KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
MAY 7, 2010
AIRED ON MY NETWORK TV

[Q1]

-The show opened with a video package on Jack Swagger talking about all of his accomplishments last week with Teddy Long intervening and announcing The Big Show was his post-draft title challenger, and then Big Show knocking Swagger out cold.

-The Smackdown opening aired, which post-draft focuses primarily on Swagger, Show, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, and Undertaker. Todd Grisham introduced the show and hyped Swagger vs. Kane.

-Matt Hardly limped to the ring. Grisham said they are surprised to see him. Clips aired of what Drew McIntyre did to him in recent weeks, including the interview set DDT last week. Hardy finally began speaking, but before he finished his first sentence, McIntyre interrupted. Hardy said he won't go away unless he makes him. McIntyre said Vince McMahon himself looked him in the eye and told him he is the future of the company. He said that makes him The Chosen One and completely untouchable. Hardy said, "Come down here and we'll see how untouchable you are." McIntyre said he's not getting the message. Hardy shot back, "No I'm not." McIntyre said he'll have to beat his message into him.

McIntyre entered the ring and Hardy jumped him. Two referees tried to pull them apart. After they were separated, McIntyre jumped Hardy from behind. Hardy stumbled to ringside where McIntyre again attacked him. Mike Rotunda, Ricky Steamboat, and Tony Garea were among the agents and referees trying to separate them. It's so strange that announcers don't acknowledge these legends when they're on camera. G.M. Teddy Long came out and suspended McIntyre and then stripped him of his IC Title. McIntyre kicked Hardy in the head again. Long then said, "You know what, Drew? You're fired!" McIntyre was dragged to the back yelling, "I'm untouchable!"

They cut backstage, as Hardy was being tended to at ringside, to referees and agents ordering McIntyre out of the building. The officials said he did it to himself. Back at ringside, Hardy was helped to his feet. Good to see WWE showing there are ramifications to a heel taking things too far. It's also an intriguing set-up with Long asserting his authority, but the mystery of whether McMahon will step in and overrule him or Hardy will do the old-school angle where, as a babyface wanting revenge, he demands Long reinstate him so he can get revenge.[c]

[Q2]

-Backstage Josh Matthews approached Long and asked if Hardy's okay. Long said he hopes he is. Matthews asked about McIntyre's actions. Long said he's never seen anything like it. Matthews asked what his plans for the IC Title are. Long said he doesn't know, then told Matthews he's gotta roll.

1 -- MVP vs. LUKE GALLOWS (w/C.M. Punk, Serina)

After a clip of last week's tag match with these two. The announcers talked more about McIntyre's firing. At 3:00 Serina distracted MVP just as he went on a flurry of offense. That gave Gallows an opening to surprise MVP with a clothesline. It made MVP look like an idiot because he was about to deliver The Playmaker and stopped simply because Serina crawled up onto the ring apron. There was zero logical reason to not hit the move and go for the cover, or at least execute the move and then go over to get her off the apron. They can solve that by just having her slide into the ring and really create a threat to his execution of the move. Rey Mysterio ran to ringside and gave Punk a DDT, then escaped through the crowd out of sight. That distracted Gallows, and MVP gave him the Playmaker for the win.

WINNER: MVP in 4:00.

STAR RATING: * -- Fine for what it was. [c]

-Punk, clutching his neck, stood mid-ring and complained about Mysterio being a coward for attacking him from behind and costing Gallows a match. He said he has something to say to him and called him to the ring. Rey said he wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine since his masked mystery man has been attacking him every week. Punk stumbled over his words slightly, then said he has no idea what he's taking about. He said he's suffering effects from his hallucinogenic drugs. He said he's got a wild imagination. He said Rey clearly wants to be saved. Rey said Punk is the only one hallucinating. Rey said he came out there because he wants to shave his head. Punk said he defeated him at Extreme Rules.

