5/17 Barnett's WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage Review: The go home show for Extreme Rules featuring MizTV, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Big Show, The Shield and more

By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage Review
Taped Tuesday, May 14th in Wichita, Kansas

[Q1] The WWE Narrator informed us about the change to the World Heavyweight Championship match, and then Big Show and Randy Orton's feud was discussed, and their appearance on MizTV was mentioned.

Miz was already in the ring in the MizTV set when the show opened to the arena. He welcomed everyone to the must see talk show MizTV. Miz then said he wanted to make tonight special, and introduced Randy Orton to his show. The announce team went over Orton and Big Show's match at ringside, and said Orton could be in trouble with in an Extreme match with a giant. After Orton got to the ring, Big Show got a full ring entrance as well. The announce team recalled all the times Big Show knocked out Randy Orton.

Miz reminded the crowd that their match at Extreme Rules would be anything goes. He then said they've been having trouble since WrestleMania, and followed up by talking about Orton's RKO on Big Show at the conclusion of Smackdown last week. He then showed video footage of the RKO, and Big Show didn't seem to react to it much. Miz then asked Show if that is what we'd see at Extreme Rules. Show said he expected comments like that from a weasel, and the only way Orton hit the RKO was by hitting him from behind.

Show said Orton was a snake in the grass, but at Extreme Rules he'd have all the tools to rip Orton apart. He said his tools were at the ends of his arms, and in St. Louis their match would end with a TKO instead of an RKO. Orton played to the crowd with a glance before responding, and said that was a very entertaining story from Show, but the ending was inaccurate. Orton said there was no way he would let Orton beat him in his home town. He wouldn't let him beat him in front of his friends, family, and his city.

Orton then said he made a mistake at WrestleMania by trusting him, but all people would remember about Extreme Rules is him striking down the giant. He concluded by saying that if Show wasn't careful, he wouldn't wake up. Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter interrupted, and Colter said Extreme Rules would be memorable because Jack Swagger would make Alberto Del Rio say I Quit. He said he could even say it in his own tongue, no mas. He then said on Sunday that Swagger would become the undisputed #1 Contender and you would see Americans rising up.

Del Rio interrupted and told Colter to shut up. He said the only thing people would remember was him becoming #1 Contender, and Ricardo said his name. He then said he would send Colter back to where he came from, so he couldn't sneak into his business again. Mark Henry then interrupted and said no one would remember anything but him setting world records, and beating Sheamus the worst he's ever been beaten in his life. He then said people would remember is that he's the World's Strongest Man, because “That's what I do!”

Sheamus then interrupted and called Mark Henry “ol lumpy”. He said that their match at Extreme Rules would be remembered, because he would leave Mark Henry battered and bruised. He then asked why they should wait, because they could make a memory tonight. He charged the ring with a strap in hand, and the babyfaces cleared the heels from the ring.

Barnett's Brief: Good focus on Extreme Rules, but was The Miz even necessary there? Colter and Henry had the better promos there, but they all felt heavily scripted.

[Q2] They showed footage of Sheamus' attack from the previous segment. Teddy Long's music played and he walked out onto the ramp. He said he didn't know about us, but he was ready for Extreme Rules. He then booked a six man tag team match between Big Show, Henry and Swagger vs. Orton, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. Josh Mathews made a comment about Teddy Long abusing his power, and then the Shield's music hit and they entered through the crowd. The Usos then made their entrance complete with pyro.

1. The Usos vs. The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins): Jay Uso started and hit rapid punches on Rollins in the corner. He tagged in Jimmy, who continued to beat down Rollins. Seth blocked a hip toss and tagged in Reigns blindly. Reigns hit a nice clothesline. Things broke down early, and all for men ended up in the ring. Jay took Rollins to the outside, but Reigns hit a spear a few seconds later for the win.

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defeated The Usos at 1:48.

Post match, The Shield beat down the Usos until Kofi Kingston ran down to the ring. He got dumped to ringside, but Kingston re-entered with a chair to clear The Shield from the ring.

The announcers said we'd see a video featuring Ryback next...[c]

Barnett's Brief: You could see the six man coming from the moon, but it makes sense. The Tag Match never got off the ground, but it wasn't for lack of effort. Just not much to pack in to less than 2 minutes.

[Q3] Backstage, Teddy Long welcomed The Miz back to Smackdown. Damien Sandow interrupted and said it would be better if he never returned, and then proposed his own “Damien Sandow Show” idea. He then gave Teddy Long the exclusive chance to produce his first show. Teddy said he'd take it under consideration, and made a match between Sandow and The Miz.

The announce team showed video of John Cena nearly defeating The Shield on Monday, before getting a Triple Powerbomb. Ryback's post match attack was then shown. The announce team said Cena's achilles injury had been aggravated and that he could barely walk. Brodus Clay and Sweet T made their ring entrance with the Funkadactyls.

