WWE Smackdown review
March 18, 2011
Taped 3/15/11 in Kansas City, Mo.
Aired on Syfy
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch Contributor

-Full Smackdown intro including fireworks.

-Smackdown is 16 days away from WrestleMania 27 in Atlanta, Georgia. Show starts with some workers finishing putting together Michael Cole’s penalty box. I wouldn’t mind getting one of those for work. While they are finishing, Tony Chimel welcomes “The voice of the WWE Universe” Michael Cole. Cole comes down to his Cole Mine and calls himself a pop-culture icon! I’ve worse more outrageous claims made – like the time that George Costanza told a woman that he coined the phrase “pardon my French.”

1 -- World Hvt. champion EDGE vs. BRODUS CLAY -- non-title match

Brodus Clay comes to the ring with Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez. Collar and elbow tie-up to start that goes nowhere, Edge throws some fisticuffs but gets whipped into the corner, Brodus “runs” into Edge’s boot. Edge then jumps off the second rope and gets caught by Clay who t-bone suplexes him. Del Rio and Rodriguez bark orders at Clay to keep on Edge, which he does by choking Edge on the bottom rope. Clay puts Edge in a wristlock and works him to the mat. When Edge makes it to his feet Brodus gives him a shot to the ribs to take him back down. Clay whips Edge into the corner and “runs” into his boot yet again. Edge tries a tornado DDT out of the corner but Clay throws him off and clotheslines the champion down. Brodus Clay tries dropping a chop on him while he is down (I think) and Edge rolls out of the way.

The Rated-R Superstar goes up top and comes of the top with a cross-body, which only gets a two count. Clay powered out of that one, sending Edge to the outside. Edge tries coming back in with a sunset flip, but Clay won’t go over and he sits down on Edge and that only gets a two count. If Clay was Earthquake, that would have been over. Clay sets Edge up for a running knee in the corner but Edge moves out of the way at the last second and Brodus goes down.

Edge goes to set up the Spear, but Ricardo distracts the referee and that allows Del Rio to hook Edge’s ankle and hold him while Brodus Clay charges in with a vicious splash in the corner. Mathews says this one if over but the referee only counts to two while Del Rio and Rodriguez were outside celebrating. Christian makes his way to ringside and takes out Del Rio and this distracts Clay, who tries to hit Christian and Edge Spears Clay as he turns his attention back to the ring and the champion wins the match.

WINNER: Edge via pinfall in 5:00.

-Del Rio dropkicks Edge in his bad shoulder and Christian makes the save for Edge again as Christian and the number one contender for the World Title brawl all over ringside. Referees are having a hard time breaking them apart as Teddy Long’s music hits and he demands that they break it up. Long is getting sick of the four of these men getting in each other’s faces so he makes the main event for tonight Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian in a steel cage! Cole doesn’t think that this is fair for Del Rio.

-Still to come tonight: Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston in a champion vs. champion match! Unexplained switching of brands for wrestlers...it must be WrestleMania season.

[Commercial]

-Raw Rewind shows Sheamus winning the U.S. Title from Daniel Bryan.

2 -- U.S. champion SHEAMUS vs. IC champion KOFI KINGSTON

Is this Sheamus’s first appearance on Smackdown? Booker starts out by saying that Kofi Kingston has made some bad decisions over the last month or so. I’m wondering if Kofi bought WWE stock or he got a timeshare in Libya, but Booker elaborates that Kofi hasn’t had good matches and needs a win over Sheamus here to get himself out of his funk that he has been in. Sheamus works the arm of Kingston to start. Kofi flips and flops out of a wristlock and kicks Sheamus back into a corner, whips him into the far corner, then jumps and mounts him in the corner for some shots to the face. Sheamus grabs Kingston and looks to powerbomb him, but Sheamus instead drops backwards to put ram Kingston’s face into the turnbuckle. Sheamus goes for a pin, but comes up short.

