WWE Smackdown review
April 1, 2011
Taped 3/28/11 in Chicago, Ill. and today at WWE Fan Axxess in Atlanta, Ga.
Aired on SYFY
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist


- It kills me to have to DVR my Marlins vs. Mets game, the first game of the season for them, to watch a throw-away Smackdown show. But I’m a trooper, so here I am.

- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

1 – WADE BARRETT vs. KOFI KINGSTON – INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

This was a match taped in Chicago. During Barrett’s intro, Josh Mathews, Booker T, and Michael Cole were shown on camera, with Cole in his glass case of emotion. I guess they wanted to get Kingston’s rematch out of the way prior to ‘Mania. Kofi tried an early Trouble in Paradise, but he missed an ended up on the apron. Barrett kicked him down to ringside. He rammed Kingston back-first into the side of the ring. He continued the beat-down at ringside. Front slam, lateral press, two-count only. Kingston fired back with a kick and some chops. High dropkick found the mark, but Barrett dodged the SOS. Flip kick in the corner, though the timing was off a bit. High cross-body off the top for two. Booker was all over Kingston here, saying his stock had dropped the past few weeks, and the chided him for wasting time. Kofi went for Trouble in Paradise, but a nice boot to the face by Barrett changed those plans. Barrett slapped the mat and told Kofi to “come on!” Wasteland attempt, but Kofi held onto the ropes. Trouble in Paradise hit, but as he went for the cover, the rest of Corre ran out and attacked Kingston for the DQ.

WINNER: Kingston, via DQ, at 3:57. Well, Kofi looked a little better here, but Barrett could’ve used a decisive winning going into ‘Mania.

As Corre continued their onslaught, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov ran out. They weren’t able to put a dent into Corre’s offense, so Kane’s pyro went off, and he and Big Show ran out. They cleaned house, standing tall again before the eight-man tag at Wrestlemania.

- They showed Cody Rhodes attacking Rey Mysterio last week on Smackdown.

- Backstage, Matt Striker was with Cody Rhodes….sort-of, as Rhodes was wandering around behind him. Cody said, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” He had his clear mask on and a black towel over his head. Rhodes reminded fans what Mysterio did to him several months ago. He said he was embarrassed, and he can’t even look himself in the mirror. “I’m a bitter man,” Rhodes said. He noted that last week was only the beginning, because Rey will have to contend with this….he took his towel off, then held up a knee brace. Another solid promo from Cody.

[Commercial Break]

- Todd Grisham picked things up from Atlanta at Fan Axxess. They showed off Hornswoggle’s living area, as well as the limo Vince McMahon was blown up in. They showed Grisham and the Bellas. The Bellas talked about how many autographs they would be signing over the weekend. Grisham brought up the Taker vs. Triple H match and how much has changed since 2/21/11. Then they showed the video package from this past week’s Raw, set to Mark Collie’s “In Time.”

- Tonight, we’ll get highlights of Shawn Michaels joining the Taker-Triple H standoff party from Raw this past week.

[Commercial Break]

- A graphic showed the schedule for Wrestlemania Week.

- Grisham and the Bellas were back on camera, and they talked about CM Punk vs. Randy Orton. The Bellas talked about how creepy Punk is. Grisham threw it to a video package of the feud, beginning at the Royal Rumble.

- Still to come tonight, The King responds to Michael Cole.

- Also, the final inductees to the 2011 Hall-of-Fame will be profiled.

[Commercial Break]

- More from Wrestlemania Axxess, where they showed off an exact replica of Mr. McMahon’s office. Reminds me of when I went to the Rochester Museum and Science Center for a CSI exhibit and they had a replica of Gil Grissom’s office. They showed kids doing wrestler entrances as well as HBK memorabilia on display. Grisham transitioned into talking about the WWE Hall-of-Fame, and then we got a look at the Legion of Doom video package. I’m surprised they’re putting in Paul Ellering with them.

- Later on, we’ll see the “electrifying” confrontation between John Cena and The Rock (and oh yeah, Miz was in there too) from Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- This Monday is WWE night on the USA Network, with the Hall-of-Fame at 8pm EST, Monday Night Raw after, and Tough Enough after that.

- The Jack Swagger vs. Jerry Lawler match and aftermath was replayed here.

