WWE Smackdown
February 3, 2012
Omaha, Nebraska
Report by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“Yes sir, we promised you a great main event…” The WWE video leads us into the show.
They play a promo video to hype up tonight’s main event of Randy Orton versus Wade Barrett. Last time they met, Barrett threw Orton down some concrete steps, injuring Orton to the point that he missed a month of action. Tonight, they’ll face in a no disqualification match.
The Smackdown video plays, and we’re brought into the arena with some fireworks. Smackdown’s General Manager, Theodore Long, is in the ring already. Long says that this past Sunday’s Royal Rumble was “off the chain.” Tonight he is happy to announce that Smackdown will be participating in the 2012 Elimination Chamber event. The participants are the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, the Big Show, the Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, and Randy Orton. Long quickly explains the rules of the Elimination Chamber. The last man standing will be the World Heavyweight Champion, and he will go on to WrestleMania to defend the championship.
Mark Henry’s music hits, and the World’s Strongest Man makes his way to the ring. Henry says he does not like this one bit. Henry says his mathematical chances in this match are 6-to-1, and even less than that depending on the number he draws. Long says considering he lost a Steel Cage Match at the Royal Rumble, he should be happy that he’s even in the match. Henry asks if he should be thanking Long. Henry says he’s the most dominating talent on the show. He’s the big fish, and he’s Long’s meal ticket. Henry tells Long that he wants to be taken out of the Elimination Chamber and put into a match against Daniel Bryan for the title tonight. Long asks what will happen if he doesn’t. Henry says to give the people and him what he wants. Henry wants what he deserves.
Long pokes his finger into Henry’s chest, and he says he’s giving him half of his wish. Long says he’s out of the Elimination Chamber match, and there will be no title match tonight. The crowd boos this. Henry says Long doesn’t get it. Long is replaceable, just like John Laurinaitis was on Raw. Long has to do the right thing, and he’s demanding it. Henry flips Long’s tie in his face. Long says Henry just put his hands on him, and he’s the General Manager of the show. So as of right now, Henry is indefinitely suspended! Henry turns to go, but he instead grabs Long by the tie. Henry says if he’s getting suspended then he might as well get his money’s worth.
Sheamus’s music hits, and he quickly comes down to the ring. Sheamus circles the ring, and Long yells at Henry to leave. Henry yells back, and Sheamus Brogue Kicks him out of the ring. Henry slowly walks to the back, and Long says that security will be waiting to escort him right out of the building.
Long asks the crowd to give it up for the 2012 Royal Rumble winner Sheamus. The crowd gives him a nice ovation. Long asks what title he’s going to go after. Sheamus says everyone has been asking him that, but he hasn’t decided which title he’s going for. He’s going to wait until after the Elimination Chamber event.
Cody Rhodes’s music hits, and he walks down to the ring. Rhodes tells Sheamus to relax since he doesn’t wish to fight him. Rhodes wants to warn him. Rhodes tells him not to let the success get to his head. People won’t remember that he won the 2012 Royal Rumble. They’ll remember that he eliminated the most competitors, six of them, and that he lasted the longest, over forty-five minutes. Rhodes says he did all the work. He’s going to take all of that momentum, bring it into Elimination Chamber, and become a dual champion, the first since the Ultimate Warrior. There’s a striking resemblance of the Warrior to Long and Sheamus. Rhodes can’t understand what they’re saying half the time.
Sheamus puts his arm around Long, and Long says it’s time to see if Rhodes understands him now. Long thanks Rhodes for coming because tonight he’ll go one-on-one with Sheamus. Long wants a referee out here because the match is next!
-Commercial Break-
Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes
We join this match in progress. Sheamus takes Rhodes down with a headlock takeover. Rhodes whips him off, but Sheamus takes him down with a shoulder block. Sheamus bounces him in the corner, and he drives some forearms into his back. Rhodes tries to slingshot over Sheamus, but he gets caught. Sheamus hits a fireman’s carry roll, and he gets a quick two count. Rhodes kicks him in the face and charges, but Sheamus back body drops him to the apron. Sheamus catches him, and he unloads with some vicious forearms to the chest. Rhodes falls to the floor. Sheamus goes outside, and he takes Rhodes down. Sheamus goes to drive him into the ring post, but Rhodes slides off. Rhodes then dropkicks him into the ring post. Rhodes quickly follows up with a Beautiful Disaster aided by the barricade. Rhodes rolls him into the ring, drops a knee, and he gets a two count.
