Smackdown Results from Cleveland, OH:
The showed opened with highlights from last week. Edge and Kelly Kelly defeated Vickie Guerrero and Drew McIntyre. Due to the loss, Vickie Guerrero was fired by Teddy Long from Smackdown. On tonight's show, the official WM27 contract signing between Edge and Alberto Del Rio.
The World Champion Edge arrived out to start off the show. Edge talked about his upcoming contract signing tonight with Del Rio, saying he has a bone to pick with him after last week's post-match attack. Edge talked about getting Vickie Guerrero fired last week too, then said he wanted to pick things up where they left off last week. Suddenly, he was interrupted by Drew McIntyre who attacked him in the ring. Edge was able to duck a move near the ropes and Drew fell out over the top rope.
Teddy Long arrived out and reminded Drew he lost the match last week which got Vickie fired. He told Drew to get in the ring and have a straight-up match vs Edge. Edge was on the mic and said the crowd needed to thank Drew for getting Vickie fired. He started a "thank you Drew chant" into commercial break.
Edge vs. Drew McIntyre
Late in the match, Drew swiped Edge's arm down. He went for a big boot kick, but Edge caught his leg and spun him around. With Drew disoirented Edge bounched against the ropes then came back to Spear him down.
Edge had the pinfall but pulled up at 2. He got a crazed look in his eyes, before putting Drew into the Sharpshooter submission forcing him to tap out.
Winner: Edge wins via submission over Drew McIntyre.
Cole talked about the excitement of his first ever one on one match against Jerry Lawler for Wrestlemania. Suddenly, Rey Mysterio's theme came on. Instead of Rey hitting the stage, it was Cody Rhodes wearing Rey's mask from last week. He ripped off the mask and tossed it down, then his theme music came on. Cody looked in the fake mirror on the screen, then stomped on the mask. They showed a replay of Rhodes beating up Mysterio last week and demasking him.
Rhodes screamed at the crowd not to look at him. He said last week's set up with the help of his father was to inflict a fraction of the damage to Rey's face that he did to his face. Rhodes said it felt good to rub Rey's face into the grate last week, and it was the right thing to do. He said the other right thing to do is to challenge Rey to a Wrestlemania 27 match, because he won't let him stop him from becoming World Champion. Cody vowed to expose Rey's face at Mania and reveal what he has left of a face on the grandest stage of them all.
Wade Barrett and The Corre talked to Kane backstage about Big Show and how they helped him once before. Kane said he didn't need their help. Gabriel said they just want him to beat Big Show tonight. Jackson stepped towards Kane and told him "think about it." Slater said they had to go defend their titles now, so The Corre left with Kane contemplating what they said.
Vladimir Kozlov & Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Jackson and Barrett were at ringside to watch the match. Later in the match, Slater pounded away on Kozlov near the ropes. The ref was distracted, so Barrett got in a big punch on Kozlov through the ropes.
Later still, Santino hit a big diving headbutt on Slater and tried for a pin. Gabriel rushed in to break it up, so Kozlov came in to boot him down. Kozlov and Gabriel ended up on the outside along with Barrett and Jackson. Santino was able to slam Slater to the mat, then got the Cobra ready. Jackson got on the apron so Santino rushed at him. Barrett got on the nearby apron, so Santino hit the Cobra punch on him. Slater took advantage by kicking Santino from behind then hitting his inverted DDT for the win.
Winners: Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater win via pinfall over Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships.They showed a graphic that Christian will return to Smackdown next week. They showed Christian getting injured last September by Alberto Del Rio on Smackdown. Cole said Christian ended up with a torn pectoral muscle to cost him six months of action. At the Elimination Chamber PPV, Christian showed up to save Edge from an attack by Alberto del Rio.
Del Rio was backstage in a suit, along with Ricardo Rodriguez who was tuning up his singing voice. An artist was nearby painting on a white sheet with Del Rio smiling and telling him he's almost captured his essence.
Smackdown returned with the Raw Rebound which showed Triple H making his speaking return on Raw this past Monday. HHH talked about all his accomplishments except being able to defeat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The Game said he's outlasted everyone in WWE except for one, The Deadman, aka The Last Outlaw. Triple H said he's an outlaw as well though. HHH said the only true challenge he's got left is ending the streak, and it will happen at Wrestlemania 27. Triple H said when the streak dies, so does The Deadman. Hunter said if he can't end the streak, he'll die trying.
The Undertaker made his big return to Smackdown with the Johnny Cash song chorus "there ain't no grave can hold my body down" playing instead of his normal theme. Taker got in the ring talking about how the greatest of the greats don't know when to leave some things alone. He said there are mountains that can't be climbed and the seas that can be sailed, and streaks that can't be broken. Taker said he heard HHH on Raw and agrees with most of what was said, including that they are the last of the era. Taker called HHH the greatest champion over the last decade and a half. Taker said it's easier said than done, and when HHH meets him at Mania he'll find out what the rest have, what it's like to rest in peace.
Rosa Mendes & Beth Phoenix vs. Team LayCool
They showed highlights from the big win by Rosa Mendes last week against Layla, due to the outside interference from Michelle causing the DQ. Tonight, Michelle arrived to the ring wearing a big ankle boot brace on one foot.
During the match, Layla tagged in Michelle against Rosa. Rosa bumped the two into each other. So Michelle shoved Layla into the corner hard. Moments later, Rosa had a big move to hurt Michelle's leg. Both Rosa and McCool crawled over for tags out.
Beth Phoenix had a big powerslam on Layla late in the match. Michelle rushed in to break it up, so Rosa came in as well. The ref worked to get Rosa out of there. Beth grabbed Layla, but Michelle delivered a huge boot kick to take down Beth. Layla scored the winning pin and it seemed as if LayCool was on the same page again.
