WWE Smackdown review
May 11, 2012
Taped 5/8/12 in Roanoke, Va.
Aired on Syfy
By Michael Cupach, PWTorch Contributor

[Q1]

-WWE open.

-Smackdown starts with clips of last Monday's tag match featuring Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio and Chris Jericho and the subsequent announcement that there will be a Fatal Four-Way match at Over the Limit!

1 - World Hvt. champion SHEAMUS & RANDY ORTON vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO & CHRIS JERICHO

Jericho and Orton start things off by slugging it out in the corner. Orton gets the upper hand and whips Jericho into the far corner and catches him with a clothesline on the rebound. Sheamus tags in and that irks Orton - they glance at each other. Sheamus back-elbows Jericho and he slaps Orton's chest to tag him back in. Del Rio tags in as well and gets hip-tossed, but rolls out of the way of a knee drop from Orton. Del Rio goes to work on Orton’s shoulder, setting him up for the Cross Arm-breaker. Orton fights his way to his feet, though, and makes a conventional tag to Sheamus, who cleans house and almost puts Del Rio away with a rolling fireman's carry for a two count.

Jericho cheap-shots Sheamus, targeting the heavily taped arm, and Del Rio tags Jericho in. Jericho tries a version of an armbreaker on Sheamus, but he won’t give up; in fact he fights to his feet and back-elbows Jericho. Both men slowly tag in their partners, and Orton cleans house this time. Randy calls for the RKO, Jericho counters, but he walks into a dropkick from Orton for a two count. Del Rio gets in the ring to double-team Orton, but Sheamus cuts him off and the referee calls for the bell.

WINNER: No contest in 5:00.

-Sheamus and Orton clean house again and referees from the back run to the ring to separate things as Smackdown takes a break!

Mike’s Reax: That could have gotten a little more out of hand before the ref called for the bell.

(Commercial)

[Q2]

-Michael Cole lets the audience know that Eve tweeted a message that tonight Randy Orton will take on Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus will face Chris Jericho to make up for the previous match.

-A.J. makes her way to the ring and Josh Mathews throws to a replay of A.J. laying the smackdown on Kaitlyn last week.

2 - A.J. vs. KAITLYN

A.J. Thesz-Presses Kaitlyn to start and both girls roll around and catfight - the only thing missing is Joey Styles! A.J. gets a running knee to the temple of Kaitlyn and scores the win!

WINNER: A.J. in under a minute.

-Post-match: A.J. attacks Kaitlyn until Daniel Bryan’s music hits and she starts crying. Bryan makes his way to the ring, smiling. He starts off by saying that he is colored impressed by her. He applauds her gusto and passion and is really impresses by her ruthlessness. Bryan says that he is seeing her in a new light and he wants to move past what happened at WrestleMania. He says that after he becomes the new WWE Champion at Over the Limit, he wants to move on. She smiles and looks happy until Bryan says he meant that he is looking forward to moving on with Kaitlyn! A.J. storms off after fighting off tears and Bryan lets off a barrage of “Yes!” chants

Mike’s Reax: More shades of gray here. Should I feel bad for A.J. because of how Bryan treats her or is A.J. a psycho like Cole says and because of what she has done to Kaitlyn? It has become a little confusing as to why she is cheered and boo’ed.

-Next: Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan.

(Commercial)

3 - DANIEL BRYAN vs. BIG SHOW

Big Show corners Daniel Bryan and unleashes chops across the chest of the number one contender. Show whips him into the far corner and charges straight into D-Bryan’s boot.

[Q3] Bryan goes to work on Big Show's knee and chops him down. Bryan stomps on Big Show until he is flat on his stomach and Bryan locks in the Yes! Lock. The bell immediately rings.

WINNER: Daniel Bryan in 1:30.

-Post-match: It turns out John Laurinaitis rang the bell and declared that Show tapped out. Bryan hightails it out of there and John gets into the ring with a microphone. He asks Big Show if he thinks that making fun of his voice is funny and Big Show says, “No.” Laurinaitis then bullies Show into apologizing again and then informs him that this Monday on Raw, Big Show will apologize again and it better be a better apology. John makes his way up the ramp and he stops to say that at Extreme Rules, Brock Lesnar rocked the WWE Universe with the way he decimated John Cena. At Over the Limit, he intends on destroying Cena and shaking the Universe to its core!

(Commercial)

-Heath Slater is in the ring and he has a few things to say about his opponent. He says that he looks like a caveman with a pea brain. Slater says that his opponent hasn’t beaten anybody worth noting, let alone someone of Heath Slater's caliber.

