Smackdown – April 5, 2013: The Annual Wrestlemania Commercial

Smackdown
Date: April 5, 2013
Location: Verizon Center, Washington D.C.
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Jerry Lawler

This is the very final show before Wrestlemania and therefore there isn’t likely to be much going on in the ring. Expect to see a lot of buildup for Sunday which makes sense given that the whole show is already set in stone unless they add in a battle royal or something. This isn’t likely going to be much but it’s the price you pay to get to Wrestlemania. Let’s get to it.

Ryback vs. Primo/Epico

The cousins have new music. We cut to Cole and JBL at Axxess to talk about how awesome things are there. Primo starts and is quickly powerslammed. Ryback pulls Epico in and throws him into the corner before hitting a gorilla press slam. Back to Primo for a nice springboard dropkick. Epico comes in for a chinlock but gets caught in the Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder (that’s the real name) and it’s back to Primo. A double spear puts the cousins down and the double Shell Shock gets the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. What do you want here? This was exactly what it was supposed to be: a quick squash to make Ryback look strong going into the showdown on Sunday. Ryback needs the win on Sunday a lot more than Henry does as he hasn’t won a big match since before the Cell loss in the fall.

We look at some more Axxess stuff like Mr. McMahon’s office before looking at the Wrestlemania auction for Hurricane Sandy relief.

Video on Lesnar vs. HHH.

We get a video on Hall of Fame inductee Bruno Sammartino.

Video on Fandango and the pronunciation of his name. This transitions into a recap of Fandango attacking Jericho on Raw.

Video on this history of the Shield. This transitions into the end of last week’s show with Shield being beaten down.

Here are Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls, tonight as played by the Bellas (complete with some extra padding in the shorts and the Rhodes Scholars dancing while eating some cookies. Daniem Sandow in a Brodus hat and dancing is too much. Cody has a bald wig with the Japanese characters thrown in. The dog and pony show ends on Sunday. This brings out the real Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls for the ring clearing brawl.

Video on the Wrestlemania press conference.

Video on Punk vs. Undertaker.

JBL and Cole talk about the exhibit where you can climb a ladder to get the MITB case. JBL to Cole: “You have the athletic ability of an Oklahoma chimpanzee.”

Donald Trump Hall of Fame video.

We get a main event preview, which means we see both Rock and Cena’s promos from Raw.

Del Rio says it’s a good thing that he’s at Axxess and not at Smackdown tonight, because Swagger would be suffering. He’ll be suffering on Sunday as well and America is made up of a bunch of cultures coming together.

Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston

Feeling out process to start with Swagger grabbing a top wristlock and Kofi unsuccessfully trying to flip out of it. Kofi comes back with his double leapfrogs and a back elbow before knocking Swagger to the floor. We take a break and come back with Swagger putting on a double chickenwing. Kofi fights up but a sunset flip attempt is blocked.

Instead Kofi takes Jack down with a monkey flip, only to be awkwardly sent into the corner for the Vader Bomb. Kofi gets the feet up though and hits a top rope cross body for two. An attempt at a second is caught in mid air but Kofi escapes the gutwrench powerbomb. Kofi’s SOS gets two but a Colter distraction lets Swagger hook the Patriot Lock for the submission at 9:40.

Rating: C. This was fine but with less than ten minutes and about three of those spent on a commercial, there was only so much they were going to be able to do. That being said, this is the highest profile exposure Swagger and the title match have had since the title match was announced for Wrestlemania. Not bad here but it was just there.

Overall Rating: D+. That rating could be pretty much anything tonight because it’s basically just grading a two hour infomercial. This is one of those shows you have to sit through once a year and while it’s unpleasant, it’s just one time and it means there’s nothing left to sit through before Wrestlemania. The matches were just there to say we had wrestling tonight and again, that’s what you have to expect.

Results

Ryback b. Epico/Primo – Double Shell Shock

Jack Swagger b. Kofi Kingston – Patriot Lock

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