WWE Smackdown review
April 30, 2010
Taped 4/27/10, in Hershey, Pa.
Aired on MyNetwork TV
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist

- Draft highlights from this past week on Raw aired.

- Smackdown Open.

- Ring announcer Tony Chimel introduced Smackdown GM Teddy Long. He talked about some of the draft results and introduced Kofi Kingston.

1 - KOFI KINGSTON vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Jericho got the mic before the match and said he told everyone that he'd be the face of Smackdown, and it came true. He said he provided some great moments, but his work on the brand is done. He said his next plan is to be the face of Raw. He said he know the fans will be sad, but they need to move on with their lives. Kofi interruptd and suggested Jericho shut up. the match began soon after.

Kingston jumped on Jericho in the corner, but Jericho powerbombed him to the mat. They went to break at this point.

[Commercial Break]

Kingston was sent to the outside after break, which allowed Jericho to gloat. Back inside, Jericho locked him in a potential submission move. Kingston missed a splash in the corner and Jericho capitalized by choking him in the ropes. Kingston, from his back, began kicking at Jericho's legs. Another rear chin-lock for Jericho as the crowd started to get behind Kofi. Springboard cross-body for a two-count from Kingston. Double-chops, then the Boom Drop, but it was countered. Walls of Jericho attempt, but Kingston rolled him up for two. Enziguiri by Jericho missed, but he hooked him in the Walls of Jericho. Kingston got to the ropes, and the ref admonished Jericho for not breaking. Another Boom Drop missed, and Jericho landed the Codebreaker, but fell out of the ring. Jericho lifted the dead weight of Kingston back in the ring. Cover only got two. Jericho kicked the ropes in anger, then turned his attention to kicking Kingston. He taunted the fans, and Kofi used the opportunity to hit Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere. That earned him the win.

WINNER: Kingston, at 9:20. Fine match, a little under expectations though.

- Jack Swagger was backstage. He said after winning the Rose Bowl, he was invited to the White House to meet the greatest President of all-time, George W. Bush. And that was it. Easy heat for Swagger there.

[Commercial Break]

- Todd Grisham and Matt Striker hyped WWE Draft coverage on WWE.com.

- Jericho was walking backstage. He walked up to someone who the camera didn't show. Jericho was trash-talking the person, saying he could've used his help and finally the guy just punched him. It was Big Show.

- Chavo Guerrero was in the ring. Chavo said there's no need to adjust our TV sets, he really is back on Smackdown. He said he's no longer under the thumb of the Raw GM. He asked the fans to put their hands together for his return. Then the fireworks went off and Kane came out. No match, but Kane did chokeslam him. He got a mic and welcomed Chavo back. They replayed the chokeslam.

- Up next, John Morrison vs. Cody Rhodes in Cody's first official night on Smackdown.

[Commercial Break]

- Backstage against a back-drop, a dapperly dressed Shad Gaspard said that the superstars coming over from Raw may think it is their time...but in reality, it is his time.

2 - JOHN MORRISON vs. CODY RHODES

Rhodes had his own theme, but still had the Legacy back-drop. After a clean break, Rhodes shoved Morrison. Striker hilariously said Rhodes won the "Georgia State Grappling Championship" in high-school. Flying kick from Morrison, then a standing shooting star press. Rhodes went to the outside and Morrison chased him. Rhodes jumped off the stairs and kicked Morrison in the head. He threw him back into the ring as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Rhodes had Morrison in a body-scissors, wrenching back on the neck. Running knee-drop from Rhodes for a two-count. Top-rope moonsault by Cody and he continued to pound on Morrison, showing a bit of light. Morrison made his comeback and hit the Flying Chuck Kick. He only got a two count from that. Cross-Rhodes was reversed into a flap-jack by Morrison. Rhodes caught Morrison in an Alabama Slam. "That's Hardcore!" said Striker, in honor of Hardcore Holly. Rhodes still couldn't make the pin. Morrison fired back with a running knee to the head. More back-and-forth, with a jaw-breaker from Cody, then a Pele Kick. Rhodes with another counter into the Cross-Rhodes, which resulted in a victory.

