WWE Smackdown alt. perspective review
April 15, 2011
Taped 4/12/11 in Albany, N.Y.
Aired on Syfy
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch Contributor

During the credits of the movie before Smackdown they had a commercial for Smackdown that didn’t mention Edge’s retirement. It posed the question of time running out for Edge as the number one contender and Alberto Del Rio getting closer to realizing his destiny. I just thought it was funny that they probably made that video package before Edge’s announcement on Monday. Anywhozzle...

[Q1]

-WWE open.

-Photos and clips from Edge’s career are shown as voice-over guy says that tonight Edge will make his biggest sacrifice and hand over the World Championship tonight.

-Ricardo Rodriguez is in the ring and he introduces Alberto Del Rio who finally got around to buying a new Rolls Royce that he drives out. Josh Mathews says that it is a 1954 Rolls Royce. So I guess it is a new for him car and not a new car.

-Josh, Booker, and Michael are ringside and they shortly discuss what Edge is going to do tonight.

-Del Rio cuts a promo in the middle of the ring. He lets everyone know his name, even though they already knew it. Alberto fills in the crowd to Edge’s retirement last Monday, he even goes on to say that Edge was a hero and he had tons of respect for the 13-year veteran of the WWE. Alberto says that he can’t imagine walking away from the WWE like Edge had to. He says that when he imagined his destiny of becoming the World Champion, he didn’t want it to be like this. So he calls out Edge and asks that he hand over the World Title to him right now.

-Teddy Long comes out instead. I take a look at his suit and I think of Bobby Heenan who would say that somewhere some cheap motel is missing a shower curtain! That is one hideous suit! Long says that no one will be presenting Del Rio with anything tonight. But Alberto reminds him that he is the number one contender and deserves to be champion. Teddy Long announces that at Extreme Rules Alberto Del Rio will still compete for the World Title in a ladder match against the winner of tonight’s 20 man over the top battle royal! Alberto claims that there is a conspiracy afoot and that he has never liked Long. Del Rio then gets a smile on his face and he says that he is glad he hurt Edge and forced him to retire. It was destiny for Edge to become a cripple coward. Teddy tells him to shut up and then abruptly walks out the ring.

(Commercial break)

-Ezekiel Jackson is in the ring and the rest of The Corre is out on commentary.

1 - EZEKIEL JACKSON vs. KOFI KINGSTON

That is one bright green t-shirt that Kofi is wearing. I have to change the settings on my television for this one. Booker says that he is excited to see Ezekiel in singles competition. Jackson powers Kofi into the corner to start, then poses. Kofi uses his speed to kick Jackson back into the turnbuckle. Kofi tries mounting him in the corner but Big Zeke pushes him off. Hard bodyslam by Jackson, he then whips Kingston into the corner and Kofi puts on the brakes and tries a crossbody that gets botched, looked like Jackson wasn’t in position. Josh Mathews causes some disagreements with The Corre by pointing out that all members will be in the 20 man battle royal and they argue about who will win.

[Q2]

Kofi dropkicks Zeke out of the ring and tries a plancha, but gets caught by Jackson. Jackson then tosses Kofi onto the other members of The Corre and Wade Barrett is upset. Both men get back into the ring Wade tries getting into the ring but the ref orders him to ringside. Jackson then uses a Rock Bottom type looking slam to pin Kofi and get the clean win.

WINNER: Ezekiel Jackson by pinfall in a little over 2:00.

-Ezekiel Jackson gets on the mic and says that tonight after the battle royal he will show the world and the rest of The Corre that he is the tower of power, too sweet to be sour, or something like that.

-A replay of Ezekiel Jackson’s power is shown as Cole wonders how many superstars will be tossed from the ring by him.

-Tonight: Edge surrenders The World Heavyweight Title.

(Commercial Break)

-WWE.com still has all the hoopla from WrestleMania for anyone interested.

-Josh Mathews then throws to Lay-Cool at their first couple's therapy session.

-Michelle McCool asks Layla why she is forcing her to be here because they aren’t a couple. Layla says that they are a team and asks Michelle how her back is and she retorts that it is killing her from carrying her for years. Layla says that she is the one carrying the team since Michelle had her crippling foot injury but Michelle says that all she did was lose match after match thus making Lay-Cool, UnCool. Michelle then storms off and Layla tells the shrink that they will be back next week.

-Cody Rhodes is in the ring and he says that he thought that beating Rey at WrestleMania would make him feel vindicated but instead he feels nothing. He goes on to say that tonight he will be in the battle royal. He wonders if even if he wins will it mean anything to him, or will he still feel empty. Cody goes on to say that Rey is a father of two and that he imagines that he has had to tell his kids that there is no such thing as a monster, but he wants to disfigure Rey and make a liar out of him. He wants his kids to see him for the monster he has become.

