By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped 1/10 in Laredo, Texas

[Q1] A video aired of Daniel Bryan as he “defied the odds” and retained his title last week. It also mentioned the Title Match tonight and the fact that it was no count outs and no disqualifications. It made it very obvious that we are supposed to question whether Bryan has the ability to beat the Big Show without some help.

The pyro in the arena exploded and Josh Mathews welcomed us to the show. He plugged the 25th Anniversary of the Rumble and Lilian Garcia introduced Daniel Bryan. He got some boos as he entered the arena. Booker T returned to the booth, and said his experience with Cody Rhodes was awesome? Eh?

Bryan grabbed the mic and said that when he won the World Heavyweight Championship from The Big Show, it was a dream come true for him. Fans chanted you suck at him. He said he didn't want last week to end that way, and lesser men would have moved on to another opponent, but he's giving him another rematch. He told the fans not to believe the chat rooms and message boards, and called out a person named HeymanRules512, and said it was a load of dung that he goaded Mark Henry into hitting him to cause the DQ.

Bryan then said he was thrilled when Teddy Long decided to make the match, but thought the stipulations were “excessive”. He said the whole thing was Mark Henry's fault, and that he should be suspended. Henry's music hit and he entered the arena and headed towards the ring. Henry still limped a bit, but it looked less obvious than previous weeks. Henry asked if he heard Bryan right, to which Bryan shrugged and nodded. Henry then said that if he had gotten suspended, he would have gotten his money's worth out of Bryan.

Henry said he was out there to say he had a meeting with Teddy Long. As a result of what happened last week, to which Henry blamed Bryan, he would be banned from ringside. Bryan gloated that the match had nothing to do with him. Henry retorted and called Bryan tiny Tim, and said next week he'll get his title match if Bryan manages to retain. Bryan was exasperated, but begrudgingly said it was alright with him.

Barnett's Brief: Interesting opening segment. The Bryan promo wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. The segment picked up a bit with Henry out there, as Bryan really does better responding to someone else than he does doing monologues. Bryan got a decent reaction, and fans seemed legitimately excited to see Show or Henry kick his ass. Whatever they are doing, it's working. I just hope they can cut some of the dork out of Bryan, because I feel like feigning sincerity only works for so long.

The announce team hyped Sheamus vs. Mahal for later in the show...[c]

[Q2] Justin Gabriel made his way to the ring for a match. Heath Slater followed. Neither guy got much of a reaction.

1. Justin Gabriel defeated Heath Slater at 2:44. Gabriel hit a shoulder block and an arm drag early, but telegraphed a back body drop and ate a kick. Gabriel hit a neat looking somersault head scissors, but went high risk and ate an atomic drop after a jump off the ropes. Slater hit a neck breaker a few seconds later for a near fall. He then locked in a chin lock. Gabriel surged back with kicks, but ate a spinebuster for another 2 count after a reversal by Slater. Slater went up top, but Sheamus's music hit and Hornswoggle was suddenly in the ring.

That provided the distraction for Gabriel to knock Slater off the ropes and hit the 450 for the win. After the match, Hornswoggle stomped on Slater and high fived Gabriel.

Backstage, AJ walked up to Bryan and told him that win, lose or draw she loved him. He said thanks and smile as she walked off...[c]

Barnett's Brief: I guess AJ falls in love pretty quickly, and Bryan's reaction was fairly sincere looking compared to how casually he's been taking everything else lately. The Slater vs. Gabriel match was ok until Hornswoggle got involved. You can probably say that about pretty much every Hornswoggle segment.

Cody Rhodes made his entrance and had a microphone in hand. He spoke from the stage and said “Ola” and said that he's aware that most people in Laredo don't speak English. He also asked the crowd if they are familiar with the acronym INS. He asked the “legal citizens” if they are aware that he's been the IC Champion for 5 months. He said cinco a bunch of times to goad the crowd. He then said he's out shined luminaries like Pedro Morales, Tito Santana, his brother Goldust, and Booker T.

He said he was going to pull an Ultimate Warrior. He said that could mean many things, but to him it would mean that he would be both the Intercontinental and World Champion at the same time. He then yelled arriba multiple times. The crowd stopped reacting after the INS crack about 3 minutes prior.

Zeke Jackson then made his entrance to little reaction.

[Q3] 2. Cody Rhodes defeated Zeke Jackson at 2:14. Zeke worked power early but was not effective. Cody hit a DDT for a near fall, and then worked knees and stomps against the ropes. Cody then locked in a chin lock, but Zeke powered out and hit a clothesline. He tossed Cody into the turnbuckle and hit a clothesline in the corner. Zeke then hit a body slam and started to fire up. He went for the rack, but Cody reversed and went for the Beautiful Disaster Kick, but Zeke ducked. Cody then hit the kick a few seconds later followed by Crossrhodes for the win...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Promo was longer than the match, and actually a bit better. Rhodes didn't connect with the audience with his promo, as they didn't find his immigration jokes funny or entertaining. I guess he was playing it up to his Republican boss, which is probably better for him in the long run anyway.