[Q3]

Rey said Punk lost to him at WrestleMania, so the way he sees it, they're even 1-1. He said they should have another match at Over the Limit. He said if he loses, he becomes part of the Straight Edge Society. If he wins, then Punk must shave his head "and I'm the barber." Punk said he's having "a moment of clarity." He said he knows he needs help, that he has a problem, and he needs to be welcomed into the arms of his crusade, "so you're on." Rey said he could step into the ring now and pledge to the Straight Edge Society tonight and then Punk could shave his head right now. Punk said that is not going to happen.

Rey said there's one thing he doesn't understand about the Straight Edge Society. He said he says the good part of his message is to not drink or do drugs, but the messenger is bad. He said what Punk needs to realize is that everyone wearing a Rey Mysterio mask represents the good of his message. He said they could do good together. He suggested he lead by example and shave his head. Punk said his hair is a symbol of purity. He said he doesn't care if Rey doesn't like that fact, but "I am better than everybody." Rey said he shaved the heads of Serina and Luke, but won't shave his. Rey tried to stir trouble. He said they follow him and protect him and they do most of the work in the SES, "so why are they bald and you are not?" Rey's music played and he signaled that he was snipping Punk's hair.

-Grisham recapped the stips for the Over the Edge match between Rey and Punk, then plugged Kelly Kelly & Tiffany vs. Michelle McCool & Layla. [c]

-WWE Fact: Earlier this year, WWE Superstar MVP was named a spokesperson for the National Guard's "Youth ChalleNGe Program."

2 -- KELLY KELLY & TIFFANY vs. MICHELLE MCCOOL & LAYLA (w/Vickie Guerrero)

Striker said he likes the LayCool nickname for Kelly Kelly, "Smelly Kelly." At 2:00 Kelly got the hot-tag and went after Layla aggressively. There was an awkward attempt at a handspring elbow by Kelly. Layla blocked it, sort of, and then tagged Tiffany back in. McCool kicked Tiffany from behind and then Layla finished her with a neckbreaker. Vickie applauded at ringside. Striker said McCool's master's degree came into play at the end of the match.

WINNERS: McCool & Layla in 3:00.

[Q4]

-Matthews interviewed Long backstage. Long held the IC Title belt. He said he has selected four wrestlers to take part in a mini-tournament. He said the semi-finals would take place tonight: Christian vs. Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston. Kingston got a nice pop. He said that match is next. [c]

3 -- KOFI KINGSTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER -- IC Title Tournament Match

A clip aired of Ziggler slamming Hornswoggle a couple weeks ago. Kingston dove onto Ziggler at ringside at 1:00. Kofi threw Ziggler into the ring, but when he entered the ring a second later, Ziggler knocked him to the floor with a knee. [c] Ziggler controlled the match for several minutes, but got frustrated with not being able to finish Kingston. Striker pointed out Ziggler's tendency to get frustrated at this point in matches. Kingston scored a surprise leverage two count, but Ziggler went back on offense afterward.

[Q5]

At 11:00 Kingston made a full comeback. He went into his finishing routine including the Boom Drop legdrop, but when he went for the tornado roundkick, Ziggler avoided it. Kingston went for a bodyblock a second later, but Ziggler rolled through for a near fall. Ziggler followed up with an immediate sleeper attempt. Kingston struggled to block it. Ziggler blocked Kingston's mouth, leading to Kingston being vulnerable to the sleeper. Kingston dropped down near the top rope and clotheslined Ziggler, then rebounded immediately with a tornado roundkick "Trouble in Paradise" for the win.

WINNER: Kingston in 12:00 to advance.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Good match.

-A video package aired on Swagger-Big Show, then Striker plugged the Swagger-Kane match. [c]

-The Raw Rebound aired. They plugged that Flavor Flav would guest host Raw on Monday night.

-They went to ringside to Swagger and Grisham who plugged "Over the Limit." Grisham called it a "new pay-per-view concept." Not sure what that means. They plugged the Edge vs. Randy Orton match being added, plus John Cena vs. Batista with Cena getting to choose the stipulation and Punk vs. Rey with the hair vs. mask stip.

