The John Report: WWE Super Smackdown Recap 08/30/11
By John Canton
Follow me on Twitter at @johnreport
Live from Wichita, Kansas this is Super Smackdown…
They aired a promo highlighting what was to come: Barrett vs. Cena and Orton vs. Christian for the World Title inside a steel cage. Plus, a contract signing between Triple H & CM Punk for their match at Night of Champions. Voice guy tells us the show starts now. Same “Know Your Enemy” by Green Day intro song as always.
The announcers Josh Mathews, Michael Cole & Booker T. previewed the show, talking about the Orton/Christian cage match. John Cena’s music starts. I miss Tony Chimel doing the long Jooooooooooooohn Cena intro. Memories huh? They cut to the announcers to welcome us to the show.
Cena has a microphone. The bright red is even brighter in the blue setting. He says “Super Smackdown” in the Chimel voice cracking way. He does a comedic promo saying everybody is here including people from Velocity and other old WWE shows. He even said Thunder at one point. Then he says XFL stars would be there, but didn’t say a name and said it was worse than the Shockmaster. He says let’s talk about who’s going to get hurt: Alberto Del Rio. He calls him out. Ricardo Rodriguez walks out.
Ricardo gives Cena a message from Del Rio. He uses some Spanish, but mixes in some English too as Cole is shocked by that. He says Cena will have the honor of being in the same ring as Del Rio at Night of Champions, then Ricardo does a big intro and says “Alberto Del Rio” about a dozen times. Cena tells him to shut up. “You sound like two old cats trying to throw up and have sex at the same time” – Cena. Haha that was pretty good. He has a message for Del Rio. He punches Rodriguez and RR sells it by going to the floor. Cole calls Cena a bully.
Wade Barrett’s music hits. He calls Ricardo a fat ring announcer, then Cena says if he wants to beat up a fat ring announcer he would beat up Chimel. Great reaction from Chimel. Barrett said he demanded this match with Cena because I guess he misses losing to Cena all the time. He claims that he owned Cena and will remind Cena what it was like when he was his slave. John tells him Smackdown isn’t Wade’s show, it’s the show of the fans. He tells Barrett that he has a bright future, but that he owes him for what he did to him in the past. Cena tells him that payback is a bitch. Barrett walks to the ring as we go to commercial.
A promo to start the show isn’t new. Cena seemed to be on his game here with a lot of energy and some jokes that worked. I liked the “two old cats” line a lot. Not that I would like to see that image. They did a good job of recapping their history from late last year. That opening segment took up 11 minutes.
(Commercial)
If you’re wondering where Del Rio is, he’s not going to be on the show due to work visa issues. He had to go back to Mexico to sort it out. I assume he’ll likely be back for the weekend loop of house shows and Raw next Monday. For more go here.
The bell rang as soon as they came back from the break.
John Cena vs. Wade Barrett
Gee, I wonder who will win here. I do expect them to get a decent amount of time. They are pushing WWE.com hard now because Stephanie McMahon is running it and obviously that’s a call from management to plug articles on WWE.com. Barrett hit a few moves, but nothing exciting. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Attitude Adjustment rather easily. He wins after three minutes. Wow, scratch that “decent amount of time” remark I made.
Winner: John Cena
Post match, Cena hugs some military personnel at ringside.
Analysis: 1/2* Basically a squash match.
Backstage, a frightened Matt Striker interviewed the #1 Contender to the World Title, Mark Henry. He said he didn’t care who wins because whoever it is will be in the Hall of Pain. Henry put over how physical the cage match was, but that no matter who wins it’s like flipping a coin because either way you lose if you face him. I think that’s what I meant.
They plugged some show called Ghost Hunters on Syfy tomorrow.
Sin Cara’s music. It looks like Kevin Nash is portraying him! No. That’s a joke. They go to commercial as we await his opponent.
(Commercial)
Back from break. How do you prevent Sin Cara from his infamous botches? Put him against arguably the best worker, Daniel Bryan.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara
This could be fun although to me Hunico, who is portraying Sin Cara, is not as good as good as Mistico was. Bryan hits his dive onto the floor to knock Cara into the railing. The yellow lights have got to go. The crowd’s not very hot for the match, which kinda sucks. Cara fights out of a submission. He doe a backdrop to the floor. He goes for a dive, but he holds onto the ropes. Springboard crossbody on the floor. He hits the senton for two. No Lionsault attempt to follow. They hit a crossbody at the same time for a double KO spot. Bryan goes for his kicks, Cara avoided it and hit something similar to an Angle Slam. He hits the senton again and then the Lionsault for the pinfall at about six minutes.
