411’s WWE Smackdown Report 03.25.11

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.

Edge is in Teddy Long’s office, arm bandaged. He is upset over a ruling Long has made. Edge was attacked last week and wants some payback- Long is showing favoritism to Alberto Del Rio. Long says his ruling is in the best interest of the WWE: if Edge and Del Rio touch each other before Wrestlemania, they will be banned from the event.

Green Day plays and the pyro goes off to formally start the show. Straight to the ring-intros for our first match…it’s Wrestlemania Rewind!

Match One: Wrestlemania Rewind Match- Rey Mysterio (8-3) vs. CM Punk (0-1)
Both men met last year at Wrestlemania 26. Lockup to start and Punk powers Mysterio into the corner. He gets in a quick headbutt and stomps. Mysterio gets a float over in the opposite corner and puts Punk in position for a 619 with a rana. Punk avoids the 619 and tries for a pin but Mysterio rolls through and connects with a kick to the back of the head for two. Back up, Mysterio ducks a clothesline but misses a springboard crossbody. Punk hits a low dropkick and stomps on the chest. Cover gets two and Punk applies an abdominal stretch. He grates his elbow across the ribs but Mysterio escapes with a go-behind. Punk gets a go-behind of his own but ends up being tossed to the outside. Mysterio heads to the apron and tries for a springboard but Punk lifts him off and drops him across the barricade as we go to commercial.

Back from break, a Punk cover gets two. Punk gets a snapmare and legscissors the midsection. Mysterio elbows out and knees the ankle. He runs the ropes and tries to slide underneath Punk but Punk stops him. He drops a knee and covers for two. Punk forcefully sits on Mysterio and covers for two more. A little awkward. Crowd chants” 619″ as Punk tries for a suplex. Mysterio slips out but goes down to a crossbody for two. Punk climbs to the top (mimicking Randy Savage by pointing to the sky with both arms) but Mysterio catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Mysterio kicks at the legs and monkeyflips Punk out of the ring. He goes to the apron and hits a springboard moonsault to the outside. Cody Rhodes runs in from behind and throws Mysterio into the ringpost for the disqualification.
Winner: Rey Mysterio in 8:00
Rating: **1/2 (We all know these two guys have great chemistry in the ring, and it was on display here. Too bad it didn’t have much time to unfold though, especially with the commercial in the middle. The finish had to be expected because neither guy was going to take the fall heading into their respective Wrestlemania matches. Fine start to the show.)

Post-match, Cody Rhodes continues his attack on Rey Mysterio. Rhodes headbutts Mysterio a few times with his plastic mask and lifts his pant leg to reveal a knee brace. He charges and knees Mysterio in the face. Rhodes retreats as refs check on Mysterio.

In the back, Christian walks in on Edge. Is Edge sure he wants to go through with his match with Drew McIntyre? He should be resting his arm up for Wrestlemania. Not only does Edge have to take the match, but he has to be in Christian’s corner for his match with Alberto Del Rio. He will show the world he is 100%.

Later tonight, Undertaker addresses Triple H.

Match Two: Edge (12-1) vs. Drew McIntyre (4-7)
Lockup to start and McIntyre tries to grab an armbar but Edge punches him into the corner. Edge aggressively stomps away but runs into a back elbow. McIntyre follows up with a kick right to the injured arm. He sits and snaps it before wrapping it around the middle rope. Edge cowers in the corner but McIntyre pulls him away and wrenches the arm. Cover gets two. McIntyre grabs the arm and climbs to the middle rope but gets flipped over onto the mat by Edge. Edge ducks a clothesline and drops him with a forearm and clothesline. He tries for an Edgecution but McIntyre avoids it and kicks the arm. McIntyre calls for a Future Shock but Edge blocks it and rolls through into an Edgecator for the win.
Winner: Edge in 2:00
Rating: *1/2 (This was only here to show that Edge is still capable of winning, despite the injury. Most of the offense was carried by McIntyre and his methodical dissection of a body part.)

Post-match, Edge nails Drew McIntyre with a Spear.

Later tonight, Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio. Kind of weird after the cage match last week.

We get the Undertaker/Triple H video package shown on Raw. Undertaker responds to Triple H later tonight…seems to be a common theme in this year’s build-up.

