Smackdown
Date: March 4, 2011
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Booker T, Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

Well it’s another week closer to Wrestlemania and we’re coming off a kind of lackluster show last week.  However, we don’t have Vickie around anymore so I guess our ears will be in better shape now.  Tonight we have the official contract signing for Edge vs. Alberto and the approximately 100^th return on Smackdown of Undertaker.  There’s probably a DVD worth of them and I’m not exaggerating.  Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the events of last week that led to Vickie being fired.  She’s coming back isn’t she?

Edge and Alberto sign the contract tonight.

Theme song opens us up.

Here’s Edge whose left arm is taped up.  He talks about wanting to be able to look into Alberto’s eyes so Alberto can see what it takes to main event Wrestlemania.  Also he has a bone to pick with Alberto, as last week he was trying to say goodbye to Vickie but Alberto interrupted.  Edge wants to finish singing goodbye to Vickie though.  Drew McIntyre runs out though and is almost instantly sent to the floor.

Cue Teddy who wants to thank Drew.  He also wants to thank the fans around the world (assuming that was a misspeak) because they owe Drew a debt of gratitude because thanks to him, Vickie is gone.  Drew vs. Edge is made for right now.  Well right after the break and a thank you Drew chant led by Edge.

Drew McIntyre vs. Edge

Drew works on the arm to start as makes perfect sense.  Nice to see the show opening more or less with wrestling for once.  Edge tries to speed things up but gets caught in the face by a big boot and we go to the floor.  It’s been more or less all Drew in the first three minutes or so which has been about 80% arm work.  Drew says he’s going to end Edge’s career and then gets two in the ring.

There goes the arm tape and we hit the armbar again.  Hot crowd tonight as they chant for Edge.  Edge hits the floor and takes off his elbow pad.  We’re 30 days away from Wrestlemania.  That brings a smile to my face.  I love this time of year and we’re getting a pretty decent build to the show.  Edge plays possum on the floor and gets a backdrop to shift the momentum.

Back in and Edge gets a top rope cross body for two.  Booker completely ignores Josh’s questions about what Booker thinks of Edge’s arm injury.  Out of NOWHERE Edge hits the spear for…two as he picks Drew up.  Instead he throws on the Edgecator (the kneeling half Sharpshooter since he doesn’t use it that often) for the tap out at 5:15.  During the post match stuff Cole says it was a new move to Edge’s arsenal.  Considering it has a name I think that would be incorrect.

Rating: C+. Just a quick opener here but they had some psychology in there from Drew as he went after an injured body part.  I’m not entirely sure I get why Drew ran in to Vickie’s defense as I know he was defending her last week but I didn’t think they were best friends or something.  Fine for a quick opener and it added something to Edge as he apparently has a “new” finisher.

Show vs. Kane later.

Cole brings up his match with Lawler but apparently he’s not talking about that right now.

Here’s Rey….in a suit?  Cole says he’s back.  He was there last week so I guess everyone is back this week.  He also grew about 8 inches.  If you didn’t get that it’s not Rey but rather Cody Rhodes as the music changes and the mirror pops up on the screen.  We see a clip of the Rhodes’ beatdown from last week on the real Rey which really was good stuff.

Cody says don’t look at him.  Maybe the whole coming out in a Rey mask with loud rap music and fireworks before switching over to another song which would confuse the fans and then standing in the middle of a ring in the middle of the arena while talking and with a microphone amplifying your voice is causing them to look at you?  Anyway, Cody talks about wanting to get revenge on Rey, giving him just a fraction of the damage that Rey gave to Cody.  He challenges Rey for Mania and promises and promises to expose Rey’s face on the grandest stage of all.

In the back Corre comes up to talk to Kane.  They say that they helped Kane get the biggest victory of his career.  Tonight they want him to beat Show.  I’m assuming foreshadowing here?

Tag titles on the line next.

Tag Titles: Heath Slater/Justin Gabriel vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Ok, PLEASE let this be the last match between these teams.  Is there a reason why a Raw (complete with name graphic) team is challenging on Smackdown when the tag champions can compete on both shows?  Santino and Gabriel start us off with Gabriel scaring Santino back with kicks and Santino scaring Gabriel back with the threat of the Cobra.  Santino gets the first offense in with a slam.

Booker still doesn’t like Jackson and still thinks he’s a thug.  Off to Kozlov as Booker intentionally ignores Cole.  Cobra puts Gabriel on the floor as we take a break.  Back with the Russian holding Slater in a headlock on the mat.  Slates goes for the knee and down goes Kozlov.  Barrett sneaks in a shot and Booker isn’t happy.  Off to Gabriel and we get a Santino chant.

Cravate by Gabriel as Cole brings up some cheating moments from Booker’s career.  Booker says “My career is….” and he’s cut off by having to stop to call the match.  I didn’t think he had retired or anything officially so that could have been interesting.  Anyway Kozlov takes Slater down and it’s off to Santino.  He gets his usual offense on Slater and hits the salute headbutt for two.  Everything breaks down and Santino loads up the Cobra.  He takes Barrett down with it but Slater hits a reverse DDT to retain at 4:06 shown of 7:36.

Rating: C-. Ok, we get it: Corre can beat Santino and Kozlov.  Now give us something else with these teams.  This would be a good chance to start rebuilding the tag division with some random teams facing Corre but that’s not going to happen.  Nothing special at all here and more of the same stuff we’ve seen a half dozen times with these guys.

Christian is back next week.  No word on if that’s in the ring or not.  At the same time we recap his injury and return at the PPV.  No mention of him at the Slammys which was hilarious.

Alberto and Ricardo are in the back and Alberto says he almost captured his essence.  That’s all there is to this segment.  No idea what the point of that was.

Time to talk about Taker vs. HHH and by that I mean show the HHH promo from Raw in its entirety.  You know, you could get A LOT more wrestling on the two shows not named Raw if you stopped airing five minutes worth of talking from Raw on them.  This would have been a far better promo if they hadn’t fought already at Wrestlemania in a good match.

Here comes Taker to the Johnny Cash song.  I’d really rather hear the organ music for him as it just fits better.  Cash is awesome but at the same time it just doesn’t seem right for someone like Taker.  Taker is actually kind of moving to get down to the ring.  I almost couldn’t finish marinating the turkey I cooked while he was coming down.  At least the song fits the character so that helps.

Taker talks about how surprising he finds it that the greatest of the great don’t know when to leave well enough alone.  There are some things that just can’t be done.  There are mountains that can’t be climbed, seas that can’t be crossed, and Streaks that can’t be broken.  He agrees with a lot of what HHH said as they’re the last of a dying breed and the last of an era.  Taker thinks that HHH is the greatest world champion over the last fifteen years.  That’s covering a lot of ground there Deadman.

HHH claims to have found the way to get rid of the Undertaker: beat him at Wrestlemania.  That’s easier said than done though.  If HHH can do it, he will be the Game and the King of Kings.  But if he loses, he will become nothing more than a number and a name on a list.  You mean like he already is?

Taker plays no game and bows down to no man, especially the king of kings.  At Wrestlemania, HHH will find out that Undertaker is the Last Outlaw.  That’s the new name I guess.  HHH will also find out what it means to Rest in Peace.  This was more like Mark Calloway playing Undertaker rather than Undertaker if that makes sense.

We see a clip from the Sin Cara/Mistico contract signing.  That’s another step for WWE in their international push.  Having lots of guys of different nationalities worked in the 60s and 70s so why not here?

Rosa Mendes/Beth Phoenix vs. Laycool

I guess the foot is ok.  During Laycool’s entrance Cole goes on a rant against journalism and the internet for overplaying the problems Laycool has been having.  Beth and Michelle start but it’s off to Rosa and Layla very quickly.  Booker mentions that Laycool is like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.  Last week I thought Michelle was starting to seem a lot like Hilton so maybe I was onto something.

Off to Beth vs. Layla now with Beth dominating her.  Beth completely destroys her of course and a powerslam gets two.  Michelle gets a big boot to the head of Beth for the pin at 2:20.  There’s a possibility that the boot is loaded.  I guess the Laycool problems are put of hold for a week which might be a good thing at the moment.  No rating as again this was short but the Smackdown Divas are so far ahead of the Raw Divas it’s unreal.

Big Show vs. Kane

Remember that Corre talked to Kane earlier tonight so they might get involved here.  They also show the clip from last week with Show running Corre off with a chair.  This is match #847 or so between these two.  Show backs him into the corner but gets drilled in the chin for his niceness.  K-Mart is sponsoring the live tours now.  K-Mart still exists?  There used to be like 4 here in Lexington and now there is one and no one goes there.  Double clothesline makes it seem like it’s time for a break but here comes Corre with a chair.  Barrett slides it to Kane and it’s a DQ at 1:16.

Kane cracks Show with it and Corre comes in for the beatdown.  Then Kane cracks Gabriel with it and runs off Corre with the chair.  Huh?

We hear Shawn’s thoughts on HHH vs. Taker where he still doesn’t really say anything.

Here’s Jack Swagger.  Basically this is to push Cole as Swagger’s student.  There’s a Team Cole now.  Better than Team Edward.  Cole says that on Monday we’re going to find out who the referee is.  The referee is awesome and one of the best of all time.  Also, the referee, Swagger, Cole and LeBron James think Cleveland stinks.

Jack Swagger vs. JTG

This starts after a break.  Cole goes on a huge rant, explaining how Swagger has been teaching him.  Swagger massacres JTG, hitting two Vader Bombs seconds in and the ankle lock ends this in 1:03.  I think Cole’s entire speech was one long sentence.

Since it’s been a full five minutes since we talked about Raw, here’s a recap of Rock’s promo on Raw.  This one is thankfully cut down.

Edge defaces a painting of Alberto and leaves it in the back.  Ok then.

Time for the contract signing with Teddy moderating things I guess.  I love that smirk on Alberto.  I’ve seen him live and you can tell he’s having a blast.  Why does Alberto keep paying Ricardo if he introduces himself a minute later?  Ricardo starts singing the Mexican national anthem but here’s Edge to save our ears.  Teddy wants to know if we can have a contract signing end peacefully.  Oh Teddy, you poor bad dancing stupid bald man.

The idiotic fans chant USA while the Canadian talks to the Mexican.  Maybe they’re cheering for Teddy?  Edge tells Alberto he doesn’t know what it’s like fighting on the biggest stage in the world.  Alberto says this is his destiny.  Edge says destiny can change and Alberto’s destiny may be to lose at Mania.  Intense stuff here from both guys.  Del Rio signs but it looked like just one word.  Edge signs too and I guess everything is ok.

Edge asks Teddy if he remembers asking if a contract signing can end peacefully.  He says he has an answer and Teddy sprints out of the ring.  Edge hammers away and clears the ring of all the Mexican stuff Del Rio had set up.  He sets for the spear but Ricardo grabs his feet and Del Rio hammers away.  Cross Armbreaker goes on and Edge kind of taps.  It’s let go quickly for no reason and Edge barely sells it on the mat. At least grab your arm dude.

Out to the floor and Edge’s nose is busted.  I’m surprised they didn’t blur it out.  Ricardo hands Del Rio a chair and it gets wrapped around the arm of Edge.  Christian runs out (in wrestling gear) for the save.  He beats Del Rio for a good while before security breaks it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. MUCH better than last week.  It’s not a great show but it’s a definite improvement as there was a lot more energy this time around.  Storylines were advanced and there were some new developments.  I still wish they’d cut out the Raw stuff but I guess it’s a Mania thing.  Also some additional wrestling would help.  Still though this was a solid show and entertaining throughout.  Good show this week.

Results

Edge b. Drew McIntyre – Edgecator

Heath Slater/Justin Gabriel b. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov – Reverse DDT to Marella

Laycool b. Beth Phoenix/Rosa Mendes – Layla pinned Phoenix after a big boot from McCool

Big Show b. Kane via DQ when Kane used a chair

Jack Swagger b. JTG – Ankle Lock

Smackdown
Date: February 25, 2011
Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Booker T

It’s time for the Road to Wrestlemania and thankfully this is the last time I have to say that.  Alberto vs. Edge is the official main event contribution from the blue show.  This could be altered though with the return of Christian on Sunday.  Also we have Teddy Long back now so who knows what’s in store for Vickie.  Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s events regarding the world title.  Edge came in as champion, the title was stripped and given to Dolph as Edge was fired.  Teddy Long, the real GM returned, rehired Edge and gave him a rematch for the title.  Edge won and Ziggler was fired to end the show.  And people say nothing happens on Smackdown?

Teddy says Vickie gets to fight for her job tonight in the form of Vickie/Drew McIntyre vs. Kelly Kelly/Edge.  If Vickie’s team loses then she’s fired.

Do you know your enemy?  Mine are people that actually believed 2-21-11 was Sting.

Rey Mysterio vs. Kane

Kane does the fire corners thing before the match.  Those things are incredible live as they’re incredibly loud and you can actually feel the heat on your face.  Kane gets a quick cover for two.  He lowers his head though and Rey fires off some kicks.  Rey tries to go to the air and is caught in a powerslam position.  A shot into the corner gets two and Kane adds a body scissors.

Cody Rhodes is going to be here tonight but is apparently out of Mania.  Rey fights up but gets caught in a backbreaker for two.  He needs to stop this flying stuff as it doesn’t seem to be working for him here.  Another rana attempt is blocked but Rey puts Kane into the 619 position.  Kane avoids it and hits the floor and Rey goes after him only to run into a big boot as we take a break.

Back with Kane working on the back of Rey as the masked man is in trouble.  Kane drops some elbows for two again.  He seems a bit off here for some reason.  Bearhug goes on while Cole goes off on Josh about being afraid of powerful women or something like that.  Rey escapes but is put right back into the hold and then rammed into the corner.  Kane puts Rey on the top rope but gets caught by a seated senton.  Big swinging kick to a seated Kane gets two.

Rey goes up and is caught by a big uppercut which is dreaded according to Booker but it only gets two.  Top rope clothesline misses so Rey, ever the genius, runs right at Kane as he’s up and not hurt.  Chokeslam is countered into the 619.  Kane catches a seated senton into a powerbomb position but Rey climbs down the back into a sunset flip but can’t hook it so he settles for a rollup for the pin at 7:30 shown of 11:00.

