wrestling / TV Reports
411’s WWE SmackDown Report 4.27.12
April 27, 2012 | Posted by
WWE Friday Night SmackDown
April 27th, 2012
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Attendance: Unknown at this time
When we return from the break we’ve joined our opening match in progress, a rematch from last week. Show overpowers Del Rio easily, sending him out to the floor early. Del Rio hangs Show over the top rope and then goes right to the armwork back in the ring. He tries for the cross-armbar but Show powers out easily and then hits the spear. He signals for the chokeslam, but Cody Rhodes hits the ring to give him a chop block, giving Show the DQ win for the second week in a row at 1:54. Cody and Del Rio beat down Show for a bit and then Cody tries to attack Show with a chair and a cane, but Show just yanks off Cody’s belt and whips him senseless with it until he runs off. This wasn’t half bad while it lasted but you knew where this was going as soon as the bell rung because you know neither of these guys are going to eat a clean pinfall here. *1/4
And now we have our newly crowned Diva’s champion, Nikki Bella, taking on Alicia Fox. She knocks Fox down with a kick early and then chokes her over the second rope before firing off a nice snapmare. Nikki applies a variation of the Octopus Hold briefly but Fox shoves her off and fires off a pair of dropkicks. Fox hits a nice back elbow from the second rope and then ducks a clothesline from Nikki only to get tossed to the mat viciously by her hair in a nice reversal. Nikki and Brie do the old twin switcheroo while the ref checks on Fox and Brie gives Fox the X-Factor for the win at 1:48. Hey now, this wasn’t half bad! Both ladies (particularly Nikki) looked fired up for once and believe it or not I actually wouldn’t have minded seeing more of this. *3/4
Teddy sounds like a programmed robot on commentary. Cole takes a cheap shot at JR’s stint as talent scout (are you kidding me? He’s one of the greatest scouts in the history of this business) and then berates Long some more as they do everything but call the match in the ring. Speaking of which, Darren Young and Titus O’Neill trade quick tags to start, isolating Yoshi Tatsu in their corner. They totally dominate Yoshi and then finish him off with a sloppy Doomsday Device of sorts at 1:49. Zeke never even tagged in here, as this was just a squash of Yoshi by Titus and Darren Young with all three men on commentary putting them over as the second coming of tag wrestling. Not if they’re going to nearly kill people in the ring with sloppy work they won’t. 3/4*
And now let us indy geeks commence in our mutual fangasm as the former Claudio Castagnoli (one of the top indy wrestlers of the last 5 years for the uneducated) makes his in-ring debut against Tyson Kidd. Aksana introduces him and Cole puts him over as a former rugby player who was expelled from the league for “excessive aggression” and Aksana’s possible new love interest. Antonio takes it right to Kidd with a combination of boots, elbows, and forearms before airing him out with a nice gut-wrench suplex. Kidd tries to escape Antonio but he gives him the pop-up European uppercut! The crowd loves that move and they should as it’s one of Antonio’s signature moves that he’s known for. Cesaro lifts Kidd up in a cradle piledriver position but instead of driving him straight down he slams him to the mat (similar to the Styles Clash position) and that sick reverse piledriver is enough for Cesaro to pick up the win at 1:09. Total destruction of Kidd by Claudio/Antonio here (going to take awhile to get used to his new name) and he got to show off a few of his fancy moves in front of a WWE audience, who loved it. We all said Claudio was bound to be in the WWE one day and here he is, getting his shit over immediately in his first match in fine fashion. *
What’s up with Cody always being fed to the giants? Cody tries for a lockup with Khali but the size difference is so huge that he winds up just hugging Khali’s leg. That’s adorable. Khali throws a few chops and then Cody takes him down by the leg. He hits a big missile dropkick on Khali (and Khali actually bumps!) and then goes back to working over Khali’s leg. Khali tosses him off though and clotheslines him a few times. Cody tries for the Disaster Kick but Khali catches him with the Punjabi Plunge at 2:01. It’s announced that Cody and Big Show’s match on Sunday will be a “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” kind of gig. What was the point of squashing Rhodes in two minutes here again? How does that make someone want to see Rhodes wrestle Big Show? Shitty booking, but hey, Khali took a back bump like a man for the first time in eons. 1/2*
Kaye gets on the mic before the match and actually cuts a decent heel promo on the hometown crowd, claiming he’s trying to get himself out of Grand Rapids. Ryback comes out and eats his face. No, not really, but that’s basically what’s about to happen. Ryback boots Kaye and then gives him a press slam powerslam before taking his head off with a nasty lariat. He finishes Kaye off with the running Samoan drop at 1:08. A bit more interesting than the usual Ryback squashes because Kaye actually cut a decent promo before the match to get a bit of heat for the thing. Nice exhibition for Ryback. 1/2*
And now for our main event. Henry overpowers Sheamus to start but misses a clothesline and Sheamus takes advantage by giving the big man a DDT. Henry tosses Sheamus out to the floor with one hand when he tries for a wristlock and then tosses the Irishman back in. Sheamus manages to hit the slingshot shoulder-block on Henry for a near fall as we take our last commercial break. When we return Henry is still in control with a big bodyslam. Sheamus manages to start his clubbing forearms spot in the ropes with Henry but he cuts him off halfway through the ten count and just flings Sheamus across the floor like a ragdoll. He slams Sheamus into the barricade nastily as well. Back inside Henry takes Sheamus out with another clothesline, squashing every comeback attempt the Celtic Warrior tries for. Finally Sheamus is able to fire off a flying forearm to get Henry down long enough for him to deliver a nice DDT for a near fall. Sheamus starts chest-beating (THIS. IS. MICHIGAN!) but Henry just mows him down with another clothesline. Sheamus gets a boot up on Henry and then leaps off the top rope, over Mark, and to the mat. By the time Mark turns around, Sheamus blasts him with the Brogue Kick for the win at 7:23 (shown). Sheamus is just the right kind of powerhouse worker that can have good matches with big guys like Henry here. It was rough in a few spots but overall, a solid main event to close out the show but not one you’ll remember in, say, two weeks time. **3/4
Score: 5.5/10
Thanks for reading! For more of my reviews and an extensive archive of match ratings, check out my personal site: X’s Wrestling Review
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