4/15 Shore's WWE Smackdown Live Coverage: Edge says his goodbye and vacates the World Heavyweight Championship, and a battle royal determines who will face Alberto Del Rio for the vacant title

By Chris Shore

Smackdown on SyFy
Taped on 4/12/11 in Albany, NY.

[Q1] A video highlighted Edge's career and said he would say his goodbye tonight…The show opened cold as Josh Matthews, Michael Cole and Booker T welcomed us to Smackdown. Ricardo Rodriguez was introduced and he introduced Alberto Del Rio who came out in a vintage Rolls Royce.

He did his name bit and said tonight was not about him, it was about someone else. He said when Edge announced his retirement, the WWE Universe and locker room lost a hero. Del Rio put over that Edge held more titles than any other person in history.

He said he couldn’t imagine how Edge felt right now. He said this was Edge's life, and even though it was his destiny to beat Edge, he didn't want it to be like this. He said that because it was his destiny though, Edge should come out and present him with the World Title.

Teddy Long's music hit and he came to the ring as Del Rio looked pleased. Teddy said it wouldn't be going down like that. He said no one would be presenting him anything. Del Rio said he was the number one contender. Teddy said he was the number one contender, and he would still be competing for the title in a ladder match at Extreme Rules. He said Del Rio would face the winner of the main event, a 20 man battle royal.

Del Rio said it was a big conspiracy and he never liked Teddy. Teddy said that's how they rolled on Smackdown. Del Rio said he was glad he hurt Edge. He said he was glad he forced him to retire. He said it was his destiny to leave Edge a crippled coward. He started to say it was his destiny to be champ, but Long cut him off and said his destiny to shut up. Teddy left Del Rio looking pissed in the ring…[C]

Shore's Slant: Solid opening segment from Del Rio. He was a real class act in putting Edge over, and when he went kayfabe at the end it wasn't too much. It also put serious heat on him (that he needs) and setup what should be a pretty good main event. Except for the whole battle royal thing.

[Q2] Ezekiel Jackson was in the ring as the rest of Corre joined on commentary. Kofi Kingston made his ring entrance…

1. Ezekiel Jackson (w/the Corre) defeated Kofi Kingston at 2:22. Kofi went right at Zeke, but Zeke used his power to fight back. Kofi kicked Zeke to the floor and followed. Zeke slammed him into the apron and then gorilla press slammed him onto the Corre members. He rolled Kofi in the ring, but Kofi kicked him. Barrett tried to interfere, which distracted Kofi, and Zeke hit his finisher on Kofi for the pinfall victory.

Post-match, Zeke cut a promo and said he was the personification of domination. He said he would win the battle royal and be the new number one contender. The rest of the Corre stood at ringside while he left…The announce team hyped Edge surrendering the World Title later…[C]

Shore's Slant: The Corre bickered for those two minutes at ringside, so I guess they are setting up their collapse. I think it would be a mistake, but they sure do seem determined to make it happen. And Kofi is back to his losing ways again. Sigh.

LayCool were shown in a video for couple's counseling. Michelle McCool and Layla argued. McCool was super harsh and Layla acted like she was the hurt. Layla said she wanted them to be equals. McCool told her to grow three feet, get some blonde hair and much better in the ring, then they would be equal. She stormed off and Layla yelled that she was keeping McCool's shoes. She looked at the doctor and said, "Same time next week?"…

Cody Rhodes was in the ring with his hood on and said when he defeated Rey at WrestleMania he thought he would feel happy or satisfied. He said he felt nothing. He said he was competing in the battle royal tonight and wanted to know if he won that and the title would that be enough to erase what he felt when he saw the monster staring back at him in the mirror.

He said Rey was a father and had no doubt told his kids that there was no monster in the closet or under the bed. He said he wanted to turn Rey into that monster. He wanted Rey's kids to be as horrified of their dad's face as he was of his. He snatched his hood off for effect.

Rey's music hit and he ran down to the ring. Rey got the best and setup for 619. Cody escaped, but Rey kicked him in the face. Rey hit the 619 on Cody's nuts and Cody fell to the floor. He left the ring area as Mysterio waited in the ring for his match…[C]

Shore's Slant: The LayCool thing was short and OK. Layla was much better than McCool, but it was a comedy segment too. Cody was fantastic I thought. I'm digging the new character so much, and I can't wait to see where they are going with it.

[Q3] Back from commercial, the "Amazing Kong" video aired…Back ringside, the announce team called the vignette disturbing again as Drew McIntyre made his ring entrance…

2. Rey Mysterio defeated Drew McIntyre at 12:32. Drew pointed his finger at Rey and Rey slapped it away. Drew went at him, but Mysterio ducked and hit a few kicks. He hit the ropes, and Drew reversed into a powerslam for two. McIntyre hit a backbreaker and a snap suplex for two. Drew lifted Rey and Rey reversed into a 619 setup. Drew escaped and went to the floor. Rey tried to hit a head scissor, but Drew caught him and slammed him into the wall…[C]

Back from commercial, Drew worked on the arm and then a blow to the back. Rey slid around and drove Drew to the floor. He hit a kick as Drew climbed back in and followed with a leg drop across the ropes for two. He hit the ropes, but Drew hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to retake control.

Drew whipped Rey to the corner and hit a spear. He went for another, but Rey moved and Drew hit the post. Rey worked his offense and hit a springboard cross body for two. Drew came back with a big boot for two. He lifted for a powerbomb, but Mysterio fought back. Drew tossed him into the corner. Rey landed on the rope and jumped off for a DDT for two.

[Q4] Drew shoved Rey back to the corner and hit a clothesline from his knees. He followed with a clothesline in the corner. He went for a short arm clothesline, but Rey flipped away, hit a low dropkick and followed with 619 and the splash for the win...

Booker and Matthews put over Edge and his career. A different video package looked at his career. Edge was shown walking backstage with the title while a number of guys clapped for him and hugged him. He walked up to Kane and looked at him. Kane stuck his hand out and they shook hands. His farewell is next…[C]

Shore's Slant: Great match from Mysterio and McIntyre. Seriously, that's one you need to find online when the show comes out if you missed it. I hope Drew gets another push soon, and I would love to see him work with a guy like Daniel Bryan. And I am not looking forward to this Edge moment at all. I need to get some tissues handy just in case.

Edge's music hit and he came out to a great ovation as several signs were shown in the stands. He shook a kid's hand at ringside and that kid flipped out. Tony Chimel announced him as the World Heavyweight Champion and gave him that stupid "Pooperstar" voice crack thing he does. Edge stood in the ring for a moment and let the fans chant his name.

He said he was going to miss that. He said that it was true; he was retiring because of an injury. He said because of it, he was seeing things like it was the first time. He talked about the crazy stuff he had done through the years and said that no matter what, as soon as he came through the curtain and heard the fans feeding him their energy…He trailed off as a "Thank you Edge" chant started. He said it always gave him goosebumps. He said he had to do it one last time.

[Q5] He left the mic and title in the ring and ran back up the ramp. He walked through the curtain and his music hit again and the place went nuts. He popped out and did his normal stage work to get the fans pumped up and then did his full pyro entrance and ran and slid in the ring. He climbed up on the turnbuckle and did his pose.

He took the mic again and joked that he was already out of shape. He said the outpouring of support from everyone had been insane. He said a lot of people were upset that his career had to end, but most were positive that they caught it before he was in a ladder match and landed and couldn't get up. He said he was happy about that.

He said he was happy that he and his girl got to hike in the mountains and go surfing in Nicaragua. He said he was happy he got to wear one of his two suits, which he bought for $100 at JC Penny's. He said he was happy he came to Albany because this was where he won his first title and came up with the name Edge.

He pointed out his mom, and they showed the wrong lady for a moment but finally showed the right lady. He put her over and said she was his strength through all the injuries and everything. He told everyone to call their mom tonight.

He put over the world title and said that it was never his, or anyone's in the back. He said we all held a piece of it, and it was symbolic of all the fans. He said he now had to relinquish the world title, and it was cool. He thanked everyone and said it was a hell of a career and a hell of a ride. He thanked everyone again and set the belt in the middle of the ring as another "Thank you Edge" chant started.

He left the ring, hugged his mom, and walked up the ramp. He paused at the top and clapped. He did his pose one more time, and walked to the back…

The announce team hyped the main event and setup the trailer for "That's What I Am"…[C]

Shore's Slant: Not as bad as I thought, but still tough to watch. Nothing else to say but thank you Edge.

