January 18, 2013 Friday Night SmackDown

Friday Night SmackDown

Promotion	WWE
Date	January 18, 2013
Venue	AT&T Center
City	San Antonio, Texas
Previous episode	January 11, 2013
Next episode	January 25, 2013

The January 18, 2013 Edition of Smackdown is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which took place on January 15, 2013 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Episode Summary[]

Fiesta Del Rio[]

The landmark 700th episode of SmackDown started and ended with a bang, as the WWE Universe joined new World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio in a fiesta before the Mexican Superstar joined forces with Sheamus to defeat Big Show & Dolph Ziggler in an epic tag team match that left The World’s Largest Athlete all wet. One week after his World Heavyweight Championship victory over Big Show in an unforgettable Last Man Standing Match, Alberto Del Rio threw a fiesta for the ages. With the ring adorned in decorations and accompanied by the sounds of a Mariachi band, Del Rio welcomed the San Antonio crowd to “Fiesta Del Rio”!

Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee and Big E Langston soon crashed the party, and using Big E as leverage, The Showoff threatened to cash in his Money in the Bank contract right then and there. A furiously silent Big Show arrived on the scene, tipping the scales even further against the Mexican Superstar — just nine days before his World Title rematch at the Royal Rumble.

But Sheamus quickly evened the odds, and putting aside their differences, The Celtic Warrior congratulated Del Rio on his title victory, shaking his former rival’s hand and offering his services as the “bouncer” for Del Rio’s fiesta.

Before things got out of hand, General Manager Booker T joined the party by making a mega match for the night — Big Show & Dolph Ziggler against Del Rio & Sheamus!

Ordering the opposition out of the ring, Booker answered Del Rio’s call for a Spinaroonie, and with a reluctant jig from The Celtic Warrior, the party was officially underway.

The Great Khali vs Tensai[]

With the lovely Natalya at his side, The Great Khali battled the massive Tensai. The two behemoths traded mighty assaults, but once The Punjabi Playboy hit the Great Chop, Tensai was down for the three-count.

Notably absent during the bout was Hornswoggle, who’s still feeling the effects of Big E Langston’s punishing attack one week ago on SmackDown.

The Miz vs Primo[]

After exchanging words with Primo, Epico and Rosa Mendes earlier in the night, The Miz took on Primo in one-on-one action. Primo was chosen by Rosa to battle The Awesome One.

Just when Miz looked ready to finish off the former WWE Tag Team Champion, a distraction from Epico allowed Primo to attempt a Figure-Four Leglock. The Awesome One turned the tables, however, trapping Primo in the Figure-Four and forcing his opponent to tap out.

Kaitlyn vs Aksana[]

Following her huge hometown win on the 20th anniversary of Raw on Monday, new Divas Champion Kaitlyn locked horns with Aksana in a physical bout on SmackDown. With the entire Divas locker room now eyeing Kaitlyn’s title, Aksana looked to capitalize on her opportunity, hitting The Hybrid Diva with everything she had.

But with the titleholder trapped in the corner and the referee forcing Aksana to break her hold, Aksana wasted precious moments arguing with the official. This opened the door just enough for a big spear from Kaitlyn, leading to a victory for the Divas Champion.

Sheamus & Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show & Dolph Ziggler[]

A huge night of SmackDown action was capped off with a massive main event, as World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio joined forces with Sheamus to square off against Big Show & Dolph Ziggler in an epic tag team bout. But with Big E Langston and AJ Lee at ringside, the match was frenzied from the get-go as both of Ziggler’s “friends” were ejected from the arena by the referee.

At the height of the action, Sheamus built up momentum against Ziggler, but when The Celtic Warrior looked to hit a high impact move off the top rope, Big Show tossed him to the ringside floor. The Showoff then made the tag, and The World’s Largest Athlete went to work isolating Sheamus and taking firm control of the bout.

Sheamus somehow managed to fight back, and tagged in Del Rio just as Big Show tagged in Ziggler. With the San Antonio crowd firmly behind him, the World Champion immediately leveled The Showoff with a kick to the head before locking in the Cross Armbreaker.

Big Show broke the hold, but Sheamus caught the giant in White Noise before Del Rio nailed him with an acrobatic kick. Then, adding insult to injury, the champion hurled a bucket of water in Big Show’s face, sending a humiliated and irate giant packing from the ring and resulting in a count-out victory for Del Rio & Sheamus.

“Fiesta Del Rio” then resumed, as balloons fell from the ceiling and Del Rio and Sheamus celebrated inside the ring.

But was the water-tossing move a smart one on the part of the Mexican Superstar, or has the World Champion’s attempt to embarrass the giant worked only to enrage Big Show, perhaps putting the champion in a vicarious position when the two rivals square off with the title on the line at the Royal Rumble?