WINNER: Rhodes, at 11:11. Interesting result, but it makes sense to have Morrison job on his way out.

- Swagger, still backstage, bragged about how many national championships he led Oklahoma to while he was there.

- Edge was walking backstage, as he'll be out to chat after the break.

[Commercial Break]

- Edge came out, sunglasses and all. Chimel's voice cracked on "Rated R Superstar." Edge said he didn't want to go to Raw after spending so much time on Smackdown. He said the fans have supported him through it all, even when he didn't deserve it. As he was giving his farewell speech, Christian's music hit and he came out. Intriguing. Once he got to the ring, Edge said that E & C go way back. Edge said that as best friends, he knows Christian wants to wish him well on Raw, but he wants to wish Christian best of luck on Smackdown. Christian painted the picture of how far back they go for the fans who aren't up on the history. He brought up them being seven-time WWE Tag Team Champions. He said he knows Edge better than anyone, perhaps better than he knows himself. Christian said he also knows that everything Edge said before he came out is a load of crap.

Edge was dumbfounded. Christian said Edge doesn't understand how much the fans respect him from coming back from injury; in fact, he accused Edge of taking advantage of the fans. Edge this is all really about Christian. He's a nine-time World Champion....how many titles has Christian won? Christian said none yet, but when he does, he's not going to step on other people's necks to get it when he does do it. Christian out-and-out called Edge a liar. Edge finally admitted Christian was right and he can't wait to get off this show. For the past few months, he's been the pupeteer, making the fans chant "spear," and they did it. He called himself a master psychologist and he enjoyed playing the fans for fools. Christian said ever since he returned to WWE, fans have been asking when they're going to get back together. But he said he realized Edge used him to get to the top and he realized he didn't want to see Edge and Christian any more. What he wants to see is Edge vs. Christian, right now. Edge de-jacketed, but then said no. As Christian started talking, Edge attacked him from behind. Christian came back with a kick to the groin and they rolled around on the mat. Edge left before Christian could fully execute the Killswitch. Christian got back on the mic and came up with a better chant than "spear." It was the goodbye song. Fans caught on quickly. Good back-and-forth, even if Christian claiming Edge used him doesn't hold a ton of water since they've been separated for so long.

[Commercial Break]

- Josh Mathews caught up to Edge backstage and asked Edge if we'd ever see a one-on-one match between Edge and Christian. Edge said he doubted it, since Christian knows how it would go down. Big Show sidled up to Edge and said it's too bad we won't see Edge vs. Christian, or even Big Show vs. Edge. Then Show knocked Edge out with a right hand.

3 - MICHELLE MCCOOL & LAYLA vs. BETH PHOENIX & KELLY KELLY

The announcers said Vickie Guerrero is jealous of Kelly and didn't want her on Smackdown. Looks like they're transferring the heat from Mickie to Kelly. Kelly landed a flying headscissors on McCool, then a hurricanrana for two. Kelly flew onto Layla on the outside but Vickie shoved her down. McCool took back over inside the ring, but another hurricanrana. Enziguiri by Kelly, but the tag was made to Layla and she prevented Kelly from makin the tag. She finally did, however, and cleaned house. Clothesline off the second rope by Beth. Slingshot suplex on Layla after McCool was taken out. Kelly then hit her lame leg-drop finisher on Layla for the win.

WINNERS: Phoenix and Kelly, at 3:38. It's all about getting over the new Smackdown superstars this week.

- Swagger was once again in the back, saying he turned down full scholarships from some of the biggest schools in the country when he was in high-school.

[Commercial Break]

- Chris Masters was backstage and talked about viral videos. They played the Smackdown theme and he made his pecs dance to the beat. Striker said he can do that, but only does it to classical or rap music.

