WWE Smackdown review
November 25, 2011
Taped 11/22/11 in Wilke Barre, Pa.
Aired on Syfy
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch Contributor

[Q1]

-WWE open.

-The show opens with slow motion highlights of the Big Show vs. Mark Henry match from Survivor Series. It ends with Show half-Pillmanizing Henry’s leg. Voice-over guy teases with “What will happen tonight?”

-Mark Henry is out in street clothes and a cast around his left leg as he comes out in a crutch a la Tiny Tim. Henry is doing a serious sell job, barely making it up the stairs to the ring, even taking his sweet time getting through the ropes, wincing in agony when he puts pressure on his injured leg. Henry starts off by sarcastically asking if everyone is happy to see him. He said that they are just happy to see him injured and wonders what kind of people would be happy to see that. He even asks what kind of person would do this to a World Heavyweight Champion. Henry asks what kind of respect is this to show to a champion. He then goes on to tell Big Show that he is hurt, but not broken. He then claims that he kicked Big Show in the knee, not his special place and Show is claiming otherwise because he wants to be a hero and not the bad guy. Henry says that he is out tonight to give the kids a hero to watch because he will be a champion that will fight through pain and compete while injured. Even though he wanted to compete, Teddy Long and WWE officials wouldn’t clear him to wrestle, so he gets tonight off. He said that he is not only the World’ Strongest Man, but he is World’s Toughest Man.

Big Show comes out in street clothes to interrupt. Cole calls Big Show an opportunist for taking advantage of Henry in his injured state. Show starts off by stating that Henry knows the only way that a title can change hands and accuses him of getting intentionally DQ’ed to keep his title. He says that Henry felt the title slipping away, so he did what he could to keep it from leaving his waist. Big Show then starts talking about Henry’s injured leg, but Henry stops him and says that there won’t be a next match because Big Show is the World’s Largest Loser. Both men stare each other down and when Henry starts to speak, Big Show hits Henry with a Weapon of Mass Destruction and leaves him laying as he exits the ring.

-Henry is still out in the middle of the ring through the replay and when they come back live, Daniel Bryan’s music hits and he runs out with a ref and he cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase!

1 -- World Hvt. champion MARK HENRY vs. DANIEL BRYAN -- World Title match

Bryan rolls over Henry and pins him.

WINNER: Daniel Bryan in four seconds!

-Post-Match: Michael Cole calls Bryan a hypocrite and a liar while Booker sings his praise. Then, Teddy Long runs down to the ring and he said that Henry wasn’t cleared to compete, so their was no official match, so he reverses the referee’s decision and gives the title back to Mark Henry and gives the briefcase back to Daniel Bryan.

[Q2] Teddy decides to give Bryan another chance to get a title match as tonight in the main event, Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes, the winner takes on Mark Henry this Tuesday on a special live Smackdown for the World Title.

-The announcers argue over whether or not Bryan got screwed out of the title tonight.

-Tonight: Sheamus and Zack Ryder take on Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler!

Mike’s Reax: I don’t understand who was supposed to get the major heel heat there - Henry or Long? This seems to prove Christian’s argument that Long is an incompetent GM because the briefcase means you can cash in anytime, anywhere. I didn’t think a wrestler needed to be cleared to defend under these circumstances. Anyway, this is history because Bryan will be the first person to cash in the same briefcase twice!

(Commercial)

-Did you know that Smackdown was the #1 show on Syfy for the 60th straight week?

2 - JUSTIN GABRIEL vs. HUNICO

That’s a lot of purple that Gabriel is wearing and he is coming out to techno stripper music. Both men trade armbars to start things off, Hunico gets the advantage by cheap-shotting Gabriel. Hunico kicks Justin to the apron and suplexes him back into the ring. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Hunico gets a two count as Cole says that he wishes he could be backstage interviewing Daniel Bryan right now! Angle Slam by Hunico gets heel heat from the crowd, which isn’t far from Kurt Angles hometown. Camel clutch from Hunico and he converts it to a front facelock when Gabriel starting reversing. Hunico whips Justin into the corner, but Gabriel catches himself and headscissors Hunico to the outside where he follows up with a corkscrew plancha. Enziguri and a senton by Justin gets a two count as the announcers fight over the pronunciation of Hunico. Both men fight on the top turnbuckle, Hunio knocks Gabriel off and comes off with a Swanton for the win!