Rating: C. Totally average match here.  I’ve never been a fan of this pairing but this was ok.  Kane’s title reign is long over so he’s back to being a main event jobber now which is fine.  He has a lot more credibility now and can go back to doing what he does best.  This was nothing special but it wasn’t too bad at all.  Right in the middle sounds about right.

Rey stays in the ring to celebrate but is interrupted by….Dusty Rhodes?  Dusty hugs him and we take a break.  Back with the fat man himself saying they’re friends and that he’s disappointed in his son’s actions and what Cody has been saying.  Dusty wants Cody out here now to apologize to Rey.

Here’s Cody in a clear mask that almost looks skin colored from a distance.  He says that he’s been through a lot and Dusty wants him to apologize to Rey?  Because of Rey Cody wasn’t in the Rumble or the Chamber and he won’t be at Wrestlemania.  Dusty looks ancient.  He says that when Cody came to WWE there were some things they talked about, such as Wrestlemania and being a champion.  Was this the wrestling version of the birds and the bees?

Dusty says that somewhere along the line Cody lost focus.  With the Divas saying he’s handsome and being in commercials and being on Syfy and agents from Hollywood calling him, he lost focus.  While Cody was being Dashing, Miz took the WWE Title in Cody’s spot and Edge came in and took the world title off an injury.  Then there’s the situation with Rey where Cody is the one to blame.  Right now though, Cody needs to apologize.

Cody apologizes to Dusty and says to Rey that he’s sorry too.  They shake hands as do Rey and Dusty but it’s a Dusty Finish to the segment as Dusty doesn’t let go of Rey’s hand and Cody jumps him.  The beatdown is on Cody sends Rey into various things on the floor.  He rubs Rey’s face into the steel at the top of the stage and then into the mirror that Cody looks into during his entrance.  Cody pulls the mask off and kicks Rey in the face, leaving him laying.  That added a lot to this.

Back from a break with the Rhodes men hugging and Dusty saying he’d do anything for his son.

Layla vs. Rosa Mendes

Michelle is on commentary again.  Rosa starts with a Thesz Press.  Is Michelle supposed to be like Paris Hilton or something?  Cole of course sucks up to her as Rosa is being all feisty and aggressive.  She goes after Michelle when Michelle gets in her face and a shot from the blonde (Michelle if you’re not familiar with the other girls’ hair) ends this in a DQ at 1:27.

Laycool argues post match.

Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston

I guess we’re back to this feud.  No entrance for Swagger this week.  We get a quick clip of Alberto jumping Kofi on Raw to injure his arm.  Josh says these two feuded over the IC Title over the past year.  You mean the title Ziggler held for like five and a half months and the Jack Swagger that was world champion for part of the summer and the Kofi that was on Raw until April and then feuded with McIntyre and Ziggler until the fall/winter?  I don’t say this often but Josh….you’re an idiot.

I’m pretty sure this is non-title.  Kofi gets a boot up and hammers away on Swagger with a ton of strikes.  Superman clothesline sets up the Boom Drop for no cover.  Swagger goes off on Kofi again and works on the leg by wrapping it around the post.  Back in the ring and the ankle lock ends this clean at 2:52.  That’s rather surprising indeed.  Too short to get anything going but this was nothing bad at all.

Vickie tries to talk to Teddy, saying this is so unfair.  She goes into his office despite him not answering.

We recap, and by that I mean reair, the Cena promo.  It’s still hilarious, especially the pinwheel thing.  I’m hoping this leads to Cena vs. Rock but I can live with it if it doesn’t.  The crowd ate this up too which is a great sign.

Vickie is still looking for help and asks Chavo who says her asking for help almost makes him forget about all the times she had him get her coffee and be her gopher.  Very true indeed.

Wade Barrett vs. Big Show

Corre is barred from ringside.  Show throws his jacket on Cole while Cole and Booker argue over whether or not Booker should be on commentary.  Show dominates to start but runs into a big boot.  Barrett chokes away while on Show’s back and Show is in some trouble.  Show gets to the ropes and Barrett pounds away more as we take a break.

Back with more Barrett domination including a big boot to the jaw from during the break.  Show fights back from one knee with big chops.  Barrett gets a low dropkick to the knee and down goes Show.  DDT gets two.  We hit the floor and it’s all Show after that kickout.  Barrett manages to send him into the post but Show pulls him back out to the floor and beats the count to win at 4:00 shown of 7:30.

Rating: C-. This was your basic giant vs. heel with the work on the legs going nowhere for the most part.  I’m getting tired of these relatively short matches though.  Also I’d like to see Show vs. a member of the Corre that means something in a match that gets a bit of time and has an ending that isn’t a count out or DQ.  Not bad though.

Corre comes out but Show wisely grabs a chair and Corre runs.  Gabriel takes a shot with it though and Show stands tall.

Long recap video of Taker and HHH from Monday.  I liked it despite what a lot of people seem to think of it.  Aww it wasn’t Sting.  Get over it already.

Edge/Kelly Kelly vs. Vickie Guerrero/Drew McIntyre

If Vickie’s team loses, she’s fired.  The genders have to match here.  Edge starts but immediately tags in Kelly to make this girl on girl.  Vickie gets beaten down and it’s off to Drew in less than a minute.  He yells at Kelly, saying he was the only one to stand up for her.  Edge hammers away but Drew takes over rather quickly.  Off to an armbar to the champion while the announcers bicker about what Vickie would do if she kept her job.

Edge takes him down and adds a forearm and some clotheslines for two.  The champion charges into the corner but pauses when Drew moves.  Vickie slaps him and Edge walks into a big boot from McIntyre.  Futureshock is countered into the Edgecution and it’s spear time.  Vickie comes in to beg Edge not to do it so Kelly takes her down.  Spear to Drew and Vickie is gone at 5:36.  What is with these short matches tonight???

Rating: C-. Vickie being gone is a nice touch but a five minute main event?  What happened to the days when Smackdown regularly had 15 minute matches?  The problem is that the ratings have been going up lately so they’ll likely stick with the Raw formula of quick matches.  Blast it all.

Teddy comes out to dance and we take a break.  Vickie cries and apologizes, even throwing in some solid begging.  Teddy fires her anyway.  Vickie begs the referee to reverse the decision to no avail.  Booker won’t help her either.  Cole doesn’t know what to do.  The cameraman won’t help.

Finally she begs Edge, holding onto his legs and crying.  Edge says he can help her but instead he’d rather sing.  You know the song I think and Vickie heads up the ramp.  She shouts you just wait and Alberto jumps Edge from behind, going after his arm.  Edge is left laying and I really hope Vickie doesn’t come back as Alberto’s employee.

Overall Rating: D+. This was one of the weakest shows from Smackdown that I’ve seen in a very long time.  None of the matches were very good, the main event is five minutes long followed by a seven minute segment with Vickie trying to get someone to help her.  The stories didn’t really go anywhere but it’s not like there were any in the first place.  Nothing show for the most part with nothing other than Vickie going on.

Results

Rey Mysterio b. Kane – Rollup

Rosa Mendes b. Layla via DQ when Michelle McCool interfered

Jack Swagger b. Kofi Kingston – Ankle Lock

Big Show b. Wade Barrett via countout

Edge/Kelly Kelly b. Drew McIntyre/Vickie Guerrero – Spear to McIntyre

Smackdown
Date: February 18, 2011
Location: Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Booker T

It’s the last show before Elimination Chamber and we might have a new World Heavyweight Champion.  It wasn’t really clear on Raw as to what was going on with that but we’ll find out tonight.  Also, Vickie says that she has proof that Edge was the one that attacked Teddy Long.  Finally we have the six faces in the Chamber matches vs. the six heels in the Chamber matches.  Let’s get to it.

We see clips of Smackdown over the years as this is the 600^th episode.  We talk about the 12 man tag which is a bit much don’t you think?

Theme song hits.  Since Cena is here tonight I can tell you to get your reinforcements.

Dolph’s coronation is tonight.

Here’s Edge to open the show.  Oh wait this is the 12 man.

Edge/Randy Orton/John Morrison/R-Truth/Rey Mysterio/John Cena vs. CM Punk/Sheamus/Wade Barrett/Drew McIntyre/Kane/Dolph Ziggler

Great pops for all the faces with Rey as the hometown boy or Orton getting the best.  No rapping for Truth here.  This crowd is white hot.  Booker takes offense to Cole calling Sheamus the best king of all time.  Quite the lineup here.  Kane competed in the first Friday Night Smackdown.  Are we really just not acknowledging the Thursday show anymore?  Is there a reason that Ziggler’s initials on his trunks are backwards?

Edge and Sheamus start but Drew wants a tag immediately so more or less he and Edge start us off.  I’ll try to keep up with the tags but I make no promises.  Edge beats the heck out of him, pounding him down in the corner and getting a big boot for good measure.  Truth comes in and Booker gets all excited.  Cole says Truth actually knows what city he’s in here.

Off to Ziggler who gets taken down immediately.  Orton comes in to a ROAR.  Loud Randy chant as we hear about Ziggler winning the title by DQ.  Big kneedrop by Orton gets two on Dolph.  Off to Cena who gets a nice reaction of his own.  Ziggler hammers away at Cena which doesn’t last long at all.  Now we get to the interesting part of the show as we talk about Rock ripping into Cena on Monday.  And that’s the end of that as we simply say Rock ripped into Cena.

Morrison in now but Starship Pain is avoided and Ziggler gets a reverse slam off the top as we take a break.  Back with Sheamus beating on Morrison and getting two.  MAD heat on Punk as he comes in.  Booker and Cole argue over the toughness of names as Rey comes in to a big pop.  619 is blocked into a backbreaker for two and it’s off to Kane.  Bearhug by the Big Fried Freak.  Rey is up in the air for this and it looks like Kane is cuddling him.

Rey gets thrown into the corner but fights his way out of it and manages to avoid a chokeslam.  Kane sends him to the floor into the waiting knee of Punk as we take our second break of the match.  Back with Barrett beating on Rey and tagging in Sheamus.  Rey can’t get a tag and the beating continues.  Booker doesn’t seem to be incredibly familiar with Sheamus.

Mysterio almost gets a tag but Sheamus keeps pulling him back and gets the Irish Curse to stop it one more time.  That only gets two though and it’s back off to Barrett.  Miz is in action later tonight.  Rey avoids a charge but goes up top for a moonsault instead of tagging.  It’s enough for a tag (which the referee clearly didn’t see but allows anyway) to bring in Edge.

Edgecution sets up the spear but Sheamus intercepts it with the Brogue Kick.  We get the expected sequence of finishers as everyone runs in to hit something.  I’m not even going to try to keep track of them all. Rey winds up getting a double 619 on Ziggler and Barrett to allow Edge to hit a good spear on Ziggler for the pin at 11:57 shown of 18:57 total.  That spear was more like a Gore as Ziggler bounced off and Edge didn’t just stop as it hit.  Good shot.

Rating: B-. This was only going to be so good as with that many people in it they couldn’t get an incredibly match out of it.  It wasn’t supposed to be a great match though as it was only there to be an all star match for the most part which is exactly what it was.  Fun stuff and a good little treat for the crowd.

Post match Vickie comes out to say it’s time for Edge to hand over the title.  We get a clip from last week with Clay Matthews running in to count the pin after the illegal spar.  This is a relief as the ending would have made no sense at all otherwise.  Also Vickie knows that Edge attacked Teddy Long.  Without showing the evidence, Vickie fires Edge and we take a break.

The announcers argue about Vickie for a bit.

We see the video of Cody having his face broken by Rey and his knee brace.  Todd talks to Dashing Cody Rhodes who is ready to address the world.  He’s in a mask ala Hannibal Lecter.  While the surgery was a success his journey has stalled over a masked something (he didn’t finish what he was saying after masked).  He’s cleared for travel and will be making an announcement on Smackdown next week.

Eve Torres/Beth Phoenix vs. Layla/Maryse

After the faces enter we take a break and get a clip of the first regular episode of Smackdown (remember that there was a pilot about four months earlier) from August of 99.  Michelle has a bad foot so is out for awhile.  Beth vs. Maryse to start.  Michelle is on commentary and wants to know why Eve is the Divas Champion when Michelle got a pin also.

Off to Layla vs. Eve with the champion dominating.  Michelle seems a bit irritated by Layla here as we continue to push the split.  Eve fires away with kicks and Michelle gets off commentary.  She limps up the steps and gets in the face of Layla.  Beth hits her in the foot to bring her down.  In the confusion, Layla and Maryse hit what I think was supposed to be a double superkick so that Layla can pin Eve at 2:27.  No rating as this was mainly Layla vs. Eve but this was no worse than your usual Divas match.

It’s time to talk about the Rock.  Booker says this show should have been named the Book Show instead of Smackdown.  Yes, we should have named a show after a guy that wouldn’t be in the company for over two years.  We see the same ten minute or so video from NXT which is still awesome.  I finally got the electricity part: he’s electrifying after all right?

Another Smackdown moment is the 9/11 show.  That is indeed awesome and the #1 moment in Smackdown history.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz

This should be good.  I’m in the minority here but I absolutely love hearing Cole talk about Miz.  Basic back and forth style to start with Kofi grabbing an armbar.  Booker praises Miz, saying he worked his way up from the bottom and that he has charisma.  He does have a big mouth however but Cole doesn’t care as he has Booker’s endorsement of the Miz.

Miz is sent into the corner and Kofi tries what looks like either a Stinger Splash or a jumping Superman punch.  Either way he misses and lands on the middle rope.  Miz kicks the foot out though and takes over as we take a break.  Back with Miz in control with a kick to the gut and a suplex for two.

Kofi fights back with kicks but can’t get the SOS.  Miz is sent into the middle buckle and Kofi gets a shot for two.  Kofi kind of misses the pendulum kick in the corner and gets the cross body for two.  Backbreaker/neckbreaker combination (that needs a name) by Miz gets two.  They’re going back and forth here but neither is seeming to go for the kill yet.  Kofi does that thing where it looks like he bounces his head off the top rope to spring backwards.

Superman punch sets up the Boom Drop which sets up the Trouble in Paradise.  Here’s Alberto though, doing what can almost be called Slick’s walk down the aisle.  The distraction lets Miz get a rollup for two in a nice false finish.  Kofi puts Miz down for a second but Alberto snaps his scarf at him which is enough of a distraction to allow Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale to end it at 6:46 shown of 10:16.

