Friday Night Smackdown
July 27, 2012
Kansas City, Missouri
Report by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
Oh WWE, what have you done to me? My “Yes sir, we promised you a great main event…” opener is destroyed. Now I have to change it up.
A recap video shows some of the best moments from the excellent Raw 1000 episode this past Monday. They show DX assaulting Damien Sandow, Lita defeating Heath Slater with the help of some legends, The Miz winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Mae Young’s grown up son, AJ becoming the new Raw General Manager, The Rock challenging the WWE Champion at Royal Rumble, Kane and Undertaker beating up all the foreign talent, Paul Heyman accepting Triple H’s challenge for Brock Lesnar, and CM Punk attacking The Rock to end the show.
The Smackdown video plays, and we’re brought into the arena with a big pyrotechnics display. Josh Mathews, Booker T, and Michael Cole welcome us to the show. Tonight, the main event will be a Fatal Four Way Match to determine the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The match will feature Kane, Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, and Daniel Bryan, all former World Heavyweight Champions.
Lilian Garcia asks the crowd to welcome the new WWE Intercontinental Champion, The Miz, to the ring. They show a replay of The Miz defeating Christian to win the title on Raw 1000. The Miz stands in the middle of the ring, and he says they are looking at the new face of the Intercontinental Championship. The Miz asks whom he has to thank. The Miz says he’d like to thank each and every one of Christian’s fans for voting for the Intercontinental Championship match at Raw 1000. They voted, and Christian lost. He is the new champion because he’s The Miz, and he’s…
Christian interrupts him before he can finish his line. Christian asks if he was going to say, in a really annoying voice, “Awesome.” Christian says what’s awesome is he’s not waiting to invoke his rematch clause. He’s doing it right here, right now, tonight in front of all his peeps in Kansas City. Christian gets in the ring, and a referee also arrives.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Christian
They circle the ring, and Christian gets the crowd clapping. They lock up, and Miz gets a side headlock. Christian whips him off, but Miz takes him down with a shoulder block. The Miz allows Christian to get up, and they circle the ring again. Christian gets a waistlock applied before going back to the side headlock. The Miz backs him to the corner, and he punches away at Christian. Christian turns him and punches back at him. Christian sends him to the other corner, and he catches Miz with a back body drop. Christian throws him over the top rope, but Christian lands on the apron. Christian charges into a shoulder block. Miz goes to suplex him to the outside of the ring, but Christian blocks it. Christian slides through the legs, pulls him off the apron, and takes him out with a baseball slide.
Christian puts him in the ring and goes for a tornado DDT, but Miz gets out of it. Christian runs into a knee to the midsection. Miz viciously stomps away at him before punching him down. Christian punches back, but Miz sends him to the corner. Miz quickly follows up with his patented clothesline, and he takes him down with a top rope axe handle for a near fall. Miz applies a chin lock, but Christian fights up. Miz stops him with some knees, hits the ropes, and eats a flapjack from Christian. Christian catches him on the apron, but Miz punches him back. Miz then gives him a back body drop to the outside as we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Miz stomping away at Christian. Miz quickly hits the ropes and hits a running kick to the face for a near fall. The announcers are putting over The Miz’ aggression. Miz applies a chin lock, but Christian fights up and out of it. Miz reverses a whip, but Christian counters with a sunset flip for a near fall. Miz quickly hits the Reality Check for a near fall. Miz chokes him on the bottom rope before backing up to stalk him. Miz goes for hits patented clothesline, but Christian takes him out with some boots to the face.
Christian pulls himself up to the top rope, but The Miz cuts him off. Miz goes for a superplex, but Christian fights off. Christian goes for a Frog Splash, but Miz gets the knees up! Miz picks up a near fall for his efforts. Miz covers again for the same result. Miz smothers him in the corner and talks some trash. Christian punches him back and hits a missile dropkick. Christian calls on the peeps for some motivation, and they give it to him. Christian has a whip reversed, but he quickly comes back with a running forearm. Christian hits a drop-toe-hold into the ropes, catapults to the outside, and gives him an uppercut. Christian hits a neckbreaker using the ropes, and he finishes the sequence off with a cross-body block for a near fall. Christian goes to the second rope, and he jumps over charging Miz. Christian immediately follows up with a reverse DDT for a near fall.
