WWE Smackdown review
November 19, 2010
Taped 11/16/10 in Richmond, Va.
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist


- WWE Open.

- A video package of Kane and Paul Bearer aired. It was very cartoonish and seemed made for small kids. It culminated with last week’s abduction of Bearer at the hands of Edge.

- Smackdown Open.

- Todd Grisham opened the show by plugging a battle of Survivor Series team captains, Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio, for tonight.

- Ring announcer Tony Chimel introduced Ricardo Rodriguez, who then introduced Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio was not dressed to compete…yet. He said that Survivor Series is going to be great, because he’s the superstar of the show, and promised to lead Team Del Rio to victory on Sunday. Del Rio talked about teaching people the hard way, and they showed a clip of him beating Sgt. Slaughter on Monday night. He talked about making Slaughter cry and before long, MVP’s music interrupted and he came out. MVP noted the chant for his name, and how they want him to punch Del Rio in the mouth. He said they’re tired of him disrespecting the ring and what it represents. Del Rio said there is no one like him, but MVP said guys like him are a dime a dozen. He said it was the Slaughters, Chavo Classics, Tito Santanas, Iron Sheiks, Ricky Steamboats, Roddy Pipers and Dusty Rhodes’ who have paved the way for Del Rio. Of those, only Steamboat didn’t appear on Raw. Del Rio said MVP holds the legends in high regard because he’s never going to be one of them. He seemed to briefly stumble over that line. He said he was already a legend. MVP suggested he give Del Rio a legendary beat-down. Del Rio was having none of it, since he already has a match scheduled. He said that even if he wasn’t in a match already, MVP couldn’t handle him. He could sense MVP really wanted to fight, so Del Rio said he’d bring him someone from Team Del Rio for him to fight…Drew McIntyre. Did Teddy Long approve of this?

1 – MVP vs. DREW MCINTYRE

Overhead throw by MVP sent McIntyre to the outside. MVP went out to take the fight to him, but Mac threw MVP into the barricade. MVP recovered and dropped McIntyre abdominal-first over said barricade. Both men were headed back in the ring as they took the first break of the show.

[Commercial Break]


MVP suplexed McIntyre down, but went outside, then under the ring. MVP went after him, but McIntyre pulled MVP’s arm toward him and into the ring apron. I think he’s done that once before. He continued to go to work on the arm of MVP. MVP kicked McIntyre in the back to break a hold, but McIntyre mowed him down with a shoulderblock. MVP caught McIntyre with a boot when Drew was running in. He eventually caught him with another and went for a cover, only to get two. Whip into the buckle by MVP, and he suplexed McIntyre down. Ballin’ elbowdrop landed as Striker name-dropped Charles Oakley. The referee had to restrain McIntyre from MVP in the corner. That allowed MVP to nail McIntyre with a running kick to the head, and that surprisingly finished things.

WINNER: MVP, at 7:29. Well, MVP is out of the doghouse it would seem. Match was a decent enough opener.

- Close-up on Edge’s face backstage. He was talking to himself, but the camera panned back to show Paul Bearer, still tied up with duct tape over his mouth. Edge pulled the tape off and Bearer screamed. Edge said they’re in Richmond, but Kane will never find them, because no one knows where they are. Except the cameraman, of course. Edge listed all the activities they did this past week, and Edge even challenged him to a wheelchair race (Bearer was bound up in a wheelchair). Why are they making Edge act crazier than Kane? Edge suggested other games when it seemed Bearer wasn’t interested. Edge said he had a better idea….then they went to break. That was just bizarre. How is that supposed to make me want to see Edge vs. Kane? I have no idea what Edge’s character is supposed to be at this point.

[Commercial Break]

- Chavo Guerrero was backstage with Long. Chavo looked like he hasn’t aged since his WCW days. He was upset about something, but quickly exited Long’s office when Kane stormed in. He kept his cool for the most part. He demanded to know where is father is. Long pleaded ignorance as Kane went crazy, demanding to know where Bearer is. Kane tore apart the office as Long got out of there.

