4/1 Barnett's WWE Smackdown Live Coverage: Kofi Kingston vs Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters, and WrestleMania 27 Hype


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WWE TV Reports


4/1 Barnett's WWE Smackdown Live Coverage: Kofi Kingston vs Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters, and WrestleMania 27 Hype
Apr 1, 2011 - 07:00 PM


By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped in Chicago, Illinois


[Q1]After the Green Day "Enemy" intro, Wade Barrett made his way out to the ring for his Intercontinental Title defense. A video recap aired of the excellent finish to last weeks match in which Wade Barrett captured the Intercontinental Title. Kofi made his entrance after the video aired.

1. Kofi Kingston defeated Wade Barrett by DQ at 4:48 Kofi started the match with some kicks. He then attempted a springboard move from the outside but caught a Big Boot from Barrett. Wade worked some power offense on the outside. He drove Kingston into the ring and the ring steps, and then tossed him back in the ring. He then hit a pumphandle slam for a near fall. The action slowed with a chinlock by Barrett. Kofi fought out of the hold, and hot some strikes to the chest of Barrett, followed by a dropkick.

Barrett charged Kofi in the corner, and he hit a wheelbarrow kick followed by a big splash from the top rope for a good near fall. Kofi pumped up and hit the Boom Drop, and set up in the corner for Trouble in Paradise. He charged at Barrett, but got caught with big boot for his trouble. Barrett attempted a Wasteland, but Kofi grabbed the ropes in the corner and reversed out. He then hit Trouble in Paradise and went for a cover, but the rest of the Corre interfered causing a DQ. Santino and Kozlov ran down to the ring, followed by Kane and Big Show to even the numbers. A brawl ensued, with The Corre being eliminated from the ring. The good guy crew celebrated and stared down The Corre to end the segment.

Barnett's Brief: A good match with a predictable finish. Kofi and Wade had a very similar match last week, but this was equally good and they are both fun to watch in the ring. I hope we see more from both guys after WrestleMania, as they deserve to be featured more prominently on Smackdown.

A video recap aired of the attack by Cody Rhodes on Rey Mysterio last week on Smackdown. We cut backstage to Matt Striker, who gave an interview to Cody Rhodes. Rhodes wore a suit with a towel over his head, and claimed that Rey used his knee brace to shatter his face. He said he was changed from rugged and handsome to something he didn't even want to look at anymore. He said he's an angry, bitter man, and that last week was only the beginning. He closed by taking the towel off his head, and said that Rey Mysterio would have to contend with his mask and his knee brace at WrestleMania...[C]

Barnett's Brief: A solid, if a little boring promo from Cody Rhodes. He didn't really say anything new here, but he showed some good restraint in giving a very calculated yet intense promo.

[Q2]We came back to Todd Grisham and the Bellas at the WWE Fax Axxess event. They spoke briefly about the different memorabilia and TV sets they had on display at the event. Grisham then introduced a video chronicling the Triple H and Undertaker feud since 2/21/11. After the video, Grisham hyped that we will see a replay of the Triple H and Undertaker confrontation from this past Monday on Raw...[C]

Barnett's Brief: The Axxess stuff is lame, but the video packages are excellent as always. WWE Production has this down to a science.

Back to WrestleMania Axxess, Todd Grisham and The Bella Twins spoke briefly about Randy Orton and CM Punk. The Bellas called Randy Orton creepy, and then Grisham introduced a video package that went over the feud between CM Punk and Randy Orton. It covered the entire history of the feud, and showed some of the highlights from both men. After the video aired, Mathews hyped a video package about the Road Warriors, and Jerry Lawler responding to Michael Cole later in the show...[C]

Barnett's Brief: Another good video package that showed some of the great moments from this feud. CM Punk has been awesome in this feud, and Randy Orton hasn't disappointed, either.

[Q3] Grisham and The Bellas welcomes us back to WWE Axxess. They went through more of the WWE memorabilia present at the event, and then introduced The Road Warrios HOF video. It was the same video that aired monday, but by all means take another look. The Road Warrios were awesome. After the video, Grisham hyped that the John Cena and The Rock confrontation would air later in the show...[C]

Mathews welcomed us back and introduced a clip from last monday that showed the Jerry Lawler and Jack Swagger Match, followed by the Lawler and Cole confrontation that happened afterward. After the video aired, Jerry Lawler came out to a good pop from the live crowd. He explained how Cole had ran down his life and his family, and that Cole had to learn that words have consequences. He went on and said that if Cole was out there right now, neither of them would make it to WrestleMania. He said next that Stone Cold Steve Austin would take care of Jack Swagger, and that would leave just him and Cole. He then promised to do what the rest of the world wants him to do, and that was shut Cole's mouth.