- Dolph Ziggler came out and said he did everyone a favor on Monday night. They showed him putting the sleeper on Hornswoggle and said no one will ever see that troll again. He said Hornswoggle is in Leprechaun Heaven.

- The announcers talked about the feud between Drew McIntyre and Matt Hardy, and they showed what happened to Hardy last week in the tag match.

- Backstage, Josh Mathews was backstage with Matt Hardy. He asked Hardy to update him on his condition. Hardy said it took a lot out of him with what McIntyre did to him last week. He went on until McIntyre attacked Hardy again. He gave him the DDT finisher as the referees tried to get him to stop. Trainers and referees tended to Matt as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

- JTG was backstage addressing the camera. He did the Cryme Tyme schtick and said people wonder what's next for him. He said he's looking to get some gold around his waist.

- The Straight Edge Society came out. C.M. Punk addressed what happened at Extreme Rules, as far as him vs. Rey Mysterio. Punk said he even beat Rey with Serena and Luke Gallows being ejected from ringside. He said he did it because he is Straight Edge. Before he could get much further, MVP's music hit and he came out. MVP did some rhyming to say he was back on Smackdown. Punk tried to tell MVP he was talking, but MVP said that was the problem. MVP called Punk a moron and asked him to shut up. MVP said he was a savior too: he was saving the fans from listening to Punk run his mouth. He called Punk a wet blanket on Smackdown. He said Friday nights are about to get hot again, then he punched Punk in the face. Gallows went on the attack and he and Punk continued their beat-down until Rey Mysterio made the save. Apparently, this is turning into a match.

[Commercial Break]

4 - LUKE GALLOWS & C.M. PUNK vs. REY MYSTERIO & MVP

All four men were legal early on, with things going back-and-forth. Punk and Mysterio settled into things with Punk on the advantage. Gallows tagged in and splashed Mysterio for a two-count. Mysterio teased a tag but Punk held him in check. Swinging DDT by Mysterio evened things up. Both men were down and needed to make tags. Both men did. Overhead throw by MVP then the "Ballin'!" elbowdrop. Pin was broken up by Punk, but Mysterio came in and attacked. 619 on Gallows, then MVP hit the 305 on Gallows for the win.

WINNERS: Mysterio and MVP, at 5:05. Surprisingly short.

After the match, the mystery Straight Edge Member came in and hit Mysterio with some sort of neck-breaker.

- Did you know about Jack Swagger: He graduated from Oklahoma with a 4.0 and was an academic All-American. He was even asked back to give the keynote address to the 2010 graduates.

[Commercial Break]

- Tony Chimel introduced Jack Swagger. Swagger slowly walked out, wearing a very straight face. Swagger implored the fans to let him talk when they booed him right off the bat. He started talking about when he was two years old, but the boos drowned him out again. He told them to sit down and listen to him. He said that as long as he has the championship....more boos. "Sit down!" again. He then started talking about his father having a conversation with him, telling Swagger that he'd be World Champion some day. He started going through his credentials, including winning the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competiton at age 12. He's even an Eagle Scout. He talked about going to college, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He doesn't strike me as an intellectual. After all that, he said his greatest achievement was becoming World Heavyweight Champion. He said his father told him, "son, I told you so." As he was prattling on, Teddy Long came out again.

Long said we've heard enough about Swagger and he introduced Big Show as as the new number one contender. Show came out and stepped over the top rope. He asked the fans to give a round of applause to Swagger for all his accomplishments. Show talked about his own life story, including what the doctor said when he was born. Show said Swagger may be a lot of things but he's not the world's largest athlete. I couldn't pick up the chant by the fans. Show discussed Swagger's accolades and said there's one more thing Swagger needs to add: Early retirement. Then he punched Swagger, knocking him out. Show played to cheers from the fans as the show ended.

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