Smackdown
Date: April 27, 2012
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It's the last show before Extreme Rules and we're minus a Josh Matthews here due to Lesnar killing him on Monday. We have a main event tonight of Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a non-title match which is a rematch from Raw where Daniel Bryan cheated Sheamus with a fast count. Other than that I don't think anything else has been announced. Let's get to it.
Do you know your enemy? Mine is time, as I want it to be next Friday so I can see Avengers.
We see a clip of Josh's attack from Monday.
Here's Bryan to open the show. He talks about cutting the cord and finally getting rid of AJ. He's out here to set the record straight: the Wrestlemania loss to Sheamus doesn't count and should go against AJ's record, not his. Then on Monday he was asked to be guest referee in Sheamus vs. Henry. He said he'd call it right down the middle and he did. Some people are saying he fast counted Sheamus but here's footage showing he didn't. The count is shown in slow motion. We also get the post match attack and YES Lock.
Bryan says it's time for a question and answer session. Did Henry beat Sheamus? YES. Did he make Sheamus tap out? YES (not that I remember). Will he get the title back on Sunday? YES. Cue Del Rio who asks a bunch of questions with Ricardo shouting SI after every one in a funny bit. Big Show comes out and wants to know if it's YES or SI, which starts a chant. Show knocks Bryan to the floor and chokeslams Ricardo. Good chokeslam too.
Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio
This is joined in progress after a break and I'm pretty sure is non-title. Show chops Del Rio in the corner and clubs him down with forearms. Del Rio is knocked to the floor but he drapes the arm over the ropes to take over. Show vs. Cody's stipulation will be determined by a spin of the wheel. Show shrugs him off and spears him down. He loads up the chokeslam but Cody comes in for the DQ at 1:54.
Cody tries some weapons but Show knocks them away. He steals Cody's belt and whips Cody with it a few times. Cody hasn't gotten in a single successful attack or victory over Show at all since Wrestlemania.
Ace and Eve are in the back and he says that Eve can make whatever changes she thinks are good on Smackdown. Just run them by him first. Eve says she doesn't know any of the crew people so maybe they should make them wear nametags. They run into Teddy who wants to know what his job is. Ace says Teddy reports directly to Eve, who tells him to go get a nametag.
We get a clip from the Divas Title match Monday where Nikki won it from Beth.
Damien Sandow talks about enlightenment. The fans aren't enlightened as they worship people with nonsensical catchphrases and loud music. He debuts in a week.
Alicia Fox vs. Nikki Bella
Non-title again. The place just goes silent for this as you can hear the girls shouting at each other. Nikki throws Alicia and those hips around with a snapmare and it's off to a modified chinlock. Alicia comes back with a one footed dropkick and basically falls off the middle rope for a back elbow. Twin Magic lets Brie hit a facejam for the pin at 1:48.
O'Neil and Young come up to Yoshi who I think they're facing tonight. They make fun of Japanese people that put their hands together and bow while saying hai. They ask about Yoshi's partner and imply he can't speak English. Big Zeke comes up and says he's the partner tonight. They sing a song about how Zeke is big and strong but doesn't have any cuts. Where were these guys on NXT?
Teddy is now in a maid's outfit over his suit and has a big nametag on his chest. Aksana comes in and he thanks her for sticking by him. She's surprised he has grandchildren and here's Ace who says Aksana's favor has been granted: Antonio Cesar gets a tryout match tonight. If he wins, he gets a job. Eve had an idea that Aksana should be guest ring announcer. Oh and Teddy will have his own ringside commentary table to make sure we have three commentators and he starts next. Ace will tell him every word he says through a headset.
Ezekiel Jackson/Yoshi Tatsu vs. Darren Young/Titus O'Neil
Teddy is on commentary at a separate table but can't talk unless Ace gives him the ok and the exact words in his ears. Young and Tatsu start in the corner and Young takes him down with a Hot Shot. Off to Titus as Cole berates Teddy. The heels beat on Tatsu with double teaming and on their own. Young dropkicks the knee out on Jackson while he's on the apron and a REALLY bad modified Hart Attack out of the corner gets the pin on Yoshi at 1:50. Young missed Tatsu for the most part so it was more like a shove than a chop while Titus powerbombed him.
