WWE Smackdown
May 11, 2012
Roanoke, Virginia
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 show a recap of Sheamus and Randy Orton taking on Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio from Raw. Jericho and Del Rio had Sheamus controlled by working on his injured arm, but he eventually came back. Orton hit Del Rio with an RKO, and Jericho ducked a Brogue Kick, causing Sheamus to catch Orton with it. Jericho then pinned the World Heavyweight Champion after hitting a Codebreaker. Sheamus attempted to apologize to Orton, but Orton dropped him with an RKO instead. Afterward, all four men brawled in John Laurinaitis’s office. Laurinaitis then booked a Fatal Four Way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Over The Limit.
Sheamus’s music hits, and the World Heavyweight Champion makes his way to the ring with his left arm still heavily bandaged. He’ll be participating in a tag team rematch from Monday Night Raw.
Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio
Randy Orton will start it out against Chris Jericho. They lock up, and Jericho punches him to the corner. The referee admonishes him, which gives Orton the opening to stomp Jericho down. Jericho reverses a whip to the corner, but Orton quickly pops out with a clothesline. Orton tags Sheamus in by slapping him on the injured arm. They have some words before Sheamus goes to work on Jericho. Sheamus sends him to the ropes and hits a back elbow. Sheamus then tags Orton in rather hard. Orton punches Jericho to the corner, but Jericho quickly escapes, tagging Del Rio in. Del Rio runs into a hip toss, but he’s able to avoid a knee drop right after. Del Rio quickly follows up with an arm breaker for a one count.
Del Rio works on the arm with knees and a key lock. Orton fights up and head-butts out of the hold. Del Rio reverses a whip, but he lowers his head and eats a kick. Sheamus is tagged in, and he hits a clothesline on Del Rio. Sheamus punches him in the corner before running into a back elbow. Sheamus catches him with a rolling fireman’s carry slam for a near fall. Sheamus goes into the ropes, and Jericho pulls the top rope down. Sheamus hits the floor hard. Jericho quickly kicks him in the arm as the referee’s back is turned. The referee is counting Sheamus out, but he gets in at three. Del Rio kicks him, and Jericho is tagged in. Jericho gives him an elbow drop and applies a hammerlock. Sheamus fights up and elbows out. Jericho knees him, but he runs into a hammer throw.
Orton is tagged in, and he clotheslines Jericho a pair of times. Orton ducks a clothesline and finishes him off with a powerslam. Orton catches Jericho with a hanging DDT, and he drops to the mat to set up for an RKO. Jericho pushes him off, and Orton immediately bounces back with a nice dropkick. Del Rio breaks up the pin, and Sheamus attacks him in the corner. Jericho also joins in, and the referee calls for the bell. The match is out of control.
No Contest
Match Rating: * 1/2
Sheamus beats Jericho down in the corner, and Orton works on Del Rio in the opposite one. All the referees run down to help break this up. Sheamus clotheslines Jericho out of the ring, and Orton clotheslines Del Rio over the barricade.
-Commercial Break-
Michael Cole reads a tweet that Eve just sent out that says the ending to the tag team match is unacceptable. John Laurinaitis has ordered that Randy Orton will take on Alberto Del Rio later tonight. Sheamus will also take on Chris Jericho.
AJ vs. Kaitlyn
They show a replay of AJ giving Kaitlyn the slap of all slaps. Kaitlyn was telling her that she needs to end her “pity party” when AJ unloaded on her.