Barnett's Brief: Teddy Long is ok in this role. Or at least it's better than the on screen conflict he had with Booker T. Sandow and Miz could be good, but we shall see how much time they get.

2. Sweet T and Brodus vs. The Primetime Players: The match was joined in progress and Brodus beat down Darren Young. Tensai tagged in was the victim of a Titus distraction. Young hit a chop block and tagged in Titus. Titus hit a big clothesline and some strikes, but Tensai side stepped a shoulder block in the corner. Brodus and Young tagged back in and Brodus hit a suplex and a big splash in the corner. He covered and got a very near fall as Titus looked to have missed the interruption.

Tensai entered and tossed Titus from the ring. Both men charged and splashed Yougn simultaneously, and Brodus covered for the pin. They danced after the match.

Brodus and Sweet T defeated The Primetime Players at roughly 4:00

Antonio Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho was plugged for next...[c]

Barnett's Brief: A decent match that was brought down by my utter apathy for both acts.

[Q4] A recap was shown of Jericho and Fandango's dance off from Monday. After the video, Jericho made his ring entrance to a big ovation. JBL said Jericho has never been more focused in his career than he is on Fandango, which seems nearly impossible. Antonio Cesaro then made his ring entrance.

3. Chris Jericho vs. Antonio Cesaro: Cesaro backed Jericho into the corner, and the ref separated him. Cesaro hit a nice shoulder block and taunted Jericho. They reset and Jericho pumped up the crowd. They did some chain reversals and Cesaro rolled to the outside to regroup. When he re-entered he hit some chops, but Jericho caught him with a pair of drop kicks. Cesaro rolled to the apron and attempted to suplex him to the outside. Jericho eventually hit a kick, followed by a spring board drop kick that sent Cesaro to the outside...[c]

Jericho hit a backslide that got a two count, but Cesaro popped back up and hit a clothesline. Jericho kicked out at two, and Cesaro applied a chin lock. Jericho tried to run Cesaro into the corners, but he held on to the chin lock, but Cesaro held on. Jericho broke free and hit a clothesline of his own and an axe handle from the top. Jericho attempted the Walls of Jericho, but Cesaro kicked out. He then went for the Lionsault but Cesaro got his knees up. Cesaro then hit a double stomp.

Jericho hit an enziguri to get himself back into the match. He hit few more strikes, but Cesaro caught him in a tilt a whirl back breaker for another two count. Cesaro than locked in another head lock, and moved him into position for a neutralizer. Jericho attempted to reverse into the Walls, but Cesaro reversed out. Jericho climbed to the top, but ended up eating an uppercut from Cesaro. Cesaro went for a gutwrench, but Jericho reversed into the Walls of Jericho and Cesaro was forced to tap out.

Chris Jericho defeated Antonio Cesaro at 11:18.

[Q5] Post-match, Fandango's music hit and Summer Rae appeared on the ramp and signaled for him. He entered through the crowd and Jericho caught him with a spine buster as he tried to sneak up on him. Cesaro then attempted to attack Jericho, but Jericho dropped him too. Fandango escaped further damage and headed up the ramp. Jericho then hit Cesaro with a Codebreaker.

Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger had a video promo. Colter said he has been called extreme before. He thinks being extreme is the only safe reaction to an extreme world. He said real americans want answers about Benghazi and the IRS targeting certain extreme groups. He wanted to know why Americans were losing their jobs, schools were closing at a record pace, and Americans aren't getting his answers. He said real Americans push forwards in the face of ridicule, and most importantly they don't quit. Colter then claimed Del Rio would quit, and he would take his sombrero and go home.

The announce team then put over the main event...[c]

Barnett's Brief: A very good match from Cesaro and Jericho, and a good post match with the addition of Fandango. That was also the best Colter promo we've seen in recent memory, as far as tying recent events in with his character.

Cody Rhodes joined at ringside while Damien Sandow made his ring entrance. The Miz then made his own.

4. The Miz vs. Damien Sandow: The Miz took control early with a clothesline and kick. Sandow tried to retreat to the outside, but Miz hit a jumping clothesline from the apron. Sandow kicked Miz as he re-entered the ring and took control. Rhodes got up and grabbed a mic and demanded the crowd stand up and respect Damien Sandow. Sandow then hit a suplex, while the announce team plugged what Wade Barrett was saying on the WWE App about The Miz. Sandow continued the assault with knees and a side Russian Leg Sweep and the Elbow of Disdain.

They talked about Cody's mustache as The Miz got back on offense. He hit a knee lift and a clothesline in the corner. He climbed to the top and hit a double axe handle. Miz then set up for the figure four, bot Rhodes jumped on the apron. Miz knocked him down and applied the figure four for the tapout victory.

The Miz defeated Damien Sandow at 4:10.

