Smackdown
Aaron's UnReal Time Smackdown Review: Drew McIntyre Loses Again... Or By This Time Next Week, Probably Not...
By Aaron Wood
Mar 19, 2010 - 7:32 PM

Hello my Gathering...

Many things to talk about before the review this week. First of all, the new computer is up and running!!! Well, almost... I've not had the time to put all the old stuff back on, so while I begged forgiveness about my laptop's copy of Word not having the same spell checking dictionary as my old PC's, this one doesn't yet have Word on it! So I can't spelllchek nothig this weak. As it goes, I'm gonna give that OpenOffice a go instead of MS Word, although if I don't like it, I still have my MS Office discs ready to go. And also, I can't get my DVR to work with my new TV card. I can watch stuff fine through the antenna connection, but anything through the Composite and S-Video is just a blank screen. But I've got a bit of time off now, so I can fiddle with it.

Anyway, MUSIC~! First off, I NEED for you to see this. Remember Ok Go's Live video for "This Too Shall Pass" with the Notre Dame marching band? Well, they've released another video to go with the actual release and again, these guys are just geniuses...


OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

I only just saw that before starting to write this. The video I had planned on showing you apropos of nothing was the new video from The Lonely Island, of "Jizz In My Pants" ilk. Mostly because it's my favourite song of theirs, since it's the one with Julian Casablancas (yes, him again...) featuring on Vocals, so this is the video for Boombox:


The Lonely Island (Feat. Julian Casablancas) - "Boombox"

This week's videos are by open band, but ironically enough, it's not entirely unapropos of me to put a Lonely Island video up, since Akiva Schaffer of the group also directed a bunch of videos by another AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME NYC band called We Are Scientists, who, as a band, have some of the funniest videos and have a wicked sense of humour. As well as CHOONS~! So yeah, keep an eye out for those, but otherwise, let's get on with the show!

LAST WEEK ON SMACKDOWN: CM Punk showed Jillian how singing was done, Drew McIntyre faced someone with an oddly familiar first name, Tiffany stepped up from babysitter and Edge finally had Jericho chanting "Spear"...

THIS WEEK…
It's not Mask vs. Hair, but...
It's a slightly odd start to the show this weeks as we cold open to Matt Striker & The Legend That Is Todd Grisham. Don't worry, they don't have some tragic news to impart. No, they sent it to a video recap of last week's angle with Rey Mysterio, the Mysterio clan and CM Punk, as The Straight Edger ruined Rey's daughter's birthday. Awesome package, as it goes. I didn't notice this last week, but this video shows how awesome Aaliyah was in the segment.

Rey Rey came out to the ring, but he wasn't all jolly as he usually is. And indeed, once he managed to speak, post "619" chant, he said that he hasn't had a moment of peace since last week. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his daughter crying, and his wife and son looking at him, because of CM Punk. He said he had climbed a lot of mountains in his career. He's done a bunch of stuff, but Punk crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed. Beyond brainwashing his society and his lies. Punk challenged him last week to a match at Mania, and Rey was accepting it. But he didn't want any match. He didn't want to compete against Punk. Rey wanted a Street Fight. Well, hey, if Taker/HBK and Vince/Bret can effectively have that stip, why not Punk & Rey??? Rey said Punk needed to learn a lesson, that you don't mess with another man's family, and it's one he was going to teach.

Punk, et al, came out to the entrance. And indeed, Punk said he was keeping his distance tonight because Rey was looking rather emotional. And hell, why wouldn't he be, because of last week. Punk said he knew Mysterio was filled with rage, but it was no way to solve his problems. Rey said that Punk wasn't human, but a monster. Mysterio threatened to come up the aisle and beat Punk up, but Punk said that if Rey laid a finger on Punk between now and Mania, there would be no match between them. Punk said he saw potential in Rey, under the mask. If he could just see the straight edge inside him. Punk said that he had pictures to remind him of Aaliyah's birthday. A picture went up on screen of Rey and his little girl looking happy. Punk said that Aaliyah trusted Rey to be the superhero that would make everything OK. The next picture however, told a different story, as it was the Mysterio family cowering behind Rey. Punk said you could see Aaliyah holding onto a glimmer of hope her daddy was a superhero. But that's not what happened, is it Rey? No, this is what happened. Picture of Aaliyah crying, with her hand over her ears, and Dominic realising he was more of a man than Rey. And it was the moment Punk realised he could save Rey. Accept him as a saviour and Rey could be the father his family needed. Punk offered Rey a spot in the Society.