Here's Cole in the ring and he brings out Orton for an interview. Cole asks about Orton's match on Sunday and Orton says he likes to shoot first and ask questions later. He'll be ready to do whatever it takes to beat Kane on Sunday. We get a video on their feud (long one too, like two minutes) and Orton says he can almost respect what Kane did because it's something he'd do, but he won't accept it. On Sunday, there are no rules so he can do whatever he wants. Kane is the devil's favorite demon, but even the devil couldn't so what Orton is going to do on Sunda.
Cue....Jinder Mahal? He thinks Orton and Kane will destroy each other and a new breed will emerge. Mahal says he's better than Orton all around and that he'll be waiting after Extreme Rules. Orton cuts him off and lays him out with an RKO. Are they really going with Mahal vs. Orton after this? Why? What has Mahal done to make them think he deserves that spot?
Kofi Kingston says don't try this at home or school.
Tyson Kidd vs. Antonio Cesaro
Kidd doesn't get an entrance. Cesaro's music reminds me of Johnny B. Badd's. Cesaro is of course Claudio Castagnoli. He has what looks like socks wrapped around his thighs. Booker: “Are those kneepads?” Cole: “No Booker. If they were kneepads they would be around his knees.” Cesaro uses a lot of power strikes and a gutwrench suplex to take Kidd over. He throws Kidd in the air and hits a European Uppercut on the way down. Cesaro sets for a cradle piledriver but falls forward ala DDP's pancake move for the pin at 1:10.
Teddy has to go in and do something he doesn't want to do post match. He raises Cesaro's hand and then Cesaro kisses Aksana.
Long video on Lesnar vs. Cena, including clips from the sitdown interview and from Edge's promo on Monday. Cena hasn't said much in this.
Great Khali vs. Cody Rhodes
This is as a result of the attack before the six man from last week. Cody is still sore from the whipping Show gave him earlier. Cody goes for the knee which doesn't work at all. He manages to take Khali down and DDTs the knee before going up top. A missile dropkick puts Khali down for two. Back to the knee but Khali gets up and uses some clotheslines to take Cody down. Disaster Kick is caught in the Plunge....for the clean pin at 1:59. Oh good grief I'm not going to bother explaining how stupid this is.
Washington pitches to the tag champions some more and thinks Rosa should talk some more. He needs a decision by Monday though. Ryback comes up and glares at them and walks away. Washington tries to set up a meeting with him.
The Usos are watching in the back.
Jacob Kaye vs. Ryback
Kaye says that he's not going to be another no name schnook. I like this guy already. He's from Grand Rapids and has been trying to escape it for years now. Kaye charges at him and gets thrown down immediately. Ryback kicks his head off and chokes him with the boot. Gorilla press into a powerslam sets up the clothesline and the Muscle Buster gets the pin at 1:08. This guy is so much fun.
Video on AJ going crazy last week. She has no comment on anything but looks very evil. Kaitlyn comes up and tells Striker to leave her alone. Striker leaves and Kaitlyn tries to talk some sense into her so AJ slaps the taste out of her mouth. She immediately seems to regret it but Kaitlyn leaves. This is getting interested.
Mark Henry vs. Sheamus
Henry overpowers him to start so Shemaus slows down a little bit. A headlock doesn't work and Henry puts him down again. Sheamus goes to the knee and takes Henry down for two. He goes for the arm but Henry shoves him to the floor with ease. Sheamus comes back with the slingshot shoulder for two and we take a break. Back with Henry slamming the champ to take over.
Henry gets knocked to the apron and Sheamus hits the ten forearms which are getting cheered a lot better lately. Henry easily throws Sheamus down though and hits a HARD whip into the barricade. Back in for a quick nerve hold but Sheamus gets out. Henry hits something that looked like a crescent kick to put Sheamus down for two. Sheamus comes back with his double ax handles to the chest and down goes
Henry.