Winner: Sin Cara
Post match, they shook hands. Then Sin Cara booted Bryan in the chest! What he hell? That was a shocker. Cole marked out for it.
Analysis: **1/2 Very solid for a short match. I’m not sure why Bryan is on this losing streak for the past month or so. I don’t think that means Sin Cara’s heel. I think it will lead to a rematch, though. The other possibility is that they bring back Mistico as Sin Cara as well and admit that there’s a phony under the mask. I’m not sure where they’re going with it.
Backstage, Striker interviewed Bourne & Kingston as they put over being tag team champions. Kingston talked about past tag tem champions and what it means to hold the titles. Well done promo. You can tell they are caring about tag teams again although obviously they need more.
They plugged Punk/HHH signing later.
They showed Sheamus talking to kids with the Be A Star campaign.
(Commercial)
They showed the listing of longest running weekly episodic shows in history and that Smackdown is close to passing Gunsmoke for second. Of course Raw is in first as they like to tell us.
They aired a video package of the Christian/Orton rivalry. It went back to Money in the Bank when Christian won the title via DQ. Hey there’s ref Mike Chioda, victim of the Wellness Policy. Then it showed Orton going nuts after that and dominating Christian to win the title a few weeks ago at Summerslam. That brings us to the cage match tonight. It goes without saying at this point, but that was another example of an outstanding video package by WWE.
Striker talks to Christian. He tells us that it’s his night, that he’s resilient and a fighter. He claims to fight for what’s right whether anybody likes it or not. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t need to be the World Champion to validate his career. It’s that he WANTS to be the World Champion. He tells us that Christian always gets what he wants. Very solid promo from one of WWE’s best talkers.
(Commercial)
The question is if Raw is going to have Smackdown guys on it all the time then why the need for two World Titles? I doubt we’ll ever get an explanation of that. The two touring brands will likely continue even though they’ll mix the talent up. Like I wrote last night, it sucks for the midcard.
The special guest ring announcer for the next match is Aksana. They play her erotic music. She announces Divas of Doom members Beth Phoenix and Natalya. Their opponents are Kelly Kelly and new babyface Alicia Fox.
Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. Kelly Kelly & Alicia Fox
I am of course a huge supporter of the Divas of Doom. Alicia turned babyface a few weeks ago after Natalya beat her up when they lost in a tag match. I like Beth’s altered ring gear with a skirt. They work over Kelly a bit and Alicia gets a tag. She’s one of the better girls they have, so it’s good that they turned her to wrestle against Beth & Natalya, who are the best two. Her offense is short-lived, however. Phoenix hits Fox with the Glam Slam. She pins her for the three count. The match went only two minutes.
Winners: Beth Phoenix & Natalya
Analysis: 1/4* Too short of a match to really rate, but it got the point across. The Phoenix/Natalya team looked strong and dominant as they tried to get over the story that it’s a new era in the divas division. In other words, there will be some better matches. It’s about damn time.
They showed Hunter walking out with Teddy Long while looking over the contract. The Punk/HHH contract signing is next.
(Commercial)
Standing in the ring with the usual table and chairs that accompany all contract signings, it is Smackdown GM Teddy Long to introduce us to WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H. Cole called Long a suck up. As Hunter walked out the announcers talked about the situation on Raw as we reach 9pmET, which is the start of hour two.
Hunter picked up a microphone to tell us that the Nash/Punk match got changed to Triple H/Punk now because the Board of Directors have allowed him to handle the CM Punk situation personally. CM Punk’s music hit. Huge pop for him as has been the norm for the past two months. He comes out in his Best in the World t-shirt. I’m having flashbacks since he had a contract signing with Cena prior to Summerslam earlier this month.
Punk told Hunter that they didn’t need to sign anything because it was already agreed upon. He says why did Hunter change the match? Hunter said that he’s disrespected him and his family and tells Punk to shut his mouth because he (Hunter) wasn’t done talking. He says despite Punk holding the company hostage and insulting his family, he tried to work with him. He said it wasn’t good enough because Punk had to push him. He says he paid for the Cult of Personality song and that he paid for the CM Punk shirt that he’s wearing. Hunter tells him that even though he gave Nash to Punk, he still has to push his buttons. Hunter tells him he tries, but that he could only take so much. “You insulted me as a man. Now you deal with me as a man.” – Hunter to Punk.