4 - RYBACK vs. HEATH SLATER

As Ryback comes out, Slater looks like he regrets the things he just said. He then does an about-face by getting in Ryback's face. He gets shoved down, though, but comes up and gives Ryback some lefts and rights. Ryback shakes the shots off and rams his shoulder into Slater's midsection in the corner. Powerslam by Ryback followed by a running clothesline, then his finisher puts Slater away.

WINNER: Ryback in 1:00.

Mike’s Reax: Good to see someone who is actually on the roster lose to Ryback this week.

-Still to come: Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho.

(commercial)

[Q4]

-Teddy Long is the special ring announcer for the next match. He is wearing his over-sized nametag. He gives a bland introduction to Alex Riley, but reads an overly descriptive introduction for Antonio Cesaro from an index card.

5 - ANTONIO CESARO vs. ALEX RILEY

Cesaro takes down Riley with some amateur moves to start, but he quickly picks Riley up and whips him into the corner and nails him with a stiff-looking running boot! Riley starts a comeback, but misses a big dropkick. Gutwrench suplex by Cesaro looked a little sloppy. Double underhook submission move by Cesaro goes nowhere, so Riley fights out and clotheslines Antonio but doesn’t connect with a spinebuster. Cesaro grabs Riley by the ear in an odd move, then puts him away with a bodyslam/piledriver combo, like a modified Michinoku Driver.

WINNER: Antonio Cesaro by pinfall in 3:00.

-Aksana tells Teddy that they were just friends and she has eyes for Antonio now. They make out in front of Teddy Long, who looks on like a sad puppy.

-Josh Mathews throws to a video package about John Cena and Make-A-Wish Foundation. They show photos of special children meeting their favorite wrestlers. For some reason they did not show when I met Val Venis, Test, and Stacy Keibler at a Denny’s and creeped them out to the point that they asked to eat in the kitchen so I couldn’t stare at them anymore. #truestory

-Up next: Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio.

(Commercial)

6 - RANDY ORTON vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO

No entrance for either guy the second go-around. Del Rio powers Orton into the corner and gives him some knees to the midsection. The ref calls for a break, but doesn’t get it because Orton reverses and rams Alberto’s head into the turnbuckle. Orton stomps away at Del Rio and then catapults Del Rio under the bottom rope for a two count. Ricardo pulls Del Rio to the outside and Orton goes to pull him back in, but Del Rio hangs up Orton's arm on the top rope. Alberto goes to work on the arm, continuing the attack from the tag match earlier tonight. Ricardo even gets in a cheap shot when the ref turns his back.

[Q5] Orton comes back with clotheslines and a dropkick. He goes for his patented DDT, but Del Rio counters and knees the bad arm. Del Rio tries a running kick, but Orton catches him with a backbreaker for a two count. Orton continues to sell the arm and Del Rio gets a desperation kick to the arm followed by a single-arm DDT and he calls for the Cross Arm-breaker. Orton blocks it and ends up DDT’ing Del Rio in the corner. Orton calls for the RKO, but Rodriguez jumps off the top rope and gets caught in a RKO and the ref calls for the bell.

WINNER: Randy Orton by DQ in 6:00.

-Post-match: Alberto Del Rio whips Randy shoulder-first into the steel post, Alberto gets the Cross Arm-breaker until Orton grabs the ropes and pulls himself out of the ring. Alberto looks out at Orton, laughing.

(Commercial)

-R-Truth & Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler is made official for Over the Limit.

7 - WWE tag champion R-TRUTH (w/Kofi Kingston and "Little Jimmy") vs. JACK SWAGGER (w/Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler)

Swagger powers Truth into the corner and lets loose with some rights to start. He whips Truth into the far corner, Truth floats over Swagger, armdrags Swagger, and follows up with what Booker calls a Teardrop. Bulldog by Truth is reversed into a suplex by Swagger, which gets a two count. Primo and Epico are shown backstage looking on, as they still have their re-match for the Tag Titles. Swagger gets caught with his head down and ends up getting DDTed.

Both men reset, and Truth comes alive with some clotheslines and a victory roll that gets a two count. Corkscrew punch from Truth gets a two count as Ziggler pulls Truth out of the ring. Kofi takes out Dolph and Swagger takes out Truth and Kofi. Truth is rolled back into the ring, Kofi gets a Trouble in Paradise on Jack and Truth connects with a Lie Detector for the win!

WINNER: R-Truth by pinfall in 4:00.

[Q6]

-At the announce table, the announcers talk about John Cena vs. Laurinaitis, then they throw to a replay of Cole's interview with Cena last Monday on Raw.

-Santino makes his way to the ring, he teams up with Zack Ryder, next!

(Commercial)

-In an inset promo, Santino and Zack Ryder argue about their team name.

