8/10 Shore's WWE Smackdown Live Coverage: Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger, The Primetime Playas (and newly fired AW) vs. Primo and Epico in a no.1 contenders match, and Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World title

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped on 8/7 in Houston, Texas.

[Q1] The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Josh Matthews and Michael Cole checked in on commentary. Booker T was introduced and came to the ring in a tuxedo. He did a spinarooni for the hometown fans. He did a "Houston we have a problem," joke and played video of Shemaus with Alberto Del Rio's car from Raw. Booker T laughed and said it did make him smile watching Del Rio flip out. Is anybody a babyface anymore?

He said Sheamus crossed the line and demanded he come out and apologize to Del Rio in front of the fans. Sheamus made his entrance as Matthews defended his actions from Raw as "taking Del Rio's advice."

Shore's Slant: For the love of God, HE STOLE A FRIGGIN CAR!

Sheamus said Del Rio took his dignity by running him down, so he took Del Rio's car. He ran through all the fun he had with the car and said, "if you do the crime, you have to do the time," and apologized to Booker, the fans, and then Del Rio. Booker T said now that all that was behind them.

Del Rio's music cut him off. He and Ric Rod came to the ring with Del Rio yelling that this wasn't going to be put behind them. He said he saw the police report and Sheamus was going to pay. Booker said if Del Rio got the authorities involved, Sheamus couldn't defend the title because it would be held up. Del Rio said he didn't care.

Sheamus interrupted and said he had been thinking about this and had a solution. He said they shouldn't wait until SummerSlam, they should have their title match tonight. Booker T offered it to Del Rio, who said everything in his mind says he should wait and train, but he greed to do it tonight. Booker closed with his catch phrase and Del Rio left them in the ring...[C]

Shore's Slant: A couple of different ways of looking at this. From a "this show" vantage point, this was a good opening segment. Everybody did their job well and they booked a match with some heat behind it. From a "sell the PPV" vantage point, it was a "What the hell?" moment. Why give away your scheduled PPV match tonight? It must be because they are changing challengers for Sheamus, but why wait so late in the game? Oh, and from a "logic" vantage point this is a mess. How do we cheer the babyface for stealing a car? Terrible.

[Q2] Sin Cara and Cody Rhodes made their ring entrances with little response from the crowd. Cody cut a promo on the way to the ring. He said he had worn masks before and he knew why Sin Cara was wearing a mask. He said Sin Cara was ugly, cock-eyed with one ear bigger than the other. He said the truth was without the mask, Sin Cara wasn't special at all...

1. Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes. Cody went for the mask almost immediately. Sin Cara escaped and went for a springboard move, but Cody dropkicked him out of the air. Cole put over Sin Cara as ugly according tot he locker room. Cody mixed mask removal attempts with wrestling moves, but Sin Cara hit a backspring elbow and started his offensive run. Sin Cara hit a sunset flip type move, but Cody grabbed his mask and tried to pull it off. Sin Cara grabbed his arm and flipped Cody over in a modified small package for the win...

Sin Cara defeated Cody Rhodes at 3:44.

Daniel Bryan was shown backstage yelling, "NO!" at random people...[C]

Shore's Slant: Looks like the beginning of the Cody Rhodes vs. Sin Cara feud. I hope it doesn't become about Sin Cara and the mask. It's fine to use it a little here and there, but nobody cares enough about Sin Cara to care if he lost his mask. They need to find another way of getting there for this to be more than another mediocre paint by numbers feud.

A Wade Barrett video teased him as returning to his bareknuckle roots to prepare for his return. He closed the video by saying his "barrage has just begun..."

Shore's Slant: Nooooooo! Not Barrett’s Barrage again!

The Daniel Bryan is crazy video played...

[Q3] Bryan made his ring entrance to giant "Yes" chants while he screamed "No" at the fans. He took the mike and screamed "No" at the fans, who responded with "Yes" and then chanted it. He yelled at them to stop and then squatted with his head in his hands.

Bryan said he was more than a catch phrase. He said he was a former champion and should be in the WWE title match at SummerSlam. He said instead of that, he's been put in a match with Kane by the woman who "cruelly" left him at the alter. He asked if he deserved that and did the Yes/No gimmick with the crowd again.

