Jonathan Dehn
WWE Smackdown
April 26, 2013
O2 Arena
London, England
NO DQ Match – Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio
Alberto’s remixed theme is beginning to grow on me. The combatants take off their merchandise, and they start slugging it out. Del Rio clotheslines Swagger to the floor and follows it up with a dive. He goes to work on Swagger’s bandaged elbow, slamming it into the steel steps.
It’s already time for a kendo stick from Del Rio but Swagger steals it and gives him a lashing, targeting Del Rio’s injured leg. Jack stalks around the ring before hitting Alberto with a flurry of shots. Del Rio catches the stick, finally, and they have a tug of war over it. Del Rio is bumped to the outside. They then begin to brawl down the aisle. Del Rio hits a suplex onto the ramp. Del Rio pulls out a ladder and lays it against the apron, and Swagger foolishly charges and then flies into and gets the ladder in the face.
We return with Swagger in control. A slam gets two and he goes outside for international objects. It’s the steel chair that comes into the ring. Swagger takes the time to taunt the crowd and gets an enzuigiri for his insolence. Swagger regains control with a boot to the knee and a clothesline for two. This match is fine but quite predictable. Swagger wedges the chair into the ropes and I’m sure he’s going into it. Del Rio works the arm and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the Oklahoman. Alberto ties him in the ropes and takes aim with the cane before transitioning into the Backstabber for two.
Del Rio gives Jack the Si Kick for another near fall. ADR goes for the cross armbreaker and it is reversed into the Patriot Lock. Del Rio escapes but hits the wedged chair for two. I was wrong. Swagger has another misadventure with a ladder, which makes me shocked that he ever won MITB. Swagger finally uses the ladder in a positive way after a distraction from Zeb, who was threatening with the cane. Del Rio gets the knees up on the Swagger Bomb and locks in the cross armbreaker.
Colter passes in the damned kendo stick to help Jack break up the hold. Jack growls a few times and beats Del Rio down with the stick, awkwardly. He roars a few more times and throws the ladder onto Alberto and then hits a gutwrench powerbomb for the win. The problem with the one armed kendo stick attack was how he favored the left arm before hitting the powerbomb.
Final Thoughts: It was a decent match and is worth watching if you have a hankering for a relatively weak use of weapons and a delusional hope that this is the end of their singles feud.
Aksana vs. Layla
Oh goodie, Aksana is wrestling. Layla comes out with a Union Jack outfit. Funny, because she’s tried so hard to be from Miami and now gets cricket while she panders. Layla puts her ass into Aksana’s face but gets dumped outside shortly after. Aksana poses and crawls sexily, but Layla has none of that, booting her to the outside.
Aksana complains to someone after Layla tries a series of pinning solutions. I think she was yelling at JBL? Aksana takes over and whips Layla into the corner and works on the arm. Fans start to dance a bit in boredom. Layla comes back with kicks but Aksana blocks and…the match starts to fall apart here. Eventually, Layla wins with a sloppy double chickenwing cradle. It’s called “Infinity” and might be her new finisher. I love that cradle and, until now, I’ve only seen Kurt Angle use it.
Final Thoughts: There’s nothing to see here. Fast Forward.
The Bellas have a show on E! called “Total Divas”. It covers the personal lives of the Divas. This is worth watching if we get some footage of John Cena and Daniel Bryan doing boyfriend things during a double date. Worth noting also is that Josh claims that we’ll be meeting some new Divas, as well. Perhaps there will be some NXT talent on the way up.
Ambrose leads a backstage promo for The Shield. Ambrose nicely hypes his match later on in the evening with the Undertaker. Rollins kind of ruins the awesomeness that Ambrose built up.
Fandango vs. Justin Gabriel
Fandango has that same NXT Diva from Monday and hopefully she is his usual dance partner. This leggy blonde is quite flexible and is poised to finally erase the memory of Stacy Keibler. All that she needs now is that coy, yet obnoxious laugh that Stacy would do during her runs as a heel.
We take a break and return with Gabriel in the ring with Fandango’s theme still playing. I guess that he teleported into the ring. That’s impressive.
Fandango preens to start before taking over on Gabriel. Arm drag from Gabriel and an Oklahoma roll sends Fandango to the outside with frustration. He retakes control and ‘Go ties Gabriel up in the ropes and delivers some forearms into the back of the head before going to the floor to deliver a boot to the skull to send Gabriel reeling. ‘Go makes sure to pose before Gabriel comes back with a series of kicks, finishing with a spin kick and a splash into the corner. A springboard earns Gabriel a knee to stomach. Russian Leg Sweep with gusto sets up the guillotine leg drop for the finish. ‘Go worked the crowd well, even mocking them with the dance before hitting the legdrop. In case you forgot how to pronounce it, ‘Go schools us.
Final Thoughts: This was an entertaining squash that was aided by good crowd participation and Fandango adding more to the moveset and character. Hopefully, WWE sticks with his current dance partner and stays out of the way and just lets Curtis further grow into the character.
Sheamus vs. Big Show
Hey, remember when this was a fun feud for a week or so?
The two have a bit of a shoving match to start, and then begin clobbering. Show starts to slap the paleness out of Sheamus’ chest. Sheamus tries to fight back but is thrown out of the ring over the top. The walk on the outside, and Show takes his time reentering. The Celtic Warrior ties him up and hits the forearm smashes. Show fights back and catches Sheamus with a countering sideslam and drops the elbow for a two count. TBS chokes Sheamus in the ropes and follows with a headbutt. Show holds Sheamus rather softly and hits the Final Cut for two. Sheamus clubbers Show and fails on the scoop slam attempt for a two. Show reminds his foe he is heavy by walking over his stomach. We hit the break.