WINNER: Hunico in 4:00 by pinfall

-Still to come, a Fatal Four-way match for the #1 contendership!

Mike’s Reax: Good showcase of Hunico’s talent as he got a win over a pretty-boy babyface who is over enough with the crowd. I like Hunico, but I’d like to see him work with something besides the generic Latino gang member gimmick.

(Commercial)

[Q3]

-Alicia Fox is on commentary and Cole presses for the 100th week in a row that Fox beat Booker at golf. That was somewhat sexist to imply that women can’t beat men at anything. Fox has a good line where she accuses Beth Phoenix of having bigger muscles than Mason Ryan.

3. DIVAS OF DOOM vs. A.J. & KAITLYN

Kaitlyn and Nattie start things off and Natalya misses a turnbuckle charge. Kaitlyn drags Natalya to the face corner where she double teams Nattie with A.J.. Victory roll by A.J. gets a two count. Natalya shoves A.J. to the ground and locks her in the Sharpshooter for the win.

WINNERS: Divas of Doom in 1:00

-Post-Match: Kaitlyn turns her back on A.J. and Beth grabs the microphone saying that it is cry-time. Natalya puts her back in the sharpshooter and arches all the way back until the top of her head is touching the mat! Alicia puts a stop to it and Beth and Natalya flee the ring.

Mike’s Reax: Only in the Divas division is pushing someone down a transitional move into a finisher!

(Commercial)

-Kane teaser video.

-Backstage Teddy Long is on the phone with someone and he lets it slip that Mick Foley will be the special guest host for Smackdown next week. Aksana interrupts and he has an awkward exchange with her. That doesn’t last long as Mark Henry bursts in like the Kool-Aid man yelling at Long for what happened tonight. Long says that he made things right and Henry is still champion. Mark changes the subject to next week's title defense and asks Teddy if he thinks he is a toy or a game. Long states that the trainer thinks he will be good to go next week and he lets him know that it will be a Steel Cage match! Henry is not happy with that.

-Zack Ryder is playing WWE ’12 when Sheamus walks in and says that he signed Ryder's petition for a U.S. Title match. Ryder says that they are Broskis and when he becomes U.S. Champion, they can do a techno remix of Sheamus’s theme. They high-five and agree to kick Swagger and Ziggler’s arses next.

-Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger make their way to the ring with Vickie Guerrero. They take on Sheamus and Zack Ryder, next!

(Commercial)

[Q4]

-Michael Cole pumps up WWE's website for exclusive pictures of Survivor Series.

-Dolph cuts a promo claiming that he won two matches in one night. When the crowd starts chanting, “You suck,” he tells them to stop because the champ is talking. He works in his new catchphrases, “It’s not showing off,” and “#heel.. I wonder if Lou Thesz is rolling in his grave hearing “heel” being used openly on television?

4 - SHEAMUS & ZACK RYDER vs. U.S. champion DOLPH ZIGGLER & JACK SWAGGER (w/Vickie Guerrero)

Cole starts off with a tirade about Ryder needing to earn his match with Ziggler. He makes a good point that he got squashed by Del Rio on Raw, and doesn’t deserve any title shots. Sheamus works a headlock on Ziggler to start and Dolph has a tough time getting out. He finally shoots Sheamus into the ropes and catches him with a dropkick to the mouth. Ziggler plays to the crowd as Sheamus looks on in frustration. Headlock takeover by Sheamus, Dolph tries shooting him again, this time Sheamus puts on the brakes and Dolph come sup short on the dropkick. Sheamus lets Dolph tag in Swagger. Waistlock takedown by Swagger, then Sheamus’s temper comes out as he tees off on Swagger and ties him up in the ropes and clubs his chest. Sheamus dumps Swagger to the floor and sends Ziggler out to him to when he tries to interfere. Ryder gets tagged in and he flies over the top rope with the Ryder Revolution as Smackdown takes a commercial break!

(Commercial)

Ryder is unleashing on Ziggler in the corner when Smackdown comes back. Ziggler tags in Swagger and Ryder tags in Sheamus, who catapult shoulder blocks Swagger to the ground. Swagger answers back with a huge shoulder tackle of his own and he tags in Ziggler. Ziggler aggressively attacks Sheamus and tags Jack back in and he works a submission hold on Sheamus.

