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Smackdown - August 2, 2013

Smackdown
Date: August 2, 2013
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Alex Riley

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

After the mess that was Raw on Monday hopefully things pick up tonight. Last week's show was very interesting with the focus on everything but the main event matches. That's the kind of show Smackdown needs to be: something completely different from Raw and not a rehash of everything we sit through for three hours. Let's get to it.


Here's Del Rio to announce his Summerslam opponent. Alberto says when he was champion before the fans didn't support him so he has nothing to thank them for. Now he's champion again and there's nothing they can do about it. He does however want to thank Vickie Guerrero for allowing her to pick his Summerslam opponent.

Del Rio says Cena picked the troll Daniel Bryan to hide from Del Rio, so maybe Alberto should pick the beast Brock Lesnar. Well he's taken already so maybe it should be Houston's own Booker T. That won't work either because everything that comes out of Houston is worthless. That's the best insult he can come up with? Then Del Rio came up with the perfect opponent to grant a first ever world title shot: Ricardo Rodriguez.

This brings out Vickie who says Del Rio is trying to disrespect him. She speaks some Spanish and calls Ricardo a jiggly little manchild. Alberto says he wasn't trying to disrespect her and he'll pick Brooklyn Brawler instead. Vickie says Vince wouldn't like that pick so Del Rio will face the winner of RVD vs. Orton vs. Christian tonight.

This is a good example of why GM's are a waste of time. The whole segment took over ten minutes and could have easily been accomplished by saying “tonight there's a triple threat match for the #1 contendership.” Instead we have to bring out Vickie and listen to Alberto when we could have used this time for anything else. It develops Del Rio as a cowardly heel a little bit, but the same thing could have been accomplished in a backstage segment with him recommending Ricardo or the Brawler as his opponents.

Kaitlyn vs. AJ for the title later.

We recap Cody stealing the briefcase last week and throwing it in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cody Rhodes vs. Jack Swagger

Colter doesn't start talking until Cody is already on the apron. Rhodes doesn't want to listen so he decks Swagger to get us going. Cody hits a quick uppercut and a knee to the side of the head for two. Swagger comes back with his powerslam/belly to belly and a clothesline for two. Cody fights up but the Disaster Kick is knocked out of the air and a Vader Bomb gets two. The gutwrench powerbomb is countered into a sunset flip for the pin for Cody at 1:57.

Post break Cody goes on a rant against Sandow for being so stuck up and bragging about himself. Cody compares throwing the briefcase into the Gulf to the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. “That was a joke.” Sandow comes in and beats him down for the bad line.

Sin Cara vs. Big E. Langston

Langston runs over Cara as the lights go orange. Cara mostly hits what was supposed to be a dropkick for two as Ziggler is watching from the back. Big E. takes him down with a headlock and drives an elbow in the chest. Langston goes old school with an abdominal stretch and even gets caught holding the ropes. Riley: “Only illegal if you get caught.” Cole: “He did get caught. That's why the referee was counting.” Cara springboards into the Big Ending but slips down the back and fires off some kicks. A standing Lionsault is caught in the Big Ending for the pin at 2:52. It was longer than I was expecting but Langston dominated.

Wyatt Family promo focusing on their issues with Kane.

Layla and Kaitlyn are in the back with the Brit saying she'll support Kaitlyn in her match tonight. Kaitlyn's idea for AJ: “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice you're going to get speared.” Layla says she's been around a long time and Kaitlyn is the real deal. They hug and Layla smiles a lot.

Del Rio yells at Vickie for going back on her word about letting him pick his opponent. She accuses him of being afraid when Brad Maddox comes in. Apparently Del Rio will be on Raw and under his jurisdiction. Isn't he there every week?

Fandango vs. CM Punk

This is a result of Fandango interrupting Punk last week. Fandango dances around so Punk kicks him in the legs to take over. Punk fires off strikes but gets caught in a headlock from the dancer. A spinning kick to the ribs and a high elbow take Fandango down for two but he sends Punk into the corner to take over again. A GTS attempt is escaped and we take a break.

