11/9 Shore's WWE Smackdown live coverage: The not so live special featuring Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio in a falls count anywhere match

The following is a live coverage review of the Smackdown special that originally aired on Tuesday. We are moving it to the top of the website so that those of you watching the show on Friday can follow along with the coverage.

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped earlier in Birmingham, England.

[Q1] The new announcer guy ran through the major storylines on Raw and hyped the Smackdown main event. Michael Cole opened the show in the ring and introduced Sheamus, who got a great pop from the UK crowd. Josh Matthews and JBL checked in on commentary and mentioned the bar fight story from WWE.com. Cole setup a video that was shot with a cell phone, showing Big Show attacking Sheamus and William Regal in a pub.

Sheamus paced around the ring and then told Cole it wasn't a good idea for him to be in the ring. Cole took off quickly. Sheamus said he respected Show for having the stones to jump him, but he didn't respect the cheap shot on Regal. He said he was still standing and called Show out. Show appeared on the screen and said he did Sheamus a favor by holding back just enough so that Sheamus could make it to Survivor Series. He said he wasn't coming out there because Sheamus had nothing to offer him.

Sheamus called him scared, but Wade Barrett's music hit and he came to the ramp. He said Sheamus wasn't thinking clearly, because they had a match on Main Event and Barrett was going to leave Sheamus unable to compete at Survivor Series. Sheamus said since Show was too scared, Barrett should come to the ring and they would fight. Barrett headed toward the ring, but he turned around and went to the back. Sheamus's music hit and he posed in the ring…Miz and Kofi Kingston were shown walking backstage for their title match, next…The first commercial was hyping Jerry Lawler's return to Raw next week…[C]

Shore's Slant: Meh. An uninspiring performance from Sheamus. I like the fire, but he still seemed disconnected from it with too much smiling. It's better than it was, but it's not quite where he needs to be yet. By the way, I will have a Connecticut Senate update should the race be called before the end of the show, which I do expect.

Backstage, Booker T walked up on Barrett. Booker said he was confused because he didn't see Barrett backing down from a fight. Barrett said he never did. Booker said that was good because he was making a tag match for Barrett and Show vs. Sheamus and Regal…

[Q2] Miz made his ring entrance as a video showed his tag match on Smackdown last week. Kofi was out next…

1. The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship. Just as this match started, I was distracted by a potential medical emergency. I missed the match, as well as the quarter break and next match, so check out Jake Barnett's coverage for what happened. Everyone is fine.

Kofi Kingston retained the Intercontinental Championship.

2. The Prime Time Players vs. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. Titus Young used a distraction to get the win…

The Prime Time Players defeated Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio.

Post-match, Matt Striker tried to interview PTP, but Titus took the mic and asked Darren Young question. Young replied, "Millions of dollars" to all of them. They even had Striker say it and tried to get him to do the dance with them, but he sucked so they kicked him out and did it themselves…

[Q4] A recap of Vickie Guerrero's evidence from Raw was hyped for next…

Shore's Slant: What a mess. Sorry about that guys. For what it's worth, Fox News has called the CT Senate seat for Chris Murphy.

A video recapped what happened on Raw with John Cena and Vickie Guerrero…Backstage, Booker T acted offended at what Teddy Long said about the tag match he had booked. Teddy seemed confused, and Booker started laughing and said he was messing with Teddy. They watched on a monitor while Big Show and Sheamus made their ring entrance…[C]

Shore's Slant: I'm calling AJ and Dolph together right now.

[Q5] The cell phone video aired again. Regal made his entrance and stood on the floor. Sheamus came out and ran to the ring. They both slid in and attacked the heels. They knocked both guys to the floor and the ref finally separated them to get the match started…

3. Big Show and Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus and William Regal. The babyfaces worked in and out early on Barrett, but Barrett got the tag to Show and Show literally stepped all over Regal. Show hit a big elbow drop and locked in a nerve pinch…[C]

Back from commercial, Regal continued to sell for the heels. He got the hot tag to Sheamus, who cleared house. Show came back with a spear on Sheamus. Regal tagged back in and took the WMD for the loss…

Big Show and Wade Barrett defeated Sheamus and William Regal at 13:02.

[Q6] A video recapped the backstage brawl between Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio. Striker asked Del Rio about the match, and Del Rio said he was the new apex predator and Orton attacked him from behind last week. He said he would give Orton the beating of his life later. He went to leave, but Rosa Mendez walked up and wished him luck beforehand…[C]

Shore's Slant: An OK tag match, but I had a hard time staying focused. It's a mad house around here with the election going on. For those who don't know, I also work as a political consultant, so I'm pulling double duty tonight. If my coverage is a little thin, I apologize. But it also shows how thin that tag match was. It was well wrestled, but even the hot UK crowd didn’t seem all that impressed.

A video recapped the Brad Maddox saga from Raw…Striker asked Orton about his match, and Orton put it over as a dangerous and sick match, which he really enjoyed. His music hit and he left to make his entrance…

[Q7][C] The Fandango video aired. I spelled it the way they spelled it this time. Monday it was Fandangoo. No idea if they bought the rights to the name or what changed. Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Del Rio, who made his entrance while a video recapped their recent history…

4. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The fight quickly spilled to the floor. Orton slammed Del Rio on the railing and Del Rio ran with Orton in tow. They went out to the concourse into the break…[C]

[Q8] Back from commercial, Orton was on the floor somewhere in the building. Orton came back and slammed Del Rio on a rolling cart and tried to pin him on it for two. They battled back into the arena bowl and down the stairs. Ricardo handed a chair to Del Rio, who hit Orton with it and covered for two. He struck Orton's pose into the break…[C]

Back at 14:31, they were back at the ringside area. Del Rio slammed Orton on the railing and covered on the floor for two. They battled back up the ramp, and Del Rio took a back drop on the ramp for two. Ricardo jumped on Orton's back. Orton slung him off and put him in the telephone booth on the stage.

Del Rio had fled back to the ring. Orton caught him there and hit his scoop slam. He hit Del Rio with a chair for two. Orton went for the RKO, but Del Rio reversed into a backstabber. Orton rolled to the apron, and he and Del Rio fought. Del Rio hit the enziguri, and Orton fell off the apron through a table. Del Rio covered for two.

Del Rio rolled him in the ring and took a mic. He said he was the apex predator and said Orton was going to tap. He locked on the arm breaker. Orton grabbed the mic and hit Del Rio with it. Del Rio shoved him into the ring post shoulder first, and then slammed him onto the ring stairs in the ring Orton had loaded earlier. He grabbed a chair and went to hit Orton, but Orton moved. Del Rio sold his hands hurting, and Orton hit the RKO on the stairs for the win. Orton posed on the turnbuckle to end the show…

Shore's Slant: A fair garbage match. Both guys took some tough bumps and I appreciate the effort, but it seems a bit much considering we have the PPV just next week. Overall I don't think this episode of Smackdown did much to keep viewers in the US as the Presidential election remains incredibly close. I question whether this was a smart move or not. I'll have more tomorrow on the Smackdown Hitlist. Thanks for watching 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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