WWE Smackdown review
January 7, 2011
Taped 1/4/11 in Tucson, Ariz.
Aired on SYFY
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist

- WWE Open.

- A double main-event tonight for the first Smackdown of 2011; first, Edge takes on Kane in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Also, Alberto Del Rio takes on Rey Mysterio in a best two-out-of-three falls match. The voice-over man has been earning his keep doing these intros lately.

- Smackdown Open.

- Josh Mathews welcomed fans to the show. Matt Striker and Michael Cole were shown with Mathews at ringside. The two main event matches were discussed, and the announcers hinted that both feuds would come to an end tonight. Shouldn’t that be saved for pay-per view?

1 – EDGE vs. KANE – LAST MAN STANDING MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Kane got the quick advantage with a corner clothesline. Low dropkick by the Big Red Monster. Swinging neckbreaker by Edge as Cole referenced what Edge did to Paul Bearer, in a roundabout way, without ever really addressing what happened to Bearer. Low bridge by Edge took Kane out to ringside. Edge speared Kane off the apron, and Kane’s back bounced off the ringside barricade. Referee Chad Patton applied the count. Kane got up, and gave an uppercut to Edge. We’re two minutes in and the wrestlers are selling like they’re 15 minutes in. Kane took the fight to Edge in the aisle. Edge went to the side of the stage, drawing Kane in and the two men fought into the backstage area. They ended up in the concourse, and Edge was thrown into a water fountain, knocking it sideways. Nice visual there. Fans hooted and hollered as the two men fought by them. They found themselves back in the arena, in the stands. Striker identified their position as being in the 200 level section. They fought up the stairway, making their way to the top of the arena. They were in another concourse by the luxury suites. Kane was counted down after his head bounced off the concrete wall. He reached his feet at six. Edge got a plastic garbage can to the mid-section, which Cole rightly pointed out wouldn’t do too much damage. Security was earning their money on this night already, holding fans back from interfering. Kane looked menacingly down a flight of stairs, seemingly intent on throwing Edge down them. He took a wheelchair from a man who had his leg wrapped up. Kane put Edge in it and wheeled it to the stairs. Edge leapt out before he could be thrown down the stairs, but the chair went for a ride. Kane got up at the count of six again as they went to break almost 8:00 in.

[Commercial Break]

The two men fought back to ringside, near the announcers. Kane took the cover off the announce table, but Edge threw him into the ring steps. Kane got to his feet at eight. Back in the ring they went, where Edge came off the top rope, but was greeted by an uppercut. For what it’s worth, the announcers are taking this match VERY seriously. Edge was on his feet at seven, but Kane slammed him back down. To the top he went, but Edge ducked. Kane landed awkwardly, and Edge DDT’d him. Cole proclaimed that a turning point in the match. Both men were down and Cole said if both men were counted down at 10, the match would restart. Edge ran at Kane, but got chokeslammed. Striker proclaimed a new champion, so you knew it wouldn’t be so. Edge rolled out of the ring and Kane threw him into the steps. He took the first layer of the steps off, and set up for a Tombstone on the bottom one. Edge fought out and gave the Edge-O-Matic to Kane, with Kane landing back-first onto said steps. Kane didn’t even move until eight, but got up at nine. He went right back to the ground, though. Edge set up for a ringside spear, but Kane got his boot up. Kane grabbed Edge by the throat as soon as he got up, and chokeslammed him through the announce table. “It’s over!” shouted Mathews. Striker was down on the ground trying to get something from under the table, and Edge used Striker as balance to get to his feet. Kane was ticked at this point, and grabbed a few chairs from ringside, throwing them into the ring. He went to the top, but Edge tossed a chair into Kane’s skull, knocking him off the top rope. Steel chair to the knee from Edge, and another. Edge readied for a Spear, and Kane fell victim to it in the middle of the ring. Edge rolled out of the ring and grabbed another chair as the ref counted Kane down. Edge gave a conchairto to Kane’s knee. The ref began his count again. Kane reached the ropes at six, trying to leverage himself up. He almost got back up, but collapsed back down because of the knee. The ref’s count reached ten.

WINNER: Edge, at 20:16. One of the better matches these two have put together. A TNA trademark walk-and-brawl (but more effective) to make up for the lack of athleticism the two bring to the table.

Edge posed with his title on the chair, while Kane was still on the ground, but up at the top of the ramp.

- A split-screen showed Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) and Kofi Kingston walking backstage…the two go at it in an Intercontinental Championship match, next.

[Commercial Break]

- Striker plugged WWE.com’s profile of the 11 Superstars predicted to break out in 2011.

- The announcers were shown on camera sitting at ringside with their table collapsed due to the last match.

