11/4 Shore's WWE Smackdown Live Coverage: Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes in a street fight and Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped on 11/1 in Greenville, SC

[Q1] The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Michael Cole, Josh Matthews, and Booker T welcomed us to Smackdown. The rules for the street fight were given…

1. Randy Orton defeated Cody Rhodes in a street fight at 23:32. They locked up at first, bit it degraded to strikes and kicks and went to the floor about 90 seconds in. Orton whipped Cody to the railing and then clotheslined him over. They battled into the crowd, which Greenville seemed quite happy about.

They fought through the crowd and came back into the ringside area near the announcers. Rhodes tossed a bagger at Orton, and Orton backdropped him on the floor. Cody slid in the ring and tossed his other bagger in the ring. That one ate an RKO and cody looked on from the ramp…[C]

Back at 9:00, Orton kicked Cody's ass on the ramp. Rhodes fought back and slammed Orton on the metal part of the stage. You could see them talking and Rhodes rubbed his hand on the back of Orton's head. He looked at his hand and they continued. This must have been where Orton got his head busted open.

[Q2] They battled back to the ring and Orton hit a superplex in the ring for two. Rhodes came back with a standing dropkick for two. He tossed Orton to the floor, and Orton tossed him into the time keepers area. Orton went for him, and Rhodes knocked him out with a mask shot. Cody laughed and put the mask back on…[C]

Shore's Slant: This match has been good, but two commercial breaks, and the fact that we just saw Orton kick Cody's ass at Vengeance, means we have a very uninspiring opening match. This match should have a story to match its quality.

Back at 17:10, Cody tossed Orton into the announcers. That played very well on TV. Nicely done. They battled into the ring and Cody worked the leg before slapping on the figure four. Cody took the mask off and knocked Orton out, and then Cody broke the hold. Bad logic.

Cody went to do more damage, but Orton made his feet and snatched the mask away to hit Cody with it. Orton followed with his clotheslines and scoop slam. He setup for the RKO, but Cody pushed away and hit the beautiful disaster kick for two. Rhodes went for CrossRhodes, but Orton backdropped out.

They went to the floor and battled near the railing. Orton dropped Cody on the rail and then hit the rope DDT but on the floor. He rolled Cody in the ring and hit an RKO for the pinfall victory.

Shore's Slant: Again, a great match from them, but it didn't feel like a blow off match. I do think Cody looked very good in defeat, and he didn't lose anything here. But the thing is, you expected Orton to win, so no real drama. This could have been, and meant, so much more than it did.

[Q3] Post-match, Orton found a bag on the floor and put it on Cody's face. He also showed the mask that Cody has been wearing was broken. Cody played hurt in the ring for some time…A video recapped the Triple H vs. Kevin Nash angle, and then Cole informed us Kevin Nash had ben resigned to the company and would be on Raw. They hyped Christian vs. Sheamus…

Shore's Slant: Christian vs. Sheamus? Again? Really? Dear god, enough is enough.

Matt Striker was backstage and said he would have comments from Mark Henry after the next match and then sent it to the ring. Um, OK…Ted DiBiase made his ring entrance, while Tyson Kidd waited for him there…

2. Ted DiBiase defeated Tyson Kidd at 2:04. DiBiase hit a dropkick, but Kidd took early control. Kidd went for a springboard elbow, but DiBiase got the knees up. He tried to hit Dream Street for a full minute, and finally did for the pinfall victory…

Backstage, Striker asked Henry why he wouldn't give Big Show another title shot. Henry said he handled business at Vengeance and he was done with Big Show. He stopped mid-sentence when something caught his eye. He stormed over and got in Daniel Bryan's face. He asked Bryan if he was eyeballing him and Bryan tried to beg off.

Henry kept the pressure and asked if Bryan was going to cash in his MITB. Bryan said no, he was waiting for WrestleMania. Henry said it didn't matter what Bryan was waiting for Bryan couldn't beat him. He said he was going to ask Teddy Long to make a match for them. He asked Bryan if he had the guts. Bryan said he would see Henry in the ring and walked off…Alicia Fox made her ring entrance…

Shore's Slant: Enhancement match for DiBiase. He did OK. Nothing special. Special is definitely the word I would use for Henry and Bryan. That was great work, and it only makes me want to see my dream booking of Henry holding on to the title till Mania and have Bryan face him in a David vs. Goliath match.

[Q4][C] 3. Alicia Fox defeated Natalya in 1:00. Fox won with a front flip, single-leg drop…Big Show was shown walking backstage…[C]

Shore's Slant: Fox is very athletic. She hit a decent single-leg dropkick, but that was about it. She's still very rough around the edges.

Big Show made his entrance to a big pop. Greenville came ready to party at the tapings. A video showed Show and Henry killing the ring. When they cut back to Show, he was grinning like a bitch. He then had the gall to say he would rather fight than talk. After grinning like a goob. Unreal.

He said he and Henry had unfinished business, and until they finished it, he would knock Henry out. Actually he did a little bit of the LL Cool J classic. He said he would knock Henry out every single Smackdown until he got his match.

