WWE Smackdown review
February 18, 2011
Taped 2/15/11 in San Diego, Calif.
Aired on Syfy
By Mike Cupach, PWTorch contributor

[Q1]

-The show opens with highlights from past Smackdowns such as Brock Lesnar and Big Show breaking the ring, Rey with a magnificent dive off the top of a steel cage, and the destruction of the DX Express. As a special for the 600th episode of Smackdown, there will be a massive 12-man tag team match featuring the biggest names from Raw and Smackdown.

-Smackdown opening video but no pyro. Mathews hypes the coronation of Dolph Ziggler as World Champion tonight and Booker adds “you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

-During Edge’s intro, Cole tried correcting Tony Chimel that Edge wasn’t the World Champion anymore but I don’t think Tony heard him. It should be noted that Rey got a huge pop for being the hometown hero. Josh noted that it was on Smackdown that Rey introduced the world to the 619 as Booker rambled on about dialing it up. It’s funny to me how the faces and heels just team with each other and seem to have no memory of what their teammates have done to them in the past. Punk and Barrett should be brawling on the apron instead of being docile and just going with the flow. Out came Dolph Ziggler. He must be Cole’s version of Miz on Smackdown because he gave him a standing ovation.

1 -- World Hvt. champion EDGE & RANDY ORTON & JOHN MORRISON & R-TRUTH & REY MYSTERIO & JOHN CENA vs. C.M. PUNK & KING SHEAMUS & WADE BARRETT & DREW MCINTYRE & KANE & DOLPH ZIGGLER

The match looks to start off with Edge and Sheamus, but Drew calls for a tag and Sheamus obliges. Both men circle each other. Collar and elbow tie-up has Drew powering Edge into the corner. The ref calls for a break at five, but Drew pounds Edge down in the corner, showing a bit of a mean streak. The ref pulls him off and that gives Edge the opportunity to fire back with some right hands of his own. Drew staggers back and Edge gives him a big boot. Edge tags to R-Truth and Cole notes that he was talking to Truth before the show and Truth actually knew where he was. Let it go Cole, let it go.

Truth comes in punching and kicking. He whips Drew into the ropes and when he puts his head down Drew kicks him in the face and makes a tag to Dolph. Dolph charges Truth, who arm drags Dolph down and Truth makes a tag to Orton. Truth holds Ziggler while Orton kicks him in the ribs. Orton goes to whip Dolph into the turnbuckle, reversal, and Orton comes charging out with a clothesline. Orton goes for a pin but gets a two count. Orton makes a quick tag to Cena, who introduces Dolph's face to the turnbuckle, then whips him to the far side and charges in after him, but Dolph sees it coming and smashes Cena face with an elbow. Dolph is now working over Cena in the corner and he whips Cena into the far turnbuckle only to be reversed by Cena, John follows him in and bulldogs Dolph down and makes a tag to John Morrison.

[Q2] Cole notes that The Rock gave Cena a vicious verbal beatdown and that he can’t come onto Michael Cole’s show and act like he own the place. Morrison is now in and Dolph kicks him in the thigh to take him down. Dolph stomps a mudhole in him. Another whip into the turnbuckle by Dolph is reversed by Morrison (is whipping into the ropes Dolph’s version of Orton’s chinlock?) who slides under the bottom rope and hooks Ziggler’s leg, tripping him up. Morrison sizes up Dolph and decides to go for Starship Pain, but Ziggler is up quickly and reverse slams Morrison off the top rope – a good move visually, one of my favorites. Dolph goes for a quick pinfall, but comes up short. Ziggler finally makes a tag to a teammate, Sheamus.

[Commercial - hype video for the WWE Title match at the Elimination Chamber. The video shows clips of Jerry Lawler's career trying to establish him as a threat to The Miz’s title.]

[Q3] Back to action with a picture-perfect suplex by Sheamus that only gets a two count. King Sheamus tags in C.M. Punk, who kicks Morrison down and starts mocking his injured eyes. Booker questions how someone named Punk can be the leader of anything, he might as well be called “Sissy.” Oh, Booker, you and your pearls of wisdom! Back to action...Punk drops a few knees to Morrison's face, then grapevines Morrison's head as the crowd goes bananas. Morrison somehow makes a hot tag to Rey while Punk is trying to hold him back.

Rey comes in a house of fire with a top rope sitting senton. Rey then springboards off the middle rope and crossbodies Punk, which only gets a two count. While Rey is arguing with the ref that it was a three count, Punk kicks Rey in the gut and hits the ropes. Punk goes for a sunset flip on Rey only for Mysterio to roll through and hit Punk with a stiff kick to the side of the face. Rey looks to pull Punk to his feet, but Punk picks up Rey for the GTS only for Rey to slip out and run off the ropes and headscissor Punk into position for a 619 as the crowd goes crazy. Unfortunately, Punk catches Rey and delivers a back breaker for a two count.