2 – DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. KOFI KINGSTON – INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Striker called Vickie, “the female version of Rosie O’Donnell.” Before the match, they showed clips of the finish of last week’s Triple Threat IC title match. Cole was back to being the heel here. Kingston was hot out of the gate. He went to the top, but missed a high cross-body block. Ziggler capitalized by putting the boots to Kofi, after Striker mistook Vickie for Country music legend Conway Twitty. Ziggler got a near-fall, then settled into a rear chinlock. The two men traded rights in the middle of the ring, but Ziggler made a mistake when he missed a corner splash. Two handed chop by Kingston, and another. High dropkick that somehow almost overshot Ziggler. Amazing. Roll-up by Ziggler for two. Kofi tried to get the crowd fired up and behind him, but they seemed lukewarm. Kofi prepared for Trouble in Paradise. Ziggler dodged it and put Kofi in a sleeper. Kingston unlocked Dolph’s hands and gave him a jaw-breaker. SOS by Kofi for a very near fall. He went to the top rope, but Ziggler attempted to cut him down. Kofi held on and planted Ziggler face first with a top-rope gourdbuster. High cross-body off the top connected, and it was good for a three-count.

WINNER: Kingston, at 5:30. Kind-of short for a big finale between these two (given what seems like hundreds of matches the two have had lately), but understandable given that the previous match went 20 minutes. Still, a bit underwhelming for a title change.

Ziggler attacked Kingston after the match. Vickie got on the mic and said with Teddy Long not here, she’s in charge, so she’s giving Ziggler a rematch right now.

3 – KOFI KINGSTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER – INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Ziggler attacked Kofi to start and got too cocky, leading to Kofi hitting the Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere, and a nice one at that.

WINNER: Kingston, at :46. Looks like they wanted to move on from this feud and tie up the automatic rematch loose end. I wonder if that signals WWE having bigger plans for one (or both) of them.

- Still to come, Rey Mysterio faces Alberto Del Rio in a two-out-of-three-falls match on this episode of “Feud blow-offs Smackdown.”

[Commercial Break]

- Ziggler was convalescing backstage with Vickie, and he said her calling for an instant rematch “a boneheaded move.” Vickie got after him for losing twice and Ziggler said that maybe she needs to look for a new boyfriend. She went crazy and began screaming.

- The announcers talked briefly about Edge retaining his title at the outset, then Mathews threw it to the Raw Rebound.

- Kelly Kelly was walking backstage, with an un-naturally huge smile on her face. Drew McIntyre came up and wished her luck. She brushed him off, but he gave her a speech about how he’s got a #1 contender’s match coming up and that he’s pulling for her, and he hopes she’s pulling for him too.

- Next, Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show vs. Drew McIntyre in a triple threat #1 Contender’s match. All three of the matches so far could be main events on any episode of Smackdown, so while stuffing them all on one show loads the show, it doesn’t allow for enough time to properly hype each one.

[Commercial Break]

- Cole talked about the New York Times breaking the story about the return of WWE Tough Enough.

- Before the Triple-Threat match, Vickie Guerrero made it a Fatal Four-Way…with Dolph Ziggler.

4 – THE BIG SHOW vs. CODY RHODES vs. DREW MCINTYRE vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER – FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH TO DETERMINE #1 CONTENDER FOR WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Show immediately dispatched McIntyre over the top rope. He headbutted Rhodes down and slammed Ziggler. Sidewalk slam for Rhodes for two. It was broken up by Ziggler. He took a hard slap to the chest for his troubles. Another chop, this time to the chest of Rhodes. More punishment for McIntyre. Ziggler broke up another pinfall. Show picked Ziggler up by the hair, and just dropped him. Another pin attempt by Ziggler, but McIntyre broke this one up. He was again thrown to the outside, and threw a small tantrum out there. Stink-face for Rhodes in the corner. Another chop for Rhodes. Standing legdrop over the chest of Ziggler. Mathews proclaimed the match over so then Rhodes broke it up. McIntyre again to the apron, and again back down courtesy of a Big Show boot. With all the offense Show is getting, it’s obvious at this point he’s unlikely to win. Big chop in the corner on Ziggler missed, so he and Rhodes worked together on Show. Show pulled them each with one arm and tossed them out of the ring. Show went to ringside and pounded on McIntyre. Show and ended up taking a bump through the barricade and into the timekeeper’s area. They went to break at this point, almost 6:00 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Rhodes was going for a cover on Ziggler as they came back from break. He didn’t get it, so he went to the top rope. McIntyre knocked him off and onto Show on the outside. Rhodes and Ziggler got to go at it in the ring for a few minutes, something that we haven’t seen before. McIntyre made it back in and took both down just prior to the 11:00 mark. Show again took McIntyre off the apron and to ringside, then did some damage to both of his other opponents inside the ring. He signaled for a chokeslam, but Wade Barrett ran in and kicked Show in the head. Cole noted it was a no DQ match. Barrett mounted Show and hammered away. Elbowdrop off the middle rope from the former Nexus leader. I see he got over getting kicked out of Nexus quite quickly. Beautiful Disaster kick by Rhodes for two. Ziggler then came in an nailed the big man with a Zig Zag. Show again kicked out with authority. McIntyre tried his luck with a Future Shock DDT. A third kick out. McIntyre was thrown to ringside and Ziggler came in to give Rhodes the Zig Zag (after telling him to go take out Show) and get the pinfall win.