2 – CHRIS MASTERS vs. JACK SWAGGER

Swagger shoved Masters around the ring, but Masters punched him in the head in response. He got Swagger up for a powerslam, to no avail. Vader bomb by Swagger for two. Abdominal stretch by Swagger. Masters worked out of it and gave Swagger a Samoan drop. The announcers were really trying to get over Masters’ credibility, because to the fans, he really has none. Shoulderblock off the middle rope for two. Swagger missed a punch and landed in the Masterlock. Swagger dragged Masters across the ring, then kicked himself up over the top rope and to the apron to break it. That was impressive. Swagger went after the knee with a front chop block, then applied the ankle-lock for the victory.

WINNER: Swagger, at 2:58. Fundamentally sound. I still think Masters being in this PPV match speaks poorly of Smackdown’s depth on the babyface side.

- Edge was back with Bearer, and Edge suggested they play dodgeball. Edge threw a ball hard against the wall behind Bearer. Then he did it again. He threw it a third time and hit Bearer in the chest. He then threw it and it hit Paul in the head. Edge said that was really using his head.

[Commercial Break]

- The announcers talked about how funny Knucklehead was, after a plug for the movie.

- They showed Edge bouncing the ball off of Bearer’s head from moments ago.

3 – KAVAL vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER

Ziggler got the mic and said he was undefeated as I.C. Champion and he has the hottest girlfriend in the world. He said he is on a roll and that Kaval will be no match for him. He said all the Internet fanboys probably think Kaval is special, but he’s not Ziggler. Ziggler should’ve introduced himself to Kaval. Kaval sent Ziggler shoulder-first into the ring post. Handspring cross-body for two. Zig Zag blocked by Kaval. Couple of reversals of roll-ups got a number of two-counts. Ziggler tried another roll-up, but Kaval grabbed Ziggler’s arms as he was going for the tights, flipped him over, bridged, and got the win.

WINNER: Kaval, at 2:01. Much shorter than I’d like, but hopefully I’ll get my longer match at the PPV. Whoops, jumped the gun there….

Kaval got the mic and said that, since he won NXT and still has a PPV title shot, he’s going to use it to face Ziggler at the Survivor Series for the I.C. Title.

- Matt Striker plugged Mysterio vs. Del Rio, still to come tonight.

- Next, Cody Rhodes vs. Kofi Kingston.

[Commercial Break]

- Edge, still angry, was still taunting Bearer at an undisclosed location. Edge told Bearer that he looks like he could miss a meal….or eight. He said he was going to get Pizza Hut, since he has to keep his strength up for the match on Sunday.

4 – KOFI KINGSTON vs. “DASHING” CODY RHODES

Kingston’s first high-impact move was a hard slap to Cody’s face. Rhodes ran to ringside and kicked the steps a few times in anger that Kingston would dare hit him in the face! He checked the mirror on his jacket to see if he was still OK. Then they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Rhodes was pounding on Kingston out of break, but Kingston came back with a flying elbow. He kept Rhodes down with a side headlock. Monkey flip by Kingston and Rhodes went back to ringside. Baseball slide on Rhodes as he tried to get back in. Hard uppercut to the chest, but after dodging a clothesline and back elbow, he fell victim to a knee-lift. Striker again plugged Arn Anderson for the Hall-of-Fame after comparing Rhodes to Anderson following a few gourdbusters. Rhodes hooked Kofi’s arms behind his head, but Kofi made it to his feet and flipped Cody over his back. Kofi nailed Cody with a few dropkicks, then hit his flip kick. Cross-body by Kingston for two. Trouble in Paradise missed, as did Beautiful Disaster. Roll-up by Kingston for two. Cross-Rhodes by Rhodes (with the hair AND the tights) ended up getting him the win.

WINNER: Rhodes, at 10:00. Solid match here, given just enough time.

- Kane was venting backstage about how Bearer was the only one who understood him. Turns out, he was talking to Rosa Mendes, who appeared to not know how to react. Kane said Edge was torturing Bearer and he thinks its funny, but Edge has no idea what pain and torture are. He said he’d tear Edge’s guts out and shove them down his throat. And that would be just the beginning.

- Del Rio vs. Mysterio is tonight.