Backstage, Edge was talking to Rosa. She said something in Spanish that Edge said he couldn't understand. She said she would miss him, and he said he would still be around. Del Rio walked up behind him and stood there. Edge turned around and Del Rio offered his hand. He smiled and winked at Edge and Edge walked off without shaking his hand…

Kelly Kelly made her entrance. LayCool were out next. McCool refused to do their entrance move. A video recapped their match last week…

[Q6] 3. Kelly Kelly defeated Layla (w/Michelle McCool) at 2:04. Kelly took control almost immediately and dumped Layla to the floor. They wrestled around near the announce table where McCool was sitting. Kelly shoved Layla and Layla almost slammed into McCool. She turned around and Kelly hit her finisher on the floor. McCool rolled Layla back in the ring like a lumberjill and Kelly hooked the rollup for the win.

Post-match, Layla told McCool she was sorry while McCool berated her. She started to walk away, and Layla grabbed her hand. McCool snatched her hand away and shoved Layla to the mat. She left the ring and walked up the ramp as Layla sold the shove and looked on…[C]

Shore's Slant: That match did exactly what it was supposed to do with respect to advancing the storyline, so I'm digging it. All I really have to say (read: wish) is that Layla goes over.

A video recapped the Jerry Lawler vs. Jack Swagger match and fallout on Raw. Ringside, Booker asked Cole how he could slap Swagger. Cole begged for Swagger's forgiveness and said he would make it up to him somehow…Matthews setup the Undertaker vs. Triple H video…

[Q7] Tony Chimel announced the Battle Royal and Big Show made his entrance…[C]

Back from commercial, Del Rio was at ringside looking at the belt while 19 men were in the ring. Kane made his entrance to finalize the battle royal…

4. Christian won a 20 man battle royal to face Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules in a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship in 28:00. JTG was out almost immediately from Big Show, and then Show tossed Trent Baretta. He tossed Heath Slater. Slater landed on the apron, but Show knocked him out. Show charged across the ring and clotheslined Zeke and himself over the top…[C]

Back from commercial, no one had been eliminated. Rey eliminated Cody Rhodes with a dropkick, and then Curt Hawkins by head scissors. Brodus Clay eliminated Drew McIntyre with a clothesline, and then tossed Chavo Guerrero off his back to the floor.

Brodus and Kane squared off and Kane worked strikes. He grabbed Brodus by the throat, but couldn’t lift him. Brodus elbowed out and slammed Kane to the mat. He lifted him on his shoulder, but Kane slipped off and shoved Brodus over the top, much to Del Rio's agitation…[C]

[Q8] Back from commercial, Barrett tossed Kofi, but Kofi skinned the cat. He grabbed Barrett with a head scissor and tried to pull him out, but Barrett kicked him and eliminated him. Christian eliminated Tyler Reks and then Yoshi Tatsu. Gabriel and Barrett worked together to eliminate Kane and seemed to form an uneasy alliance. Barrett eliminated Masters, and as soon as he did, Gabriel eliminated Barrett. Barrett went nuts but was sent away.

The final four were Christian, Rey Mysterio, Justin Gabriel and Jack Swagger. Mysterio and Gabriel worked while Christian and Swagger faced off. Gabriel tried to powerbomb Rey, but Rey hooked his leg and eliminated Gabriel. Swagger tried to eliminate Rey, but Rey fought back on the apron. He setup Swagger for the 619, but Cole ran out and covered Swagger and took the 619 to the back. Rey started at Cole and Swagger eliminated Rey.

Swagger and Christian battled and they both went over the top onto the apron. Christian tried to hit the pendulum kick, but Swagger grabbed the ankle and hooked the ankle lock. He dragged Christian to the center of the ring with the hold. Christian flipped out, but Swagger maintained control.

Swagger tossed Christian over the top and landed on the apron. Del Rio ran over and grabbed the ankle and tried to pull Christian off. Christian kicked him away and pulled the top rope down so a charging Swagger eliminated himself. Post-match, Del Rio stood on the announce table and pointed at then title while Edge came to the ring and celebrated with Christian to end the show…[C]

Shore's Slant: Typical clusterfark of a battle royal match with a decent ending. I like the Cole spot, though I worry about JR now in their match at Extreme Rules. And of course Christian is the right guy for this spot because of how they've worked the past few weeks and the tie in with Edge. Overall this was a pretty good show, but a tough one to watch. I'll have more to say tomorrow on the hitlist. Thanks for reading and I'll see you then.

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