Rating: C+. These are the kind of wins Miz needs and the kind of matches I’d love to see more often on WWE TV.  In one week he’s beaten Bryan clean and Kofi not quite clean.  Kofi and Bryan aren’t on Miz’s level so it’s not like they’re being dropped down or anything.  Miz looks good and gets credible wins, no one is lowered in value and we get decent matches.  What’s wrong with that?

Alberto looks down at Kofi without saying anything.  They have a match at the PPV which was announced on WWE.com.

We run down how awesome WWE is by showing the list of the top ten shows that have been on the air for the most amount of episodes.  Raw is at 925 at #1 and Smackdown is at #3 with Gunsmoke is second.  I shudder to think of the day when Raw hits 1000 episodes.

Eddie’s celebration for winning the title is another Smackdown moment.

Tag Titles: Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov vs. Heath Slater/Justin Gabriel

How many matches can these two teams have?  No backup for the challengers here and no Tamina either.  Vlad vs. Gabriel to start us off here.  Gabriel is sent to the floor and here come Barrett/Jackson.  Kozlov looks at Barrett and takes a chop block from Gabriel.  Off to Slater now who stomps away.  Santino comes in to fight Gabriel and it’s a strike off.  Saluting headbutt gets two.  Cobra to Gabriel but Barrett and Jackson run in for the DQ at 2:00.

Big Show runs down for the save and for once Jackson doesn’t kill him.  They have a staredown though.  Jackson teases getting in but smiles and leaves instead.

Another Smackdown moment is Booker vs. Austin in the grocery store.  That’s one of my all time favorites.

It’s time for the coronation.  Ziggler and Vickie are in the ring and the title is between them.  Dolph is officially the new World Heavyweight Champion.  Yes, a member of the Spirit Squad is a World Heavyweight Champion.  He holds up the title and it’s the Mack Militant.  He says Vickie and Dolph look like they’re seeing a ghost.

Teddy says Vickie never investigated anything and that it was odd that it was Ziggler and Vickie there first.  Vickie starts talking and Teddy says SHUT UP to a big pop.  Vickie sells Dolph out, saying that it was all his idea to attack Teddy.  He says to clear the ring because we’re going to have a world title match RIGHT NOW.  Vickie had the power to fire people but he has the power to rehire people, and he has rehired Dolph’s opponent right now.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

After a break the bell rings and we’re off.  Edge starts like a house of fire, taking everyone down almost immediately.  The now legal spear misses as Edge hits the post.  Even Cole can’t defend Vickie here which is saying a lot.  Back in the ring and Ziggler locks on a chinlock.  Edge fights out of it but the champion hits a Fameasser.  Ziggler tries a Zig Zag but the spear gives Edge world title #11 I think at 3:02.  Yep that’s it.

Rating: D+. It probably shouldn’t be graded but it’s just long enough.  Was there a point in having Ziggler get beaten in three minutes like this?  You can’t just give him the title until Sunday so that he has like a three day reign or something?  I don’t get this but they tries at least.  I suppose it’s so they could have a big moment on the 600^th show or something.

Dolph Ziggler is fired post match, meaning there’s an open spot in the Chamber.  Edge says excuse me but tonight has been a long party.  Seeing Dolph get fired makes Edge feel like singing.  I think you all know the words.  Hey and there’s confetti!  This ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Much better show this week than last week and it’s still not that great.  There was a much better focus on wrestling here with far fewer squashes and more of an overall theme to the show.  You had two title matches and two title changes along with angles being advanced and a mystery going into the Chamber PPV.  Not bad at all although it could have been a bit better with some more wrestling.  Good show though.

Results

John Cena/R-Truth/Edge/Rey Mysterio/Randy Orton/John Morrison b. Dolph Ziggler/Sheamus/Wade Barrett/Kane/CM Punk/Drew McIntyre – Spear to Ziggler

Maryse/Layla b. Beth Phoenix/Eve Torres – Double Superkick to Eve

The Miz b. Kofi Kingston Skull Crushing Finale

Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov b. Justin Gabriel/Heath Slater via DQ when the Corre interfered

Edge b. Dolph Ziggler – Spear

Smackdown
Date: February 11, 2011
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Booker T

We’re a week closer to the Elimination Chamber and tonight the world title is on the line for the second week in a row.  This time it’s Edge vs. Ziggler again but the twist this week is that Vickie is the guest referee.  I like how they’re doing a mini Austin vs. McMahon here, but they’re not taking it too seriously which is why it’s been enjoyable.  Let’s get to it.

Freddie Blassie seems kind of out of place in the opening.  Not really sure why.

We open with a recap of Kelly getting fired last week after she successfully defended the world title by pinning Layla to keep Edge’s world title from Dolph.  It says a lot when a storyline is out there even for pro wrestling.

Theme song brings us into the show.

First off it’s time for another party thing for Alberto.  I like segments like these but they’re getting a bit repetitive.  During his entrance we get a clip from last week with the piñata and Kofi getting beaten down when he tried to make the save.  I always expect Alberto to start singing when he says his name.

Alberto talks about the things he loves since Valentine’s Day (the point of the ring decorations) like his cars, his country, the fact that the six guys he might face are going to destroy each other in the Chamber, but there’s one thing he loves more.  He pulls the sheet off a heart and it says Destiny.  He pulls that off and there’s a picture of him, because destiny loves Alberto Del Rio.

Aaron Rodgers may have won the Super Bowl but at Wrestlemania, Alberto won’t have to pretend to be the World Heavyweight Champion.  Cue Kofi who says Alberto is always talking about the future.  Kofi wants to talk about the past though.  He remembers Alberto beating him up with a kendo stick.  As for the present, this is Alberto’s destiny.  With that, Kofi grabs a kendo stick from under the ring and is about to drill Alberto with it.

Like any idiot though, Kofi holds off just long enough for Alberto’s begging to change Kofi’s mind.  Ah good he hit him anyway.  Maybe Kofi is as smart as he’s supposed to be.  Kofi destroys all the stuff that Alberto had in the ring and Del Rio runs.  We take a break to clean out the ring.  Kofi looked like a serious character here which is something he needs to do more of.

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio

I would have expected this later but I like having it right here.  Del Rio is holding his arm due to the kendo stick shot.  Kofi fights off some early adversity to take over with his fast paced offense.  A missed kick in the corner lets Del Rio get a backbreaker for two.  Del Rio works on the back with some basic stuff.  Booker gives a rundown of Mexican athletes that had backbones unlike Del Rio.  Decent little add-in there from Booker.

Kofi knocks him to the floor and takes Del Rio down as he comes back in.  Superman clothesline sets up the Boom Drop.  Top rope cross body gets two.  Fireman’s carry by Del Rio is countered and the SOS gets two.  That would be two of Kofi’s signature moves that Del Rio has avoided being pinned by.  Trouble in Paradise misses as Del Rio tries to hide on the floor.

I say try because Kofi follows him out.  Del Rio is able to reverse though and sends Kofi into the steps on the floor to work on the arm.  Apparently he injured it last week so there’s a chance it’s not at 100% at the moment.  Back in the ring the Cross Armbreaker ends this clean at 4:51.  Kind of surprising there.

Rating: C+. Quick match here but it’s exactly what Del Rio needed.  He needed a clean win over an upper midcard guy to establish himself as more of a credible main eventer.  It also makes the armbar look a lot better as it got a clean win over Kofi after not much arm work.  Decent little match here with Del Rio getting a nice rub.

Todd is with Edge who says of course Vickie isn’t going to play fair tonight.  He doesn’t know how he’s going to keep the title tonight.

We talk about Aaron Rodgers and the Packers a bit.  David Letterman gave Rodgers a spinner belt on the Late Show earlier in the week.  A bunch of Packers are here and they all have World Heavyweight Championship belts.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel

Corre and Santino are out at ringside for this.  Kozlov immediately grabs a kick and takes over with pure power and dominance.  Gabriel takes over with kicks including a sequence of them for two.  Gabriel is getting treated almost like a jobber here.  Slater gets in a shot while Jackson has the referee.  He gets the Cobra for his troubles but gets kicked by Gabriel for it.  Kozlov misses an elbow in the ring and the 450 ends it at 2:16.  No rating but this was mostly Kozlov dominating.

Corre beats down the champions post match.

Barrett vs. Rey later.

Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre

Booker isn’t sure how much Masters wants it here in WWE.  Just after the bell Drew grabs a mic.  Drew blames Edge for Kelly being fired.  This match is dedicated to her, so of course as he slides in Chris takes his head off.  Sky High powerbomb gets two for Masters.  A middle rope splash misses though and here comes Drew.  Backslide doesn’t work as Masters counters into one of his own.  Drew however backflips out of it and keeps the arms locked to hit the Futureshock for the pin at 1:55.  Slick counter but again no rating due to being short.

We talk about the Cody nose thing which could wind up being something cool.  Cody’s surgery went well and he’s recovering.  Rey says it was just a broken nose and that injuries happen.  He says tonight his focus is on Barrett and then getting the title back.  Rey throws in a Michael Jackson-esque CHOW as he leaves.

Wade Barrett vs. Rey Mysterio

Barrett says that the Corre is still equal even though only he’s in the Chamber.  The Corre’s master plan to revolutionize Smackdown has its next step tonight.  After a break here’s Rey.  We’re told Smackdown has the third most episodes of any TV show in history.  Oh not this again.  Barrett hammers him down to start us off.  Rey tries to get things going but gets caught by a knee.

Booker is far better this week than last.  It’s clear that he’s more comfortable out there and can just be himself.  Running seated dropkick by Rey in the corner but a sprintboard move is blocked, giving Barrett control again.  Barrett hammers away with his standard big man/power offense but Rey counters and sets for the 619.  Wade avoids it though and we hit the floor.

Rey gets a seated senton off the apron as Booker talks about how much that hurts.  We need more announcers that are former wrestlers to tell us they’re former wrestlers.  A lot of new fans might not know who Booker is as they may have gotten into the company after he left a few years ago.  Booker saying that he knows what it’s like to wrestle Rey lets younger fans know he’s been a wrestler recently.

Anyway, Barrett picks Rey up in the position for a belly to back suplex and drops him back first on the railing.  Very back and forth match here.  That drop takes us to a break.  Back with Barrett working on the back with a bow and arrow which is broken by some kicks from Rey.  Cross body gets two.  Rey fights Barrett off the top and gets a seated senton.

Time to speed things up as a kick gets two.  Wasteland is blocked but a Boss Man Slam (complete with a Big Bubba Rodgers reference from Booker) gets two.  Pump handle slam is countered into the setup for the 619 but Rey has to take out Gabriel on the floor.  Big boot sets up Wasteland which ends this at 7:23 shown of 10:53.

Rating: B-. Nice little back and forth match here with Barrett reestablishing some dominance that he has been missing since he got here from Raw.  The mild interference from Corre was a good thing as we got to see them working together to get a win just like earlier.  Pretty good TV match here and it did its job.

Corre comes in for the beatdown but here’s Show for the real beatdown.  Jackson is stopped for a bit but he isn’t kept down and the beating is on again.  Jackson manages a suplex on Show and a decent one at that.

Kane vs. JTG

If you can’t figure out the ending here, why are you reading this?  Basic offense by JTG results in him getting kicked in the face.  The beating is on, the low dropkick hits, there’s the clothesline and the Chokeslam ends this at 1:45.  Total old school squash here.

Laycool complains about Eve stealing their win at the PPV.  Michelle says she would have been the new champion which Layla has an issue with.  Vickie gets in their faces about messing up last week.  Ziggler says they’re losers and leaves.

Eve Torres vs. Layla

Eve may be about as average as you could ask for in the ring, but she looks great in those gold shorts.  Layla hits the floor almost immediately and says she can’t do this.  Eve is tired of waiting and the fight is on.  Layla takes over for a bit and a dropkick to the back gets two.  Some dropkicks by Eve as there’s a Go Pack Go chant.  Standing moonsault gets two.  Downward spiral by Eve who sets for the top rope moonsault but Michelle saves, knocking Eve to the mat.  Layla covers but Eve just rolls through it for the pin at 2:55.

Rating: D. I feel bad about rating almost nothing tonight so here’s one for this match.  This was again way too short and nothing special.  I like how they’re kind of planting the seeds for the split of Laycool, but how many times can they lose before they lose any and all credibility?  Pretty weak match all around as Kong can’t get here soon enough.

There was a video on the Chamber somewhere in this show but I don’t have it due to watching early so excuse me for not saying “video on the Elimination Chamber.”

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

Vickie is referee here.  Big match intros are interrupted by Vickie who does them instead.  The spear is still banned.  Dolph grabs a rollup almost immediately for two.  Naturally, Vickie counts fast for Dolph but Cole says that might be the way she counts both ways.  Edge hammers away in the corner and Vickie breaks it up.  Naturally Dolph does the same thing and Vickie stands around.

Sleeper can’t go all the way on and Edge reverses to get us back to even.  Nice dropkick by Ziggler puts Edge right back down though.  Edge keeps fighting back but hasn’t covered yet so we’re not sure about her speed on his covers.  Ziggler gets that Downward Spiral Stunner but can’t get the Zig Zag.  Edgecution hits so Vickie puts Dolph’s foot on the rope.

Fameasser gets two.  Edge gets a forearm to take down Ziggler.  Cole is getting annoying here as he keeps ranting about how great this is and all that jazz.  Vickie channels her inner Edge and spears her ex-husband.  She actually bounces off Edge and falls to the mat.  Her ankle might be hurt so the doctor takes her out.

With Vickie gone there’s the spear!  No referee though so Edge spears him again.  The problem is that Vickie is right there and sees it.  With no referee still, Clay Matthews, a huge linebacker for the Super Bowl champion Packers, comes out in a referee shirt and counts the pin.  Somehow this counts and Edge wins at approximately 8:45.  Uh….ok?  Vickie waves it off as the show ends and Cole says there’s a new world champion.  Odd but cool ending.

Rating: C. This was just there to set up the ending, but I really hope they follow up on this.  There’s no reason why that fall should stand but at the moment at least it does.  Odd indeed but having Matthews there was a cool thing to do.  It doesn’t make any sense at all, but again it was cool, which was the point.

