wrestling / TV Reports

411’s WWE Smackdown Report 2.1.13

February 1, 2013 | Posted by Michael Benjamin

Michael Benjamin here! We’re officially on the Road to Wrestlemania now and the quality of this week’s Raw was indicative of that. Let’s see if Smackdown can follow suit! Can I get a logo?

Championship Roll Call:
WWE Champion: The Rock
World Champion: Alberto Del Rio
US Champion: Antonio Cesaro
IC Champion: Wade Barrett
Unified Diva’s Champion: Kaitlyn
WWE World Tag Team Champions: Kane & Daniel Bryan


WWE Smackdown Report 2.01.13

– Alberto’s backstage in street clothes holding a lead pipe. We’re told that he’s awaiting Big Show’s arrival. Big Show must have left his lead pipe at Alberto’s house.
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– Booker T and Teddy Long are standing in the ring with Khali, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Randy Orton. Dolph Ziggler is standing outside of the ring with AJ and Langston. Six men in February!? What are you about to do, Book? Booker T says that we’re here to decide who will challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship in this year’s Elimination Chamber. JACK F’N SWAGGER interrupts to a chorus of (canned) boos. He has great interrupting music. Swagger says that he’s been living the life of a real American. He says that he’s been at home watching everything and that he’s disappointed with the direction WWE is heading in. Swagger says that he wants in the Elimination Chamber match! When Booker T mentions that all of the spots are filled, Ziggler is quick to bow out of the match. People read the spoilers and bitched about the logic behind Ziggler’s decision to not partake but he explained it well enough. Why would he want to participate in one of the most brutal and barbaric matches in the WWE? He can sit back and do nothing (while avoiding possible injury) and still have his title shot. “Babe, E, we’re out of here!”. Booker T says that he knew Ziggler would chicken out of the Chamber match. Book says that he can’t chicken out of his match with Alberto tonight though. He says that all six men in the ring will be in action tonight and as long as they impress him, they’re in the chamber match. Booker T gets very excited as he announces a TAG TEAM MATCH, Team Hell No vs Cara and Rey is booked. AND IT’S NEXT!

Commercial Break

Team Hell No vs. Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara

Mysterio and Kane start us off. Rey’s on fire right out of the gate. Kane ends up on the outside and gets hit with a sitting senton. Rey tags in Sin Cara and Kane quickly takes control. He stomps Cara in the corner and makes the tag in to Bryan. Bryan gives Cara an Irish whip into the corner but gets hit with a flipping back elbow. Mysterio and Kane are back in quick. Kane delivers a stiff right to Mysterio and tags in Bryan. He Irish whips Bryan into a cornered Mysterio and Bryan hits the running missile drop kick. Mysterio reverses an Irish whip and sets Bryan up for the 619 but Bryan rolls to the outside. It’s probably a good time to head to…

Commercial Break

We’re back as Daniel Bryan lets loose of an ARM BAR on Sin Cara. Daniel Bryan hits a ridiculous missile drop kick on Sin Cara. I’d like to see Bryan go one on one with both of these guys for an extended length of time. Bryan locks the surfboard submission on Sin Cara! He gets one of his hands free to tag in Kane. Kane delivers a dropkick to a trapped Cara. Kane follows up with a nice sideslam for TWO. He puts Sin Cara up top for a superplex but Cara fights off and attempts a crossbody! Kane catches him but Sin Cara reverses that into a wicked DDT! Both men down! Hot tag time! Mysterio hits a flash rana on Bryan and hits a fourth seated senton on Bryan. Bryan rolls through a pinfall predicament but gets caught with a dropkick for his efforts. Rey goes for a 619 but Kane gets the interception! He goes for a chokeslam but Mysterio gives him the rana to the outside! Rey turns around and gets caught in the Lebell lock! Cara back in to break up the hold. Sin Cara sees Kane getting up outside and hits a 1, 2 Moonsault over the top! Mysterio finally hits Bryan with the 619 and drops the splash off the top rope for three! Wow! That was a great opener. The first half met my expectations and then they kicked it all the way up after the commercial break, blowing my expectations out of the water with a hot closing sequence. I can’t wait for the rematch.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio @ 9:00 aired via pinfall
RATING: ***

-Commercial Break-

– Matt Striker tries to get a word with Alberto in the parking lot. Alberto says that he’s trying to get some fresh air and to leave him alone. I’m 100% on face Alberto’s bandwagon at this point.