The U.S. champ brings Kofi to his feet and takes him back down with a neckbreaker, which also gets a two count. Sheamus knees Kofi in the ribs and locks on a chinlock which Kofi powers of but he gets elbowed in the chin for his troubles. The announcers are high on Sheamus as Cole says that he has a new fire burning in him since winning the title last Monday.

King Sheamus attempts another neckbreaker, but Kofi slips behind and tries schoolboying him but only gets a two. Sheamus whips Kofi in to the corner and Kofi Pele kicks Sheamus in the face when he charges in. Kingston then goes up top and tries a cross-body on Sheamus who rolls through and gets back to his feet while holding onto Kofi who slips from his grip and kicks Sheamus in the face. Kofi with some kicks and lefts & rights, then a side Russian legsweep. Kingston with the Boom Drop on Sheamus and he is calling for Trouble in Paradise and Sheamus rolls out to the apron.

Kofi with the S.O.S., but Sheamus is too close to the ropes and he is able to grab it with his hand to break the count. King Sheamus rolls out of the ring and Kofi springboards off the steps and clotheslines Sheamus on the floor. Sheamus crawls over to the stairs and he baits Kofi in and kicks the stairs into Kofi’s knees. Sheamus rolls into the ring and when Kofi follows him in Sheamus hits him with the Brogue Kick for the win.

WINNER: Sheamus by pinfall in a little over 5:00 minutes.

-Ringside, Mathews throws to a clip from Smackdown a few weeks ago when it seemed like Kane was joining The Corre only show that he is his own man. Then the next week The Corre tries beating down Kane and Big Show saves him.

-Backstage, Big Show and Kane talk about putting aside differences to take down The Corre. In a silly bit both men try chokeslamming each other but counter out of it. Kane then laughs and says that Big Show completes him. Not exactly a Dr. Evil – Mini Me thing they have going on there...

[Commercial]

-John Cena has 5,000,000 fans on Facebook. Great. Sweet. Awesome. Time for me to click unlike on his page, and he is back down to 4,999,999 like the rest of us. Oh, who am I kidding?

-Trent Barreta is in ring and Cody Rhodes makes his way to ringside with new music that isn’t as dashing. Cody doesn’t want to look in the mirror as he makes his way to ringside with a towel over his head and wearing a suit.

3 -- TRENT BARRETA vs. CODY RHODES

Rhodes throws off the towel as soon as the bell sounds and roars across the ring and kicks Trent down in an aggressive way. Rhodes headbutts Trent with his plastic mask a few times and that is enough to get the win. The lights go back down and Cody shields his face from the camera and slinks backstage.

WINNER: Cody Rhodes via pinfall in less than a minute.

-A clip from Del Rio tearing Christian’s pec from last September is shown. Tonight, they will face each other in a steel cage match.

[Commercial]

-Shawn Michaels is a Chatty Cathy! Last Monday on Raw, Shawn weighed in with his thoughts on the Undertaker and The Streak.

-Layla makes her way to the ring with Michelle McCool and she will face Kelly Kelly after the break.

[Commercial]

-Michelle is on commentary and Michael wishes she were in the Cole Mine with him.

4 -- KELLY KELLY vs. LAYLA

Kelly pushes Layla into the ropes and introduces Layla into the turnbuckle to start. Kelly sets up Layla and puts her in a modified tarantula in the corner then walks on Layla’s back. Kelly is a house of fire clotheslining Layla down then hitting her with a Thesz Press as she wails on Layla. Kelly is completely dominant. X-Factor by Kelly that only gets a two count, Kelly then whips Layla into the corner and tries a springboard elbow but Kelly gets kicked when she reaches Layla. Kelly doesn’t stay down long because she regains control and tries a victory roll but thinks better of it and goes to the top ropes but Michelle distracts Kelly and that allows Layla to trip her off the ropes and Layla gets a three count off that.

WINNER: Layla by pinfall in 2:00.

-Up next, The Corre defend the Tag Titles.