Miz pulls Christian face first into the turnbuckle. Christian quickly hits a kick and goes for a diving sunset flip, but Miz rolls out. Miz goes for a kick to the face, but Christian ducks it and rolls him up for a near fall. Miz goes for the Reality Check, but Christian counters into a backslide for a near fall. Christian hits a diving elbow to the face, and he gets the crowd into it with some clapping. Christian goes for the Kill Switch, but Miz counters into a back suplex attempt. Christian flips through, but Miz kicks him to his knees and DDTs him for a near fall! Miz pulls himself up in the corner and goes to the second rope. Christian rips him off and sets up for a Spear. The crowd is eating it up, and they boo wildly as Miz rolls out of the ring before the Spear can be hit. Christian chases him back into the ring, and Miz catches him with a big boot. Christian counters out of a Skull Crushing Finale, and he goes for the Kill Switch. Miz gets out of it, and Christian punches away at him. The referee tries to stop him, but Christian pushes him out of the way. Miz pokes Christian in the eyes during the distraction, ducks a wild throw, and rolls him up with a handful of tights for the win!
Winner and still WWE Intercontinental Champion: The Miz
Match Rating: *** 1/4
Later tonight, we’ll see Sheamus take on Cody Rhodes in a non-title match. We’ll also see a Fatal Four Way Match featuring Kane, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, and Alberto Del Rio to determine the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
-Commercial Break-
Jinder Mahal is making his way to the ring, and he puts his sacred hat into a casing at ringside.
Jinder Mahal vs. Ryback
They lock up, and Ryback powers him to the corner. Ryback calls him “stupid” and challenges him to come at him. Mahal punches away at him before hitting the ropes and eating a big boot from Ryback. Ryback hits a fall-away slam, sending Mahal to the apron. Mahal rakes the eyes, shoulders him in the midsection, and knees him in the head. Mahal hits a flying knee to the face for a no count. Mahal drops a knee on him and chokes, but Ryback powers him over the top rope. Mahal quickly gets back in the ring and kicks him in the head for a one count. Mahal knees him in the back a few times before dropping an elbow. Mahal applies the Camel Clutch, but Ryback immediately powers up, calling him “stupid.” Ryback hits a backpack stunner.
Ryback says, “My turn!” Ryback slams the back of Mahal’s head off the canvas a few times before hitting a spinebuster. Ryback signals for a lariat, but Mahal quickly gets out of the ring to avoid it. Mahal goes up the ramp as the referee counts him out.
Winner by Count-Out: Ryback
Match Rating: 1/2 *
We’re going to take a look at the end of the WWE Championship match on Raw 1000, next.
-Commercial Break-
They show the end of the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and John Cena. Cena caught Punk with the STF, but Big Show interfered to cause the disqualification. The Rock ran down for the save. As he went for The People’s Elbow on Big Show, Punk clotheslined him down. Punk then finished him off with the GTS as the crowd booed.
They show a couple of Touts from the WWE Universe. Good lord are these videos awful or what?
Daniel Bryan is sitting in his locker room when Sheamus walks in. Sheamus says he knows Bryan has had a rough week with AJ leaving him at the altar, her becoming his boss, getting a Rock Bottom from The Rock, and Charlie Sheen calling him out. Bryan says he’s not done with AJ and The Rock won’t be back for six months. Bryan says no one cares about Charlie Sheen. Sheamus gives him a gift that was supposed to be for his wedding night. Bryan unwraps it, commenting on how awful the wrapping is. Bryan slams it down, asking if the gift is supposed to be funny. It’s a book titled, “How To Last More Than 18 Seconds.”
-Commercial Break-
Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes
Charles Robinson, my favorite referee ever, is the official for this match. They circle the ring and lock up. Sheamus powers him to the corner and gives a clean break. Rhodes applies a waistlock, but Sheamus elbows him in the mouth. Rhodes quickly gets out of the ring to recover. Rhodes complains to the referee before getting back in the ring. Rhodes kicks him before applying a side headlock. Sheamus whips him off and hits a shoulder block for a one count. Sheamus wrenches the arm a few times, but Rhodes kicks out of it before doing it himself. Rhodes viciously pulls at the arm before Sheamus punches him off. Rhodes slingshots over him, but he can’t avoid a delayed backbreaker from Sheamus for a near fall.
