10/5 Barnett's WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Review: Sheamus and Big Show featured, plus Ryback, Team Hell No, and CM Punk in action!

By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped 10/2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma

[Q1] Green Day played us into the arena and Lilian Garcia introduced the Big Show. Show headed toward the ring and attempted to look as menacing as possible. Cole and Mathews postulated whether Big Show is the guy to finally dethrone Sheamus. Big Show grabbed a mic and said that he has an opportunity to regain the World Championship in four weeks at Hell in a Cell. He said Sheamus was confident on Monday, and he was sure that he had a plan, but everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Show said Sheamus would join a very elite group of victims, and he introduced a brief video of the people he's knocked out. Show got pumped up and and described all the people that he has waylaid. He then showed his fist to the camera and remarked on it's size.

At that moment, Sheamus entered the arena and the ring. Sheamus thanked Show for the head's up. He said he didn't take Monday seriously, and said he was serious when he said Hell in a Cell was the biggest match of his career. Sheamus said “may the best man win” and extended his arm for a handshake, but Show walked out of the ring and to the back. Sheamus yapped at him and said that everybody has a plan, just like Daniel Bryan did at TLC last year. Sheamus then introduced a video package about how that worked out. Show was then shown ashamed, and Sheamus said “that was rough”. Sheamus then showed himself as he defeated Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 28.

Show stormed back into the ring and extended his arm to Sheamus for a handshake. Sheamus then rejected The Big Show and walked towards the back with a smile on his face. Show clenched his fist and looked angered. The announce crew said that Big Show would be in action against Tensai, and Sheamus would be in action against The Miz

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth made their ring entrance for a Tag Team Tournament match...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Sheamus' title run really befuddles me. Why am I supposed to want to root for an overconfident lucky charms comedy act? He's not funny, and he' snot particularly endearing. I really want to see Big Show knock him out at this point.

The Prime Time Players made their ring entrance after the break.

[Q2] 1. The Prime Time Players vs. Kingston and Truth: Kingston and Young started, and Kofi took control early with a drop kick that got a one count. He tagged Truth and they hit a double team hip toss, followed by a kick from Kofi and a leg drop from Truth for a two count. Young was able to make a tag, and Truth tried to take on both Young and O'Neill but failed. Titus hit a back breaker and distracted the ref so Young could hit some shots. Titus hit a knee to the temple and taunted Truth, and then made a tag. Titus then picked up Young and dropped him on Truth for a two count.

Young applied a waist lock. Truth attempted to fight out, but Young hit a knee. Young got cocky and ate a foot to the face from Truth. Kofi tagged in and cleared Titus from the apron and hit a boom drop on Young. Kofi set up for Trouble in Paradise, but Titus distracted him, which allowed Young to recover. Young hit his finisher after he avoided a kick and got the victory.

The Prime Time Players defeated Truth and Kingston at 4:17.

Barnett's Brief: Solid match, but predictable given the nature of the story they told Monday. The Tournament is doing a good job of focusing on these teams, and we should get an excellent title match out of it.

The announce team put over Ryback in action as next...[c]

Primo was already in the ring with Epico and Rosa. Ryback then made his ring entrance.

2. Ryback vs. Primo: Primo tried a waist lock, but Ryback tossed him like a sack of flour over his back. Ryback then hit a big boot and slammed Primo's head into the mat a few times. Ryback then just grabbed Primo by the head and slammed him into the mat. Primo hit a chop block and some kicks, followed by two seated drop kicks. He then tried a head lock for some inexplicable reason, which predictably ended in him getting thrown like a child into the air. Ryback pushed Primo to the outside, and Rosa attempted to get them to leave.

Ryback then exited the ring and clotheslined Epico, and Press Slammed Primo back into the ring. He then hit a clothesline and his finisher to finally put Primo out of his misery.

Ryback squashed Primo at 2:51.

Barnett's Brief: Well, they gave Ryback somebody he could pick up, so that worked out for him. You've seen this match 15 times before.

Punk and Heyman were shown backstage and Heyman asked where Dolph Ziggler's locker room was...[c]

[Q3] Layla made her ring entrance. Alicia Fox followed and made her entrance.