A DDT gets two for the champion. He's getting fired up now and starts to pound his chest and shouting Brogue. Probably due to shouting very loudly, Henry is able to run him over for two. A charge misses and Sheamus goes up but jumps over Henry. Brogue Kick takes Henry's head off for the pin at 7:26 shown of 10:56.
Rating: C. This was exactly what you would expect from these two. Henry is the perfect foil for a guy like Sheamus as it looks impressive when Sheamus beats him but Henry's power is good enough to give Sheamus a threat. Also it helps that Sheamus has a finisher that he can hit on anyone instead of a power move.
Bryan comes to the apron and Sheamus invites him down. Sheamus says this Sunday won't be a fluke and there won't be an AJ to blame. Will Sheamus kick Bryan's head off and keep the title? YES! YES! YES! The chant ends the show.
Overall Rating: B. I liked this show for the most part other than the Khali win. For the life of me is it a crime to make him look strong before a rematch? Anyway I liked a lot about this, including the push for the world title match and Ryback's match, as he's the more interesting version of someone like Tensai, minus the big win. Good show here and they pushed the PPV strong, which is the right idea.
Results
Big Show b. Albert Del Rio via DQ when Cody Rhodes interfered
Nikki Bella b. Alicia Fox – Brie Bella pinned Fox after a facejam
Darren Young/Titus O'Neil b. Yoshi Tatsu/Ezekiel Jackson – Double Team Powerbomb
Antonio Cesaro b. Tyson Kidd – Cradle Pancake
Great Khali b. Cody Rhodes – Punjabi Plunge
Ryback b. Jacob Kaye – Muscle Buster
Sheamus b. Mark Henry – Brogue Kick
Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews
Date: April 27, 2012
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It's the last show before Extreme Rules and we're minus a Josh Matthews here due to Lesnar killing him on Monday. We have a main event tonight of Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a non-title match which is a rematch from Raw where Daniel Bryan cheated Sheamus with a fast count. Other than that I don't think anything else has been announced. Let's get to it.
Do you know your enemy? Mine is time, as I want it to be next Friday so I can see Avengers.
We see a clip of Josh's attack from Monday.
Here's Bryan to open the show. He talks about cutting the cord and finally getting rid of AJ. He's out here to set the record straight: the Wrestlemania loss to Sheamus doesn't count and should go against AJ's record, not his. Then on Monday he was asked to be guest referee in Sheamus vs. Henry. He said he'd call it right down the middle and he did. Some people are saying he fast counted Sheamus but here's footage showing he didn't. The count is shown in slow motion. We also get the post match attack and YES Lock.
Bryan says it's time for a question and answer session. Did Henry beat Sheamus? YES. Did he make Sheamus tap out? YES (not that I remember). Will he get the title back on Sunday? YES. Cue Del Rio who asks a bunch of questions with Ricardo shouting SI after every one in a funny bit. Big Show comes out and wants to know if it's YES or SI, which starts a chant. Show knocks Bryan to the floor and chokeslams Ricardo. Good chokeslam too.
Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio
This is joined in progress after a break and I'm pretty sure is non-title. Show chops Del Rio in the corner and clubs him down with forearms. Del Rio is knocked to the floor but he drapes the arm over the ropes to take over. Show vs. Cody's stipulation will be determined by a spin of the wheel. Show shrugs him off and spears him down. He loads up the chokeslam but Cody comes in for the DQ at 1:54.
Cody tries some weapons but Show knocks them away. He steals Cody's belt and whips Cody with it a few times. Cody hasn't gotten in a single successful attack or victory over Show at all since Wrestlemania.
Ace and Eve are in the back and he says that Eve can make whatever changes she thinks are good on Smackdown. Just run them by him first. Eve says she doesn't know any of the crew people so maybe they should make them wear nametags. They run into Teddy who wants to know what his job is. Ace says Teddy reports directly to Eve, who tells him to go get a nametag.
We get a clip from the Divas Title match Monday where Nikki won it from Beth.
Damien Sandow talks about enlightenment. The fans aren't enlightened as they worship people with nonsensical catchphrases and loud music. He debuts in a week.
