3/23 WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage: CM Punk and Sheamus face Daniel Bryan and The Miz, Mark Henry faces R-Truth, and Brodus Clay is in action on a 7 match episode of Smackdown


prowrestling.net
MEMBERSHIP INFO | LOG-IN | CONTACT US | SUBMIT NEWS | ABOUT US
Insider News • Live TV & PPV Coverage • Hitlists • Results • Blogs

HOME | WWE NEWS | TNA NEWS | MMA NEWS | ALL NEWS | TV & PPV | ARENA REPORTS | VIEWPOINTS | PRODUCT REVIEWS | AWARDS



Dot Net App
GOT AN IPHONE, IPAD, IPOD TOUCH, SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB, OR ANDROID PHONE?

THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE APP
(or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in App Store or Android Marketplace)

Dot Net Podcast
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO DOT NET FREE PODCAST IN ITUNES OR CLICK HERE FOR LISTING OF LATEST SHOWS

MUST-READ LISTING


3/23 WWE Smackdown on SyFy Live Coverage: CM Punk and Sheamus face Daniel Bryan and The Miz, Mark Henry faces R-Truth, and Brodus Clay is in action on a 7 match episode of Smackdown
Mar 23, 2012 - 06:39 PM


By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on SyFy
Taped 3/20 in Newark, N.J.


[Q1] The normal Green Day intro welcomed us to Smackdown, and the announcers immediately plugged the main even between Punk and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and The MIz. Lillian Garcia then introduced Daniel Bryan, who came to the ring with AJ in tow in her ring gear. Bryan grabbed a microphone and was welcomed by a chorus of boos. The first thing he said was “YES! YES! YES!”. He then asked AJ to tell the world what it’s like to be in love with the World Heavyweight Champion. She started rambling about her match tonight, and then Bryan told her to just answer the question.

AJ then said that in a word, it was heaven. She mentioned his “caress” and “soft lips”, and said sometimes at night they spoon. She then called him Danny, at which point he pulled the mic away and told her not to call him that in public. She apologized and continued to praise him as a vegan, and said Bryan makes her feel safe. She then mentioned that she really enjoys cuddling. Bryan then whispered to her to say something, and she reacted by saying it was too personal. Bryan insisted, and she said that “Daniel was a great lover.”

The crowd booed. Bryan then goaded her into saying he was brave and courageous, would make Sheamus tap at WrestleMania, and continue on his path to being the best ever. Bryan then said he wanted the crowd to say

Sheamus interrupted and told AJ that he threw up in his mouth a little before he came out. He said he could still taste it, and it was bad. Sheamus then asked if AJ really thought Bryan was brave, because he thought he was a coward. He then said he wanted to talk about WrestleMania, and called Bryan “Danny” and “Danny Boy” in a mocking tone.

The crowd chanted “Danny Boy” and Bryan reacted like it was getting under his skin. Sheamus said if he didn’t like Danny, he would really hate the title of Former World Heavyweight Champion. He then said he was going to kick Bryan’s teeth in at WrestleMania and Bryan was at a loss for words. Sheamus then walked off, and Mark Henry was shown backstage walking towards the ring…[c]

Barnett’s Brief: Bryan and AJ continue to be a hoot to watch, both playing their roles perfectly. Bryan has obtained a pretty significant crowd reaction as a heel, and it’s great to see. Sheamus still has an ill defined character, and they haven’t done much with this feud to develop it, and I think that if anything drags this match down a bit heading into WrestleMania. Irish Brawler would have been an ok character in 1980’s WWF, but he needs a little more depth when he’s on two television shows per week. That being said, great delivery by everyone here.

[Q2] A video package was shown of David Otunga defeating Santino on Raw Monday night. After the package, both R-Truth and Mark Henry made their entrances.

1. Mark Henry defeated R-Truth at 2:58. Truth threw some punches early, but Henry took control with a head butt. Henry continued to dominate and tossed Truth to the outside. Henry tossed Truth into the steps and then back into the ring. Henry continued the assault with strikes, but missed an elbow drop and Truth hit some offense. He hit a modified facebuster while Henry was kneeling. He went for a cover, but barely got a one count. Truth then went up top, but got caught and hit with the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin.

Barnett’s Brief: Ok match that never really got out of first gear. I’m not sure how much interest they are going to generate for the 12 man match at Mania with these short matches, but I guess it’s all we’re going to get.

[Q3] Yokozuna’s WWE HOF video was shown. I was a huge fan of Yokozuna, and he was a truly special performer for a guy of his size. After that package aired, a recap of Zack Ryder ‘s attempt to get on the WrestleMania card via the 12 man match. Backstage, Team Teddy was shown backstage with Ryder as he begged to be on the team. Teddy told Zach that his rally wasn’t enough to get him on the team, so he brought in Hornswoggle with a Team Teddy flag. That still wasn’t enough, so he brought in Khali in Broski gear to do the WWWYKI bit. They then welcomed both Ryder and Khali to the team and and had a group love fest.