Rhodes punches him back, and Sheamus forearms him to the apron. Sheamus goes to pound the chest, but Rhodes elbows him away. Rhodes goes to recover on the outside, but Sheamus follows him. Rhodes runs into the ring, and Sheamus catches him with the forearms to the chest. Sheamus goes to suplex him out of the ring, but Rhodes lands on the apron. Rhodes quickly shoves him shoulder first into the ring post, causing Sheamus to fall to the floor. Rhodes wants the referee to count Sheamus out. Sheamus struggles back in at nine and a half. Rhodes stomps away at him as Dolph Ziggler’s music hits. Dolph Ziggler makes his way to the ring with Vickie Guerrero. Ziggler may cash in on Sheamus tonight.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Rhodes apply a key lock to Sheamus. Sheamus fights up, but Rhodes knees him to the corner. Sheamus fights him off and hits an Irish hammer. Rhodes ducks a second one and hits a dropkick for a two count. Rhodes hits a running knee to the face for another two count. Rhodes stomps at Sheamus and chokes him with his boot. Rhodes goes outside to beat Sheamus on the apron. Rhodes taunts the crowd before getting in the ring for a one count. Rhodes applies a full nelson, but Sheamus breaks the hold before whipping him off. Rhodes quickly kicks him in the knee and uppercuts him. Rhodes hits the ropes and takes a back body drop from Sheamus.
Sheamus hits a pair of Irish hammers, powers him to the corner, hits the ropes, and takes a kick in the knee from Rhodes. Rhodes goes to roll him up, but Sheamus holds the ropes. Sheamus knees him in the face and hits a powerslam for a near fall. Sheamus stares at Ziggler for a moment. Rhodes ducks a short-arm clothesline and elbows him in the head. Rhodes hits a drop-toe-hold into the corner and goes for a moonsault block, but Sheamus avoids it. That looked pretty scary, as Rhodes’ face was the first to hit the mat. Sheamus quickly follows up with an Irish Curse for a near fall. Sheamus goes for White Noise, but Rhodes elbows out and throws him out of the ring.
Sheamus gets to the apron, and he punches Rhodes in the midsection. Sheamus goes to the top rope, and Rhodes yanks him off the top by his arm. Rhodes quickly follows up with the Disaster Kick for a near fall. Rhodes goes for a second, but Sheamus catches him in mid-air for the White Noise! Sheamus backs to the corner, signals for the end, and hits the Brogue Kick for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Sheamus
Match Rating: ** 3/4
Dolph Ziggler threatens to get into the ring, but Sheamus blocks it. Ziggler looks at the briefcase, and he doesn’t give it to Charles Robinson. Ziggler gets off the apron and backs up the ramp. All of a sudden, Chris Jericho runs down with Ziggler’s shirt on and throws him into the ring where Sheamus catches him with a Brogue Kick! Sheamus leaves the ring smiling. Jericho looks on as Ziggler writhes in pain, feigning emotion. Jericho waits for him to get up, smirks at him, and he drops Ziggler with the Codebreaker! Vickie angrily screams at Jericho as he goes up the ramp.
Later tonight, we’ll see a Fatal Four Way Match to determine the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
-Commercial Break-
Antonio Cesaro is in the ring making out with Aksana. He’ll face Santino Marella in a non-title match.
Antonio Cesaro w/ Aksana vs. Santino Marella
Cesaro quickly takes him down, rolls on Santino, and slaps him on the head. Santino pushes him before taking him down with a judo arm drag. Cesaro distracts him before hitting a forearm to the face. Cesaro under-hooks the arms before head-butting him in the chest a few times. Cesaro head-butts him in the face for a near fall. Cesaro hits a gutwrench suplex for a near fall. Santino counters a chin lock with a back suplex. Santino follows up with some jabs, a forearm to the face, and a flying head-butt to the chest. Santino takes the Cobra out, but Aksana gets on the apron. Santino threatens her with the Cobra, and he catches Cesaro with a hip toss. Santino goes for it again, but Cesaro catches him with a flapjack in the ropes. Cesaro hits the cradle face-buster for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Antonio Cesaro
Match Rating: 1/2 *
They show a replay of Damien Sandow interrupting DX at the beginning of Raw 1000. They assaulted him after he said he’d be a martyr if they did so. Sandow is seen walking backstage. He’ll be in action, next.
-Commercial Break-
JOBBER ALERT: Yoshi Tatsu is in the ring with no TV entrance.