Back with Fandango coming around Summer to send Punk into the steps. Punk slides back in at the last second and Fandango starts in on the arm. He drives knees and elbows into Punk's face before we hit the chinlock. So much for the arm stuff. Fandango cranks on the chinlock and wraps his leg around Punk for extra leverage.

Punk fights up but a hard elbow to the face gets two. Fandango misses a splash and Punk hits the running knee in the corner. Fandango rolls to the apron and gets in a kick to the head and a falcon's arrow for two. The top rope legdrop is countered and a superplex sets up the Anaconda Vice to make Fandango tap at 9:40 shown of 12:00.

Rating: C+. Nice match here as Fandango got to show off here. This is the kind of match that can do midcarders a lot of good. Punk gets a competitive win and Fandango gets to look good as well, but he doesn't lose anything because he has no business beating the star. Good booking here and it gives Punk something to do for a week.

We recap the opening of the show.

RVD says Christian and Orton aren't pushovers but they're not Rob Van Dam. Christian comes in and says he deserves one more match. Orton comes in and says he's fine with winning the World Heavyweight Champion while still holding the briefcase. Van Dam says he's here to win titles, not to stroll down memory lane.

Divas Title: Kaitlyn vs. AJ

AJ is defending and Kaitlyn, the hometown girl, has Layla with her. Kaitlyn takes her straight into the corner to start but AJ comes back with a quick sleeper. She wraps Kaitlyn up on the mat as Layla plays cheerleader. Kaitlyn gets up and rams the champion into the corner but AJ trips her up and dances around the ring. The blonde comes back with a gutbuster to send AJ to the floor but Layla gets in the way of the spear and smiles. AJ gets in a cheap shot and the Black Widow gets the submission at 3:02.

Rating: D. This falls under the category of turns that surprised no one and that no one cares about. It's a good way to shift away from AJ vs. Kaitlyn though as that story has been played out for months now. Layla works better as a heel but hopefully she doesn't ditch the shorts. Match was nothing.

The Raw ReBound recaps the Vince/Bryan situation and the double main event from Monday.

We get most of the tables match and the aftermath from Raw, which is likely to be clipped way down on the American version of this show.

Randy Orton vs. Christian vs. Rob Van Dam

The winner gets Del Rio at Summerslam, but the booking makes little sense. Cole says Orton and Christian are here because they pinned the champion. Van Dam lost to the same guy clean in less than three minutes but he gets the same reward as guys who got clean pinfalls? The champion comes out and says he'll be watching the three stooges beat the guacamole out of each other. One of them will be tapping out at Summerslam and does anyone really believe him?

Orton is sent to the floor and Van Dam kicks Christian down but Randy trips up Rolling Thunder. Van Dam sends Orton into the steps and puts him on the barricade followed by the spin kick to the back. Van Dam celebrates but gets caught by a spear from Christian as we take a break. Back with Christian getting two on Van Dam off a tornado DDT. Rob rolls to the floor and Orton pounds away on the Canadian. Randy hits a superplex for a delayed two and Rob is back with the kicks all around. A monkey flip (which isn't unique Cole) sends Christian flying and the split legged moonsault gets two on Orton.

Van Dam charges into Orton's knee but Christian counters Randy's Elevated DDT. Rob is sent to the floor as well and Christian joins them. Rob slams Christian down and goes back in for a BIG flip dive to take everyone out as we take another break. Back with Orton and Christian slugging it out and Van Dam on the floor. Orton catches Christian's middle rope dropkick and starts a pinfall reversal sequence. Christian takes over and knocks Van Dam off the apron but the spear misses. The middle rope back elbow puts Orton down but Rob kicks Orton down before the Killswitch.

Another kick puts Christian down and the Five Star connects for a delayed two, allowing Orton to make the save. Van Dam hangs on to avoid the powerslam but Orton pops up to catch Rolling Thunder in the powerslam in a cool move. Rob fights out of the Elevated DDT but Orton dropkicks him to block a springboard. The Elevated DDT lays Christian out but Orton has to hit the RKO on a charging Van Dam. The distraction allows Christian to backslide Orton for the pin and the title shot at 10:20 shown of 15:50.