The Great Khali (w/ Natalya and Hornswoggle) vs. Jinder Mahal (w/3MB)

Khali hits a chop and smashes Jinder’s head in the corner. CHA-CHOP. Drew McIntyre tries getting involved and the ref calls him out on it. “I’m done referee, I’m done!” Drew can work both sides very well. That will give his career some longevity. Khali hits like four more chops and then sets up for another chop. I assume this chop over the head will hurt more than the others because he signaled for it beforehand. Slater gets on the apron for the distraction and Khali knocks him off. Khali turns around and finishes off Jinder. I’m generally a VERY positive guy when it comes to wrestling but can we just stop with Khali already? At the very least, book him SPARINGLY. I don’t need to see this shit every time I watch current product.

OFFICIAL RESULT: The Great Khali @ around 1:30ish via pinfall
RATING: 1/4*

– Booker T and Teddy Long are watching Smackdown on their TV backstage. Booker says that he was surprised about Swagger’s return. Teddy reveals that it was his doing. Before Booker can react to that, Cody and Damien interrupt and say that they’re pursuing singles competition starting now. They hug it out and say that they’re still best friends. Booker T says that he’s happy about this decision. It gives Damien a chance to wrestle Sheamus in a Raw rematch tonight. I think these guys still had some mileage. Hopefully they have plans for both men moving forward. Sandow’s booked and Cody’s not so there is that.

-Commercial Break-

RAW REBOUND: We get a personal performance review recap. Like i said in the Main Event recap, Heyman was pure gold here. Both in the ring and in the pretape. The two sides of his personality being presented in two different fashions back to back really showed the depth of his character and what Paul Heyman, the man, is capable of. I thought the whole thing was very well executed.

-Commercial Break-

– Alberto’s still in the parking lot waiting for Big Show.

– We get a recap package of Cena winning the Rumble match and his segment on Raw. Are they going to do The Shield vs Sheamus, Ryback, and Cena in the chamber? I hope so.

Damien Sandow vs. Sheamus

They exchange flurries of offense before Sandow roles to the outside. Sheamus follows him out and then back in, getting met with some boots from Sandow upon re-entry. Oh, faces. You’ll never learn. Sandow dominates now. An Elbow of Disdain gets a two count. Sheamus tries fighting back but Sandow maintains control. Sandow hits a couple of clotheslines and goes for white noise. Sandow rolls off on to the apron and Sheamus delivers the CLUBBERING BLOWS. By clubbering blow number 4, Shield’s music hits! Sheamus is standing his ground just like Cena did. He hits a Brogue on Rollins. Reigns and Ambrose take care of Sheamus and the crowd is chanting “feed me more” VERY loudly. Good for Ryback! They get Sheamus with the powerbomb and bounce shortly thereafter. Jeez, nobody wanted to help him out?

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sheamus @ 4:30 via DQ
RATING: *1/2

-Commercial Break-

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Orton corners Barrett quickly and Irish whips him into the adjacent corner. He follows up with a dropkick and Barrett roles to the outside. Barrett takes a quick breather before stepping in at five. He delivers a knee to the abdomen and works Orton into the corner now. Orton quickly fights out with a collection of rights. Barrett bounces off the ropes though and hits a big boot to get in control. TWO COUNT. Barrett catches Orton up in the ropes and hits a big boot. He pulls Orton through the ropes and Barrett gets a near fall. He locks in a headlock that Orton is quick to fight out of. Orton snapmares out of it. He hits his powerslam and “goes to that place”. He goes for the rope assisted DDT but that’s a no go as Wade rolls out. He follows Barrett to the outside and pushes Orton into the ring post. He charges with a Bull Hammer but Orton ducks! Bull Hammer into the ring post. Orton hits that rope assisted DDT and an RKO for the win. It was a quick sprint but it was fun while it lasted. I would have liked to see Barrett look like more of a threat but the format of tonight’s show doesn’t really lend well to that.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Orton @ 4:10 via pinfall
RATING: *3/4