Overall Rating: C. This was a very average show.  No matches stood out in the slightest, the ending was rather stupid and nothing really happened.  They clearly have it in cruise control until the PPV and then we’ll do the heavy lifting for Mania.  That being said, this was still a pretty weak show for the most part as everything we had already established was just reinforced.  Nothing special in the slightest here and the weakest Friday show in a long time.

Results

Alberto Del Rio b. Kofi Kingston – Cross Armbreaker

Justin Gabriel b. Vladimir Kozlov – 450 Splash

Drew McIntyre b. Chris Masters – Futureshock

Wade Barrett b. Rey Mysterio – Wasteland

Kane b. JTG – Chokeslam

Eve Torres b. Layla – Eve pinned Layla after rolling through a pin attempt

Edge b. Dolph Ziggler – Spear

Smackdown
Date: February 4, 2011
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Booker T

It’s the first show since we officially started the Road to Wrestlemania with Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge being the tentative match for the title at the biggest PPV of the year.  Edge/Kelly vs. Ziggler/Laycool for the title tonight which certainly sounds intriguing.  Also expect the beginning of the set up to Elimination Chamber.  Let’s get to it.

Do you know your enemy?  Where I live it’s SNOW.

There’s a fiesta tonight apparently and there’s a Wrestlemania piñata.  Yes let’s take something we love and are looking forward to and beat it with a stick.

Here’s Booker T and he’s apparently the new member of Smackdown’s announce team.  Cool, and based on what he looked like at the Rumble hopefully he’s an occasional wrestler.  We get a Spinarooni to really get the crowd going.  Booker got a good reaction.  It’s like he hadn’t been around since 2007.

Vickie interrupts Booker’s entrance and says that we’ll get qualifying matches tonight for the Smackdown Elimination Chamber which will be for the title.  Ziggler is with Vickie.  She orders Kelly to come out here right now which prompts a bunch of screeching.  Ah there she is.  Booker’s voice is much better than it was when he did some commentary with TNA.  It’s clear and deep instead of hard to understand.

Vickie yells at Kelly, saying that without her interference Dolph would be the world champion.  She’d rather humiliate Kelly instead of firing her.  Kelly is going to cost Edge the world title tonight.  Kelly says Vickie is trying to destroy her character.  Kelly has a character?  Oh she means her personality.  Kelly has a personality?  Ah ok she’s saying Vickie is a bad person.  Makes more sense.

Dolph blames Kelly for the world title loss because she allowed Edge to hit the illegal spear.  We see a clip of it, which makes me wonder why Vickie doesn’t just reverse it since she’s GM and there’s proof Edge broke the rules.  Dolph: “Now Vickie can’t reverse the referee’s decision.”  Wait why not?  She can do ANYTHING but she can’t reverse it?  She can’t make the referee reverse it?  She can’t show the referee the tape and have him do it for her?  I love the ever changing rules in wrestling.

Anyway Ziggler yells at Kelly, blaming her for him not being champion.  The only reason she’s here is because she may be the reason Dolph wins the world title tonight.  Until then she can get out.  Kelly slaps Dolph and shoves Kelly.  Cue Laycool until Edge comes out for the save.

Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel/Heath Slater

Non-title here.  We get a clip from Raw of Orton attacking the New Nexus and putting out Harris.  I missed him RKOing Harris so I thought Harris was down from the Cobra for like three minutes.  That punt looked good too.  I might be missing something but it sounds like Corre’s music is different here.  Kozlov vs. Gabriel to start.  Booker is having some issues getting in on the commentary here but I can definitely give him a break on the first night.

Off to Slater vs. Santino.  Booker says Cole talks a lot of nonsense so he’s definitely a nice guy commentator.  He talks about how there has to be a leader on all teams, but Josh has to lead him into it.  Slater gets a nice reverse DDT to Kozlov and the 450 ends this perfectly clean at 3:03.

Rating: D+. This was just long enough to rate but there wasn’t much here.  The DDT was nice but that’s about all it had going for it.  I really don’t get the idea of having your tag champions constantly lose clean.  Corre could use some titles I guess so I could live with the titles changing down the line.  Very short even at a surprising level.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre

We’re told that Edge and Ziggler are automatically in the Chamber because Edge is champion and Dolph just because.  Booker has no comment on that.  We’re of course talking about the Chamber and since Booker has experience in one, Cole cuts him off every few seconds.  Basic back and forth stuff to start us off.  Booker talked to Drew and he says he’s the Chosen One but Booker isn’t sure.

I know I’m talking about the announcers a lot but it’s one of the main aspects of the show tonight.  Kofi gets a jumping back elbow for two.  Not a lot is going on in the ring anyway so the commentary and how Booker is doing is a bit more interesting anyway.  Armbar by Kofi as they’re seeming to have issues getting off the ground here.  Could be a slow build though which is fine.

Pendulum kick in the corner breaks the little bit of momentum Drew had and a clothesline puts him on the floor.  We hit the floor with Kofi in control until Drew manages to get a modified flapjack to send Kofi into the steps as we take a break.  Back with Drew getting a back elbow for two.  Wisely Drew goes after the ribs with something close to an abdominal stretch on the mat.

Kofi gets dropped on the ribs in a gutbuster which gets two for McIntyre.  Drew gets a nice dropkick to put Kofi down for two.  Cole rants about Lawler for awhile until Drew tries a clothesline.  Kofi jumps up into the air and spins around, catching Drew with a DDT.  That was awesome looking.  Kofi hammers away in the corner and stomps a mudhole in him.

Superman punch/clothesline gets two.  Boom Drop hits and Kofi wants Trouble in Paradise.  Drew manages to avoid the kick though…and here’s Ricardo on the big screen to introduce Alberto?  He doesn’t say anything but just stares down Kofi (remember Kofi beat him in a tag match last week).  The distraction is enough for the Futureshock to end it at 9:42 shown of 13:12.

Rating: B. This picked up in the second half but wasn’t as good as some of their other matches.  Still though, this was pretty solid.  Also if it sets up Alberto vs. Kofi to fill in time until Mania I certainly can’t complain.  Either way, decent enough match and Drew going to the Chamber gives him something to do while the Kelly story develops.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger

This should be pretty good.  The push-ups are back!  Apparently Cody Rhodes is going to have facial reconstruction surgery next week.  Swagger’s boots are a brighter color and they’re taking some getting used to.  Rey sends him to the floor as we take an early break.  Back with Swagger sending Rey into the corner which gets him nowhere.

Rey gets a cross body for two.  619 is avoided though so Rey tries what might have been an Asai Moonsault.  Jack blocks it though and Rey’s legs are tied up in the ropes.  Back to the ring with Swagger working on the knee.  The leg goes around the post which gets two.  Back to the floor with Swagger in complete and utter control.  After knocking over a Red Bull we’re back in the ring.

Vader Bomb gets two.  Swagger picks him up and throws him across the ring.  I love basic moves like that.  Another Vader Bomb misses though and here comes Rey.  Tornado DDT takes Swagger down for two.  Rey tries the 619 but Swagger grabs the legs for the ankle lock.  Rey is in the ropes though.  Not that it matters though as Swagger pulls him back to the middle.  Rey sends him into the corner and gets a kick into a rollup to end this at 8:37 shown of 11:07.

Rating: C+. I couldn’t get into this one for some reason.  It’s definitely good and Swagger working on the knee is a good story for the match.  My issue with it though is that Rey didn’t have to do much at all to take over and win here.  That’s not good in my eyes as it makes Swagger look weak.  I get that Rey is the superhero but can they make it look like they’re trying?

We get a clip from Raw of Alberto picking his opponent.

Edge and Kelly are in the back and Edge says he didn’t think his title reign would end like this.  Kelly says Edge has no faith in her and that Edge is just like Drew McIntyre before storming off.

Here are Horny and Rosa who looks a bit different now.  They throw some t-shirts to the fans until Ricardo introduces Alberto.  He says his usual stuff while Horny and Rosa are still in the ring.  Alberto has a present for Horny: the piñata.  The candies and toys are symbols of everything he wants to give to all his fans here in New Jersey, drawing nice heat (show is in New York).

Horny is blindfolded and swings the stick while the piñata is still in the air.  Naturally he misses and hits Alberto low.  Alberto enters a higher level of heelness as he kicks Horny in the head and hammers away.  Kofi runs down for the save.  Ricardo distracts Kofi though and Del Rio beats him up with the stick and throws on the cross armbreaker.

Stone Cold is hosting Tough Enough.  Booker throws in that he’ll be a coach on Tough Enough.  That’s kind of cool actually and something he’d be great at.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Chavo Guerrero vs. Kane

Uh…yeah.  I wonder if this lasts longer than their Wrestlemania match.  Well there’s that record.  Chavo goes up and is caught in the chokeslam.  He counters though by clothesline Kane over the top.  Frog Splash hits but Kane catches him in the chokeslam from the mat and it’s over at 1:02.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Big Show vs. Wade Barrett

Yeah Corre definitely has new music here and it’s much better.  It’s a toned down song this time that still has lyrics.  All of Corre comes out and surround the ring.  This is for the final spot in the Chamber.  Barrett has to keep moving and gets a shot to the knee to take over.  Barrett gets sent into the corner where he crushes the referee.  Jackson comes in to run over Show but only gets two.  And never mind as a DDT by Barrett ends it seconds later at 2:00.  This was incredibly quick.

Show tries to fight off Corre post match but gets slammed.  Jackson grabs a mic and says the end has come, it has awakened against you.

That sets the Chamber at Edge vs. Ziggler vs. Barrett vs. McIntyre vs. Mysterio vs. Kane.

Smackdown World Title: Kelly Kelly/Edge vs. Laycool/Dolph Ziggler

We even get big match intros for this.  Chimmel has cut down on the throat cracking during Edge’s intro.  The genders have to match here.  Vickie says if there’s a spear the title is vacated.  The guys start us off with Edge in control.  He wants the spear and Vickie shouts at him to do it.  Ziggler tags both members of Laycool so we get Michelle.  Off to Kelly to make it Kelly Kelly vs. Michelle McCool for the World Heavyweight Championship as we take a break.

Kelly is all fired up here and beats up both members of Laycool with her gymnastics.  Instead though Michelle catches a rana on the floor and spins Kelly into the barricade.  That gets two back in the ring.  Dolph: “Stay down Barbie!”  Layla in now as Kelly is in trouble.  Belly to belly by Michelle gets two.  Kelly backflips out of a suplex and slaps the heck out of McCool to put both girls down.

Is there a reason why the initials on Dolph’s tights are backwards?  Layla gets a head scissors choke on Kelly for a bit.  Kelly fights back and it’s an X-Factor to break the momentum.  The referee misses the tag to Edge allows Layla to beat on Kelly a bit more.  Edge goes after Ziggler anyway but Michelle misses a big kick to Layla.  Edge is ready for the tag but instead Kelly spears Layla to retain the world title at 6:50 shown of 10:20.

Rating: C. Decent main event here with a nice ending.  Vickie said Edge couldn’t use a spear, not Kelly.  It’s kind of cheap but it worked just fine for the ending to a TV main event.  I’d have liked more Edge though as he was in there maybe a minute.  I guess that was the point though as it made the title seem to be in jeopardy.  This was just ok though as it was really Kelly vs. Laycool for the most part.  Still though, creative way to have Edge be in trouble.

Post match Kelly gets fired.  So Vickie can fire people but can’t coerce a referee to change a decision?  She yells at Kelly about how she never cared about Vickie and how this is her show and all that jazz.  After Kelly is gone, Vickie makes Edge vs. Dolph for next week with her as guest referee.  Perhaps a title change for a quick title reign before the PPV?  Zig Zag to Edge out of nowhere ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Not a bad show but a bit different than what they’ve done recently.  Either way this was a pretty good show.  They set up the Chamber perfectly and also gave us more of Ziggler vs. Edge.  They’re doing a decent job of channeling Vince vs. Austin with Austin being put through torture.  The one key thing though: they’re not trying to recreate it but rather use a similar story.  That’s very important.  It’s not Austin vs. Vince.  It’s Edge vs. Vickie.  Let it be that and it’ll be a good story.  Anyway, not bad at all this week.

Results

Drew McIntyre b. Kofi Kingston – Futureshock

Rey Mysterio b. Jack Swagger – Rollup

Kane b. Chavo Guerrero – Chokeslam

Wade Barrett b. Big Show – DDT

Edge/Kelly Kelly b. Laycool/Dolph Ziggler – Kelly speared Layla

Smackdown
Date: January 28, 2011
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Matt Striker

It’s the final show before we hit the Rumble so I think I know what we’re going to be talking about.  Tonight’s main event is Rated RKO facing Miz/Ziggler.  Also I’d bet one a lot more from the Corre as on Monday the main focus was on Nexus so therefore the same thing needs to be done here.  Ok so it’s not that bad but it does happen a good bit.  Anyway, let’s get to it.

Oh and before I forget, I won’t be here next week for NXT or Smackdown.  I’ll be back the following week for at least Smackdown and maybe NXT but I’m not sure.  Have fun without me.

The opening is about Corre and their interaction with Teddy.  A lot of this is about how Corre might have been the guys that did it.  There’s a clock theme to it which doesn’t seem accurate by comparison to what I remember from last week, as in the timing is off from when it actually happened.  We also see Gabriel beating Edge.

No theme song again.  Instead we get to hear Vickie’s voice to open the show properly.  Teddy can’t be here tonight so she’s in charge.  She gets cut off by Orton’s music and the pop is still solid.  I love these times where people go back and forth from show to show.  Vickie cuts the music off with an EXCUSE ME.  I guess she didn’t like what the voices had to say.

Randy says he doesn’t know Vickie very well, “so you’ll have to excuse me”, for what he’s going to do to her boyfriend later tonight.  That was clever.  Miz will have to excuse Orton for taking the WWE Championship from him as well.  He puts his arm around Vickie and says by the way, nice hair.  This is oddly funny for some reason.  There is no excuse for Vickie though.  Orton’s delivery here was some of his best in awhile and I was liking it.