- Lawler and his awful new theme song came out to the crowd in the arena. Lawler looked at the camera and addressed Cole, who was no longer at ringside. Lawler talked solemnly about all the things Cole has done to him. He said that when you say hurtful things, there are consequences to pay. He said if Cole were out there right now, Lawler wouldn’t make it to ‘Mania…but neither would Cole. He reminded Cole that everything he has done to this point has been with the help of Jack Swagger, but at ‘Mania, Steve Austin will take care of Swagger, leaving only Lawler and Cole. He promised not only to beat Cole, but to shut his mouth. Not exactly a money line to end things, but I guess it didn’t need to be.

- Clips aired of the Wrestlemania 27 Press Conference in New York City from this past Wednesday. They showed Stephanie McMahon speaking, as well as The Rock, Edge, Snooki, John Cena, Triple H, The Miz, and Alberto Del Rio. Rock and Cena were shown face-to-face to close the video.

[Commercial Break]

- They showed some vintage WWE wrestler gear from Axxess, including the 4-wheeler Steve Austin rode to the ring at Wrestlemania 25, and an Undertaker headstone. Holy cow, the Bellas are terrible at doing these line readings.

- Grisham fed it to a video of the Taker-Triple H-HBK segment from Raw, starting when Michaels’ music interrupted. It began before the top of the hour, and ended seven minutes past, so they showed everything from HBK’s entrance on.

[Commercial Break]

- America the Beautiful will be sung by Keri Hilson this year. You make recognize her from her song, “Pretty Girl Rock,” which is playing a lot on Top 40 radio stations.

- They previewed the WWE All-Stars video game.

- More from Grisham and the Bellas. The Bellas said they wouldn’t be surprised if Eve didn’t show to to Axxess because she’s afraid of Twin Magic.

- The Miz was on Conan O’Brien this past week, and we saw clips of it.

- This past Monday, Cena and The Rock had an electrifying confrontation on Monday, and we’ll see it later in the show.

[Commercial Break]

- The Sin Cara vignette from Raw aired.

- They displayed the unique championships that have been used throughout WWE history, as well as some other memorabilia, including Honky Tonk Man’s guitar and Trish Stratus’ hats.

- The three hosts talked about Trish hanging out with Snooki. Grisham sent it to a video of Snooki’s first night in WWE three weeks ago, and the publicity WWE garnered from that appearance.

- Up next, a look at the build-up to Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio, the World Title match slated for Sunday.

[Commercial Break]

- Back to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta for Wrestlemania Axxess. Grisham brought up Edge vs. Del Rio, and the ladies swooned over Del Rio. Grisham said not to discount Edge, then we got a video package on Del Rio vs. Edge.

- Cody Rhodes is in action next.

[Commercial Break]

2 – CODY RHODES vs. CHRIS MASTERS

Rhodes went right after Masters, but Masters came back with a chop. Rhodes went to the knee as Cole and his two security men came back from the back. “What, did he have to go take a bathroom break?” asked Booker. Booker actually asked him that when he got back on headset, and Cole fired back that only Booker does that at PPVs. Rhodes continued on offense, stomping on Maters’ face. Samoan drop by Masters, but he missed a clothesline. Masterlock attempt, but Rhodes got to the ropes. He headbutted Masters, which I don’t believe the ref saw, then hit the Cross Rhodes for the pin.

WINNER: Rhodes, at 2:11.

Post-match, Rey Mysterio ran out. He kicked at the legs of Rhodes and set up for the 619, but stopped Rey. He tried to powerbomb Rey, but Rey got him in 619 position. He showed off the knee brace he was wearing, but Rhodes got out of the ring before Rey could deliver the move. I’m not sure that post-match stuff was necessary to hype their WM match. They could’ve just had Rhodes win, and that would be that.

- Highlights aired of Chris Jericho on Dancing with the Stars.

- Up next, The Rock and John Cena explode.

[Commercial Break]

- John Cena’s muscle car collection was on display at Axxess. The Bellas continued to be turned off by Grisham, in their own, wooden-acting way. They talked about The Rock, The Miz, and John Cena.

- Grisham kicked it to a video of the main event segment from Raw, which picked up with The Rock in the ring, milking the crowd reaction. Edited out the kip-up that Rock attempted. The Smackdown logo came on right after Cena gave the “you can’t see me” to Rock.


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. His new audio show, “Gonzo and The Greg,” is available for download on the Torch VIP page. Give it a listen! Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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