411’s WWE Smackdown Report 05.06.11

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.

After a quick video highlighting Christian’s path to the World Heavyweight Championship, it’s straight to Tony Chimel’s introduction of Christian. At ringside, Michael Cole points out that Edge’s interference allowed Christian to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

In the ring, Christian soaks in a big “Christian” chant before speaking. He has been waiting 17 long years to do this…he hoists the championship above his head to another “Christian” chant. He dreamed about that moment since he was a little kid- what he would do, what he would say, how it would sound, where it would take place. Those dreams pale in comparison to how it feels to stand here the World Heavyweight Champion. Right before he came out, he got a text message from Edge saying to enjoy this moment because he earned it. He is enjoying every single second of it. Christian is holding back tears at this point. Without Edge there is no Christian. Then there is the WWE Universe, his Peeps. We all wanted this moment just as much as he did and for that, he says thank you. Edge said the championship belongs to every single one of us, and he was right…

Somebody’s gonna get their ass kicked. Mark Henry is out for some interrupting. He was cheering for Christian the whole time; not because he was a fan, but because he wanted to be the first one to get his hands on the title. Christian wonders whether Henry knows the championship is made of gold, not chocolate. Henry reminds Christian that Edge isn’t here to protect him; he is by himself. Which brings out The Great Khali. Khali speaks and Ranjin Singh translates: congratulations, but before he accepts Henry’s challenge, he should accept one from a former World Champion. Christian brings up Khali’s tutu skit from Raw- is this some kind of circus?

Randy Orton’s music hits to a huge pop and he joins the circus. Big “Randy” chant before he begins. He is no freak, but he is Randy Orton. He is new here on Smackdown, and if this is how they do things, he will not let this opportunity pass him by- throw his name in the hat to face Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship. As always, Teddy Long is out to lay down the law. This time, he will not make the decision as to who will face Christian. Long will leave it up to the WWE Universe in Orlando, Florida. Crowd chants “Randy” before the voting can even begin. Henry and Khali gets boos; Orton gets a huge reaction. It’s official, Christian vs. Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship…tonight!

Later tonight, we will revisit The Rock’s birthday celebration from Raw.

In the back, The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh run into Jinder Mahal. Mahal is here now, and things will get a lot better. Khali walks away and Singh reminds Mahal that he has Khali’s career on track. Was it his idea for Khali to wear that tutu on Raw? Singh tries to explain himself, but Mahal assures he isn’t condemning him, he is just finds it very interesting.

Match One: Sheamus (1-2) vs. Daniel Bryan (0-0)
Matthews calls Bryan the Ryan Reynolds of the WWE. Lockup to start and Sheamus gets a side headlock takedown. He rams Bryan into the turnbuckle and gets a back elbow off the ropes. Cover gets one and Sheamus pounds away in the corner. Bryan turns it on him momentarily with chops but Sheamus whips him into the opposite corner. Sheamus charges but Bryan flips over him and hits with a dropkick that sends him to the outside. Bryan continues with a suicide dive to the outside and throws Sheamus back inside. Bryan tries to ram Sheamus into the turnbuckle from the apron, but ends up being sent into the ringpost. Sheamus brings him inside and hits the Irish Curse backbreaker as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Sheamus has an armbar on Bryan. He sends Bryan into the corner but eats an elbow on a charge. Bryan charges and runs into another backbreaker. Sheamus clubs the chest between the ropes several times and follows up with a sick looking knee lift from the apron. He re-enters the ring with a diving shoulder tackle for two and perches Bryan on the top rope. Sheamus tries for a superplex but Bryan fights him off with a headbutt and comes off with a big missile dropkick. Bryan is up first with a series of kicks that get him two. Booker wonders whether Bryan has karate experience. Sheamus runs into a boot in the corner but is able to drop Bryan with a double axehandle. Sheamus calls for Pale Justice but Bryan escapes and sends him to the apron. Sheamus regroups and tries for another shoulder tackle but Bryan catches him with the LeBell Lock! Sheamus grabs the ropes and heads to the outside. Bryan charges with a suicide dive but is drilled with a Brogue Kick through the ropes. Back inside, Sheamus hits a second Brogue Kick for the win.
Winner: Sheamus in 10:00
Rating: *** (Brilliant TV match between two guys with terrific chemistry- it’s the kind of match that can continue to separate Smackdown from Raw in a positive way. Every move and transition was fluid with each guy holding his own. Take the commercial out, add a few more minutes and this is pushing four-star territory.)