Match Three: Michelle (3-3)/Layla (5-5) vs. Kelly Kelly (2-3)/Rosa Mendes (1-1)
LayCool come out in big slippers and Layla is dressed as Snooki. They do the fist pump at the bell but Kelly and Mendes take them down. Kelly and McCool roll to the outside. Kelly rams her into the barricade but McCool responds with a big boot. In the ring, Layla slugs away on Mendes. Mendes ducks a clothesline and drops Layla with a couple of her own. She hits a snap suplex and covers but McCool interrupts. Layla hits her neckbreaker and covers for the win.
Winner: Michelle McCool/Layla in 1:00
Rating: N/A (Same shit, different week.)

Post-match, Michelle McCool and Layla get on the mic. McCool calls their Wrestlemania opponents Trash Stratus and John Snoreison. Layla calls Snooki a little meatball- she may be famous, but she’ll never be famous and flawless.

Last week, Big Show and Kane challenged Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Match ended in a disqualification and ShowKane were destroyed post-match, courtesy of the Corre.

In the back, Kofi Kingston and Wade Barrett make their way to the ring. The Intercontinental Championship is on the line…next.

Match Four: Intercontinental Championship- Kofi Kingston© (4-7) vs. Wade Barrett (2-6)
Lockup to start and Barrett powers Kingston into the corner. Kingston fires back with strikes and a roll up cover for one. He continues with a dropkick for one more. Barrett punches the midsection but Kingston comes back with a forearm smash for two. Barrett charges the corner and runs into two boots. Kingston climbs to the middle rope but Barrett kicks him from behind, knocking him down. Barrett stomps and stretches the shoulders in-between the ropes. He backs up and charges with a big boot that sends Kingston to the outside. Barrett follows and rams Kingston into the apron. Back in, Kingston fights back with punches but Barrett catches him with a Black Hole Slam. Cover gets two and Barrett stretches the shoulders. Kingston tries to fight out but Barrett clubs the back and hits a bodyslam. Barrett climbs to the middle rope but misses an elbow drop. Kingston ducks a big boot and hits with double arm chops and a dropkick. The Superman punch misses and Barrett kicks him in the midsection. He tries for a pumphandle slam but Kingston avoids it and hits with the pendulum kick in the corner. He climbs to the top and comes off with a high crossbody for two. Boom Drop connects and he calls for Trouble in Paradise. Justin Gabriel slides in and distracts the ref as Heath Slater gets on the apron. Kingston hits Slater with Trouble in Paradise and tries to do the same to Barrett, but Barrett manages to catch him on his shoulders and hit Wasteland for the win. Really nice sequence.
Winner: Wade Barrett in 5:00 to win the Intercontinental Championship
Rating: **1/2 (Good five-minute match with a well-executed finish. Interesting how both mid-card championships have now switched hands from small/athletic guys to big/power guys. The Corre now holds two championships.)

Post-match, Justin Gabriel hits the 450 Splash on Kofi Kingston. Wade Barrett celebrates the victory atop the shoulders of his teammates. Time to give Ezekiel Jackson the Diva’s Championship.

In the back, Alberto Del Rio is with Teddy Long. Del Rio isn’t done with Edge- he has nine more days to hurt him. Long stands by his ruling from before. Del Rio doesn’t believe Long would ban him from Wrestlemania. Long reminds Del Rio that there have been 26 Wrestlemanias without him- if Del Rio doesn’t believe he can make it 27, just try him.

Up next, Undertaker responds to Triple H.

Dong! Undertaker comes out to the entrance stage and it’s promo time. The more things change, the more they stay the same. HHH has convinced himself he has the equation for eradicating Taker. He talks with confidence of breaking the Streak. This past Monday, Taker heard HHH, and that confidence is starting to fade into uncertainty. Soon, that uncertainty will turn into despair. As the days grow closer to the apocalypse- an armageddon of mega-sized proportions- HHH will realize that the words “die trying” were more prophetic than he thinks. They will be the epitaph on his tombstone. Taker looks forward to Raw where he will tell HHH all of this, face-to-face. On 2-21-11, HHH’s fate was decided- his number was chosen. At Wrestlemania, HHH will put all his accolades, success and fame on the line, to become a number. The number 19.

Sin Cara is coming.

