to force the break. Once Cena was back to his feet, Sting approached. Cena surprised him with a drop toehold and tried to apply the STFU again. Sting scrambled free and rolled Cena over into a modified la magistral pin for a 2-count, then swept his legs and tried to apply the Scorpion Death Lock again, but Cena pulled him into a small package for a 2-count. Back to their feet, Cena lifted Sting onto his shoulders, and while Sting elbowed him, he still managed to pull off the Attitude Adjustment. He made the cover. 1…2… kick out!
While Cena questioned the count, Sting rolled under the ropes to the ring apron. Cena went over to get him and got a shoulder block to the mid-section. Sting went over the top rope and tried to take Cena down into a sunset flip, but Cena held onto the ropes and then folded Sting over with a jackknife cover. 1…2… reversal to a sunset flip pin for Sting. 1…2… kick out! Cena went for a clothesline. Sting ducked it. Sting went for a clothesline. Cena ducked it. Cena went for a running leaping shoulder block, but Sting dropped out of the way and Cena nailed the referee by mistake. As Cena was getting up, Sting grabbed him from behind. Scorpion Death Drop!
1…2…3…4…5…6. The match should be over, but there’s no referee.
Sting got up and the lights went out. When they came back up, The Fiend was standing across the ring from him. He didn’t make a move until Sting did first. Then he charged hard at him and nailed him with a flying cross chop. The Fiend grabbed Sting and gave him Sister Abigail! Then, he applied a Mandible Claw.
Suddenly, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin came running down to the ring with a steel chair in hand. The Fiend looked up at Austin as he dove under the ropes. When the Texas Rattlesnake started to swing the chair, the lights went out. When they came back up, The Fiend was gone and Austin was standing over Sting with a chair in his hands. The referee, who was starting to get up looked at the scene and called for the bell. Austin, still holding the chair, protested that he didn’t do anything.
As Cena got up, Howard Finkel announced that Sting won the match via disqualification. He asked the referee what was going on and he claimed Austin hit Sting with a chair. Cena and Austin got into a verbal altercation. Austin denied hitting Sting, and Cena accused of seeking more payback for the Survivor Series elimination. They started pushing each other. Austin lifted the chair to swing it, but Cena got his hands on it. They fought over it and Cena won. Austin flipped him a pair of birds and kicked him. Cena dropped the chair and pushed Austin away, then lifted him onto his shoulders and gave him the Attitude Adjustment!
Cena left the ring to a mix of cheers and boos as the show went off the air. (28:14) --
Winner by Disqualification: Sting