WWE Smackdown *Spoilers* 19th August

[Troy]

*Teddy Long announces 20 Man Battle Royal to crown number one contender for World title. Randy Orton is out there for announcement. Cody Rhodes confronts Orton It ends with Orton nailing RKO on Ted DiBiase.


*WWE Intercontinental champ Cody Rhodes defeated Ezekiel Jackson.

*Justin Gabriel defeated Tyson Kidd.

*In a great match, WWE champion Alberto Del Rio defeated Daniel Bryan. Bryan taps to rolling armbreaker. Sin Cara hits the ring to make the save.

*WWE Divas champion Kelly Kelly & AJ defeated Alicia Fox & Natalya. Fox and Natalya get into it and Fox ends up placed in Sharpshooter.
*Mark Henry throws out Sin Cara to win the Battle Royal and become number one contender. Orton and Henry face off.

Order of Elimination

Johnny Curtis
Yoshi Tatsu
Zack Ryder
Cody Rhodes
Ezekiel Jackson
Great Khali
Heath Slater
William Regal
Justin Gabriel
The Uso Brothers (simultaneously)
Jinder Mahal
Tyson Kidd
Ted DiBiase
Wade Barrett
Sheamus
Sin Cara

NOTE: Daniel Bryan did not cash in his briefcase. Some websites are reporting it but 100% he did not cash it in. Here is a transcript from another site from someone that was there.

"Alberto Del Rio promo. Says it's his 1 year anniversary. He said one year ago he beat Rey and one year later he beat him again. He says that in that year he' s become a fan favorite with all of us. (Huge Boos.) He challenges anyone to face him. Daniel Bryan comes out and says Del Rio isn't special because Del Rio cashed in like everybody else. Bryan says he'll cash in his briefcase honorably. Note: he meant at WrestleMania, not here."

I swore loudly at the computer when I read the wrong report that said Bryan cashed it in. I double checked on some other sites and he didn't cash it in. So don't panic he still has it.


Back on the show it sounds like a really good show.

I don't mind the opener. They didn't make it to SummerSlam so it is good that he gets his rematch right away.

Gabriel and Kidd had a great match on NXT last week so it is great that WWE really are watching and have given them time on Smackdown.

Del Rio vs. Bryan sounds really good. Once again it is a NON TITLE match.

Natalya taking out Fox I don't find since it gets Natalya more over as a heel.

Everyone knew that once Orton won the title Henry would be number one contender. Really like the idea of a battle royal to determine the number one contender and good seeing Sin Cara the last guy eliminated.

Your thoughts on the show?

 

[Prodigy]

Fuck Henry, seriously. Yes I knew he'd be in the main event but why could they not wait until the next PPV? It just looks Blue considering Henry didn't break Sheamus's leg and has unfinished business with him. Why not give Barrett a chance? He is being wasted.

Rest of the show looks good but the story's and main event scene is annoying me.

 

[Troy]

Henry was the one standing tall after their match at SummerSlam and he has already taken out Kane and Big Show. Who has Barrett beaten lately? He beat Daniel Bryan twice and wrestled on Superstars this week so he hasn't done that much. I like Barrett and eventually a feud with Orton will be awesome but he needs win first. Henry is the most dominant heel on the brand so he is the clear number one contender.

 

[Andrew]

Nice move. Looks like Christian vs SHEAMUS might happen

Will catch it Sunday and do my review then

 

[Troy]

Well Christian wasn't on the show at all, not even in the battle royal, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. I think that we may even see Barrett vs. Sheamus in the future.

 

[Prodigy]

Another thing....How many times have they had battle royals to determine the number one contender? ZZZZZZZZZ.

 

[Big Red Jericho Punk]

Another thing....How many times have they had battle royals to determine the number one contender? ZZZZZZZZZ.

Wasn't it the first time since that spot to determine who would take Taker's spot last June for Fatal Four Way. Calm down man, your coming off as a grumpy guy. No need to curse and then post like an idiot.

 

[Prodigy]

How was I coming off as a grumpy idiot? They always have battle Royals to determine number one contenders on SD. IIRC, Cody Rhodes was in the final two last time.

 

[The New F'n Show]

Sounds decent enough. Henry win was predictable but match quality on the show looks to be solid with Bryan-Del Rio and Kidd-Gabriel. Jackson-Rhodes had to happen so that works too.

 

[Troy]

I don't mind that they had a battle royal. Yes they do regularly do that on Smackdown to determine the number one contender but it has been a long time since they have done it. It is a staple though.

When Smackdown needs a new contender they have a battle royal. When RAW needs a new contender they have a tournament.

Both brands are predictable in that fashion but I like that each brand has a seperate method for determining the challenger.

 

[Keith]

I am with Prodigy on this, the battle royal to decide the new number one contender on smackdown has been done too many times, and the problem with this one is it was obverious from the start that it would either be Sheamus or Henry winning it. Most of the twenty men involved were either jobbers or guys like Regal who don't wrestle very often now. It is another example of WWE putting no thought into how they make title contenders. Another old trick they use is when we see a champion lose a non-title match to someone and sudderly that guy is the number one contender, and the company expect the fans to get behind them in the title match. A bit like Bourne and Kingston beating the tag champions on raw this week, it is the first time they have ever teamed and they earn themselfs a tag title shot.

A good Smackdown I thought this week. Bryan VS. ADR was MOTN, they were given much longer than the week before and had a very stiff, exciting match, and Del Rio's promo before the match was very good too. The only down side was that it is DB's third straight lose on television/ppv and that is not good for a MITB winner.

Rhodes win should see him move on to something else, so that made sense. The Women's tag match was better than most, I think AJ has promise, and KK was hardly in the ring so the better talents carried it. Still at the end the faces walked out with out getting attacked by Natayla, instead she focused her rage on her own tag partner which was a waste.

Kidd/Gabrial was a good match.

One question way did Cara make the save for DB and why was he in the final two of the battle royal are they pushing him for a world title shot this soon?

 

[Troy]

I have no issue with the battle royal. It is a fun match to watch and a good way to see who is rated by WWE on that brand. Yes it can be predictable but so are the Tournaments they hold on RAW when they want a champion or a challenger.

Sin Cara teamed with Daniel Bryan against Rhodes/DiBiase a couple of months back before his suspension so they had a thing going with them before that they started again. Before his suspension they had pushed him up the card and he was the number three face on the brand so I assume they are putting him back in that spot. He is over and sells lots of merchandise so it was bound to happen. Wouldn't surprise me if they booked him in the World title matches during the tour of Mexico.

 

[Keith]

But the reason this battle royal was predictable was because there was such a weak line-up, at least with the WWE Title Tournement recently there was not as much dead weight and you could make a case for at least three or four men leaving as champion. Battle Royals are exciting, but they use their shine when they used too often.

 

[Troy]

True and you are right that WWE need to create more stars on Smackdown. As you said on RAW there are plenty to choose from that could make that next step up to the title quite easily. On Smackdown they would be lucky to find eight that fans would respond to in the tournament. Hopefully by the end of the year Smackdown will have created some more stars.

 

[Andrew]

I did my review, check it out.