Punk tags in Kane, who stomps at Rey, then takes him over to the corner and knees him down. The crowd is chanting "619" as Kane locks on a bearhug on Rey. Rey fights out of the bear hug with a series of rights and lefts, then Kane shoves him into the heel corner and Rey takes out the heels, but Kane slides Rey out of the ring and he goes head-first into Punk's knee, leading to a break.

[Commercial]

Back on Smackdown, Wade Barrett is in the ring with Rey and he delivers a back breaker to Mysterio. Barrett makes a tag to Sheamus, which was hard to make out during the replay they were showing, but Rey slides under Sheamus’s legs and makes a break for the babyface corner only to be cut off by the Celtic King. Sheamus with a big clothesline to take Rey down and he puts a armbar on Rey to hold him in place. Cole asks Booker what he thinks of Sheamus and Booker doesn’t think much of him. Michael notes that King Sheamus is a two-time WWE Champion to which Booker replies that it doesn’t matter much in this match. Booker then strangely starts going over the measurements of the Elimination Chamber. Can’t make this stuff up, folks.

Rey starts to show some life getting to his feet and fighting out of the armbar. Rey runs off the ropes and tries to jump over Sheamus to make a hot tag, but King Sheamus will have none of it as he tries to throw Rey across the ring. Rey lands on his feet and takes to the ropes again, and Sheamus puts his head down for a backbody drop, but Rey kicks him squarely in the face. Rey charges again only to be caught and taken down by the Irish Curse. Mathews says it's all over as Sheamus goes for a pin that only gets a two count. Tag to Wade Barrett, who drops a few knees on Mysterio and goes for a pin, but Wade’s feet are under the ropes and the ref refuses to count. Good call by the ref.

Barrett whips Rey into the turnbuckle, Wade follows him in only for Rey to drop toe hold Wade face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Both men are down and the crowd is hot waiting for Rey to make a tag. Rey surprisingly doesn’t go for a tag, instead he goes to the top rope and moonsaults off. The crowd is really alive for this match.

Edge and Dolph get tagged in. Edge is on fire with some clotheslines on Dolph followed by a flapjack and a faceplant DDT. Edge is now ready to end this as he sets up the spear. As he charges in, Sheamus cuts him off with a Brogue Kick. Morrison then hits the ring and hits his springboard knee to the face on Sheamus. Kane is in next and he chokeslams Morrison. Next up is Cena, who gives Kane an Attitude Adjustment. Punk then puts Cena away with a Go To Sleep. Orton is up next with a RKO on Punk, Drew takes out Orton with a Future Shock DDT, R-Truth gives McIntyre a Lie Detector for his troubles, Barrett side slams him down, and Rey comes off the top with a headscissor takedown to set Wade up for the 619. Dolph tries to take Rey out, but Rey drop toe holds Dolph, and he 619’s both men. Phew, what a sequence. Edge then sizes up Ziggler for a Spear and gets the victory. Booker says that you can count to 100 because it is over, baby. When did he start using George’s babies?

WinnerS: Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and John Cena in 21:00.

-Vickie Guerrero is out to break up the celebration by ordering Edge to hand over the Championship belt because he is no longer champ. They then go to a replay of Edge using the Spear last week and if he used the Spear he would lose the match and the title. He brought it on himself, she says. Vickie tells Edge that he knew the Spear was illegal and he is no longer the World Heavyweight Champion and she is awarding the title to Dolph Ziggler. She then hypes the coronation of Dolph later tonight. Vickie then accuses Edge of taking out Teddy Long. She then goes ahead and fires Edge for taking out Teddy Long. Edge is stunned and the crowd is not happy.

[Commercial - Did you Know: Smackdown has been viewed three billion times in the U.S. alone since 1999? I’d like a recount.]

-Mathews recaps the firing of Edge from moments ago. Cole then notes that Vickie can do what she wants because she is Smackdown's acting G.M., Edge did use the Spear, and she had evidence that Edge took out Teddy Long. This segues into Rey using his knee brace to break Cody Rhodes's nose a few weeks ago.

-Earlier this week, Todd Grisham caught up with The Dashing One, who is sporting a protective face mask. Only half of his face is shown due to poor lighting as Cody gives a bitter promo on Rey, who took out Cody on his Road to WrestleMania. He then says that he has been cleared by his doctors and will be on Smackdown next week back in action.

-Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix make their way to the ring.

-2/21/11 vignette airs. I’m starting to think that Bufford “Mad Dog” Tannen isn’t coming to WWE anymore. It *might* be The Undertaker.

[Commercial]

-Highlights from the “first” Smackdown from August 1999 featuring Rock vs. Triple H. Really, the first Smackdown was a special in April 1999, but that is neither here nor there.

2 -- Divas champion EVE TORRES & BETH PHOENIX vs. MARYSE & LAYLA

Michelle McCool is on commentary explaining that her foot is injured because Layla’s head is harder than it looks. Maryse starts by slapping Beth, which only angers the Glamazon. Beth throws Maryse into the corner, then whips her to the far side and charges in with a clothesline. Beth gets a two count and Maryse scurries over to Layla and tags her in. Layla goes for a armbar only to be shoved down by Beth, who applies an armbar of her own on Layla before awkwardly slamming her down.

Beth tags in Eve, who whips Layla into the corner and catches her with a suplex. Eve floats over for a pin but only get a two. Eve whips Layla into the ropes, reversal, Eve goes for a sunset flip only for Layla to roll out of it and slam the back of Eve's head into the mat. Both women are up and Eve kicks Layla in the stomach, then karate kid kicks her in the face. Michelle is now up on the apron and Beth punches Michelle on her bad foot. While the ref is distracted with Michelle and Beth, Maryse and Layla double crescent kick Eve. Layla gets the pinfall.

WINNERS: Layla and Maryse via pinfall in 4:00.

-Up next: footage from The Rock last Monday on Raw.

[Commercial]

[Q5] - Josh says that “this is going to be a monumentous Raw coming up next week.” Sigh. They then go over the origin of the name Smackdown and Booker takes offense because he thought it should be named the Book Show.

-They aired an abridged recap of what happened last Monday with The Rock. They show what he said about Cena again, which has me wondering what they may have in store for those two in the future. It should also be noted that none of the cursing and swear words were edited out. So much for PG when The Rock is around. It must have been in his contract of something…

-Earlier tonight: Edge was fired. Later tonight: Dolph Ziggler will be coronated as the new World Heavyweight Champion.

[Q6] [Commercial]

-Highlights from the 9/13/01 live edition of Smackdown after 9/11. I never really appreciated what this was back in the day. I’m also shocked that they didn’t show Stephanie’s ridiculous comments about the government.

3 -- WWE champion THE MIZ vs. IC Champion KOFI KINGSTON

I like how Tony Chimel says The Miz’s name. He sounds like George Wendt doing Bill Swerski’s Superfans (daBears, daBulls, daMiz). Both men trade waist locks and wristlocks to start. Kofi takes down Miz, who gets back on his feet, only for Kofi to re-apply a wristlock into a chicken wing. Miz reverses out and knees Kofi in the stomach and whips him into the ropes. Kofi then gets three crossybody blocks on the Miz coming off the ropes, each time getting a two count. Booker says what he has noticed about The Miz is that he will win by any means necessary and that is what it takes to be a champion. Kofi with a elbow to the gut, kick to the side of the leg, and finally a knee to Miz's face to stagger him a bit. Kofi whips Miz into the corner with all he has, Kofi tries leaping onto the ropes while Miz is dazed in the corner, but Miz ducks out of the way. Kofi catches himself on the middle rope, but Miz trips him up and pushes him to the mat.

[Commercial]

Back to action with The Miz punting Kofi in the stomach. Miz with a suplex that looks like a brainbuster, and he gets a two count. Miz with a bow and arrow on Kingston to wear him down. Kofi powers out and applies one of his own, but quickly turns it into a backslide which gets a two. Kofi goes for a S.O.S., but gets shoved off by Miz. Kofi comes back with a shot to the face and he hurricanranas Miz to the corner, then follows up with a clothesline and dropkick. Kofi goes for a pin but comes up short. Miz pushes Kofi to the corner and tries some shoulder blocks to the stomach, but Kofi ducks through the ropes and Pele kicks him in the skull. Kofi goes up top and comes off with a cross-body block that only gets a two count. Kofi, off the ropes, gets caught by Miz, who gives him his backbreaker/neckbreaker combo that only gets a two count.

Miz is showing signs of frustration and gets caught with some kicks by Kofi. Miz tries to toss Kofi out of the ring, but Kofi catches himself and takes Miz down with a flying punch. Kofi with the Boom Drop on Miz and Kofi is calling for the Trouble in Paradise, but here is Del Rio down to the ring to cause a distraction. Miz tries to roll up Kofi, only to get reversed by Kofi and it only gets a two count. Kofi tries to get his hands on Del Rio, who distracted him again, but Miz comes from behind and takes Kofi out with The Skull Crushing Finale for the pin.