Punk tells him that he doesn’t want the new you, he wants the old you. “The new you sucks,” says Punk. He claims that Vince can’t separate from business and now Hunter is the same way. Punk tells him he doesn’t hate WWE and he says he loves this place. What he wants is change. He wants things to be better. The crowd chants his name. “I am dying for a change – we are dying for a change.”
Hunter tells him he wants to be the catalyst of change as long as it benefits himself. Hunter says that some of the fans love what they see and they like it the way it is. Can it be better? Sure, and that’s his job to make it better. He claims that Punk only will accept change if Punk ends up on top. Hunter says he told everybody that he’d beat them on his way up and he did it. He claims Punk tried to go through the backdoor because he didn’t have the balls to do it. Yep, he even said balls.
Punk tells him that he wants everybody to like the show, not just some of them. He says that before he was a wrestler he was a fan and at his core he is still a fan. He wants to do what he can to make this place better. He wants it to be fun again. Punk said that he pushed his buttons by mentioning his wife to test him and that Hunter failed just like Vince McMahon did. “You’re egotistical, you’re vindictive – it’s the same thing I’ve seen before.” Punk says it’s been a long time for this. They’ve never liked eachother. Punk: “At Night of Champions don’t fine me, don’t suspend me after I kick your ass.” Then he signed.
Hunter tells him he’s thankful for being called Vince McMahon because he admires everything he’s done for the company. Punk tells him that they need to move forward. “I WANT CHANGE,” Punk yells. Hunter signs the deal. He tells Punk that Vince would have taken a beating like a man, but that Hunter isn’t like Vince. He tells Punk: “I am going to kick your skinny fat ass!”
Cue Kevin Nash’s NWO music. Hunter keeps Punk away from Nash. Punk gets to him, then Hunter throws Punk across the ring. Nash gets a boot on Punk. Nash shoved Hunter down too. Nash leaves.
I liked the promo exchange between Hunter & Punk. The crowd is pretty weak though because they weren’t popping at some of the better lines like other crowds would have. It hurt the moment a bit, but it was still a lot of fun. What does Punk’s change exactly mean? We don’t know, but at least the battle lines are drawn a bit more clear. I think Hunter will win at the PPV thanks to Nash’s help leading to a straight heel turn for Hunter. It’s just the start of this program.
They plug Orton vs. Christian in the cage in the main event. Sheamus vs. Khali is next.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Striker tried to get a word with Kevin Nash. He said nothing and left. Cole said he thinks that HHH has lost it because he shouldn’t be getting into the ring as the COO.
The Great Khali came out with Jinder Mahal. His opponent is Sheamus, who still has his ribs taped from last week’s attack on Smackdown.
The Great Khali vs. Sheamus
Please keep this short. Khali did his awful offense and then slowed it down with a rest hold. Sheamus did a good babyface comeback. He took Khali down by going after his knees. He stretched Khali across the ropes, hit him with forearms to the chest and hit a knee to knock Khali down. To the top, he hit a shoulderblock. He went for the Brogue Kick, but Jinder Mahal jumped in to attack him. That’s enough for the DQ after three minutes of action.
Winner via DQ: Sheamus
Post match, Khali put him down with a chop to the head. Mahal told him to keep beating him. He whipped Sheamus into the post. Khali missed a chop, so Sheamus hit him with a Brogue Kick. Mahal worked over Sheamus. Then he threw him in the ring, but he received a clothesline and Sheamus hit him with the Celtic Cross. Josh Mathews just said “Friday Night Smackdown.” Oops. Force of habit.
Analysis: 1/2* No clean finish to the match, but it did a good job of putting over Sheamus’ fighting spirit. He took care of two guys by himself in dominant fashion. It worked. His babyface turn is going well. I’m a big fan of Sheamus.
They plugged the Orton/Christian cage and the vote on WWE.com. Still to come.
(Commercial)
We’ll be having a two hour edition of The John Report radio next Wednesday September 7th at 10pmET. No guests this time, but we’ll be taking calls for the whole two hours. For details click here.
Here’s the trailer for the Triple H movie “Inside Out” again. If you’re keeping track this is the second WWE Films movie with Triple H where he’s released from prison. He’s a pro at that role I guess.
The poll results for Orton/Christian are 85% of the fans picking Orton and 15% of the fans picking Christian. That 15% is also clearly insane. I love Christian, but it’s not happening.
The announcers put over the steel cage match and the cage lowered to ominous music.
There’s the Randy Orton DVD. I should be getting it tomorrow, but I’ll be giving it to my nephew as a gift because he’s a huge Orton fan. I’ve heard good things about the documentary feature.
