WWE Smackdown
April 16, 2010
London, England
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 some pyro. Todd Grisham and Matt Striker welcome us to the show and the first international Smackdown of the year is ready to go.
Chris Jericho’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring looking none too happy. The announcers remind us that Randy Orton will take on Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho says he’s going to say something slowly and simply so even the slovenly parasites can understand him. Randy Orton is on Raw yet at Extreme Rules he’s facing Jack Swagger for the World Title, the title that should exclusively be defended on Smackdown. It’s a title he brought to prominence and glory as the greatest champion of this or any other generation. He doesn’t have a title opportunity. Swagger cashed in Money in the Bank on him which entitles him to a rematch but he doesn’t have one. The reason is Teddy Long, the general manager, is the most incompetent buffoon that’s ever held a position of power. He needs to rectify the situation by doing two things: hand in his resignation immediately and at Extreme Rules he can face the winner of the World Title match immediately following their match.
Edge’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Edge says it’s strange because he agrees with a few of his points. The title does need to stay on Smackdown and he does deserve a rematch. He also deserves a swift kick to the groin. Edge says he doesn’t think Jericho is the guy to save the title for Smackdown because he’s damaged goods. Edge asks him how many times he’s speared him and stood over him. If Jericho cared about Smackdown he’d give up the rematch because right now he doesn’t think he could beat Orton or Swagger. Edge can and if he wants the point proven he can spear him right now.
Rodney Mack’s old music hits and Teddy Long comes out. Long says he doesn’t appreciate Jericho hating on him. Jericho says if he would do his job he would be hating on him, player. What he’s doing is unacceptable and he demands Long give him what he deserves right now. Long says if he wanted to give him what he deserves he’d have security throw him right out of the building. The fact is Randy Orton wouldn’t be the number on contender if they didn’t get themselves counted out last week. Long knows he has a rematch clause but Jericho isn’t the one to decide it: he is. Long says he’ll get his rematch tonight.
Jericho says he guarantees he’ll beat Jack Swagger and beat Orton at Extreme Rules. Since he beat Edge at WrestleMania he’ll make sure he never gets another opportunity at the title. Long says to hold on because Jack Swagger will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho and Edge in a triple threat match. Jericho looks hilariously displeased with that.
-Commercial Break-
Highlights are shown of McIntyre beating down Matt Hardy two weeks ago before a match. Then last week McIntyre gave him the Future Shock DDT on the outside during a match. That was a nasty, nasty looking bump.
Drew McIntyre absolutely has the worst entrance music and entrance in the history of professional wrestling. He comes to the ring and says that people don’t like him. He wonders if it’s because he’s young and handsome. Maybe it’s because he’s the Intercontinental Champion of the chosen one. The people don’t like him and he doesn’t like them either.
Drew McIntyre vs. Kane
This is a non-title match featuring Mr. V’s favorite ref, the Goose, with a schnazzy new haircut. McIntyre ducks a punch and quickly attacks Kane with some punches. Kane comes back and hits a hip toss. Kane hits a headlock takeover and keeps him grounded with the headlock. McIntyre fights up and whips Kane off but takes a shoulder block. Kane gets another headlock on and hits a snapmare. Kane follows up with a low dropkick to the face for a two count. Kane sends him to the corner but McIntyre moves and hits a big boot that floors the big red machine.
McIntyre hits a neckbreaker over his knee for a two count. McIntyre stomps him in the corner and clotheslines him. McIntyre goes into the ropes and hits a big boot. Kane clotheslines him in the corner and hits a sidewalk slam for a near fall. Kane goes to the top rope and hits the flying lariat. Kane raises his hand up and McIntyre sees this. McIntyre quickly exits the ring. The Goose begins counting him out. Matt Hardy runs down and throws him in the ring, ultimately getting Kane disqualified in the process.
Winner by Disqualification: Drew McIntyre
Match Rating: * ½
Kane immediately Chokeslams Drew McIntyre. Matt Hardy goes in the ring and talks a little trash to McIntyre. Kane then grabs him and Chokeslams him for ruining the match.
World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger walks into Teddy Long’s office and says this is the most unfair ruling he’s ever made. Long reminds him that he’s the general manager and as long as he holds the title then he’ll have to deal with his rulings. That’s real talk.
-Commercial Break-
Dolph Ziggler makes his way to the ring and as he does we see highlights of his truly heroic act from last week. That heroic act was putting Josh Mathews in the sleeper hold. I’m a fan of his now. Ziggler gets in the ring and says Teddy Long has demanded he publicly apologize for physically abusing a television announcer. Ziggler says “blah, blah, blah” he apologizes to Josh Mathews.
