WWE Smackdown review
August 2, 2013
Taped 7/25/13 in Houston, TX
Aired on SyFy
By Greg Parks, PWTorch Columnist (Twitter: @gregmparks)


- Smackdown Open.

- Fireworks shot off inside the arena in Houston. The traditional panning of the crowd followed.

- A graphic aired for C.M. Punk vs. Fandango, to take place tonight.

- Also, the Divas Championship is on the line when A.J. Lee defends against Kaitlyn.

- Lilian Garcia introduced Alberto Del Rio. As he came to the ring, Michael Cole and Alex Riley were shown at ringside, Riley making his Smackdown announcing debut. Cole introduced him as the announcer of WWE Main Event. Del Rio thanked the crowd…for nothing. He again said the fans never supported him when he won the title. He said he’s the World Champion and there’s nothing the fans can do about it. Del Rio turned his attention to new Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, who has allowed Del Rio to choose his Summerslam opponent. Del Rio wanted the crowd to cheer Vickie’s decision, but they declined. Del Rio said John Cena “wasted” his pick of a Summerslam opponent, and called Bryan a “troll.” Del Rio said Cena only picked Bryan because he’s afraid of Alberto Del Rio.

Del Rio said he considered choosing Brock Lesnar, but Lesnar has different plans for Summerslam, so it’s Lesnar’s loss. Del Rio then said he considered Houston’s own Booker T. He said he remembered that, like everything coming out of Houston, Booker is a big disappointment. He said the person he chose is a great performer (ugh) and a great athlete; the perfect opponent for him. So it’ll be this person’s first opportunity to become World Champion: A drumroll, then Ricardo Rodriguez’s mug was shown on the Titan-Tron. The crowd was not supportive of that decision. Neither, apparently, was Vickie Guerrero, who walked out.

Vickie said she feels as if Del Rio is trying to disrespect her. She said Cena chose Bryan, who is a worthy competitor. Vickie spoke a bit of Spanish to Del Rio, including tell him to shut up. Vickie said she expected so much more from Del Rio. ADR said he wasn’t trying to disrespect Vickie, and if she doesn’t like the choice, he can pick someone else. He floated the idea of the Brooklyn Brawler, and of course made it sound like that was a major announcement. Guerrero, predictably, didn’t like that one either. She called his decision “immature,” so she announced that Del Rio will face the winner of a Triple Threat match tonight between Rob Van Dam, Christian, and Randy Orton. All three men came out onto the stage when their names were called. Del Rio was not pleased at these three. Cole complimented Vickie for making this move.

- The announcers reacted to the news of the Triple Threat main event.

- Clips of Kaitlyn’s win over A.J. on Monday were shown. The Divas Championship match is slated for tonight.

- Plus, it’s Punk vs. Fandango, for the first time ever!

[Commercial Break]

- Cole and Riley talked about how Smackdown ended last week, then we got a video package on Damien Sandow vs. Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes tossing the MITB briefcase into the Gulf of Mexico.

1 – JACK SWAGGER vs. CODY RHODES

No entrance for Swagger or Zeb Colter. As Rhodes came to the ring, Colter tried to cut a promo, but Rhodes knocked the mic out of Colter’s hand, then went after Swagger. The bell rang once both men got to their feet. Rhodes connected on a running knee to the face for a one-count. Swagger came back to slam Rhodes back down. Short-arm clothesline by Swagger, then a cover for two at :49. Cole acknowledged that Colter is on the tour of Australia “as we speak,” acknowledging that Smackdown is not live. Disaster kick was blocked, Swagger bomb followed for two. Gutwrench suplex, but Rhodes held on for a roll-up and a victory.

WINNER: Rhodes, at 1:58. A renewed push for Cody is fine with me, even if his babyface turn hasn’t exactly gotten over like gangbusters yet.

- Tonight, in a Triple Threat World Title #1 Contender’s Match, Randy Orton faces Christian and RVD.

[Commercial Break]

- They replayed the finish of the previous match.

- Backstage, Josh Mathews was with Rhodes. Mathews asked Rhodes about what happened on Smackdown last week. Rhodes said he doesn’t blame Sandow from preventing him from winning the MITB match. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t fed up with Sandow’s treatment of him. He said Sandow was “arrogant,” and he jokingly apologized for the pollution caused by throwing the briefcase in the Gulf. As Mathews asked a second question, Sandow attacked Rhodes from behind, and Mathews looked like he caught a shot in the chin. Sandow’s attack was broken up by producers Mike Rotundo and the Road Dogg (and a third whom I didn’t catch), as referees checked on Rhodes.