-Christian came out for his match, with Heath Slater by his side. Grisham called Christian one of the two "blue chip draft picks" Smackdown acquired last week. [c]

[Q6]

4 -- CHRISTIAN (w/Heath Slater) vs. CODY RHODES -- IC Title Tournament Match

Striker touted that Christian is a three-time IC Champion. Striker was irritated by Grisham saying Cody hadn't won a major singles title before because he says he hasn't had a chance yet. Grisham said this is his chance. At 2:00 Christian slidekicked Cody at ringside into the security wall. Christian chased after Cody at ringside, but Cody caught him with a kick to the gut and then shoved him into the ringside steps. They cut to a break at 3:00 with Cody in control. [c] They fought back and forth for several minutes.

[Q7]

Rhodes hit a moonsault bodypress at 10:00 for a near fall. Christian fired back with a Kill Switch for the win. Slater celebrated with Christian.

WINNER: Christian in 12:00. That sets up Christian vs. Kingston next week. Interesting face vs. face match-up. Will this include a heel turn or a tease of a heel turn for either?

-A video package aired on the Big Show knocking people out on Raw. Then they showed Swagger heading toward the entrance tunnel. [c]

-Highlights aired of the show-opening angle with McIntyre and Hardy. They hyped next week's IC Title match.

-Swagger's ring entrance aired. Striker listed Swagger's extensive resume high points. As Swagger began listing his lifetime accolades, Striker said this would take a while so they cut to a break. [c] After the break, Swagger asked how many in the crowd were part of the National Honor Society. He asked what Big Show was doing when he was on the Honor Society. He said he was riding the short bus and in special education classes.

5 -- JACK SWAGGER vs. KANE

Striker called this "an interesting challenge for Jack Swagger." A minute into the match Big Show walked to the ring. Swagger tried to take Kane down from behind, but Kane elbowed out of it. Grisham said Kane may be "amateur proof" after Kane snuffed Swagger's attempt to dominate him with ground action. Swagger showed some frustration. Big Show's music then played. Show joined Striker and Grisham at ringside. With Kane distracted, Swagger pounded him in the corner. Show said he wants to get an up-close look at Swagger's strength. Show said Swagger's wrestling skills are great against wrestlers his size, but those skills don't affect someone of his size. Striker asked Show how he'd get out of the front chancery Swagger had on Kane. Show looked at Striker and said he wouldn't let him get it on him in the first place. Kane caught Swagger leaping off the ropes with a punch to the gut. Show said he flew off the top rope once and he broke the ring. He smiled and said, "Vince made me pay for it." Kane hit a flying clothesline to take control. He signaled for a chokeslam. Swagger elbowed out of it. Swagger shoved Kane into the exposed turnbuckle in the corner several times. The ref warned him to stop, but he didn't, so the ref called for the DQ.

WINNER: Kane via DQ in 5:00.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- Told it's story fine, but not a lot to it. Show was good on commentary.

-Swagger grabbed his title belt and taunted Show with it at ringside. Show stood up. Kane then gave Swagger a big boot. Kane began to disassemble the ringside table. Swagger recovered during that time and threw Kane into the ringpost. Show then chokeslammed Swagger onto the announce table. There wasn't a ton of give at first, then the table collapsed. Show entered the ring and raised the World Title belt into the air and then looked down at Swagger splatted below him.

Final Thoughts: Good show. They continue to do a nice job establishing Swagger's resume and credibility. Show is entertaining, although I remain intrigued with what Swagger and Show will do in terms of putting a good PPV match together. The four wrestlers chosen for the IC Title tournament seemed like the right four. Two good semi-final matches led to an intriguing final match next week. The MVP of the show was Punk, who was great in his mic work and body language in reaction to Rey Mysterio, who was also good on the mic.

We suggest these recent related articles...

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/1: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Kevin Owens vs. Ryback in an Intercontinental Title Match

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 9/24: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Kevin Owens & Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler & Ryback

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 9/17: Ongoing coverage of the Thursday night show, including Seth Rollins & Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns