WWE Smackdown
April 8, 2011
Charlotte, NC
Report by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…” The WWE video leads us into the show.
The Smackdown video plays and we’re brought into the arena with a big fireworks display. Josh Mathews and Booker T welcome us to the show.
The show kicks off to Alberto Del Rio making his way to the ring with Ricardo Rodriguez and Brodus Clay. He doesn’t come out with his car this week due to it being demolished by Edge and Christian at WrestleMania XXVII. Del Rio gets in the ring and repeats his name… but we already knew that. Del Rio says we didn’t know that destiny can be delayed, but it can’t be stopped. This past Sunday his destiny was delayed by Edge and the coward Christian. Together they destroyed his WrestleMania moment and his car. He paid $120,000 for the Rolls Royce. It’s not about the money – those cars are like his children. They may think they broke him but he’ll make them pay. When he fulfills his destiny and becomes the World Heavyweight Champion, everything Edge did to his car…
Hold that thought – Edge and Christian drive out to the arena with the Rolls Royce on a Brisco Brothers tow truck. Edge says when he saw Del Rio crying and hugging his car he assumed it was because he was a greedy, arrogant, narcissistic moron. Then when he said this car is like his child it almost made him reassess things. If this was like his child then he needs to love it unconditionally. It may be damaged but nothing a little tender love and care can’t fix. Edge then takes a spray paint can and starts redecorating it.
Del Rio says this isn’t a joke. Del Rio says he had Edge close to tapping out at WrestleMania. Edge says he didn’t get the job done and that’s why he’s in the ring whining and crying, and he’s the World Heavyweight Champion. Del Rio says Edge is going to give him a rematch and that way he’ll redeem himself for his behavior at WrestleMania. Edge thinks about it and says he’d love to give him a rematch but since destiny can’t be changed, he lost. Del Rio needs to wait in line because there are so many worthy competitors in front of him. Christian then emerges from the seat of the truck. Edge says Christian beat Del Rio twice already. Edge says if it’s a fight Del Rio wants, then he’ll complete his destiny.
Teddy Long’s music hits and the General Manager comes out to the stage. They can talk destiny all they want but it’s still his show. If they’re going to settle this then they’ll do it in a match. Alberto Del Rio will face Christian tonight and the winner will face Edge at Extreme Rules. Extreme Rules is the night the WWE will go extreme so the title will be on the line in Edge’s specialty – a ladder match.
Coming up next we’ll have a WrestleMania Rematch. Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella, and Kofi Kingston will take on The Corre in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match.
-Commercial Break-
Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match
Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Kofi Kingston vs. The Corre
Santino will start out against Gabriel. Santino does some wacky moves and avoids a kick. Gabriel avoids Santino’s lame kick and punches him down for a two count. Gabriel punches and tags in Heath Slater. Slater stomps away at Santino and Gabriel chokes him while the referee’s back is turned. Slater punches him down and stomps him. Santino counters a punch with a nice arm drag and tags in Kane. Kane hits a snapmare and dropkicks him in the face. Big Show is tagged in and he chops Slater’s chest. Big Show hits a nice body slam and steps on him. Big Show hits a head-butt and tags in Kingston. Kingston gets on Big Show’s shoulders and splashes Slater. Kingston goes for Trouble in Paradise but The Corre pulls Slater out of the ring. The Corre regroups as we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Kane bounce Barrett in the corner. Kane punches away at him and sends him to the corner. Kane runs into a back elbow and Ezekiel Jackson is tagged in. They circle the ring and Kane gets a waist lock. Kane goes to the side headlock but Jackson punches him off. Kane goes into the ropes and shoulder blocks him but Jackson doesn’t move. The Corre then distracts Kane and Jackson clotheslines him down.
The Corre make quick tags, punching away at Kane. Barrett stomps him down and Jackson chokes Kane as the referee yells. Jackson is tagged back in and he clubs Kane. Gabriel is then tagged in and he hits a missile dropkick for a near fall. Gabriel applies a front face lock but Kane fights up and tosses him off. Kingston is tagged in and he hits a nice springboard clothesline. Kingston knocks The Corre off the apron and hits a nice dropkick. Kingston misses a splash on Gabriel in the corner but comes back with a pendulum kick. Kingston hits a cross-body block off the top rope and picks up the first pin of the match!
Winners of Fall #1 by Pinfall: Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Kofi Kingston
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Slater punch Santino down and slam him for a near fall. Slater applies a chin lock but Santino soon fights up and slams him off. Slater quickly comes back with a forearm to the face for a near fall. Slater talks trash before going for a clothesline. Santino splits underneath it and hits a hip toss. Santino hits a falling head-butt and takes the Cobra out. Santino doesn’t know that Barrett is tagged in and he gets big booted. Barrett hits The Wasteland and picks up the second fall.
Winners of Fall #2 by Pinfall: The Corre
The referee checks on Santino and gives the go ahead for the match to continue. Barrett quickly takes Santino down and tags in Slater. Slater chokes Santino and Barrett stomps him when the referee isn’t looking. Jackson is tagged in and he punches Santino hard. Jackson sends him to the corner and hits a nasty clothesline. Jackson pins but Big Show breaks it up. Jackson slams Santino down and Gabriel, who was just tagged in, hits a slingshot senton for a near fall. Gabriel kicks and applies a chin lock. Santino fights up with Gabriel on his back but quickly gets taken back down by an STO for a near fall. Gabriel then misses a splash and Santino tags in Kane.
Kane hits Barrett, who was just tagged, with some uppercuts. Kane hits a clothesline in the corner and a sidewalk slam for a near fall. Kane drops him with a nice top rope lariat but Jackson breaks up the fall. A big brawl breaks out with the highlight being Jackson clotheslining Big Show on the outside. Kane goes to Chokeslam Barrett but The Corre attacks, causing a disqualification.
Winners by Disqualification (2-1): Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Kofi Kingston
Match Rating: **
Big Show, Santino, and Kingston make the save. Big Show head-butts Gabriel and Slater down, and Kingston hits Barrett with Trouble in Paradise. Kane hits Slater with a Chokeslam and Big Show knocks Gabriel out with the Knockout Punch. Big Show and Kane grab Jackson by the throat but Santino stops them. Santino then breaks out the Cobra and opens it’s mouth. They then hit a TRIPLE Chokeslam on Jackson. That was pretty funny.
Alberto Del Rio will take on Christian in a Number One Contender match.
-Commercial Break-
A video for Sin Cara airs. I have a feeling he’ll be out tonight.
JOBBER ALERT: Trent Barreta is in the ring with no TV entrance.
Trent Barreta vs. Cody Rhodes
The bell rings and they lock up. Rhodes takes him down and kicks away at him. Rhodes punches him down and Barreta goes to the apron. Barreta kicks him and hits a springboard missile dropkick for a one count. Rhodes reverses a whip, kicks him, and hits a Russian Leg Sweep. Rhodes bounces him in the corner and stomps him down. Rhodes sends him shoulder first into the ring post and hits the Cross Rhodes for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Cody Rhodes
Match Rating: N/A
Rhodes continues assaulting Barreta with his facemask until Rey Mysterio’s music hits. Mysterio runs down to the ring and punches away at Rhodes. Mysterio goes to rip the mask off but Rhodes escapes quickly.
We’ll see John Cena call out The Rock next.
-Commercial Break-
They show the video of John Cena calling out The Rock leading to them making a match for WrestleMania XXVIII. Showing this entire clip is fine for shows like NXT and Superstars but not Smackdown. Seriously, if people weren’t tuning in to watch Raw then why the heck would they stay in on a Friday night and watch Smackdown?
Edge and Christian are backstage in the locker room. Edge says he hopes Christian beats Del Rio. Christian says he knows then wonders if he really means he wants to face him in a ladder match. Edge says they revolutionized that match and it’d be cool to face him. Christian says he won’t be saying that after Extreme Rules and smiles. Edge tells him to cool his jets and laughs. Christian says he won’t mind if Edge roots for Del Rio. Edge wishes him luck tonight and walks off. Christian looks at the World Heavyweight Championship and Edge comes back to grab it.