Bryan said he deserved better than AJ and Kane, but he used some great adjectives to describe them both. Kane's pyro popped and he came to the ring. AJ was out next as Bryan started to leave and told him he better not think about leaving the ring. AJ got in the ring and said Booker asked her to be there as a guest. She said she booked them in a match because they were both incredible athletes, but she couldn't have them attacking the fans and each other every week.

AJ semi-flirted with Kane and thanked him for his kindness. Kane just stared at her. AJ pointed out that Bryan had never pinned Kane in a match, and then dared Bryan to prove he didn't have anger management issues. She said he could start tonight by shaking Kane's hand. The crowd chanted "Yes" and Bryan screamed "No." Bryan refused, but AJ got in his face and said, "Now, Daniel."

Bryan stuck his hand out and waited. AJ left the ring, and as soon as she hit the floor, Kane punched him. The two jockeyed back and forth until Kane kicked Bryan out of the ring. Bryan fled through the crowd as AJ watched from the stage. She dropped to her knees laughing and said, "That was great." Kane gave her the confused dog look and then popped his pyro as she looked crazy on her knees...

Backstage, Teddy Long praised Booker for how he handled the Del Rio/Sheamus situation. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks walked in. They said they hoped he would give them some opportunities. Booker told them to step up (I think) and they talked about Reks's old job, but never said what it was. They started to say more to Booker, but he chased them off...[C]

Shore's Slant: What the hell was that with Hawkins and Reks? Weird. I really thought we were passed AJ playing around with Kane, but I guess not. Yes, I realize Kane has been involved with Bryan almost every week, but it never felt like it was directly tied to AJ. I'm not entirely sure I want to revisit this story as it has less juice without the title involved.

Jinder Mahal put his hat in the box and climbed in the ring. A cut in video showed Mahal telling Ryback to watch him defeat two opponents. He said Ryback's eyes were bigger than his stomach...

2. Jinder Mahal vs. Two unnamed wrestlers. If they showed the local jobbers' names I missed them. Mahal slammed one guy while the other watched from the apron. He hit himself in the head like Ryback and put the camel clutch on the guy for the quick win.

Jinder Mahal beat two guys named Fred at 0:39

[Q4] Post-match, Mahal beat up the other guy and slammed him on top of his partner. Mahal put the camel clutch on both men and held it for a moment. Ryback's music hit and he came to the ring. Mahal broke the hold and yelled at Ryback, but as soon as the guy hit the ring, Mahal took off. Ryback grabbed the two jobbers and did his finisher on both to leave Mahal staring...[C]

Shore's Slant: Well, you have to give WWE some credit here for giving these guys a story. It's a shitty story, but so much of the undercard is just ignored and randomly thrown together that it's nice to see some effort, even if it is misguided.

Chris Jericho made his ring entrance and welcomed everyone to the Highlight Reel. He started to introduce his guest, but Vickie Guerrero cut him off with her gimmick. She said she was there to speak for her client because he wouldn't lower himself to appear on Jericho's show. Jericho said he would be happy to interview Ziggler's mom if Ziggler couldn't be there. He said Vickie looked good for a woman her age.

[Q5] Vickie yelled "Excuse me" to him and Jericho said it back. They yelled at each other until Vickie broke down and just screamed. Jericho told her to calm down. She said if he insulted her one more time she would leave. He acted concerned and then told her to get the hell out. He stopped her and said he was just joking.

He asked her why she was angry all the time. He said he could understand if she was miffed after what happened on Monday. He showed the video of Ziggler getting beat by Riley on Monday and said prior to that, Riley had only won one match in 2012, a record worse than Vickie's dye job. He said Ziggler was pointing at Jericho, but Ziggler couldn't even win the little ones.

Vickie said she and Ziggler knew the truth, they knew Jericho had lost his touch. She said he would prove it when Ziggler beat Jericho at SummerSlam. Jericho said they were right, his record this year had not been great, and it made him reevaluate himself and he was Y2J again. He said he would prove he had not lost his touch at SummerSlam and that he "never, eeeeever would, again."

Ziggler ran in but Jericho ducked the briefcase shot. Jericho beat up Ziggler and then turned to Vickie. She slapped him and screamed at him to never talk to her that way again. Jericho stared at her long enough for Ziggler to recover and hit the Zig Zag. He waited for Jericho to stand again and hit him with the briefcase. Vickie asked, "Who's your mother now?" She and Ziggler left Jericho out cold in the ring...Kofi Kingston and R-Truth joined the announce team...[C]

Shore's Slant: This started off rocky but settled in nicely when they got back from the video clip. Jericho made Ziggler look like a complete stud here, and I think this may be the match I most excited about going into SummerSlam. Nice work around here.

