411’s WWE Smackdown Report 02.18.11

Welcome to the WWE Smackdown Report!

I will be tracking the win/loss record of every Smackdown superstar throughout the year. Here are the guidelines:

– These records only reflect matches that have taken place on Smackdown or Pay-Per-View.
– Matches that end or have ended in a No Contest are not counted.
– In the case of Tag Team matches, each member of the losing team gets a Loss and each member of the winning team gets a Win.
– In the case of multi-man matches, every participant besides the winner gets a Loss.
– Some wrestlers will have a third number in their record. This number represents matches that have ended in a Draw.

Big night tonight as Smackdown celebrates its 600th episode!

Green Day (minus the pyro) kicks off the show and Josh Matthews welcomes us. Tonight, we will see the World Championship Coronation of Dolph Ziggler.

But that’s later; the huge 12-man tag team “main event” starts NOW…

Match One: Drew McIntyre (4-2)/Wade Barrett (2-1)/CM Punk (0-0)/Kane (2-2)/Dolph Ziggler (1-6)/Sheamus (0-0) vs. John Cena (0-0)/Randy Orton (1-0)/Rey Mysterio (4-2)/Edge (5-1)/R-Truth (1-1)/John Morrison (0-0)
Tony Chimel introduces Edge as the World Heavyweight Champion, and he comes out wearing the strap. Sheamus is about to start the match with Edge, but McIntyre demands to be tagged in. He is, and they lock up. McIntyre powers Edge to the corner and slugs. He yells in Edge’s face but is quickly pulled in and attacked. Edge connects with a big boot and tags in Truth who comes in with rights. Truth rams McIntyre into the turnbuckle and takes a boot to the chest. Ziggler tags in and is met with a hiptoss. Truth tags in Orton who comes at Ziggler with boots and uppercuts. He beats on him in the corner and connects with a clothesline. Orton stalks for a bit before hitting a knee drop for two. He grabs a front facelock and tags in Cena who eats a back elbow in the corner. Ziggler continues with strikes but soon goes down to a bulldog. Morrison tags in but Ziggler kicks his legs out and stomps. Morrison returns the favor by sweeping the legs and tries for Starship Pain but Ziggler recovers and takes him off the top with an overhead belly-to-back throw. Cover gets two. Ziggler tags in Sheamus as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Sheamus hits a suplex on Morrison for two. Punk tags in and gets a snapmare with a kick to the back. Punk mockingly rubs at his own eyes, alluding to the time he sprayed Morrison in the face on Raw. He drops a couple knees and covers for two. Punk legscissors Morrison’s head but Morrison is able to stand and make the tag to Mysterio. We are in San Diego by the way, and he gets a good pop. Mysterio comes in with a seated senton off the top rope and a springboard crossbody. Cover gets two and Punk regroups with a kick to the gut. Mysterio rolls through on a sunset flip and gets a kick to the face for two. Punk tries for a G2S but Mysterio counters with a rana into the 619 position. Punk blocks it and drops Mysterio with a backbreaker. Nice. Cover gets two. Kane tags in and slugs on Mysterio in the corner before slowing things down with a bearhug in the middle of the ring. Mysterio fights out of it and kicks Kane in the chest, but is thrown into the enemy corner. Kane charges but Mysterio get two boots up. Kane grabs a goozle but Mysterio avoids the chokeslam. Instead, Kane sends him sliding out of the ring into Punk, who catches Mysterio with a modified gutbuster on the way down. Cool spot as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Barrett hits Mysterio with a backbreaker for two. Sheamus tags in and stops Mysterio from making the hot tag. He drops Mysterio with a clothesline and applies a shoulder stretch. Mysterio fights out with kicks and tries for the hot tag again, but Sheamus stops it. Mysterio kicks Sheamus in the chest before falling to the Irish Curse backbreaker for two. Barrett tags back in and meets Mysterio with stomps. He drops Mysterio with a headbutt and covers for two. Mysterio gets back into it with a drop toe hold into the middle rope. He climbs to the top and comes off with a moonsault. Both men are down and Mysterio can’t make the cover. Mysterio finally makes the hot tag to Edge as Barrett tags in Ziggler. Edge drops Ziggler with a clothesline and a flapjack. He hits the Edgecution and signals for the Spear. Booker loves it. Edge charges before Ziggler stands up (which always means someone is going to interrupt)…and Sheamus intercepts him with the Brogue Kick. Morrison in and he hits the Flash kick on Sheamus. The match breaks down as Kane chokeslams Morrison, Cena connects with the AA on Kane, Punk drops Cena with a G2S, Orton surprises Punk with an RKO, McIntyre nails the Future Shock DDT on Orton, Truth hits a reverse STO on McIntyre and Barrett hits the Black Hole Slam on Truth. Mysterio comes off the top rope with a rana on Barrett, setting him up for a 619. Ziggler intervenes, but gets awkwardly drop toe held into position as well. 619 connects on both and Edge catches Ziggler with a Spear immediately after for the win.
Winner: John Cena/Randy Orton/Rey Mysterio/Edge/R-Truth/John Morrison in 20:00
Rating: ***1/2 (As expected, that was a whole lot of fun, and a great way to kick off the show. I wouldn’t say it made me any more excited to see Elimination Chamber, but this was more about celebrating the night than selling the PPV.)