[Commercial Break]

5 – LAYCOOL vs. NATALYA & KELLY KELLY

Natalya and Kelly traded off against Layla, until she made it to McCool. Wheelbarrow throw by Nattie on McCool. Tag made, but Nattie didn’t see it. Double boot by LayCool put Natalya down, and the heel divas got the win.

WINNERS: LayCool, at 1:12. Just a way to put Nattie in a hole heading to the PPV.

- Edge had a veritable smorgasbord of food from Pizza Hut, and he used it to taunt Bearer. He ended up dumping most of the food on Bearer. Poor James Caldwell…I hope he had his pizza that he wanted after the Livecast before seeing this.

- Big Show was walking backstage…he’s in action next.

[Commercial Break]

- Kane was stewing backstage and acted like he had a massive headache. He then broke down and began crying. Some monster.

6 – THE BIG SHOW vs. TYLER REKS

Show got his hand around Reks’ throat early on, but couldn’t finish things. Huge clothesline that knocked Show off his feet. Show got serious and ran over Reks, though for some reason, it looked like he slowed down before he hit him. Chokeslam followed that for the win.

WINNER: Show, at 1:18. Don’t know if they were running long or what, given the last two match times.

- Josh Mathews was backstage with Alberto Del Rio. Mathews noted that both the heel and face side have two wins each tonight, and that his match would be the deciding match of which side has momentum going into Sunday. Del Rio said Mysterio is not a survivor and on Sunday, he’ll give the WWE Universe an authentic hero.

[Commercial Break]

- The announcers discussed John Cena’s situation heading into Survivor Series, then they tossed it to a video package on Cena about how much WWE means to him, spliced in with footage of his latest dilemma.

- The announcers discussed the Survivor Series card.

- Edge was wheeling Bearer backstage, with Bearer still covered in pizza stuff. Edge said he didn’t see Kane anywhere around. He suggested Bearer yell for Kane, so Edge allowed him to do so. Edge wheeled him back into the car. Kane was walking quickly backstage, passed a guy with a tattoo on his neck and someone who appeared to be Caylen Croft. Then he shoved a guy out of his way and passed Luke Gallows, standing perfectly still in a doorway. That was weird. Kane found the car and asked Bearer where Edge was. Edge ambushed Kane, jumping on him over the car. He threw Kane into some miscellaneous stuff backstage, while Edge took advantage and got back in the car to drive away. Terrible hype for this match for a go-home show.

[Commercial Break]

7 – ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. REY MYSTERIO

Del Rio kicked away at Mysterio in the corner and reigned blows down upon him as well. Mysterio dodged another corner attack and slid under Del Rio, only to get kicked in the gut. Sunset flip failed by Del Rio and Mysterio set him up for the 619. Then, the entire heel team captained by Del Rio ran down and interfered, drawing the DQ.

WINNER: Mysterio, via DQ, at 1:53. I did not expect that so soon.

Mysterio’s team ran down to even the odds, and a brouhaha ensued. Teddy Long came out and must’ve seen that there were nine minutes left, so he turned things into a ten-man battle royal. That’s next.

[Commercial Break]

8 – 10-MAN SURVIVOR SERIES SHOWDOWN BATTLE ROYAL

The bell rang upon return from break. Rhodes got chopped hard in the chest, then no-sold it seconds later to run across the ring at someone else. MVP and Show double-teamed Reks. Mysterio attempted to eliminate Dle Rio. Masters eliminated Rhodes from the apron at 1:23. Reks barely held on to stave off elimination. Masters was thrown over by Reks at 2:06. Del Rio and McIntyre double-teamed Show. Swagger battled MVP in the corner. Kofi took Reks out at 2:50. Headbutt to the heel team captain. Kofi went to the apron and Mac took him out at 3:45. MVP and McIntyre went out in short order, MVP at about 4:00. Del Rio out via Rey at 4:35. Down to Mysterio, Show and Swagger. Swagger locked in the ankle-lock on Rey. With the help of Show, Swagger got set up for the 619. After that connected, Show took Swagger by the throat and pushed him over the top. Del Rio looked on from the ramp, unhappy.

WINNERS: Show and Rey, at 5:10.

Rey got on Show’s shoulders to celebrate the win.

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