R-Truth comes out and tells him he has no heart or soul. R-Truth tells him he’s never been sincere or humble in his whole life. R-Truth says the truth is Ziggler didn’t mean a word he said (I wonder if it was the “blah, blah, blah” that gave it away…). R-Truth says the truth hurts.
Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth
Ziggler puts his hand out for a shake and quickly attacks R-Truth. Ziggler hits a beautiful inverted body slam and gets a two count. Ziggler applies a chin lock on but R-Truth quickly fights up and punches out. R-Truth hits some clotheslines. Ziggler reverses a whip but R-Truth slingshots over, splits under a clothesline, and hits his jumping heel kick (you’d think guys would stop trying for the clothesline after the slingshot). R-Truth hits a hip toss and gets pumped up for his finisher. Ziggler ducks the Lie Detector. Ziggler then locks on the sleeper hold. R-Truth slowly fades away. They hold it on for a bit before the referee calls the match over.
Winner by Ref Stoppage: Dolph Ziggler
Match Rating: * ¼
Ziggler slicks back his wild hair as R-Truth slowly gains consciousness.
-Commercial Break-
Did you know that last month over 100 million photos of WWE Divas were viewed on WWE.com?
Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool
This is another non-title match. They circle the ring and lock up. McCool throws Mickie down and does some push-ups. Mickie also does some and apparently Mickie exercising is enough to scare McCool because she looks like she’s seen a ghost. Mickie dropkicks her and gets a few near falls. Mickie hits an uppercut and goes for a tornado DDT but McCool puts her on the apron and beats on her a bit. McCool slams her down and bashes the head on the canvas. McCool grapevines the neck and looks for her to go to sleep. Didn’t we just see a sleeper hold?
Mickie fights back but McCool stops her. McCool hits a running knee to the face and the camera shows her missing by a mile. Mickie comes back with a hurricanrana and hits some back elbows. McCool leaves the ring so Mickie throws her into the barricade. Mickie gets on the barricade and hits a senton. Mickie then takes Layla down with a Thesz Press. Mickie puts her in the ring and hits a neckbreaker. Mickie pins and has the win locked up but just can’t wait three seconds for Layla to get off the apron. That distraction allows McCool to big boot her down.
Winner by Pinfall: Michelle McCool
Match Rating: *
Beth Phoenix runs in and grabs McCool but Simply Flawless drags her out. Beth chases them away and stands on the barricade looking at them. What’s with all the standing on the barricade all of a sudden? Beth then helps Mickie up and raises her arm. I guess my wish for a Glam Slam isn’t happening.
The Hart Dynasty and Rey Mysterio will take on the S.E.S. and Darren Young.
-Commercial Break-
Todd Grisham and Matt Striker talk about the draft and mention they could be split up. Matt Striker looks happy as hell about that. We then see footage of Jack Swagger defeating Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship a few weeks ago on Smackdown.
Luke Gallows is backstage with Darren Young. Gallows tells him to not let the fluke victory get to his head. Gallows says if he gets the opportunity again he’ll beat him to a pulp and shave his head personally. Young asks what it felt like to lose to a rookie. CM Punk breaks it up and says if they want to fight then they fight in front of the world to prove straightedge means they’re better than everyone else.
-Commercial Break-
The Miz is at ringside to watch this match. He’ll probably be talking about the Hart Dynasty.
CM Punk, Luke Gallows & Darren Young vs. The Hart Dynasty & Rey Mysterio
David Hart Smith looks to be starting out against CM Punk but Punk tags out and gets Luke Gallows in. They circle the ring and Gallows punches away. Gallows sends him to the corner and avalanches him. Smith soon blocks a move and gains the advantage. Smith sends Gallows to the corner and runs into a boot. Gallows then runs into a powerslam for a two count. Smith makes the tag to Mysterio and hits a drop-toe-hold on Gallows. Kidd comes in as well as he and Mysterio sandwich Gallows’ head with dual dropkicks.
Kidd is tagged in as is CM Punk. The lock up and Kidd works the arm into an arm bar. Punk twists out and they get to their feet. They go for a test of strength but Punk kicks and snapmares him. Punk gets a one count. Kidd reverses a hip toss into one of his own. Smith is tagged in and he tags Mysterio. The Hart Dynasty lifts Punk for a suplex and Mysterio hits him with a senton on the way down! Beautiful! Mysterio stomps Punk in the corner until Punk pulls him down. Punk viciously works over Mysterio and stomps him down in the corner. Mysterio is laying against the ring post and Punk dropkicks him into it. Punk gets a two count for that. Punk works on the arm again. Punk sends Mysterio into the ropes and Mysterio hits a wheelbarrow bulldog. Mysterio avoids Punk and gets him in position for the 619. Punk sees it coming and bails from the ring.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Darren Young power Mysterio into the corner. Mysterio ducks a punch and kicks away at Young. Smith is tagged in and he punches away at Young. Kidd is tagged in and they hit a double shoulder block, giving Kidd a near fall. Kidd locks on an arm bar but Young fights up and Gallows tags in. Gallows works on Kidd and throws him to the apron. Kidd kicks him in the head and goes for a springboard but Gallows kicks him, sending Kidd out of the ring. Gallows throws him in and delivers some elbow drops for a two count.
