WWE Smackdown
June 3, 2011
Des Moines, IA
Report by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…” The WWE video leads us into the show.
A video recaps Christian’s shortcomings at regaining his World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton. After winning last week’s triple threat match, Sheamus is now the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship and he’ll take on Randy Orton for the title tonight.
The Smackdown video plays and we’re brought into the arena with some fireworks. Josh Mathews, Booker T, and Michael Cole welcome us to the show. They put over the rarity of having a World Heavyweight Championship match on Smackdown.
Christian vs. Mark Henry
The announcers talk about how strange it is that Christian came to the ring smiling despite the fact that he lost another opportunity to get his hands back on the World Heavyweight Championship.
They circle the ring and lock up. Henry quickly takes him down and goes for a stomp but Christian moves. Christian gets a waist lock applied so Henry backs him to the corner and elbows him in the face. Henry sends Christian into the ropes but Christian ducks a clothesline. Christian punches and runs into a clothesline. Henry kicks him down and Christian rolls out of the ring. Henry follows him out of the ring so Christian gets in. Christian hits a baseball slide and goes for a plancha but Henry catches him. Henry press slams him onto the apron and punches him back into the ring.
Henry gets back into the ring and clotheslines Christian down for a near fall. Henry sends him into the ropes and hits a big flapjack for another near fall when Christian gets his foot on the bottom rope. Henry stomps away at him and elbows him in the shoulder. Henry applies a nerve hold and is looking for a submission. Christian is screaming in pain but he eventually kicks him in the face. Henry backs up and goes for a big splash but Christian moves.
Christian punches and hits a clothesline but Henry doesn’t go down. Christian tries it again but Henry still doesn’t budge. Christian goes for a whip but Henry sends him to the corner instead. Henry runs into the boots and Christian goes for his diving elbow but Henry doesn’t go down again. Christian goes for the Kill Switch but Henry gets out and clotheslines him over the top rope. Henry follows him out of the ring and runs into a drop-toe-hold, sending him face first into the announcer’s table. Christian goes to the top rope as Henry gets back into the ring. Christian gets caught goes for a cross-body but gets out of Henry’s clutches. Christian sends him into the turnbuckle and hits the Kill Switch for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Christian
Match Rating: **
Wade Barrett will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Ezekiel Jackson later tonight. Christian has a microphone in the ring and will speak next.
-Commercial Break-
Christian says he just beat the World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry. That is not an easy thing to do. Even though that was a big victory for him, that wasn’t exactly the victory he was looking for tonight. Sheamus is facing Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship and he feels like it should be him. Christian shows the footage from last week where he had Sheamus beat. Henry pushed Randy Orton at ringside so Orton RKO’d him as Christian pinned Sheamus. The referee took a little extra time to get there so Sheamus was able to kick out and eventually win.
Christian says he had Sheamus clearly beaten for what seemed like an eternity. Christian isn’t blaming anyone under the circumstances. Christian just wants one more chance to become the World Heavyweight Champion.
Teddy Long’s music hits and the Smackdown General Manager makes his way to the ring. Long agrees with Christian that he was a victim of circumstance. Christian says Long should use his authority and do the right thing to make him the number one contender. Christian says he’ll take a page out of Long’s book and see what the audience thinks. Christian asks how many people would like to see him take on Randy Orton tonight. The response is positive. Christian asks if they want to see Sheamus take on Randy Orton and they boo.
Long says he feels Christian’s pain but he just can’t. Christian tells him to make it a triple threat match for the title. If Long wants the show to be exciting and unpredictable then he should. Long says he’s been deliberating this for a week but regardless of the circumstances Sheamus won the match and will face Randy Orton for the title tonight. To make sure there are no circumstances in the title match tonight he is appointing Christian as the special guest referee. Christian seems ok with that.
They show a really nice highlight video of the destruction Sheamus can cause. WWE’s video team always does such an awesome job.
-Commercial Break-
Alicia Fox and Tamina are in the ring with Rosa Mendes.
Alicia Fox & Tamina w/ Rosa Mendes vs. AJ & Kaitlyn w/ Natalya
They have a video with Natalya giving AJ and Kaitlyn a pep talk before the match. Kaitlyn says they were just warming up. AJ says they’ll make Natalya proud. Natalya says that’s a good attitude and tells them not to lose.
Tamina shoves Kaitlyn a few times so she shoves her back. Tamina kicks her and takes her down by the hair. Tamina whips her to the corner but Kaitlyn avoids a splash. Kaitlyn kicks and rolls her up for a two count. Fox tags in and Kaitlyn slides through the legs. Kaitlyn takes her down with a shoulder block and tags in AJ. AJ hits some forearms and Fox takes a hurricanrana the wrong way. She’s dangerous in the ring. Fox takes her down and tags in Tamina. Tamina kicks her and throws her across the ring. Tamina hits a nice body slam and punches Kaitlyn off the apron. AJ ducks a clothesline but gets caught with a cross-body block. Tamina turns it into a Samoan Drop for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Alicia Fox & Tamina
Match Rating: 1/4 *
Kaitlyn and Natalya check on AJ in the ring as the heel divas shout a little trash talk to them.
Randy Orton is seen thinking backstage.
-Commercial Break-
A hype video airs for Sin Cara.
Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring with his assistants, aka the “bag men”. They show Rhodes getting beaten by Daniel Bryan last week. After the match he viciously attacked Bryan. Rhodes says winning isn’t everything. It’s a lovely sentiment but only losers say that. Statistics will tell us that Daniel Bryan won the match but he says they’re wrong. Rhodes asks if anyone thinks Daniel Bryan beat him. The fans cheer so Rhodes says he’ll educate them. When the winner is flat on his back after the match with a bag over his head then he lost. When a man is so disgustingly dull and looks less like a WWE Superstar and more like a member of the paying audience he is a loser. That reminds him – he tells the baggers to hand out the bags at great expense to himself.
The difference between Daniel Bryan and himself are endless but the most important difference is that he will never sit in the audience and do anything. Daniel Bryan will sit in the audience and watch him capture the World Heavyweight Championship. He’ll do that just like all the audience will – with a paper bag over their head.
Ted DiBiase will take on Daniel Bryan tonight.
Matt Striker is backstage with The Great Khali. Striker shows Khali attacking his brother Ranjin Singh last week and siding with Jinder Mahal. Striker asks what motivated him to beat up his brother. Jinder Mahal walks up and says if Striker wants to talk to Khali then he’ll talk to him. Mahal speaks in his native tongue and then speaks English. Mahal says he’ll be taking his first step towards immortality. Khali and Mahal walk off.
-Commercial Break-
Jinder Mahal w/ The Great Khali vs. Yoshi Tatsu
They circle the ring and Mahal talks a little trash. Mahal kicks and punches Yoshi to the corner. Mahal kicks him down and punches. Mahal pushes him into the ropes and hits a high knee to the side of the head. Mahal picks him up and hits a nice suplex for a near fall. Mahal kicks and clubs Yoshi before hitting a full nelson slam for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Jinder Mahal
Match Rating: N/A
Mahal picks Yoshi up and shakes his hand only for Khali to walk up from behind and apply the Khali Vice Grip. Mahal shouts orders at Khali and they raise their arms in the air.
Wade Barrett will defend his Intercontinental Championship against Ezekiel Jackson next.
-Commercial Break-
The announcers pretend to laugh hysterically at the Obama “Capitol Punishment” press conference. They may be the only ones laughing.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett (c)
They circle the ring and lock up. Jackson powers Barrett back to the corner and gives a clean break. Barrett kicks and punches him to the other corner. Jackson powers him back to the corner and punches away at him. Jackson throws him to the middle of the ring and drops an elbow for a near fall. Barrett punches and runs into a shoulder block. Barrett kicks him in the face and runs into an elbow. Jackson then runs into a Boss Man Slam for a near fall! Barrett is frustrated with the referee’s count. Barrett applies a modified camel clutch. Jackson quickly fights up but Barrett knees him. Barrett hits an inverted atomic drop and goes to clothesline him over the top rope but Jackson side steps him and throws him over.
Barrett quickly gets back into the ring and punches. Jackson quickly comes back with a clothesline and some shoulder blocks. Jackson whips him into the corner and splashes him there. Jackson screams and begins his series of body slams. Jackson slams him three times before going for a Torture Rack. Barrett rakes the eyes and falls to the apron. Barrett goes to get back into the ring but Jackson kicks him in the head, sending him to the outside. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater come to ringside and distract Jackson as Barrett takes a count-out.
Winner by Count-Out: Ezekiel Jackson
Wade Barrett is still the Intercontinental Champion
Match Rating: * 1/2
Gabriel and Slater run into the ring and Jackson viciously fights them off. Barrett simply turns his back and walks off on them.
Matt Striker is backstage with Sheamus. Striker asks what his thoughts are on Christian being the special guest referee. Sheamus says Christian shouldn’t be upset with him. Randy Orton should be the one concerned. Sheamus sees Christian and tells him he agrees with him. Sheamus says he was robbed and says if it were his decision he’d be more than happy to have a triple threat match tonight. Christian says he hopes he does a better job against Randy Orton than he just did lying to his face. Christian cuts him off before he can say anything else and says he’s in charge. Christian warns him not to threaten him as he’s going to call the match right down the middle. Christian tells him to stop worrying about him and worry about Randy Orton.
-Commercial Break-
Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase
They circle the ring and lock up. Bryan gets a waist lock and DiBiase quickly turns to one of his own. They trade waist locks until DiBiase gets to the ropes. DiBiase elbows him in the face and goes into the ropes. DiBiase runs into a dropkick and Bryan gets a one count. Bryan sends him to the ropes and goes for a hip toss but DiBiase counters with a roll up. They trade pins until DiBiase takes him down. DiBiase punches him in the face a few times but Bryan comes back with some chops. DiBiase kicks him and sends him to the ropes but Bryan hangs on making DiBiase whiff a dropkick. Bryan hits a running kick to the chest for a near fall.
Cody Rhodes makes his way to ringside as we go to commercial. Bryan stares at him.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see DiBiase stretching Bryan out as Rhodes watches from ringside. During the commercial DiBiase caught him with a sit-out spinebuster. Bryan fights up in the ring and kicks him a few times. DiBiase quickly comes back with a modified backbreaker and a punch. DiBiase stomps Bryan and chokes him. DiBiase stretches him out against the ring post. DiBiase taunts the crowd and gets back into the ring. DiBiase puts him in the corner and punches. DiBiase whips him hard into the opposite corner and Bryan goes down. DiBiase covers for a near fall. DiBiase hits some shoulder thrusts in the corner and sends him to the opposite corner but Bryan back flips over him. Bryan goes into the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and hits a flying elbow to the throat.
Bryan viciously kicks him in the corner and gets the crowd into it. Bryan puts him on the top rope and goes for a hurricanrana but DiBiase holds on and rolls him up for a near fall! DiBiase then turns him inside out with a clothesline for a near fall! DiBiase charges but gets back body dropped over the top rope! Bryan goes into the ropes and hits a nice suicide dive. Bryan puts him in the ring and goes to the top rope. Bryan stands up and leaps but DiBiase dropkicks him out of mid-air for a near fall! DiBiase goes for Dream Street but Bryan rolls through and gets the LeBell Lock applied for the submission victory!
Winner by Submission: Daniel Bryan
Match Rating: ** 1/2
Cody Rhodes immediately runs in and viciously assaults Bryan. DiBiase chokes him in the corner when all of a sudden Sin Cara’s music hits. Cara leaps into the ring and hits a springboard hurricanrana on Rhodes that takes him out of the ring. Cara then ducks a move from DiBiase and hit an impressive twisting head-scissor takeover to take him out of the ring. Bryan and Sin Cara stand tall in the ring.
Randy Orton will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus later tonight with Christian as the guest referee.
-Commercial Break-
The Raw Rebound airs and they show pretty much the entire opening segment that we missed due to technical difficulties.
Johnny Curtis is backstage and was watching the Raw Rebound. He says he won NXT and was promised a tag team title match with his pro R-Truth but that’s not going to happen now. Curtis says he’ll do what every WWE Superstar does. He pulls out a carton of milk and pours it into a plate before dropping it. He cries while doing that. Don’t cry over spilt milk – clever. Curtis then pours the rest of the milk over his head. Who thought that segment was a good idea?
They announce that R-Truth will take on John Cena for the WWE Championship only if he apologizes live on Raw this Monday.
Christian makes his way to the ring and he’s ready to referee with World Heavyweight Championship match. Randy Orton makes his way to the ring. He’ll defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus next.
-Commercial Break-
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Sheamus
Guest Referee: Christian
Tony Chimel does the ring introductions before the match begins. Christian takes the World Heavyweight Championship and raises it up for all to see.
Christian calls for the bell and the match begins. They slowly walk around the ring before locking up. They tussle around the ring until Sheamus gets him in the corner. Orton turns him in the corner and they give a clean break. They lock up again and Sheamus quickly gets a side headlock applied. Orton whips him off and Sheamus takes him down with a shoulder block for a one count. Sheamus smiles and points at Orton.
They lock up and Sheamus clubs him in the center of the ring. Sheamus puts him in the corner and hits some shoulder thrusts. Sheamus clubs him in the kidneys and sends him to the opposite corner. Orton explodes out with a clothesline. Orton hits a European uppercut and punches him down in the corner. Orton stomps Sheamus and he rolls out of the ring. Sheamus pulls him out of the ring and they brawl. Orton eventually sends Sheamus into the barricade and throws him into the ring for a two count. Orton kicks and Sheamus comes back with some punches. Sheamus reverses a whip and hits a back elbow for a two count. Orton rolls out of the ring to recover.
Sheamus follows him out of the ring and drives him spine first into the ring post. Sheamus then clotheslines him down. Sheamus puts him back into the ring and covers for a near fall.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Orton trapped in a chin lock. Orton fights up and head-butts out. Orton punches but has a whip reversed on him. Sheamus hits a knee to the midsection for a near fall. Sheamus looks a little frustrated with the match so far. Sheamus goes outside and pulls Orton to the apron, clubbing away at his chest. Sheamus gets back in the ring and drops a knee on the head for another near fall. Sheamus applies a front face lock. Sheamus goes for a suplex but Orton blocks it and hits a suplex of his own.
Orton gets up in the corner and Sheamus runs into a boot. Orton hits some clotheslines and catches Sheamus with a powerslam. Orton hits his patented spinebuster for a near fall. Sheamus quickly kicks Orton in the knee and then in the head. Sheamus skins the cat to the top rope but Orton punches him. They trade blows and Orton climbs to the second rope. Orton hits a nice superplex for a near fall. Orton catches Sheamus on the apron but Sheamus gets out of the draping DDT attempt. Sheamus then slingshots over the top rope into a shoulder block for a near fall. Sheamus picks him up and hits a running powerslam for another near fall.
Orton all of a sudden sweeps the feet and gets a jackknife pin for a near fall. Sheamus then pops up and hits an Irish Curse for another near fall. Sheamus goes for a Brogue Kick but Orton ducks. Sheamus got caught up in the ropes and fell to the apron. Orton hits a draping DDT and begins to stalk Sheamus. Orton goes for an RKO but Sheamus throws him off. Sheamus hits a nice clothesline and goes for Pale Justice. Orton gets out and goes for another RKO but Sheamus pushes him into Christian.
Sheamus charges but Orton moves and he shoulder blocks Christian! Sheamus yells that he didn’t mean it and he hits Orton with a Brogue Kick! Christian counts and then pretends that he hurt his arm at two and a half! Sheamus can’t believe it and pushes Christian in the corner. Christian punches Sheamus and Orton hits him with an RKO for the win!
Winner & still World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton
Match Rating: ***
Christian raises Orton’s arm in the air and smiles. Orton celebrates in the ring and turns around only to be hit by Christian with the World Heavyweight Championship! Christian takes the referee shirt off and stands over Orton holding the World Heavyweight Championship. Christian screams that he knows he can beat Orton. Christian looks at the title and raises it above his head. They show replays of Christian hitting him with the belt. Christian then leaves the ring while still holding the championship. Orton is down in the ring with a glazed look over his eyes as the crowd boos Christian. Christian raises the title up over his head as the show ends.