Rhodes kicks away at Sheamus, and he hits him with a back elbow. Rhodes kicks him in the face and hits a nice moonsault press for a near fall. Rhodes hits a running kick to the face, and he chokes Sheamus on the ropes. Rhodes applies a hammerlock/chin lock combination. Sheamus fights up with Rhodes on his back, and he backs him into the corner a few times to break the hold. Rhodes immediately comes back with a bulldog for a near fall. Rhodes kicks him in the face and punches him. Sheamus punches back from his knees, and he takes him down with a trio of nasty hammer blows. Rhodes quickly kicks him in the face, and he runs into a powerslam, which gives Sheamus a near fall.
Sheamus goes to the top rope, and Rhodes cuts him off. Sheamus pushes him off, and he hits the battering ram shoulder block off the top. Sheamus goes for the Celtic Cross, but Rhodes slides off. Sheamus ducks the Beautiful Disaster, and Rhodes ducks the Brogue Kick. Sheamus then comes back with Finlay’s Celtic Cross, his new finishing maneuver apparently, for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Sheamus
Match Rating: * 3/4
Randy Orton will take on Wade Barrett tonight in a No Disqualification match.
-Commercial Break-
Cody Rhodes is still sulking at ringside as Justin Gabriel’s music hits. He’ll be taking on Hunico, who is driven down to ringside on a low rider bicycle by Camacho. Hunico says that Camacho has his back. Rhodes attacks Gabriel from behind. Hunico and Camacho quickly join in on the beat down, and they triple team Gabriel. The Great Khali’s music hits, and he comes down to the ring. Khali singlehandedly takes care of Hunico and Camacho. Rhodes gets scared off. Hunico tries to attack Khali while his back is turned, but Khali quickly comes back with the Punjabi Plunge. Khali does his taunt, and he points at Cody Rhodes.
Tonight, Michael Cole will interview Daniel Bryan about his victory at the Royal Rumble.
-Commercial Break-
Teddy Long is backstage with Drew McIntyre. Long says it’s the same thing every week. McIntyre begs him to help him out of his slump. Long says all he does is disappoint him. Long says there is nothing worse than predictable television. Every time McIntyre goes out, it’s predictable: he loses. McIntyre needs to find some other way to impress Long and be glad he still has a job. McIntyre thanks him and walks off.
Santino Marella walks up, and he says everything is in check. Santino says “Sant-oshi” didn’t work out last week, but tonight he has a new tag team called SantinOOOOOO! WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan walks up, and he chants USA as Santino chants “ITALIA”! Long says they’ll have a match next against Primo and Epico. They scurry along. The cheesy saxophone music hits, and Aksana comes into the office. Aksana says she was impressed with how he handled Mark Henry. Aksana looks down, and she says there’s a massive piece of wood. Long does a spit take, and she picks up Duggan’s 2×4. Duggan grabs it, and he screams, “HOOOO”! Aksana wonders if he was talking to her, and Long says it’s not how it sounds.
They play the video for the latest member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012, Mike Tyson.
Santino Marella comes to the ring, and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan quickly follows him. Duggan gets a great reaction. They’ll face Primo and Epico next.
-Commercial Break-
Santino Marella and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Epico and Primo w/ Rosa Mendes
Santino will start it out against Epico. Santino messes around a bit before taking Epico down with an arm drag. Duggan is tagged in, and he clotheslines Epico a few times. Duggan taunts, and Epico kicks him down in the corner. Duggan takes Primo down, and Epico blindsides him. Epico kicks him down, and he tags in Primo. Primo kicks away at Duggan, and he picks up a two count. Primo applies a chin lock, and the crowd chants “USA”. Duggan fights out of it, but Primo cuts him off. Duggan bounces him off the turnbuckle, and he tags in Santino. Santino punches, splits, and executes a hip toss. Santino hits a head-butt, and Epico breaks up the pin. Duggan takes him out. Santino gets the Cobra out, sets it up, and Rosa provides a distraction. Primo quickly hits a Back Stabber for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Epico and Primo
Match Rating: 3/4 *
Epico and Primo get in the ring to celebrate, but “Hacksaw” runs in with his 2×4 and scares them off. Duggan helps Santino up, and he chants “USA!”
Daniel Bryan is making his way to the ring. Michael Cole will interview him next.