-Just then Rey’s music hits and he charges to the ring and sets up Rhodes for the 619 but isn’t able to hit him in the face, instead he 619’s Cody in the stomach.

-Next: Rey is in action.

(Commercial Break)

[Q3]

-A mysterious woman is playing with a Barbie doll then maliciously rips it head off. That’s money down the drain! I hope she can fix it.

2 -- REY MYSTERIO vs. DREW MCINTYRE

Cole says that Drew is upset that he didn’t have a match at WrestleMania this year. Booker predicts that Drew is going to breakout in 2011. Both men get face to face and Drew talks some smack. Rey had too much and starts with a flurry of punches and kicks, Drew takes over by whipping Rey into the ropes then powerslams him when Rey bounces back. Drew picks him up and give shim a nasty backbreaker and then drops a knee on Rey’s face. Snap suplex by McIntyre who goes for a quick pin but comes up short. Hard whip by Drew and he grabs Rey and telegraphs a move of some sort, no idea what it was going to be because Rey reverses out of it and sets up Drew for a 619 but Drew rolls out of the way and kicks Rey in the gut. Rey goes against the ropes and Drew puts his head down and Rey kicks it! Drew rolls out of the ring and Rey tries a huracanrana but Drew reverses it and drives Rey into the barricade as Smackdown takes a break.

(Commercial Break)

Drew has Rey in an armbar then tries a side suplex that Rey flips out of and then kicks Drew to the outside. Drew gets kicked in the chest as he tries to re-enter the ring and he is hung up on the ropes. Rey goes up top and guillotine legdrops Drew and that gets a two count. Rey tries getting some offense going with a leg sicssors takedown but that gets reversed into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Drew. Drew pounds on Rey’s chest and mushes his face into the canvas then locks on another armbar. Drew whips Rey into the turnbuckle and tries charging in on him, but Rey leapfrogs out of the way and Drew goes shoulder first into the post.

Mysterio on the top rope in the far corner comes off with a senton. Rey gets some momentum and takes McIntyre down with a leg scissor followed by a springboard crossbody. Drew catches Rey with a kick to the stomach then tries sunset flip that Rey rolls out of and Drew then catches him with a big boot to the face.

[Q4]

Drew goes for the Future Shock DDT that Rey squirms out of. Rey then catches Drew with a tornado DDT that only gets a two count. Mysterio tries getting Drew up, but Drew pushes Rey into the corner and takes him down with a clothesline when he bounces out. Rey somehow sets Drew up for the 619 and connects with it and goes up top for the big splash and hits it for the win! Booker thinks that Drew was gassed but they all agree that Drew looked great tonight.

WINNER: Rey Mysterio by pinfall in 13:00 .

Mike’s Reax: Good TV match. They really played up Drew as someone who can hang with a top star. I was down on Drew at the beginning of the year, but lately he has been winning me over with his aggressive style.

-Josh and Booker are ringside as Booker reminisces about facing Edge at WrestleMania 18. The way they are talking is like Edge is dead or not coming back. I don’t know, seems kind of odd to me. Anyway they throw to a music video featuring Edge’s retirement announcement followed by highlights from his great 13-year career.

-Backstage Edge is walking around getting applause from the locker room until he comes face-to-face with Kane, who shakes his hand and the applause resumes. Getting applauded at work while I walk around happens to me all the time, so I know how good Edge must feel. The only difference is that there are no camera’s around when it happens to me and my boss doesn’t force people to clap for me.

(Commercial Break)

-Did You Know that ten million people are Tough Enough? That would be one heck of a long season. How would they even keep track of that many people?

-Edge, the Rated-R Soo-per-star is out to a standing ovation from the crowd. The crowd chants “Thank you Edge” and he comments that he will never tire of that. He says that for those of you who missed it, last Monday he announced his retirement last Monday on Raw. He says that he will miss everything from the crowd to his entrances. Edge talks about the matches that he innovated like TLC matches, Hell in a Cell matches, hardcore matches, everything. He thanks the boys at Alter Bridge for his theme music, which he says is the best in the WWE today. He also thanks the fans for their reaction every night, including tonight, and it always gave him goosebumps. He then says that he wants to go backstage and make his entrance all over again. And he does! That is awesome! His music hits all over again while the crowd chants his name. This gives me goosebumps too!

[Q5]

Edge evens gets a second round of fireworks to go with his second entrance! This is pretty cool. He jokes that he is winded from doing his entrance again. He goes on to say that the response from the WWE Universe has been great and he is also thankful that this injury got diagnosed early and he is glad that he didn’t have a ladder match and fall and not get back up. He is happy that he can now hike with his dogs, surf, and wear one of his two suits that he owns tonight! He got it for $100 at J.C. Penney. Edge says that he is glad to come back to Albany one more time because it is where he won his first title and it was where he came up with the name Edge.