Here comes Dolph to stand up for Vickie.  Well at least he’s not standing up for WWE.  Dolph demands respect for himself and Vickie because after Sunday he’ll be World Champion.  Orton says around here you have to earn it, and there’s an RKO for Dolph.  This is going to sound odd, but I think the blue on Smackdown agrees with Randy.  His skin is so orange that the red on Raw makes him look weird.  As odd as it sounds I’m being serious when I say that.

Laycool vs. Kaitlyn/Kelly Kelly

Striker sings Laycool’s song which is rather disturbing.  The non-Flawless ones jump Laycool during their entrance and the beating is on in the aisle.  Is this Kaitlyn’s non-NXT debut?  She starts with Michelle and is clearly green.  Layla distracts Kaitlyn though and Michelle kicks Kaitlyn’s head off to end this at 43 seconds.  AWESOME kick and if that hadn’t ended it there was no way I would have believed it.  The replay makes it look even better as that kick was spot on.

Drew McIntyre vs. JTG

Kelly hangs out at ringside for this one.  Cole wants to know how she can criticize Drew for being aggressive when she jumped Laycool pre-match.  That’s a totally fair question but we get no answer of course.  That face pop for Drew is still slowly growing but it’s growing nonetheless.  They start off kind of staring at each other until JTG goes after him, sending him to the floor.

Drew suddenly realizes he’s fighting a jobber and starts mauling him.  Back into the ring and it’s all Drew who hits three neckbreakers in a row for two.  Since that didn’t work he switches to hammering away in the corner with clotheslines.  Drew even channels his inner John Cena and throws a decent dropkick for one.  JTG gets some jobber offense in until Drew runs him over.

After some more pounding we hit the ground for more pounding.  He adds in that modified crossface chickenwing that Sheamus has also been using recently.  Must be a UK thing.  Another neckbreaker attempt is countered into a backslide for two.  JTG gets a bit of momentum going and tries another backslide.  Drew casually rolls through it and grabs the Futureshock to end it at 4:35.  That was a nice counter to end it.

Rating: C+. Just an extended squash here but they let Drew show off a bit.  JTG is fine in this jobber role he has.  Every generation has had its share of jobbers but I guess this one has their own theme music.  They put on a fairly decent match here all things considered though and it worked fine.

Drew plays nice this week and leaves just as Kelly gets in the ring, apparently not seeing her or looking up as he leaves since the big screen shows her in the ring.  She looks at him and seems uncertain.

We recap Cody vs. Rey last week where Cody got his nose broken.  The point of this is that Cody exposed the knee brace that hit him in the face and caused his injury.

In the back Cody is interviewed and won’t turn to face the camera.  Cody has it on good authority that Rey didn’t even want to win that match.  He has a broken nose and will need extensive reconstructive surgery and is out of the Rumble.  Cody says that it’s what you do that defines you and he’s going to keep swinging.  He sounds like he’s almost crying.  A kid told him he wasn’t dashing anymore, and the kid is right.  He can’t talk anymore.  This gave me flashes of the Elephant Man, which will make perfect sense if you’ve seen the movie.

Some overly happy interviewer talks to Edge.  Edge says he doesn’t want to talk about the tag match but rather Corre.  He even remembers all of their names, including DJ Gabriel.  I never thought I’d hear that name again.  The only thing he’s going to say about the tag match is he’s going to spear Ziggler.

Del Rio says hi to Tarver who is suddenly one of the more interesting mysteries.  Why is he always standing around?

Here’s Alberto who has promised a Rumble exhibition.  Even though he has very little chance to win the Rumble, they’re making me kind of believe it’s possible, which means they’re doing the right thing.  Apparently he has 39 fighters from all over the world ready for an exhibition.  Every 30 seconds another will come out, meaning this should take about 20 minutes.

The first guy is Seth Allen who according to Striker is a former Western States Heritage Champion.  This is like a challenge mode on SvR or something.  And he’s gone.  Next up is Mike Stevens, a former Brass Knuckles Champion.  They’re speeding up the clock here.  He can’t get him out in thirty seconds so here’s Kane as a penalty.  Alberto gets the corner enziguri but charges into a chokeslam position.

Kofi comes out as I guess the clock thing is still going on.  Why did Kofi bring the belt with him?  Either way he dumps both guys out and stands tall.  The villains surround Kofi so Rey comes down to even the odds.  You know, because it’s not like he would want a guy the caliber of the Intercontinental Champion to get beaten down two days before the Rumble or anything like that right?  You know come to think of it, scratch that.  As annoying as Rey can be, it’s nice to see a pure face once in awhile instead of someone that is a face when it suits them.  Anyway, Vickie comes out to make the obvious tag match.

Kofi Kingston/Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio/Kane

Well you knew there would be a tag match somewhere since it’s Smackdown.  Back from a break and there’s the bell.  Kane and Kofi start us off which could be an interesting midcard feud.  The power takes over and it’s off to Alberto.  Off to Rey now as Kofi has taken over.  Nice double teaming allows Kofi to get in a jumping elbow before he leaves.  Rey looks different for some reason.

We start talking about Cody and Striker has sympathy for him.  Josh of course is the voice of reason.  Oh joy: it’s Rey vs. Kane.  619 is teased but Kane hits the floor instead.  Back off to Kofi as Alberto gets in Kane’s face.  The good guys get a baseball slide to send Alberto into Kane and then a dive and seated senton put Alberto and Kane down respectively.

Kofi sets for the cross body back in the ring but Alberto shoves him off.  They double team Kofi even though I’m pretty sure Striker said Rey was the legal man.  Kane drops a leg for two.  Kofi tries to fight him off but runs into a side slam to take him down.  Alberto is back in and they work on the back for awhile.  Kane back in as the heels are tagging very fast.

Kane catches the foot of Kofi who has to now hop over to his corner.  In something that felt anti-climactic in a weird way, Kingston is able to get the tag and here comes Rey with a seated senton off the top to Kane.  That only gets two though so we reset a bit.  Rey tries a springboard move but Kane kicks him in the face and to the floor.  He also kicked us into a break.

Back with Alberto hitting a back elbow to Rey for two.  Now we hit the chinlock and Rey is in trouble.  Sunset flip by Del Rio is countered into that kick that Rey has been using recently to put both guys down.  Del Rio doesn’t tag but beats on Rey come more.  Kane back in as they’re tagging so often I don’t even notice it anymore.  Granted that could mean I’m getting sucked into the match which is possible as this has been good.

Kane gets Rey up in a powerslam position but Rey is able to spin out into a DDT to send both guys down again.  Tag on both sides and Kofi comes in with the springboard cross body.  Del Rio gets a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two out of nowhere.  He goes to tag but there’s no Kane due to a kick from Kofi a second earlier.  Top rope cross body gets two as Kane saves.

Del Rio gets in Kane’s face, yelling at him in Spanish.  The amusing thing is that Kane, being born in Spain, might have a better grasp of the language than Del Rio.  Alberto shoves Kane, who responds in my favorite way: KICKING HIM IN THE FACE!  Sorry that has to be caps.  There’s something so awesome to me about kicking a guy in the face to end an argument.  That could solve so many real world problems.  Anyway the 619 sets up the Trouble in Paradise to end this long match at 12:23 shown of 15:53.

Rating: B+. Probably a bit high but I got into this.  It’s a long formula match and that’s usually the best kind of tag match.  I always get a kick out of throwing two heel s and two faces together and seeing what happens.  They shifted momentum a lot here and it worked rather well I thought.  Fun match.

We get a clip from Raw of Edge vs. Miz which set up the tag match later.

Big Show comes out and seems to be in a good mood.  He talks about how when you’re 7’0, 440lbs and a former WWE Champion, sometimes people want to use you to make a statement.  Naturally he’s talking about the Corre and we get a clip of them beating him down.  That did two things: made him angry and reminded him of what it’s going to be like in the Rumble.  As he talks about never having won a Rumble, here they come.

The shirts aren’t working for me as they look like they’re in beauty pageants.  Show asks if this is how it’s going to be, always 4-1.  He challenges any of them one on one but seems to want Jackson the most.  Slater comes in from behind and we have a bell and a referee!

Heath Slater vs. Big Show

Cole: “This shows you how much heart this kid Slater had.”  Josh: “Or that he’s an idiot.”  I love listening to those two.  Slater goes for the knee but Show chops him down from his knee.  Striker points out that all four members of Corre are from different continents.  There’s a Captain Planet joke in there somewhere.  Chokeslam ends it in about 1:15.  Nothing to see here.

Show goes after the other members but Jackson takes him down with a single clothesline.  The beatdown is on but the Smackdown locker room (read as JTG, Masters, Santino, Kozlov and Bryan.  In other words, a jobber, a jobber to the stars, the tag champions that are more commonly associated with Raw, and a Raw champion.) comes out to clear the ring.

All About the Numbers and a rundown of the card eat up five minutes.

Rated RKO vs. The Miz/Dolph Ziggler

Miz is out first and wants to talk about…The Truman Doctrine?  Yeah, he talks about a foreign policy doctrine from the late 40s.  What does this have to do with anything?  Nothing according to Miz.  It doesn’t matter at all.  It also doesn’t matter what Randy Orton does; the Miz is leaving the Rumble with the WWE Championship.  Another decent Miz promo.

Orton vs. Ziggler to start us off.  Basic back and forth until Orton takes over with a clothesline.  He pauses to chase Miz though and Ziggler gets the advantage.  Off to Edge who puts his head down and takes an X-Factor for two.  Over to Miz who gets an assist from Riley to take over.  Randy gets in a quick shot though and gets into RKO position!  He stares down Miz…and we take a break?

Apparently there were technical difficulties and that wasn’t a scheduled break.  That explains a lot.  Either way, Ziggler pulled Randy out before it could hit.  Back with Miz holding a chinlock on Orton.  Randy tries to fight back but Miz gets a nice combination (has Orton in a reverse DDT position and drops his back down like a reverse Facecrusher before hitting a neckbreaker.  Kind of like a modified Reality Check).

Corner clothesline is attempted but Orton lands one of his own.  Off to Edge and Ziggler as we’re getting close to the ending it seems.  Edge sets for the spear on Ziggler but Riley interferes so he has to settle for the Edge-O-Matic for two.  Zig Zag is blocked and there’s the spear for the clean pin at 7:50 shown of 11:20.

Rating: C. Basic main event tag match here but I was surprised as to hoe it ended.  It’s not bad but I couldn’t get into this one.  The ending really didn’t work for me as it takes away a lot of the drama for Sunday, like can Edge pin Dolph?  Well yeah apparently he can.  Granted I don’t think many people are buying the show to see that match so I can pretty easily forgive them there.  That being said, not a great match at all but still decent enough.

Post match Vickie bans the spear and says that if he uses it on Sunday, Ziggler is champion.  This earns Dolph three straight spears to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Much better show this week.  They covered a lot more stuff here and it worked better than the previous one.  This built up the title match and the Rumble at the same time which is good.  There was no point to just doing the Rumble as we got that on Raw so they focused on both world titles here.  Couple that with some decent wrestling and it’s definitely a good show.

Results

Laycool b. Kaitlyn/Kelly Kelly – Big Boot to Kaitlyn

Drew McIntyre b. JTG – Futureshock

Kofi Kingston/Rey Mysterio b. Alberto Del Rio/Kane – Trouble in Paradise to Del Rio

Big Show b. Heath Slater – Chokeslam

Rated RKO b. Dolph Ziggler/The Miz – Spear to Ziggler

Smackdown
Date: January 21, 2011
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Matt Striker, Todd Grisham

With only two weeks left before the Rumble, things should be starting to get interesting.  It should be interesting to see where the new-but not new because we already gave the other team the name New-Nexus goes from here.  Other than that we’ll also get the next step in Edge vs. Ziggler which hasn’t been built badly at all so far.  Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps Barrett vs. Show from last week and the whole Caesar concept of Barrett, which oddly enough makes sense.

Here are Barrett and company to the music that I’m still not sure what to think about.  Barrett says that Big Show won’t be here this evening.  You may know him from his time on Raw leading the Nexus, which he led until they threw him out.  Now he’s learned his lesson and now it’s about the team, not just him.  This is the Core.  Not thinking I like that name.

Jackson speaks for maybe the first time ever and has a slight French accent.  He’s proud to be part of the Core.  Slater says he’s the One Man Rock Band.  I guess he didn’t have enough friends to play Xbox with him.  Gabriel says he has a great finisher.  Barrett says that what the original Nexus did will pale in comparison to what the Core does.

Here’s Teddy and he more or less says he’s the boss.  Barrett says they respect him and will be representing Smackdown in the Royal Rumble.  Teddy says he doesn’t buy what they’re saying and he isn’t going to let Barrett just lead these men.  Barrett says he’s not the leader and the Core is about equals.  Teddy basically says no more gang attacks and if you don’t like that then you’re gone.

After Teddy leaves and the Core is still in the ring, here’s Alberto of all people.  He welcomes them to Smackdown, but lets them know that Smackdown is his show.  Alberto says he’s going to win the Rumble which is his destiny.  That’s all he saws, making this a very short promo.  I like how they’re making it seem like he actually has a chance to win and while it’s very unlikely, it seems like it’s possible actually.

Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth

Has Del Rio fought anyone other than Truth or Rey this year?  Striker sings with him and Cole has his head in his hands.  Del Rio gets him into the corner to start and strikes away.  They head to the ring for just a bit and Truth locks on an armbar.  We cut to the back where Teddy is laid out on the floor of his office.  Vickie, Ziggler and someone that looked like Michael Tarver standing near him while paramedics look at him.  To be clear, Tarver, Vickie and Ziggler weren’t being accused of having done it but were apparently the people that found him.

Back to the ring now with Truth in control.  Alberto gets sent to the floor as we take a break.  Back with Truth getting a boot up to stop a charging Alberto and that’s about it for his offense in this part of the match.  We start talking about the Rumble and Alberto’s chances to win it.  To the back again where Teddy is being put on a stretcher and being taken to the hospital.  The medics throw Ziggler, Vickie and Tarver out.

Back to the ring again and a sitout Gordbuster by Truth gets two.  Running enziguri in the corner by Alberto gets two.  Cole gets information from a source on the scene that Teddy has suffered severe trauma to the back of the head.  Could this be the return of the vegetative state?  The undefeated Ricardo distracts Truth so that Alberto can drape the arm over the top rope.  Cross Armbreaker ends it moments later at 7:53 shown of 11:23 total (as always assuming 3:30 for commercials).