Both divas made their way to the ring with tears in their eyes. As soon as the bell rings, AJ grounds her with a Thesz Press. AJ punches away at her until the referee backs her up, and she takes Kaitlyn down again. AJ continues punching away at her, lets her up, ducks a clothesline, and dropkicks her in the knee. AJ quickly follows up with a shining wizard for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: AJ
Match Rating: N/A
AJ continues to viciously beat down Kaitlyn until Daniel Bryan’s music hits. Bryan makes his way to the ring screaming, “Yes!” AJ looks nervously at him as he gets in the ring. Bryan is smiling. Bryan says, “Color me impressed!” Bryan talks about her passion and gusto. He had no idea she could be so ruthless, and with her best friend nonetheless. If she was trying to send him a message then he’s gotten it. Bryan says he sees AJ in a new light. Bryan says there has been a lot of angst and tension between them since WrestleMania, and he’s ready to move past it all. At Over The Limit, after he becomes the new WWE Champion, he’s looking forward to moving on. AJ looks excited. Bryan then says he’s looking forward to moving on to Kaitlyn! AJ looks at him angrily as Bryan laughs at her. AJ looks insanely at him before storming out of the ring. Bryan continues to scream, “Yes!”
Daniel Bryan will face the Big Show next.
-Commercial Break-
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show
Big Show corners him and gives him a gut punch. Bryan tries to get away, but Big Show chops his chest. Big Show beats him from corner to corner with chops. Big Show sends him to the corner, but he runs into the boots. Bryan drops him to a knee with a flying knee to the face. Big Show quickly blocks a kick and chops him down. Big Show crushes him in the corner with a butt bump. Big Show hits the ropes, and Bryan dropkicks him in the knee. Bryan stomps away at him and applies the Yes Lock. All of a sudden the bell rings, and John Laurinaitis emerges from the timekeeper’s area. Laurinaitis announces that Daniel Bryan has won by submission, but Big Show clearly never tapped out.
Winner by Submission: Daniel Bryan
Match Rating: N/A
Daniel Bryan celebrates up the ramp as John Laurinaitis gets in the ring. Laurinaitis says he heard that Big Show was making fun of him on Monday night. Laurinaitis asks if Big Show thinks that’s funny, and Big Show reluctantly says, “No.” Laurinaitis asks him what he means by “no,” and Big Show says, “No, sir.” Big Show looks repulsed. Laurinaitis says that Big Show didn’t mean his apology on Monday. Laurinaitis agrees that outside of WWE, there’s not much demand for a 7-foot, 441-pound, 40-year old freak. Laurinaitis says Big Show will apologize to him this Monday on Raw, and it better be a damn good one. Laurinaitis leaves the ring as Big Show looks disgusted.
Laurinaitis turns around at the top of the stage. Laurinaitis says Brock Lesnar destroyed John Cena and revolutionized the WWE in one night at Extreme Rules. He’ll shock the world in nine days at Over The Limit when he defeats John Cena and shakes the WWE to its very foundation. People power!
Randy Orton will take on Alberto Del Rio later tonight.
-Commercial Break-
JOBBER ALERT: Heath Slater is in the ring with no TV entrance.
Heath Slater has a microphone, and he says he’s going to give us some information on his opponent. Slater says his opponent physically looks like the epitome of evolution, but to him he looks like a caveman with a little brain. Who has he beaten? He hasn’t beaten anybody, and he certainly hasn’t beaten anybody the caliber of himself. Who is he? He’s the one-man Southern rock band, Heath Slater!
Heath Slater vs. Ryback
The “Goldberg” chants fire up again. Slater walks up to him shouting that he’s the man. Ryback pushes him down. Slater gets out of a powerslam attempt, and he punches him down to a knee. Slater goes for a neckbreaker, but Ryback doesn’t budge. Ryback shoves him to the corner and delivers some thrusting shoulders. Ryback hits a powerslam before taking his head off with a clothesline. Ryback screams, “Finish him!” Ryback hits the fisherman’s suplex buster for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Ryback
Match Rating: N/A
Ryback screams to the camera, “Shark swimming with dolphins! Feed me!”
Sheamus will take on Chris Jericho later tonight in a non-title match.
-Commercial Break-
Lillian Garcia announces the special guest ring announcer for the next match, Teddy Long. This is per John Laurinaitis’s request. Teddy is wearing a giant nametag on his suit. Long introduces Alex Riley, who is already in the ring. Long then has to read a long, drawn out introduction for Antonio Cesaro, who comes to the ring with Aksana. Long reluctantly says, “Aksana’s delight.”