WINNER: The Miz by pinfall in 10:00.

[Q7] Post-match: Alberto Del Rio stands over Kofi and talks trash to him... Cole and Mathews go over the Longest Running Weekly Episodic TV Shows and Smackdown is number 3. Raw is #1... Tonight: Dolph Ziggler gets the title. But, up next, The Corre challenges for the Tag Team Titles.

[Commercial - Did you know that Smackdown has more episodes than any TV show not named Raw?]

-Highlight of the February 19, 2004 Smackdown featuring Eddie Guererro’s WWE title win celebration.

4 -- WWE tag champions SANTINO & KOZLOV vs. JUSTIN GABRIEL & HEATH SLATER -- WWE Tag Title match

Before the match starts, they show what happened last week with The Corre taking out Big Show and the tag champs. Slater and Gabriel look proud of what they did last week. Kozlov slams Gabriel to the mat to start, then whips Justin against the ropes. Justin goes for a cross body that Kozlov turns into a fallaway slam. Justin rolls out of the ring and the rest of Corre comes down to ringside. Barrett and Jackson cause a distraction, which gives Slater the upperhand that doesn’t last long, as Kozlov makes a hot tag to Santino, who hits his normal spots on Gabriel. Slater hits the ring and Kozlov tackles him out of the ring and Santino calls for The Cobra. He connects with the Cobra and Wade hits the ring and breaks up the count and the ref calls for the DQ.

WINNERS: Kozlov and Marella via DQ in 4:00.

Post-match: The Corre starts to beat down the champs, but Big Show lumbers to the ring and cleans house on The Corre, minus Jackson, who wants nothing to do with Big Show.

-Highlights are shown of the Supermarket brawl between Steve Austin and Booker T and they cut back to the announce table. Booker is cracking up laughing.

-The ring crew is setting up the ring for the Corronation of Dolph Ziggler.

[Commercial - "The Chapperone." Why?]

[Q8] Vickie and Dolph are in the ring and the crowd is booing them out of the building. Vickie then introduces everyone to the new World Heavyweight Champion: Dolph Ziggler. She presents him with the title as the crowd chants “We Want Edge.” As Dolph is posing on the turnbuckle with the belt, Teddy Long’s music hits to a big pop and the color drains from Vickie’s face. Teddy says that they look like they are looking at a ghost. Teddy questions Vickie's investigation and asks if it led to her looking in a mirror. He says that she was the first on the scene and that she had the most to gain from his injuries.

Vickie then throws Dolph under the bus and blames him for the whole thing. She says she had nothing to do with the whole thing. Teddy says that this celebration is over and he is back in charge. The first thing he is going to do is make a World Title match for right now and it is going to be the man he is rehiring – Edge - against Dolph Ziggler. I was hoping for Kelly Kelly. (Just kidding.) Edge’s music hits and he has a crazed look in his eye as he makes his way to the ring.

[Commercial]

-2/21/11 hype video airs again

5 -- World Hvt. champion DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. EDGE -- World Hvt. Title match

The match starts with Edge taking Dolph down with a series of clotheslines and Edge is already calling for the Spear, which is now legal again. Dolph leapfrogs the Spear and Edge charges shoulder-first into the pole and falls outside the ring. Dolph follows him out and puts the boots to the Rated R Superstar. Dolph rolls Edge back into the ring and tries a pin, but Edge is under the ropes. Dolph tries choking Edge out on the bottom rope, but breaks at a four count. This is a hot crowd and they are firmly behind Edge.

Dolph with a chinlock on Edge (it looks like a sleeper to me) as Edge makes his way to his feet and fights out of the hold. Now Ziggler gets the sleeper on Edge - well, almost on because Edge won’t let Dolph lock his hands. Dolph breaks the hold and hits a Fameasser on Edge for a two count. Dolph goes for the Zig-Zag, but Edge blocks it and charges Dolph with a Spear. Edge goes for the pin and gets the win in a decisive way!

WINNER: Edge in 5:00 to capture the World Hvt. Title.

-Vickie is in the ring with Edge, who is taunting her with the title as Teddy Long comes back to ringside. Teddy has one thing he forgot to say – “Dolph, you’re fired!” Dolph is in shock. Edge now has a mic and he says “Excuse me.” Edge puts over 600 episodes of Smackdown, noting that he was on the first episode and, after 600 episodes, he is the champion! Edge then leads the crowd in singing “nah, nah, nah, nah, goodbye” to end the show as confetti falls from the ceiling.

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