Friday Night Smackdown!
Cleveland, Ohio
March 4, 2011
results thanks to wrestleview.com
We open up the show with a video
recapping the events of last week's episode. Vickie Guerrero was put in a match
with Drew McIntyre as her partner against Edge and Kelly Kelly with Vickie's job
on the line. Needless to say Vickie's team lost and General Manager Teddy Long
subsequently fired her. The whole firing segment went a little long and I was
left feeling bad for her at the end of it.
Tonight we'll see the contract signing for the World Heavyweight Championship
match between Edge and Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania. They put over the
unpredictability of WWE contract signings.
The Smackdown video plays and we're brought into the arena to hear Edge's music
hit. The World Heavyweight Champion makes his way to the ring and he's set for
action. As he makes his way to the ring the announcers put over the return of
Undertaker to Smackdown. Our announcers tonight are Josh Mathews, Michael Cole,
and Booker T.
Edge grabs a microphone and says he'll be out here later tonight for an official
contract signing for his match for the World Heavyweight Championship against
Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 27. Edge says he's looking forward to it because
he wants to get face to face with Del Rio and have him look into his eyes. He
wants Del Rio to see what it takes to be a champion and to main event
WrestleMania. Edge also has a bone to pick with him because last week he was
rudely interrupted. Edge was in the middle of a going away party for a woman we
all love to hate, Vickie Guerrero. Edge got rid of her and she's gone.
Edge wants them to start singing like last week and he's just about to get it
going when Drew McIntyre runs down. McIntyre punches away at the champion but
Edge quickly outsmarts him and sends him over the top rope. Teddy Long's music
hits and he thanks Drew on behalf of himself and the WWE Universe for losing the
match to send Vickie out. Long says if McIntyre doesn't get in the ring and have
a straight up match with Edge then he'll be fired, too. Edge says Teddy brought
up a great point thanks to him, Vickie Guerrero is gone. Edge starts a "Thank
you Drew" chant.
-Commercial Break-
Edge vs. Drew McIntyre
The match begins and Edge quickly hits a drop-toe-hold. Edge punches and stomps
him down into the corner. Edge sends him to the opposite corner but McIntyre
moves, causing Edge to hit the ring post shoulder first. McIntyre takes him down
by the arm, injured last week by Del Rio, and gets a one count. McIntyre stomps
on the arm and uses the rope to illegally stretch it out. McIntyre bangs the arm
off the apron and applies an arm bar in the center of the ring. Edge fights up
and punches out. McIntyre reverses a whip and gives him a nice big boot, sending
Edge out of the ring.
McIntyre follows him outside and bounces the arm off the announcer's table.
McIntyre screams that Edge isn't going to WrestleMania and he'll end his career.
McIntyre puts him in the ring and pins him for a near fall. McIntyre takes the
extra padding off the injured arm and drops some knees on it. McIntyre goes back
to the arm bar but Edge again fights up and out of it. Edge goes into the ropes
but McIntyre quickly hits him with a back elbow, sending him out of the ring
again. McIntyre again follows him outside and runs into a back body drop!
Edge throws McIntyre back into the ring and goes to the top rope. Edge hits a
nice cross-body block for a near fall. When's the last time Edge did that?
McIntyre again reverses a whip and punches the arm. Edge all of a sudden blocks
a kick, spins McIntyre, and Spears him! Edge covers and lifts McIntyre's
shoulder at two and a half. Edge applies the Edgecator, his variation of the
Sharpshooter, and gets the submission victory!
Winner by Submission: Edge
Match Rating: * 3/4
Tonight we'll see Big Show take on Kane. The Undertaker also makes his return to
Smackdown.
-Commercial Break-
Michael Cole talks about his first official match against Jerry "The King"
Lawler at WrestleMania. Cole says he'll have a lot more to say about that later
in the night.
Rey Mysterio's music hits but it's not him that runs out. Its "Dashing" Cody
Rhodes wearing the mask that he ripped off Mysterio's head last week. Rhodes
stomps on the mask and makes his way to the ring wearing his own mask, a plastic
face guard. They show a replay of Cody Rhodes and his father Dusty setting
Mysterio up and assaulting him last week.
Rhodes gets in the ring and screams at the crowd to not look at him. Rhodes says
the feeling we have festering in our stomachs is disappointment because we're
not seeing Mysterio tonight. Rhodes says he knows disappointment because he
feels it everyday when he wakes up and sees what was once "dashing" reduced to
this. His father, the lovable American Dream Dusty Rhodes, came to him and he
convinced him to help set up Rey Mysterio so he could inflict what he only
imagines is a fraction of the damage to Rey's face that he did to his. When he
was rubbing his face in the steel grate and removed the mask from his head, it
felt good. Nothing has felt good for him lately and he knew then that it was the
right thing to do.
Rhodes says he isn't going to let a sideshow freak like Mysterio stop him from
becoming World Heavyweight Champion. The next right thing to do, while his
father is watching right now, is to challenge Rey Mysterio to a match at
WrestleMania 27. If Mysterio accepts the challenge then he'll expose his face on
the grandest stage of all. Rhodes walks off trying to avoid letting people look
at him.
Kane is backstage when The Corre walks up to him. Wade Barrett reminds him that
Kane's greatest victory came last year in a match they got involved in. Kane
says he didn't need or want their help then and he doesn't want it now. Justin
Gabriel says they just want him to beat Big Show tonight. Ezekiel Jackson tells
him to think about it.
Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel will defend their Unified Tag Team Titles next
against former champions Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov.
-Commercial Break-
WWE Unified Tag Team Championship Match
Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (c) w/ The Corre vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir
Kozlov
Santino and Gabriel start the match out. They tease kicks and Santino threatens
the Cobra. They lock up and Santino takes him down with a body slam. They lock
up again and Santino hits an arm drag. Kozlov is tagged in and he knees Gabriel
down. Kozlov head-butts the chest and hits a nice sambo throw, sending Gabriel
out of the ring. Santino threatens Slater with the Cobra as he tries to
blindside Kozlov. The Corre regroups at ringside as we go to commercial.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Kozlov applying a headlock on Slater. Slater
fights up and whips him off but Kozlov floors him with a shoulder block. Slater
quickly kicks him in the knee and punches away at him. The referee admonishes
Slater and Barrett gets a cheap shot in from outside. Gabriel tags in and he
punches away at Kozlov. Gabriel and Kozlov complete the worst looking snapmare
in wrestling history and Gabriel applies a neck vice. Kozlov eventually counters
out with a back suplex. Slater is tagged in and he tries to stop Kozlov from
tagging in Santino but is unsuccessful.
Santino comes in and hits some stinging left jabs, taking Slater down. Santino
splits under a clothesline and hits a hip toss. Santino drops the head-butt and
Gabriel breaks up the pin. Kozlov quickly takes Gabriel out with a big boot and
The Corre drags Gabriel out. Slater takes Kozlov out of the ring and turns into
a reverse STO from Santino. Santino sets the Cobra up and knocks Barrett off the
apron with it. Slater uses the distraction to hit his snap reverse DDT for the
win.
Winners & still Unified Tag Team Champions: Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel
Match Rating: * 1/2
Christian returns to Smackdown next week after being out for six months! They
show footage of Alberto Del Rio injuring Christian last September. They then
show Christian coming back at Elimination Chamber and saving Edge from Del Rio's
sneak attack.
Alberto Del Rio is backstage with Ricardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is doing some
vocal workouts and Del Rio turns to a painter and says he's captured the essence
of him.
The Undertaker returns to Smackdown next.
-Commercial Break-
The announcers talk about the Undertaker's imminent return and show us a replay
of Triple H's promo from Raw. It wasn't that good that they had to show the
entire thing. This is the stuff that I severely dislike about the Road to
WrestleMania. I don't think there's many people that tune into Smackdown without
having seen Raw on Monday. Why do they have to sit through entire segments of
Raw on the rest of the shows?