Alicia Fox vs. Nikki Bella
Non-title again. The place just goes silent for this as you can hear the girls shouting at each other. Nikki throws Alicia and those hips around with a snapmare and it's off to a modified chinlock. Alicia comes back with a one footed dropkick and basically falls off the middle rope for a back elbow. Twin Magic lets Brie hit a facejam for the pin at 1:48.
O'Neil and Young come up to Yoshi who I think they're facing tonight. They make fun of Japanese people that put their hands together and bow while saying hai. They ask about Yoshi's partner and imply he can't speak English. Big Zeke comes up and says he's the partner tonight. They sing a song about how Zeke is big and strong but doesn't have any cuts. Where were these guys on NXT?
Teddy is now in a maid's outfit over his suit and has a big nametag on his chest. Aksana comes in and he thanks her for sticking by him. She's surprised he has grandchildren and here's Ace who says Aksana's favor has been granted: Antonio Cesar gets a tryout match tonight. If he wins, he gets a job. Eve had an idea that Aksana should be guest ring announcer. Oh and Teddy will have his own ringside commentary table to make sure we have three commentators and he starts next. Ace will tell him every word he says through a headset.
Ezekiel Jackson/Yoshi Tatsu vs. Darren Young/Titus O'Neil
Teddy is on commentary at a separate table but can't talk unless Ace gives him the ok and the exact words in his ears. Young and Tatsu start in the corner and Young takes him down with a Hot Shot. Off to Titus as Cole berates Teddy. The heels beat on Tatsu with double teaming and on their own. Young dropkicks the knee out on Jackson while he's on the apron and a REALLY bad modified Hart Attack out of the corner gets the pin on Yoshi at 1:50. Young missed Tatsu for the most part so it was more like a shove than a chop while Titus powerbombed him.
Here's Cole in the ring and he brings out Orton for an interview. Cole asks about Orton's match on Sunday and Orton says he likes to shoot first and ask questions later. He'll be ready to do whatever it takes to beat Kane on Sunday. We get a video on their feud (long one too, like two minutes) and Orton says he can almost respect what Kane did because it's something he'd do, but he won't accept it. On Sunday, there are no rules so he can do whatever he wants. Kane is the devil's favorite demon, but even the devil couldn't so what Orton is going to do on Sunda.
Cue....Jinder Mahal? He thinks Orton and Kane will destroy each other and a new breed will emerge. Mahal says he's better than Orton all around and that he'll be waiting after Extreme Rules. Orton cuts him off and lays him out with an RKO. Are they really going with Mahal vs. Orton after this? Why? What has Mahal done to make them think he deserves that spot?
Kofi Kingston says don't try this at home or school.
Tyson Kidd vs. Antonio Cesaro
Kidd doesn't get an entrance. Cesaro's music reminds me of Johnny B. Badd's. Cesaro is of course Claudio Castagnoli. He has what looks like socks wrapped around his thighs. Booker: “Are those kneepads?” Cole: “No Booker. If they were kneepads they would be around his knees.” Cesaro uses a lot of power strikes and a gutwrench suplex to take Kidd over. He throws Kidd in the air and hits a European Uppercut on the way down. Cesaro sets for a cradle piledriver but falls forward ala DDP's pancake move for the pin at 1:10.
Teddy has to go in and do something he doesn't want to do post match. He raises Cesaro's hand and then Cesaro kisses Aksana.
Long video on Lesnar vs. Cena, including clips from the sitdown interview and from Edge's promo on Monday. Cena hasn't said much in this.
Great Khali vs. Cody Rhodes
This is as a result of the attack before the six man from last week. Cody is still sore from the whipping Show gave him earlier. Cody goes for the knee which doesn't work at all. He manages to take Khali down and DDTs the knee before going up top. A missile dropkick puts Khali down for two. Back to the knee but Khali gets up and uses some clotheslines to take Cody down. Disaster Kick is caught in the Plunge....for the clean pin at 1:59. Oh good grief I'm not going to bother explaining how stupid this is.