3. The Prime Time Playas vs. Epico and Primo with the winner becoming the numkber one conteders to the WWE Tag Team Championships. All four guys got in the action within the first minute. AW went over and threw water in Kofi and Truth's faces. They gave chase and attacked him and Titus O'Neal in the ring. The ref called for the bell and disqualified Epico and Primo. The PTP and AW celebrated the win.

The Prime Time Playas became the number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championships at 1:43.

[Q6] Antonio Cesaro made his ring entrance and said "Victory" in five languages. He said something else in a foreign language and said, "If you didn't understand that, that's the point." Christian made his ring entrance and their match was hyped for next...[C]

Shore's Slant: And now AW has been released so who knows what this ultimately means for the tag titles. I like Cesaro, a lot, but I still hate his gimmick. Aksana is a nice touch, but his entrance music is an immediate downer.

4. Antonio Cesaro (w/Aksana) vs. Christian. Both gusy worked quick offense and reversals. Cesaro went for his gut wrench powerbomb, but Christian flipped out. They botched for a moment, and Christian recovered nicely and hit his reverse DDT. Christian went for the spear, but Cesaro popped him up for the European uppercut and a great nearfall. Cesaro went for the Neutralizer, and Christian ducked and hit the spear for the win.

Christian defeated Antonio Cesaro at 4:09.

Post-match, Christian celebrated on the second rope. Aksana yelled at him and Christian yelled back. Cesaro attacked from behind and knocked Christian to the floor. Cesaro followed, and slammed Christian's back into the barricade...[C]

Shore's Slant: Good match from these two. I was behind so you got the Reader's Digest version. I hope Cesaro wins the US title and that is added to the feud. It could do a lot for that belt.

[Q7] The Raw Rebound recapped the post main event actions over the WWE title...Backstage, Eve asked Booker if any positions had opened up. Booker said there weren't any available. Teddy walked up with Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn asked if she could be his assistant. Booker gave her the job. Eve complained and said she would go to the board of directors. Booker said to keep it fair, Eve would fave Kaitlyn next week and the winner would be his assistant. Everyone liked the idea except Eve who stormed off...Rey Mysterio made his ring entrance...[C]

5. Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz. Miz started fast by catching Mysterio out of a moonsault and slamming him. Miz worked Rey over with a couple of good hope spots from Rey.

[Q8] Miz hit a big boot for a near fall. Rey came right back with a 619 setup. Miz caught the feet and hit a knee to the stomach. Miz went for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Rey reversed into a rollup for the win...[C]

Rey Mysterio defeated the Miz at 4:43.

Shore's Slant: Fun little match, but oddly positioned. There was such little setup to this from Raw, and then Rey just won and Miz looked pissed. No fireworks. No nothing. I guess they could build a feud like this, but it isn't WWE's style.

A Be A Star video aired...Del Rio made his entrance, followed by Sheamus. The match was about to start when a group of police officer came to the ring. Del Rio grabbed a mic and yelled for them to stop, he didn't file the report. The police surrounded the ring and Del Rio yelled stop. They all did on the apron.

Del Rio smiled and Sheamus and yelled, "GO!" The men attacked, but Sheamus fought them all off. Del Rio charged at him and Sheamus picked him up and drove him into the corner. He wailed on Del Rio, but the cops attacked and pulled Sheamus down. They beat him up in the corner and held him for Del Rio to hit a drop kick. Del Rio chased the police away and waited for Sheamus to try and get up. When he did, Del Rio hooked the cross arm breaker and then broke the hold on his own to stand over Sheamus...

Shore's Slant: When I was watching the spoilers roll in Tuesday and they announced this match, I assumed this was how Orton would get to SummerSlam. As it stand, I like what they did here. Del Rio needs some heat, and he was pretty good tonight. I don't know if it makes me want to see the SummerSlam match any more, but I don't know if anything would. Del Rio was not damaged overnight, so he can't be rebuilt overnight. But at least he didn't look incompetent here. I'll have more tomorrow on the Hitlist and All Access audio review with Jake Barnett. 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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