We return with Sheamus going shoulder first into the ring post. On the outside, again, Big Show whips Sheamus into the steel steps. Show works the shoulder further by sending Sheamus into the corner. He’s really working the shoulder, which would be great if Sheamus’ finisher wasn’t a kick to the face.
The crowd is starting to lose interest. Sheamus attempts a babyface comeback as TBS grounds him. Clubbering ensues from Sheamus and he follows it up with a DDT that puts both men down. On their knees, both men trade stiff blows. Sheamus wins the battle and throws himself into Show with an assortment of offense, finishing the flurry with a Battering Ram. Sheamus reverses a chokeslam and hits White Noise. Big Show is a terrible technician, is what I’ve learned.
Sheamus yells and starts to Mark Wahlberg himself in preparation for the Brogue Kick. Show bails and Sheamus follows him outside. The Irishman retains control and Show is dazed in the ring while Sheamus goes up top. Mark Henry distracts Sheamus by…moving the remaining steel stairs??? I would have just said “HEY, YOU!” But that’s just what Mark Henry does. Sheamus is as shocked as I am and Show walks up and knocks him off of his perch with a WMD for the win.
Final Thoughts: It got going towards the end and is worth watching as Sheamus always busts his ass and made this watchable by performing with his normal brutality. It’s a wasted effort from him in a TV match that will be forgotten by next month.
William Regal vs . Wade Barrett
They should consider using Regal the other 350 days of the year. Regal ducks the Bullhammer, but then is dropped with the Bullhammer a short moment later.
Final Thoughts: Wade Barrett should wear a mustache.
We get a recap of the Heyman and HHH segment from Monday and I go to get something to drink.
Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry
Mark looks sleepy on the way out and onto the ramp. Lockup and Mark Henry fails in a bid for a quick WSS. To the outside, they throw a few punches and whatnot. Mark goes headfirst into the post after an Orton counter. Orton starts to stomp around and work the crowd, but then gets run over by Henry.
Into the corner, Henry drives the shoulder into the gut and declares that this is what he does. Orton fights back and knocks Henry over with a clothesline. With Henry on his knees, Orton hits a DDT for two. Orton is working towards the rope hang DDT and looks very disinterested before hitting it. Randy works the crowd for thirty seconds before signaling for the RKO. But before resolution, Sheamus runs in to kick Henry in the head for revenge. Orton hits the RKO on Henry for fun.
Final Thoughts: Neither guy was especially motivated and just threw something together for five minutes that meant nothing before the storyline finish. Move on with me, will you?
We’re having an extended break before the main event. We get to watch Cena chase away The Shield with a steel chair. This was the same Shield that had just defeated a team helmed by The Undertaker. This horn they use in the video package for Cena’s arrival sounds just like the terrible sound Reapers make in the Mass Effect series. Actually, a lot of these noises sound similar to the Mass Effect score. John Cena is Commander Shepard, folks. It makes sense, since the end of his feud with The Rock was underwhelming and angered many passionate fans.
The Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose
I’m high on Dean Ambrose, like most people. Already, I’ll say that this match is worth watching for obvious historical reasons. This is in London. The Undertaker must have chosen Dean to work with. This is Taker’s first match on Smackdown in three years.
Reigns distracts at the start and Ambrose gets the drop on him in the corner. Taker gets pissed and reverses. He pounds away before flinging Dean outside. He follows and smashes Ambrose into the barricade and then drops the legs over the chest on the apron. Dean dodges a big boot in the corner and Taker falls to the outside. Ambrose mugs him.
Back in, Ambrose pushes the forearms across the face and finishes with a front dropkick in the ropes for a near fall. Ambrose works for and hits a neckbreaker for two. Ambrose picks the wrong time to taunt Taker and gets a hand to the throat. They slug it out in the middle of the ring. Taker goes for a charge but Ambrose cuts him off with a knee to the gut. Chokeslam and Shield distraction leads to a DDT for two Ambrose. Dean quickly taps to a swiftly applied Hell’s Gate.
After the match, The Shield swarm Taker. Rollins is flung into the front row and Taker slugs and batters Ambrose. A chokeslam attempt on Rollins is thwarted as Reigns puts Taker through the barricade with a spear. Ambrose pummels Taker with a cheer to good heel heat as Reigns and Rollins prep the table. And we end with The Shield standing over Taker after driving him through the announce table.
Final Thoughts: There were rumblings that people were upset about Taker burying Ambrose, but that’s not the case. The after match events were the main draw here and quickly, this feud between Taker, Hell No, and The Shield has become the hottest storyline in the company.
Post Show Comments: There was some good content in the show this week. It featured a couple of watchable long matches, a well done promo from Dean Ambrose, an entertaining squash, and an awesome post match segment involving The Shield and The Undertaker. I would consider the show to be a success, with a solid forty minutes of good content. This is the “B Show”, after all. Let’s just make sure to not tell SyFy this.
DVR MARKERS – Since a lot of us DVR this show and maybe or maybe not watch it, every week I will add in time markers that have good, entertaining content so that you can read the review while watching the thirty minutes of the show that are worth your time.
0:00 – Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio – SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED
0:37 – The Shield Promo/Fandango vs. Justin Gabriel – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
1:04 – Second Half of Sheamus vs. Big Show – SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED
1:44 – Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Photo credit to wikimedia.