Alex Riley vs. Antonio Cesaro w/ Aksana
Charles Robinson, my favorite referee ever, is the official of this match. Cesaro takes Riley down with a waist lock, and he head-butts him to the corner. Cesaro hits a running boot to the face for a one count. Cesaro applies a neck vice, but Riley fights out of it. Riley sends him to the ropes, but Cesaro hangs on as Riley misses a dropkick. Cesaro hits a gut-wrench suplex, kicks him in the back, and applies a double chicken-wing. Riley fights out of it, but Cesaro knees him in the midsection. Cesaro reverses a whip to the corner, but he misses a running shoulder block. Riley hits a running elbow and a clothesline. Riley goes for a spinebuster, but Cesaro grabs his ear before hitting a nasty European uppercut. Cesaro hits a cradle face-buster for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Antonio Cesaro
Match Rating: N/A
Aksana pets Long on the head, and she says there are no hard feelings. Aksana says she and Long are just friends whereas Antonio is her lover. They then make out in front of Long as he watches on sadly.
They show a tremendous video with John Cena and his “Make A Wish” contributions.
They show a split screen of Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio walking backstage. They’re going to fight, next.
-Commercial Break-
Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio both made their entrances during the commercial break.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Randy Orton
They circle the ring, and Del Rio kicks him to the corner. Orton bounces him into the corner, and Del Rio beats him back. Orton punches him down in the corner, but Del Rio comes back with some punches of his own. Orton sidesteps him, and he stomps away at him. Orton hits a guillotine catapult into the bottom rope for a near fall. Orton gets him on the apron, but Del Rio snaps his arm off the top rope. Del Rio kicks him in the shoulder for a two count. Del Rio stretches the arm out on the middle rope, and Ricardo Rodriguez snaps it for good measure while the referee is distracted. Del Rio picks up a two count. Del Rio hits a hammerlock body slam for a near fall.
Del Rio applies a key lock, but Orton fights up from that. Orton punches out and hits a pair of clotheslines. Orton hits a powerslam, and he stalks him when Del Rio rolls to the apron. Del Rio gets out of a draping DDT attempt, and he drops Orton to the apron. Del Rio hits a step-up enzuigiri, but that only gets him a near fall. Del Rio kicks away at him, talks some trash, and he runs into Orton’s patented backbreaker. Orton gets a near fall for that. Orton is favoring his left arm. Del Rio kicks him in the arm and hits a double leg arm breaker. Del Rio goes for the Cross Arm Breaker, but Orton pushes him to the corner. Orton runs into a back elbow, but he quickly catches Del Rio on the top rope. Orton hits a modified draping DDT from the middle turnbuckle, and he stalks Del Rio. Orton turns and catches Ricardo Rodriguez jumping off the top rope with an RKO in mid-air! The referee calls for the bell.
Winner by Disqualification: Randy Orton
Match Rating: * 1/4
Del Rio immediately sends Orton shoulder first into the ring post. Del Rio then applies the Cross Arm Breaker, and Orton screams in pain. It takes two referees to break Del Rio’s grip on Orton’s arm. Orton rolls outside and clutches at his arm. Del Rio smiles at the carnage he has caused.
Sheamus will take on Chris Jericho in tonight’s main event in a non-title match.
-Commercial Break-
EXCUSE ME! Vickie Guerrero introduces Jack Swagger as the soon to be one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions.
R-Truth w/ Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger w/ Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero
They lock up, and Swagger powers him to the corner. Swagger hits some back elbows until the referee backs him up. Swagger sends him to the corner, but R-Truth slingshots over him. R-Truth hits a hip toss, does a jumping split, and he hits a break dance leg drop for a one count. Abraham Washington, Primo, Epico, Rosa Mendes, and Mason Ryan are watching this match backstage. R-Truth slaps Swagger and goes for a wheelbarrow bulldog, but Swagger counters into a German suplex for a near fall. Swagger gives him a forearm to the back, and he applies an arm bar. R-Truth fights out, kicks him in the face, and hits a DDT.