Barnett's Brief: A great old school promo from Lawler. It was very no nonsense and to the point, and Lawler was very thoughtful and calculated throughout. I think Jerry has been a great foil to Cole's heel character throughout this feud. Lawler has been very quiet and has let his actions do the talking, while Cole has ran his mouth while hiding behind Swagger. This feud has been a throwback, and a lot of fun.

[Q4]Mathews hyped WrestleMania 27 and introduced a video that recapped the WrestleMania press conference and various WWE media appearances...[C]

Todd Grisham welcomed us back and introduced the Undertaker and Triple H promo from Monday that included an interruption from Shawn Michaels.

Barnett's Brief: This was my favorite segment of the year so far. I loved the whole thing from start to finish. The Undertaker hat tip was a wrestling memory I will hold onto for a long time.

[Q5] The Triple H and Undertaker Video lasted until about eight past the hour...[C]

Mathews plugged the WWE All Stars Video game, and then turned things over to Todd Grisham and the Bellas. They introduced a recap of The Miz on Conan O'Brien. Grisham then hyped the confrontation between The Rock and John Cena, which he said would air later tonight...[C]

[Q6] Back at Axxess, Grish and The Bellas showed off more WWE memorabilia, and then introduced another video that covered Snooki's WWE invasion. Grisham hyped a recap of Edge and Alberto Del Rio's Fued as next...[C]

Barnett's Brief: The Miz was great on Conan. He showed a lot of personality, made a few good jokes, and was a great representative of WWE. The only nice thing I can think to say about Snooki is that we know she can take a punch. She does nothing for me otherwise.

As we got back, The Bellas discussed how hot they think Alberto Del Rio is. Grisham then introduced the Edge and Del Rio video recap.

[Q7] After the video, Grisham hyped Cody Rhodes being in action next...[C]

Cody Rhodes new grungy music hit and he walked to the ring in black trunks with a towel over his head. He begged onlookers not to look at his face as he climbed into the ring. Chris Masters music then hit and he made his way to the ring. Rhodes kept the towel on his head until the bell.

2. Cody Rhodes defeated Chris Masters at 2:56 Cody whipped the towel off and charged Masters into the corner. During the match, Michael Cole walked to ringside. In the ring, Cody worked a crossface arm bar. He then attacked with some strikes, and followed up with a vertical suplex. Masters countered with an atomic drop, and then attempted the Master Lock, but Cody made the ropes. The then used his mask to hit Masters in the face, and followed with a Crossrhodes for the win.

Rey Mysterio charged down to the ring and set up Rhodes for the 619. Rhodes was able to snap up and kick Mysterio in the gut. He then attempted a powerbomb, but Rey reversed out and tossed Rhodes back on the ropes. Rey revealed his knee brace, and ran for the 619 but Rhodes bailed out of the ring.

A clip then aired that recapped Chris Jericho's experience thus far on Dancing with the Stars. Mathews hyped the Rock and Cena confrontation as next...[C]

Barnett's Brief: Typical WWE squash style match that made Rhodes look good heading into Sunday. Not much offense for Masters here, but he looks good in the ring, so I'm not sure why he can't fit into a program on Smackdown. The follow up attack from Mysterio was well done, as both guys got to showcase that they have weapons they can use at the PPV. Both Mysterio and Rhodes have knee braces, and with Rhodes Mask, we should see those as heavy themes in their match on Sunday.

[Q8] Back at WWE Axxess, the Bellas and Grisham spoke briefly about John Cena's Muscle Cars on display at the event. They then had a bit of a confrontation, where Grisham wanted to talk about John Cena and The Rock, and The Bellas scolded him for not paying attention to The Miz. Grisham then introduced The Rock, Miz, and John Cena segment from Monday's Raw. The video took us to the end of the broadcast.

Barnett's Brief: The promo segment from Monday was pretty good. I like The Rock, I didn't mind Cena's Promo, and the Miz was great. The crowd was hot for The Rock, then Cena kind of killed them, but The Miz was able to bring them back. Cena killed me with the dopey smile, but the FU on The Rock was a good way to add intrigue to WrestleMania 27 and close the show.

The overall show wasn't much of a show. A lot of good video packages, a few decent if uninspiring matches, and some banter between The Bellas and Todd Grisham that was kind of forced and awkward. Overall, I wouldn't call the show bad, but it didn't really hold my interest in any meaningful way. If you hadn't seen this stuff before, it probably would have been a great way to catch up if you were on the fence about WrestleMania.

Stay tuned all weekend for great content on prowrestling.net. We have more predictions from staff, some great audio to listen to, and of course full coverage of WrestleMania 27 on Sunday. Thanks for reading, and have a great WrestleMania weekend.

If you have and comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to contact me by email at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.

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