Barnett’s Brief: The Yoko video was good. Team Teddy is a such a lame babyface team you really want to see them lose.

2. AJ defeated Brie Bella at 2:34. Brie tossed AJ by her hair, and Daniel popped up on the apron to give her some advice. Brie then locked in a headlock, but AJ escaped and hit a back elbow. Brie then took control and hung AJ on the top rope. She then pounced on AJ and went for a pin, but got 2. AJ then reversed and rolled her up for another 2 count. Brie then locked in a headlock, but AJ escaped after Bryan scolded at her not to tap. AJ then turned a head scissors into an arm bar submission.

Nikki got on the apron to break up the hold, and Bryan did as well to argue with the ref. Brie then charged at AJ, but missed and knocked her sister off the apron. AJ then rolled her up for the win. After the match, Nikki grabbed a mic and said while her sister was cheering for Team Johnny, she was rooting for Team Teddy. She then led the crowd in the worst cheer ever.

Barnett’s Brief: The most interesting thing about that match was the interaction between AJ and Daniel Bryan. The story here is much better than the action.

A video of the Aksana and Vickie cat fight from Monday was shown. Vickie then walked out on stage alone and proceeded to introduce Jack Swagger and his terrible hair style. Zack Ryder then came out with Hornswoggle and the Team Teddy flag.

[Q4] 3. Zack Ryder defeated Jack Swagger at 4:30. Swagger toyed with Ryder early with some good mat wrestling, but Ryder was able to speed up the pace by running the ropes and hitting a dropkick. Swagger recovered and hit a nice belly to belly suplex, which got him a two count. Swagger hit some punches and knees in the corner, followed by a nice judo throw. Swagger tossed Ryder onto the apron, but he avoided the spear and kicked Swagger in the chops. Ryder got back into the match with some knees and a nice facebuster. Ryder followed up with a flying forearm in the corner, followed by the Broski boot. He then covered for a good near fall.

Ryder went for the rough rider, but got buckle bombed for his trouble for another good near fall. Swagger continued the assault, but Hornswoggle chased Vickie up on the apron to slow the pace. Swagger comforted her, which distracted him long enough for Ryder to hit the Rough Ryder for the win.

Barnett’s Brief: Good match here from both men. I liked a lot of the offense and it had a great pace that made it enjoyable to watch. Ryder picks up a needed win, and Swagger has his excuse.

A video was shown of Cody Rhodes assault on Big Show from Monday. An interview from “earlier” with Cody Rhodes was shown. He said that he has enjoyed embarrassing Big Show with his videos, and enjoyed beating him up on Monday. He said he’s looking forward to WrestleMania, where the biggest man in WWE is always a choke artist at WrestleMania…[c]

Big Show made his entrance to a good amount of crowd noise. Kane followed to a fairly tame reaction with his strange welders mask on.

[Q5] 4. Big Show defeated Kane by DQ at Both men slugged it out early, but Kane avoided a big chop and hit a big uppercut. Kane backed up for a splash in the corner, but Show charged out and hit a shoulder block that knocked Kane down. He then rolled to the outside. Big Show followed to the outside and hit some punches. He then charged Kane, who moved and sent Show into the post. Kane took control back in the ring with a seated drop kick and a chin lock.

Show remained grounded for 30 seconds until he fought to his feed, and then both men hit a double clothesline that left them both on the mat. Both men got to their knees and traded punches, and continued until they got to their feet. Show then hit a couple of clotheslines and another shoulder block. Show signaled for a Choke Slam, but Kane pushed out and hit a DDT for a near fall.

Kane went up top, but Show caught him for a choke slam. Cody Rhodes then ran in and caused a DQ before he could make a cover. He then chased Cody towards the back, which allowed Orton to surprise Kane with an RKO. The announce team then plugged the main event and Brodus Clay as next…[c]

Barnett’s Brief: Decent match while it lasted, but I had no investment in it at all. They touched on both WrestleMania matches but didn’t really do anything but cover the bases.

A Be a Star video aired that showed some various WWE efforts to combat bullying. After the video aired, The Funkasaurus made his entrance to a great reaction. Heath Slater was already in the ring.

[Q6] 5. Brodus Clay defeated Heath Slater at 1:25. Brodus tossed down Slater and did the jiggle. He then tossed him down again and hit an elbow drop. Slater recovered and got some offense in. He hit an enziguri and made a cover but got tossed off and almost through the ropes. Brodus then recovered and hit headbutt, followed by a knee lift. He then hit a T-Bone Suplex and a Big Splash for the win. The girls and Brodus then celebrated in the ring.

Barnett’s Brief: I think the celebration was longer than the actual match. Brodus has been great from a character standpoint, but we’ve yet to see him go longer than 3 minutes in the ring. It makes you wonder what WWE is afraid of us seeing. I think the glimpse of Brodus trying to sell Slater’s offense might be it.

Backstage, Eve and Ryder were shown backstage. Eve played him like a fiddle, acting upset that he made a benign comment about her intelligence, and told them to forget about their dinner date. Eve walked off and flashed as smirk as Ryder continued to play the fool. A video then aired that recapped the Undertaker/HBK/HHH segment from Monday.

Barnett’s Brief: Good stuff from Eve. Ryder is overselling being a hopeless fool, but in this context it’s working for Eve.

[Q7] The Lord Tensai promo video aired. Christian was shown entering on commentary. Great Khali then entered, followed by Dolph Ziggler.

6. The Great Khali defeated Dolph Ziggler at Both men circled to start the match. Ziggler ducked a tie up attempt, and continued to circle. Ziggler hit some kicks and punches, but they had no effect and he then ate a clothesline. Ziggler retreated outside to where Johnny and Otunga were standing. After he recovered, he got back in the ring and Khali resumed the beating. He hit a big chop in the corner, followed by another.

Ziggler finally got in some offense with a low drop kick and hit an elbow drop to the back of Khali’s head. Ziggler then locked in a chin lock. A moment later Ziggler locked in a sleeper hold, and John Laurinitis called for the bell screw job style. Teddy Long looked in incredulously, and grabbed a microphone. Teddy restarted the match and demanded Ziggler get back in the ring. He refused, and was counted out. Khali was awarded the victory, and then Kofi and Santino then ran out and tossed Ziggler back in the ring for a big chop.

Backstage, The Miz was talking to Daniel Bryan as they walked to the ring, and Bryan just looked annoyed.

Barnett’s Brief: The 12 man match is getting a lot of focus on this show, and I’m not sure it’s helping. Too many cooks in the kitchen on this one.

[Q8] C.M. Punk made his entrance, followed by Sheamus. The Miz then made his entrance, followed by Bryan with AJ.

7. CM Punk and Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan and The Miz at Sheamus started out with Bryan, but Bryan immediately made a tag and headed to the outside. Sheamus and Miz locked up and Sheamus took control with a hip toss. He then hit a clothesline for a one count. Punk then tagged in and hit a body slam for a two count of his own. Sheamus made a blind tag, and Punk tossed The Miz off the ropes and Sheamus hit a flying shoulder block.

Sheamus then made a cover, but Bryan broke it up. Sheamus pulled Bryan into the ring, but he immediately rolled to the outside. Sheamus followed, but Bryan knocked him down to a knee and hit a low dropkick…[c]

The Miz had Sheamus locked in a Chin Lock, but Sheamus powered out and tagged in Punk. Punk got fired up and hit his running knee followed by a Bulldog. He fired up the crowd and hit a body slam, and then climbed to the top rope. Punk went for an elbow drop, but Bryan distracted him. Punk was able to knock Bryan from the apron, but Miz hit him with the DDT. Bryan then tagged in and dropped knees repeatedly on Punk on the ground.

Punk fought his way to his feet and hit some strikes, but got hit with a running knee and a kick. Miz then tagged back in, and hit a knee of his own for a two count. Miz locked in chin lock of his own, but Punk fought to his feed and after a reversal hit a kick to the back of Miz’s head. Miz made a tag, but Bryan was unable to stop Punk and he tagged in Sheamus. Sheamus got a hold of Bryan, and hit his clubbing blows to the chest and a body slam.

He lined up for the Brogue kick, but Bryan escaped out of the ring and tagged Miz. Sheamus gave chase to Bryan outside the ring, who led him into the ring and The Miz. Miz was unable to do anything, as Sheamus hit him with the Brogue Kick instead for the win.

Barnett’s Brief: Decent WWE Tag Match main event, with the predictable WWE Tag Main Event result with the babyfaces going over. Good action, not much story development, and another loss for the Miz. I enjoy watching Sheamus and Bryan interact, and I think Bryan has made the match interesting enough playing the weasel heel to create some interest for it, but Sheamus needs some help. I’ll have more to say in Audio and an article tomorrow.

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

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE:


READ OUR INSIDER NEWS BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! BECOME A MEMBER FOR JUST $7.50 A MONTH (or less with a year-long sub) - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO CONTENT, MEMBER MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AND VIEW THE SITE WITHOUT ANY ADVERTISING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO)



RELATED ARTICLES FROM MGID AFFILIATE SITES...



MEMBERSHIP INFO
Become a Dot Net Member right now for $7.50 a month or $66 a year ($5.50 a month avg.). Get exclusive audio, first-look insider news, Forum access, member blogs, more...

CLICK FOR SIGN-UP INFO


The Current Must-Read List
ACCESS PREVIOUS MUST-READ ARTICLES

Vote In Our Latest Poll


Dot Net Free Podcasts
CLICK FOR FULL LISTING OF ALL PODCASTS

Latest from Our Affiliate Site

_pwtorch.com_
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PWTORCH HEADLINES

© 2008-2012 LAST ROW MEDIA LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -- PRIVACY POLICY