[Q5] Back body drop by Swagger who tries a Swaggerbomb, but Sheamus gets the knees up. Tag to Ryder who unloads on Swagger who didn’t tag Dolph in and he nails Jack with the Broski Boot, then gets distracted by Dolph before he can make a pin attempt. Tag to Dolph who tries a neckbreaker, but gets rolled up for two. Dolph is pissed and reacts by kicking him incessantly while he is down. Abdominal stretch by Ziggler followed by a neckbreaker and Dolph nips up! Showing off, Ziggler style! He tags in Swagger who slams Ryder and forces him into the heel corner. Ryder fights off both heels for a second, then he becomes overrun by both men. Double team fame-asser gets a two count as Sheamus breaks up the pin. Dolph puts his boot on Zack’s face while he tags in Swagger. Scoop slam into a Swaggerbomb for a two count.

Tag back to Dolph who gets rolled up for two and Dolph pops back to his feet and dropkicks Ryder. Ryder crawls towards Sheamus, Dolph lets him get close, then pulls him back to the heel corner and tags Jack back in. Swagger cheapshots Sheamus and Sheamus tries getting in the ring, but gets stopped by the ref while Dolph and Jack double team Ryder. Another tag is teased, but Swagger runs Ryder kidney first into the turnbuckle. He places Zack on the middle turnbuckle and Zack surprises him with a tornado DDT.

Hot tag to Sheamus who goes to town on Dolph with a series of clotheslines. Sheamus sets up the Celtic Cross and Ryder blind tags in. Brogue Kick to Swagger sends him out, Dolph misses a Zig-Zag on Sheamus, and Ryder blindsides him with the Rough Ryder for the pin!

WINNERS: Sheamus and Zack Ryder by pinfall in 12:00.

-Backstage, Daniel Bryan is talking to A.J., who is no selling the Sharpshooter. He talks about what it felt like to hold that title for three minutes. She says at least he got his briefcase back. Wade Barrett walks in and says that at least he has a 14-year-old girl fighting his battles for him too! Bryan says that he has won as many titles as Wade Barrett and tonight he will win the four-way match to get another shot. Wade walks off and A.J. says that she has things to do. She kisses him on the cheek and walks away.

(Commercial)

[Q6]

5 - TED DIBIASE vs. HEATH SLATER

Ted needs new music. Hey, look who is back! It’s Heath Slater! What’s it been? 30 days? Ted is also sporting the worst moustache I’ve ever seen. After the bell rings, Jinder Mahal appears on the Titantron to cut a promo about Ted turning his back on his money and his background to hang out with nobodies in parking lots, drinking beer. Slater then jumps DiBiase from behind, but Ted takes over quickly with a snap suplex as Booker T compares Ted to Tebow. That can’t be good for DiBiase! Slater mounts some offense after whipping Ted shoulder first into the steel post. He follows that up with a single arm DDT for a two count. Hammerlock by Slater almost has DiBiase tapping out, but he fights out, then gets chickenwinged, and Heath drops some knees on the injured arm. The announcers start discussing the story that DiBiase turned his back on family money to become the man he is today. Ted whips Slater into the turnbuckle and back body drops him on the rebound. Inverted atomic drop and clothesline by DiBiase. Dream Street by DiBiase picks up the win!

WINNER: Ted DiBiase by pinfall in 5:00

-Post match: Ted DiBiase does the Tebow pose and yells “DiBiase Posse!"

(Commercial)

-Josh asks Booker T run down his situation with Cody Rhodes from last Monday. Booker says that Cody was frustrated and he took it out on Booker and his commentary.

-Backstage Matt Striker is with Cody Rhodes and he asks for his thoughts on last Monday. Cody says that he didn’t throw water in the face of the six-time champion, former King of the Ring, no, he threw water at a lowly announcer. He says that since he lost his mask he is free to do as he pleases, whether it be defend the IC Title, beat Randy Orton, become number one contender, or harass a feeble commentator!

-Daniel Bryan is out with his Money in the Bank briefcase. Michael Cole pulls up the replay of what happened earlier tonight.