Quick Match Results
Christian def. Mark Henry
Alicia Fox & Tamina def. AJ & Natalya
Jinder Mahal def. Yoshi Tatsu
Ezekiel Jackson def. Wade Barrett via CO (Intercontinental Title Match)
Daniel Bryan def. Ted DiBiase via Submission
Randy Orton def. Sheamus to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
Bump of the Night: Sheamus clotheslining Orton at ringside
Match of the Night: Randy Orton vs. Sheamus ***
Mike’s Thoughts
This was an excellent edition of Smackdown. The Christian heel turn has finally happened and I’m thrilled about that. Before I talk about that I’m going to run down the show from top to bottom.
We opened the show with an excellent match between Mark Henry and Christian. I have to tell you – Mark Henry continues to make my eyebrows rise. I cannot believe how well Henry has been performing since coming to Smackdown. He looked awesome but some credit has to be given to Christian for that. Christian gave him an excellent match and made him look like a million bucks. Both men performed well and really set the tone for what would turn out to be a great show.
Christian cut a promo after the match and continued to not be upset at anyone in particular. Christian did point out that he was robbed last week in the triple threat but didn’t seem too angry about it. Teddy Long came out and put him in as the special guest referee. There wasn’t anything wrong with the promo. Christian did a good job of playing it cool and not seeming too crazy about being screwed the previous week.
It was nice to see AJ and Kaitlyn wrestle again. They both looked pretty decent in the match. One thing I have to take note of is the shocking lack of skills possessed by Alicia Fox. That woman is downright dangerous in the ring. She nearly killed herself taking a hurricanrana. WWE cannot continue to allow her to perform so carelessly in the ring. So far she’s only hurt herself but it’s only a matter of time before she hurts someone else. It’s just absolutely shocking.
Cody Rhodes came out and cut his usual promo about how everyone is ugly and he had the assistants hand out the paper bags. The only thing of note is that he mentioned he wants the World Heavyweight Championship. He also called out Daniel Bryan a few times (ding).
Jinder Mahal looked good in his debut match tonight. It was a squash match but he certainly has a great look and presence in the ring. I’m not positive where they’re going with this but it looks like Khali is his bodyguard for the time being. It was only one squash match but Mahal looks like he has the potential to be a star. Another positive with Mahal is if Khali is going to be his bodyguard that means less Khali in the ring. Win-win.
Ezekiel Jackson took on Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship again and I couldn’t have cared less. There just isn’t any heat to this story at all and it’s baffling to me why they continue to give it time. There is no doubt that they’re working hard but there’s nothing to make you involved in the story.
Daniel Bryan and Ted DiBiase took each other on in an excellent match that was given a decent amount of time to build. Bryan was of course good but DiBiase was just as good. This guy is a great talent and I hope his career gets back on track. Rhodes attacked Bryan after the match and DiBiase helped him out. Sin Cara ran out to make the save so I’m assuming we’ll see a tag match between these four, possibly at Capitol Punishment. By the way, am I the only one not laughing at those Capitol Punishment “press conferences” with Barack Obama?
Johnny Curtis has reappeared after having been missing since winning NXT last season. He was backstage, pretended to cry while actually spilling milk, and then spilled milk all over himself. Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? Johnny Curtis pretty much just buried himself on camera for the world to see. That was terrible.
The show closed with an excellent World Heavyweight Championship match. Sheamus and Orton know each other well and I expected them to have an excellent match and that’s what they gave us. The match by itself was great even without the post-match stuff. Of course the big story coming out of this was Christian finally completing the heel turn against Randy Orton. It was a well-done turn and the build to it over the past month was awesome. I know some people weren’t looking forward to this and it is true that Smackdown is very heel-heavy, but this turn is going to do wonders for Christian’s career. This is going to solidify him in WWE’s main event and I can’t wait to see what he does from here.
Final Rating: *** 1/2
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