By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped 5/8 in Roanoke, Va.

[Q1] A recap aired of the main event tag match from Monday’s Raw. It went over the finish with Chris Jericho pinning Sheamus, and the fallout after the match that led to the Fatal Four Way match being booked for Over the Limit.

In the arena, Sheamus’s music hit and he headed towards the ring. Lilian announced this as a tag match. Randy Orton entered second, followed by Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio. Ric Rod introduced Del Rio.

1. Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio: Orton and Jericho started the match, and Orton dominated immediately. After a clothesline and some punches, he tagged in Sheamus. They stared each other down briefly before Sheamus got a few shots in on Jericho and hit a hard tag back to Orton. Jericho tagged out after a missed knee drop and Del Rio came in to work over the shoulder of Randy Orton. He had an arm bar on the ground briefly before Orton fought to his corner and tagged Sheamus.

Sheamus hit some strikes in the corner before taking a back elbow from Del Rio. Sheamus recovered and hit a rolling senton for a two count. Sheamus hit the ropes, but got low bridged by Jericho, who hit some strikes on the outside. Del Rio kicked Sheamus in the ribs and tagged Jericho. Jericho then prevented Sheamus from making his corner and went back and worked the arm.

Sheamus surged back with a double axe handle. He tagged Orton, who came in and hit a powerslam, followed by a hanging DDT. Orton went for the RKO, but Jericho avoided. Orton hit a great looking drop kick and then the match completely broke down. Sheamus and Del Rio entered and all four men brawled in the ring and out to the floor. Jericho and Del Rio ended up bailing up the ramp, and Orton and Sheamus had another stare down…[c]

The match ended in a no contest at 5:14

Barnett’s Brief: A good opening melee that will set a frantic pace for the rest of the show. I hope they keep this pace up specifically for this feud, because these 4 way matches tend to break down into 2 on 2 affairs, and I hope they can keep all 4 guys involved in a meaningful way.

[Q2] The announcers recapped what we just saw before the break, and said that Eve tweeted that Jericho and Sheamus will have a singles match, as well as Del Rio and Orton. AJ then made her entrance. Once in the ring, they showed the video of AJ slapping the taste of Kaitlyn’s mouth for a second time last week. Kaitlyn then made her entrance.

2. AJ vs. Kaitlyn: AJ hit a Thesz Press right away, and both women rolled around pulling hair and what not. AJ then ducked a clothes line and hit a clothesline, followed by a flying knee for the win.

AJ defeated Kaitlyn at 0:29.

After the match, AJ continued to assault Kaitlyn. Daniel Bryan’s music then hit and he headed out to the ring. He grabbed a mic and said “WOW, color me impressed”. He praised her for her passion and gusto, and said he had no idea he could be so ruthless. He said if she wanted to send a message, he got it, and he now sees her in an entirely different light. Bryan then said he was ready to move past all the angst. After he becomes the new WWE Champion at Over the Limit, he’s really looking forward to moving on. That is, he’s really looking forward to moving on to Kaitlyn. He then laughed, at which point AJ looked crazy and stormed off. Bryan continued to laugh, and led the crowd in a YES chant. The announcers hyped Big Show and Daniel Bryan as next…[c]

Barnett’s Brief: The match was over in a flash, but Bryan was absolutely ruthless here, and AJ looked completely out of her gourd at the end of it. I like where this is going, and I think it’s the best angle WWE has going right now. Bryan left the crowd speechless once again.

[Q3] Big Show made his entrance following the break.

3. Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan: Big Show dominated early, until Bryan got a boot up in the corner and hit a low drop kick. Bryan attempted a kick, but Big Show blocked it. Show ran at Bryan in the corner, but Bryan went low again and took out the knee. Bryan landed some kicks on the ground to Big Show and locked in the Yes Lock, at which point Laurinitis called for the bell.

Daniel Bryan defeated Big Show at 1:15

After the match, Laurinitis called out Big Show for ripping him on Monday, and asked him if he thought it was funny. Show said no. Laurinitis then said, “No, what?” Big Show then said “No, Sir”. Laurinitis then said there isn’t much to do for a 40 year old freak, and he then told Big Show that he would make a real apology to him Monday on Raw.

On the top of the ramp, Laurinitis said that Brock Lesnar destroyed John Cena at Extreme Rules and changed the WWE forever. He then said that in 9 days at Over the Limit he would defeat John Cena and shake WWE to it’s foundation.

Barnett’s Brief: These rapid fire matches are getting on my nerves, and the power trip for Laurinitis isn’t all that spectacular. Big Show seems pretty aimless how, but at least they are keeping him from squashing Cody Rhodes again.

Heath Slater made his entrance. He ran down his opponent as having not beaten anyone of his caliber, and said he has a pea brain. He then demanded his opponent come out, and Ryback made his entrance.