[Commercial]

-Sin Cara is slowly getting here. I hope these aren’t like the Alberto Del Rio vignettes where they started airing in April and he didn’t debut until September. That would stink.

5 -- CORRE (Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater) vs. BIG SHOW & KANE -- WWE Tag Team Title match

Kane pounds on Gabriel in the corner, then Kane delivers a low dropkick, which only get a two count. Justin makes a quick tag to Heath who gets the same beat down from Kane. Sidewalk slam by Kane that only gets a two count. Kane gets Heath back to his feet and beats him down in the corner. Slater uses his quickness to start working over Kane’s knee and he makes a tag to Gabriel who works the knee, then tags in Slater again. Slater tries working the knee but gets kicks off by Kane. Kane makes a tag to Show who destroys Slater and chokeslams him down, just as the ref is about to count three, Justin Gabriel pulls him out the ring and the ref DQ’s The Corre.

WINNERS: Kane and Big Show by DQ in 3:00.

-Kane isn’t thrilled by the turn of events and he clothesline Gabriel on the outside and rolls him into the ring where Show is going to Chokeslam him but Jackson saves his boy and The Corre beat down Big Show four on one. Somehow Wade Barrett gets Big Show up and delivers The Wasteland on him. Impressive! The Corre turn their attention to Kane on the outside and they lay him out with the steel steps and place them on top of him while Wade drops the other set of stairs on top of him. They leave Big Show and Kane outside the ring buried in debris. Booker thinks that something needs to be done about these guys, but I don’t see him doing anything about it. Michael says to The Corre these guys are evil.

-Backstage, Todd Grisham is with Alberto Del Rio, who claims that Teddy Long and Christian are trying to mess with his destiny by locking him in a cage like an animal. But guess what? He’s not an animal! Del Rio storms off.

[Commercial]

6 -- CHRIS MASTERS vs. JACK SWAGGER

Before the match starts, Cole calls for video footage of what he did to Jim Ross last Monday. Swagger starts with some lefts and rights to Chris’s kidneys. Michael Cole calls his Anklelock the An-Cole-lock while Swagger has Masters in a hammerlock. Chris Masters gets to his feet and Samoan drops Swagger down. Chris Masters almost gets the Master Lock on Swagger, who ducks out of the ring and hooks Chris’s ankle and applies the Anklelock. Chris Masters turns to his back and kicks Swagger off. Swagger rolls out of the ring again and hooks the ankle again and whips it into the ring post while Booker says that bone and steel do not match. Jack Swagger gets back into the ring and casually puts on the Anklelock for the win.

WINNER: Jack Swagger via submission in 2:00.

Cole joins Swagger in the ring and Jack invites him to put Chris Masters in the An-Cole-Lock. Cole puts the hold on for a few minutes then celebrates the victory with Swagger by doing some of his mannerisms.

-Chris Jericho will be on Dancing With The Stars this season, teaming with Cheryl Burke. They shows clips of them practicing and Chris looks a bit...off. Sorry, Chris. "Dancing With The Stars" looks like a hoot this season...Sorry, I’m just bitter that they didn’t ask me to be on.

-Rey is walking backstage, making his way to the ring where he will be in action…next!

[Commercial]

7 -- REY MYSTERIO vs. TED DIBIASE

Okay, so one enhancement talent got an entrance this week (DiBiase), but I think that is only because he is a Raw wrestler. If he were a Smackdown guy, he would be magically in the ring when they came back from commercial. DiBiase pounds on Rey to start. He whips Rey into the corner and follows him in but gets leg-scissored into the middle turnbuckle. Rey goes to the top rope and Ted dropkicks him in mid-air. That looked brutal! Ted goes for a pin but only gets a two count. Booker says that Teddy is no joke. Thanks, T.

DiBiase kicks Rey while he is down. Both men are up and Ted whips Rey into the ropes but makes the mistake of putting his head down and gets kicked by Rey. Rey goes off the ropes but so does Ted who surprises him with a clothesline. DiBiase puts Rey in a chinlock that Mysterio elbows out of, but Ted gives him a backbreaker and then knees Rey out to the apron. Rey tries a leg scissor takedown but Ted counters and Rey counters the counter into a DDT. Rey goes for another leg scissor but Ted instead gives him a reverse Lo-Down. DiBiase goes for Dream Street but Rey reverses it and sets up Ted for a 619 that connects. Rey goes to the top rope and splashes Ted DiBiase and that is good enough for the win. Maryse walks out on Ted after the match.

WINNER: Rey Mysterio via pinfall in 3:30.

-Video of Christian making the save for Edge when Alberto Del Rio tried jumping him after the Elimination Chamber last month.

[Commercial]

-Tinee Tempah sings the official theme song of WrestleMania. ... Last Monday, old Snookers guest hosted Raw and highlights were shown. ... The announcers ran down the WrestleMania card as it stands now... The steel cage is lowered and Alberto Del Rio and Christian will battle inside it next.

[Commercial]

8 -- CHRISTIAN vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO -- Steel cage match

Both men back and forth brawl to start. Del Rio mounts Christian and tees off on him to get the advantage. Del Rio whips Christian into the ropes, reversal by Christian who back body drops Del Rio then tries ramming his head into the cage but it gets blocked. Christian goes for the Killswitch that Del Rio escapes and makes a break for the top rope to escape the cage but Christian puts the kibosh on that. Both men fight on the top rope and Del Rio goes for a German suplex but Christian is holding onto the cage like grim death. Captain Charisma then makes a break for the top of the cage but Del Rio stops him and Samoan drops him from the top rope and both men are out cold! The referee starts administering the ten count as Smackdown goes to commercial.

[Commercial]

Alberto stomps away at Christian when Smackdown returns. Del Rio throws Christian headfirst into the cage then mashes Christians face into the cage. Del Rio with a side suplex which only gets a two count and Del Rio lock Christian in a chinlock. Alberto Del rio tries to escape the cage but Christian grabs his leg and pulls him back down to the mat. Del Rio puts Christian up on his shoulder and tries running him face first into the cage but he is able to grab the cage and block the attempt. Christian then DDT Del Rio and tries for a pin but comes up short. Christian runs Del Rio’s face into the cage a few times and goes for another pin but only gets a two. Christian tries to crawl out of the door but Alberto drags him back and Christian starts stomping on Del Rio and then tries climbing out but Del stops then does his running enziguiri to knock Christian out! That looked very impressive! Alberto now tries crawling out the door and Christian grabs his leg to hold him but Del Rio kicks him in the head and tries crawling out again and nearly makes it but Christian won’t let it happen. Del Rio calls for the Cross Armbreaker but Christian reverses into the Killswitch and it looks to be over but Alberto kicks out at two and a half. Christian tries climbing out again but Del Rio pulls him down and slams the back of his head into the cage. Del Rio then uses Christian as a stepping stone climb to the top of the cage and Christian follows him up! Both men are straddling the top as they trade lefts and rights and Del Rio dazes Christian. Alberto starts climbing down but Christian hooks his rm into the cage and climbs down over him to the floor for the win!

WINNER: Christian by escaping the cage in 13:00.

-Del Rio jumps Christian as the cage raises up and he tosses him over the timekeeper barricade. Alberto Del Rio grabs a mic and chair and declares that he is going to destroy Christian like he is going to destroy Edge at WrestleMania. Just as he is about to hit him with the chair, Del Rio’s car starts honking and the camera shows that Edge is inside of it. Del Rio tells him leave his car alone and tries to make the save on his car but Edge tells him if he comes any closer he will destroy it with a chair.

Just as he is in the middle of explaining his threat, Brodus Clay hit shim from behind. Alberto Del Rio joins him and proceeds to con-chair-to Edge’s injured arm. Alberto leans over him and whispers something to him as refs shoo him away as Smackdown fades to black.

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