By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped on 4/17 in London, England.

[Q1] The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Josh Matthews, Michael Cole, and Booker T welcomed us to Smackdown. They hyped the six man tag match, and then Daniel Bryan's music hit. It looked like every person in the building was doing the "Yes" chant, but the audio was of boos. Fail.

Bryan started with a simple, "Yes." He said that was what he was saying when he entered his first WrestleMania as World Heavyweight Champion. He said 18 seconds later, it was like his title reign never happened. He said Sheamus waited until he was distracted, until his back was turned, and then kicked him in the face.

He said at Extreme Rules he would not be distracted, and if Sheamus touches the referee he will be fired. Bryan said for Extreme Rules they return to the place where he shocked the world by winning the Money in the Bank match, and he will shock the world again. He said they had a two out of three falls match so he will beat Sheamus twice, which will make him the undisputed Champion.

He said he gets to do what he does best, wrestle. He asked if that gave him the advantage, and answered "Yes." He asked if he would be the champion at the end of the night. He answered with several "Yes" chants and then AJ came to the ring with a mic. Bryan told her to turn around and go away. She said no and climbed in the ring.

She said they just wanted to talk and he wouldn't see her any other way. She said if they could just talk they could work out their problems. Bryan said he didn't have any problems. He said he had a problem but got rid of it. He said he wished he had never said yes when she asked him out. He said he wished she had never been born. He said since he was answering questions, he would answer one more. He asked if there was ever a chance that he would ever take her back. He said no, dropped the mic, and went to the back, leaving AJ crying in the ring...[C]

Shore's Slant: More great stuff. I love this story. AJ will be involved in the match at Extreme Rules, that I have no doubt about. How she plays into it is anyone's guess at this point.

Back from commercial, a shot of London was shown, and then AJ was still in the ring trying to collect herself.

[Q2] Natalya made her ring entrance. She looks...uh...we'll go with "great" so I don't get hate mail for being a pig...

1. Natalya vs AJ. The ref called for the bell and Natty got ready. AJ just stood there. Natty checked on her and patted her back. AJ turned and slapped Natty and then drove her into the corner throwing haymakers. The ref pulled her away twice and then disqualified her before pulling her away again. AJ collapsed in the ring sobbing. She finally slipped out of the ring, sold embarrassed, and went to the back...[C]

Natalya defeated AJ by disqualification at 0:48.

Shore's Slant: GREAT storytelling here folks. It's rare that WWE gets the little things right. Expect the full heel turn from AJ at Extreme Rules based on this. Natty also did a nice job of selling blows that barely connected too. Sometimes HD is not kind to wrestlers.

Damien Sandow cut another pre-tape promo on ignorance. He trashed the masses for being too absorbed with mundane things in this generation of knowledge. He said he would usher in a new era of knowledge and morality...

Shore's Slant: These promos are good, but I'm ready to see this guy on the show.

Hunico and Camacho were in the ring. The Funkasaurus's music hit and he came out on the stage to a HUGE pop. He pulled a mic out and had them cut the music. He sent the women to the back to get his little brother. They came back out as the music started, and then Hornswoggle came out dressed just like Clay. They danced to the ring and God help me, I cracked up...

2. Brodus Clay (w/Hornswoggle) vs. Hunico (w/Camacho). Clay did his jiggle thing in front of Hunico. Horny ran in and did it to. Hunico shoved him down, so Clay attacked. He took out Camacho, and then hit the splash for the win. Horny hit a tad pole splash after the bell, and then the four of them danced the night away...[C]

Brodus Clay defeated Hunico at 1:11.

Shore's Slant: The post-match dancing annoyed me, but that was pretty fun. I'm ready to see a real feud for Clay, but it may not happen for some time as this gimmick will be difficult to take serious.

[Q3] Teddy Long was backstage looking for Aksana. Titus O'Neil and Darren Young walked up and punked Teddy for getting fired. John Laureniatis walked up and said as the new GM of Smackdown he signed them. They laughed at Teddy again and walked off. Ace said something I couldn't hear because he's so quiet and put a beefeater hat on Teddy and told him to stand quietly...

Backstage, Matt Striker interviewed Randy Orton. He showed footage of Kane attacking Orton and his father. Striker asked how his dad was. Orton said his father was the toughest man he knew and would be fine, eventually. Orton said Kane tried to prove he was a monster by attacking his father in the back, but at Extreme Rules they could fight in the back or anywhere because their match was a falls count anywhere match. He said Kane would learn exactly how sick and twisted Orton could be...[C]

Shore's Slant: Did Teddy Long sign a contract that says every 18 months they have to make him look like a complete fool for several months but then he gets to be top dog the rest of the time? Anyway, who picked falls count anywhere as the stipulation for this match in audio last week? I'm pretty sure it was Chris Shore. That guy is a jenius!

The Usos made their entrance to a nice pop. I love when WWE goes to London. Everybody gets great responses. Titus O'Neil and Darren Young were out next. Well, most everybody gets great responses...

[Q4] 3. The Usos vs. Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. The Usos started fast and worked in and out on Young, but Young came back and hit a clothesline on Jay for the heels to take control. Jimmy got the hot tag and hit the Samoan slam and covered. Titus broke the count and then pulled the top rope down as Jay jumped at him. Jay crashed to the floor, and the heels hit a weird Hart Attack type move for the win...

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil defeated The Usos at 3:34.