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Damien Sandow
They circle the ring and lock up. Sandow quickly knees him in the midsection and throws him out of the ring. Sandow throws him into the barricade and bounces the back of his skull off it a few times. Sandow throws him back into the ring and hits a side leg sweep. Sandow hits the Elbow of Disdain before kneeing him in the ribs a few times. Sandow finishes him off with a double arm neckbreaker for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: Damien Sandow
Match Rating: N/A
Damien Sandow grabs a microphone and says for all the repulsive, ruffian wretches that enjoyed what happened to him on Monday at the hands of the unruly degenerates, he says to them that he is their martyr. Sandow finishes with, “You’re welcome.” Sandow does a perfect cartwheel to end the segment.
We’ll take a look at Brock Lesnar’s answer to Triple H’s Summerslam challenge.
-Commercial Break-
They show a video of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon goading Paul Heyman into accepting a Summerslam match for Brock Lesnar. After that, Triple H cleared the ring of Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman.
They showed some more Touts from the WWE Universe. In the words of the philosopher Booker T. Huffman, “Oh mah goodness!”
Rey Mysterio and Kane made their entrances. It’s main event time, next.
-Commercial Break-
#1 Contender’s Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio
The bell rings, and chaos quickly ensues. Kane works on Daniel Bryan, and Alberto Del Rio concentrates on Rey Mysterio. Kane sends Bryan to the ropes, but he holds on and elbows him in the face. Bryan pulls the top rope down as Kane charges, sending him out of the ring. Del Rio misses a body block, sending him out of the ring. Bryan catches Kane with a suicide dive, and Mysterio catches Del Rio with a seated senton off the apron! Mysterio shoulders Bryan in the midsection, catches him with a seated senton off the top, ducks a clothesline, and takes an elbow from Bryan for a two count.
Outside the ring, Kane smashes Del Rio off the steel steps. Kane backs up, and Del Rio gives him a drop-toe-hold into the steps. Bryan knocks Del Rio off the apron, and Mysterio rolls him up for a two count. Bryan quickly kicks him and kicks him in the ribs a few times. Bryan goes for a powerbomb, but Mysterio gets off. Mysterio dropkicks him into position, but Del Rio clotheslines him down as he goes for the 619. Bryan clotheslines Del Rio down, and Kane uppercuts Bryan down. Kane sends Del Rio and Bryan into the same corner and splashes them. Kane hits Bryan with a sidewalk slam for a two count. Kane hits a flying lariat and signals for the Chokeslam. Del Rio tries to intercept, but Kane big boots him down. Kane catches Mysterio and goes for a double Chokeslam, but Bryan and Mysterio counter out. They try to give him a double suplex, but Kane counters by suplexing them both instead.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the final break of the evening to see Kane kick Mysterio out of mid-air to the floor. Del Rio dropkicks Kane down for a two count. Bryan kicks Kane in the temple, but Del Rio breaks up the pinfall. Del Rio kicks away at Bryan in the corner. Bryan reverses a whip to the opposite corner, and he kicks away at Del Rio in the corner, screaming “Yes!” Bryan gets the crowd chanting before going for a dropkick in the corner, but Del Rio moves out of the way. Del Rio hits a step-up enzuigiri to the shoulder, and he applies the Cross Arm Breaker on Bryan! Mysterio comes off the top rope with a diving leg drop for a near fall.
Mysterio dropkicks Del Rio in the midsection, and Kane takes him down with a punch. Kane clotheslines Del Rio out of the ring, and he concentrates on Mysterio, punching him in the corner. Kane sends him sternum first into the turnbuckle for a near fall. Kane hits a low dropkick to the face for another near fall. Kane applies a chin lock as Ricardo Rodriguez tries to get Del Rio revived at ringside. Mysterio fights out of Kane’s chin lock before countering a powerslam into a huge DDT! Mysterio goes to the second rope and goes for a flying hurricanrana, but Kane doesn’t budge. Del Rio dropkicks an upside down Mysterio in the chest, and he assaults Kane. Del Rio runs into a Chokeslam attempt, but he kicks Kane in the knee. Del Rio hits a Backstabber, but Bryan breaks up the pin.