Young blind tags in and has a stare down with Gallows. Young hits a neckbreaker and gets a near fall. Punk is tagged in and he delivers some stiff kicks that sends Kidd to the canvas. Punk hits a backbreaker and gets a near fall. Punk locks on a head-scissors and looks for a submission. Kidd tries for a cover so Punk breaks the hold. Punk hits a body slam and tags in Young. Young comes off the second rope with an old school senton but Kidd moves. Punk is tagged in and he takes Kidd’s partners out before he can tag. Kidd then hits a kick and gets Smith in.
Smith hits some shoulder blocks and some clotheslines. Smith big boots Young off the apron and punches Gallows. Smith then rolls through a roll up and nearly gets Punk. Kidd then hits a summersault plancha on Gallows. In the ring Smith turns into a roundhouse kick for a near fall. Punk sends Smith into the corner and charges but gets dropped into the corner. Mysterio hits a 619 around the ring post and Smith gets Punk set up! Smith, in tribute to his father the British Bulldog, hits the Running Powerslam for the win!
Winners by Pinfall: The Hart Dynasty & Rey Mysterio
Match Rating: ** ¼
The winners celebrate in the ring as the Straight Edge Society looks destroyed at ringside.
Chris Jericho is talking to Wade Barrett about how the travesty has been reversed. Jericho hopes that one day Barrett gets the chance to show that he’s the best in the world at what he does. Jericho says he will be World Champion for a seventh time. Barrett (I guess sarcastically) says he’s in awe of Jericho’s presence.
-Commercial Break-
The unbelievably lame Dude Busters are in the ring. They didn’t get an entrance. Caylen Croft will face JTG. He took his dreads out.
Caylen Croft vs. JTG
They circle the ring and lock up. All of a sudden Shad starts walking to the ring and Croft takes control, stomping JTG down. Croft hits a back elbow and gets a one count. Croft hits a variation of the leg sweep and gets a one count. JTG eventually comes back with an inside cradle but Croft kicks out. Croft hits some knee drops for a near fall. JTG is really distracted by Shad. JTG comes back with an uppercut and a twisting neckbreaker. JTG ducks a clothesline and hits a flipping shoulder block followed by some clotheslines. Croft avoids a monkey flip and hits a neckbreaker for a two count. JTG gives him a boot to the face and hits the Shout Out for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: JTG
Match Rating: *
Shad immediately comes in the ring and clotheslines JTG. Shad picks him up and lays him out with a right hand. Shad tells him that he’s nothing without him. Shad sends him to the corner and charges but JTG moves. JTG hits a Mug Shot and dropkicks Shad out of the ring.
Edge is backstage talking to Josh Mathews. Edge says he can relate to Jack Swagger because of the Money in the Bank thing. Edge says he doesn’t have to be pinned to lose the title. Edge is in the best position because he has two choices to become a winner.
-Commercial Break-
The Raw Rebound airs. Afterwards they thank Saliva for the song and run down the Extreme Rules card.
Jack Swagger makes his way to the ring. He’ll defend his title against Jericho and Edge next.
-Commercial Break-
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Jack Swagger (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge
The match begins and it’s on. Jericho and Swagger work on Edge. Jericho steps back to let Swagger work and then he school boys him for a one count. Swagger then takes Jericho down with a belly to belly, hurting those injured ribs. Edge kicks Jericho out of the ring. Edge sends Swagger into the corner hard. Swagger comes back with a knee and a club. Swagger has a whip reversed and Edge throws him out of the ring. Jericho hits Edge from behind and chokes him on the rope. Jericho goes for a splash on the ropes but Edge moves. Edge punches Jericho and goes for a whip but Jericho reverses it. Swagger pulls the legs out from Edge and Jericho hits a guillotine catapult on the bottom rope.