Match Five: Jack Swagger (4-2) vs. R-Truth (2-1)
Michael Cole was especially aggravating during the ring-intros for this match. Really cranked it up a notch or two. Lockup to start and Swagger powers Truth into the corner. He hits with shoulderblocks and takes him down with a belly-to-belly suplex for one. Swagger clubs the back and presses Truth’s torso into the bottom rope. Truth starts to fight back but gets rammed into the corner. Truth puts a boot up and makes Swagger miss on a charge. He takes him down with clotheslines and sends Swagger to the outside. Truth follows up with the least-graceful plancha I have ever seen, nearly breaking his neck on impact. Swagger rolls back in and Truth heads to the top. Swagger takes his legs out and Truth gets his leg caught on the bottom rope. Swagger kicks at it and drags him into the center of the ring. He applies the anklelock and it’s over.
Winner: Jack Swagger in 3:00
Rating: ½* (Short and not very good. Unfortunately, at this point, Truth is only good for pumping a crowd up as part of a house show opener. Swagger continues his Credibility Building Tour.)

Post-match, Jack Swagger keeps the anklelock locked in. Michael Cole joins Swagger in the ring with a mic and berates R-Truth. He even has a rap for him: He’s R-Truth and he just tapped to Jack; that’s the truth because he’s just whack. Cole and Swagger take a victory lap.

Still to come, Christian (w/Edge) vs. Alberto Del Rio.

We get a video package on the John Cena/Miz saga. The announcers run down the Wrestlemania card.

Match Six: Alberto Del Rio (5-4) vs. Christian (2-0)
Brodus Clay comes out with Alberto Del Rio and Edge comes out with Christian. They lockup to start and trade positions in the corner. Del Rio gets a knee lift and grabs a side headlock. Christian knocks him down with a forearm smash for one and grabs a side headlock of his own. Del Rio takes Christian to the corner and gets in a few stomps. In the opposite corner, Christian sends Del Rio up and over the ringpost. He climbs to the top and connects with a high crossbody to the outside as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Del Rio takes a boot to the gut on a charge. Christian hops onto the middle rope and gets a sunset flip for two. Del Rio regroups and hits with a kick to the leg. Christian ducks a clothesline and clotheslines Del Rio out of the ring. Del Rio dodges a baseball slide and throws Christian into the barricade. He follows up by slamming Christian’s arm on the steel steps. Back inside, Del Rio covers for two and locks in an armbar. Christian tries to fight out but Del Rio headbutts him down. Del Rio climbs to the middle rope and comes off with a back senton. Cover gets two and Del Rio mounts with punches. He points to the Wrestlemania sign and goes back to the armbar. Christian again tries to fight out but Del Rio slams him back down. He connects with a kick and heads to the middle rope. Christian stops him this time and takes him down with a rana. Cover gets two. Back up, Christian hits with a few slaps and knocks him down with a forearm. He gives Del Rio another big slap to the face before climbing to the top. He comes off with a crossbody but Del Rio moves out of the way. In the corner, Del Rio charges with an enzuigiri but Christian ducks it and hits a middle rope DDT. He covers but Ricardo Rodriguez puts Del Rio’s foot on the bottom rope. Edge scares Rodriguez away but Clay comes up from behind with a clothesline. Back inside, Del Rio tries for the Cross Armbreaker but Christian counters into an attempt at a Killswitch. Del Rio blocks that and connects with a nice enzuigiri. Cover gets only two! Good nearfall. Del Rio puts in the Armbreaker but Christian quickly makes it to the ropes. Back up, both guys take each other out with clotheslines. Outside, Edge takes Clay out with a Spear and attacks him with a steel chair. Back inside, Del Rio tries to lock in the Armbreaker but gets distracted by Edge on the outside. The distraction allows Christian to hit the Killswitch for the win.
Winner: Christian in 12:00
Rating: ***1/2 (Very entertaining main event that was better than their cage match last week. Crowd was all over it. This past month has been, with a doubt, the best Christian has looked since his return two years ago. He’s always had great matches, but this is the first time he’s been made to look like a possible main eventer.)

Post-match, Edge gets in the ring with a steel chair. He has a crazed look on his face and is about to attack Alberto Del Rio, but Christian takes it away from him at the last second. Christian takes matters into his own hands and nails Del Rio with the chair across the back. Edge gets in Del Rio’s face with trash talk and Christian backs him away with a grin on his face to end the show.

(Many of you may disagree, but at this point, I don’t see how Christian can be excluded from the World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania. If it doesn’t become a triple threat, another option could be Christian- angry about softening Del Rio up but getting nothing in return- turning on Edge at Mania and setting up a feud. As for tonight’s show, Smackdown continues to bring the wrestling. Aside from the great main event, we got two fun little matches in Punk/Mysterio and Barrett/Kingston. In closing, I really hope they freshen up the Diva’s division after Mania- I don’t know how many more times I can watch Kelly Kelly and/or Rosa Mendes vs. Layla and/or Michelle McCool.)