Rey said Punk was out of his mind if he thought that would happen. And if Punk didn't accept his challenge for a Street Fight, he would be fighting off Rey every single day. Punk said since he was compassionate, he had an idea of his own. If Rey could beat Luke, he'd get his Street Fight. However, if Rey lost and then lost at Mania, Rey would be forced into the SES. And once Rey was saved, he might forget the picture of Aaliyah crying ever happened. Rey said that was nan image he would always remember. He would take that image with him until the day he died. He then accepted Punk's idea for a match with Luke, and make sure he would never forget the beating he'd give Punk at Mania. And may God have mercy on you soul...

AWESOME segment.


"Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt"

Back from break, we saw the MITGB case hanging up high.

Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger def. MVP & Matt Hardy in a "Well, Zigglerites, enjoy that sight while you can, because it ain't happening March 28th..." match
MVP came back home first, followed by his former tag team championship partner, Matt Hardy. Indeed, they referenced this fact, although only that far, and not the whole angle behind it. Jack Swagger then came out, and I thoroughly expect this to be a regular occurrence after the draft. He was followed by Mr. Ziggles. The Smackdown roster members started things out, with Hardy working the arm, before downing Ziggler and hitting an elbow and leg drop for 2. Ziggler took hardy into his corner and tagged in Swagger. Hardy tried to block a corner charge, but Swagger swung Hardy round and clubbed the back as we took another break.

SWAGGAH~! had a waistlock on Hardy as we returned, but Matt was quickly out of it. Striker talked about some of the cashing-in's of the case as Swagger hit the Vader Bomb for 2.Swagger looked to finish, but Hardy countered with a Side Russian Legsweep. Striker suggested someone could cash the case in after Batista & Cena rip lumps out of each other. MVP & Dolph took tags and MVP went to work on Ziggler. The face buster off the knee was followed up with the BALLIN'~! elbow. Swagger distracted MVP from a Playmaker, but Hardy took him out of the ring. However, this allow Ziggler to hit the ZigZag for the win.

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6.5/10 - Decently worked match, but rather short. Almost to he point of wasting bringing in the RAW guys, especially when you could have plugged in Shelton & Drew and had an all-Smackdown match, although I get why Drew is later used.
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Dolph & Jack began to leave, but Dolph turned round and pulled out a big ladder and set it up in the ring. He climbed up and took down the briefcase, posing with it. The announcers sent it to a recap of last weeks Highlight Reel with Jericho & Edge. I wonder if any asshole idiots from any certain websites that we here at WWI refer to as "BNN" (See Canadian Bulldog's section of the forums for details. Seriously, these guys are such wastes of space that it's the ONE place where Bulldog & I get along...) will go off mentioning to any newspapers that care about how Jericho hit Edge in the head with the belt last week. You know, since they went to the Hartford Courant to make note of how heads were being rammed in the Elimination Chamber like the douches that they are... But I digress. This led to a plug for a reversal later on as Jericho guested on The Cutting Edge.

We came back to see the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and some dude's star. Some guy called Vince somethingorother... Cut to Drew McIntyre entering Teddy Long's office. Long said he wanted to see him. Long said he was impressed Drew was still technically undefeated. Teddy went over Drew's situation, with Vince expunging losses before finally making it to MITB against someone no-one has ever heard of or likely will ever again. And so, he's undefeated since August. At least until tonight. You see, Thaddeus had a match for him, because he was thinking about streaks. A 17 & 0 Mania streak in particular. Drew, knowing where Long was going, said that Vince wouldn't want him in a match this close to Mania. However, Teddy noted that he's tried to contact Vince, but was only getting voice mail, so tonight, Drew was facing The Undertaker!

Grisham and Striker reviewed the 2010 Class in the WWE Hall Of Fame. No videos though. Just Simply Flawless walking the halls.


"The Great Escape"

The Smack Of The Night was... Well, first, it was that it was now sponsored by AutoZone and not that Hair colouring product!!! But in terms of clippage, it was Tiffany against Michelle last week with Beth Phoenix's save.

Beth Phoenix & Tiffany def. Simply Flawless in a "What? No RAW run-in?" match
We joined LayCool in the ring, as they wore vests that has "Glam-A-Man" written on them. You know, because Beth could be a dude. If this were TNA, it would be revealed that Beth was actually a guy. But hey, you never know. That angle might bump them up to a 0.9... Tiffany came out with Beth. Layla and Beth started things off, with Beth giving Layla and immediate Airplane Spin. Tiffany tagged in and hit a crossbody from the second rope for 2. Tiffany then hit a suplex for another 2 count. However, Layla elevated her over to the apron and Michelle gave her a cheapshot to knock her down. Back in the ring, Layla made a cover for a 1 count, before Michelle tagged in. McCool locked in a European headlock, while putting some knees in as well.