Rating: C. This is a hard one to grade as a lot of it was thrown to the back where the scenes took about a minute or so each.  The match was nothing special at all but it wasn’t terrible.  These two really need to find some new opponents though as I’m getting tired of seeing them against each other.  With Rey and Alberto the matches are at least pretty good.  This on the other hand was nothing special at all, albeit decent.

Teddy is loaded into the ambulance.

Back from a break with Vickie and Dolph being nervous.  They come into an office and the Core is standing there.  They had nothing to do with it apparently.  If they need anything tonight, the Core is at their service.  Vickie uses her incredible acting skills to say one of them will face Edge tonight.  Two things to note here: first is that Tarver was nowhere to be seen so based on this alone he may not be associated with Ziggler and Vickie.  Second, where else but in wrestling would it be ok for a woman to walk into her office and find four adult muscle men in their underwear, telling her they’re at her service tonight?

We get the Rumble numbers package which I always love.

40 participants

24 winners

656 entrants

39 eliminations for Shawn, a record

26 Hall of Famers in the match

183,932 pounds in total, equal to 409 Big Shows

2 women in the Rumble, including Beth who eliminated Khali

11 eliminations by Kane in one Rumble

62:12 is Rey’s record for length in the Rumble which is a lie if you believe the 92 Rumble’s commentary

1 second is the record for fastest time for an elimination

3 is the most wins by a single man, in this case Austin

1 is the worst number but it has produced the most winners as the #30 spot (Shawn and a guy not listed who would be Benoit)

70 which is the percent of winners that have won the title at Mania

Music video about the Rumble follows.

Rey vs. Cody later tonight.

Layla vs. Beth Phoenix

Laycool’s entrance is weak tonight as there’s no snap to it at all.  Pretty decent reaction for Beth.  Layla charges to start which gets her nowhere.  She tries a running dropkick and gets caught in a giant swing.  Striker has a crush on Beth.  Glamazon’s arm gets sent into the buckle and Layla a tornado one arm DDT (as in the DDT on the arm) out of the corner.

Key Lock/Short Arm Scissors by Layla as she’s using decent psychology here.  Beth does the Davey Boy Smith/Shawn Michaels spot and lifts Layla up with one arm.  She hammers away with forearms and sells the arm like a good girl.  Slingshot suplex takes Layla down for two.  Backbreaker sets up the Glam Slam to end this at 3:32.

Rating: C+. The arm work was good here and again I’d like to point out that the Divas are looking far more competent in the ring lately.  They’re seeming far more natural out there instead of going step by step and Layla has improved dramatically.  Not a terrible match at all for three minutes.

Stand Up For WWE won some awards.

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

Josh thinks Rey will win the Rumble.  I think I’d have to shoot myself if that happened.  Question for you guys: is Cody the best self-obsessed/I’m better looking than you/fashion dude character ever?  Naturally the talk is about the Rumble which I can live with for once here.  I usually can’t stand a match being ignored but this is one of the instances where I think it’s ok.

Cody works on the legs to start and we take a very quick look at the crowd which may not have been intentional.  Rey tries to speed it up again but gets kicked in the gut and thrown to the floor in a heap.  Cody charges again but gets caught in a drop toehold to send him face first into the steps.  We may need the ambulance again for Cody if he goes into convulsions from his face getting messed up.

Cody gets a sunset flip back in the ring but Rey rolls through.  A swinging kick misses but the seated dropkick hits.  619 connects and the top rope splash ends this at 4:05.  What in the world is going on with these quick matches tonight?  This is Smackdown, not Impact.  Also, kind of a squash here, and no that does not mean a burial.

Rating: C+. Again I’m surprised by the quickness of this match but it was ok.  I don’t remember the last time Cody got this little time in the ring and he’s a guy that definitely takes some time to get going.  Nothing bad here though and it came off pretty well I thought.

Cody may have a broken nose due to the knee brace of Rey hitting him in the face.

Grisham has an update on Long but is interrupted by Alex Riley.  Miz is here and Cole hits high notes by shouting HE’S HERE!  Miz says he’s here because he can be.  This is really just to establish that he’s in the building.

After a break the trainer says that Cody has a broken nose.  We never see his face but when he looks in a mirror he almost cries.

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger

This is under amateur rules where it’s either a pin or the most points after three minutes.  The scoring system is two points for a takedown, one for a reversal, one for an escape, if you get your opponent on your back for two seconds that’s good for two points and if you get a pin you win here.  So it’s points or pin to win.

This isn’t something that’s easy to talk about.  Swagger gets a quick takedown for two points.  Kofi got a point from something that wasn’t explained but I think is an escape.  Another takedown and one point for an escape, which is from Swagger standing up.  4-2 Swagger with two minutes to go.  Another takedown makes it 6-2 but Swagger let him up so it’s 6-3.

We stand around and Swagger tells the referee he needs two more points so he gets them.  8-4 for Swagger and he adds on two more to make it 10-4.  Less than 20 seconds to go as this has been one sided.  Kofi gets a reversal and a quick takedown and a two count which makes it 10-9 and the time runs out.  Was there a point to this?  They fights post match and Kofi hits the Trouble in Paradise and the cross body.  I’m not going to rate this due to it being such a different format but it wasn’t incredibly entertaining at all.

We recap the Cutting Edge from last week where Ziggler beat up Edge to save him from spearing Vickie.

Last week’s show was the highest watched show in five years on Syfy.

Trent Barreta vs. Drew McIntyre

We get a clip of last week’s incident between these two and Kelly telling Drew to grow up.  Drew hammers him down to start and gets a snap suplex for two.  Drew throws him into the air but Trent gets a dropkick to take Drew down.  A springboard dropkick is caught in a sitout powerbomb for two which ticks Drew off.  Trent goes up and Drew him the Kurt Angle running up the corner suplex to win it at 2:17.  Drew beats on him a bit afterwards and Kelly comes out to break it up.  Too short to grade but Drew looked good.

After a break here’s Miz.  He says there’s a saying that says Awesome is as Awesome Does.  That means if you do awesome things you are awesome.  We get a clip from Raw where Miz beat up Orton.  He sets for the catchphrase but here comes Edge.  He’s tired of the Raw rejects coming here and bragging so much.

Edge says that Miz is like #27 on things that he has to do and he’ll deal with Miz on Raw.  Now get out of his ring, which Miz and Riley do.  Actually Riley comes back to run his mouth and gets speared before he can get much out.  Miz teases going after him but changes his mind.

After a break here’s Core to announce the opponent for Edge.  All four members get into the ring but before they can say anything here’s Vickie.  Ziggler is going to be a guest commentator for the match.  He’s a funny guy so I can’t complain there.

Edge vs. Justin Gabriel

He’s the only one that stays in the ring and might be the most entertaining main event.  After a brief skirmish Edge hits an Edge-O-Matic for two.  Gabriel gets him into the corner and hits a nice spin kick which gets him nowhere.  The commentators argue again and Ziggler gets them back on track.  Edge sends Gabriel to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Gabriel getting a pair of covers for two.  During the break Justin went after the ankle of Edge.  Koji Clutch by Gabriel has Edge in trouble.  STO takes Edge down.  WWE has been doing a nice job with expanding the movesets recently.  Gabriel goes for the 450 but Edge is up so he has to settle for a cross body.  It gets feet though as Edge gets a dropkick and both guys are down.

Flapjack puts Gabriel down and then sends him to the floor.  Back in Gabriel gets a jumping enziguri as Edge is going up top.  This is a nice back and forth match so far.  Edge fights him off and gets a top rope cross body for two.  Here comes the spear but Barrett gets up on the apron.  Edge takes him but as the referee is distracted, Jackson drills Edge and Gabriel gets the pin at 7:20 shown of 10:50.

Rating: B-. It was good while it lasted but I really wanted another three or four minutes here.  Nice way of getting the Core over on their first full night together and Edge saves some face here as he doesn’t lose clean.  They’re letting Gabriel look good in the ring when he’s in there and it’s working pretty well for the most part.  Good match but not great for the most part.

Core beats Edge down post match of course, including the majority of the finishers.  Ziggler comes in and puts his foot on Edge’s chest to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was more like Impact of all things and that’s not typically a good thing.  The wrestling was way too short tonight with no matches getting over ten minutes of air time.  It’s not a bad show but it’s really nothing special.  It’s like they were stalling before next week, which I’d assume to mean they’re going to do the same thing next week.  I wasn’t thrilled with this, but it wasn’t anything awful.

Results

Alberto Del Rio b. R-Truth – Cross Armbreaker

Beth Phoenix b. Layla – Glam Slam

Rey Mysterio b. Cody Rhodes – Top Rope Splash

Jack Swagger b. Kofi Kingston by a score of 10-9

Drew McIntyre b. Trent Barreta – Belly to Belly Suplex Off the Top Rope

Justin Gabriel b. Edge – Pin after a clothesline from Ezekiel Jackson

Smackdown
Date: January 14, 2011
Location: Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, Matt Striker

We continue on the path to the Rumble with this week’s Smackdown.  The main story will be Dolph building up to his title match with Edge which the website confirmed would be there.  I like them giving a guy like Ziggler a quick test run in the main event.  Also this goes to show you: never let a bad gimmick convince you that a guy can’t succeed.  The WWE Champion was a chick magnet and the biggest star in the company was a rapper.  At least he wasn’t saying Yo Baby Yo Baby Yo.  Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about Barrett vs. Show which I had completely forgotten about.  That can’t be a good sign.

Cue theme song.  Something tells me the Insurgency is never going to rise as there is no blood to sacrifice in WWE.

Dolph and Vickie will be on the Cutting Edge tonight.

Here’s Alberto to open the show.  It’s a 59 Jag this week.  Seeing Del Rio live gave me a new respect for him.  He talks about how Southerners are slow but there is no one like him in WWE.  Also he’s still going to win the Rumble and go to Mania.  It’s nice to see them build up a few people this time as it’s boring when they don’t.  Truth comes out to interrupt him and says Del Rio has a rabbit mind.  What the heck is this guy on?

He says Del Rio can’t win the Rumble because of having cars or a creepy ring announcer or because of destiny.  Actually if it’s his destiny, yeah that would make him win.  He says that Del Rio steps up by beating the one guy he can’t beat….who is named Lucy.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GUY?

They’re interrupted by Cody Rhodes who says that Dashing is in the Rumble this year.  He’s only 25 and has been in three Rumbles so he’ll win.  Cue Rey who says it’s not about looking like a Diva or destiny but about what’s inside you.  If this turns into another I HAVE A BIG HEART speech I’m going to be sick.  Also shouldn’t he get a heart that big looked at by a doctor?

Anyway, he and Albert make fun of each other some more and Rey says that he’s won a Rumble while Alberto has won zero.  Oh that’s so cute.  He still thing that he won that Rumble and not Eddie.  Such a delusional masked annoyance.  Cody says that’s What’s Up.  Truth asks if Cody is stepping on his pinkie toe.  Rey says he’s stepping on your pinkie toe.  Is this some new language that I don’t understand?  Truth drills him and the fight is on.  Teddy pops up and we get a tag match.  Truth and Rey hug at the announcement.

Rey Mysterio/R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio/Cody Rhodes

The match starts after a break.  Rey vs. Cody to start us off.  Rey dominates to start and it’s off to Del Rio.  Alberto is officially an arch-nemesis so you know he’s awesome.  Cole asks a good question: how many times do Truth and Mysterio have to lose to Del Rio before they shut up?  Alberto sends Rey to the floor and rams him into the barricade.

Cody comes in and misses a knee drop.  I love his old school style.  Top rope cross body by Rey takes him down.  That move has been coming back lately which is a good thing.  I love simple moves like that.  Off to Truth and Del Rio now.  Sitout Gordbuster (dang it Striker stop saying the same things I do) by Truth.  He sends both of his opponents to the floor where Rey kills them both with a big moonsault and we take a break.

Back with Truth holding a chinlock on Del Rio but Cody is in seconds later.  It’s confirmed that all four guys will be in the Rumble as I think everyone expected.  For some reason the commentators keeps speaking Spanish seemingly at random.  Del Rio gets two on Truth with a move that isn’t important enough to make note of.  That and I was typing and didn’t see it.

Cody beats on Truth a bit more and gets two off a Russian leg sweep.  Crossface Chickenwing (what is with so many people using that recently?) and a body scissors makes Bob Backlund say “Oh, to be dashing”.  Truth fights out of it with an Electric Chair and gets the tag off to Rey.  For no apparent reason Cody doesn’t tag and gets a seated senton for his troubles.

Rey cleans house and we get a pinfall reversal sequence, won by Rey into a sunset flip for two as Del Rio saves.  Truth sends Del Rio to the floor with a side kick and it’s down to Cody vs. Rey now.  I don’t like the Dashing one’s chances.  Cody almost counters a headscissors into an Alabama Slam but gets caught anyway.  619 sets up the Springboard Splash at 10:28 shown of 13:58.

Rating: C+. Not the best tag match here but these guys have no history as teams so that makes up for it a bit.  This was the usual decent Smackdown tag match of the week which means it was at least good.  They have the formula for these things down pat and this was no exception.  Fun match to start off the show.

Time for Straight Out of the Hood with JTG as I refuse to butcher English like the title card does.  Basically it’s his take on recent events in WWE which is actually kind of entertaining.

We get a clip of Barrett costing Show the #1 contender spot last week.

Barrett says he came back to Raw as a conquering hero like Julius Caesar but was thrown out.  He came to Smackdown to continue his dominance and picked the Big Show because he’s the biggest star on Smackdown, and Barrett only goes after the best.  When he’s done, all will hail Caesar.  I’d rather Hail Sabin but whatever.  Also, please not another British gladiator character.

Video package on Ezekiel who talks about the Book of Ezekiel.

Trent Barreta vs. Drew McIntyre

I liked Barreta last time he was on Smackdown so this should be good too.  Drew gets a semi-face pop.  Trent goes straight for him to start but Drew takes his head off with a clothesline.  He still isn’t completely healed from his big dive two weeks ago apparently.  Drew destroys him here, taking him to the floor and possibly knocking out a tooth.  Trent is more or less dead a minute into this.  The fans are cheering for Drew here.

