WWE SmackDown: Spoiler-Free Preview for December 12

With no Slammy Awards to get in the way, the Dec. 11 edition of WWE SmackDown provides one last chance to build toward TLC.

Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose's match won't get any attention, but several midcard bouts will. The Usos, Goldust and Jack Swagger all look for wins in preparation for 2014's last pay-per-view.

Columbus, Georgia, already welcomed WWE on Tuesday night, but the go-home show won't air until Friday at 8 p.m. ET on SyFy.

Main Event didn't have a single match this week. Monday's Raw had about half an hour of actual wrestling. It's up to SmackDown to deliver the goods between the ropes.

The following is a results-free look at all the matches set to air. 

Cesaro and Tyson Kidd and The Usos

The new thrown-together duo of Kidd and Cesaro appear to be sticking together. This is now their third match as a team.

The tag division is not where Cesaro fans want to see him, but he thrived as a tag team wrestler for much of his indy career, so there's a good chance he maximizes this opportunity.

For The Usos, this is a warm-up match for their title bout against The Miz and Damien Mizdow at TLC. Jimmy Uso may have trouble controlling his anger after The Miz's flirtations with his wife. That could either mean Cesaro and Kidd benefit from a distracted opponent or have to face a foe powered by rage.

Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox

Fox and Emma are the two most underused talents in the Divas division. The former gets a shot to shine here, facing the Divas champ in non-title action.

Nikki is in search of momentum leading up to her title defense against AJ Lee. Either she rolls over Fox en route to that clash or gets tested and potentially suffers a loss, showing vulnerability in the process.

Either way, fans won't be expecting this match to go long. The Divas regularly get shortchanged on ring time.

On last week's SmackDown, Nikki finished off Emma in just under two minutes, per CageMatch.net.

Jack Swagger vs. Titus O'Neil

Either as part of Slater Gator or on his own, O'Neil hasn't tasted victory in a long while. You have to go back to September to find a win on his record.

He'll enter this bout as the clear underdog. Not only did Swagger beat O'Neil in under five minutes last time around, per ProFightDB.com, but The Real American is involved in a feud with the United States champ.

Credit: WWE.com

O'Neil, on the other hand, isn't scheduled for the TLC event.

Swagger has been fuming after Rusev broke Zeb Colter's leg. That means we'll likely see Swagger play the part of charging bull with O'Neil trying to leap out of his way.

Big E vs. Goldust

In a partial preview of the TLC's pre-show match, one member of The New Day meets one of the Rhodes brothers.

Goldust and Stardust cost Big E and his pals a shot at the tag team titles on Dec. 1. The path to payback starts here.

It's refreshing that a tag team rivalry is developing outside of the one involving the champs. This has the potential to be a showcase of the repackaged faction. That begins here with a bit of singles action.

The powerhouse going up against the speedy veteran creates an interesting dynamic in what is a fresh matchup.

Kane, Luke Harper and Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback

In a case of unimaginative booking, WWE pits the same group of guys against each other again. Fans have seen some combination of these rivals in tag matches on last week's SmackDown and the last two editions of Raw. 

It happens once more before these three sets of rivals face off separately at TLC.

Kane and Ryback collide before their Chairs match. Ziggler and Harper slug it out before their Ladder match. Big Show and Rowan prep for the newest addition to the pay-per-view's gimmick collection—the Steel Stairs match.

Putting this many enemies in the same ring promises chaos, but it doesn't sound appealing. It's just too much of the same thing. 

While not a fantastic SmackDown on paper, the show promises to edge out a recap-only edition of Main Event and a Slammy-heavy Raw in terms of in-ring action.