Smackdown
Date:
April 19, 2013
Location:
Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators:
Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, John Bradshaw Layfield
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Back
to the blue team again as we're starting to set up Extreme Rules.
The main stories around here are Ziggler vs. Del Rio vs. Swagger and
Henry vs. Sheamus which were both furthered on Raw. We're still in
that limbo period between the aftermath of Wrestlemania and the build
to Extreme Rules so it's kind of hard to guess what's coming tonight.
Let's get to it.
We
open with a recap of Swagger breaking up Alberto's rematch and then
beating the champion on Raw, only to be beaten up by Del Rio seconds
later, thereby making everyone look weak at the same time.
Here's
Fandango to open the show. Cole tells us how Fandangoing is taking
over the world, continuing to bury the idea into the ground.
Fandango hits on Lillian who doesn't seem repulsed by him. He asks
if she's ever Fandangoed before and that's too much for
her......until he spins her around and dips her back. Apparently
she's terrible though so Fandango drops her to the mat. Fandango
asks Lillian to pronounce his name but is interrupted by Santino.
Marella
says that Fandango can dance but he's a very rude person. He liked
watching the cheerleaders on Youtube Fandangoing a lot better than he
likes watching the real thing. Santino offers to Fandango for us
here but introduces us to his dance partner the Cobra. The dance
discombobulates Fandango and he gets sent to the floor. The match is
after a break.
Santino
Marella vs. Fandango
Fandango
pounds him down as the announcers tell us about all of the
Fandangoing around the world. The fans think Fandango can't wrestle
as he stomps on Santino. Santino tries to nip up but can't do it so
Fandango pounds on him even more. Off to a quick cravate but Santino
comes back and gets the nipup this time. The Cobra is countered into
a downward spiral for the pin for Fandango at 3:10. Yes make sure to
take away the one good looking move he has and replace it with one of
the most overused finishers in wrestling.
Rating:
D. It really is pitiful how WWE
has screwed up ANOTHER hot start for a character. Fandango got hot
for a single week, so WWE's move is for him to not have a match on
Raw and then squash a jobber to open Smackdown. That's fine for most
people, but when your first match is against Jericho at Wrestlemania
and now you're doing this two weeks later, it's a big step down.
They should have given him the US Title on Raw or something like
that, as it would at least show they're doing SOMETHING with him,
other than telling us how awesome Fandangoing is and killing the
concept right out of the gate.
Booker
yells as Teddy for making Swagger vs. Ziggler on Monday when Big Show
comes in. He thanks Teddy for giving him a partner tonight, unlike
Booker who gave him a handicap match. Booker glares at Teddy so he
leaves with Big Show.
Kofi
Kingston vs. Wade Barrett
Non-title
all around. Barrett pounds Kofi down to start but gets caught in a
standing rana for two. A dropkick gets the same for Kingston and
it's off to an armbar. Believe it or not, Barrett actually uses his
punching background for a few seconds here but Kofi easily fights him
off with a kick to the head. Back to the arm for a bit but Barrett
knocks him off the top rope.
Wade
takes Kofi to the floor and rams Kofi's face into the announce table.
That's only good for two on Kingston so Wade pounds on the ribs to
keep Kofi down. Barrett pulls him off the top again for two and it's
back to the chinlock. That goes nowhere so Wade hits a kind of
Samoan Drop, but he covers arrogantly and gets rolled up for the pin
at 5:32.
Rating:
C. Not bad here but was there
NO ONE else that Kofi could have pinned other than the
Intercontinental Champion? Were the Prime Time Players off getting
dance lessons? Were the 3MB guys trying to get Rhythm and Blues to
open for them? Apparently so because we just had to have a champion
get pinned here to make KOFI FREAKING KINGSTON look strong as a
midcard champion.
We
recap Sheamus being attacked by Mark Henry.
Henry
says he attacked Sheamus because he can and that's what he does.
Sheamus jumps him for a change.
We
recap the world title situation with Del Rio and Swagger both wanting
title shots. Del Rio was jumped by Swagger as he tried to get his
rematch, so Swagger got the match and pinned Ziggler. It's a good
thing he did too because Ziggler was starting to look credible for a
few moments there. A triple threat match has officially been
announced for Extreme Rules.
Alberto
Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger
goes for the bad leg to start but Del Rio goes to Jack's bad arm to
escape. Del Rio stays on the arm and it's another standoff. Jack
takes him down with a quick headlock before going after the bad leg.
Swagger tries to wrap it around the post but Del Rio punches his way
out of danger. Alberto rams the bad arm into the steps and we head
back inside for a hard kick to Swagger's back for two.
Del
Rio misses a charge into the corner though and is backdropped onto
the ropes, hurting his leg again in the process. Colter talks trash
as Del Rio falls to the floor and we take a break. Back with Albeto
fighting out of a leg lock and kicking away at the arm again.
Swagger goes right back to the knee for two more and hooks a leg lock
on the mat. A crucifix gets two for Del Rio but Swagger kicks him in
the face to put both guys down again.
Swagger
takes it to the corner again and wraps the leg around the ropes
before taking the bandage off the bad knee. Alberto fights up again
but misses the running enziguri in the corner. Swagger puts him on
the apron but as he goes for Del Rio, Alberto grabs a quick armbar
over the ropes. The bad knee saves Swagger again though and it's
time to shout WE THE PEOPLE a lot. Alberto ducks a big boot and
comes back with the backbreaker but hurts his own knee in the
process.
There
are the forearms to the back and a Backstabber for two on Swagger.
The armbreaker is broken up once and a second attempt is countered
into the Patriot Lock in a nice counter. Alberto gets to the ropes so
Swagger immediately hits the Vader Bomb for a close two. Del Rio
comes back with the Codebreaker to the arm but the armbreaker is
countered with Swagger sending him out to the floor.
They
head back inside and a HARD superkick to Swagger gets two as Jack
grabs the rope. The Patriot Lock goes on again but Del Rio counters
into the armbreaker. Swagger counters into a rollup but Alberto
counters THAT into a small package for the pin at 14:32 shown of
18:02. Really good finish.
Rating:
A-. That's likely a bit high
but I was WAY into this at the end. If they had done this match at
Wrestlemania it would be a match of the night candidate with ease.
The arm vs. leg stuff here was great and the submissions both played
into the finish. Stupid booking aside, this was really good stuff
and I had a great time with it.
We
get an abbreviated version of Ryback's reasoning for attacking Cena
and their confrontation and the Shield beating down Cena to end Raw.
Shield
says Monday was a moment that Cena won't forget anytime soon. They
claim that Ryback has learned to not mess with the Shield anymore and
saw a look on his face. They say the same look on Undertaker's face
a few weeks ago and Undertaker is afraid. Ambrose promises to prove
that Undertaker is mortal on Raw.
Great
Khali/Natalya/Hornswoggle vs. Epico/Primo/Rosa Mendes
We
actually get a reason for this match: Epico/Primo/Rosa stole Horny's
parking spot earlier and there's video to prove it. I've heard
worse. I can't think of anything off the top of my head but I've
heard worse. Nattie takes Rosa down to start but can't hook the
Sharpshooter. Rosa comes back with a kick to the back and a chinlock
but Natalya fights back with a clothesline. Off to Epico and Khali
with the giant hitting some hard chops in the corner. Primo tries to
help but gets sent into the same corner as Epico for simultaneous
chops. Horny annoys Rosa into a chase and Khali hits the Punjabi
Plunge to pin Epico at 3:18.
Rating:
D. Rosa was basically in half
of a swimsuit and a vest so it doesn't fail based on that alone.
That's about the extent of the good parts of the match though as none
of these are people I care to see. At the end of the day they're
fighting over a parking lot, but how many people can't get on
television? Remarkable.
We
get most of Punk's promo from Raw where he walked out.
We
get Heyman challenging HHH to fight Brock in a cage match at Extreme
Rules.
Mark
Henry/Big Show vs. Randy Orton/Sheamus
Henry
and Sheamus start and immediately talk trash, but Henry brings in Big
Show before there's any contact. They immediately start brawling and
Big Show sends him to the apron for chops to the chest like Sheamus
would hit forearms. Sheamus comes back and hits the forearms to take
over. Sheamus goes up top for the shoulder but has to jump over Show
instead, allowing the giant to hit a superkick to take him down. An
elbow drop misses and it's off to Orton.
The
side slam puts Orton down and here's Henry to continue slowly
pounding on Orton. A bearhug has Orton in trouble and it's back to
Big Show to stay on the ribs. The chokeslam is countered into a DDT
and both guys are down. Hot tag brings in Sheamus for his running
forearms and the top rope shoulder for no cover. White Noise
connects but a Henry distraction lets Show spear Sheamus down as we
take a break.
Back
with Show kneeing Sheamus in the head and getting two off the Final
Cut. Henry comes in for a nerve hold before Big Show comes in for
the same thing. Sheamus tries to fight up and finally manages a chop
block to put Big Show down. Hot tag brings in Orton to pound on
Henry and some clotheslines drop the smaller of the two monsters. A
DDT gets two but Henry powers out. Show tries to come in but gets
caught in the Elevated DDT. Everything breaks down and Show
chokeslams Orton for the pin at 15:08.
Rating:
B. This was the tag team
formula to the letter and that's all you need a lot of the time. I'm
a big fan of combining two feuds into one match like this as you can
get those stories advanced while also adding in something different.
Henry vs. Sheamus is going to be good stuff when we get to it and
Orton vs. Big Show might not be bad either. Good main event here.
Overall
Rating: B+. This is exactly
what Smackdown should be: a wrestling heavy show with long matches
and angle advancement. Tonight was incredibly entertaining and blew
by which is a good sign. Swagger vs. Del Rio is well worth seeing
and the main event is solid stuff too. The rest of the stuff is very
hit or miss but when you have an hour and a half of actual TV and
about 40 minutes of that is top shelf stuff, you can't complain that
much at all. Very good show.
Results
Fandango
b. Santino Marella – Downward Spiral
Kofi
Kingston b. Wade Barret – Crucifix
Alberto
Del Rio b. Jack Swagger – Small Package
Great
Khali/Natalya/Hornswoggle b. Epico/Primo/Rosa Mendes – Punjabi
Plunge to Epico
Mark
Henry/Big Show b. Randy Orton/Sheamus – Chokeslam to Orton
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com