However, Michelle missed an elbow drop and Tiffany managed to tag Beth. Beth gave McCool a back body drop followed by a delayed slingshot suplex. Layla broke up the pin. She was about to be press slammed, when Michelle broke it up and looked for the Faith Breaker. However Beth countered out of it and hit the Glam Slam for the win.

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5.5/10 - This is the same, but opposite of the last match. It was decently worked and pretty short, but this time, I'm not entirely sure why there isn't RAW involvement here given what happened on RAW. I personally would have had a No Contest with RAW attacking Team LayCool, drawing out Vickie to talk with Beth at that point. Next week is the Go Home shows, and they've set to definitively set up the match. I mean, I can't imagine them leaving Beth off the show, and it looked like RAW would have three on their side with Gail, Eve & Kelly, whereas the heels, going by Monday looked like Michelle, Layla and Maryse, which seems odd, to have 4 RAW and 2 Smackdown women. So some development here on that front would have helped. Beth & Vickie next week should be something else though...
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Before the faces could celebrate, Vickie Guerrero came out. She told Tiffany to get to steppin' as Beth owed her an apology. Vickie got in the ring, but Beth said she already gave her one, but Guerrero wanted one in public. Beth said it was wrong of her to put her hands on an authority figure so she apologised. However, Vickie still found it unacceptable. Vickie said Beth would regret the day she laid hands on her. She was the official consultant on Smackdown and her boss. And she was her superior in every way, so next week, Beth would be in a match, one on one, with her!

We saw Kevin Rudolf in the crowd. Is it just me, or does he look about 45 years old?

What did I say last week about one talk-show host just interviewing another???
Edge came out to the ring as we again went back to last week, as Jericho finally got one-up on Edgeward. Edge said he was on Jericho's show, so he was returning the favour, so here he is, his Mania opponent and World Champion, Chris Jericho. Jericho came out with his NXT rookie Wade Barrett. Edge said the pair looked like they were ready to go to the prom together. Edge said their feud was like a game of chess. Last week, Jericho hit him in the head with the title belt, but on RAW, Edge got him back. But at Mania, Edge would be making the last move, and he had an idea of what it was going to be. Jericho said Edge was wrong, and that he made the mistake of boiling their match down to one word, but there were other factors involved. He was champion, so he was the best in the world at what he did. It was also Wrestlemania. Can Edge live up to the hype. And there's the thought that Edge wasn't fully healed. Jericho thought he was still hurt. Was Edge hoping that he could just squeak by? Having 70000 hypocrites chanting "Spear" wasn't going to help. What would happen if Jericho tore his Achilles tendon. Hell, just look at David Beckham. Wait, hang on! Becks getting a mention on Smackdown??? I suspect this was Wade's idea, because even though The Beckmeister plays in LA and all, not only do I doubt that the WWE cares enough about him to have noticed, but he's been in Milan for ages at this point. Anyway, Beckham's career was over (no it ain't...), and if Jericho tore Edge's Achilles again, his career would be over too.

Edge said he might still be injured. Good chance, in fact. But only way to find out was to try. So go for it! GO FOR IT, CHRIS! When Jericho didn't act, Edge did. Barrett became involved, and the distraction allowed Jericho to chop-block him down. Edge tried fighting back, and he hit Barrett with the spear, but as he did that, he turned into a Codebreaker. Jericho then stomped on Edge's ankle before saying "Spear" in Edge's ear. Jericho stood tall with his belt over the fallen Edge.


"It's A Hit"

Hey, there's Universal Studios! Not the TNA one. The good one in LA. We reviewed what just happened as Jericho went one up again on Edge.

John Morrison & R-Truth def. The Hart Dynasty in a "Well, to be fair, one of these teams is going to Wrestlemania. The other team only has their Uncle going..." match
The Dynasty were already in the ring, so we could get in Morrison & Truth's entrances. Speaking of Truth, this is VERY rough, but it was one of the last things I did on the old computer and haven't yet had the chance to make a better version...


And indeed, Striker even tried joining in with Truth as well! Truth & THE REAL CANADIAN BULLDOG~!, DH Smith started off, although Morrison was quickly in, hitting a double dropkick for a quick 2. Smith hit an overhead throw and Tyson tagged in, who stomped an Austin-like mud hole in the corner. Kidd hit a snapmare and dropkick to the back of the head for a 2 count. However, after Morrison flipped out of a back suplex, Truth made a blind tag as John came off the ropes and he hit Kidd with the Lie Detector for the very quick win.