[Q5] Christian's music hit and he came to the ring. Show asked what he was doing there. Christian said after hearing the "Momma said knock you out" line he figured that was the high spot and it was his cue to come out for his match with Sheamus. Show said that was fair because that was really all he had.

Show started to leave, but Christian stopped him. He asked Show what made him think he deserved another match. Show said the ring broke so it wasn't his fault. They went back and forth for a moment and then Show went to scratch his beard. Christian acted paranoid and said Show was trying to knock him out. Show said he wasn't going to knock Christian out, and then choke slammed him. Show left the ring grinning like a fool…[C]

Shore's Slant: Show really needs to chill with that grinning shit. It makes him look stupid when he's trying to be a bad ass. Other than that, it was just a meaningless segment leading into another meaningless match.

Sheamus made his ring entrance as Christian sold the chokeslam on the floor. Christian told the ref he couldn't compete. The ref told Sheamus the same and Sheamus asked what he was supposed to do. Wade Barrett's music hit and he made his entrance with a mic. He challenged Sheamus and Sheamus accepted…

4. Wade Barrett defeated Sheamus at 10:31. Sheamus started out strong and hit his forearms in the ropes. Barrett came back and tied Sheamus in the ropes. He hit several strikes and knee lifts before kicking Sheamus to the floor…

[Q6][C] Back at 5:35, Barrett ducked a Brogue kick and hit a pump handle slam for two. Christian was shown on the floor, still selling the chokeslam. Later in the match, Sheamus went for the Irish Cross, but Barrett back flipped him out and then stomped him in the corner. Sheamus suddenly recovered and beat the hell out of Barrett with strikes, kicks, and a body slam.

Sheamus went for the Irish Cross again, but Christian jumped on the apron. Sheamus knocked him down, but Barrett hooked a school boy roll up for the win. Post-match, Sheamus went after Barrett, but Christian speared Sheamus and he and Barrett fled the ring…[C]

Shore's Slant: Good match from Sheamus and Barrett, and it wasn't Sheamus vs. Christian again! A win all the way around. I'm hoping this gets Sheamus away from Christian for a while as I am weary of that feud.

Back from commercial, Sheamus was killing Christian backstage. Barrett ran up and dragged Sheamus away and they brawled around. Security came and split everybody apart and it transitioned into the announce team, who setup the Raw Rebound.

[Q7] The Raw Rebound clipped most of the Muppet moments from Raw together…Big Show walked up to Daniel Bryan backstage and said he would be in Bryan's corner for his main event match with Henry…Sin Cara made his ring entrance…[C]

An unbelievable Brodus Clay video aired. Looks like they intend to push him big…

5. Sin Cara defeated Epico by disqualification at 2:17. Sin Cara started fast, but Epico caught a backflip and turned it into a back suplex. He locked on a tarantula like submission, but Sin Cara escaped and hit his oldschool style arm drag. He went to the top for the Senton, but Hunico ran out and shoved him off, causing the DQ. Epico and Hunico beat the hell out of Sin Cara and left him lying in the ring…[C]

Shore's Slant: Bleh. Hunico looked like a Mexican gang member straight out of Grand Theft Auto. Epico looks like Primo. Sin Cara looks like a punk. This story is terrible.

[Q8] 6. Mark Henry defeated Daniel Bryan by disqualification at 6:24. Bryan tried a sleeper and guillotine choke early, but Henry just shrugged him off. Henry tossed Bryan to the floor and then worked him against the post. Show came over and chased Henry off, but the ref stopped him from going too far.

Bryan started fighting back with kicks and got Henry on his knees. Show got the crowd hot and Bryan kicked Henry in the face for a near fall. Henry shot Bryan out of the ring on the kickout. Bryan went back to the guillotine, but Henry tossed him away. He set Bryan in the corner and hit three corner splashes. On the third, Show climbed in the ring and knocked Henry out, causing the DQ.

Show went and got Bryan and poured water on him. He gave Bryan the briefcase and told him to cash in. Bryan rolled in the ring, still selling the beating, and acted like he would cash in. Instead, he went to hit Henry with the briefcase, but Henry grabbed him and hit the World's Strongest Slam. Show jumped in the ring and Henry hit him with the briefcase. He followed with the World's Strongest Slam and rolled to the floor. Teddy Long's music hit and he came to the stage to announce Big Show would get his rematch at Survivor Series. Henry pitched a fit, and Big Show grinned to end the show…

Shore's Slant: I swear on everything important to me that if they are actually setting the seeds here for my WrestleMania wish I will take back everything I have ever said bad about creative. OK, maybe not everything, but most of it. Decent match that I expected would have no finish. Bryan looked good here in the loss. And it will provide great video if they go back to it later.

Show vs. Henry II (or III if you count where Henry put Show out) should be pretty good. Henry seems to have the strength to give Show some extra mobility. Could be fun. I'll have more to say tomorrow on the hitlist and audio review. Thanks for reading along tonight.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com or tweet me @TheShoreSlant with whatever is on your mind.

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