WWE Smackdown review
April 27, 2012
Taped 5/1/12 in Toledo, Ohio
Aired on SYFY
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

- The usual hullaballoo opened the show, as did the voice of the returning Josh Mathews.

- Mathews plugged follow-up on Brock Lesnar’s attack on Triple H from Monday.

- Plus, we’ll see John Laurinaitis’ attack on John Cena from Raw.

- Sheamus was out first. He entered the ring and got a mic (though a referee was in the ring as well, so we’ve got a match coming up). Sheamus said he came out to do what he loves – fight. Hmm…I seem to remember another short-tempered Irishman who loved to fight. Sheamus said Daniel Bryan almost tore his arm off at Extreme Rules and he wants to finish the job tonight. Sheamus said Bryan asked for this match earlier today and Sheamus said “yes,” apparently over and over again. As he kept repeating that word, Daniel Bryan made his entrance. No mic work from him.

1 – SHEAMUS vs. DANIEL BRYAN

This is apparently a non-title match. Fans were hot early on, but from the way things looked, it was the audio sweetener rather than the actual crowd in the arena. Bryan quickly started working over the left arm of Sheamus, continuing the assault from Extreme Rules. After Sheamus broke out of a submission move, Bryan gave Sheamus a European uppercut. Sheamus came back with forearms to the back and neck area. Running shoulder to the gut, then a running knee-lift. Bryan was clotheslined over the top and to the floor. Sheamus went to go after him, but the referee stopped him. On the opposite side of the ring, a man in a suit climbed the top rope and came splashing down onto Sheamus. It was Ricardo Rodriguez, followed soon after by Alberto Del Rio.

WINNER: Sheamus, via disqualification, at 2:49. Disappointing ending, but they had to transition from Sheamus vs. Bryan to Sheamus vs. Del Rio.

After Del Rio and Rodriguez’s attack, Bryan hooked in the Yes Lock. After referees helped Sheamus out of the ring, Bryan was shown to be in a heated discussion with Alberto Del Rio. Bryan was offended that Del Rio cost him the match. Sheamus was angrily holding his arm in the aisle as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

- They replayed the finish of the previous match and the post-match attack.

- An upset Sheamus was making it difficult for doctors to do their jobs backstage. He should know to cooperate, since he was backstage with Triple H and the trainers on Monday night after Hunter was attacked by Brock Lesnar.

- R-Truth and Kofi Kingston, the new tag champions, came out. They showed Kofi and Truth winning the titles on Raw.

2 – KOFI KINGSTON & R-TRUTH vs. HUNICO & CAMACHO

Before the match could begin, AW accompanied Rosa Mendes, Epico, and Primo onto the stage. Truth danced with Little Jimmy until Hunico “slapped” Jimmy. Truth took offense to this. Unlike what I wrote a few weeks ago, it appears that THIS is in fact Camacho’s Smackdown in-ring debut. Michael Cole said AW stands for “All World,” the name of AW’s management team. Kingston was sent to the outside, where he was run over by Camacho. Back into the ring, Hunico dove onto Kingston for a near-fall at 1:27. Camacho tagged in and landed a nice back suplex. Standing leg-drop found the mark for a two-count at 2:10. Hunico tagged in and gave Kingston “two feet to the mush,” as Booker called it. Kofi fought out of the heel corner and landed a unique arm-drag on Hunico. Monkey-flip by Kofi, who then made the tag at 3:23. Camacho tagged in and bumped around for Truth. The match began to break down with all four men getting involved. Truth ended up taking out Camacho with his finisher for the win.

WINNERS: Kingston and Truth, at 4:07. Nice little match there.

The former champs (who had chairs to sit in while watching!) were shown yelling at the tag champs in the ring. A few highlights of the match were shown afterward.

- Coming up tonight, Brodus Clay vs. Jack Swagger. In fact, it’s next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – “THE FUNKASAURUS” BRODUS CLAY vs. JACK SWAGGER

Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero both accompanied Swagger to the ring. Clay with a belly-to-belly take-down early on, but Swagger turned the tide by going after the knee of Clay. It didn’t last long though as Clay clotheslined Swagger down. Ziggler provided a distraction which allowed Swagger to tackle Clay. Clay recovered outside the ring. Ziggler tried to launch himself off the steps and onto Brodus, but Clay headbutted Ziggler in the chest in mid-air. Back in the ring, Swagger ran into Clay, who suplexed Swagger. He went for his splash, but Swagger rolled out of the ring. Clay just laughed and shouted “my bad.” Swagger, Ziggler, and Vickie just walked out.

WINNER: Clay, via count-out, at 1:43. Nobody is coming out of this feud looking particularly good.