Hells Bells ring out and Johnny Cash sings "Ain't No Grave" as Undertaker makes
his return to Smackdown. Call me a traditionalist but the lack of Undertaker's
real music really hurts his entrance.
Undertaker says he finds it mystifying that the strongest of the strong and the
greatest of the great don't know when to leave well enough alone. They have to
realize that there are mountains that cannot be climbed and seas that cannot be
sailed and streaks that cannot be broken. Undertaker heard Triple H's comments
on Raw and to be perfectly honest there wasn't much he said that he couldn't
agree with. They are the last of an era and a dying breed. Triple H is
everything he says he is, if not more. In his opinion, he is probably the
greatest World Heavyweight Champion in the last decade and a half. The thing
that Triple H said that he found most interesting is that he has figured out how
to destroy the Undertaker and make him disappear forever. It was quite simple
all you have to do is beat Undertaker at WrestleMania. Easier said than done.
Triple H has figured out in his mind how he's going to do this so he'll take
everything he ever accomplished and he'll throw it all on the table and go for
broke. If he wins then he will be hailed as The Game and The King of Kings. But
if he loses, and he will lose, he will become nothing more than a statistic a
name on a long list of people who came before him trying to do the same thing.
Undertaker warns him to make no mistake he plays no games and he bows down to
no man, especially The King of Kings. At WrestleMania, Triple H will find out
what 18 other men found out before him that he is indeed the last outlaw.
Triple H will also find out what it means to Rest In Peace!
Still to come is the contract signing of Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio at
WrestleMania 27. We'll also see Big Show take on Kane.
-Commercial Break-
The announcers put over the signing of Sin Cara, formerly Mμstico. I can't wait
for him to debut.
Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes vs. Lay-Cool
The announcers discuss the little spat Lay-Cool had last week during Layla's
match against Rosa Mendes. McCool attacked Mendes, causing a DQ, and Layla was
not happy about that at all. McCool said she was handling the business Layla
couldn't.
Beth starts it off against McCool. Beth takes her down with a waist lock and
stomps on McCool's injured foot. She's still wearing a medical boot. Rosa is
tagged in and she works on McCool's foot. Layla is quickly tagged in and Rosa
takes her down, too. Rosa goes into the ropes and McCool distracts her. Layla
kicks Rosa and gets McCool back in. Rosa throws Layla into McCool and they shove
each other. McCool punches away at Rosa and drops some knees on her. McCool goes
to kick her in the head but Rosa moves. McCool goes down in pain.
Beth and Layla are tagged in. Beth takes Layla down a few times and signals for
the end. Layla goes to slingshot over Beth but Beth catches her and hits a
powerslam. McCool breaks up the pin. Beth goes for the Glam Slam but McCool
kicks her in the head and Layla picks up the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Lay-Cool
Match Rating: *
Big Show will take on Kane next.
-Commercial Break-
Big Show vs. Kane
As Big Show makes his way to the ring they show footage of him beating Wade
Barrett by Count-Out last week. Big Show then scared The Corre off with a steel
chair.
They lock up and Big Show backs Kane to the corner. Big Show gives a clean break
and Kane gives him an uppercut for that. Big Show comes back with punches and
sends him to the corner. Kane avoids a butt bump but Big Show catches him with a
goozle. Kane kicks out of it and goes into the ropes but they both have the same
idea with a double clothesline.
The Corre comes down to the ring now and Wade Barrett slides a chair into the
ring for Kane. Kane smashes Big Show on the back with it and The Corre comes in
to continue the assault.
Winner by Disqualification: Big Show
Match Rating: N/A
Kane watches on as The Corre continues attacking Big Show. All of a sudden Kane
absolutely floors Gabriel with the chair. The Corre scatters and drags Gabriel
out of the ring. They're just as confused as I am.
-Commercial Break-
They replay the video of HBK talking about Triple H vs. Undertaker. Even though
that guy who recaps Raw, Darwin Stevens, didn't like it, I did. Though, again,
it didn't need to be replayed in its entirety on Smackdown. Replay entire bits
of Raw on NXT and Superstars but not Smackdown.