Both men are down. R-Truth sidesteps Swagger and hits a pair of clotheslines. R-Truth hits a wheelbarrow rollup for a two count. R-Truth dances and punches him in the face. R-Truth has a whip reversed, but he ducks a clothesline and hits the Lie Detector. Dolph Ziggler runs in to pull R-Truth off. The referee doesn’t see that. R-Truth confronts Ziggler outside the ring and he punches him. Kingston then takes Ziggler out with a leaping punch. Swagger then clotheslines R-Truth down. Swagger puts him back in the ring, and R-Truth punches him as he gets back in. Kingston catches Swagger with a surprise Trouble in Paradise. R-Truth quickly follows up with the Little Jimmy for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: R-Truth
Match Rating: *
They show John Cena talking via satellite about John Laurinaitis. Cena says he’s going to destroy Laurinaitis at Over The Limit.
Santino Marella makes his way to the ring. He’ll be in action next.
-Commercial Break-
They show a pre-taped promo from Santino Marella and Zack Ryder. They disagree on whether their team name should be “Co-bro” or “Ma-Ryder”.
Santino Marella and Zack Ryder vs. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young
Santino will start out against Titus O’Neil. Santino measures their height difference before applying a headlock. O’Neil shoulder blocks him down, and Santino wants a timeout. Santino gets a waist lock applied, but O’Neil body slams him down. Darren Young is tagged in, and Santino punches away at him. Young quickly comes back with a neckbreaker and an elbow drop. Young hits a back suplex, and O’Neil is tagged back in. O’Neil gives Young a front suplex on top of Santino. O’Neil takes him down, and tags Young back in. Young drops a leg and applies a chin lock. Santino fights out and hits a modified stunner.
Zack Ryder is tagged in, and he hits a flying forearm. Ryder clotheslines Young and knocks O’Neil off the apron. Ryder hits the Broski Boot on Young, and he picks up a near fall. Ryder goes for the Rough Ryder, but O’Neil grabs his foot. Young clotheslines Ryder down. Santino chases after O’Neil with the Cobra, but Young clotheslines him on the outside. Ryder drops O’Neil with a baseball slide, and he throws Young into the ring. Ryder goes for the ten punches, but Young kicks his feet out. O’Neil is tagged in. O’Neil hits a backbreaker, and Young quickly follows up with a second rope elbow drop for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Titus O’Neil and Darren Young
Match Rating: 1/2 *
Titus O’Neil grabs a microphone, and he tells Lillian Garcia to announce them as the winners again. She does, and O’Neil tells her to put more “stank” on it next time. They then say they’re the next WWE Tag Team Champions. Darren Young asks if the crowd knows the difference between them and the rest of the tag teams – millions of dollars. They then say it over and over again while dancing.
Matt Striker is backstage with Damien Sandow. Striker asks why he didn’t compete last week. Sandow calls him, “Sweet, simple Matthew.” Sandow says his message flew over Striker’s head. These people yearn for enlightenment. Who do they have to turn to? In short, the answer is no one. There are those that attempt to appeal to the unwashed masses, but they are false prophets whom he will expose. He is the bright beam of enlightenment that will serve as the avenging sword of taste and decency. This concludes their interview. Striker goes to say something, but Sandow silences him. Sandow says, “You’re welcome,” and he walks off.
Sheamus will take on Chris Jericho later tonight.
-Commercial Break-
Brodus Clay w/ The Funkadactyls vs. Hunico w/ Camacho
Hunico cuts a promo before the match. He says Hunico means being extraordinary. The people don’t understand because they’ve had everything handed to them. Hunico speaks some Spanish, and then he says he won’t explain what he just said. Why? Because he’s the best! Camacho takes Brodus down, and they give him a wishbone split. The bell has not rung yet. The referee asks if he’s ok, and Brodus laughs it off while gyrating.
The bell rings, and Brodus no-sells a punch from Hunico. Brodus screams in his face, and he takes Hunico down with a head-butt. Brodus punches him down in the corner before whipping him hard into the opposite corner. Hunico kicks him in the face, but he soon runs into a back body drop. Brodus head-butts Camacho off the apron. Brodus hits a she-plex on Hunico, and he follows it up with a big splash for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Brodus Clay
Match Rating: N/A
Brodus Clay and the Funkadactyls dance around in the ring to celebrate another victory.