2 – SIN CARA vs. BIG E. LANGSTON

No A.J. with Langston. They showed A.J. attacking Ziggler on Raw, and costing Langston the match with Lee’s former boyfriend. The Sin Cara lighting was back for this match. Langston knocked Cara down with a shoulder tackle. Dropkick by Cara for two early on. Ziggler was shown watching on a monitor backstage. Back body-drop by Langston. Riley compared Langston to Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Riley played football at Boston College, where Ryan attended. He explained the comparison in a way that at least made a little sense. Abdominal stretch applied by Langston. Cara, from the apron, kicked Langston in the back of the head. He made the mistake of trying a cross-body, and Langston caught him. After an ill-advised springboard moonsault, Cara was put away with the Big Ending.

WINNER: Langston, at 2:51. Cara bumped around well for Langston’s power moves, which helps to put him over for a possible PPV match with Ziggler.

The finish of the match was replayed.

- A.J. vs. Kaitlyn for the Divas title, coming up tonight.

- After Fandango interrupted C.M. Punk’s promo on Smackdown last week, the two will square off in a match later on.

[Commercial Break]

- Cole thanked Major Lazer, featuring Wylcef Jean for “Reach for the Stars,” the official Summerslam theme.

- A Wyatt Family vignette aired. Included were clips of the attack on Kane this past week on Raw.

- Cole and Riley discussed the Wyatt Family and their effects on WWE thus far.

- Renee Young was backstage with Kaitlyn. Layla joined her. Young asked Kaitlyn for her strategy, and Kaitlyn said she allowed A.J. to mess with her head. “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, you’re gonna get speared,” she said. Kaitlyn noted that she was born and raised in Houston, and also where she won the Divas Championship for the first time. She said history will repeat itself. Layla said she has never seen a Diva with the drive and determination Kailtyn has. I smell a turn coming. Kaitlyn seemed surprised and thanked Layla, who hugged Kaitlyn.

- Del Rio was pacing in Vickie’s office. Del Rio told Vickie she went back on her word. Vickie said Del Rio is just afraid of a little competition. Del Rio said Vickie is not treating Del Rio like you should treat a champion. Brad Maddox walked in to interrupt and to compliment Vickie on the decision she made. ADR got ticked and Maddox reminded Del Rio that the champ will be under his authority on Monday.

- Fandango and Summer Rae danced their way into the arena. As they did, a video of Fandango pointlessly interrupting Punk from last week was shown. The one-on-one match takes place, next.

[Commercial Break]

3 – FANDANGO vs. C.M. PUNK

During Punk’s entrance, his attack on Michael McGillicutty and Paul Heyman on Raw was shown. Punk and Fandango went back-and-forth early on, with Punk getting the better of the exchanges for the most part. Heel kick found the mark, and as Punk went for the Go To Sleep, Fandango slipped away for a breather. They cut to break 2:19 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:27 of the match with Summer Rae and Punk arguing at ringside. This allowed Fandango to whip Punk into the steel steps. Punk barely made it into the ring at the count of nine. Back in the ring, Fandango whipped Punk hard into the turnbuckle. Riley talked about Fandango’s days on NXT. Fandango showed some brutality by laying in calculated right hands and an elbow to the face of Punk. Punk blocked a sunset flip and booted Punk in the face. A pin only got two at 8:37. An angry Punk recovered to clobber Fandango with rights in the corner. Fandango did catch Punk with a boot in the corner for two. Fandango missed a middle-rope knee-drop. Punk began his comeback and hit a running knee in the corner. Before Punk could come off the top, Fandango rolled to the apron. Fandango caught Punk with a kick then hit a falcon arrow on Punk for two. Punk crotched Fandango, who had gone to the top rope. Superplex off the top by Punk, who floated over into the Anaconda Vice for the submission win.

WINNER: Punk, via submission, at 12:21. Solid match, with Fandango really showing he can go in the ring lately with these long matches.

The finish was replayed.

- They went back and showed Del Rio’s big announcement at the top of the show, with Vickie denying the challenge and making tonight’s main event.

- Backstage, Renee Young was with Rob Van Dam. Young asked him how he felt competing for a shot at the World Title tonight. All these years, and Van Dam still can’t cut a convincing promo. Christian walked up and said everyone knows he deserves one more match. Randy Orton then interrupted, saying just because he has a MITB briefcase doesn’t mean he’s going to be complacent. He floated the idea of being the WWE and World Champion at the same time. Orton vowed to RKO Van Dam. RVD said this was his interview and he’s going to be the winner tonight. Young walked away as the three men continued to mumble each other while the show went to break.

[Commercial Break]

- The exterior of the Toyota Center in Houston was shown.