WINNER: Ziggler, at 13:54. Edge vs. Ziggler and Miz vs. Morrison would be two exciting, unique title matches for the Rumble. Raw wasted their title match, hopefully Smackdown doesn’t do the same.

- Mysterio vs. Del Rio is still to come.

[Commercial Break]

- A video package aired on Ezekiel Jackson. He’s coming soon to Smackdown.

5 – MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. KELLY KELLY

McCool backed Kelly into the corner with a lock-up, then kicked her in the gut. Kelly hooked Michelle’s neck with her legs and wrapped her in the ropes. She shoved Layla at ringside, but coming back in, McCool kicked her in the chest. She then worked on the left leg of Kelly. Kelly came back and took McCool down with a spinning headscissors that looked like it was in slow motion. She went for the K2, but Layla distracted her long enough for McCool to counter with the Faith Breaker for the win.

WINNER: McCool, at 1:41. Not much to it.

Double Russian leg-sweep was given to Kelly by LayCool after the match. They taunted her on the mat as Drew McIntyre appeared out of nowhere. He told LayCool that they needed to leave now. They were freaked out and did so. McIntyre checked on the fallen Kelly.

- The main event, Mysterio vs. Del Rio in two-out-of-three-falls, is next.

[Commercial Break]

- Alberto Del Rio was introduced by Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio got a mic and said on Monday, he showed that “idiota,” R-Truth, that his destiny is to win the Royal Rumble and main event Wrestlemania. Tonight, he said he would destroy Rey Mysterio in front of all his fans. He said there are two kinds of Latinos and he is in the higher class. The match is next.

[Commercial Break]

6 – ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. REY MYSTERIO – TWO-OUT-OF-THREE-FALLS MATCH

Del Rio went after Mysterio as Mathews called the first fall “the most important fall.” Wouldn’t that be the third, if it makes it that far? Mysterio got his boots up in the corner and Del Rio ran into them. Headscissor into a 619 position, but Del Rio avoided it. He went for the cross arm-breaker and hooked it in. Mysterio tapped after a few seconds.

WINNER, FIRST FALL: Del Rio, at 1:32. Not realistic in the slightest. There’s no way a one-on-one match between these two would last this long.

[Commercial Break]

Back with the second fall already in progress. Tilt-a-whirl back-breaker by Del Rio for two. Mathews tried to say that Mysterio tapping that early was strategy. Mysterio fought back on the apron, and hit a springboard hurricanrana. Del Rio got the cross arm-breaker again, but Rey rolled over and rolled up Del Rio for a two-count. He tripped ADR up for the 619, but Alberto dodged it. La Magistra cradle for the pin by Mysterio.

WINNER, SECOND FALL: Mysterio, at 7:34 (6:02 for second fall).

[Commercial Break]

Del Rio was working the left arm of Mysterio out of break in the third and deciding fall. Not sure how neither one of these guys were good enough to compete for the #1 contender to the World Title. Hard whip into the buckle by Del Rio, as Mysterio did the Bret Hart sell (chest-first). Perched on the top rope, Rey flew off with a headbutt to the chest. That was unique. Mysterio draped his arm across Del Rio’s chest for a two-count. Springboard cross-body by Rey for another two-count. Del Rio got hold of Mysterio’s arm, and brought it down across his knees. Body-scissors into a DDT by Rey for a near-fall. Rey went to the top, but Del Rio tripped him up, with Rey landing in the Tree of Woe position. A low dropkick by Del Rio broke his opponent free. Back to the top rope both men went, and Del Rio ended up bringing Rey’s arm down across the top rope. Striker was cheering Del Rio on. Del Rio ran at Rey on the apron, but Rey tripped him up and Del Rio awkwardly fell into the buckle. 619 around the ringpost by Rey. Ricardo Rodriguez went to check on Del Rio, but Rey came off the top rope with a cross-body onto both men. Rey threw Del Rio into the ring and as Rey went in, Rodriguez grabbed him by the foot. Mysterio couldn’t make it in by the bell, and the ref couldn’t see Rodriguez holding Rey’s foot.

WINNER, THIRD FALL: Del Rio, via count-out, at 17:07 (9:33 for third fall). Sure didn’t feel like the end of this feud.

After the match, Del Rio retreated to the top of the ramp, leaving Rey to take his frustrations out on Rodriguez. Rodriguez was set up for the 619 as Del Rio watched, like The Miz does when Alex Riley gets beat up. 619 connected, then Rey pointed to Del Rio before landing a splash.

- The announcers reflected on the events that took place tonight. They showed a clip of Ziggler becoming the #1 Contender to the World Title, including Wade Barrett’s interference.

- Next week, Wade Barrett vs. The Big Show.

- Back to the arena, Mysterio’s music played while he posed for the fans to close the show.

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