Rating: B. Very good triple threat here with the crowd loving Van Dam, Orton being the likely winner and Christian being the man in the middle who steals the win at the end. They didn't really get to near falls until the end which made the match flow much better. Good stuff here and nice to see Christian getting a shot at a major show. And he got it with a backslide!

Post match Orton teases turning on Christian but shakes his hand instead. Rob shakes his hand too. Christian is about to say something but Del Rio jumps him from behind to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a pretty solid episode as we're finally getting somewhere with the Del Rio losses. The main event was good and the Punk match was fine, giving us two good matches in two hours. Only the Divas match was bad but at only three minutes long there isn't much to complain about. It's a good show as Summerslam finally has more than two matches with about two weeks left before the show.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. Jack Swagger – Sunset Flip
Big E. Langston b. Sin Cara – Big Ending
CM Punk b. Fandango – Anaconda Vice
AJ b. Kaitlyn – Black Widow
Christian b. Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam – Backslide to Orton

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up my new book on Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $5 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E8HXYM2

Also check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books as low as $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Comments

  1. Hmm. Looks like you took my advice.

    Also, how do you get these up so quick? Just read the spoilers, have it pre-written, and fill in the blanks as you watch?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mentioned this in the live thread, but I'll repeat it here....if Riley is through as a wrestler, his awesome theme music should be given to another wrestler. My suggestion is Wade Barrett, who has been through a dozen entrance songs already and still hasn't found a good one. (And ironically, didn't Wade win entrance music on NXT?)

    ReplyDelete
  3. kbwrestlingreviewsAugust 2, 2013 at 8:19 PM

    What advice was that?


    You can find the international broadcast online early Friday morning. I watch the show in advance and just post this when the show goes off the air. It's much easier for me that way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is this the first time Christian has pinned Orton?


    And while I know that ADR isn't popular here. I think Christian/ADR would be a pretty good match for Summerslam. The card is looking pretty stacked, though I don't know what AJ will be doing...considering she's what, made Kaitlyn tap like 4 times now?

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  5. kbwrestlingreviewsAugust 2, 2013 at 8:30 PM

    He pinned him in a tag match in their summer feud on Smackdown once.

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  6. I always liked his music too lol. I think it was part of the reason he was so over initially after his face turn with miz.

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  7. The Love-Matic Grampa!August 2, 2013 at 9:32 PM

    Alex Riley is a color commentator now?!?

    Wow, I really am COMPLETELY out of the loop.

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  8. kbwrestlingreviewsAugust 2, 2013 at 9:38 PM

    He's a regular Superstars commentators but tonight was one night only as JBL is climbing a mountain for charity.

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  9. ...after mark Henry killed Orton dead correct?

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  10. Different match. This was Orton/Morrison vs. R-Truth/Christian. Orton hit the RKO on Truth but Christian hit a quick Killswitch for the pin.

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  11. I'd go an easy A on the main event. That was a spectacular match on free TV.
    Also, I'm really wondering what's next for AJ? Other than AJ, Kaitlyn and Nattie, the rest of the divas are horrible in the ring. I guess they could do AJ-Natalya, which would be cool, but they really need an influx of diva workers to program AJ with. She's good.

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  12. Poor Ricardo got screwed out of would have actually been his second World Title match. I witnessed his first against Big Show at the poop dumping of Ziggler and AJ Raw at Verizon

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  13. Well I'll be damned, I'd completely forgotten that--and I was watching Smack down religiously at that point

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  14. How was RAW a mess? I liked the show

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  15. KAITLYN AJ 5 THIS TIME IT"S REALLY PERSONAL!!!


    Yeah, I'd Natalya...maybe debut some NXT ladies to whoop her ass?

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  16. Well it was easier for me to remember since I was at the show that night.

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  17. I'm kind of surprised they're not doing Ziggler and Kaitlyn vs. Big E. and AJ at Summerslam. That seems like it could be fun to me. I am wondering when Paige is getting called up from NXT.

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  18. It was putting me to sleep. The main events were decent but the wrestling before that was dreadful.

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  19. Good show tonight and i had no idea who was going to win the main event which is always a plus. I don't like Christian's chances at Summerslam due to his recent injury problems but it should make for a solid match on a card that's looking pretty damn good so far.

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  20. I'm so out of the loop I had to google who the smackdown champ was.

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  21. They still might, the card has a few more weeks to fully set, and the third straight Kaitlyn/AJ match needs SOMETHING to give it a spark.


    Though maybe they'll do Kaitlyn/Layla and Dolph w/Natalya vs. Big E w/ AJ. Doubtful...but y'never know.


    And Paige had heat on her for being immature/refusing to blow Hayes. So not soon? (She is sub-21...which might lead to trouble).

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  22. That was a heck of a main event triple threat match, also shaking hands at the end made the occasion seem really important something that has been 'lacking' in regards to the World Heavyweight title picture in months.


    I'd given that match an A, if it was on PPV people would be raving about it.

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  23. I could've sworn the first time I read this that there were no letter grades. Even though I was drinky last night, I'm still fairly sure of that, as I wasn't that drinky by 9:00.

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  24. Riley talked about himself WAY too much. I don't watch Superstars, so maybe that's part of his character as a heel announcer, but it was less entertaining and more annoying on Smackdown. JBL and Lawler don't talk about themselves as much as Riley, but even if they did, they at least have big-time accomplishments and decades of experiences to draw from. All Riley talks about is college, developmental and NXT.

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  25. I was genuinely surprised when Christian won. I was 75% percent sure it'd be RVD and 25% on Orton -- only because if Orton didn't have a match at SummerSlam it'd be TOO obvious that he's cashing in MITB on Bryan/Cena -- and gave Christian no shot. Interesting twist that should make for a good PPV match with Del Rio.

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  26. As soon as Layla went above and beyond with the compliments and they shared the long hug, I told my wife, "She's either turning on her tonight, or they're teasing a lesbian angle." But WWE probably wouldn't have a lesbian angle in the post-Attitude era, right? Even though it might bring Lawler back to life as an announcer.
    Ziggler & Kaitlyn vs. Big E & AJ makes the most sense for SummerSlam. Since the Divas title wouldn't be on the line they can finally give Kaitlyn a win and repair her rep a bit, while leaving Ziggler vs. Big E unfinished, setting up their 1-on-1 for the next PPV.
    The dumbest part of this show (and it was mostly glossed over) was Vickie and Maddox's ruling that Big E can't come to the ring with AJ anymore because he's too intimidating and gives her an advantage. Umm, that's what managers and bodyguards and teammates have been doing FOREVER in wrestling. Maybe if Big E had been getting involved in AJ's matches it'd make sense, but I don't remember him ever doing that. The most he'll do is carry AJ away when she gets beat up.

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  27. kbwrestlingreviewsAugust 3, 2013 at 8:29 AM

    There weren't. I put up the wrong version.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Gotcha. Just making sure I wasn't losing my mind.
    Do your thing, man. Ignore my criticism.

    ReplyDelete
  29. The Funkadactyls.

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  30. Naomi/Trinity vs. AJ...the rematch?


    Hrm, AJ has gotten better as a worker, I'm curious if Naomi has...

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  31. The main event match was awesome, I put it at **** and the best Smackdown match I've seen this year so far. I had no idea who was going to win and I would've been okay with any of them but I'm glad Christian won. He's been on fire since coming back and I'm really looking forward to his match with ADR
    The Punk Fandango match was pretty good too, I don't know if Punk was carrying him or if Fandango is improving but it was good for what it was. Also, the more Summer Rae on my TV the better
    It took me a couple of minutes to recognize him but I thought A-Ry did a solid job and I could see him becoming a Josh Matthews type

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  32. Agreed on all counts. Spectacular main event, really good Punk-Fandango match, and Riley was solid.

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  33. Actually, I've been rewatching the 2011 feud with a friend. On 6/20/11 Raw there was a 6 Man Elimination tag match (Christian, The Miz, & R Truth vs John Cena, Randy Orton, & Alex Riley) in which Christian speared Orton and eliminated him. Christian was then RKOed and STFed by Cena. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete

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