-Commercial Break-
Michael Cole interviews the World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan
Michael Cole is in the ring, and he welcomes his guest, the most unlikely champion ever, Daniel Bryan. Bryan makes his way to the ring celebrating like crazy. Cole says all the people, himself included, have been extremely critical of Bryan. Cole always thought he was a nerd and that he’d never make it in WWE. Bryan proved something to everyone by winning the match this past Sunday at the Royal Rumble. It wasn’t a dominating victory, he may have gotten lucky, but he did win the match. Cole says he’s going to admit right now that he was wrong about Bryan. Cole extends his hand, and Bryan takes the microphone out of his hand.
Bryan says he appreciates the sentiment, but this interview is not about Michael Cole. Not everything is about Cole. This is about him. If Cole will excuse him, he has something he needs to say. Cole leaves the ring. Bryan says he succeeded in defeating two monsters in a Steel Cage this past Sunday, and he proved that not only is he the champion, but he is a great champion. He also considers himself to be a great role model. Bryan urges the crowd to follow him in living the American Dream. Be like him; be a vegan. The crowd boos this. Bryan tells them to stop eating meat. By eating meat, you are poisoning your intestines. By eating meat, you are killing innocent animals. If you were to go to a slaughterhouse and witness the murder of the cow, chicken, or pig, you would never eat meat again. Unfortunately, the people in this city are some of the worst offenders. That’s why he’s confident in saying that because he’s a vegan, he is healthier than everyone in this building. He will never have heart failure or any of the diseases that they carry at this very second. Bryan urges them once again to become vegans. They chant that he sucks.
Bryan says there are many sacrifices and injustices that he will have to endure, but he will not stand for prejudice against him. He should not have to defend his title in an Elimination Chamber, especially not against five other men nor the man who he’s dominated over and over again. Especially not the man who holds the shortest World Heavyweight Championship reign ever. Especially not the man who he defeated in four straight title matches. He’s talking about the Big Show, the man who gets rewarded for failing, and the man who ran over his girlfriend intentionally. Big Show is a failure, and he should not be in a title match. That’s why if Teddy Long does not change his mind and remove Big Show, he is going to take his case to the WWE Board of Directors, and Long will join John Laurinaitis in the unemployment line. Bryan thanks them.
Big Show’s music hits, and he makes his way to the ring. Show gets a great reaction as he comes to the ring. Show loves it, and he lets them chant his name a little longer. Show says he would have come out earlier, but he was in the back finishing a steak. Show says Bryan calls himself a role model, but the key to being a role model is you don’t tell everyone what to do like a dictator. People follow you because you’re the example to follow. Bryan isn’t a role model. He’s a pompous, arrogant little ass, and a very lucky one at that. At the Elimination Chamber, unfortunately for Bryan, he will still be a pompous, arrogant little ass, but he will not be the World Heavyweight Champion anymore. Bryan can’t hide in the match.
Bryan says the odds are against him, and he may lose the title, but it won’t be to the Big Show. Big Show will lose, just like he always does. Bryan says, “Once a loser; always a loser.” Bryan has proven that he can defy the odds. Bryan pokes him in the chest, and Big Show knees him in the chest. Big Show viciously beats him down, and he throws him across the ring. Big Show rips Bryan’s shirt off, and he chops the chest. AJ all of a sudden runs down in a neck brace, and Big Show gives Bryan a Chokeslam. AJ gets in the ring, and she acts like she’s afraid of the Big Show. Bryan tries to attack him from behind, but Big Show catches him. Big Show goes for the WMD, but AJ grabs his fist. Bryan quickly gets out of the ring. AJ apologizes to Big Show, and she gets out of the ring to hug Bryan. Bryan smirks at Big Show as he hugs AJ. Bryan says he won’t let anyone hurt her.
Randy Orton will take on Wade Barrett later tonight in a No Disqualification match.
Beth Phoenix and Natalya are warming up backstage. Beth talks about how excited she is for the match. Natalya farts, but she goes on like nothing happened. Beth asks what that was. Natalya farts again, and she runs away. Beth walks off after pinching her nose. Santino walks into it, gags, vomits in a garbage can, and runs off.
-Commercial Break-
Tamina and Aksana vs. Beth Phoenix and Natalya
Natalya will start it out against Aksana. Natalya quickly body slams her down, and she knocks Tamina off the apron. Aksana quickly comes back with a kick, but Natalya counters back with a front suplex. Beth blind tags in, tells Natalya to get out of her ring, and she hits Aksana with the Glam Slam for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Beth Phoenix and Natalya
Match Rating: N/A
Beth Phoenix walks off. Natalya goes to put Aksana in the Sharpshooter, but Tamina kicks her down. Tamina hits the Superfly Splash for good measure.