Winners: Team LayCool wins via pinfall over Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes.
Big Show vs. Kane
They showed how Big Show chased off The Corre last week with a steel chair. Show and Kane clashed in the ring with both guys colliding late in the match. Suddenly, The Corre arrived down the ramp. Barrett had a steel chair in hand and shoved it under the ropes to Kane. Kane took the chair and the ref saw as he smashed it across Show's back. The ref called for the bell.
The Corre rushed into the ring to start attacking Big Show. Kane stood back, with Show shoving Gabriel into him. Kane took a look at him, then smashed him down from behind with the chair. The rest of Corre fled the ring. Barrett managed to pull Gabriel out of there and they backed up the ramp staring at Kane in the ring.
Winner: Big Show wins due to disqualification of Kane when Kane used a steel chair.
Smackdown returned and showed the video promo with Shawn Michaels giving his thoughts on the HHH vs Undertaker match for Wrestlemania 27.
They showed video of Michael Cole introducing Swagger on Raw as his trainer for WM27. Swagger got in the ring, where Cole swiped at Lawler. Swagger pulled Lawler , down and put the Anklelock on with Cole getting down to talk trash in his face.
Cole got in the ring with Swagger telling the fans to show some respect. He said on Monday he will introduce his special guest referee, a man who is awesome and flamboyant, one of the all-time greats. Cole finished with some heat saying he, the special ref, Swagger and Lebron James all have one thing in common - they all think Cleveland sucks.
JTG vs. Jack Swagger
Cole was on his feet at the commentators table to brag about how Jack Swagger was beating JTG and how Swagger will show him how it's done for Wrestlemania. Booker told Cole to just sit down.
Swagger had the advantage throughout this quick match. He finally got the Anklelock on and Cole started yelling "just tap out JTG, tap out!" Finally JTG couldn't get any closer to the ropes and had to tap. Cole got up and went into the ring to congratulate Swagger. They hugged then pointed to the Wrestlemania 27 banner.
Winner: Jack Swagger wins due to submission against JTG.Booker and Matthews brought up the war of words between John Cena and The Rock. Cena did a dis rap towards Rock a few weeks ago on Raw. Rock appeared on the Titantron on this past week's Raw in Buffalo to respond to Cena's rap. Rock did a mock of Cena with a baseball hat and chain, then tore it off. He made fun of Cena and said it all started with Cena running his mouth. It ended with The Rock giving a rap poem of his own.
They showed Edge walking backstage in the hallway. He came up to the artist who had done a painting of Del Rio. Edge grabbed the painting and then the paintbrush. He said it needed something more, then added a big moustache, unibrow and goatee beard on there. He threw the paintbrush down and as the artist went to get it, Edge kicked him down to the floor. Edge put the painting down and walked off.
Teddy Long was in the ring for the official Wrestlemania 27 contract signing. Alberto Del Rio came driving out in a fancy Mercedes Benz SL550 black convertible. Matthews said it's worth $150,000. Ricardo Rodriguez made the big introduction and Del Rio walked down to the ring.
Del Rio got on the mic in the ring to irritate the fans before the official contract signing. Del Rio said the best way to begin this is with the singing of the Mexican National Anthem. Ricardo Rodriguez started to sing it with Del Rio putting his hand over his heart. Suddenly, it was interrupted by Edge's theme music. Del Rio was irked and yelled at Teddy Long about what happened.
Edge got in the ring, locked eyes with Del Rio and stared at him right across the table in the ring. Teddy Long asked for a first ever peaceful contract signing and told both guys to be seated. Edge told Del Rio once he signs this contract, there is no turning back. He reminded Del Rio he is an 11-time World Heavyweight Champion. Del Rio said that's part of the past, and nobody will remember that. He said the next chapter in WWE is about Del Rio's destiny. Edge said destiny can change in the blink of an eye. Edge said Del Rio may be just another flash in the pan who he made famous for one moment.
Del Rio chuckled about it, then called Edge a dog in Spanish. Del Rio signed off on the contract, then todl Edge that is the beginning of the end for him. Edge looked over at him, then signed as well, continuing to stare at Del Rio. He handed Teddy the contract, then said about that "first ever peaceful signing, he's got his answer." Teddy rushed out of the ring, with Del Rio trying to throw a punch across the table. Edge blocked it and struck back, then started hammering away on Del Rio on the mat. He hit the face plant on Del Rio into the mat. Edge shoved away the table, chairs and a flag pole. He got over near the corner and got his crazed look as Del Rio started getting up. Ricardo Rodriguez grabbed Edge's leg from out of the ring, allowing Del Rio to rush over and clobber Edge down.
Del Rio started to punch away on Edge on the mat, then too Edge's bandaged arm and put the Cross Armbreaker on him. Edge was tapping out, and Del Rio finally released the hold. He tossed Edge to the outside, then shoved him into the barrier. Edge was visibly bloodied up near his mouth. Rodriguez grabbed the steel chair and gave it to Del Rio. Del Rio put the chair around Edge's arm, stood him up and prepared him for the ringpost.
Suddenly, Christian rushed down to make a save, pulling the chair away and punching down Del Rio. He kept attacking outside the ring, then chased off Rodriguez. Christian got to Del Rio in the ring, and then as Del Rio got on the ramp, Christian tackled him there for more of a beatdown. Finally, 3 referees restrained Christian. Rodriguez went over to check on Del Rio. Christian went over to help Edge up as Smackdown ended.
Labels: Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, Christian, cody rhodes, Edge, Kane, Smackdown Recap, The Corre, under, Wrestlemania 27, WWE Recap, WWE Recaps