-Commercial Break-
Lay-Cool vs. Kelly Kelly & Beth Phoenix
McCool starts the match off against Beth. They lock up and Beth powers her off. Beth sends her to the ropes and clotheslines her down. When McCool went into the ropes she knocked Layla off the apron by accident. McCool looks for a tag but sees Layla on the floor. She yells at Layla and Beth hits a backbreaker. Layla is eventually tagged in and Beth press slams her to the top rope. Beth kicks her in the midsection and tags in Kelly. Kelly chokes her on the ropes and hits a cross-body block for a two count. Kelly hits an X-Factor for a near fall. Layla looks for a tag but McCool pretends to have a back injury. Kelly then rolls up Layla for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Kelly Kelly & Beth Phoenix
Match Rating: 1/2 *
Lay-Cool argues at ringside. I smell a breakup. It’s about a year too late though.
-Commercial Break-
The WWE Rewind is Michael Cole splashing JR in the face with his own Bar-B-Q Sauce.
Michael Cole is in the middle of the ring laughing. Cole says he shot JR (a reference to the TV show “Dallas”). Cole asks for our attention, please. Cole introduces us to the man who taught him everything that he knows and has been so supportive of him. This man cares only for his wellbeing. Cole introduces Jack Swagger to the ring.
Jack Swagger enters the ring and asks the crowd to settle down. There’s plenty of Team Cole to go around. Everyone told him it would be impossible for him to get Michael Cole ready for the main event of WrestleMania but, honestly, it was easy. You start with superior intelligence, mix that with an insatiable desire, and balance it out with the gift of athletic ability. Only a man like Michael Cole could have his first match at WrestleMania, earn a dominating victory, and become the new Mr. WrestleMania. Swagger asks the crowd to applaud Cole. Cole says if it were a fair fight, no one in the locker room could beat Swagger. They then celebrate with a victory lap.
All of a sudden Sin Cara’s music hits and WWE’s newest masked wrestler makes his way to the ring. Sin Cara springboards into the ring off a trampoline (not seen) and goes face to face with Swagger. Swagger pushes him and Cara comes back with a handspring back elbow. Cara hits a nice hurricanrana that takes Swagger out of the ring. Cara then drops him with a beautiful corkscrew plancha! Sin Cara walks to the back as Michael Cole and Jack Swagger are outraged.
Josh Mathews and Booker T talk about Sin Cara’s impact on Jack Swagger. They then go to a replay from Raw where Stone Cole Steve Austin, with the Tough Enough rookies, were confronted by The Miz. Austin then beat the tar out of Alex Riley. Tough Enough is truly awesome.
We’ll see Christian take on Alberto Del Rio to determine who will face Edge for the title in a ladder match at Extreme Rules later tonight.
-Commercial Break-
Layla comes up to McCool and McCool tells her to leave her alone. Layla gives her a card and McCool reads it – it’s an appointment for couple’s therapy. McCool says they aren’t a couple. Layla tells her to just show up.
They show a quick recap of the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I wish they’d have given some time to the inductors – I’d have loved to see The Funker.
Ricardo Rodriguez introduces Alberto Del Rio to the ring. He’ll take on Christian next.
-Commercial Break-
Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian
Before the match begins, Edge joins the announcers at their table. Del Rio gets a waist lock on Christian. Christian tries to break it but Del Rio kicks him down. Del Rio gets a side headlock applied and Christian whips him off but gets shoulder blocked down. Del Rio gets a one count. They go for a test of strength and, of course, Del Rio kicks Christian in the midsection. Del Rio kicks away at Christian. Christian reverses a whip, leap frogs Del Rio, hits a pair of forearm smashes, and picks up a two count. Christian executes a headlock takeover. Del Rio fights up and punches out. Christian comes back with some punches of his own and fakes a slingshot punch. Del Rio gets scared away and Christian throws him over the top rope.
Christian takes Del Rio out with a baseball slide. Edge taunts Del Rio with the ornament of the Rolls Royce and shows him the title. Del Rio angrily looks at him as we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Del Rio rip Christian out of the ring and send him into the steps. Del Rio slams him into the barricade and chokes him. Del Rio sends him into the ring and covers for a near fall. Del Rio rubs Christian’s face on the mat and applies a chin lock. Christian fights up but Del Rio head-butts him. Del Rio hits a nice backbreaker for a near fall. Del Rio stomps him and chokes him on the bottom rope. Del Rio kicks him in the back and gets a near fall. Del Rio hits a running kick to the head. Del Rio picks him up and slaps him hard in the face. Christian answers back with a slap of his own.