They went to a replay of Swagger leaving the ring and when they came back, there were about seven kids in the ring dancing with Brodus and the ladies. That was a TNA-like cut.

- Tonight, Randy Orton and Big Show team up to face Cody Rhodes and Kane.

- Also tonight, we’ll see the attack perpetrated on John Cena on Monday night.

[Commercial Break]

- The announcers talked about the crazy, physical week in WWE. They began the recap in video form by showing stills of Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena from Extreme Rules, then went to Cena’s segment on Raw.

- Back to the announcers, where Mathews noted Cena “exasperated” his injuries. Did he mean “exacerbated”? Cole said Laurinaitis isn’t on Smackdown to run the show, as he’s taken a personal day. The announcers scoffed at such an idea.

- Daniel Bryan and ADR were shown arguing backstage, with Eve trying to break them up. Bryan demanded his re-match take place tonight. Eve put Bryan in his place by saying she’d consult with the ringside physicians to see if Sheamus is in any condition to wrestle.

- Damien Sandow was walking backstage. His in-ring debut is next.

[Commercial Break]

- Damien Sandow came out for his match. “Hallelujah” played as Sandow’s theme and he was introduced as “the intellectual savior of the masses.” Bateman was already in the ring. Sandow cut a pre-show promo, holding the mic as if it were a fine glass of brandy. Sandow, in his robe and towel, chided the fans for their “irrelevant opinion,” when the chanted “what.” Sandow refused to engage the miscreant in the ring, Bateman. He couldn’t figure out the advantage of fighting an ignoramus like Bateman. He finished by saying, “thank you.” His music played and he walked to the back. Bateman got the mic and said five months ago on NXT, he got the opportunity to have a match on Smackdown. And he wants his match against someone, anyone. I can’t believe they even bothered to reference that NXT stipulation. So Ryback’s music played and he walked out.

4 – DERRICK BATEMAN vs. RYBACK

Bateman ran into a big kick from Ryback as light “Goldberg” chants were heard. Ryback pressed Bateman over his head, then put him on his shoulders and gave him a jaw-breaker. Clothesline, then his finisher for the win.

WINNER: Ryback, at 1:12. Ryback’s winning ways continue against a slight step up in competition.

- Big Show & Randy Orton vs. Kane & Cody Rhodes is up next.

[Commercial Break]

5 – KANE & CODY RHODES vs. THE BIG SHOW & RANDY ORTON

Orton and Rhodes went at it to start, with Orton bettering Rhodes for the most part. Tag to Big Show at 1:05, and he slapped Rhodes across the chest. I’m sure Cody is looking forward to not having to take hard chops to the chest every night when that feud is over with. Bodyslam by Show and a tag again to Orton. Standing dropkick, but not as pretty as his used to be. Kane was able to tag in and he took the fight to Orton in a neutral corner. Just over 3:00 in, Show tagged in and took out Rhodes, then turned his attention to the legal man, Kane. Show whipped Kane into the ropes but put his head down too soon and Kane DDT’d him. Both men were down at 3:53 when they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 7:24 with Show off his feet and Rhdoes putting the boots to him. The crowd was chanting for Big Show as Kane tagged in to work him over some more. Low dropkick for two at 8:18. Show got back to a vertical base and suplexed Kane. Both men tagged their partners at 9:18. Orton set up for his vintage DDT, but Kane punched Orton. This allowed Rhodes to make the tag, but Orton caught Kane coming in and gave him the DDT. Kane countered an RKO and pushed him away – Rhodes was right there to low bridge Orton out of the ring. Orton made another comeback after Rhodes tagged in, but Rhodes cut it off with a dropkick. Rhodes and Kane seemed to work well together as a team. Orton worked out of a rest hold but Cody went for Cross Rhodes. Orton countered and back-dropped Cody. Show tagged in and cleaned house. The match broke down with Orton giving Kane an RKO. Disaster kick attempt was met with a chop to the chest by Show, then the WMD.

WINNERS: Orton and Show, at 14:15. Pretty good match, all things considered. The usual “heels dominate, faces win” trade-off.

Cole noted after the match that Rhodes would be defending his IC Title against Show at live events all weekend, a nice little touch to make house shows feel more important.

- Matt Striker was outside the trainer’s room backstage, and said Eve was inside deciding whether or not Sheamus was fit to compete. Sheamus stormed out of the room and Striker asked him how he’s feeling. Sheamus said he came to there for a fight, so he’s getting a fight. So the match is on.