Sheamus will take on Chris Jericho later tonight in a non-title match. We’ll have an update on Triple H and the future of Brock Lesnar next.
-Commercial Break-
They show footage of Brock Lesnar breaking Triple H’s arm two weeks ago on Raw. They then show footage of Paul Heyman reading Brock Lesnar’s letter of resignation from this past Raw. Triple H will be on Raw this week to give an update.
Chris Jericho vs. Sheamus
They lock up, and Sheamus powers Jericho to the corner. Sheamus bounces him off another turnbuckle, and Jericho quickly comes back with some punches and slaps of his own. Sheamus punches him back, and he whips him to the opposite corner. Sheamus runs into a boot, and Jericho punches him down. Jericho sends him to the corner, and Sheamus sidesteps him. Sheamus ties him up on the apron and clubs away at his chest. Sheamus shoulder blocks him off the apron, and Jericho hits the barricade ribs first.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Sheamus take Jericho down with a slingshot shoulder block. Sheamus gets a two count for his efforts. Sheamus punches him before sending him to the ropes. Jericho kicks him in the face and takes him to the apron. Sheamus shoulders him in the midsection and goes to suplex him to the outside, but Jericho snaps the shoulder off the ropes. Jericho then hits a springboard dropkick that sends Sheamus to the floor. Jericho taunts the crowd before going outside the ring to kicks Sheamus. Jericho throws him shoulder first into the ring post. Jericho gets in the ring to take the count-out. Sheamus gets in at six. Jericho kicks and punches at the injured arm. Jericho applies an arm bar. Sheamus fights up and elbows out. Sheamus goes into the ropes, and Jericho dropkicks him down. Jericho goes for the Lionsault, but Sheamus moves.
Sheamus clotheslines Jericho a few times, shoulders him in the corner, and hits a knee lift. Jericho gets out of a powerslam, and he goes for the Walls of Jericho. Sheamus powers out and goes for the Irish Curse, but Jericho elbows out. Jericho gets out of a rolling fireman’s carry, and he locks in the Walls of Jericho. Sheamus crawls and gets to the bottom rope. Jericho argues with the referee. Jericho charges, and Sheamus gives him a back body drop over the top rope. Alberto Del Rio runs down, and he throws Jericho into the steel steps. The referee sees this and calls for the bell.
Winner by Disqualification: Chris Jericho
Match Rating: * 3/4
Alberto Del Rio quickly gets in the ring and applies the Cross Arm Breaker to Sheamus. Sheamus screams in pain. Randy Orton runs down and punches away at Del Rio. Sheamus throws Orton off, and he punches away at Del Rio. Orton pulls Sheamus off, and they get into a shouting match. Jericho runs in and gives Del Rio a Codebreaker. Jericho quickly runs out of the ring when Orton and Sheamus look at him. Orton then gives Del Rio an RKO! Sheamus then waits for Del Rio to get up, and he hits him with a Brogue Kick! Sheamus and Orton stare at one another as the show ends.
Quick Match Results
Sheamus and Randy Orton NC Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio
AJ def. Kaitlyn
Daniel Bryan def. Big Show via Submission
Ryback def. Heath Slater
Antonio Cesaro def. Alex Riley
Randy Orton def. Alberto Del Rio via DQ
R-Truth def. Jack Swagger
Titus O’Neil and Darren Young def. Santino Marella and Zack Ryder
Brodus Clay def. Hunico
Chris Jericho def. Sheamus via DQ (non-title)
Bump of the Night: Darren Young giving Santino a clothesline on the outside
Match of the Night: Chris Jericho vs. Sheamus * 3/4
Mike’s Thoughts
Great – I take one lousy week off, and I come back to recap ten matches in one night. That’s the last time I take off. This seemed like it was one of those “cram as much crap as you can into one two-hour show” shows. The show opened up with a rematch from Raw in the tag match. It wasn’t a bad way to open up the show. All four guys showed some good intensity, and it was a good way to build some more tension between Sheamus and Orton. It also nicely set up the other two matches coming from this later in the night.