4 – KAITLYN vs. A.J. LEE – DIVAS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Layla came to the ring with Kailtyn. As they did so, Kaitlyn’s spear and pinfall over A.J. on Monday was shown. Cole made a joint announcement between Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox, where they agreed to no longer allow Langston to accompany Lee to the ring. A.J. jumped Kaitlyn and went after her with punches and hair-pulling. Kaitlyn rammed her shoulder into the gut of A.J., then connected with a short-arm clothesline. A.J. tripped Kaitlyn, who went throat-first across the bottom rope. A sleeper hold put Kaitlyn on the mat. Spinning heel kick by A.J. dropped Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn fired back with a dropkick, then a gut-buster. A.J. rolled to ringside. Kaitlyn whipped A.J. into the barricade. Kaitlyn went to attack A.J. but Layla got in between her. That allowed A.J. to go on the offensive. Back in the ring, A.J. applied the Black Widow and Kaitlyn tapped.

WINNER: A.J., at 3:05. I guess the Layla turn wasn’t forgotten after all. A.J. and Kaitlyn have good chemistry together in the ring, no surprise with them being close friends outside the ring.

Layla skipped around with A.J. after the match, then celebrated with her atop the ramp.

- Later on, Alberto Del Rio’s Summerslam opponent will be decided in a Triple Threat match.

- Up next, this past Monday’s happenings with Daniel Bryan and John Cena will be shown.

[Commercial Break]

- The Raw Rebound aired.

- Randy Orton and Christian came out for the main event Triple Threat match. It’s next.

[Commercial Break]

- Back from break, they showed Orton beating Del Rio on Smackdown two weeks ago. Then they showed, on Raw, Christian beating Del Rio. Rob Van Dam then made his entrance. Before the ref could ring the bell to begin the match, Del Rio walked out with a mic. He called the wrestlers “the Three Stooges,” and told them he’ll enjoy watching them beat the guacamole out of each other. He said even Ricardo Rodriguez could beat any of them. He said at Summerslam, one of them will be tapping out.

5 – RANDY ORTON vs. CHRISTIAN vs. ROB VAN DAM – TRIPLE-THREAT MATCH TO DETERMINE THE #1 CONTENDER TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Orton was the first one thrown out of the ring, leaving Christian and Van Dam to work together. Springboard kick by Van Dam. He was tripped up running the ropes though, and he sent Orton into the ringside steps. Van Dam dropped Orton gut-first over the barricade, then he landed his twisting legdrop from the apron. RVD came up limping a bit and Christian speared him outside the ring. All three men were down as they went to break at the two-minute mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:51 of the match. It was Christian and Van Dam once again matching up in the ring. Tornado DDT by Christian, sold expertly of course by RVD. Orton came out of nowhere to attack Christian. Orton positioned Christian for a suplex off the top rope, and connected. Orton rolled over into the cover for two at 7:35. Van Dam came back in and cleaned house on both men, including monkey flipping Christian, who rolled out of the ring. Split-legged moonsault onto Orton for two at 8:30. Christian countered an Orton DDT attempt by back-dropping him to ringside. Van Dam was sent there as well. Baseball slide to Orton by Christian. All three men were out of the ring and Orton was slammed at ringside by Christian. Van Dam used his own move against him by slamming Christian. Van Dam flipped over the top rope and onto both men at ringside. They cut to break again at 10:11 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

The show returned at 13:53 of the match. Christian and Orton were exchanging right hands in the middle of the ring, until Christian was back-dropped by Orton. Orton leap-frogged a spear attempt, but Christian hit a flying elbow. Van Dam landed a top-rope kick on Orton, then Christian rolled RVD up for two. Five-Star Frogsplash onto Christian, but Orton broke up the pin. Orton seemed reinvigorated, and in a nice move, he caught Van Dam mid-Rolling Thunder to give him a powerslam. Very smooth. Van Dam tried to propel himself from the apron into the ring, but Orton dropkicked him. Vintage Orton DDT planted Christian. RKO on Van Dam, but Christian reversed an RKO for a backslide and the win.

WINNER: Christian, at 18:03.

After replays of the finish, the three battle-tested warriors gathered themselves in the ring after the match. Orton looked unhappy, but extended a hand and Christian shook it. Another few replays aired. Van Dam and Christian were left in the ring together. RVD shook Christian’s hand as well. And more replays. Josh Mathews entered the ring to get a word with Christian. He asked Christian how he felt, but before Christian could get much out in the way of a response, Del Rio ambushed Christian from behind. He gave Christian a superkick. Del Rio stood over the fallen Christian to end the show.


Did you watch Friday's Smackdown episode? Send your 0-10 score & Reax to pwtorch@gmail.com for our TV Reax feature.

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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