Edge introduces his mom who is at ringside and she is bawling her eyes out as the crowd chants “Thank you, Mom!” This is good stuff. Edge thanks her too. He says that he doesn’t want things to get sappy and corny. He then moves on to talk about the title and what it means to him, the boys in the back, and the fans. So he officially relinquishes the World Championship. He thanks the fans one last time and leaves the World Heavyweight Championship in the middle of the ring while the crowd chants his name and he walks backstage to his music.

Mike’s Reax: I can say that I am glad that I got to see Edge wrestle one last time in Cleveland last month. He will be missed e on Smackdown because he was always a guy who - when he talked - had such passion that he immediately made what he was talking about seem so important. I know this isn’t the last of Edge, so I can’t wait to see what he does next for WWE.

-Still to come: the 20-man battle royal where the winner faces Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules for the World Title.

-They show a sneak peak of WWE Studio’s new movie starring Randy Orton. The movie is called “That’s What I Am” and it comes out April 29.

(Commercial Break)

[Q6]

-Backstage Edge is talking to I think Rosa Mendes who is speaking Spanish and Edge doesn’t understand her. He must be borrowing Stone Cold Steve Austin’s watch that doesn’t speak Spanish either (obscure reference). Alberto Del Rio walks over and extends his hand to Edge and Edge refuses to shake it. Del Rio winks at him.

3 -- KELLY KELLY vs. LAYLA
Michelle walks out ahead of Layla, which upsets her. Clips are shown from last weeks tag match between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix vs. Lay-Cool. Michelle is on commentary and she disses Josh to start things off! Layla takes Kelly Kelly down and smashes the back of her head into the mat. She then whips Kelly into the ropes and Kelly comes off with a Lou Thesz Press. Kelly then slaps Layla on the ass. Layla whips Kelly into the corner and misses on a charge and Kelly locks her into a tarantula then pulls Layla out of the ring. Kelly administers some punishment on the outside but Layla takes control by ramming Kelly’s back into the apron. Kelly hits Layla with a X-Factor on the outside and it looks like Layla will get counted out, but Michelle takes matters into her own hands and rolls Layla back into the ring where she gets pinned by Kelly Kelly.

WINNER: Kelly Kelly by pinfall in 2:00. Boo! I like Lay-Cool and I’ll be sad to see them breakup.

-Michelle gets in the ring and shoves Layla down and walks off saying that she doesn’t need her anymore.

-Tonight: Who will face Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules?

(Commercial Break)

-WWE Rewind show Raw last Monday where Lawler defeats swagger and gets to pick the stipulation for his return match with Cole at Extreme Rules. Cole and Swagger then have a lovers quarrel then Lawler announces a tag match between Lawler and J.R. vs. Cole and Swagger.

-At ringside, Booker asks Cole why he slapped Jack Swagger. Michael says that he apologized to Jack and that he will make it right in Jack’s eyes before tonight is over.

-Highlights between Hunter and Undertaker from WrestleMania are shown while WWE Superstars and Legends chime in with their thoughts on the epic match.

[Q7]

(Commercial)

4 -- 20-man Battle Royal where the winner will face Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules for the World Title

Order of elimination:

1. JTG by Big Show (shocking, JTG was my pick to win…not!)
2. Trent Barreta by Big Show
3. Heath Slater by Big Show
4. Ezekiel Jackson by Big Show
5. Big Show by Ezekiel Jackson
(Commercial)
6. Cody Rhodes by Rey Mysterio
7. Curt Hawkins by Rey Mysterio
8. Drew McIntyre by Brodus Clay
9. Chavo Guererro by Brodus Clay
[Q8]
10. Brodus Clay by Kane
(Commercial)
11. Kofi Kingston by Wade Barrett
12. Tyler Reks by Christian
13. Yoshi Tatsu by Christian
14. Kane by Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel
15. Chris Masters by Wade Barrett
16. Wade Barrett by Justin Gabriel
17. Justin Gabriel by Rey Mysterio
18. Rey Mysterio by Jack Swagger
19. Jack Swagger by Christian

-Highlights: Not too much in the way of highlights, sad to say. Notably, Justin Gabriel eliminated Wade Barrett. Barrett was livid and it obviously looks like they are finally breaking up the heatless Corre. Rey Mysterio was about to hit a 619 on Jack Swagger but Michael Cole stuck to his word, trying to make things right by Jack, and took the bullet for Jack. Other than that, the last six minutes went to the final two, Christian and Jack Swagger. Del Rio tried eliminating Christian himself at the end and was holding his ankle making him an easy target for Swagger. When Swagger charges Christian to clothesline him over, Christian ducked and sent Swagger over the top to get the win after 22 minutes of action.

Afterwards, Edge came down to the ring to congratulate his best friend and they embraced in the ring. Del Rio and Christian pointed at the World Title at ringside to end the show.

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