WWE Smackdown review
July 20, 2012
Taped 7/17/12 in San Diego, CA.
Aired on SYFY
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- WWE Open.

- Smackdown Open.

- Fireworks shot off inside the arena in San Diego as Josh Mathews intro’d the show while the camera panned the crowd.

- Rey Mysterio’s music hit and he made his Smackdown return in his hometown. During his entrance, they showed him taking out Alberto Del Rio on Raw. Rey was greeted by “619” chants from the crowd. He noted that almost a year ago in that very arena he was put on the shelf. He said it was great to be able to say, in his hometown: “I’m back.” He addressed his attack on Del Rio from Monday, but before he could say too much about it, Del Rio’s music came on and he walked out from backstage, accompanied by Ricardo Rodriguez. They walked to the ring as Del Rio began his promo.

Del Rio called Mysterio a “Chihuahua” for old time’s sake. He told Rey that he shouldn’t pick a fight against him. Del Rio bragged about almost ending Rey’s career and said he can finish the job now. Instead, he told Mysterio to leave his ring. Del Rio said he wants to talk about Sheamus and what he did at Money in the Bank. Mysterio said Sheamus but Del Rio’s face in. Del Rio once again threatened to end Mysterio’s career, but was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler’s music. He walked out, briefcase in hand, with Vickie Guerrero.

Ziggler said he wasn’t out there for Rey, but for Del Rio. Ziggler took offense to Del Rio interrupting his cash-in at MITB. Del Rio said he and his “burra” (a female donkey, I assume) could be working for him. Mysterio, now sitting on the top turnbuckle, told them to shut up and get it on right now. “You’re right, we should shut up and get it on right now,” said Ziggler in one of those comments the writers obviously didn’t read aloud to see how it sounded before okaying the script. Ziggler and Del Rio turned their attention to Mysterio, but Sheamus came out to even things up. I’m not sure why Ziggler didn’t want to take out Del Rio there – earlier in his promo, he basically ignored Mysterio in favor of taking issue with Del Rio.

Sheamus said it was good to see Rey back then threatened to put Ziggler and Del Rio in the Pacific Ocean. Instead, he opted for a fight right now. Del Rio backed out of the ring and Ziggler didn’t seem pleased. Sheamus took Ziggler down and Mysterio set up for the 619, but Ziggler escaped. Sheamus and Rey celebrated in the ring. Not a real strong segment.

- Christian’s Peep Show will feature the happy couple of Daniel Bryan and A.J.

[Commercial Break]

- Tonight, in breaking news, Sheamus & Rey Mysterio team up to take on Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio. No word on who made the match.

1 – HUNICO & CAMACHO & THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. PRIMO & EPICO & KOFI KINGSTON & R-TRUTH

Hunico, clad in all white, started the match off with Epico. Lots of acrobatics from these two, with Epico taking control with an arm-drag. Primo came in with a dropkick for only one. A.W. kept yelling for Hunico to tag in the PTP’ers, but instead, opted for his partner Camacho. A missed charge led to a roll-up by Primo for two. After a tag to truth, things turned into a pier six (pier eight?) brawl. The babyfaces were in control when they went to break at 2:50 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 7:44 with Kofi taking the fight to Camacho. Boom Drop found the mark. He then set up for Trouble in Paradise. A distraction by Darren Young led to Hunico grabbing Kofi’s foot. Big spinebuster from Camacho for a two-count. Hunico was tagged back in and after a brief offensive, he finally tagged in one of the PTP’ers. Back-breaker from O’Neil, who then just tossed Kofi aside. Once Young tagged in, Kofi was able to tag out to Primo. Primo went for a cover, but it was broken up and as usual, it broke down to signal the end. Primo got his boots up on a Young charge. A.W. provided a distraction and O’Neil shoved Primo off the top rope. Primo landed gut-first on Young’s knees and Young made the pin.

WINNERS: Young, O’Neil, Hunico and Camacho, at 11:41. Finally the PTP’ers get a win. Solid match that showcased some of the more underutilized wrestlers.

Big Show’s music played as the PTP’ers celebrated on the ramp. Show went to the ring and destroyed those who were remaining. Double chokeslam on Hunico and Camacho, knockout punch for Truth and for Primo. So tag teams are the new cruiserweights. “And…what?” said Show on the mic. Then he walked out as they replayed his destruction.