They talk about the Elimination Chamber match. They mention that Mark Henry is no longer in the match, and they show the replay of Teddy Long suspending him. They announce that The Great Khali will replace Mark Henry in the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Randy Orton is warming up backstage. We’ll hear from him next.
-Commercial Break-
They play the video that hypes up John Cena en route to his epic match against The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII.
Matt Striker is backstage with Randy Orton. Striker asks if Orton’s approach to Wade Barrett will be more conservative considering Barrett threw him down stairs and the Elimination Chamber match is two weeks away. Orton says he doesn’t hold anything back. Orton has no problem with the fact that Barrett threw him down those stairs because he would have done the exact same thing. Orton does have a problem with Barrett saying that he ended his career. Orton says he will beat him tonight, and he’ll do it against at Elimination Chamber. He’ll walk out of that match a ten-time World Champion.
-Commercial Break-
Wade Barrett makes his way to the ring to new theme music.
Teddy Long is watching on his monitor backstage. Daniel Bryan walks in with AJ. Bryan says they have to do something about the Big Show since AJ is scared half to death. Long says they can watch the main event with him, and they’ll discuss it.
-Commercial Break-
No Disqualification Match
Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton
They circle the ring a few times, and Orton begins to punch away at Barrett. Barrett comes back with some of his own, but Orton kicks and punches him back. Orton has a whip to the corner reversed on him, but he quickly comes out with a clothesline. Orton hits a nice suplex, and he stomps on his face. Orton stomps the rest of his limbs, and the crowd cheers him. Orton picks Barrett up, and he throws him out of the ring. Orton bounces Barrett off the steel steps, follows him as he crawls away, and sends him into the barricade. Orton picks him up, and he throws him into the barricade again. Orton sets him up on the steel steps, and he stomps on his head! Barrett already has a busted lip. Orton stomps his midsection, and he gives Barrett a back suplex on the barricade! Orton puts him in the ring, and he looks under the ring to find a table. Orton smiles as he pulls it out from under the ring.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Orton attempting to superplex Barrett through the table. Barrett fights back, and he pushes Orton off the second rope and through the table! Barrett covers for a near fall. Barrett stomps away at Orton, and he whips him hard into the corner. Barrett gets out of the ring, and he stretches Orton against the ring post. Barrett drives him into the ring apron, taunts, and he puts him in the ring for another near fall. Barrett chokes Orton on the ropes, knees him in the face a few times, and big boots him to the floor. Barrett bounces him off the barricade, and Orton comes back with some punches. Orton punches him over the barricade.
Orton punches away at Barrett, and they fight through the crowd. Finally the wind up at the barricade, and Orton clotheslines him over to ringside. Orton gets on the barricade, waits for Barrett to get up, and he gets off as Barrett gets too far away. Orton elbows him in the neck, gets on the barricade, and hits a double axe handle. Barrett reverses a whip into the steel steps. Barrett puts him back into the ring, and he grabs a steel chair before getting back in. Barrett cracks him in the back, hits him in the stomach, and hits him again on the back. Barrett hits him in the gut one more time, and he sets the chair down. Barrett goes to give him The Wasteland on the chair, but Orton fights out.
Orton comes back with some clotheslines, and he finishes it off with a nice powerslam. Orton picks up the chair, and he assaults Barrett with it. Orton wedges it in the corner, and he whips Barrett head first into the chair. Orton picks him up by the hair, and he dropkicks him out of the ring. Orton looks the announcer’s table, and he throws Barrett over. Orton puts him on the apron, and he hits his draping DDT. Orton sets up for the RKO, but Barrett counters into the Winds of Change, but Orton gets his foot on the bottom rope! Barrett grabs a chair from ringside, and he cracks it on Orton’s spine. Barrett goes for a pump-handle slam on the chair, but Orton gets out. Orton hits the RKO! Orton sets up for another, and he RKOs him on the steel chair! That does it for this match!
Winner by Pinfall: Randy Orton
Match Rating: *** 1/4
Teddy Long is backstage with Daniel Bryan and AJ. Long says they won’t have to worry about Big Show next week. Long says it’s time for Bryan to show the world what a great role model and wrestler he is next week when he faces Randy Orton. Bryan says he’s not afraid of giants or snakes. Bryan tells AJ to stay in the back where she’ll be safe. Bryan leaves the room.