[Q4] 4. Ryback vs. Heath Slater: Slater jawed at Ryback, but he got shoved down. Slater hit some strikes, and then went for a spinning neckbreaker, but Ryback avoided it. Ryback then worked over Slater in the corner and hit a power slam, followed by a wicked clothesline. Ryback then hit his running Samoan Drop finisher for the win.

Ryback defeated Heath Slater at 1:16.

Barnett’s Brief: More of the same from Ryback.

The announcers hyped Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho for later in the show…[c]

Teddy long was introduced by Lilian Garcia and wore another ridiculous name tag. He introduced Alex Riley first, who was already in the ring. He then introduced Antonio Cesaro, who came out with Aksana to his horrible pop music with Aksana.

4. Antonio Cesaro vs. Alex Riley: Cesaro hit a nice big boot in the corner to open the match, followed by an ugly looking gutwrench suplex a moment later. Riley came back with some strikes and a clothesline, but it didn’t last long after Cesaro grabbed his ear and hit a European Uppercut. Cesaro then hit his package piledriver into a pancake finisher for the win.

Antonio Cesaro defeated Alex Riley at 2:20.

After the match, Aksana grabbed a mic and told Teddy they were just friends, but she and Antonio were lovers. She then planted a kiss on Cesaro and they walked up the ramp to Teddy’s chagrin. A video then aired for WWE’s make a wish efforts, narrated by John Cena.

Barnett’s Brief: Another impressive ring performance form Antonio Cesaro. I’m still not a fan of the angle, but he looks great. The make a wish video was great as well, as it shows some of the good WWE wrestlers are able to do for some very deserving kids.

Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio were shown walking towards the ring for their match, which is next…[c]

Randy Orton and Del Rio were already in the ring.

5. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio: Both men traded offense early on with nobody taking control. Orton finally got into second gear with a catapult that choked Del Rio on the bottom rope. Del Rio used a distraction from Ric Rod to hang up Orton’s arm on the top rope, and took control himself.

[Q5] Del Rio continued to work the arm as Orton hung on the second rope, and Ric Rod got in a punch as the ref pulled Del Rio off of him. Alberto went back to the arm bar, but Orton got back to his feet and traded with Del Rio. Orton hit a power slam, but continue to grab his arm. He went for a hanging DDT, but Del Rio avoided and hit an enziguri for a two count. Orton avoided a clothesline and hit an inverted backbreaker for a two count of his own. Del Rio hit an arm breaker, but Orton pushed away from his cross arm breaker attempt. Orton set up for an RKO, but Ric Rod jumped off the top rope and ate the RKO in place of Del Rio, which caused a DQ.

Randy Orton defeated ADR by DQ at 5:10.

After the match, Del Rio threw Orton in the ring post, and put him in the cross arm breaker briefly until he rolled to the outside.

Barnett’s Brief: A solid match that continued the angle from earlier and sets up Orton as the 83rd guy in WWE currently selling an arm injury.

The announcers plugged Sheamus vs. Jericho for the main event…[c]

R-Truth and Kofi Kingston made their entrance. Vickie Guerrero then came out and introduced Jack Swagger as one half of the future WWE Tag Team Champions. Mathews then said it was announced on WWE.com that Swagger and Ziggler would take on Kofi and Truth for the Tag Titles at Over the Limit.

6. Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth: Swagger backed up Truth into the corner, but Truth escaped and hit a hip toss. He then hit a leg drop for a two count. AW’s stable was shown backstage watching the match briefly. Swagger took control with a suplex, and then locked Truth in an arm bar on the ground. Truth fought to his feet and hit a DDT.

[Q6] Both men were laid out and took their time to get back to their feet. Swagger charged Truth and missed. Truth then rolled up Swagger for two. Truth then rolled outside and punched Ziggler, followed by Kingston hitting a flying forearm. Swagger then hit a forearm of his own on Truth. Truth punched Swagger as he got back on the apron, followed by Kingston hitting Trouble in Paradise from the outside. Truth then hit his paydirt finisher for the win.

R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger at 3:17.

After the match, a recap of John Cena’s interview with Michael Cole was shown. They then advertised John Cena and Laurinitis face to face on Monday. Cole wondered if it was a setup.

Barnett’ Brief: Another short match, but it set up the tag title match at Over the Limit pretty well. It’s a shame that there is only one real tag team in the entire tag division right now.

Santino made his entrance for his match next…[c]

Zack Ryder was in the ring Sanitno. They showed a picture in picture promo where they argued on their team name. Darren Young and Titus O’Neill made their entrance.

7. Santino and Zack Ryder vs. Titus O’Neill and Darren Young: Titus hit a clothesline and a body slam on Santino before tagging in Young. Darren hit a neck breaker and a back suplex, and tagged Titus back in. O’Neill press slammed Young onto Santino, who then locked in a chin lock. Santino fought out and tagged in Ryder, who took out both guys. After he knocked O’Neill from the apron, he hit the Broski Boot on Young for a near fall.