8 - DARREN YOUNG & TITUS O’NEIL vs. U.S. champion SANTINO MARELLA & ZACK RYDER

Santino and Titus start things off. Santino jokes about the size difference. Titus quickly takes advantage to start, bodyslamming Santino before tagging in D-Young. Back-suplex by Young and he tags in Titus. Both men double-team Santino with a suplex slam. Titus talks trash to Ryder and he elbows Santino back down to the mat and tags in Young. Young with a chinlock on Marella, and Santino counters out with a chinbreaker.

Tag into Ryder, who cleans house, then lands the Broski Boot on Young for a two count. Ryder calls for the Rough Ryder, but Titus distracts him and Young runs him over with a forearm. Santino chases Titus around ringside, but gets blindsided by Young, but Ryder pulls Young into the ring. O’Neil and Young quickly overwhelm Ryder, though, and put him away with The Ghetto Blaster for the win.

WINNERS: Titus and Darren Young in 3:00 via pinfall.

-After the match, Titus and Darren get in Lilian Garcia’s face and make her tell the crowd again who won. They call themselves the next tag team champions. They then trash talk the crowd and talk about their millions of dollars. Cole declares that they have millions of dollars of charisma…

-Backstage, Damien Sandow is being interviewed by Matt Striker. Striker asks him why he chose not to compete last week. Sandow apologizes for his confusing vernacular last week. He says that what he said obviously went over Striker's head. Sandow then rhetorically asks who the people put on a pedestal and asks who he has to beat to show them the way. Sandow says that the interview is over, then adds “you’re welcome” before walking away.

[Q7]

(Commercial)

-Plug for Dolph Ziggler's YouTube Show.

-Hunico cuts a promo on his way to the ring about what Hunico means. Apparently Hunico is Spanish for number one.

9 - BRODUS CLAY vs. HUNICO (w/Camacho)

Hunico and Camacho double-team Brodus before the match starts, then execute a wishbone. The bell rings and Brodus no-sells the double team and is laughing. Headbutt from Brodus followed by a mauling in the corner. Backbody drop by Clay. He then takes out Camacho and t-bone-suplexes Hunico and puts him away with a big splash.

WINNER: Brodus Clay in 1:00 by pinfall.

-Brodus and his girls dance - this week, they don’t give children a front row seat to their seductive dance moves!

-Still to come: Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho.

-Up next: An update on the condition of Triple H and an update on the future of Brock Lesnar.

(Commercial)

-Josh Mathews throws to a replay of Brock Lesnar assaulting Hunter and "breaking his arm" two weeks ago on Raw. Cole says that Hunter's arm is a complicated break that will require surgery.

[Q8]

-Josh Mathews introduces a replay of Paul Heyman's statement on Raw concerning Brock Lesnar. This Monday on Raw, Triple H will be live on Raw and will address Brock and Heyman.

10 - World Hvt. champion SHEAMUS vs. CHRIS JERICHO - non-title match

Sheamus aggressively goes for Jericho to start and pounds on Jericho all around the ring! Sheamus runs into a boot to the injured shoulder, but Jericho tries a charge in the corner of his own and comes up empty. Sheamus ties Jericho up in the ropes and clubs on his chest ten times that sends Jericho flying into the outside barricade.

(Commercial)

Catapult shoulderblock by Sheamus as Smackdown returns. Sheamus whips Jericho into the ropes, but he puts his head down and pays for it. Sheamus rolls to the apron and Jericho hangs up the injured arm on the top rope then dropkicks Sheamus to the outside. Chris follows him out and rams Sheamus shoulder-first into the steel post and rolls him back into the ring. Jericho goes to work on the injured arm and tries wrenching it off. Crossface chicken wing from Jericho, but he is no Bob Backlund, so Sheamus powers out, but gets dropkicked in the chest.

Lionsault misses and Sheamus comes back with a kneelift. Sheamus tries another kneelift, but Jericho catches him and tries the Walls of Jericho, but Sheamus counters and tries a Celtic Cross. Jericho reverses, though, and locks Sheamus in The Walls, but Sheamus makes the ropes. Jericho takes a moment to yell at the ref, then charge Sheamus, but gets back-body-dropped over the top. Alberto Del Rio runs in and whips Jericho into the steps in front of the ref and he calls for the bell.

WINNER: Chris Jericho by DQ in 8:00.

-Post match: Orton runs in and he ends up having a staredown with Sheamus while Jericho hits a Codebreaker on Del Rio. Jericho then runs into a RKO and Del Rio gets up and walks into a Brogue Kick from Sheamus. They go back to their staredown as Smackdown fades out!

Thanks for reading, and please follow me on Twitter @MJCupach. I tweet live during Raw and PPVs and rant about many, many other things!

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