(Commercial)
The “Did You Know?” fact was bragging about their programming. They are getting lazy with those facts. I want some creativity. Somebody get on the “Did You Know?” department
Announcer Tony Chimel tells us that you can win via pinfall, submission or escape the cage. My theory is it should be only escape the cage. I don’t like the pinfall or submission option. Orton gets a big pop. Booker says that Orton may be the best we’ve ever seen in this business and he really believes it. He’s fine, but that’s not right. Cole did a good job of putting over the rivalry, calling it the best of the year (it’s this as well as Cena-Punk) and that it would be the culmination of their feud. In other words, Orton is winning and they’ll be moving on to different feuds from here. I like how they do the individual announcements for the championship matches.
World Heavyweight Title in a Steel Cage: Randy Orton vs. Christian
The start time is 9:42pmET, so they have about 15 minutes or so. Christian tries escaping a few times, but Randy keeps him in. They go to commercial. No floor to commercial spot…obviously.
(Commercial)
Back to the action, Christian tries to escape again. Orton goes for a RKO, but Christian escapes. Randy gets a back body drop. Christian avoids the DDT and dumps Orton into the cage. Christian gets control thanks to a neckbreaker. Orton prevents him from leaving through the door. Superplex by Orton. They’re both down. Another commercial? Two commercial breaks in a match that had about 15 minutes of show left certainly hurts it a bit.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Orton went for the DDT again and Christian escaped it. Christian hit his reverse DDT for a nearfall. Time check is 9:56pmET so maybe they’re going past the top of the hour like on Raw. Awesome nearfall for Christian with the frog splash that got him a two count. He goes to walk out the door, but Orton pulls him back in. Christian sets up for a Spear, Orton leapfrogs, Christian avoids the RKO and Christian hits a Spear for two. That was an awesome sequence right there. I know we’ve seen six or seven matches from them, but I will miss it because the quality of their matches is very high.
Christian backs into a corner for a punt. It didn’t work. Christian avoids another RKO and climbs. Orton catches him into that powerbomb into a neckbreaker spot that I love. That gets him two as we reach the 10pmET. Finally, Orton hits his DDT off the ropes. Christian shoves him off as he’s going for the RKO. Christian climbs up the cage. He reaches the top. He probably could have walked out the door, but who does that? They sit on the top of the cage and slug it out. Orton pulls him back in and they’re on the top rope. He bashes Christian into the cage. RKO time off the top rope! That was sick! Wow. Christian sold it perfectly. It looked great. Orton covers for three. Match went 18 minutes.
Winner: Randy Orton
Analysis: ***3/4 Typical awesome match with these two that featured a lot of great nearfalls as usual. We missed six minutes of it thanks to two commercial breaks, but it was still good even though the winner of the match was obvious.
Post match, Mark Henry came out. He dominated Orton with power moves. Orton tried to fight back, but Henry’s heart don’t run on Kool-Aid! I love that line. He hits the big splash on Orton. Crowd boos. It’s not that loud. They were weak the whole night. Henry picks him up and drives Orton face first into the steel cage. Pre-PG, that would mean blood. Not now. Henry picked him up and dropped him with the World’s Strongest Slam.
That’s the end of the show. Orton ended his feud with Christian, but his feud with Mark Henry is just beginning. That was a great way of setting it up with Henry dominating him. It was a predictable ending. It was also the right ending.
Three Stars of the Show
1. Randy Orton – Great end to their series of matches.
2. Christian – Same as above.
3. CM Punk – Nobody else really stood out. I liked his promo with HHH.
6.5 out of 10
The show was fine with a very strong main event. It’s the end of the great series of Christian/Orton matches. Feud of the year? Quite possibly. The Punk/HHH promo was very solid although you could tell they were waiting for the crowd to pop and they didn’t react as much as they should have. The Cara/Bryan scenario is interesting too. Cena didn’t have much of an impact although his promo was better than his usual toilet humor. Mocking Tony Chimel was a fun moment too. The crowd could have been hotter. Wichita wasn’t that loud.
That’s all for now. I don’t have much time to write a lot post show as I have an important fantasy NFL draft to get to. We’re in year ten with this group, so it’s one of my favorite events of the year.
I’ll have more in the Canton’s Corner column on Saturday morning. Keep checking out the recaps and columns by our amazing staff at thejohnreport.net for daily content. In September I have three columns planned in addition to the weekly Raw Deal and Canton’s Corner columns. One of them should be ready next week either on Wednesday or Thursday. What does all this mean? Lots of content from me in September. I hope you like it.
Thanks for reading.
John Canton – john@thejohnreport.net
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