Post-match, Vickie Guerrero comes out. Excuse her! She is ordering Edge to hand over the championship- he is no longer the World Heavyweight Champion. She shows us why with a clip from last week of Edge hitting the banned Spear on Dolph Ziggler and having Clay Matthews count the 1-2-3. Edge knew the move was illegal. Vickie doesn’t even know what “that football player” was thinking- he wasn’t a licensed official. She repeats- Edge is no longer the World Heavyweight Champion. However, her boyfriend, Ziggler, is. Tonight, we will all witness his coronation. Edge, on the other hand, is welcome to watch from his hotel room. Vickie knows he assaulted Teddy Long, and because of that, Edge is FIRED.

At ringside, Michael Cole defends Vickie Guerrero’s decision. Josh Matthews and Booker T disagree.

Last month, Rey Mysterio de-Dashed Cody Rhodes. Earlier this week, Todd Grisham caught up with Rhodes. He is wearing a clear protective face mask ala Rip Hamilton. The world can’t see the pain he has endured or his mental anguish. His operation was a success, but what about his opportunity for success? It has been destroyed. While other superstars are on the road to Wrestlemania, Rhodes’ journey has stalled before it could even get started. He shouldn’t badmouth Mysterio- it would be a step backwards. Instead, he is here to announce that his doctors have cleared him for travel, and he will be here next week with another
announcement. Good stuff, I like this storyline quite a bit.

Smackdown Classic: August 26, 1999, headlined by HHH vs. The Rock with Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Referee.

2.21.11…I like the “2 guys, 1 video” theory.

Match Two: Eve (1-0)/Beth Phoenix (2-0) vs. Layla (1-4)/Maryse (0-0)
Michelle McCool is at the announce booth for commentary- she injured her foot by kicking Layla two weeks ago. Maryse slaps Phoenix across the face to start and Phoenix responds by lifting and dropping her into the corner. She hits with rights and sends Maryse to the opposite corner where she meets her with a clothesline. a second clothesline gets one. Layla tags in and wrenches Phoenix’s arm. Phoenix pushes her away and lifts Layla by the arm. Eve tags in and hits a couple dropkicks. In the corner, Eve catches a boot and hits a snap suplex for two. She continues with a sunset flip but Layla rolls through. Back up, Layla misses a roundhouse kick and Eve kicks her in the gut and head. Meanwhile, McCool makes her way onto the apron. Phoenix grabs her by the injured leg, distracting the ref. Layla and Maryse take advantage by hitting double boots to Eve for the win.
Winner: Layla/Maryse in 2:00
Rating: * (Good win for Layla who has been on the losing end lately. Eve has some decent moves which she hits rather awkwardly most of the time- I’m still not sold on her.)

At ringside, Booker T thinks Smackdown should have been named “The Book Show.” Ehh, I don’t know…that would have been a little misleading.