A video sponsored by "Jericholics Anonymous" recapped the Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk feud...Bog Show was shown walking backstage with the Intercontinental title...[C]

Shore's Slant: Nothing special from Young and O'Neil. Tag teams are so devalued right now it will take time for them to make a name for themselves. The video for Punk and Jericho was great.

Alberto Del Rio made his ring entrance in an Aston Martin. Michael Cole announced Del Rio is now officially part of Smackdown. Big Show was out next...

[Q5] 4. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Big Show. Show started throwing Del Rio around. He went for the knockout punch, but Del Rio hit a drop kick to the leg. Del Rio attacked Show's left arm and worked it with strikes and rest holds. Del Rio went for the cross arm breaker, but Show reversed it into a back suplex.

Show started his comeback with a chop and hit the spear. He called for the chokeslam and grabbed Del Rio. Ric Rod distracted the ref and Cody Rhodes ran in and hit the Disaster kick on Show. Del Rio covered for the win. Post-match, Cody attacked Show. Show rolled to the floor to recover, so Cody fled through the crowd...[C]

Alberto Del Rio defeated Big Show.

Shore's Slant: This show started hot and is starting to drag here in the middle. I like everybody involved, but this felt like the unimportant match it was. Del Rio gains nothing from this win, and Cody has been diminished so much this means little to nothing.

Back from commercial, Heath Slater was watching the show on a monitor. He called over Drew McIntyre to watch with him. Drew sarcasticly said, "I wonder who is going to win this match?" Slater said, "We don't even know who is working." Lerman started to cut a promo, but was cut off by Ryback's music...

5. Danny Lerman vs. Ryback. Lerman kicked Ryback once. He tried again and Ryback ripped his head off and threw it into the second tier. Well, pretty close. Ryback won with his Samoan drop type finisher.

[Q6] Backstage, Slater said he was going to tell Ryback that Drew said Ryback looked stupid. They laughed about it...[C]

Ryback squashed Danny Lerman at 1:10.

Shore's Slant: Too many squashes at this point. Ryback needs to move into a feud. We get it, he's a beast when he faces guys my 15 year old daughter could beat up. Give him a guy with something like a build now please.

The Brock Lesnar video from Monday night aired...Backstage, Teddy Long was in full beefeater getup. William Regal walked up and tried to get him to move, but Teddy didn't. Regal walked off and Aksana and Antonio Cesaro walked up. Aksana said Antonio was her friend for a long time and he wanted to be a WWE Superstar.

Cesaro said he thought Aksana'a boyfriend had a more important job. Aksana said he used to, but John Laurinaitis does it now. She knocked on the door beside Teddy and Ace came out. He shook hands with Antonio and welcomed him and Aksana in his office. Ace asked Teddy how he liked meeting Aksana's friend and laughed before closing the door...Daniel Bryan made his ring entrance...

Shore's Slant: This actually isn't such a bad story to tell, but I hate Teddy Long so much it's hard to get into it.

[Q7][C] The rest of the six man tag members made their entrance. Great Khali was the last to enter. Before he could get in the ring, Cody Rhodes kicked his knee and Khali was ruled unable to compete. He was helped to the back, so Big Show replaced him to an unreal pop. The heels argued with the ref into the break...[C]

6. Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, and Cody Rhodes vs. Sheamus, Randy Orton, and Big Show.The match was joined in progress wih Orton punching Rhodes in the corner. Sheamus tagged in and they seemed confused for a moment. Cody walked over to his corner and talked to Henry and Bryan and then went right back to fighting Sheamus for some reason.

Sheamus did his clubbing blows on the ropes. He grabbed Cody, but Bryan knocked him to the floor and drove him into the wall. The heels worked in and out on Sheamus, with Cody doing the bulk of the work.

[Q8] Rhodes went for the disaster kick, but Sheamus clotheslined him out of the air. He got the hot tag to Orton. Orton hit his rope DDT on Cody and then a power slam on Bryan. Henry hit a clotheslined and Cody covered for a near fall...[C]

Back at 11:17, Henry slammed Orton and tagged in Bryan. Bryan missed an elbow and both men tagged in their monsters. Rhodes distracted Show and Henry hit a big clothesline. Henry tagged Rhodes back in, and all three heels worked in and out on Show. Cody locked in a figure four. Henry tagged in and hit a splash on Show while Cody held the hold. Bryan tagged in and covered Show, and Show kicked out so strong it tossed Bryan to the floor.

Sheamus got the hot tag as Bryan made the ring again. Sheamus ran over Bryan and hit a powerslam. He covered and Cody Rhodes pulled Sheamus off and went to the floor laughing. He turned around and Big Show hit the WMD. Bryan quickly tagged Henry who hit a headbutt on Sheamus. Sheamus ducked the clothesline attempt and hit the Brogue kick. Henry fell into the ropes, and Big Show hit the WMD on him. Orton tagged in and hit the RKO for the pinfall victory. Post-match, the babyfaces celebrated in the ring to close the show...

Sheamus, Randy Orton, and Big Show defeated Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, and Cody Rhodes in 17:00 of TV time.

Shore's Slant: That felt like a house show finish, which isn't surprising since this is the match that has been headlining the European tour. I'm sure it's great for the live crowd, but it didn't do much for the TV crowd. I want to see story progression on these feuds, not lumping everything together. And even then Orton and Henry aren't in a feud. The show started great, but slowed down as things went along. I'll have more to say tomorrow on the All Access podcast and the Smackdown hitlist. Thanks for watching along with me 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.

And read my first work of fiction: The Following Contest is a Dark Match available exclusively on ebook for all eReaders, smartphones, tablets, and PCs for only 99 cents.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: