10/2 WWE Smackdown taping: A detailed report on the taping for Friday's online show (spoilers)

WWE Smackdown taping
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Report by Dot Net reader Steve Cluck

Big Show cut a promo in the ring. Sheamus joined and said he should not have been so flippant at debate on Raw. He said he knows he is in for the fight of his life at Hell in the Cell and "may the best man win." I was glad they addressed that, as I prefer it when WWE portrays that the hero is up against an incredible obstacle (and serious Sheamus is better than smiley Sheamus).

Sheamus offered a handshake. Big Show declined and began to walk away when Sheamus taunted Show, reminding him about the 45 second World Title reign from 2011. Show looked ashamed and angered. He extended his hand, but this time Sheamus blew off the hand shake.
 
1. The Primetime Players beat Kofi Kingston and R-Truth in a tag tournament match. Darren Young picked up the win with his finisher. Lots of flashy offense from Kofi. He also got a huge crowd reaction. I would love to see him get a big singles push, as he is very marketable and well-received by audiences young and old, not to mention he is a pretty great in-ring performer. Given that the former champs lost in round one of the tournament, the Kofi/Truth team may be nearing its end.
 
2. Ryback beat Primo (w/Epico, Rosa). Good crowd reaction for Ryback, with "Feed Me More" chants. Ryback hit the clothesline and then won with his typical Shell Shock finisher, so WWE showed no signs of changing up Ryback's finisher after the Tensai botch on Raw.
 
3. Layla beat Alicia Fox. Very little reaction for this match. Layla won with a kick to the head. After the match, Layla was interviewed, saying she wants the Divas championship back.
 
A backstage clip showed Teddy Long speaking to Eve, saying that he never told Eve to fire Beth Phoenix. Teddy said something along the lines of "if I were charge, this never would have happened." Booker T overheard this and interpreted it that Teddy may be aspiring to take over his spot as GM.
 
3. Wade Barrett beat an unidentified opponent. Like the Divas match, the crowd was very silent for this one. Wade won quickly with the Souvenir.
 
4. The Miz beat Sheamus by DQ after interference from The Big Show. Miz was competitive in the match for a few minutes, but Sheamus got on a roll and was about to finish Miz with the Brogue Kick until Big Show came out and hit Miz with the WMD, causing Sheamus to lose by DQ.
 
David Otunga cut a promo about Alberto Del Rio beating down Randy Orton on last week's Smackdown. Orton's music played, causing the crowd to pop. However, it was instead Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez who came out to Orton's theme. Del Rio got on the mic and said that they finished Orton forever. Smackdown GM Booker T came out on the ramp and said that since they took out Orton, they should have an open schedule to take on other opponents... He then introduced Team Hell No.
 
5. Team Hell No beat David Otunga and Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez). Huge "Yes" chants when Daniel Bryan made his entrance. Big pop for Kane. Kane chokeslammed Otunga, but Bryan tagged himself in and stole the glory, getting the pin after a top-rope head butt. After the match, Kane and Bryan did their familiar "I'm the Tag Team Champions" argument.
 
6. Tensai beat Big Show by DQ after interference from Sheamus. The crowd was silent, as both Show and Tensai have been presented as heels. Tensai got in a surprising flurry of offense  (I expected him to get completely squashed). Show took over, but Sheamus interfered and hit Tensai with the Brogue Kick, getting back at Show for interfering in his match earlier. I suppose the logic in booking Big Show against the heel Tensai was that WWE did not want to portray Sheamus hitting a babyface with a Brogue Kick.
 
7. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) beat Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero). Much like the previous match, the crowd did not know how to react in a heel vs. heel match, plus the crowd was worn out by this point. Punk got a few cheers. Dolph got little reaction. Punk won with the GTS. Punk then cut a promo, reiterating that he is not accepting the challenge to face John Cena at Hell in the Cell.
 
With that, ring announcer Lillian Garcia thanked everyone for coming out. End of show.

Notes: After the tapings concluded, I noticed that Del Rio's car was on the side of the stage. It was never included in the taping, as Del Rio instead made his intro mocking Orton. Perhaps that was a last-minute decision.
 
The absence of both Cena and Orton was noticeable. Also, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio did not appear. Many of the fans had signs and T-shirts for these top stars.
 
Sheamus carried the heavy load of being the top babyface (he appeared in four different segments). Sheamus got a great crowd reaction every time he appeared.
 
CM Punk won both of his matches, impressively beating Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. One other man also won two matches: Tensai, who beat Yoshi Tatsu and The Big Show (by DQ).
 
The final two matches were heel vs. heel. I had expected WWE to do the "send the crowd home happy" move, by having a face like Sheamus or Ryback come out and hit his finisher on Punk.
 
Overall, the Main Event match between Punk and Sheamus was the highlight of the tapings.