3. Alicia Fox vs. Layla: Layla rolled up Alicia for a two count immediately. Layla then hit a snap mare. They traded pinning predicaments, with both women getting two counts. Alicia attacked the knee with some kicks. Layla got aggressive and hit some strikes, but Alicia fired back with a Fisherman's Suplex for a two count. Alicia hit a slam and went for another pin attempt for a two count. Alicia applied a toe hold, which took Layla a moment to fight out of. Layla then hit a cross body, but she sold the knee and couldn't make a cover. Layla avoided a leg sweep and hit a roundhouse kick of her own for the win.

After the match, Layla said the way Eve won the Women's Championship will make defeating her more satisfying.

Layla defeated Alicia Fox at 3:45.

Punk confronted Ziggler backstage and accosted him for abandoning him on Monday. They insulted each other, with Punk calling Vickie an old hag and Zigger calling Heyman a used car salesman. Booker interrupted and made a match between them later in the show to settle their “beef”.

Barnett's Brief: Punk vs. Ziggler later should be good, but I don't know why Ziggler needs to take another loss. The Women's match was forgettable at best.

[Q4] Wade Barrett made his ring entrance. The announce team made mention of his bare knuckle boxing. A PIP promo aired where Barrett said he amused himself by how much he can make his opponents suffer.

4. Wade Barrett vs. Jobber whose name I missed: Barrett pummeled said jobber in the corner, and hit a thrust kick followed by a pump handle slam. Barrett then taunted the crowd while stepping on the guy's neck. The jobber got in a punch, which allowed Barrett to pick him up and set him on the top rope. He then shoved him off to the floor. Barrett hit his Souvenir Elbow for the win a few seconds later.

Wade Barrett defeated Jobber at 1:39.

Barnett's Brief: Barrett is something between a Soccer Hooligan and a Brit Punk Rocker. It's okay, but he hasn't shown much depth yet with his new character.

Sheamus made his ring entrance, followed by The Miz. If you weren't aware, The Miz came to play.

5. The Miz vs. Sheamus: Both guys tied up, and Miz took control early with punches in the corner. The ref separated them, and Sheamus turned the tables. They brawled around until Miz tossed Sheamus to the outside, and hit him with two running knees and he attempted to get back on the apron. Miz then tossed Sheamus off the ring post. Miz tossed Sheamus back in as the ref count hit 5, and covered for a two count.

[Q5] Miz applied a chin lock, which Sheamus powered out of. Miz hit his knee into a neck breaker for a two count. He then went back to the chin lock. Sheamus revved up and hit a spear in the corner and a knee lift, punctuated with a rolling senton. Miz fought Sheamus off with strikes, and then hit a drop kick to his knees, followed by a DDT for a near fall. Miz charged at Sheamus in the corner, but Sheamus caught him and hit an Irish Curse back breaker. Sheamus then hit clubs to the chest of the Miz, and then White Noise.

Sheamus fired up for the Brogue Kick, when Big Show's music hit. Show walked at the swift pace towards the ring, and Sheamus stared him down. Show knocked out The Miz, causing a DQ win for him. Show shrugged and barked at Sheamus to take him seriously and quit playing games.

The Miz defeated Sheamus via DQ at 7:26.

The announce team plugged Big Show vs. Tensai for later, as well as Punk vs. Ziggler in the main event...[c]

Barnett's Brief: A good match with a non-finish, which I'm actually pretty happy about. The Miz has taken about 128 non title losses in a row, so he didn't need another here.

David Otunga was in the ring and said he requested some time to address what happened after the show went off the air last week. They showed the previously wwe.com exclusive footage of Alberto Del Rio as he assaulted Randy Orton. Otunga said he was out there to thank Alberto Del Rio, because he had the courage to stand up to the menace Randy Orton. Orton's music hit and Del Rio entered the arena with Ricardo.

Del Rio came out and did a robotic Orton impression, and then said he cut the head off of the snake that was Randy Orton. He called himself the new Apex Predator in the WWE, and mimicked Randy Orton's pose. Booker T then made his entrance and said since Del Rio had sent Orton home and he wouldn't be there, then he was free to have a match. Booker made a tag team match, between Otunga and Del Rio and Team Hell No. Bryan and Kane made their ring entrances...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Del Rio did well mocking Orton, but Otunga is still boring.