Dropkick gets two as Drew adds something new to his arsenal.  He must be emulating Mr. Cena.  Off to an armbar now and Cole plugs the video game by saying Trent is only going to win there.  Trent makes a brief comeback and gets a one footed dropkick for two.  Drew counters into a belly to belly and the referee is thinking about stopping it.  Drew goes for a gorilla press instead of the Futureshock and gets countered into a sunset flip/rollup for the shocking pin at 3:24!

Rating: C+. I like this Barreta guy.  He’s likely not going to go anywhere and this is probably just a plot device for the Kelly/Drew story but at least they’re letting someone new get some TV time and even a clean win here.  This wasn’t quite a squash but it was kind of close to one.  Trent got beaten badly here but he hung in there and it became a good match.  This was fun and the ending wasn’t contrived, which is always a big plus.  Fun stuff.

Post break Trent is walking in the back and gets jumped by Drew.  Before the beating gets too bad though Kelly comes up and glares at Drew.  He throws Trent aside in an unintentionally funny moment and goes after her.  Drew says he was only going to ask for a rematch but that’s not what Kelly saw.  She says that she was starting to believe him but now that’s not what she sees.  Kelly says she doesn’t want to be with someone that takes pleasure in beating on people and tells Drew to grow up.

Big Show vs. Wade Barrett

As Show makes his entrance, Josh plugs the Hall of Fame introduction ceremony.  He says it’s the most prestigious night of the year, the night before Mania.  Wouldn’t Mania be more prestigious.  Wade has his own music now and….yeah not feeling it.  It’s fast paced and almost techno-lite.  I’m not liking it but maybe it’ll grow on me.  Show goes right at him and the beating is on early.

We talk about Otunga and his jumping of Show on Smackdown as Barrett takes Show down.  Show of course shrugs off the offense and tries for the Chokeslam.  Barrett manages to block it twice though so at least this isn’t a two and a half minute match.  He tries a third time but Slater and Gabriel run in for the DQ.  Show tries to fight them off but the numbers catch up to him.  Only for a bit though as he fights them off again.

Big Zeke of all people pops up on the apron and stares down Show.  Slater tries to jump him again and Gabriel brings in a chair.  Show DRILLS it into his head but Zeke runs in to beat him down further.  The 4-1 assault happens with Zeke getting a nice delayed slam on Show and the 450 capping it off.  The new team raises their hands up.  Replays take us to a break.  No rating as this was like 2 minutes of an actual match.

Michelle McCool vs. Beth Phoenix

Layla looking incredible in a blue dress here.  Beth looking great too.  Sorry, hot women make me write in choppy sentences.  The Divas on Smackdown have gotten a lot better recently so we’ll see if that stays true here.  Michelle beats her down to start as we make NFL predictions and comparisons.  Josh as usual gets us back on track.

Beth fights back but Michelle gets a slick rollthrough to hook the leg and take Beth down again.  That was cool looking.  Crowd does not care for the most part here.  Beth’s knee is killing her here but she manages to get a rollup for two.  Blast it I’m getting tired of Laycool’s song getting stuck in my head every time they have a match.

Michelle tries to cannonball down onto Beth’s knee but gets launched to the floor.  Beth hammers away and gets a slingshot suplex for two.  She tries for the Glam Slam but Michelle counters.  Big boot is blocked into another attempt into the Glam Slam.  Michelle rolls through but Beth rolls backwards to get the pin at 4:10.

Rating: C+. Wow I’ve used that rating a lot tonight.  Everything has been above average tonight but nothing has been incredibly good.  This was good enough though and another passable match from the Divas.  The main thing with them lately has been that they’re looking much more confident in the ring.  Instead of looking like they have to plan each move out individually we see them looking smooth out there and that it’s instinct, much like a seasoned competitor.  That’s a very good thing indeed and something I haven’t seen since Lita and Trish.

Shawn Hall of Fame video.  The line of “I’m going to give you a show you’ll never forget.  Why?  Because I can” sums up Shawn as well as anything ever could.

Vickie is yelling at Teddy who is mad because of some decisions she made last week.  Teddy gets a phone call and has to leave because of something involving the Barrett situation.  Ziggler tells Vickie to not let Edge get to her in the interview segment later.  He also apologizes for yelling at her last week.  They rub noses in an awkward moment.

Here’s Kofi for a match but there’s no opponent yet.  Kofi is another guy that has incredible energy live.  I saw him in his first defense after the televised title change and he was probably the highlight of the show after Edge.  Everything he does he looks like he’s giving everything he can which is a nice this to see.  We get a clip of the title change and defense last week which was a cool moment.

Before the match against whomever, he says that he had the fans in his corner last week and because of them he’s the Intercontinental Champion again.  He learned about himself last week and the first thing he learned was check one two.  Here’s Swagger in case you didn’t get that.  Swagger says he’s proud of Kofi for learning something but 2011 is the year of the All-American.  I still have never heard his lisp that is constantly talked about.  Swagger warns him about the ankle lock so Kofi says let’s go right now.

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger

Non-Title it seems.  Even though there was a bell before the entrance of Kofi and he was introduced with his weight and all that, this seems impromptu.  We hit the floor almost immediately and Swagger drops him on the announce table as we take a break.  Back with Swagger stomping away as he’s in total control.  Vader Bomb gets two.

All Jack so far.  Another Vader Bomb misses though and here comes Kofi.  Sunset flip gets two.  Kofi can’t get the SOS but Swagger can’t get the Gutwrench Powerbomb.  Out of NOWHERE, Kofi gets the SOS for the pin at 5:00 shown of 8:30 total.  That really was a surprising ending.

Rating: B-. This was probably the best match of the night so far.  Nothing great here but these two work well together which seems to be the case of everyone that Kofi faces.  The SOS is a great secondary finisher for Kofi and this was no exception here.  Good little match and a great way to start the reign of Kofi.

After a final break it’s time for another cutting Edge.  Before Dolph and Vickie come out, Edge says that last week he wasn’t sure if he was going to survive the last man standing match, but he did and is still champion.  There’s something cool about a champion holding up the belt slowly like that.  He’s going from facing one monster last week to another this week in the form of Vickie Guerrero.  Cue the challenger and the creature that hangs out with him.

Edge says there was controversy with the victory last week which Dolph and Vickie deny.  Edge accuses Vickie of giving him the eye or something but Dolph says they’re leaving.  The champion makes fun of Vickie with some good lines.  Vickie says she was young and crazy when she married Edge.

Dolph says Edge owes his career resurgence to Vickie.  This is almost a therapy session.  Vickie has a clip to show them which is Edge making out with his wedding planner (not identified as Alicia Fox).  Dolph gets a jab at Edge, saying he looks about 14 in that clip.  Vickie lets loose the screeches.  Edge of course has his own clip which is Dolph making out with Kaitlyn.

Edge asks Vickie who that was and as she’s shaking, Dolph DRILLS Edge who fights back.  Vickie yells that it was their wedding day and slaps him three times.  She jumps on Edge so Edge looks for a spear.  He changes him mind and leaves then changes his mind again.  Dolph pulls him out for the save though and the beating is on.  Great heat on Dolph as he and Vickie stand over Edge to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was still a good show but it wasn’t great.  The wrestling was a bit down this week but after last week it was still pretty decent with no real bad matches.  The main point tonight was two fold in that we had Show vs. Barrett as well as a good focus on Dolph vs. Edge.  The world title match seems like it could be very good and likely will be.  Vickie adds a nice dynamic to it so overall, this should be a fun Rumble.  Either way, good stuff this week but not their best.

Results

Rey Mysterio/R-Truth b. Alberto Del Rio/Cody Rhodes – Springboard Splash to Rhodes

Trent Barreta b. Drew McIntyre – Sunset Flip

Big Show b. Wade Barrett via DQ when Heath Slater interfered

Beth Phoenix b. Michelle McCool – Rollup

Kofi Kingston b. Jack Swagger – SOS

I took in the Smackdown house show this evening in Lexington, Kentucky. The show is five minutes from my house and I won free tickets in a radio trivia contest. Anyway, after paying $10 to park, I figured I needed to win tickets more often as these were great seats, roughly eye level with the middle turnbuckle and on the same side as the entrance which was on my left. There were two rows in front of me, an aisle, and then three or four more rows of seats before the barricade. Great seats.

The  show itself was great, definitely the best house show I’ve ever been to. The house shows have zero nonsense to them, with the music of one match finishing and then Chimmel (who handled all the attire and titles etc) saying “The following contest is scheduled for one fall!” There were 9 matches and a ten minute intermission covered in just about two hours and 15 minutes, so you can tell they’re flying through this, but nothing seemed rushed at all.

This is merely going to be a brief recap and not a full on review with grades and all that jazz as I only took basic notes since I was watching the show for the most part.

Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth

Truth came out first and for some reason there was a long delay after his music started to play. He finally got there but wasn’t singing along. He did the What’s Up part and got a great reaction almost every time. Way over to say the least. Del Rio is clearly having a blast being a jerk to people and it shows in his talking and mannerisms.

He cut a quick promo talking about how Truth belonged on Raw but was here anyway. The mic kept cutting out, prompting the guys next to me to start a brief You F’D Up chant which stopped when all the parents with little kids around gave them evil glares. This was a relatively short match with Del Rio working on the back for the most part for some reason.

It’s amazing how much more fake punches clearly are at house shows. That running enziguri in the corner is awesome looking in person. Anyway, in a surprising upset, Truth got the win with the axe kick in about 5:30. The match was rather basic but well done and it worked as an opener with the surprise ending. Post match Del Rio caught Truth in the cross armbreaker and left him laying.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Percy Watson

Chavo got a big face pop and Watson got silence as I don’t think the vast majority of the audience had any clue who he was. There was a loud Chavo chant before the match and he turned it around easily by saying “Thank you for the cheers, but I already know I’m great.” Chavo is another guy that you don’t get to see enough of on TV but in front of a live audience he knows how to have a crowd wanting to kill him in seconds. Great heat magnet and got the people hating him quickly.

After a long stalling session we got started with a rather basic match. Watson has a presence about him but he isn’t incredibly sharp in the ring. A lot of his stuff was somewhat sloppy while Chavo was crisp with everything he did. Not a terrible match but definitely a step below the first. Watson won after a spinning splash set up by Chavo missing the Frog Splash. Ran a little over 8:00.

Rosa Mendes, who is incredibly good looking in person, asked a fan what the next PPV was and he got to ring the bell for the next match. Always a cool thing to do.

Tyler Reks vs. Ezekiel Jackson

This was just a step above a squash and ran less than 3:00. There was a pose down and then Reks tried basic stuff to no avail. Jackson won with a Rock Bottom and looked impressive like he’s supposed to without being exposed at all. The kids seemed into him somewhat too.

Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters

We got some dueling promos to start. Cody is so awesome in his role it’s unreal. He got a face pop for some reason too. That mirror on his jacket is certainly real too as it reflected light into my eyes a few times. Cody cut a basic heel promo, running down UK basketball (in their home arena) and talking about how Masters has never won anything. Masters said that today was his birthday (which it was) and that as a birthday promise he was going to slap Cody.

Cody is so old school in his style it’s not even funny. He uses basic stuff like the jumping stomp with the ropes to help him and knee drops and it looks like something out of the early 80s. Needless to say I love him right now. Masters surprised me here, busting out a Sky High and a Samoan Drop, both of which looked rather good. He needs something besides the Masterlock so maybe he’s testing some stuff out.

Anyway Masters kept teasing the slap all night and finally got it to a great pop. After that the crowd was far more into the match and it helped a lot. I was really surprised that Masters vs. Rhodes had the crowd into it as much as they did. After about 7:45, Cody hit a really bad looking Cross Rhodes to end this. Better than you would expect and probably the match of the night to this point.

Drew McIntyre vs. JTG

I have never heard a crowd as quiet as they were for JTG. Drew is awesome at working the crowd. After every little thing he would do he would hold up a finger, signaling that he was up 1-0, 2-0 etc. He played to the crowd all match and got them riled up very well. JTG got in a surprising amount of offense but got caught in the Futureshock for the clean pin after about 6:50. Not bad but certainly nothing special.

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler

These two are awesome together and this was no exception. I would have liked to see them get more time but they wound up getting just shy of 10:00. Both guys got to do a lot of their big spots and there were some good near falls. Kofi has incredible energy and never stops going the whole time. They were hammering on each other and it’s clear that they’ve had a lot of time working together. Kofi won with the Trouble in Paradise just shy of 10:00 in the best match of the night so far and probably all night.

Intermission

Divas Title: Natalya vs. Layla

First things first: Layla is one of the most stunningly beautiful women I have ever seen in my life. TV does not do these girls justice whatsoever and they are indeed as gorgeous as they’re built up as. Anyway, Layla brought out an exercise ball and did a routine on it which every straight man or lesbian in the audience loved very much.

To my lessening surprise, this was a good match. The Divas on Smackdown have been getting much better in the ring and this was no exception. Layla hooked a reverse Indian Deathlock and got a rollup out of that for two. The focus of the match was on Natalya’s knee and she never could get the Sharpshooter. Instead she rolled over on an O’Connor Roll for the pin. Post match Layla went after the knee again but Beth came out for the save. Match ran roughly 10:00 and felt like half that, but in a good way.

Wade Barrett vs. Big Show

Show got the loudest pop of the night or at worst the second loudest and just a step behind Edge. Probably the loudest though. On his way to the ring, Barrett jumped him. Wade said he didn’t need Nexus anymore and that he was the new big man on Smackdown. Interesting indeed. For some reason this match had far more flash bulbs going off than anything else all night. Show won with the Knockout Punch in 4:50 and Barrett sold it like he was shot. Two referees helped him to the back.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Kane

This was fan’s choice, with the options being 2/3 falls (I think 5 people in the arena cheered for this, myself included), or a street fight. I think you know what won. I forgot to time this but it was definitely the longest match of the night at maybe 13-15 minutes or so. Good stuff indeed with them brawling up by the entrance and using a few weapons. Kane hit the Chokeslam for two after avoiding the Conchairto to the knee. Edge hit the spear to win it and then high fived a ton of fans to end the show. He was incredibly over to say the least.