Did you hear? The Rock returned to wrestling on Monday. We get basically the entire promo here. My personal favorite line: “…looking like a big fat bowl of Fruity Pebbles!”

Later tonight, The World Championship Coronation of Dolph Ziggler.

Smackdown Classic: Two days after 9/11, the first public assembly of that size after the tragedy.

Match Three: Kofi Kingston (4-3) vs. The Miz (0-1)
Now that I think about it, Michael Cole standing up and praising Miz during his entrance is no different than JBL chanting “All hail, King Booker” during Booker’s entrances back in 2006. Lock-up to start and Miz gets a go-behind. Kingston with a standing switch and Miz wrenches the arm. He grabs a side headlock and drops Kingston with a shoulderblock. Kingston gets an armdrag and applies an armbar. He transitions into a standing hammerlock before dropping Miz with three crossbodies. Cover gets two and Kingston goes right back to the armbar. Another hammerlock and Miz backs Kingston into the corner. Miz gets in a sucker punch then slugs away. Kingston comes back with strikes and misses a splash in the corner, landing on the middle rope instead. Miz kicks his legs out and Kingston crashes to the mat as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Miz hits Kingston with a boot to the gut. He gets in a snap suplex and covers for two before stretching the shoulders. Kingston tries to escape, but Miz keeps it locked in. Kingston eventually counters it into a backslide for two. Kingston connects with a couple of kicks but Miz gets right back on offense with rights. Kingston fires back with more strikes and tries for an SOS but Miz avoids it. Kingston is able to rana Miz into the middle turnbuckle instead and hit a dropkick for two. Back up, Miz powers Kingston into the corner and gets in a few shoulderblocks. Miz retreats and charges but Kingston grazes him with a pendulum kick. Kingston heads to the top and comes off with a high crossbody for two. Kingston tires for a Superman punch, but Miz blocks and counters it into his two-way neckbreaker. Cover gets two. Kingston fights back with kicks and avoids being sent to the outside, bouncing off the top rope with the back of his neck/shoulders. He hits with the Superman punch and connects with the Boom Drop. Kingston signals for the Trouble in Paradise before Alberto Del Rio comes out to distract. Miz rolls Kingston up from behind but Kingston rolls through for two. Kingston telegraphs a back body drop and kicks Miz in the chest. Del Rio whips Kingston with his scarf a few times through the ropes, providing a second distraction and allowing Miz to hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the win.
Winner: The Miz in 10:00
Rating: **3/4 (I like that Miz stayed away from those chinlocks he always goes to, making the slow parts of this match more engaging. While not a “clean” win for the WWE Champ, the distraction advanced another feud, so no big deal.)

Post-match, Alberto Del Rio stands over Kofi Kingston body and laughs.

At ringside, Josh Matthews pitches it to a top ten list: “Longest Running Weekly Episodic TV Shows”…10. My Three Sons (369); 9. Bonanza (430); 8. Ozzie and Harriet (435); 7. Death Valley Days (452); 6. Law and Order (456); 5. The Simpsons (477); 4. Lasie (588); 3. WWE Smackdown (600); 2. Gunsmoke (633); 1. WWE Raw (925)

Up next, Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel/Heath Slater for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Smackdown Classic: February 18, 2004, Eddie Guerrero celebrates his WWE Championship win.

Match Four: WWE Tag Team Championship- Santino Marella© (0-1)/Vladimir Kozlov© (0-2) vs. Justin Gabriel (3-0)/Heath Slater (1-1)
Kozlov lifts and drops Gabriel at the start. Gabriel ducks a clothesline but takes a fallaway slam that sends him outside the ring. Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson head down the ramp. Jackson helps Gabriel up as Barrett hops onto the apron, distracting Kozlov and allowing Gabriel to re-enter with a sneak attack. Slater tags in and works over Kozlov’s knee. He stomps in the corner until the ref pulls him away. Slater charges with a splash but Kozlov catches him in mid-air and tosses him away. Marella and Gabriel tag in. Marella blocks a Gabriel kick and hits with strikes. He ducks a big boot and hits a hiptoss. The saluting, diving headbutt connects for two as Slater interrupts the pin. Kozlov comes in and throws Slater to the outside as Marella readies the Cobra. It connects but Barrett and Jackson attack Marella for the disqualification.
Winner: Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov in 2:00 to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship
Rating: * (Say what you want about the Cobra, but it is over like nobody’s business. Kozlov had some scary-looking offense in there, almost hazardous in execution. It almost reminded me of Goldberg in parts.)