- Up next, a look back at John Cena’s historic week, including his MITB victory.

- The latest Raw 1,000 moment: August 3, 2009, and Jeremy Piven as guest-host. They got comments from Piven, but the “The Goods” poster in the background makes me think it was an interview done right after his appearance.

[Commercial Break]

- The Historic Heart of San Diego was shown. Mathews tossed it to a video package of Cena’s week.

- On camera, the announcers talked about John Cena and his match against C.M. Punk scheduled for Monday night.

- A graphic for the main event tag match was shown.

[Commercial Break]

- Damien Sandow was in the ring for a match. Zack Ryder was introduced as his opposition. Sandow interrupted his music by chastising the fans for supporting a “brainless Broski.” Ryder charged the ring and attacked Sandow. The ref got them separated long enough to start the match.

2 – DAMIEN SANDOW vs. ZACK RYDER

It was all Sandow at the outset. He was very aggressive in his attack as well. Back to a vertical base, neck-tie neck-breaker for Sandow for the win.

WINNER: Sandow, at 1:27. Surprisingly, a squash. I figured this could be a pretty decent mid-card feud, but not when they mow through Ryder that quickly.

- The Peep Show with Bryan and A.J. is next.

[Commercial Break]

- Christian was already in the ring for the Peep Show. He said he’s seen a lot in his time in WWE, but bizarre was taken to another level on Monday. A clip of the proposal then aired. Christian introduced Bryan and A.J. to the live crowd. Christian first asked how the wedding planning was going. A.J. was sitting on Bryan’s lap by the way. She introduced a montage of them doing their wedding planning. It was as cheesy as you’d expect. It looks like they may be choosing from a Vegan and Gluten Free menu. The two certainly seemed to be having fun and getting along in the video. Bryan answered Christian’s question of whether or not he’s sure he wants to do this with a “yes,” and A.J. responded in kind to Christian’s query about if A.J. had completely forgiven Bryan for everything he has done to her. They got a “yes” chant going (amongst themselves anyway). Christian turned his attention to the fans and asked them if they thought Daniel and A.J. should get married or if Bryan loves A.J. They’d yell “no” but didn’t chant it like I think WWE was going for. Christian asked A.J. if she had any idea what she was doing. She slapped Christian and the couple went to leave. Christian said he’s married so he’ll let the Bridezilla slap go. He then said Bryan has been so busy planning his wedding, he probably didn’t hear about being scheduled for a match tonight. Apparently, it’s A.J.’s psychotic ex-boyfriend that he’ll be facing…right now. Kane’s music and pyro hit and he came out. Were they every officially dating? Oh well, the match is next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – DANIEL BRYAN vs. KANE

Bryan went after Kane with kicks, but Kane trumped Bryan’s with a kick of his own: Specifically, a big boot. Kane took Bryan to the mat and applied a body-scissors just :40 into the match. Back-breaker by Kane. Bryan took over with a dropkick that felled Kane, and a kick to the head got him two at 2:48. Bryan went to the top, but was met with an uppercut on the way down. Kane came off the top himself, but Bryan grabbed the arm in an attempt to apply the Yes Lock. A low bridge sent Kane to ringside, where he took over when Bryan checked to make sure his fiancé was okay. Back in the ring, as Kane set up for the chokeslam, A.J. hopped on the top rope and jumped on Kane’s back to draw a disqualification.

WINNER: Kane, via DQ, at 5:14. The match brings Kane back to the forefront and makes you wonder if he’ll be involved in the wedding on Monday.

Bryan kicked at Kane and, with A.J. still on Kane’s back, Kane chokeslammed Bryan. A.J. was move to the front of Kane, where she held onto the back of his neck. Instead of smooching him again, she hopped down and was pulled to safety by Bryan. At the top of the ramp, Bryan and A.J. made out.

- The announcers discussed what just happened. Michael Cole thought they were really in love, but Booker T. wasn’t buying it.

- A few stills of Money in the Bank were shown, including those wherein Ziggler almost cashed in his briefcase.

- Tonight, Sheamus teams up with the returning Rey Mysterio to face Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio.