[Q6] The announce team plugged the main event for later...[c]

Barnett's Brief: How many more excuses could they give their audience to not watch this match? The announce team was totally distracting, plus you had Rhodes interrupting and Wade Barrett's picture in picture promo. It was information overload in the worst way. If you were able to pay attention, you saw a pretty good match.

Aksana was already in the ring, when Kaitlyn made her ring entrance. They showed a clip form backstage where Kaitlyn got a new gift from her secret admirer.

5. Aksana vs. Kaitlyn: Kaitlyn hit a suplex and a clothesline. She went for a swinging neck breaker, but Aksana shoved her into the corner. Aksana hit suplex and a slingshot into the ropes. She continued the offense with a DDT and took her time in making a cover for a two count. Aksana hit some kicks and a club to the back to send Kaitlyn to the ground. She then picked up Kaitlyn, but she reversed out and hit a spear for the win.

Kaityn defeated Aksana at 3:08.

The announce team said a video to recap Lesnar vs. Triple H would next...[c]

Barnett's Brief: That match had a bit of time dilation going on. It was three minutes long but I could have sworn it was twenty.

[Q7] A video aired that recapped Triple H and Brock Lesnar's feud since WrestleMania. After the video, Lilian Garcia introduced Ricardo Rodriguez, who introduced Alberto Del Rio. Sheamus then made his ring entrance, followed by Randy Orton. The announce team then introduced a trailer for Twelve Rounds 2: Electric Boogaloo with Randy Orton...[c]

A clip aired of Jack Swagger causing Dolph Ziggler's concussion. The heels were all in the ring.

[Q8] 6. Del Rio, Orton and Sheamus vs. Jack Swagger, Mark Henry and Big Show: Del Rio and Swagger opened and traded offense. Del Rio hit a hip toss and a kick to the spine. He stayed on the attack and hit strikes and a kick to the ribs of Swagger. Orton tagged in, and stomped on Swagger, and followed with ten punches in the corner. Swagger fired back with a shoulder block to Orton's knee. Swagger went to follow up by hitting the ropes, but Orton popped up and hit a drop kick.

Swagger tagged back in and went back to work on Swagger's spine with a back stabber. Del Rio dumped Swagger to the outside and hit a dive through the ropes. Big Show distracted Del Rio and Swagger sent him falling off the top rope. Swagger tagged in Big Show and he picked up the pieces of Del Rio. Show stomped on Del Rio and stood on his back. Show then hit a big chop in the corner and tagged in Swagger. Swagger hit some knees and tagged in Mark Henry.

Henry took his turn by hitting some head butts, and tagged Swagger back in. Del Rio fought back with a tilt a whirl back breaker, but Big Show tagged in and hit an elbow to break up a chance at a tag...[c]

Del Rio up kicked Swagger and recovered in the corner. Swagger charged and Del Rio moved out of the way. Del Rio got close to a tag, but Big Show stopped him yet again. Show picked up Del Rio for a powerbomb, but Del Rio countered with a head scissors. Del Rio finally made a hot tag to Sheamus, who hit all his signature offense on Big Show. Show voided a double axe handle, but Sheamus got him up for White Noise. Henry distracted Sheamus, and Show hit a Choke Slam for a near fall. Show tagged Swagger back in, and he dropped some elbows on Sheamus.

Swagger hit a running leg drop and covered for a two count. Swagger tried to hold on to a headlock, but Sheamus powered out and hit a forward roll slam. Henry tagged in and prevented Sheamus from making a tag. Henry hit big clubs to the back of the neck, and talked trash at Sheamus. Show tagged back in, and Sheamus got a flash of offense and Show stopped with a shoulder block. Show hit some chops and a big punch to the gut. Swagger tagged in and hit some knees and a clothesline, followed by a Swagger Bomb for a two count.

Sheamus got an Electric Chair on Swagger and made a hot tag to Orton. Orton hit an inverted backbreaker followed by a powerslam. Henry ran in and blasted Orton, and Big Show sent Sheamus to ring side. Del Rio hit an enziguri on Henry to send him to the outside. Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick on Big Show on the outside. Del Rio attempted an enziguri on Swagger, but he reversed into the Patriot Lock. Orton recovered to hit an RKO on Swagger for the pinfall victory.

Orton, Sheamus and Del Rio defeated Big Show, Mark Henry and Jack Swagger at 15:38

Barnett's Brief: A good long TV main event, that was a very typical go home tag team match for a WWE PPV. The heels were dominant for the majority of the match, and the babyfaces recovered to win the day. It was an entertaining affair that didn't make anybody look weak, although I thought the action kind of sagged in the middle, but it was a really fun effort overall. I'll have more to say about the show with Chris Shore in our Smackdown All Access Podcast tomorrow.

Questions, comments or concerns? Contact me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.