Still to come, Christian vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Cody Rhodes and his assistants are out with more paper bags and it’s promo time. Adding insult to injury- that is what Rey Mysterio did at Extreme Rules, searing Rhodes’ eyes with mist. He hates that it will reflect as a loss on his record, but he did expose Mysterio. Better yet, he forced Mysterio to expose himself. Mysterio was desperate, gutless and cowardly. Thankfully, Rhodes won’t have to deal with his malevolence, because Mysterio has been drafted to Raw. Rhodes’ eyes are still burning, but even through burning eyes, he can see that we are all still ugly. As a service to us, and at a great expense to Rhodes, he will provide paper bags. The assistants hand the paper bags to members of the WWE Universe as Rhodes urges them to hide their hideousness. While his face may repulse us, our ugliness offends him.

We get screenshots of the WWE Tag Team Championship match from Extreme Rules, setting up the following match. Ezekiel Jackson is accompanied by the rest of The Corre. While he is the only one not wearing a Corre shirt, he has one hanging from his trunks. Kane joins Big Show at ringside.

Match Two: Big Show (10-4) vs. Ezekiel Jackson (1-4)
Match is joined in progress after a commercial break with both men in a lockup. Jackson shrugs Show off and we have a standoff. They lockup again and Jackson shrugs him off again. On the third lockup, Show gets a takedown into a front facelock. Jackson stands up on it and back body drops Show. Insane. Jackson follows up with stomps, clubs and an elbow drop for two. Show struggles to his feet and is met with a huge splash in the corner. Jackson hits a bodyslam for two more and applies a chinlock. Show back suplexes out of it and both men are down as the Corre cheer Jackson on. The two behemoths trade blows from their knees until Show drops Jackson with a couple clotheslines. He sends Jackson into the corner and hits a big back splash followed by a shoulderblock. Show calls for a chokeslam but the Corre hops onto the apron. Kane battles them at ringside but is taken out by a Barrett big boot. Show heads outside and manhandles Barrett and Slater. Back inside, Jackson drops Show with a clothesline for the win.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson in 4:00
Rating: *1/2 (Jackson looked like an absolute monster in there, pulling off a number of visually impressive power moves on Show. Good win for the big man.)

Post-match, The Corre tries to celebrate with Ezekiel Jackson, but he walks away.

We get highlights of The Rock’s birthday celebration from Raw. Show was a ton of fun in person…

Match Three: Layla (7-8) vs. Alicia Fox (0-0)
Layla’s music hasn’t changed. Neither has Fox’s strut. They lockup and Fox shrugs Layla off. They lockup again and Fox gets a knee lift and powers Layla into the corner. Fox chokes Layla with her boot against the ropes then misses on a charge allowing Layla to hit her neckbreaker for the win. Fox took that move like a champ.
Winner: Layla in 1:00
Rating: N/A (Good win to kick start what is presumably a face run for Layla.)

Post-match, Kharma makes her Smackdown debut. Layla retreats as Alicia Fox bites the bullet and kicks Kharma’s back. She goes for a second kick which Kharma catches. Kharma viciously shoves her to the ground and hits the All-Natural-There-Ain’t-No-Plastic-Here Buster. Layla looks on from the ramp in terror.

In the back, The Corre meets up with Ezekiel Jackson in his locker room. Wade Barrett wants his attention, but Zeke won’t give him the time of day. Zeke stands up, grins and attacks Barrett. The rest of Corre join in on the brawl and the numbers are too much for Zeke to overcome. They dump a big crate of laundry on top of him. Before they leave, Barrett tells Zeke it has been a pleasure working with him.

At ringside, Josh Matthews and Booker T discuss what just happened. Chavo Guerrero joins the commentary booth for our next match. He is here to scout the new luchador.

Match Four: Sin Cara (1-0) vs. Tyson Kidd (0-0)
The blue and gold lights are back. They lock up and Kidd grabs a hammerlock. Cara escapes with a snapmare but misses a handstand back elbow off the ropes. Cara ducks a clothesline and gets several rotations on a rana that sends Kidd to the outside. Cara follows and hits another rana off the steel steps. He throws Kidd inside but takes a basement dropkick trying to get in. Outside, Kidd hits a suplex and tosses Cara inside for one. Kidd continues with a kick to the back and a choke on the bottom rope. Meanwhile, Guerrero downplays Cara’s moves by saying he can and has done the same things; he calls Cara one-dimensional. Kidd tries for a slingshot legdrop onto the apron but Cara moves out of the way. Cara comes back with a series of kicks and connects with the handstand back elbow followed by another rana. He heads to the apron and hits Kidd with a springboard crossbody for two. Cara misses a charge in the corner and is dropped onto the apron. Kidd heads to the top but takes a kick to the back of the head. Cara meets him up top and comes off with the Flux Capacitor for the win.
Winner: Sin Cara in 3:00
Rating: *3/4 (Another fun showcase match for Cara. Guerrero didn’t seem too impressed on commentary, calling Cara a thief for stealing his old moves. He even questioned who is hurt more by Cara’s finisher. I’m just happy they finally found something meaningful for Guerrero.)