Washington pitches to the tag champions some more and thinks Rosa should talk some more. He needs a decision by Monday though. Ryback comes up and glares at them and walks away. Washington tries to set up a meeting with him.
The Usos are watching in the back.
Jacob Kaye vs. Ryback
Kaye says that he's not going to be another no name schnook. I like this guy already. He's from Grand Rapids and has been trying to escape it for years now. Kaye charges at him and gets thrown down immediately. Ryback kicks his head off and chokes him with the boot. Gorilla press into a powerslam sets up the clothesline and the Muscle Buster gets the pin at 1:08. This guy is so much fun.
Video on AJ going crazy last week. She has no comment on anything but looks very evil. Kaitlyn comes up and tells Striker to leave her alone. Striker leaves and Kaitlyn tries to talk some sense into her so AJ slaps the taste out of her mouth. She immediately seems to regret it but Kaitlyn leaves. This is getting interested.
Mark Henry vs. Sheamus
Henry overpowers him to start so Shemaus slows down a little bit. A headlock doesn't work and Henry puts him down again. Sheamus goes to the knee and takes Henry down for two. He goes for the arm but Henry shoves him to the floor with ease. Sheamus comes back with the slingshot shoulder for two and we take a break. Back with Henry slamming the champ to take over.
Henry gets knocked to the apron and Sheamus hits the ten forearms which are getting cheered a lot better lately. Henry easily throws Sheamus down though and hits a HARD whip into the barricade. Back in for a quick nerve hold but Sheamus gets out. Henry hits something that looked like a crescent kick to put Sheamus down for two. Sheamus comes back with his double ax handles to the chest and down goes
Henry.
A DDT gets two for the champion. He's getting fired up now and starts to pound his chest and shouting Brogue. Probably due to shouting very loudly, Henry is able to run him over for two. A charge misses and Sheamus goes up but jumps over Henry. Brogue Kick takes Henry's head off for the pin at 7:26 shown of 10:56.
Rating: C. This was exactly what you would expect from these two. Henry is the perfect foil for a guy like Sheamus as it looks impressive when Sheamus beats him but Henry's power is good enough to give Sheamus a threat. Also it helps that Sheamus has a finisher that he can hit on anyone instead of a power move.
Bryan comes to the apron and Sheamus invites him down. Sheamus says this Sunday won't be a fluke and there won't be an AJ to blame. Will Sheamus kick Bryan's head off and keep the title? YES! YES! YES! The chant ends the show.
Overall Rating: B. I liked this show for the most part other than the Khali win. For the life of me is it a crime to make him look strong before a rematch? Anyway I liked a lot about this, including the push for the world title match and Ryback's match, as he's the more interesting version of someone like Tensai, minus the big win. Good show here and they pushed the PPV strong, which is the right idea.
Results
Big Show b. Albert Del Rio via DQ when Cody Rhodes interfered
Nikki Bella b. Alicia Fox – Brie Bella pinned Fox after a facejam
Darren Young/Titus O'Neil b. Yoshi Tatsu/Ezekiel Jackson – Double Team Powerbomb
Antonio Cesaro b. Tyson Kidd – Cradle Pancake
Great Khali b. Cody Rhodes – Punjabi Plunge
Ryback b. Jacob Kaye – Muscle Buster
Sheamus b. Mark Henry – Brogue Kick
Remember to like this on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @kbreviews
First they make him a rugby player and now they put him with Aksana. They're not making it easy on him.
ReplyDeleteCesaro's finish is called the Gotch Style Neutralizer for some reason. Neutralizer I get, because of the Swiss thing, and it's surprising he's never used that before. Why Gotch Style though? With Bryan changing the LeBell Lock name do they have a quota of old school namesakes for moves they have to fill? Because I seriously couldn't imagine Frank Gotch doing anything like a pancake cradle piledriver. Maybe someone should just bring back the Thesz Press to fill the quota.
ReplyDeleteNow if they get Rollins and Ambrose on TV we should be good for a while until they find something for Kassius Ohno.