[Q6] 6. Team Hell No vs. Del Rio and Otunga: Otunga hit a body slam on Bryan. He attempted another, but Bryan evaded and hit some kicks and a clothesline. Bryan mocked Otunga and flexed like Otunga in front of Kane, who laughed. Otunga took advantage of the showboating and hit a neckbreaker, and tagged in Del Rio. Del Rio hit a nasty sounding kick to Byran's gut and then a chin lock.

Bryan jumped over an attempted at a back body drop and rolled up Del Rio for two. Kane tagged in and worked power on Del Rio. Kane went to chokeslam Del Rio, but Bryan tried to tag himself in and Kane stopped him. This allowed Del Rio to hit an enziguri. Otunga tagged himself in and hit a spine buster on Kane for a near fall. Kane recovered and hit a choke slam, at which point Bryan tagged himself in and hit a flying head butt for the win.

Team Hell No defeated Otunga and Del Rio at 4:51.

Barnett's Brief: Nothing special there. The match was fine, but it was about the comedy more than the action. Bryan flexing was hilarious.

Backstage, Eve and Teddy Long argued about Eve suspending Beth Phoenix. She claimed he was forgetful in his old age. Teddy said if he was in charge she would be gone, and then Booker walked up and reminded him he wasn't in charge. Booker said he wouldn't have them bickering, and told Teddy to cool his jets...[c]

[Q7] Show and Tensai made their ring entrances.

7. Tensai vs. Big Show: Tensai worked strikes on the Big Show in the corner. Show fought him off and tossed him to the outside. Show hit a clothesline on the outside. Both men crawled back in. Show missed a leg drop, and Tensai hit a running Senton for a two count. Tensai missed a Splash in the corner, and Big Show hit a spear. Show charged up for a KO punch, at which point Sheamus ran out and hit a Brogue Kick on Tensai, causing a DQ.

Tensai defeated Big Show via DQ at 2:10.

Show screamed in anger post match. A WWE Rewind of AJ's evaluation saga from Monday aired. The announce team plugged the main event as next...[c]

Barnett's Brief: Tensai and Show didn't do much, but what we got was ok. I don't particularly think this feud is benefiting Sheamus much, as he is not a sympathetic character with all the comedy nonsense. He seems like more of a jackass than the heel Big Show.

[Q8] CM Punk made his ring entrance, followed by Dolph Ziggler.

8. CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler: They traded insults mid ring and pushed each other, and then traded head locks. Ziggler hit a shoulder block and a drop kick. They both traded finisher attempts, and then had a stand off mid ring...[c]

Punk grabbed a waist lock and took Ziggler down, but he quickly got back to his feet. Ziggler hit a waist lock take down, but they reversed holds back and forth until Punk hit a back suplex. Both men ended up on the apron. They both punched their way to the top rope together, and the both ended up crashing to the floor. Heyman and Vickie checked on their clients and the ref counted to 9 before they both got back in the ring. They traded roll ups and Ziggler grabbed the tights on a near fall.

Ziggler hit a rocker dropper and both men were layed out. Ziggler hit another one a moment later for a very close near fall. Punk fired back with a roundhouse kick for a near fall of his own. Punk hit a body slam and climbed to the top rope. He showboated too much and Ziggler met him with punches. Ziggler body slammed him to the mat, but missed the follow up splash in the corner. Punk followed up with a GTS for the win.

After the match, Punk grabbed a microphone and stood on the announce table. He said he's heard it from Bret Hart, Jim Ross, and from the crowd. He said he's thought long and hard about it, and everyone wants to see him step in the Hell in the Cell against John Cena. He said he knows what he needs to do in order to get respect, but he will not step foot in the ring with John Cena at Hell in the Cell.

CM Punk defeated Dolph Ziggler at 9:56.

Barnett's Brief: I liked the match a lot. Both guys are great in the ring and worked well together. I don't know what this was supposed to accomplish for Ziggler, if anything, but Punk continues to look strong and his relationship with Heyman is interesting. We have several weeks before Hell in the Cell, and they do have a hook with how Cena will get Punk to accept the match.

Questions, comments or concerns can be sent to me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.