The Edge Hall of Fame video aired. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth going out of your way to see. Edge is a legend and it's a great look back on his very memorable WWE Career.

Backstage, Santino chatted with Teddy Long. He proposed several ridiculous ideas like a Ready to Rumble style triple cage match and allowing lizards to the ring. Otunga then walked up, and asked about the Royal Rumble match on behalf of John Laurinitis. Santino then proposed a match between himself and Otunga, to which Long agreed. Drew McIntyre entered, at which point Teddy told him he is getting closer and closer to being fired. He said he better win his next match, and it was next...[c]

Barnett's Brief: The Edge segment is really great. The backstage stuff with Long was brutal. They need to find a way to make those segments a little less about Long and more about the talent.

[Q4] A video aired for “Sin City Smackdown” next week. Drew McIntyre was already in the ring. Ted Dibiase entered next. Hunico and Camacho entered afterwards and stopped on the ramp and eventually joined on commentary.

3. Ted Dibiase defeated Drew McIntyre at 3:45 McIntyre hit a big boot immediately while Dibiase was distracted for a near fall. Drew then telegraphed a back body drop and ate a foot to the face. Drew rolled to the outside, and Dibiase hit a dive through the ropes. McIntyre rammed Dibiase into the apron and took control form there. He controlled the action on the ground in the ring for a bit, until Dibiase surged back and hit an atomic drop and some clotheslines for two.

Dibaise climbed to the top, but Drew caught him with a clothesline as he came off the ropes for a good near fall. Drew placed Ted facing outwards on the top rope, and then attempted a super back suplex, but got crotched on the ropes. Dibiase then followed up for Dreamstreet for the victory...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Apparently Hunico and Camacho hate Dibiase because they think throwing parties for WWE fans with his own money is lame. They invited him to come throw a party in their barrio. That was the extent of their contributions on commentary. The match itself was actually pretty good for a short match, with McIntyre continuing to make key mistakes.

Sheamus entered the arena and got a big reaction. A video was shown that summarized the encounter between Sheamus and Mahal last week. Jinder Mahal entered and said no one expected him to win the Rumble match, but he's fine with it because he's most dangerous when he's least expected.

4. Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal at 4:00. Sheamus brawled and got the better of Mahal early. He continued to work power with clotheslines, and Mahal escaped an early attempt at the Celtic Cross by rolling outside. Sheamus went back to work out there, and hit another clothesline and a shoulder tackle as he vaulted back into the ring. Mahal fought back in and hung Sheamus up on the top rope, and hit a weak looking high knee. Sheamus ended up on the apron, where Mahal hit a knee lift and a neck breaker for a near fall.

[Q5] Mahal continued to work over the body of Sheamus with knees, and locked in a chin lock. Sheamus powered out with a back body drop, and caught Sheamus escaping the ring and hit his clubbing blows. Sheamus then suplexed Mahal back in, and took to the top rope. Sheamus then hit a flying shoulder tackle, followed up with the Brogue Kick for the victory.

Sheamus celebrated in the ring and the announcers plugged him as a favorite for the Royal Rumble. Big Show was shown backstage, and AJ walked up. She told him she doesn't want to see him get hurt tonight. Show said that wasn't his intention, and that he just wanted to get his title back. Bryan then walked up and accused Show of wanting his Title and his girl, to which show scoffed. He said the Title changed Bryan, but that wouldn't be a problem after tonight. Bryan then asked AJ if Show intimidated her, which she denied. Bryan then asked about how much she loved him, and then they walked off to discuss something...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Good segment from Bryan and Big Show again. They have great chemistry together. AJ was good as well playing the concerned girlfriend. The end of the segment is interesting, and made it seem like Bryan was going to manipulate AJ to keep his title. Well done. Sheamus vs. Mahal was pretty much a squash, as you would expect.

Santino power walked his way to the ring and around ring side. David Otunga was already in the ring.

5. David Otunga defeated Santino at 1:57. Otunga was in control early, and hit an awkward looking clothesline. Santino hit a surprise roll up for two, and then ate another terrible clothesline. Otunga locked in a chin lock, and Santino fought out after a moment. Santino fought back, and hit hit his signature offense. He went for the Viper, but Otunga ducked and hit his finisher to get the win.

[Q6] After the match, the Four Horseman video aired. Another one worth checking out, as the Horseman were groundbreaking.

Barnett's Brief: Santino vs. Otunga was terrible. The Horseman video was awesome.

The announce team plugged the Smackdown Debut of the Funkasaurus as next...[c]

A recap aired of the Cena/Ryder/Eve/Kane segments from Monday. They were just as bad this time around.

Lilian Garcia introduced Brodus Clay. He then made his grand entrance, and they piped in some cheers for him. Crowd was not visible reacting at all. I hope that changes. Tyson Kidd was already at ringside.