[Q7] Randy Orton is out next for his first appearance of the night. Josh and Michael go over the rules of the Fatal Four-way match. First pinfall or submission wins, every man for himself, and sudden death rules. Winner faces Mark Henry in a steel cage this Tuesday on a special live Smackdown!

(Commercial)

-Orton is still posing to his music.

6 - RANDY ORTON vs. IC champion CODY RHODES vs. DANIEL BRYAN vs. WADE BARRETT -- four-way #1 contender match to World Title

Randy and Wade start with each other while Bryan and Rhodes pair off. Randy and Wade trade blows in the ring while Bryan and Rhodes brawl on the outside. Orton drops a knee on Barrett for a two count. Rhodes tries sneaking up on Randy who turns around and dropkicks him. Orton whips Rhodes into the turnbuckle and Bryan nails Cody with a running dropkick. Randy and Bryan square off as the crowd goes crazy for the idea, so Smackdown takes a break?!

(Commercial)

Front suplex by Rhodes when Smackdown returns and Wade come sin and both men double-team Daniel. It’s a stomp-fest! The Twitter feed comes up during the match and it has the static link for youtube.com/user/itbegins2012. Lots of brawling in this match and not much actual wrestling. Orton reverses out of a suplex attempt by Barrett only to be side Russian legswept by Rhodes. The bad guys double-team Orton in the corner with more stomping.

[Q8] Bryan is back in the ring with a missile dropkick to Barrett followed by a big clothesline on Rhodes. He sets Rhodes up on the top rope and Barrett sneaks up behind him and puts Bryan on his shoulders, Doomsday Device on Bryan! Rhodes goes for the pin, but Barrett breaks it up. Wade goes for the pin but Rhodes pulls him off and whips him into the steel post as Smackdown takes another break!

(Commercial)

Suplex by Orton on Cody as Smackdown returns. Barrett is back in and he walks into lefts and rights from Orton. Wade turns the tide and ties Orton up in the ropes and nails him in the face with a big boot! Orton is out on the floor and Bryan tries sneaking up on Barrett and gets Bossman Slammed for his troubles. Cody then takes Barrett out of the match and gets a two count on Bryan. Cody charges Bryan who backbody drops him over the top ropes and it looked like Rhodes was going to land on the top of his head for a second. Suicide dive by Bryan onto Rhodes as Barrett is back in, then he gets blindsided by Orton, who goes on the offensive. Backbreaker and powerslam by Orton gets a two count.

Rhodes is back in the ring, he is stomping away at Orton. Front suplex by Rhodes, he then goes to the top rope, but Orton knocks him off his feet and Rhodes crotches himself on the rope. Orton meets him on the top turnbuckle and superplexes him to the mat and both men are hurt. Barrett sneaks in and tries to steal the pin, but Daniel Bryan breaks it up.

All four men are down, and Orton is the first to his feet. He eliminates Barrett from the ring, he sends Rhodes out after him and he starts stalking Bryan. Hanging DDT by Orton and he calls for the RKO, Barrett pulls Orton out of the ring and both men brawl on the outside. Rhodes comes in and tries to catch a pin on Bryan, but out of nowhere he pulls out the LeBell Lock and Rhodes taps out immediately!

WINNER: Daniel Bryan via submission in 19:00.

-They show replays and Bryan gets his hand raised. While celebrating, Rhodes come sin and beats Bryan down. Orton makes the save by RKO’ing Rhodes. He nods in respect to Daniel Bryan and makes his way to the back as Smackdown goes off the air!

Mike’s Reax: So-so Smackdown tonight. It was really a setup show for this Tuesday's live Smackdown. The wrestling was decent enough, but the booking was a build-up to Tuesday. I should note that it is becoming clear the wrestlers that appear to getting built up the last few weeks – DiBiase, Hunico, Bryan, Barrett, Sheamus, and Rhodes. They continue to have strong showing on Smackdown. The fact that they are using new guys and making them out to be top guys (except Hunico and Ted at this point, but they are getting there) and that they are fresh to the top of the card may be one of the reasons that Smackdown ratings are where they are. This show is becoming a preview for the future of WWE, something that it hasn’t been in years!

Follow me on Twitter @MJCupach as a frequently Tweet live during Raw and most WWE PPVs!

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