[Commercial Break]

- Zack Ryder’s Raw 1,000 moment…GTV. Oh my. Some of GTV’s most embarrassing moments caught on tape were shown, including Droz having shaved his legs, Chaz’s girlfriend cheating on him with Meat, Al Snow picking his nose, Val Venis laughing at Big Show’s “size” and Mark Henry in bed with Mae Young. I bet Hornswoggle was behind GTV.

- Heath Slater was in the ring, and they immediately cut away to Slater’s favorite moments, or, his warped memory of his interaction with WWE legends as of late. Back in the ring, Slater said all of that stuff happened to him on Raw. But now, he’s on Smackdown, and his luck is about to change. He said his luck was going to change. But instead, the Legion of Doom music hit and out walked (gingerly) Road Warrior Animal.

4 – HEATH SLATER vs. ROAD WARRIOR ANIMAL

“L.O.D” chants before the match even began. Once it did, Animal ran Slater over with a clothesline. Slater fought back with rights and elbowed away at Animal. Big powerslam by Animal though, then a jumping elbowdrop. Cover for the win.

WINNER: Animal, at :47. I guess it was six years ago that Animal was last on the roster, but his body looked like it had really aged. It feels more recent than six years ago, anyway.

- Some Raw 1,000-related Touts were shown.

- Backstage, Ricardo Rodriguez and Vickie Guerrero were in a heated discussion. Vickie was unhappy with the nickname Del Rio had given her earlier in the show. Rodriguez said Del Rio is true Mexican royalty, and Vickie is jealous. Vickie just screamed at him and threw a fit to end the segment.

[Commercial Break]

- The skyline of San Diego was shown.

- The announcers plugged everything happening on Raw this week, including DX kicking off the show, the Bryan/A.J. wedding, The Rock appearing, Brock Lesnar answering Triple H, and C.M. Punk defending his title against John Cena.

- Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler made their entrances. During Dolph’s, a clip of him on the receiving end of a Codebreaker from Monday night was shown.

[Commercial Break]

5 – ALBERTO DEL RIO & DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. SHEAMUS & REY MYSTERIO

Sheamus put Ziggler down to start and the crowd chanted “we want Rey.” Rey, wearing a cut-off shirt with a question mark on it, got some offense in before Ziggler nailed him with a nice clothesline. The announcers discussed Rey’s career accomplishments. Del Rio wanted no part of Sheamus when he tagged in, so Sheamus clubbed Ziggler across the chest with forearms. Ziggler fell to ringside, where Sheamus put him back in. A distraction by Del Rio allowed Ziggler to dropkick Sheamus to the outside. Running knee by Del Rio to Sheamus as they went to break at 3:20.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:17, with Sheamus breaking free of a rest-hold. Mysterio tagged in and did a few high-flying moves, but on a charge, was caught with a boot to the gut. Kick to the head by Mysterio for two. Mysterio set Ziggler up for the 619, but Del Rio kicked Rey in the back to stop him. Fameasser by Ziggler, but the referee was dealing with Sheamus, who had made his way toward Del Rio outside the ring. Del Rio with a tilt-a-whirl back-breaker for two. Ziggler stretched Mysterio with a form of the bow-and-arrow. After Ziggler and Del Rio went back-and-forth roughing Rey up, Rey back-dropped Del Rio to the outside. He managed to make it back in the ring and tag Ziggler before Rey could tag Sheamus. DDT by Mysterio at 11:32 and both men were down. Both made tags and Sheamus cleaned house on Del Rio. Del Rio kicked the shoulder, however, and went for the Cross arm-breaker. He was shoved off, right into Ziggler, who was knocked off the apron and into the announce table. White Noise by Sheamus, who then set up for the Brogue Kick. Rodriguez grabbed the foot of Sheamus for another DQ.

WINNERS: Sheamus and Mysterio, via DQ, at 12:39.

Del Rio applied the cross arm-breaker after the match, leading to a number of referees attempting to break it up. Finally, Del Rio released the hold. He and Ricardo headed to the back as Ziggler grabbed his MITB briefcase at ringside. He handed the briefcase to the ref, but Mysterio knocked Ziggler into the ropes and delivered a 619. Brogue Kick by Sheamus for good measure. Cole reminded viewers that the match never started, so he’s still Mr. MITB. After a replay, they closed with Sheamus and Mysterio celebrating, then a commercial for Raw 1,000.


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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