-Commercial Break-

Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston

So it looks like Kofi is the JTTS on the Road to Wrestlemania. Swagger just dominates right out of the gate, tossing Kofi around like a rag doll. He hits a Vader Bomb for two. Swagger looking very good in here. He chokes Kofi on the bottom rope for a moment before backing off. Kofi tries to mount some offense and hits a springboard crossbody for two. Swagger gets up and turns him inside out with a clothesline. Kofi fights out of an ARM BAR. A very brutal looking ARM BAR at that. Swagger doesn’t let him take control and backs him into a corner. Kofi monkey flips his way out of that. Swagger charges and here comes Kofi! Running open palm strike followed by a boom drop! Kofi signals for Trouble in Paradise but Swagger catches him, throws him into the corner, and that THAT gets reversed into a pendulum kick by Kofi. Swagger to the outside! Kofi goes for a sliding dropkick under the bottom rope and misses! Swagger whips him into the stairs but Kofi jumps over them! He hits catches Swagger with a clothesline! Kofi goes for a huge Trouble in Paradise but SWAGGER DUCKS! Kofi’s foot lands right on the announce table in a sick looking crash! Swagger rolls him in and boots him in the face. Ankle Lock. It’s over! These guys packed a lot of action into the time they were allotted and Swagger looks great in his return.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jack Swagger @ 6:12 via submission
RATING: **1/2

– Security is with Alberto in the parking lot and they tell him to put the pipe down. Big Show’s RV arrives on the scene and Alberto ducks for cover behind an SUV. How nice of Show to get to the arena before Smackdown ends. Apparently Big Show drives his own RV as well. Alberto runs out from the shadows and attacks Big Show with the pipe. Big Show is on top of a car trying to avoid pipe shots. Alberto nails him in the leg with the pipe and Show falls on to the top of the car. Alberto is talking smack in Spanish the whole time and Big Show is all “come on man!” Big Show finally gets in a car and escapes. It’s pretty refreshing to see a face that isn’t so ridiculously cookie cutter. Pretty good segment. Both guys have a really good handle on their character.

-Commercial Break-

Raw Rebound Part 2: We get a recap of the Punk/Rock altercation on Raw.

-Commercial Break-

– Backstage, Alberto tells Ricardo to stay in the locker room. That’s a great idea because Big Show is gone, you know?

Dolph Ziggler (w/ AJ and Big E) vs. Alberto Del Rio

I’M HERE TO SHOW THE WORLD. We get a nice arm lock exchange to start off the match. Alberto wins that exchange and works Ziggy into the corner. Ziggler down. Alberto goes for a moonsault and Dolph moves. Alberto lands on his feet! Dolph charges Alberto but gets belly flopped. Del Rio charges at Ziggler in the corner but Ziggler dodges it and Del Rio goes into the post. Ziggler hits a huge DDT for two. He hits an elbow drop for another two. Dolph locks in a side headlock to maintain control. Alberto makes it to his feet and shoots him off. Alberto hits a German suplex! He goes to the second rope and goes for the moonsault again but Big E trips him up and he lands on his left shoulder! AJ was distracting the ref. Same landing he took through the table at the Rumble. Ziggler picks him and goes for an Irish Whip. Alberto dropkicks Big E instead of hitting the ropes! The ref sends Big E to the back! Dolph is shocked like this is the first time Big E has been sent to the back.

-Commercial Break-

Alberto and Ziggler exchange punches as we return from commercial break. Ziggler goes upstairs and Alberto catches him and crotches him. He follows up with a chop and a superplex off the top! If I had a dollar for every time Matthews called AJ a mastermind… Both men down. They make it to their feet by 4 and Ziggy gets the first punch. He gets Alberto in the corner and punches away. Alberto gives him the Snake Eyes and here we go! He hits two clotheslines, ducks a clothesline, and delivers a tilt-a-whirl back breaker! Ziggler gets to his knees and there’s a boot the jaw. Dolph reverses a cross arm breaker into a fameasser for two! Alberto gets Dolph caught up in the top rope! He hits two kidney punches and a back breaker for two! Alberto still utilizes the five count like a heel which doesn’t go over JBL’s head. Alberto comes off the top for an ax handle and gets caught with a huge dropkick for two! Del Rio ducks a punch and locks in the cross arm breaker for the win! These two put in a very good match that built up to a very nice ending.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Alberto Del Rio @ 10:00 via submission
RATING: ***

– Post-match Big Show is on the tron and he has Ricardo. He says that if Alberto ever attacks him like that again, Show will hurt him. Big Show makes Ricardo beg to be let go. Big Show says he’s going to let him go but not before a KO punch. Alberto runs to the back and Big Show is already gone.

OVERALL: Tonight’s Smackdown was a pretty solid episode. The wrestling was all good and everybody on the card seems to have some direction (Besides Khali). I’m really digging Big Show and Alberto’s feud too, They’re doing a great job getting the audience invested their rivalry. That’s something that the blue brand doesn’t always excel at. Thumbs up.

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Michael Benjamin