WWE Smackdown review
February 18, 2011
Taped 2/15/11 in San Diego, Calif.
Aired on SYFY
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist


- WWE Open.

- The first image in the opening video package was The Rock. The video chronicled some big moments in Smackdown’s first 599 episodes. Then the voice-over man plugged the 12-man tag, featuring superstars from Raw and Smackdown, taking place tonight.

- Smackdown Open.

- The show opened with Josh Mathews talking over an image that plugged Dolph Ziggler’s World Championship coronation tonight.

- Edge came out for the 12-man tag, still wearing his World Title. Michael Cole went crazy when Tony Chimel called Edge the World Champion. The announcers were shown on-camera for the first time while Cole ranted.

1 – EDGE & RANDY ORTON & JOHN MORRISON & R-TRUTH & REY MYSTERIO & JOHN CENA vs. CM PUNK & KING SHEAMUS & WADE BARRETT & DREW MCINTYRE & KANE & DOLPH ZIGGLER

Booker mentioned his reign as King Booker when Sheamus came out. Mathews mentioned that Kane competed on the very first Smackdown, and during each entrance, the announcers talked about their association with Smackdown and/or their chances in the Chamber match. Mathews sounded like he was reading from a script for most of them. After all the entrances, the match started at 8:09 EST.

McIntyre began the match with Edge, and the two traded aggressive tactics in the corner. Edge finally got the dupe and tagged Truth. Ziggler came in and was taken down with a hip-lock take-over. Truth tagged Orton for a nice pop. “Randy” chant as Ziggler bumped around for Orton’s offense. High knee-drop found the mark and got two in the first cover of the match. Cena was next to give Ziggler a beating. He ran into an elbow in the corner and Ziggler got some heat back, but only briefly. Bulldog by Cena as Cole mentioned Cena was the victim of a verbal beat-down from The Rock on Monday, the first mention of Rock being on Raw. Morrison was in and he tripped up Ziggler. He set up for Starship Pain, but Ziggler stopped him and did an inverted slam off the top rope. Match continues after break, which they went to at just under the four-minute mark.

[Commercial Break]

After break, they returned with Sheamus suplexing Morrison, then going for a cover. It only got one. Punk came in and mocked Morrison for what happened to his eyes courtesy of Nexus. Crowd was really hot. Punk held Morrison’s leg, but Morrison tagged Rey anyway. Huge reaction for the hometown hero. After a near-fall, Mysterio set Punk up for the 619. Punk caught him and gave him a back-breaker. He hooked the outside leg and his pin attempt got two. Kane was next in and he pounded away at Rey in a neutral corner. Bearhug by Kane. Rey got the crowd behind him and broke out of the hold. Mysterio tried to fight out of the heel corner, but walked into a choke. Kane threw Rey out of the ring and his shoulder ran right into Punk’s gut, as Punk was on the arena floor. Punk didn’t seem to sell it much, so I’d assume it was a miscue of sorts. They went to break again at the 12:00 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Rey was still being worked over by the heels, and this time, it was Sheamus having his way with the little man. Not that he won’t normally play this role, but they’re in the right town for him to gain sympathy with the fans. Rey was a few fingertips away from tagging, but Sheamus overpowered him and gave him the Irish Curse back-breaker. Back to the heel corner, where Barrett got to get his licks in. Cole noted that The Miz will be in action later tonight. Barrett missed a corner charge and Rey climbed to the top. He moonsaulted onto Barrett and both men were down. Both men tried to make tags at the 18:00 mark, and both did. It was Edge and Ziggler, and Edge got the better of the presumed-World Champion. Edge had the crazy eyes, but Sheamus stopped a spear attempted. Everybody came in and hit their finisher on everyone else (where’s the DQ?) until it was Rey and Barrett. Rey dialed up the 619 on Barrett, and he also hit Ziggler, who kinda stumbled into position. Then Edge speared Ziggler for the pinfall win.

WINNERS: Cena, Edge, Mysterio, Morrison, Truth and Orton, at 20:15. Pretty hot match with enough tags and fresh men in there so that there was no down-time.

Vickie Guerrero came out and ordered Edge to hand over the World Title, as he is no longer champion. She played a clip of why Edge is being stripped of his title. Vickie said “that football player” (Clay Matthews) was not a licensed official. She said Ziggler is now the World Champion and tonight, Ziggler will be coronated. Vickie said Edge is welcome to watch it from his hotel room, then said Edge is the one who attacked Teddy Long. She said Edge has always had this uncontrollable rage within him, and that’s what happened when he attacked Long. She said she and Long have great respect for each other, then she fired Edge. Edge looked on, aghast. Is that what they had in mind when they scripted Vickie to say she had “proof” that Edge attacked Long? If so…weak.