Swagger chokes Edge on the bottom rope and Jericho watches as he hits a belly to belly. Jericho and Swagger form an alliance with a double whip but Edge holds on. Jericho charges and gets back body dropped over the top rope. Swagger then charges and takes the same fate. Edge then hits a double baseball slide, taking them both out. Edge sends Jericho ribs first into the barricade. Edge then concentrates on Swagger with some kicks and barricade shots. Edge puts Swagger in the ring and Jericho assaults Edge. Jericho goes to the apron and Swagger goes for a suplex. Jericho goes to suplex him outside but Swagger blocks it. Edge then pulls Jericho’s legs out and in the process Swagger gets hung up on the top rope. Jericho and Swagger are down with Edge looking good as we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Edge send Swagger to the corner. Edge goes for a Spear but Swagger moves and Edge hits the ring post. That gets Swagger a near fall. Swagger works over the arm with an arm bar. Edge fights up and punches out. Edge goes into the ropes, ducks two clotheslines, and gets hit by a backbreaker for a near fall. Swagger argues the call but the ref was right. Jericho gets on the apron and Swagger punches him off. Swagger hits the Vader Bomb on Edge for another near fall. Swagger works some more on Edge’s ribs and he falls out of the ring.
Swagger gets out of the ring and Edge bangs him against the announcer’s table. Out of nowhere Jericho takes Edge out and throws him into the ring. Jericho kicks the ribs and hits a picture perfect back suplex for a near fall. Jericho works on the neck with a chin lock and looks for the submission. Edge fights up and Jericho knees him. Jericho charges in the corner but Edge moves.
Swagger comes from behind and goes for a powerslam but Edge slides off and sends him into Jericho’s injured ribs. Edge goes to the second rope and hits a double clothesline on both men. Edge punches then down and hits a pair of big boots on both of them. Edge throws Swagger off the apron into the announcer’s table.
Jericho then rolls Edge up for a near fall. Jericho goes for a Lionsault but lands on his feet and Edge hits the Edge-O-Matic for a near fall of his own! Jericho goes for a bulldog but Edge sends him into the turnbuckle. Edge goes for a Spear but Jericho jumps out of the way and locks on the Walls of Jericho! Swagger comes in and Jericho locks him in the Walls of Jericho! Edge then comes up and hits the Edgecution on Jericho! Swagger then goes for the Gutwrench Powerbomb but Edge hits another Edgecution! Edge goes for a Spear but Jericho clubs him and gets a near fall! Swagger gets Jericho with an Oklahoma Roll for another near fall! Jericho then hits Swagger with a Codebreaker!
Jericho sets up for the Spear but Edge leap frogs him. Edge then hits the Spear and nearly gets the win but Swagger pulls Edge out of the ring and sends him into the barricade! Swagger then pins an injured Jericho for the win!
Winner & Still World Heavyweight Champion: Jack Swagger
Match Rating: ** ¾
Jack Swagger throws Edge back into the ring and hits a Gutwrench Powerbomb. Swagger picks up the title and holds it up for all the world to see.
Chris Jericho comes back in the ring after Swagger leaves and stomps on the injured ankle of Edge. Jericho smashes the ankle off the ring post and puts it in the steel steps. Jericho looks at Edge in the eyes and kicks it as hard as he can. Edge screams in pain and it looks like his Achilles Tendon is hurt again. Jericho walks up the ramp to close the show.
Quick Match Results
Drew McIntyre def. Kane via DQ (non-title)
Dolph Ziggler def. R-Truth
Michelle McCool def. Mickie James (non-title)
The Hart Dynasty & Rey Mysterio def. S.E.S. & Darren Young
JTG def. Caylen Croft
Jack Swagger def. Chris Jericho & Edge to retain the WHC
Bump of the Night: Kidd’s summersault plancha
Match of the Night: Triple Threat Match ** ¾
Mike’s Thoughts
This was a really enjoyable Smackdown. I thought for sure (before they booked Swagger vs. Orton) that this would be the main event of Extreme Rules. Instead we got this awesome match on free TV. They didn’t disappoint. They pulled out all stops and put on a highly entertaining match. The last few minutes with near finish after near finish was a lot of fun to watch. All three men worked hard and Swagger came out looking like a million bucks. I’m really happy with how they’re building Swagger up. I wonder what kind of match Edge and Jericho will have now at Extreme Rules.
I absolutely love the feud between Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. It’s so hot right now and any interaction is tremendous. Their six man tag was a lot of fun and was good exposure for Darren Young, who needs it. I can’t wait for their match at Extreme Rules.
The Divas match bugged me tonight. There’s just no thought put into this division. They don’t give the fans a reason to care about them. How can you take them seriously? Mickie had the win locked up but because Layla was on the apron she had to break the pinfall at one to attack her? Why should anyone believe in someone so stupid? That division is on life support and I’ve said this for a long time now: they should stop wasting air time with this crap until they figure out what to do with them.
The rest of the show was ok. I’m excited about Dolph Ziggler but I don’t know if he’ll get over with the sleeper hold. It’ll work for now but it’s a little too old fashioned to last. Drew McIntyre still bores me and I hope they give the IC title to Hardy. Oh… and Cryme Tyme is still feuding. Why?!
Final Rating: ** ¾
E-Mail – MikeyT817@hotmail.com
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Thanks for reading!