Post-match, Chavo Guerrero meets Sin Cara in the ring. They shake hands and Guerrero steps back with a grin.

Be a star, not a bully.

In the back, Todd Grisham is with Teddy Long. Regarding Christian’s title defense tonight right after competing in a grueling Ladder match- it’s not always about what’s fair. The WWE Universe wants the match and Randy Orton was also in action at Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing match. Plus, Raw featured a WWE Championship match.

The main event is next, and we get in-ring intros for both men.

Match Five: World Heavyweight Championship- Christian© (6-1) vs. Randy Orton (4-0)
Lockup to start and Orton grabs a side headlock. Christian pushes him off and hits a shoulder tackle for one. Back up, Christian slaps Orton across the face but goes down to a back body drop. Orton pounds on Christian’s chest repeatedly and calls for a rope-assisted DDT. Christian counters with a back body drop that sends Orton to the outside and continues with a low dropkick through the ropes. Christian crashes to the floor on a missed plancha as we go to commercial.

Back from break, Orton stomps on Christian’s chest. Cover gets him two and he drops two knees for two more. Orton forcefully sends Christian into three corners and covers for two before applying a standing waistlock in the center of the ring. Christian slips out of it and hits with strikes. Christian tries to clothesline Orton out of the ring but Orton ducks it and ends up clotheslining them both to the outside as we go to a second commercial.

Back from break, Christian has Orton in a chinlock. A replay of the Orton clothesline before the break shows his leg hitting the back of Christian’s head on the fall. Orton escapes the chinlock but falls to a back elbow for two. It doesn’t keep him down for long as he drops Christian with a back suplex. Back up, they trade blows and Orton gets the upper hand with a dropkick. He connects with clotheslines and sends Christian to the corner. Orton charges and runs into the pendulum kick. Christian follows up with a dropkick off the middle rope for two. Christian tries to stay on offense with an inverted DDT but Orton escapes and sends Christian to the apron. Christian manages to snap Orton’s neck off the ropes and climb to the top. He comes off with a high crossbody for two before hitting a back elbow off the middle rope. Christian claps his hands and charges but Orton catches him with a picture-perfect snap powerslam for two! Great facial expressions of anger toward the ref by Orton. Back up, Christian tries for a Killswitch but Orton shoves it off, only to be drop toe hold-ed onto the middle rope. Orton avoids the slingshot jab and connects with the rope-assisted DDT for two! Orton can’t believe Christian kicked out. More great facial expressions. Back up, Christian counters an Angle Slam into an inverted DDT for two. Crowd is responding to every nearfall. A second attempt at the Angle Slam connects and Orton calls for the RKO. Christian avoids it and tries for the Killswitch but Orton escapes with a leapfrog. Christian heads to the middle rope and jumps off but Orton catches him in midair with an RKO for the win and the championship.
Winner: Randy Orton in 17:00 to win the World Heavyweight Championship
Rating: ***3/4 (Huge pop for the win, but both guys had the crowd in the palm of their hands the entire time. The match was very well executed and structured to provide some great drama and nearfalls at the end. Great camera work as well to capture a nice range of emotions through each man’s facial expressions.)

Post-match, Randy Orton celebrates and Christian is left in disbelief. The music dies down and all we hear is applause for the former World Heavyweight Champion. Christian walks up the ramp with his head held low to end the show.

(If the WWE went out of business tomorrow, I’d be upset over this Christian situation. Chances are that won’t happen, so let’s wait and see what happens in the coming weeks. The fact is, we all knew Randy Orton was going to be the centerpiece face of Smackdown. While that doesn’t necessarily mean he needs the World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, that’s how it turned out. On top of that, even if Christian’s reign had lasted a year, I don’t see how any other moment could have topped watching him pull down that strap and celebrate with his best friend in the middle of the ring. There has already been a ton of backlash over this; why don’t we relax and watch it play out? For the record, I find Christian 10x more enjoyable as a heel. All in all, this was one of the more newsworthy episodes of Smackdown so far this year. If you missed it, try and track down Sheamus/Bryan and the main event.)