6. Brodus Clay defeated Tyson Kidd at ):09 Brodus hit a kick and a Big Splash and got the instant victory. He then danced a bit with his ladies.

Backstage, Teddy Long was dancing to Brodus's music when Aksana walked up. They spoke in innuendo again and they talked about the Las Vegas Smackdown next week. Aksana said she loved to hit on black, and Teddy did a spit take with his coffee. The announce crew then did a tale of the tape with Bryan and Show...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Brodus is working his ass off to get this gimmick over. The crowd was not reacting at all from what I could see, so they piped in some cheers. If nothing else, it shows they are committed. I hope things pick up because Brodus is a talented dude. The match was not much longer than the three count, but that splash looks brutal. I want to kill myself every time Teddy and Aksana are awkwardly making sexual references.

[Q7] A Hall of Fame Ceremony advertisement aired, and plugged Edge and the Horsemen again.

Natalya was in the ring. Tamina entered next. Nobody got any reactions. This just must be a dead crowd.

7. Tamina defeated Natalya at 0:55. Natty hit a kick and a suplex right away for a two count. Tamina hit a Samoan Drop that laid Natty out. She then hit a big splash from the top rope for the win.

Barnett's Brief: Wow. This matches are criminally short.

Wade Barrett's music hit and he made his way out before Natty could even clear the ring. He stopped on the ramp. He said he wasn't impressed by Sheamus earlier, and called himself a man of class and dignity. He said Sheamus has an anger problem, but he had control of himself. He declared that he will win the Royal Rumble, and said he is challenging Sheamus for a match next week on Sin City Smackdown. He then thanked the audience for their time, and said may God save the queen.

The announce team plugged the World Title Match as next...[c]

An advertisement for Sin City Smackdown aired. The announce team then plugged Barrett vs. Sheamus would take place next week, as well as Mark Henry getting a title shot next week.

[Q8] Big Show made his entrance and fired up the crowd. Daniel Bryan then made his entrance. Once he got down to the ring, he motioned to the back and AJ made her way out as well.

8. Daniel Bryan and Big Show wrestled to a no contest at 13:40. Bryan stuck out his hand, but Show grabbed it and press slammed Bryan instead of shaking it. Show threw around Bryan into the corners, slapping his chest for the big noise. Show tossed Bryan around the ring, until he ate a couple of boots in the corner. Bryan leaped off the second rope, but ate a spear. Show made a cover, but Bryan was in the ropes and rolled to the outside...[c]

Show threw Bryan onto the announce table and slapped his chest again. Bryan then grabbed a chair and took about 10 shots to Big Show's legs and back. Bryan has a huge welt on his chest, and Show swatted away the chair. Big Show grabbed the chair and headed into the ring, but Bryan knocked him off the apron with a dropkick and hit Show a few more times with the chair. Show took back over and threw Bryan back in the ring. Bryan hit a few chest kicks, but Show shoved him away. Bryan hit a low dropkick, and hit a DDT on the chair for a two count.

Bryan went for a kick to the head, but Show caught his leg and took him down. Show hit a clothesline and a splash in the corner, followed by a shoulder block. Show signaled for the Chokeslam, but Bryan slipped out and hit a chop block. Bryan went for another chair shot, but Show punched it into his face. Bryan rolled to the outside, and Show dismantled the announce table. Show went for the Chokeslam, but Bryan slipped again and hit another group of chair shots. He went for the diving knee, but Show slapped his chest.

Bryan ran away from Show around the ring, and Show collided with AJ and he came around the corner of the ring. She took a hard fall and Show looked completely exasperated. Bryan checked in on her and AJ was motionless. Show cried as they put the neck brace on and stretchered AJ out, and Bryan did his best to look horrified. Bryan looked angrily at Big Show and scolded him up the ramp. He said if that's what it takes to be World Champion, then Big Show can have it. He yelled that there is no reason to be that reckless when AJ is 95 lbs and Big Show is 500lbs. Bryan called him a bastard to close the Show.

Barnett's Brief: I should comment on Barrett's Promo since I forgot to earlier. He was very smooth and did a great job of selling his confidence. He made no mention of Orton at all, which is good if they want to surprise people with his return. The main event was very believable. Show and Bryan did the best they could with the massive difference in size, and the chair worked as the equalizer. The finish to the show was well done as Bryan was as intense as we've seen him on WWE TV in calling out show for his “recklessness”. Bryan ran right past AJ to escape Big Show, so I'm guessing that will be the next lever they pull for his heel turn. He got boos all night, which is a good sign.

The show next week looks to have a group of marquis match ups, including Sheamus vs. Barrett and another World Title match between Bryan and Henry. This was an average show tonight, with only the Main Event standing out as a great moment, and quite a few groaners. Stay tuned for Audio from Chris Shore and I tomorrow morning with more thoughts on the show.

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

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