Bryan kicks away at Del Rio’s ribs, and the crowd is loving it. Del Rio ducks a kick to the temple and rolls him up, but Bryan applies the Yes! Lock. Kane stops Del Rio from tapping out, and he punches Bryan off. Kane clotheslines Bryan out of the ring, and he turns into an arm breaker from Del Rio. Kane counters out of the Cross Arm Breaker and hits a Chokeslam, but Mysterio breaks it up! Kane rolls out of the ring, and Bryan takes him out with a flying knee off the apron that sends Kane into the crowd! In the ring, Mysterio kicks Del Rio in the head for a near fall. Mysterio signals for the 619, but Bryan sneaks up from behind for a Yes! Lock attempt. Mysterio fights him off and puts Del Rio into position next to Bryan. Mysterio hits a double 619 on both men, and he follows up with a top rope splash on Bryan! Rodriguez pulls Mysterio out of the ring, and Del Rio coves Bryan to steal the win from Mysterio!
Winner by Pinfall: Alberto Del Rio
Match Rating: ***
Quick Match Results
The Miz def. Christian to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Ryback def. Jinder Mahal via CO
Sheamus def. Cody Rhodes (non-title)
Antonio Cesaro def. Santino Marella (non-title)
Damien Sandow def. Yoshi Tatsu
Alberto Del Rio def. Rey Mysterio, Kane, and Daniel Bryan (#1 Contender’s Match)
Bump of the Night: Cody Rhodes missing a moonsault block and using his face to land
Match of the Night: The Miz vs. Christian *** 1/4
Mike’s Thoughts
Man, I love when a wrestling show opens up with a wrestling match. That was a fantastic way to kick off the show. I’m so glad The Miz has found his way to Smackdown. This is a guy who was lost for the longest time on Raw. A move to Smackdown is going to do him wonders. This is a talented guy, and he’s going to find himself again before going back to Raw. It’s been a while (to me at least) since The Miz has had an excellent match, and tonight he had one. Christian is always good for a nice TV match. The Miz, after taking some time off, is still getting back into the swing of things, and he needed a good match like this. I can’t wait to see more of The Miz’ title run.
Well, it looks like Ryback is involved in his first little mini-feud with Jinder Mahal, the WWE’s favorite crash test dummy. Mahal walked out before Ryback could be properly fed, and I for one would like to see Mahal take Ryback’s punishment for that. After nearly four months on TV, Ryback has finally progressed to his first little program.
Sheamus and Cody Rhodes had an excellent match at the top of the hour. This is the Sheamus I love. When he’s cutting a promo, trying extra hard to be a goodie-goodie, it’s simply not good. I will admit that I enjoyed his little segment with Daniel Bryan backstage tonight, but that seems like it was an anomaly. He’s not normally that good. This was an awesome showing from both guys. Cody Rhodes is going to be great at some point. He’s a young guy with a ton of potential. Matches like tonight’s lets you see just how much. If he gets it all together, he could be awesome. I loved the interaction with Dolph Ziggler at ringside. I like how they tease that he could cash in at any time. Chris Jericho’s involvement was great as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do at Summerslam, though it hasn’t been confirmed as of yet. Up to this point, this is the Smackdown we all know and love. This show has featured some great wrestling up to now.
Antonio Cesaro had a quick little match against Santino Marella in which he beat him. Cesaro had been floating around on the roster for a few months now. I’m interested to see what he does in an actual program that doesn’t involve Teddy Long. Ryback and Cesaro both get some direction tonight. Wow!
Yes, Damien Sandow has been around for a little while now, even appearing in a Money in the Bank match, but he got turned into an instant star by opening up Raw 1000 with DX. What an awesome vote of confidence in him by WWE. Tonight he followed up on that a little bit by reiterating that he’s a martyr now that the attack happened. I’m interested to see where they go with this. This guy is going to be awesome. I think now is the time to move him into a program while he’s hot.
An excellent fatal four way match closed out the show. I’m not sure how I feel about Alberto Del Rio getting another shot at the title, especially after his match against Sheamus at Money in the Bank was so bad. The good news is that they never said this was for a match at Summerslam. Plenty of time to add another person to the title match at the summer’s biggest PPV. I’m not saying Del Rio shouldn’t be in it, I just don’t think it should be a singles match. Still, this was an excellent, high-energy fatal four way match with a ton of good stuff happening. With Raw 1000 and this great, wrestling filled episode of Smackdown, it’s been a great week to be a fan of the WWE.
Final Rating: ****
E-Mail – MikeTedesco@wrestleview.com
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