[Commercial Break]

- They replayed Vickie firing Edge from the last segment.

- The announcers talked on-camera about the shocking announcement. Cole segued into discussing Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes, and they showed Rey breaking Cody’s nose from last month.

- “Earlier this week,” Todd Grisham was with Cody Rhodes. Rhodes was half cloaked in darkness, and he was wearing a face-guard, NBA style. Cody said his operation was a success, but what about his opportunities FOR success? He said they’ve been destroyed. His Road to Wrestlemania has been derailed. They must’ve been outside, since you could see Cody’s breath when he spoke. He said doctors have cleared him to travel, and next week on Smackdown, he’ll have an important announcement for the WWE Universe.

- Eve and Beth Phoenix came out for Divas Tag action. Their match is next.

- The latest mystery vignette aired.

[Commercial Break]

- They showed clips from the first Smackdown, from August 26, 1999. They focused on The Rock losing a title match to Triple H thanks to interference from Shawn Michaels.

2 – EVE TORRES & BETH PHOENIX vs. LAYLA & MARYSE

Michelle McCool was on commentary. She said Layla injured her a few weeks back when her head went into McCool’s foot. Maryse slapped Beth, who didn’t’ take kindly to it. Maryse desperately made the tag and Layla started to work the arm of Beth, but Beth just shoved her down. She lifted Layla up by the arm, but the landing wasn’t smooth. Eve tagged in and hit a few dropkicks. Suplex by Eve, float-over for a two-count. Sunset flip by Eve, but Layla rolled through and slammed Eve’s head into the mat. McCool left the commentary table and got on the apron to yell at Eve. Beth took a shot at McCool’s injured leg, and while the ref was distracted, the heels gave Eve a double superkick and Layla made the pin.

WINNERS: Layla and Maryse, at 2:27. Eh. I feel like the whole division is just running on a treadmill until Kong debuts.

- Up next, highlights of The Rock’s performance from Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- Rock’s Twitter and Facebook pages were plugged, as the announcers implored fans to follow his Road to Wrestlemania.

- Cole, Mathews and Booker talked about the 600th episode of Smackdown, and how the name ties in to the Rock. Booker said it should’ve been called, “The Book Show.”

- Mathews threw it to a video of The Rock’s return to Raw, where he was revealed as the guest host for Wrestlemania 27. Interesting that they positioned this at the top of hour number two. The recap lasted about 11 minutes. Makes my job easier.

- They panned the crowd in San Diego, then they showed Edge getting fired from earlier tonight.

- Still to come, the coronation of Dolph Ziggler as the new World Champion.

[Commercial Break]

- The next Smackdown moment was from the show that aired live, two days after 9/11 in 2001.

3 – KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE MIZ

Alex Riley seconded The Miz. Miz started slowly with a wrist-lock, and Kofi responded with a deep arm-drag. Flying cross-body for two, then another by the IC Champion. A third, and he still only got a two-count. He worked an arm-bar at 1:30 of the match. Miz got a cheap-shot on Kingston in the corner and had to be restrained by referee Charles Robinson. Kofi fought out of the corner and whipped Miz back into it. Kingston missed a charge but hopped onto the second rope; Miz kicked his leg and Kingston hit the mat. They went to break at the 2:36 mark.

[Commercial Break]

The show returned just shy of 6:00 into the contest. Miz was in control and he used Kofi’s hair to keep the Ghana native at bay. Kingston got to his feet, but Miz took him back down to one knee, working the back and shoulders of Kingston. They continued to counter each other, and Kofi got Miz with a backslide for two. SOS was countered by Miz, but then Kingston landed a hurricanrana that sent Miz into the corner. Miz backed Kingston into the corner at 8:00, and Kingston hit the flip kick, then a cross-body off the top for two (of course, Mathews thought it was going to be the finish). Superman punch by Kofi, followed by the Boom Drop. Kingston started clapping, signaling that he was ready for the Trouble in Paradise, but Alberto Del Rio made his way to the ring, distracting Kofi. Miz rolled Kofi up, but Kofi reversed it for two. Riley got on the apron and Del Rio swatted Kofi with his scarf for another distraction, which allowed Miz to come from behind and hit Kofi with the Skull Crushing Finale for the win.

WINNER: Miz, at 10:09. Not a particularly inspired match, but it was okay. Miz could’ve used a decisive win here, but I also understand them wanting to build Kofi vs. Del Rio for the PPV too.

- They showed a list of the Longest Running Weekly Episodic TV Shows. Because I love you, my loyal readers, here’s the list:

10. My Three Sons (369)
9. Bonanza (430)
8. Ozzie and Harriet (435)
7. Death Valley Days (452)
6. Law and Order (456)
5. The Simpsons (477)
4. Lassie (588)
3. WWE Smackdown (600)
2. Gunsmoke (633)
1. WWE Raw (925).