What is everyone's issue with Aksana? Is she really that awful to most people? Yeah her accent is a bit annoying but she's freaking gorgeous. As long as they keep her from wrestling actual matches I have no problem with her being Claudio's valet.
ReplyDeleteShe is fucking terrible. Can't wrestle. Can't cut a promo. Can barely speak English. And has no heat. But other than all that she's aces.
ReplyDeleteI agree I want to see more of Ryback. More specifically I want to see him wrestle someone thats not a jobber. How about having him squash Khali?
ReplyDeleteYou can say that about the rest of the divas though. The only two that gets crowd reaction is Vickie and Kharma.
ReplyDeleteKelly, Beth, Bella twins, Neidhart, AJ, and Eve all get reactions to justify tv time. Aksana is just a black hole of suck.
ReplyDeleteYou think she's there because of any skills she has?
ReplyDeleteHe said he wanted more competition. That would work for me.
ReplyDeletePound for pound, AJ is the stiffest worker in wrestling today.
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy, but Titus O'Neil was SERIOUSLY channeling The Rock in that promo: "Good job, Yoshi, you went and got yourself a big strooong partner, BIG ZEKE!"
ReplyDeleteSarcastic clap, condescending acknowledgment, slow explanation, quick reveal via nickname. Yup, hit all the bases.
The little song-and-dance afterwards was great, too.
Why does Jack Swagger get so much flack for his speech impediment when Brock Lethnar talks about being an ath-kicker?
ReplyDeleteThey've run that interview in some form on two Raws and two Smackdowns. Enough!
Yoshi should've bust out some ebonics just to get even.
ReplyDeleteBecause Jack Swagger is Jack Swagger, and Brock Lesnar is Brock Lesnar.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we're only discussing her looks, that outfit is beyond unflattering.
ReplyDeleteBecause that would be racist.
ReplyDeleteObviously she has some "skills" to stay where she's at.
ReplyDeleteLike Ryback a lot, liked him as Skip Sheffield, like him more in this role. He is sort of channeling Rhyno a little bit right now and I did that.
ReplyDeleteMr. Princess went to college with Titus and said "he appears to suck slightly less as a wrestler than he did as a football player." Always bringing the backhanded compliments.
Hey, WWE, yeah, that thing you did with Cody Rhodes there..... THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE NO MIDCARD!
ReplyDeleteOther than that a pretty great go home show (on a sliding scale). I could have used one more segment of interaction between Bryan and Sheamus, but other than that I'm excited for the matc, and for what AJ might do.
Count me in on the Young/O'Neil excitement, and even on Ryback. Both should make solid stars, maybe sooner than later.
I'm dreaming that this leads to AJ turning and helping Bryan win on Sunday to try and get him back. It won't happen, but it would be awesome. They be an amazing "evil couple."
ReplyDeleteEh, the Cody thing tonight didn't bother me too much since he has inflicted a lot of damage on Khali and even pinned him clean a week or two ago. And that loss can easily be forgotten if he gets on another win streak so I hope he gets the IC title back on Sunday, or at least stays in the uppercard afterwards.
ReplyDeleteYeah that outfit looked weird.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I guess I'm just not getting why people dislike her so much. As with everything, I'll see where Claudio goes with her as his valet before a pass judgement. I highly doubt she'd be that negative an inflluence though.
I wouldn't have minded so much if they had put any real effort into pointing out that Cody lost because of his back. The commenting didn't really put that over (I might have missed that to be honest, I was a little distracted) and it's not like Kahli was smart enough to do anything to exploit the back.
ReplyDeleteWell, the annoying lounge music that plays whenever she shows up, backstage or not, doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteWhere does that music come from? Her ass?
I was of kind of hoping Striker said "I was just trying to do my job", I would of laughed my ass off if AJ went Brock Lesnar on Striker.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but nobody would have pulled her off Striker, and the WWE can't afford another death in an election year.
ReplyDeleteEveryone's a little bit racist!
ReplyDeleteDamn straight AJ works me stiff.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, she looks like a forty year old transvestite (if that's your thing good for you) second of all she's awful.
ReplyDelete