Jack Swagger makes his entrance and Michael Cole loves it. Cole says he's
welcoming him to Team Cole. Michael Cole gets into the ring and says he wants
the crowd to show some respect for the man who will train him and will be in his
corner when he embarrasses and humiliates Jerry "The King" Lawler at
WrestleMania. Cole says he'd like to invite all of us to Dallas on Raw when he
introduces live to the world his special guest referee. This man is grandiose
and flamboyant. In short, he's simply awesome. This man is one of the all time
greats in WWE. The one thing that man, Swagger, himself, and LeBron James think
is that Cleveland stinks!
-Commercial Break-
Jack Swagger vs. JTG
They circle the ring and Swagger immediately takes him down with a waist lock.
Swagger rolls on JTG and applies a front face lock. Swagger hits a nice
belly-to-belly side suplex and Michael Cole is putting him over big time.
Swagger hits a pair of Vader Bombs and Cole says he can't wait to perform that
move on Lawler at WrestleMania. Swagger applies an Ankle Lock and completes the
annihilation of JTG.
Winner by Submission: Jack Swagger
Match Rating: N/A
Michael Cole gets in the ring and celebrates with Jack Swagger. Michael Cole
dances around the ring and Booker T says he's lost his damn mind.
They play a shortened version of The Rock's promo from Raw. That's what they
should've done with all the promos tonight. Just play shortened versions.
Edge is walking backstage when he sees that painter walking with the picture of
Alberto Del Rio. Edge takes the paintbrush and paints a mustache and unibrow on
Del Rio. Edge then knocks the painter down and continues walking.
-Commercial Break-
The ring is all decorated in preparation for the contract signing. They've got
the red carpet, a Mexican flag, and of course the table. General Manager Teddy
Long is in the ring with Ricardo Rodriguez, who introduces the challenger for
the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio
comes into the arena driving a beautiful Mercedes. Del Rio gets in the ring and
says his name, but we already knew that, of course. Del Rio welcomes us to his
WrestleMania 27 contract signing ceremony. The only way to enjoy the ceremony is
with the singing of the Mexican National Anthem. Ricardo Rodriguez starts
singing it until...
Edge's music hits and the World Heavyweight Champion makes his way to the ring.
Edge puts his championship on the table. Long asks if, for the first time ever
in Smackdown history, we can have a contract signing that doesn't end in chaos.
Long asks them to sit down and they do. The crowd chants USA, even though
neither competitor in the match is from the country. Edge says after this
contract is signed it is all over. Del Rio doesn't know what it's like to fight
on the biggest stage in the world but he is an eleven-time World Heavyweight
Champion.
Del Rio says he already knows that but that's the past no one remembers that.
This contract isn't just a piece of paper it represents the next chapter for
WWE. It's not for Edge; it's for him his destiny. Edge says destiny can change
in the blink of an eye. It could be that Del Rio is the fastest rising star in
WWE or Edge will beat him at WrestleMania, making him another flash in the pan
that he made famous for one moment. Del Rio tells Edge to listen to him once
he signs the contract it is the beginning of the end for Edge. Del Rio signs the
contract. Edge takes the contract and signs it himself.
Edge says he has an answer for Teddy Long's request and he runs from the ring.
Edge attacks Del Rio and punches him down in the ring. Edge hits an impaler DDT
and knocks all the decorations down. Edge sets up for the Spear but Rodriguez
grabs his ankles. Del Rio clotheslines Edge down and begins punching away at the
champion. Del Rio applies the Cross Arm Breaker and is doing even more damage to
it. Del Rio releases it and throws Edge out of the ring, who is bleeding from
the nose.
Del Rio applies a hammerlock and sends Edge into the barricade. Rodriguez grabs
a steel chair and gives it to Del Rio. Del Rio is going to send Edge into the
ring post until Christian attacks him from behind! Christian bounces him off the
announcer's table and chases Rodriguez away. Christian takes Del Rio down in the
ring and continues punching. Del Rio escapes the ring and Christian chases him
down, punching away at him on the ramp. A bunch of referees run down and pull
Christian away.