Santino chased O’Neill on the outside with the cobra, but O’Neill laid him out. Ryder then came through the ropes and hit a dropkick on O’Neill. Young then hit a clothesline and tossed Ryder back in the ring. He tagged in Titus, and they hit the Demolition Back Breaker/Elbow Drop combo for the win.

O’Neill and Young defeated Santino and Ryder at 2:48

[Q7] After the match, O’Neill and Young told Lillian to announce them as the winners, and she did. They then grabbed the microphone and said they would be the next Tag Team Champions. They asked the crowd what the difference was between them and the rest of the tag division, and answered their own question by dancing and repeating “Millions of Dollars!” about 20 times.

Backstage, Damien Sandow was interviewed by Matt Striker. He apologize to Striker if his vernacular confused Striker last week. Sandow said that the people seek enlightenment, but the WWE locker room is full of false idols that he will expose. He said he will represent the sword that will redeem taste and decency in the WWE. He then told Striker the interview was over, and “You’re welcome.”

Barnett’s Brief: Another good showing for Young and O’Neill, who are gelling well as a team, making them the second real team in the division that I neglected to mention earlier. Sandow was great again here, as his snobbish and messianic character will definitely not endear him to the WWE audience.

Cole plugged WWE on Youtube and Ziggler’s WWE Download show. They showed a brief clip from the show, and then Brodus Clay made his full entrance. Cole danced like an idiot during the entrance. Hunico made his entrance next, riding on Camacho’s bike. He cut a brief promo about how WWE fans don’t respect him, because everything has been given to them. He called himself the best.

Camacho took down Brodus before the bell. They assaulted him and pulled his groin apart and he shook his way back to his feet to start the match.

8. Brodus Clay vs. Hunico: Brodus ducked a clothesline attempt and hit his headbutt. Camacho tried to interfere, but Brodus knocked him off the apron. He then hit his T-Bone Suplex, followed by his big splash for the win.

Brodus Clay defeated Hunico at 0:50.

Barnett’s Brief: That’s 8 matches tonight, and not one of them has been 6 minutes. The pace of this show has been frantic, as I thought it would be, and it has been at the expense of the match length that Smackdown is normally known for. Kind of a shame, really.

The announcers plugged the main event and an update on Triple H and Brock Lesnar as next…[c]

[Q8] A video recapped Brock Lesnar’s assault on Triple H, and the “Broken Arm”. It was followed by Paul Heyman’s letter reading from Monday.

Chris Jericho entered to his full entance, followed by Sheamus.

9. Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho: Both men traded blows in the corners early, and Sheamus got the better of it. Jericho got a knee up to a charging Sheamus, and got back in it. He then tossed Sheamus across the ring, and missed a splash attempt that took him to the apron. Sheamus then hit is clubbing chest blows, followed by a shoulder block that sent Jericho into the barricade on the outside…[c]

Sheamus hit a flying shoulder block on Jericho for a two count. He then telegraphed a back body drop and got kicked in the chest, and Jericho threw him to the outside. Sheamus held onto the second rope and climbed back up, but Jericho hung his arm over the rope and hit a springboard drop kick that sent Sheamus to the floor. Jericho followed up and threw Sheamus’s bad shoulder into the ring post on the outside. Sheamus climbed back in the ring, but Jericho continued the assault with a kick and a hammerlock on the ground. Sheamus fought back to his feet in order to eat a dropkick. Jericho went for a lionsault, but Sheamus moved and hit a clothesline.

Jericho went for the Walls of Jericho, but Sheamus flipped him away. Sheamus went for his rolling senton, but Jericho slipped out and rolled him into the Walls of Jericho. Sheamus reached the ropes, and then sent Jericho to the outside with a back body drop. Del Rio then appeared and threw Jericho into the ring steps, and then ran into the ring and applied the cross arm breaker to Sheamus. Orton then interfered and broke the hold to punch Del Rio.

Sheamus then got to his feet and Orton got up to stare him down. Jericho snuck in and hit the Codebreaker on Del Rio. Orton then hit the RKO on him, followed by Sheamus hitting the Brogue Kick on him a moment later. Orton and Sheamus stared each other down to close the show.

Chris Jericho defeated Sheamus by DQ at 10:11.

Barnett’s Brief: A good match that ended in a way that really put over the fatal four way stipulation. WWE has done a very good job of making it feel like all four guys are dangerous enough to win the title, and that is rare for these types of matches. Sheamus and Orton are definitely getting set up for an individual feud down the road, which will be nice as both guys need some character evolution.

Do you have questions, comments or concerns? E-mail me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.

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