WWE Smackdown review
April 8, 2011
Taped 4/5/11 in Charlotte, N.C.
Aired on SYFY
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

- After fireworks went off inside the arena, Josh Mathews intro’d the show, talking about the after-effects of Wrestlemania. Tony Chimel (conspicuous by his Wrestlemania absence) introduced Alberto Del Rio, Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez. During their entrance, Mathews, Booker T, and Michael Cole were shown at ringside (no singlet for Cole, thank God). In the ring, Del Rio said his destiny may be delayed, but it won’t be stopped. He said Edge and Christian destroyed his Wrestlemania moment, and his car. Del Rio said those cars are like his children, and he’ll make E&C pay. He said when he becomes champion, everything Edge did to his car is what he’ll do to him. Before he could get that final, full sentence out, Edge’s music played.

Edge came out riding on a flatbed truck (courtesy of Brisco Brothers Body Shop), with Del Rio’s crumpled ride on the bed. Edge called Del Rio, “a greedy, arrogant, narcissistic moron.” Edge said if the car is like Del Rio’s child, he needs to love it unconditionally. Edge took some spray paint, yellow to be precise, and painted on the hood of Del Rio’s car. Bad flashbacks to Cena writing “poopy” on a car’s hood. Del Rio got upset, and said he had Edge moments away from tapping out. Edge said he didn’t, which is why he’s still World Champion. Del Rio, nice guy as he is, offered Edge a chance to redeem himself for his Wrestlemania behavior by giving him a rematch. Edge said Del Rio can’t change destiny: He lost, so get over it. He said there are more worthy contenders ahead of him. The person driving the truck began honking, indicating he was one of them. The man came out, and it was Christian. Edge said Christian beat Del Rio twice, putting him ahead of Del Rio. Edge offered a fight instead, so he started walking to the ring. Teddy Long came out to interrupt. He said the men will settle it in a match. Del Rio goes one-on-one with Christian, with the winner facing Edge at Extreme Rules for the championship. Long said Extreme Rules is the night WWE goes extreme, so the title will be on the line in a Ladder Match. The match participants stared at each other from a distance.

- Tonight, highlights of John Cena calling out The Rock.

- Next, a Wrestlemania rematch, demanded by Corre, as they face Big Show, Kane, Santino and Kofi Kingston.

[Commercial Break]

1 – KANE & BIG SHOW & SANTINO MARELLA & KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE CORRE – TWO-OUT-OF-THREE FALLS MATCH

Did the Corre’s theme get remixed again? Yeesh. Booker continued to harp on Corre’s lack of leadership and that possibly being their downfall. Justin Gabriel quickly went into a cover on Santino Marella early on, then tagged in Heath Slater once he got a clear advantage. Right hand to Santino and he went down, but then countered Slater’s punch and tagged Kane. Seated dropkick by Kane, while Slater was wiping his hair out of his face. Hard slap to the chest by Big Show, followed by a slam. Show then stepped on, then over Slater. Kofi tagged in, and stood on Show’s shoulders. Show walked to the middle of the ring so Kofi could splash Slater. He set up for Trouble in Paradise, but Corre pulled Slater out of the ring. They went to break at 2:25 of the first fall.

[Commercial Break]

Kane was in the midst of an assault on Wade Barrett upon return from break, at about the 6:10 mark of fall number one. Barrett got an elbow up in the corner, giving him enough room to tag Zeke Jackson. He and Kane milked the moment, then squared off with a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Shoulder tackle, but it was Zeke who was taken off balance. Corre got involved illegally, giving Jackson the chance to take over. Lots of quick tags by the heels as they isolated Kane in their corner. Kane tagged Kofi at 8:40 and Kingston employed some of his high-octane offense to get the crowd into it. High crossbody of the top on Gabriel, and the first fall was registered at 9:08. The fall was announced, then just before Kofi and Gabriel were to go back at it, they went to break again.

WINNER of fall one: Santino, Kofi, Kane and Show, at 9:08.

[Commercial Break]

Slater and Marella were going at it out of break. Santino made his comeback around 14:14 of the contest, then set up the Cobra. As he did, he missed the tag to Barrett, who kicked him in the face. Wasteland connected, and Barrett picked up the three at 14:43.

WINNER of fall two: Corre, at 5:35 (14:43 total).

Barrett stayed on the offensive against Corre, then dragged Santino over to his corner for another extended beat-down by the heels. Jackson got to toss Marella around a bit to show his strength. A pin was broken up by Show. Gabriel came in and worked a rear chinlock as Show tried to work the crowd. Santino got to his feet, but Gabriel put him back down. The audio sweetener liked that one, but not as much as last week’s Impact. Kane made the tag at about 17:35, as did Barrett. Side slam by Kane for two. Kane to the top, and his clothesline connected. Jackson broke up the pin and it was breaking loose in Charlotte. The combatants all went after each other outside the ring. Kane set up for the chokeslam, but the rest of Corre attacked, and the referee rang the bell.

WINNER of fall three (and match): Show, Kingston, Kane and Santino, via DQ at 3:47 (18:30 total). Good for what it was, with a combination long-form match and a stipulation that isn’t overused.

After the match all the faces hit their finishers on the heels, including Santino teaming up with Show and Kane on a chokeslam.

- The announcers previewed Christian vs. Del Rio, set for tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- A Sin Cara vignette aired.

2- CODY RHODES vs. TRENT BARRETA

Rhodes pounded on Barreta with some right hands, but Barreta landeda springboard dropkick off the top rope. Side Russian leg sweep by Rhodes after Barreta couldn’t capitalize on his high-impact move. He threw Barreta shoulder-first into the ring post, then landed Cross Rhodes for three.

WINNER: Rhodes, at 1:30. The build-up of Rhodes continues.

After the match, Rhodes continued attacking Barreta, this time, by using his mask. Rey Mysterio’s music played and he came out, going right after Cody’s mask. Cody escaped before Mysterio could rip it off.

- Up next, highlights from the John Cena-Rock confrontation on Raw.

[Commercial Break]

- After showing the skyline of Charlotte, they replayed the main event segment from Raw, including the Corre attack.

- Backstage, Christian was putting his gear on while Edge sat next to him. Edge said he hoped Christian would win, as he’d like to face Christian in a match. Christian said he wonders if he’ll be saying that after Extreme Rules. Edge seemed taken aback and jokingly told Christian to “cool your jets.” Christian said it’d be OK if Edge cheered for Del Rio. “Not in your lifetime,” said Edge. Edge walked out, but left his title draped over a chair. Christian got close and stared at it. Edge came back in to take it away. Christian told him to keep it close.

[Commercial Break]

- Mathews plugged ringside and backstage photos and videos from Wrestlemania, exclusively at WWE.com.

3 – LAYCOOL vs. KELLY KELLY & BETH PHOENIX

Mathews asked Cole why he wasn’t in his singlet tonight. “Because I’m not wre….I’m not entertaining tonight.” He even seemed to laugh at almost saying the “w” word. Layla was cheering on McCool from ringside, but McCool, who was thrown into the ropes, knocked Layla off. “What are you doing?” McCool shouted at her partner. Phoenix took advantage of the miscommunication, putting McCool down with a back-breaker. Apparently, McCool didn’t feel knocking Layla off, as she was wondering what Layla was doing down there. Beth pressed Layla over her head and placed her stomach-first over the top turnbuckle, then kicked her. Tag in to Kelly, who choked Layla with her legs in the ropes. She went to the top and landed a Tommy Dreamer-like cross-body for two. Bronco Buster by Kelly for two. Layla came back with some light kicks, then went to tag McCool. Michelle comically fell from the apron, feigning a back injury. Layla was rolled up by Kelly and pinned for three.

WINNERS: Kelly and Beth, at 2:40. Looks like the break-up of LayCool is back on the front-burner. This match had some unique moves in it.

Layla tracked down McCool in the aisle, but Michelle pulled her arm away when Layla grabbed it. “I’m the one doing this for you,” McCool told her, then walked away.

- Christian takes on Alberto Del Rio, with the winner facing Edge in a Ladder Match at Extreme Rules. The #1 Contender match is yet to come.

[Commercial Break]

- Michael Cole was in the ring out of break. “Who shot JR? I DID!” He laughed, then asked for the crowd’s attention. Cole introduced a man who taught him everything he knows: Jack Swagger. Swagger came out, doing his trademark push-ups in the aisle. One in the ring, Cole gave him the mic. Swagger told everyone to settle down, saying there’s plenty of Team Cole to go around. He said that no one believed he could get Cole ready to win the main event at Wrestlemania, but he said it was easy. He said Cole had “gifted athletic ability from head to toe.” I believe I even saw his nose grow when he said that. Swagger called Cole’s win “dominating” and said he’s the new Mr. Wrestlemania. He implored the crowd to applaud Cole, getting the duo more heel heat. Cole said there’s no one in the locker room that can beat Swagger, then wanted to celebrate with a victory lap.