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6/10 - incredibly quick match, just to put over Truth & Morrison's momentum. Nothing more than that. Couldn't be. It didn't get any time.
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Cena & Batista promo. Another great video, actually.

Wrestlemania Recall is Pete Rose in 1998 and Kane's first meeting with Charlie Hustle. Of course the WWE Hall of Famer (and people complain about Koko B. Ware...) will be hosting RAW on Monday. Someone call Kane!!!


"After Hours"

Luke Gallows def. Rey Mysterio in a "What distracted Rey first? Serena's trip or her boobies?" match, meaning CM Punk's stipulation is invoked for their Wrestlemania match
Rey came out first and he was more like himself this time talking to the kids and firing pyro and stuff. Gallows came out with Punk & Serena, but he came out to his own music and entrance video. Gallows missed a corner charge, and Rey put him down in the corner before dropkicking the nuts. Gallows hit an uppercut for a 2 count. However, Rey ducked a clothesline and set Luke up for the 619. However, Gallows was up quick and gave Rey a backbreaker. Mysterio was sent out and dropped on the guardrail. The ref made a count and Rey only just managed to get back in on 9 and a bit.

We picked things up with Rey in a bearhug. Rey punched at Luke, but was rammed in the corner. Luke went up and looked for a superplex, but Rey knocked him down and hit a seated senton. Rey then hit a flying crossbody for a 2 count. Mysterio was tossed up in the air and hit with a big splash to the back for a Gallows 2 count. Mysterio blocked a charge and hit the wheelbarrow bulldog. He then Dropped The Dime for another 2 count. Rey then kicked Luke into the ropes and hit the 619. However, as Rey went up for a springboard, Serena took out Rey's leg, making him crash out,, with Gallows taking advantage and making the pin for the three count.

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7/10 - Pretty good little match here. I think a shade better than their last one. Good aftermatch as well.
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As the Society celebrated, Rey went after Luke Gallows, taking him outside before mounting him on the announce desk. As he beat on Luke, Punk and Serena looked on, doing nothing to help. Great visual and interesting move. Rey was pulled off and Punk slowly went over to Luke, but Rey jumped Gallows again. As Rey finally backed away, Punk helped Luke out.

The RAW Rebound was all about the awesome contract signing. Just great work all round. Teach & Todd then went over the Wrestlemania card.

Taker came out for his match before the break.

Promo for next week's Smackdown has a nine-man tag team match with the Money In The Bank guys (not sure how that's working...), reportage from Wrestlemania Axxess and, of course, Vickie Guerrero vs. Beth Phoenix.


"Rules Don't Stop" (This is their latest single from their new Album "Barbara")

The Undertaker def. THE SCOTTISH INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION~! Drew McIntyre in a "Message Received." match
Taker was in the middle of taking off his hat as we rejoined the show, followed by Drew's entrance. Man, Drew's new music is REALLY growing on me... Drew ducked out the ring, followed by Taker, but Taker avoided an elbow drop as he came back in. Back in the ring, Taker hit a corner splash before blocking a corner charge of Drew's. Taker came off the ropes, but ran into a powerslam by McIntyre for a 2 count. Drew got into it with the ref, as Taker sat up and punched away. Undertaker tossed Drew over the top rope before hitting his leg drop on the apron. Back in the ring, Taker easily hit the Chokeslam and Tombstone for the fairly surprisingly speedy victory.

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6/10 - It was OK. It'll be interesting to see if this loss is expunged as well, although I doubt it will this time, and this was a way of ending that notion. Plus it set up the post-match goings on.
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The Deadman looked at the Mania sign before heading up the aisle. However, when he got up to the entrance, and looked back, as he does, HBK came out and looked for the Superkick! However, Taker grabbed HBK by the throat and teased the Tombstone. However, Shawn slipped out and hit Sweet Chin Music. He yelled in Undertaker's face before mocking Undertaker's "biker" pose as the show ended.

OVERALL - Good show for hyping Mania. The matches, while short, served some sort of purpose, and most of that was Mania driven, while the show was hung together with the Rey/Punk and Edge/Jericho talking segments, and it had a nice surprise (if you didn't read the spoilers, that is) ending. Sure, the matches themselves weren't all that much, but hey, at this time of the year, if you want to see long main event matches, you BUY WRESTLEMANIA! That's the point. But indeed, overall fine show.