[Commercial Break]

6 – LAYLA vs. NATALYA

No entrance once again for Nattie. Layla reversed some mat-work by Natalya, who seemed bemused by this development. Wrist-lock take-over, but Layla went with the headscissors. They went to a stale-mate and both were on their feet again. Hard right hand by Natalya took Layla down. Natalya was back to playing the heel here. Twisting clothesline by Natalya for two. Abdominal stretch was next, but Layla elbowed out quickly. Layla rolled through a hip-toss for a one-count. Lay-out from out of nowhere for the win.

WINNER: Layla, at 1:58. This was like the good first two minutes of an extended match. These two gelled pretty well.

- Clips aired of John Cena on SyFy’s new TV show, “Dream Machines.” It airs this Tuesday at 10/9c.

- Aksana was getting makeup done when Eve walked in. She began to direct a photo-shoot with Aksana and Antonio Cesaro. Eve just didn’t seem to think things were going right and asked that Cesaro be oiled up. She called in Teddy Long to do it. Teddy said he wasn’t going to rub oil on a man, but Eve forced him too. Teddy rubbed a little on his back, then Aksana asked him to rub some on Cesaro’s chest, so Teddy did.

- Brock Lesnar’s attack on Triple H will be shown next.

[Commercial Break]

- Kaitlyn and Alicia Fox were chatting backstage when AJ walked up. Fox excused herself and AJ proceeded to apologize to Kaitlyn for hitting her last week. AJ said that wasn’t the real her but she’s been really lost lately. Kaitlyn said she felt so betrayed by what AJ did and she was just trying to be AJ’s friend. Kaitlyn said she knows that isn’t the real her. She said the pity party AJ has been having over Daniel Bryan has got to stop. AJ slapped Kaitlyn again, harder this time (and louder), knocking Kaitlyn to the ground. AJ then walked away.

- The announcers reacted to what just happened, then Mathews discussed the “utter chaos” that Brock Lesnar has brought to Raw with him.

- The Raw Rebound aired, featuring Lesnar’s attack on Triple H.

- Back to the announcers at ringside, Mathews said Triple H suffered a broken arm and tendon damage. Cole said he’s going to need surgery. He assumed Lesnar would be fired, but said it was curious they haven’t heard anything from anyone about the situation. He told fans to tune in to Raw this week for more.

- Alberto Del Rio came out, introduced by Ricardo Rodriguez. He’ll be joining the commentators for the main event of Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus. During his entrance, they showed Del Rio and Rodriguez getting involved earlier in the evening. The match is coming up after the break.

[Commercial Break]

7 – DANIEL BRYAN vs. SHEAMUS

Bryan was in the ring upon break. Sheamus had his shoulder bandaged for this match. Booker T. criticized the decision for Sheamus to take this match given his condition. Hard shot to the kisser by Sheamus put Bryan on his butt. Del Rio on commentary called Sheamus an “Irish peasant.” Sheamus backed Bryan into the corner and elbowed hi in the side of the head several times. Bryan took the advantage with kicks to the shoulder of Sheamus. Bryan used the middle rope and worked Sheamus’ shoulder with it. Sheamus caught a charging Bryan with a one-armed back-breaker. That looked impressive. He couldn’t continue the momentum though and found himself on the apron. Bryan dropkicked Sheamus in the shoulder, sending the World Champ into the barricade. They took the final break of the show at 2:45.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:51 of the match. Bryan tossed Sheamus into the ring and continued focusing his offense on the shoulder of Sheamus. Bryan took the shoulder of Sheamus and, outside the ring again, rammed him into the ring post. Diving headbutt to the shoulder for a two-count. Bryan at least gets to show off his knowledge of holds and maneuvers in a match of this nature. Sheamus turned the tide by sending Bryan shoulder-first into the ring post. Del Rio didn’t speak much after the break, choosing to focus on the match instead. Sheamus brought blow after blow down across the chest of Bryan. Suplex from the apron to the ring by Sheamus, but his pin only got a two-count at 11:18. Irish Curse back-breaker for another two-count. Knees to the throat and chest of Bryan. Bryan snuck in a shot and climbed to the top rope. Missile dropkick for two at 12:17. Bryan ran right into a clothesline that turned him inside-out. Sheamus signaled for the end, so del Rio abandoned the announce desk and climbed on the apron. Sheamus dodged a Yes Lock by throwing Bryan into Del Rio. If they collided it was only lightly, and Del Rio fell into the ring, then scampered out before Sheamus could get him. With Sheamus’ attention on Del Rio, Bryan again went to the top. He came down and was greeted by a Brogue Kick for the pin.

WINNER: Sheamus, at 13:32.

They replayed the finish a few times, once in slow motion. Del Rio was shown holding his arm on the stage, with a sour look as he stared into the ring to see Sheamus celebrating with the World Title.


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. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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