- Coming up, the World Title coronation of Dolph Ziggler.

- Next, Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella take on Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater of The Corre in a Tag Title Match.

[Commercial Break]

- February 19, 2004 was the next Smackdown moment, and it was the celebration for Eddie Guerrero’s championship win.

5 – JUSTIN GABRIEL & HEATH SLATER vs. VLADIMIR KOZLOV & SANTINO MARELLA – WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSIHP MATCH

Kozlov caught a cross-body attempt by Gabriel and gave him a fall-away slam. Gabriel rolled to the outside, bringing Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson out to ringside. Barrett got on the apron to distract Kozlov, and Gabriel ran in and took out Kozlov’s legs. Tag in to Slater, who continued to work the leg. Kozlov took Slater down and made the hot tag (at 1:22) to Marella. Hip-toss by Marella, then a diving headbutt. Cover got two, interrupted by Slater. He was thrown out of the ring by Kozlov. Marella readied for the Cobra and struck Gabriel with it. At that point, Jackson and Barrett ran in to save their fellow Corre member from a pinfall loss.

WINNERS: Marella and Kozlov, via DQ, at 2:00.

Big Show came out to help Marella and Kozlov. “The odds are even!” proclaimed Mathews, but I count Corre still up four men to three. Show took out Gabriel and Slater, and Jackson teased getting in the ring to face Show one-on-one, but he declined the opportunity.

- A Smackdown classic, according to the voice-over man, and it was Steve Austin attacking Booker T inside a supermarket. Booker was covering his face and laughing back at the announce desk.

- WWE production assistants began to set up the ring for Ziggler’s coronation ceremony. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

- Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler were in the ring, with the championship belt sitting atop a small table. Vickie officially announced Ziggler as champion, then handed him the title. “This is mine forever!” he shouted to the fans as he posed with it. Out of nowhere, Teddy Long’s music played, and Long walked to the ring, showing no ill-effects of his attack. And he did not look like he was in the mood to thug nor bug. Long said the two of them looked like they were looking at a ghost. Long asked if Vickie’s investigation into Long’s attack led to her looking into the mirror. “That’s absurd!” she said. Long said that she had the most to gain and that Vickie was the first one on the scene, according to bystanders. She stuttered in an attempt to explain herself and Long told her to shut up. He said she’d been after his job for a long time, but she doesn’t have to worry about anyone’s job, because…but then Vickie interrupted, blaming the incident on Ziggler. Long said he was glad it was all coming out now. He told them to forget about the coronation. He told them to clear the ring, because now that he’s back in charge, they’re having a World Title match right now. Long said Vickie had the power to fire people, but now, he has the power to rehire people, so Ziggler’s opponent will be Edge. Edge walked to the ring. The match is next.

[Commercial Break]

6 – DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. EDGE – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Edge took Ziggler down early, and Edge set up for a spear. Ziggler leap-frogged it, and Edge ran into the turnbuckle. On the outside, Ziggler kicked Edge in the head. Edge was rolled into the ring, but Edge got stuck in the ropes, not allowing Ziggler to make a legal pin. Rear chinlock by Dolph, but Edge fought out. Ziggler caught Edge coming off the ropes and applied the sleeper hold. Zig Zag countered by Edge, but Edge speared Ziggler in the middle of the ring and picked up the win and the title.

WINNER: Edge, at 3:02. A bit surprising the finish was so abrupt. I don’t like the idea of recognizing Ziggler as champion for such a short time (I don’t think holding the title for what amounted to one show does anything for him as much as being a main eventer did), if they go that route.

As Edge celebrated, Long came out to the stage once again. He said there was one more thing, then he fired Ziggler. Vickie yelled at Ziggler, who was on his knees in shock. Edge got the mic and said, “excuse me.” He called tonight “one big party.” He said he was on the first episode of Smackdown and finishes the 600th episode as World Champion. Edge said he knows how Ziggler feels, since he was briefly fired. He said it almost makes a guy want to sing. He led the crowd in the Goodbye Song. Confetti fell from the rafters as Ziggler exited the ring, with Vickie still hollering at him. So who replaces Ziggler in the Chamber? Edge posed with the title in front of the Wrestlemania logo as the show ended.


What do you think? If you saw this show, we invite you to send your thoughts. Send your name, hometown, a 0-10 score rating the quality of the show, your picks for best and worst segments, and then a brief paragraph of thoughts on the show that we can publish in the Reader Reax segment later tonight or tomorrow. Send to pwtorch@gmail.com.

Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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