They did so, until Sin Cara’s music hit. Cara walked out onto the stage and looked from right to left, just like he did on Raw. He took his cape off, then hit the ring. Cara’s leap tonight was cleaner than it was on Raw. Swagger towered over Cara. Swagger shoved Cara, but Sin hit a handspring back elbow, then a headscissors take-over. He dove over the top rope with a spinning splash onto Swagger. He went back up the ramp as Cole checked on Swagger. “Who is that?” Swagger asked. They showed a replay of Cara’s attack. Intriguing, in that we thought after Raw Cara would be on the Monday night brand, but this muddies the picture a bit.

- Booker and Mathews talked on camera, switching to talking about Austin’s segment with the Tough Enough folks on Monday. Cole yelled at the announcers, then they cut to the video of Miz interrupting Austin, and a bit of their interaction, including the physical part.

- They plugged Tough Enough at 8 EST on USA Network Monday nights.

- Next, it’s the #1 Contender’s match between Christian and Alberto Del Rio.

[Commercial Break]

- McCool was pacing backstage when Layla walked up to her. She asked if Michele had calmed down, then sarcastically asked how her back was. Michelle told Layla to leave her alone. Layla handed her a piece of paper that indicated they’re going for couples’ therapy. Michelle said they’re not a couple. Layla told her to just show up. McCool said she always does, it’s Layla who doesn’t.

- They showed clips from the WWE Hall-of-Fame induction ceremony 2011. They showed everyone saying something except for Abdullah.

- Chimel turned things over to Rodriguez after tripping over his words. Cole of course jumped on him for that. Clay was already at ringside when Rodriguez announced Alberto Del Rio. The match is on the other side of the break.

[Commercial Break]

4 – ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. CHRISTIAN - #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

After Christian came out, Edge entered the arena to do guest commentary. The first pin attempt was by Del Rio about 45 seconds into the match. Test of strength tease, but Del Rio got the upper hand. Leapfrog by Christian, who took down Del Rio with a few shoulder tackles. Headlock take-over by Christian on Del Rio. Right hand slaps by Christian, who then threw Del Rio over the top rope. Baseball slide by Christian to Del Rio. Del Rio used the commentary table to hoist himself up, and Edge held up the title, almost right in his face. They went to break about 3:10 into the main event.

[Commercial Break]

Back at approximately 5:55. Del Rio tossed Christian into the ring steps on the outside, then into the barricade. Christian worked out of a rest-hold as WWE thanked the Charlotte Regional Film Commission in small print at the bottom of the screen. Running knee to the face by Del Rio on Christian in the corner. Christian came back with a right hand. He went to the top rope, but Del Rio put a stop to that. He tried to suplex Christian off, and did so. Edge likened that move to an electric charge going through your body. Inside cradle by Christian, who had been playing possum. Only a two-count. Del Rio missed wildly with a punch, and Christian clotheslined Del Rio over the top rope, although he went over as well. Christian was thrown into the ring post head-first, and Del Rio just made it back in the ring before the ten-count (he had rolled Christian in beforehand). Christian dodged Del Rio as the heel came off the turnbuckle. Christian started hitting his signature moves just after 11:00 of the match. Cross-body off the top by Christian for two. Cross arm-breaker was countered and Christian tried a springboard sunset flip. Del Rio rolled through and catapulted Christian into the corner. Del Rio then locked on the cross arm-breaker. Christian tangled his feet in the ropes to break. Christian gave Del Rio a bit of whiplash, working over the neck on the top rope. Brodus Clay distracted Christian, so Edge speared the big man. Del Rio hit an enziguiri on Christian, who had settled on the top rope. The pin was made and Del Rio got the win.

WINNER: Del Rio, at 13:20. Very good main event, with Christian’s history in Ladder Matches an intriguing sub-plot.

Del Rio made the title belt sign with his hands around his waist as he made his way up the ramp. Edge checked on Christian in the ring 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. 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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