Overall, this was a GREAT show. When you can get that many matches on a show and in just over two hours without anything bad, what more can you ask for? The crowd was hot all night long with lots of chants and pops/heat at the right times. The upper arena was tarped off but the lower arena was about 80-90% full. Keep in mind that Rupp Arena is one of the biggest basketball arenas in the country and can hold over 20,000 people at maximum capacity. Very fun show and I’m quite glad I went.

Smackdown
Date: January 7, 2011
Location: Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole, Matt Striker, Josh Matthews

In the first show of the year we have the World Heavyweight Championship on the line in a last man standing match as well as Alberto vs. Rey in a 2/3 falls contest.  The most intriguing thing to me is if Kane vs. Edge is finished tonight, what does that mean for the Rumble?  Hopefully this doesn’t see a double countout or a tie etc as that would make me rather irritated.  Let’s get to it.

The opening video is more or less what I just told you.  Now why can’t I get paid to do something like that?  I said more or less the same thing minus a few basic lines.

Do you know your enemy?  That’s a good question actually and I certainly don’t know mine.

After a brief opening statement from the announcers, it’s time for the main event!

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Kane

Edge has the red sunglasses back which I think he’s had recently but not for very long.  This is last man standing remember.  We get the big match intros here which isn’t something you see that often in WWE anymore.  It might be the angle of it but the belt looks quite different for some reason.  Kane puts Edge down in the corner with powerful strikes to start us off.

Edge gets a swinging neckbreaker to put both guys down for about a three.  Sideslam by Kane gets another three on Edge.  The champion hits a spear to Kane while Kane is on the apron and the bald man is down on the floor.  It only gets a six though and we hit the floor.  Up the ramp they go with Kane in control.  Isn’t it amazing how a single shot in one of these matches can send one or both guys off for a good 8 feet?

They go into the back towards the concourse and Edge is slammed into a wall.  Why are the concession stands closed?  Back into the arena in the crowd with Edge blocking a chokeslam off the stands.  They fight up the steps into the luxury suites which have their own concession and merchandise stands.  Dude that’s kind of awesome.  Trashcan to the stomach of Edge breaks his momentum.

With Edge down after being rammed into various things and hammered a bit, Kane finds a flight of stairs and a wheelchair.  I think you know what’s coming here.  Edge counters at the last second and only the chair goes flying.  A big boot puts Kane down for 5.  We take a break with Edge in firm control.

Back with Edge in control still and the fight going on in the crowd near the announcers’ table.  Kane clears off the announce table but Edge manages to reverse to send Kane into the steps.  That gets a 9 which sounded a lot like ten but they kept it going anyway.  Edge does one of those jumps off the top that exist only to jump into a shot from their opponent, in this case an uppercut.

The uppercut is good for 8 and here comes Kane.  Top rope clothesline misses though and Edge gets the Edgecution to put both guys down.  Cole informs us that if it’s a tie then we keep going.  That makes me feel all tingly.  Chokeslam out of nowhere has Edge and the title in big trouble.  Edge is up and 9 and heads/falls to the floor.

Kane wants a Tombstone on the steps but Edge counters into an Edge-O-Matic onto the steps and the big fried freak is in trouble!  Kane gets up at ten but is down at eleven.  Edge sets for the spear but runs into a huge boot to the face to put him back down again.  That gets 9 but Kane gets a chokeslam onto the table to half kill Edge!  Striker was sent flying and is partially pinned under the table in a funny looking visual.  Edge uses Striker to pull himself back up and beat the count.  That was kind of funny actually.

The challenger is all fired up here and he throws a chair into the ring.  Make it a pair of them.  He goes up but Edge pelts a chair at his head to take Kane down one more time.  That looked sick.  BIG chair shots to the knee have Kane in big trouble.  The spear hits but Edge isn’t happy yet.  He goes out and gets the pelted chair and hits a Conchairto to the knee of Kane, which is enough to end this at 17:20 shown of 20:50.

Rating: B. This was a fun brawl with some fairly creative spots, namely Edge using Striker to get up.  I like the ending as instead of the spear it was instead the spear that set up the Conchairto to end Kane.  That’s a nice touch and it prevented the match from ending stupidly with a spear ending Kane when nothing else could.  I liked it rather well and the ending only made it better.  Good match.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

They’re certainly pushing this as a huge show with the title matches and all that jazz.  Striker calls Vickie the female version of Rosie O’Donnell.  Why are so many people obsessed with Rosie?  What has she ever done?  Nice reaction for Kofi here.  We get a quick video of last week’s match where Dolph more or less stole the win from Kofi which is true only to a degree.

Kofi hammers away to start as Cole says that Kofi needs to move on instead of trying to get the title back time and time again.  Neckbreaker by Dolph gets two.  Off to a clear choke that they’re going to call a chinlock because they want to I guess.  Splash in the corner misses though and here comes Kofi.  These two have some solid chemistry together to be sure.

A rollup by Ziggler with some tights gets two.  They’re moving very fast out there.  Trouble in Paradise misses and it’s off to the Sleeper!  Kofi simply grabs the hands and rips the hold off and gets the SOS for an incredibly close two.  Middle rope suplex is blocked by Dolph.  I know it seems like I’m flying through this but there is almost nothing between these fast moves.  After Kofi knocks Dolph off the ropes to block the suplex, the HUGE crossbody ends this perfectly clean at 5:31.  That came out of nowhere!

Rating: B. Ok, this grade is going to require some explanation as to how it can be equal to the first match and I think it might clear up a bit about my grading system in general in case some people think I’m a bit inconsistent.  While I’m giving this match the same grade, it’s certainly not as good as the first one.  There are two key differences though.

The first is that the opener was meant to be a long brawl, as evidenced by giving it nearly four times as long to work with.  That match had time to work out spots and to be a brutal fight, whereas this was supposed to be fast paced and exciting.  Different styles of match, but both well done.

Second, which ties into the first, was the ending.  Dolph literally turned around to get hit by the cross body.  Kofi is already horizontal when Dolph sees him.  I love matches that end very quickly and with moves that aren’t finishers.  To the fans it looked like another big move that Kofi would hit to get a two count.  Instead it’s over and the fans are surprised.  That’s an excellent touch and it keeps the matches interesting.

As for the match itself, one important thing to make clear is that this was NOT a squash.  Dolph was definitely in this the whole time and Kofi got a big shot in to get the win.  That’s very important as it keeps Dolph looking strong while still switching the title.  This was a very fun and fast paced match which is what you come to expect from these guys.  Good stuff.

Dolph, ever the villain, destroys Kofi post match.  Vickie gets on the mic and says that since Teddy isn’t here tonight, Dolph gets a rematch RIGHT NOW!

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler

LOUD Kofi chant but he’s more or less d…..and screw that as he hits Trouble in Paradise and it’s over in 43 seconds!  That kick looked great.

Rating: B-. Well the opening 13 seconds were very weak but they picked it WAY up in the next 19.  The final 21 were completely awesome though and it definitely was good enough to make this a passable match.  Dang man those final 21 seconds with Kofi rolling Dolph over for the cover were more exciting than the entire Flair vs. Steamboat trilogy.

After a break Dolph is yelling at Vickie and telling her that was a boneheaded move.  Vickie blames him so Dolph says that maybe she should get a new boyfriend.  He leaves and she screeches in a terrifying voice.  I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight after hearing that.

Long recap of the cage match Monday.

Kelly is on the way to the ring when Drew stops her.  He says he’s a different person than he is out there.  This was allegedly supposed to be used for Tiffany and not Kelly, which means absolutely nothing but this is a short segment and I need something to talk about.  Drew wants to earn her trust and wants her support in his #1 contenders match tonight.  She smiles and says thanks and leaves.

Cody vs. Drew vs. Show for the #1 contender spot up next.

Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big Show

See I told you it was up next.  Cody does look good in the jacket.  I have to give him that.  Could Drew look any more like a natural face than he does?  And here’s Vickie of course.  She makes it a fatal fourway with Dolph thrown in too.

Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler

Drew has a headache and is still tired from the previous two matches.  Show looks very ticked off about the extra person being added in.  They all surround Show who is like screw it and beats up all three guys.  Drew is tossed to the floor first and then the other two get beaten on a bit as well.  Down to Show vs. Cody which is a mini-feud at least.  Dolph breaks up a pin by Show which gets him picked up by the hair and slammed down.

All Show for the first two minutes or so.  Channeling his inner Bobby Heenan, Cole says Show could have won this five minutes ago.  Stinkface to Cody has him gasping for air.  Show is busting out some of his old spots here like the Final Cut (Nightmare on Helm Street) and the one where he lifts up his leg and drops it onto the other guy’s chest like a standing legdrop (Wiki calls it the Showstopper but I’ve never heard that name for it before)

Drew has been in the ring maybe 20 seconds so far.  Big chop in the corner misses Dolph and Cody teams up with Dolph to beat down the Giant.  And that fails completely as Show blocks a double Irish Whip and sends both guys flying over the top with a simple tug.  Out on the floor Show is triple teamed and sent through the time keeper’s area.  He’s down but so is everyone else as we take a break.

Back with Cody vs. Dolph in the ring.  Cody goes for a moonsault but Drew shoves him off the top into the waiting arms of Big Show.  Cody gets back in to stop Drew from destroying Dolph and shouts that he’s #1.  He’s Paul Jones all of a sudden?  Drew back in now but Show is back up to a big reaction.  He picks off Drew and sends him flying on the floor and I think we’re about to pick up again.

Cody gets crushed in the corner and down goes Ziggler.  Show calls for the Chokeslam and out of nowhere Wade Barrett comes in to destroy Big Show!  A few big boots and a top rope elbow take down Show and Wade leaves.  Something to note there: Barrett just took down Show when three guys couldn’t.  Cody can’t steal the pin after the Beautiful Disaster but Ziggler manages to get the Zig Zag for two.

Futureshock gets two as this is ridiculous.  Show took a beating from Barrett, Cody’s second best move, Ziggler’s pin finisher and Drew’s finisher and is up a few seconds later.  We get that he’s a giant but don’t make him look invincible.  Cody and Dolph team up again but Dolph grabs the Zig Zag on him out of nowhere and gets the pin at 10:12 shown of 13:42.

Rating: C+. Fun match and told a decent story, but for the love of heck I can’t stand Show being made to look invincible like he does with those power kickouts.  Doing that to one move is ok, but how weak does the Futureshock look when it can’t get a pin after all that softening up mere seconds before it?  This still was more good than it was bad though so points for that.

Michelle McCool vs. Kelly Kelly

Kelly looking GOOD tonight.  They’re flying through this show too with maybe two backstage segments so far tonight.  Michelle charges into the corner to start but Kelly gets a choke with her legs while hanging upside down over the ropes.  Michelle fights that off with ease and goes after Kelly’s leg.  Kelly manages to get a headscissors to take her down and sets for the K2.  Michelle casually counters into the Faithbreaker to end this in 1:42.  Not quite a squash but you could call it that pretty easily.

Laycool beats down Kelly post match until Drew runs down for the save.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio

2/3 falls here.  This show has been PACKED with wrestling so far at a level I haven’t see in a long time.  Before we start Alberto says that it’s his destiny to win the Rumble.  He talks about how there are pure Latinos and then the rest of them, who are car washers, gardeners, and Rey Mysterio.  I like that.

Rey starts us off here with some speed moves and wants the 619 maybe 75 seconds in.  Alberto ducks and the Cross Armbreaker makes it 1-0 in 1:37.  I was under the impression that there would be no math.  We get a graphic telling us that it’s 1-0.  Are fans really that stupid?  After a quick break we’re back with Rey in an armbar and then taking a big backbreaker to put him down again.

Rey gets sent to the floor as we debate if Rey tapped out just to break the hold, which would make sense.  A big rana takes down Alberto but Rey can’t capitalize immediately.  Alberto gets up and goes for the armbreaker again but Rey turns into it and gets a rollup for two.  619 can’t hit again but a cradle gives Rey the 1-1 tie at 8:12 (total time elapsed) and we take our second break of the match.

Back with Alberto holding another armbar as Rey is in more trouble.  Del Rio gets caught by the usual speed and leverage moves from Rey but Del Rio fights Rey off with a Codebreaker to the arm.  The fans chant 619 over and over and Rey gets a body scissors into a DDT for two.  Rey tries to go up but Del Rio gets to the ropes and down comes the masked man.  He’s caught in the Tree of Woe so Del Rio hammers away.

Alberto goes up for a suplex while being on the outside.  In other words he’s trying to suplex Rey to the floor.  Rey’s arm is really hurting him here.  I’m not sure why Alberto isn’t getting back in the ring but rather is fighting from the apron.  Rey gets a 619 around the post to take down Alberto.  Rey gets a big dive to take out Alberto and Ricardo and get a big reaction from the crowd.  Del Rio gets back in but Ricardo grabs Rey’s ankle and it’s a countout to give Del Rio the win at 11:53 shown of 18:53 total.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good for the most part but I wasn’t feeling it for some reason.  Rey losing on the countout to end the match doesn’t do it for me at all.  If you’re going to have Rey lose in the end, have it be to the armbreaker.  Del Rio still looks good but at the same time the ending feels kind of silly.  Decent match but I didn’t like it for some reason.

Rey beats up Ricardo a bit post match including a 619 and the springboard splash.

The announcers recap the show and announce Show vs. Barrett next week.

Overall Rating: A. This show was packed and it worked the whole night.  With two nearly 20 minute matches plus a title change and a new #1 contender, how in the world can you argue against this one?  Oh and I forgot that Barrett is here now too which is good as the show is dying for star power.  I really enjoyed this show with it being so wrestling heavy.  Good stuff indeed and a great way to kick off the year.

Results

Edge b. Kane – Conchairto to Kane’s Leg

Kofi Kingston b. Dolph Ziggler – Top rope Cross Body

Kofi Kingston b. Dolph Ziggler – Trouble in Paradise

Dolph Ziggler b. Cody Rhodes, Big Show and Drew McIntyre – Zig Zag to Rhodes

Michelle McCool b. Kelly Kelly – Faithbreaker

Alberto Del Rio b. Rey Mysterio two falls to one