The Good, the Great and the Awesome from SmackDown 11/29/13

The Good, the Great and the Awesome is a much harder article to write when WWE presents a show as bad as Friday's Night's SmackDown was for the first hour.

The matches themselves during that portion of the broadcast were lackluster, to say the least, and the attempts at comedy were embarrassing.

But, this being an article determined to focus on the positives of WWE programming, I have managed to look beyond the nonsense and come up with several things that hit the mark this week.

What were those things, and, more importantly, how good, great or awesome was the main event match and angle that ate up the second hour of the show?

Find out inside.

This is the good, great and awesome from the final SmackDown of November, 2013.

The Good

Photo Credit: WWE.com

The world's strongest tag team

While it may be a questionable decision to pair new Intercontinental champion Big E. Langston with a partner this early in his singles babyface push, an allegiance with Mark Henry will go a long way in helping to elevate Langston in the eyes of the audience.

Henry is a former World Heavyweight champion who has battled the top stars the industry has to offer. He is treated like a star by World Wrestling Entertainment and, as a result, fans accept him as one.

By teaming with Henry, some of that star power will rub off on Langston, and it will be easier for fans to accept him at the next level of competition when that time comes.

Not to mention the fact that WWE cannot resist the opportunity to split a tandem and have them feud with one another, so when Langston delivers some of his power moves to the massive Henry, it will make him look that much better and more unstoppable.

If done correctly, Langston can come out of this ordeal looking like a legitimate breakout star for a company that has a plethora of young talent at this point in time.

Brodus' change in attitude

From the moment he returned to WWE television as the Funkasaurus on January 9, 2012, fans have questioned the use of the massive Brodus Clay as a fun-loving dancer rather than an intimidating monster-type.

Those fans may be getting some satisfaction as Clay displayed the first signs of an attitude change and, as a result, a heel turn.

Clay's backstage confrontation with Xavier Woods may not have made sense since he agreed to let Woods use his act Monday night, but the intensity he showed upon entering the match against the rookie and partner R-Truth was solid, and his post-match antics, where he dropped the brute act and began dancing like nothing ever happened, was done well.

The fact that neither Tensai nor the Funkadactyls seemed all that thrilled with the side of Clay that had been showcased during the match definitely indicates a change in the very near future.

With that character seemingly going as far as it is ever going to, it is a much needed change.

The Great

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Paranoid Randy

The Viper kicked off this show and once again exhibited tendencies that suggest he is growing more and more paranoid with every passing week.

When interviewer Renee Young peppered him with questions concerning his upcoming TLC match against World Heavyweight champion John Cena, Orton opted not to answer and, instead, left the ring. On his way up the ramp, he could be seen talking to himself.

It is an interesting development for a character that has been rather uninteresting since turning heel.

The desperation and paranoia could very well lead to Orton taking drastic measures to ensure that he remains champion.

If there is anything that fans know, it is that WWE's Apex Predator is significantly more interesting and entertaining when he is dropping people with RKOs, punting fellow Superstars into oblivion and generally acting irrationally.

Here is to more of crazy Randy in the future.

The effectiveness of Renee Young

I want to take this opportunity to sing the praises of Renee Young, who has quickly become the best broadcast personality WWE has had since Jonathan Coachman exited the company.

Her interviews never come across as scripted, unlike some of the other personalities that have held her position in the past. 

She is well-versed in everything going on around her and legitimately seems to be interested by what the subject of the interviews is saying.

Most notable is her personality. She is not wooden nor does she come across as "backstage interviewer number two." Fans can buy into her because she has a personality and she reacts like a human being would.

She asks follow-up questions and expresses emotions when something is funny or when a Superstar says something despicable.

Thus far, Young has been a very valuable part of the broadcast team and one can only hope she is not replaced in the future in favor of one of the nameless, faceless types the company has hired in the past.

The Awesome

Photo Credit: WWE.com

A cavalcade of awesome

How exactly does one go about filling one entire hour of a two-hour holiday broadcast?

Easy, you throw everything that has been awesome about your programming for the last three months into one big main event angle/match and let the Superstars deliver as they always do.

That is exactly what happened Friday night as Cody Rhodes and Goldust started off by defending their WWE Tag Team Championships against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins of The Shield.

When Dean Ambrose hit the ring to break up a pinfall, CM Punk made his way to the ring and assaulted the heel trio with a steel chair. General manager Vickie Guerrero would announce a six-man tag match.

As that match unfolded and it appeared as though Punk was rolling to victory, the Wyatt Family interrupted. The Usos and Rey Mysterio would hit the ring to offset the numbers advantage and a big 12-man tag was ordered.

Eventually, Punk caught Erick Rowan with GTS and picked up the win for his team in what was one hour of excellent in-ring work.

While the feud involving the tag champions and The Shield may be overexposed at this point, there is no denying the fact that every time they share the ring, the outcome is a show-stealing match.

At a time when writing is choppy at best and illogical at worst, the matches the 12 men involved in this week's SmackDown main event are responsible for help establish some consistency on WWE programming.

Consistency, though not always the most exciting or innovative element, is necessary.