Post-match, the Corre continue their attack on Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov…until Big Show and his Big Headband haul ass down the ramp to make the save. He takes care of them singlehandedly. It eventually comes down to Show and Ezekiel Jackson. They tease a confrontation, but Jackson backs away with a grin across his face. Crowd was all over that segment.

Smackdown Classic: December 13, 2001, Booker T and Steve Austin have a food fight.

World Heavyweight Championship Coronation

Back from break, Dolph Ziggler is in the ring with Vickie Guerrero. The World Heavyweight Championship belt (with a clean name plate) rests on a red-clad stand. As General Manager, it is with great privilege that Vickie introduces to us the NEW World Heavyweight Champion, Dolph Ziggler! She hands him the belt and he celebrates as the crowd chants “We want Edge!”…

With that, a returning Teddy Long makes his way to the ring. He can imagine they are surprised to see him- especially Vickie. Did her investigation on the Long assault lead her to looking into a mirror? Vickie thinks that’s absurd. Long says Vickie had the most to gain from the attack- she was even the first on the scene after the attack. She has been after Long’s job for a long time. Now she won’t have to worry about her job; here is what’s going to happen…before he can finish, Vickie rats out Ziggler as the attacker. Yenta! It was all Ziggler’s idea. Long is glad to see this is all coming out. We can forget about this coronation- in fact, we can clear the ring. Now that Long is back in charge, we are going to have a World Title match. Vickie had the power to fire people; Long has the power to re-hire people…the challenger, Edge! I want to point out- the belt was practically slipping off Ziggler’s waist.

Match Five: World Heavyweight Championship- Dolph Ziggler© (1-7) vs. Edge (6-1)
Bell sounds after the commercial. Ziggler charges with a clothesline but Edge ducks it and drops Ziggler with one of his own. Edge hits a half-nelson facebuster and kneels in the corner, signaling for a Spear. He charges but Ziggler leaps over it, sending Edge shoulder-first into the ringpost. Outside, Ziggler beats on Edge with stomps. Back inside, Ziggler covers for one before choking Edge with the bottom rope. He covers again for one more and applies a chinlock. Edge fights out of it with rights but Ziggler tries to put in a Sleeper. Edge blocks it but falls to a Fame-asser. Edge gets up near the ropes as Ziggler tries for a ZigZag. Edge holds onto the top rope, blocking it. When will Ziggler learn?! Back up, Edge ducks a clothesline and nails Ziggler with a Spear for the win.
Winner: Edge in 3:00 to win the World Heavyweight Championship
Rating: *1/2 (Ziggler goes 0-2 for the night, with only one win on the year. I’m genuinely curious to see what happens to him when he breaks away from his heat generator, Vickie.)

Post-match, Teddy Long comes out. He has one more thing to say: Dolph, you’re fired! Edge grabs a mic: Excuse him. Tonight has been one long party- it’s the 600th episode of Smackdown! He was on the first episode, and stands here as the new World Heavyweight Champion. Now, Ziggler is fired- it almost makes Edge want to sing. Confetti falls as Edge leads the crowd in “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye!”

(Fun episode tonight with a hot crowd, big developments and some good wrestling to boot. As far as the Dolph Ziggler/World Title situation is concerned, I feel the timing for it was completely off- in my opinion, it would have worked much better post-Wrestlemania. It’s a great heel move, but there was no time to milk the title reign and have Edge’s comeuppance mean more with Mania coming up. No one expects Ziggler to defend the title at Mania this year, so they wrote themselves into a corner. Have this same scenario leading into Over the Limit or Extreme Rules, and you have yourself a great little storyline. Heading into Mania, it doesn’t feel as effective- at least for me.)