Man, AJ is just absolutely on fire right now. Last week she gave Kaitlyn the absolute slap of the century. Those who listened to Wrestleview Telemundo know how much I truly loved that segment. Tonight, she annihilated Kaitlyn. I personally would have liked to see another slap, but that’s ok. This was excellent. Her acting is so on point. She’s hands down the best diva they have on the roster right now. Then Daniel Bryan came out, built her up with some kindness, and then took her down by saying he was moving on to Kaitlyn. The expression on AJ’s face afterward was crazy. She’s unbelievable. It’s nice to watch the divas again and be thoroughly entertained. I can’t think of enough superlatives to describe her performance.
Daniel Bryan then stayed out there to face the Big Show, and that ended with a Montreal Screwjob finish. I love the Big Show, but this storyline conflict with John Laurinaitis is terrible. I can only assume that it’ll lead to him assisting John Cena in defeating John Laurinaitis at Over The Limit, but I’ve been known to be wrong. This was an unnecessary segment – one of a few.
Ryback finally faced an actual jobber on the roster. I’m glad they cut back on a few of the unnecessary moves that Ryback sometimes does, and he just kept it simple. The non-complicated powers moves he executes works well. I still think the character is extremely limited and most likely has a shelf life akin to Brodus Clay, but tonight he was tolerable. This isn’t a long-term character as he stands in his current form, though.
The humiliation of Teddy Long continued tonight. Last week he was rubbing oil on Antonio Cesaro, and this week he was introducing him to the ring. Cesaro looked good in his match with Alex Riley. It was another showcase match that did its job. Cesaro definitely looks like he belongs in the WWE. His character isn’t limited like the Ryback character. I can actually see him going places and doing good things. The guy is without question talented.
Randy Orton took on Alberto Del Rio in a match that ended with Del Rio wrecking Orton’s arm. Is it “work only one limb” month or something? Orton is like the fourth main eventer with an arm injury now. We’ve got John Cena, Triple H, Sheamus, and now Orton. Come on, can we get a little more creative? Can I get a busted rib or a twisted knee anywhere? This is ridiculous. How many arm bars and hammerlocks can we fit into one show? Good grief!
R-Truth took on Jack Swagger in a pretty pointless match. I just didn’t enjoy it. I also didn’t enjoy the next segment, though it’s nice to see Titus O’Neil and Darren Young refined their tag team maneuvers so they don’t almost kill someone, like they almost did to Yoshi Tatsu two weeks ago on Smackdown. That was embarrassing. However, they’ve decided to keep the singing and dancing. This is truly awful. It’s not even remotely funny. This is the kind of crap that makes you put your face in your hands. It’s the kind of thing that has people laugh at you when you say you’re a wrestling fan. Anyway, when they were talking about the difference between them and other tag teams is millions of dollars, I’m assuming they meant the other teams have the money. I cannot believe that O’Neil and Young have compiled millions of dollars doing the crap they do. This is another one of those unnecessary segments that could have been cut out.
Who thinks it’s a good idea to put a microphone in Hunico’s hand and let him talk? You are an awful person, whoever you are. Please, stop doing that. Brodus Clay showed some good intensity as he annihilated Hunico on his way to another victory. Why doesn’t the crowd chant “Goldberg” at him like they do to Ryback?
The main event was a lot of fun. Sheamus and Chris Jericho have great chemistry. We saw this match a few weeks before WrestleMania, and I thought it could be a really great match down the line. I actually had Jericho pegged for a singles match against Sheamus at Over The Limit, but I’ll take him in the Fatal Four Way. Any interaction between them is fine by me. They had another good, albeit quick match. This would have been better had it been given just a little more time. If one of those awful segments could have been cut… Anyway, the ending brawl was well done, and it gave some good hype for their match at Over The Limit.
Final Rating: **
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