If the kiss on Monday’s Raw didn’t make things clear, Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee entered Super SmackDown Live arm in arm, with NXT’s Big E. Langston close behind. Crushed by what she perceived as John Cena using her, AJ sends her monster of a friend to teach Cena a lesson for the second time in a week.

Another faction who means business tonight is The Shield, who serve more justice than the roster can handle.

AJ, Ziggler and Big E are guests on Miz TV:
The Miz opened SuperSmackDown LIVE, welcoming Dolph Ziggler and a skipping AJ Lee to the show in an attempt to get to the bottom of their shocking actions at both WWE TLC and on last night’s Raw. Joining the controversial pair was Big E Langston, the intimidating presence AJ brought to the ring on Raw and who attacked John Cena during the main event.

In response to Miz’s question as to why AJ cost Cena the Money in the Bank contract at WWE TLC and kissed Ziggler one day later, the unpredictable Diva accused Cena of playing with her heart. She said while she lost her job as Raw General Manager to keep his name clean and wanted to rejoice in them growing closer together, he toyed with her emotions and broke her heart, insulting the gifts she made for him, deny her offers of support in his matches in the name of “safety” and generally trying to keep her hidden like a “dirty little secret.” In response, she helped Ziggler break him.

When Miz answered back with a humorous “crazy” comment, the intimidating Langston became noticeably confrontational. AJ warned The Awesome One that her friend didn’t like when people called her that.

As the tension built, Ziggler corrected Miz, but shared his own realization from the events of the previous night that AJ was passionate, not crazy. Mr. Money in the Bank said while Cena may have the Slammy for Superstar of the Year, at WWE TLC, The Showoff stole the show and his girlfriend.

When Miz continued cracking jokes at Ziggler and AJ’s expense, Big E once again showed the WWE Universe what he is capable of, unleashing a major assault on The Miz.

Damien Sandow def. Sin Cara; The Shield attack:
Just one day after Team Rhodes Scholars overcame Rey Myserio & Sin Cara in a WWE Tag Team Champions No. 1 contenders’ Tables Match at WWE TLC, Cody Rhodes defeated Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio bested Sandow on Raw. In an attempt to break that stalemate, Sin Cara would take on Sandow on SuperSmackDown.

But immediately, it became clear something was wrong. For after Sin Cara emerged, Mysterio — expected at ringside to cheer on his teammate — didn’t answer his music. As a result, Sin Cara would have to go it alone, with the devious Rhodes lurking at ringside.

As the match progressed, the confusion suddenly became clear. Members of The Shield began making an unscheduled appearance, walking toward the ring before throwing The Ultimate Underdog’s mask into the squared circle! This shocking revelation distracted Sin Cara, allowing Sandow to seize the moment and overcome the gravity-defying Superstar with Terminus.

The atrocity did not stop there, though. As the smoke cleared, The Shield descended on their prey, attacking the war-torn Sin Cara in vicious fashion.

Later, it was reported that Sin Cara had suffered serious knee damage and Rey Mysterio had suffered a severe neck injury. Both were taken to a local medical facility.

Santino Marella def. Tensai:
Though Tensai was able to deny his opponent’s Cobra attack, when Tensai went for the Senton, Santino got out of the way and grabbed a quick victory on his tattooed opponent.

Kofi Kingston & Team Hell No def. The Prime Time Players & Wade Barrett:
When all order broke down, Titus O’Neil & Darren Young tried to use the numbers advantage on The Big Red Monster. But before they could, Bryan evened the odds, allowing Kane to hit the Chokeslam for the three-count.

Ryback challenges CM Punk:
The always outspoken CM Punk journeyed to SuperSmackDown LIVE to chastise the WWE Universe for voting for John Cena as the Slammy’s Superstar of the Year instead of him.

After mocking them relentlessly, he also criticized Cena for presenting “his” Slammy to WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Punk claimed Flair’s 16 World Championships over a span of a “95-year” career was simply not as impressive as holding the WWE Title and not losing it for nearly 400 days.

The crowd exploded as the irate WWE Champion was interrupted by Ryback. As Paul Heyman urgently insisted Punk was not medically cleared to compete, Ryback informed them both that when Punk is medically cleared on the first Raw of the New Year on Jan. 7, he will become WWE Champion!

Ryback def. Antonio Cesaro:
Although Cesaro attempted to pick up the easy win by count-out while going on an impressive offensive attack, Ryback would soon roar back and hit Shell Shocked for another dominating victory.

AJ and Kaitlyn brawl; Kaitlyn def. Divas Champion Eve by DQ in a Divas Championship Match:
As Kaitlyn was making her way to the ring for a Divas Title opportunity, AJ Lee approached her to wish her luck. But considering the roller coaster–like history between them, it’s not surprising Kaitlyn chose to balk at her former friend’s good wishes. As a result, AJ attacked her from behind, sparking absolute chaos between them.

Despite the turmoil, Kaitlyn still competed for the Divas Title. And when she finally gained the advantage over the tough Eve, the reigning champion opted to get herself disqualified rather than lose the butterfly-emblazoned championship.

Brodus Clay def. Brad Maddox; The Shield struck again:
Earlier in the night, tension was noticeable between SmackDown General Manager Booker T and his Senior Advisor Theodore Long, when Teddy put Booker on the spot at the suggestion that the head of SmackDown consider Brad Maddox as a SmackDown Superstar.

Nevertheless, Maddox was granted a match. After reintroducing himself to the SuperSmackDown crowd, the former WWE referee promised to win his match and a contract to be a WWE Superstar.

His confidence vanished, however, when the former WWE referee discovered he would be facing Brodus Clay — and for good reason. For after dissecting the outmatched hopeful, The Funkasaurus flattened Maddox with a splash for the win.

But before he could catch his breathe, Brodus suffered a sudden sneak attack by The Shield, who took out the massive Superstar with their trademark Triple Powerbomb.

John Cena & Sheamus def. World Heavyweight Champion Big Show & Dolph Ziggler by DQ:
While the determined Big Show & Ziggler combination maintained an impressive advantage for a good amount of the match, once the resilient Celtic Warrior reached his partner, the leader of the Cenation took charge.

As he did, Sheamus also regrouped, knocking an interfering Big Show over the top rope and out of the ring. This sparked a brawl between the giant and his Irish adversary all the way up the ramp.

Back in the ring, Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment, signaling he was about to put the match to bed. Before he could capitalize, however, Big E entered the ring — at the behest of AJ. Without warning, he clobbered Cena, obliterating the 10-time WWE Champion for the second time in as many nights.

Conclusion:
It’s easy to nit-pick at certain things but nobody can deny that the WWE product is picking up. It has that pre-attitude era “New Generation” feel, with a crop of young talent that are just waiting to become break out stars. As much as the booking of Ziggler vs Cena has been unequal, seeing the Showoff, Langston and AJ dominate the show tonight felt refreshing.