Randy Orton is still celebrating in the ring when Daniel Bryan runs down doing his own brand of celebration. Bryan celebrates wildly in the ring, and Orton looks at him perplexed. Orton stares at Bryan as he celebrates to the back.
Quick Match Results
Sheamus def. Cody Rhodes (non-title)
Epico and Primo def. Santino Marella and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (non-title)
Beth Phoenix and Natalya def. Tamina and Aksana
Randy Orton def. Wade Barrett in a No DQ match
Bump of the Night: Orton giving Barrett a back suplex onto the barricade!
Match of the Night: Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett *** 1/4
Mike’s Thoughts
The show kicked off with Teddy Long announcing the Elimination Chamber participants and explained the rules – you know, just in case you’ve never heard of this match before. None of the participants surprised me (until later in the night). Mark Henry then came out, and he demanded to have a match against Bryan tonight. Henry put his hands on Long, and he immediately got suspended. That makes sense considering all the injuries Henry has racked up over the past few months, most notably hyperextending his knee last week. All I can say is I hope this break is short lived and he heals quickly because Henry deserves to have a match at WrestleMania. The man has worked his butt off all year, and I think he should be properly rewarded with a WrestleMania payday.
Sheamus then came out and Brogue Kicked him out of the ring. Sheamus then mentioned that he wasn’t going to pick which title he was going for until after Elimination Chamber. That doesn’t surprise me. I kind of like that. It’ll put some intrigue around Sheamus’s decision rather than just making it the night after the Rumble. Cody Rhodes came out, cut a decent promo, and then he had a match against Sheamus. I enjoyed the match. It gave Sheamus a nice win, and Rhodes didn’t look bad in defeat. I like that they’re keeping Sheamus’s new finisher in the Irish family considering it was the one used by Dave Finlay during his WWE tenure. It’s a nice little punctuation to the Brogue Kick.
Cody Rhodes wound up being a sort of semi-savior for me tonight. Like I said previously, he looked good in defeat. This is why. Cody Rhodes saved me from having to sit through a Justin Gabriel/Hunico match. Thank you, Cody Rhodes. Thank you.
For the past few weeks I had mentioned that nothing warms my heart like seeing Hornswoggle succeed. Well Hornswoggle hasn’t been around lately, so now it’s “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. I’ve met Duggan before and he’s a super cool dude, so that made that tag match that much more special here (not trying to name drop here… ok, I am). It was just good clean fun, from the HOOO comment to Aksana to the actual match. Santino and Duggan would actually make a fun pairing. They could play off each other really well. Too bad this is a one off appearance.
I was waiting for the moment when Michael Cole would do a 180 and like Daniel Bryan, and tonight was the night. Thankfully Bryan didn’t accept the endorsement. Bryan mentioned that he is a role model, and he then proceeded to cut one of the most boring heel promos ever. Yikes. I think CM Punk was successful with his straightedge savior gimmick because (legal) drinking and smoking is a release. Most people (namely parents) tell you that it’s bad for you, but you do it anyway. That’s why it hit home and pissed you off when Punk would run down drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. No one tells you to not eat meat. Nothing against vegans, but that’s just dumb. Luckily Big Show came out to save this because this was getting X-Pac heat from me. Bryan provoked him again, and Big Show attacked. This time AJ came out to make the save. That was interesting. It looks like Bryan’s got her brainwashed. I’m interested to see how this turns out in the coming weeks.
Speaking of Michael Cole doing a 180, I myself am going to do a 180 on how I felt about Natalya farting last week. I still don’t think that was funny, but tonight cracked me up. I don’t know why, but I rewound that a few times, and I couldn’t stop laughing. The match sucked, but this was hilarious. The squatting and the farting – just stop it. Too funny!
The main event was, in my humblest opinion, the best showing that Randy Orton and Wade Barrett have had together. They looked like they actually had chemistry, and they definitely brought the action and drama tonight. Orton looked loose and healthy, and Barrett was great as always. I’m not sure I’m really digging his new entrance music, but what can you do? The match was a lot of fun, and they gave us some pay per view quality stuff. It was a nice way to bring some mild closure to the feud heading into Elimination Chamber, and it was just another example of Wade Barrett proving that he belongs in the main event. This was a great match.
Final Rating: *** 1/4
You can follow me on the Twitter here or e-mail me.
E-Mail – MikeTedesco@wrestleview.com