Christian goes to the top rope but Del Rio cuts him off. Del Rio hits a nice superplex and now both men are down. The referee begins counting but Del Rio gets to his feet at nine. Del Rio walks into an inside cradle by Christian for a near fall. Del Rio punches away at him and goes for a clothesline but Christian ducks it. Christian then hits a clothesline over the top rope that takes him over as well. That was kind of like the old Cactus Jack clothesline. Del Rio struggles up to his feet and sends Christian into the ring post. Del Rio puts him in the ring and steps on his face. Del Rio goes for the second rope but Christian avoids the senton.
Christian hits some punches and a nice forearm smash. Christian hits a missile dropkick for a near fall. Christian hits a slingshot uppercut and goes to the top rope. Christian hits a nice cross-body block for a near fall. Christian signals that its time for the Kill Switch but Del Rio stops him. Del Rio goes for the Cross Arm Breaker but Christian pushes him off. Del Rio avoids a splash but Christian kicks, goes for a springboard sunset flip but Del Rio rolls through, and catapults him into the corner. Del Rio applies the Cross Arm Breaker but Christian gets on the bottom rope quickly! Christian snaps Del Rio off the top rope and gets distracted by Brodus Clay. Edge Spears Clay and Del Rio capitalizes on the distraction by hitting an enzuigiri. Christian falls off the top rope and picks up the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Alberto Del Rio
Match Rating: ** 1/2
Alberto Del Rio celebrates his win. He’ll face Edge at Extreme Rules in a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Quick Match Results
Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Kofi Kingston def. The Corre (2-1)
Cody Rhodes def. Trent Barreta
Kelly Kelly & Beth Phoenix def. Lay-Cool
Alberto Del Rio def. Christian
Bump of the Night: Sin Cara’s corkscrew plancha!
Match of the Night: Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian ** 1/2
Mike’s Thoughts
This was a pretty decent edition of Smackdown tonight. We had some decent follow-up from WrestleMania XXVII. As we assumed pretty much all of Smackdown’s matches will become rematches at Extreme Rules.
I like the way Smackdown kicked off tonight. Alberto Del Rio is a tremendous character and I thought he cut a nice promo about how his destiny has simply been delayed. I still think he should have gone over at WrestleMania. I get they want the feud to continue and it’s easier, I guess, with Edge as the champion but why not give Del Rio that moment when everyone, especially casual fans, was watching. Anyway, I thought it was pretty good with Edge and Christian coming out with the tow truck and the busted up Rolls Royce on the back. It was a fun segment to set up the main event for later in the show.
The tag team 2-out-of-3 falls match was best kept short at WrestleMania. It wasn’t a bad match by any stretch of the imagination but it’s such an eclectic mix of talent that it’s hard to get into. The match had that thrown together feel to it at WrestleMania. It was nice to get them on the card for working so hard all year but I honestly had no desire to see that match beyond April 3. Like I said, the match tonight wasn’t bad. It was ultimately just unnecessary. They’re just buying some time on Smackdown until they have the draft.
I absolutely love Cody Rhodes’s new character and I love that the feud is continuing with Mysterio beyond WrestleMania. While it wasn’t the show stealing performance I projected it to be, it was still a damn good match at WrestleMania. These two mesh really well together and Mysterio is doing wonders for Cody Rhodes right now. Have I mentioned that I absolutely love that character?
The Diva match was just there. It finally seems they’re pulling the plug on Lay-Cool but, unfortunately, they’re about a year too late. One of my least favorite acts ever seems to finally be winding down.
Michael Cole had another hilarious segment with Jack Swagger tonight. I think Cole is going to do awesome as Swagger’s manager. It looks like they’re heading that way. That was hilarious after the Sin Cara attack when Cole was screaming, “Can you believe he did that to US??” That guy is gold. Speaking of Sin Cara, more awesome stuff out of him. I can’t wait to see what roster he winds up on.
Tonight’s main event was really good. Del Rio and Christian have provided us with some excellent main events over the past few weeks and they didn’t disappoint again. Del Rio is going to Extreme Rules where hopefully he’ll beat Edge at his own game and get his moment. This guy is great and he’s the future. I can’t wait for it to happen already.
Final Rating: ***
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E-Mail – MikeTedesco@wrestleview.com
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