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WWE Friday Night Smackdown- March 4, 2011

by SamoaRowe

-Video recap of Vickie Guerrero getting fired by Theodore Long and her pathetic meltdown. Inexplicably, the package does not include Alberto Del Rio’s attack on Edge at the end of the show. However, they will sign a Wrestlemania contract tonight.

-From Cleveland, OH. Our hosts are Josh Matthews, Booker T, and Michael Cole.

-The show kicks off with the World Heavyweight Champion, Edge. Edge is looking forward to his match with Alberto Del Rio but he’s also annoyed that Del Rio interrupted his celebration of Guerrero’s firing. Edge wants the crowd to sing the goodbye song again but Drew McIntyre runs in. Theodore Long shows up and makes Edge vs. McIntyre an official match. If Drew refuses, he’s fired. Edge leads the crowd in chanting “Thank you Drew” for his part in getting rid of Vickie.

Drew McIntyre vs. Edge

The bout kicks off with back and forth action. Drew begins targeting the arm. Edge tries to build some momentum but Drew kicks him to the floor. Edge gets his injured arm slammed into the announce table. McIntyre vows he’s going to end Edge’s career and continues the assault. Edge nails a desperate back drop on the floor! Flying cross body by Edge only gets a 2 count! The spear should end it but Edge voluntarily breaks the cover. Edge applies the Edgecator for the submission win at 5:17. This was a great little television match. Drew and Edge work well together, I hope they can have a proper feud before Edge retires.
Winner: Edge

-Cody Rhodes comes out to Rey Mysterio’s music and pyro, wearing the mask he stole from Rey. Honestly, at first I was confused as to why Rey was wearing a cheap looking suit, so good job, Smackdown writers. Cody is still wearing the protective mask and demands the fans to not look at him. Cody gloats about his attack on Mysterio and how good it felt to injure his face. Cody officially challenges Rey to a match at Wrestlemania. Yessss!

-Backstage, The Corre confronts Kane. They offer their services to Kane, who is facing Big Show tonight. Kane refuses, but they tell him to think about it, which Kane seems to be willing to do.

WWE Tag Team Championship:
Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater © (with Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson) vs. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov

Gabriel and Marella start off playing mind games with each other. Kozlov tags and dishes out some punishment. Cue the commercial. After the break, Kozlov is working the head of Heath Slater. Slater kicks the knee, causing Kozlov to take a rather silly looking bump. Gabriel tags and the tide turns. Kozlov drops Gabriel and makes the hot tag to Marella. Barrett and Jackson pull Gabriel to safety at ringside, but Marella plants Slater. Marella cues the Cobra, but the Corre distracts and Slater nails an inverted DDT for the win at 4:08 (shown). This match was on the sloppy side, also a bit on the short side to have a commercial stuck in the middle.
Winners and still WWE Tag Team Champions: Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater

-Next week, Christian returns! We are reminded via video package that it was Alberto Del Rio who put Christian on the injured list. Fast-forward to the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Edge had retained the World title when Del Rio jumped him and Christian made the save!

-Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriquez are hanging out in their dressing room. That is all.

-We take a break from Smackdown to watch Triple H’s promo on Raw. Triple H has done it all in this business, except end Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak. You know the drill.

-Back to Smackdown, and The Undertaker is coming down to the ring for a promo. It appears as though the Johnny Cash song is his new permanent entrance music. Undertaker addresses Triple H and agrees on a lot of what he said. He puts The Game over as the greatest champion of the past 15 years. However, once Taker beats him at Wrestlemania (again), Triple H will no longer be The Game, but a statistic. It is worth noting that they don’t seem to be acknowledging that Undertaker already beat Triple H at a Wrestlemania, especially when Undertaker notes that “18 other men” came before Triple H.

-They replay footage of Mistico signing with WWE. He is now known as Sin Cara and he’s on his way to the WWE Universe.

Beth Phoenix and Rosa Mendes vs. Michelle McCool and Layla

Phoenix starts against McCool in a dominating fashion. Rosa tags and maintains control. LayCool work together to turn the tide and isolate Rosa. Michelle misses a kick and hurt herself on the ropes. Beth tags and crushes Layla. Michelle breaks a cover and kicks Phoenix in the head. Layla capitalizes and pins Beth at 2:20. LayCool is back on the winning track. The match was nothing we haven’t seen a thousand times.
Winners: Michelle McCool and Layla

-Recap of Big Show beating Wade Barrett via count-out and fending off the Corre.

Big Show vs. Kane

They exchange lumbering blows in the early going. I think the match got clipped as the commentary goes awkwardly silent (or the commentary just sucks worse than I thought) and Kane and Show don’t seem to know what they’re doing (which is also possible, I suppose). The Corre shows up and slides a chair to Kane. Kane nails Show with the chair for a DQ at 1:15. The Corre attacks Big Show but Kane surprisingly fends them off with a chair. Terrible match, but it was short, what’s important is the angle with the Corre.
Winner by DQ: Big Show

-They replay the footage from Raw of Shawn Michaels talking about Wrestlemania, Triple H, and the Undertaker.

-Michael Cole says he doesn’t know what Michaels is talking about because the real main event at Wrestlemania is his match with Jerry Lawler! Cole’s new trainer, Jack Swagger, comes down to the ring! And seeing as it’s only been 15 seconds since we got a recap of Raw, they play Swagger putting Lawler in the ankle lock. Cole joins Swagger in the ring and gloats about how he’s going to embarrass Lawler. Cole tells us to watch Raw on Monday because he’s going to introduce the special guest referee for the match.

Jack Swagger vs. JTG

Swagger wastes little time tossing JTG around the ring. Swagger delivers a pair of Running Vader Bombs and forces JTG to tap out to the ankle lock at 1:03. Squash-tastic!
Winner: Jack Swagger

-Ready for more footage from Raw? I bet you are! They replay highlights of The Rock and John Cena insulting each other.

-Edge bumps into one of Del Rio’s servants, who had been painting a portrait. Edge takes a brush and vandalizes the art. High-larious.

-Theodore Long is in the ring to conduct the official contract signing between Edge and Alberto Del Rio. Ricardo Rodriquez sings the Mexican nation anthem but it’s interrupted by Edge’s entrance music. They reluctantly sit down and exchange threats and boasts. Del Rio says it’s his destiny to become champion at Wrestlemania. Edge says he’s going to make Del Rio just another flash in the pan. Long flees the ring while Edge pounces on Del Rio. Rodriguez trips up Edge, allowing Del Rio to fight back. Del Rio applies the cross arm breaker and all appears to be lost when CHRISTIAN makes his return a week early and attacks! This was a great segment.

Final Thoughts: This was shaping up to be a rather forgettable episode before Christian made his big return. Too much time was spent on Raw storylines yet again. The wrestling quality also took a big dive this week, aside from Edge/McIntyre, everything else was either sloppy or downright bad. Thumbs in the middle, thanks to Cody Rhodes and Christian.

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