WWE Smackdown TV taping report
May 22, 2012
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Report by Mike Flynn, PWTorch reader

After the NXT and Superstars taping, they switched over to Smackdown. Booker T was introduced to a huge pop and Michael Cole came out to a shower of boos, followed by Lilian Garcia to a good reaction.

After a video intro and pyro, which is ridiculous in a small arena, the taping started.

Smackdown SPOILERS 5/25

- Eve came out to a nice "Hoesky" chant. She said Big Johnny won't be here tonight. She said she is making Sheamus apologize and will announce the new #1 contender to Sheamus's World Title. Alberto Del Rio came out and talked about how she should make him #1 contender. Cue up the Viper. Randy Orton came out to a huge pop (by far the biggest of the night). He said Eve should leave it to the people. Kane came out (more loud pyro) and said it should be him. Eve made a three-way match.

- Christian came out to a nice pop, and Lilian announced his opponent will be Hunico.

(1) IC champion Christian beat Hunico in a non-title match. Back and forth, good action. These two work well together. Christian won with the Killswitch and splash finish. Cody Rhodes came out as Christian stood in the ring. He cut a promo about the Intercontinental Title being his title.

(2) Darren Young & Titus O'Neil beat The Usos. Kind of a no-reason match. On the big screen before the match, they show a video of earlier where the two teams were in the back. The match wasn't bad; the Usos showed nice offense before going down to the Demolition finisher.

(3) Ryback squashed two jobbers. Ryback came out to "Goldberg" chants. He sure made people think about Wellness, too. Two-minute squash. Blah.

On the big screen, Santino and Ricardo were shown.

(4) U.S. champion Santino beat Ricardo Rodriguez in a non-title match. I was thinking I was so glad I didn't buy floor seats at this point. Santino got a huge pop. The match was quite funny - Santino went under the ring, Ricardo waited for him, Santino snuck up behind Ricardo, and he won with the Cobra.

Next, Sheamus came out to apologize to a huge pop. He cut a decent promo before Vickie Guerrero interrupted and was booed heavily. Lots of "Excuse Me!" and booing. She said Sheamus has a match right now against Jack Swagger.

(5) World Hvt. champion Sheamus beat Jack Swagger in a non-title match. Sheamus and Swagger put on a great match. WWE needs to start using guys like Swagger and Ziggler in a more important role. The match went back and forth. After missed finishes, Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for the win.

Big Show was advertised on the Titantron.

(6) Damien Sandow squashed Yoshi Tatsu. No reaction for Sandow. The match ended quickly with a Sandow Splash. The guy reminds me of Waylon Mercy.

Big Show came out, sat in the ring, and cut a promo. Lots of Cena chants.

Next was the three-way main event. Kane was out first (more pyro). Daniel Bryan attacked him and delivered several chair shots. "Yes!" chants for every shot. There were "Yes!" chants all night. Orton and Del Rio came out after a break.

(7) Alberto Del Rio beat Kane and Randy Orton in a three-way match to become #1 contender to the World Title. Fast-paced, a good 12 or 13 minutes, and everyone hit signature moves. Kane chokeslammed Del Rio, but then Bryan got involved again. Orton RKO'ed Kane, Del Rio kicked Orton from the ring, and Del Rio stole the win to face Sheamus at No Way Out.

After the taping, Sheamus attacked Del Rio on the ramp, came to the ring to congratulate him, and then said he wants to defend the World Title right now. He tried to drag him in after Alberto said no, which led to the bonus dark match.

Overall, it was a good show, for what it was worth. WWE just needs to cool it with the pyro in small arenas. Also, start using different guys more.

Biggest Pops

(1) Orton
(2) Bryan/"Yes!" chants
(3) Sheamus

Biggest Heat

(1) Eve
(2) Del Rio
(3) Big show

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