3/23/12 Friday Night Smackdown Recap‏

Mar 23, 2012 - by Michael Riba

-We see the opening video for Smackdown, and Josh Mathews welcomes us to the show from Newark, New Jersey. Michael Cole reminds us of the main event tonight, which is CM Punk and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and The Miz.

-Lilian Garcia introduces Daniel Bryan, who makes his way to the ring with A.J. Bryan opens his promo by saying, “YES, YES, YES!” and gets heat from the crowd. Bryan tells A.J. to tell the world what it is like to be in love with the World Heavyweight Champion. A.J. begins talking about her match tonight, but Bryan interrupts and says, “Just answer the question.” A.J. says it’s “heaven.” She says Bryan caresses her and has the softest lips and then she says they spoon at night. She calls him Danny, but we then hear him whisper to her to not calm him Danny in public. She calls him brave, courageous, and generous, and says as a vegan, his body is his temple and that his mind and spirit are pure. She says he makes her feel safe, and is told by Bryan to say he is a great lover, which she does. A.J. says Bryan will make Sheamus tap out at WrestleMania and will continue on his path to be the greatest of all time. Sheamus comes to the ring. He begins by saying he threw up in his mouth. He says Bryan is a sniveling, little coward. The crowd starts a “Danny” chant, which irks Bryan. Sheamus calls him Danny Boy, and says if he doesn’t like being called that, he sure won’t like being called “the former World Heavyweight Champion.” Sheamus says he will kick Daniel Bryan’s teeth down his throat at WrestleMania.

-We see Mark Henry backstage, and Josh Mathews says Henry will face R-Truth next.

-Match #1: Mark Henry vs. R-Truth
R-Truth ducks under Henry and connects with a couple of punches and a kick before Henry comes right back with a big head-butt. Henry grabs Truth’s arm and pulls it down and hits a clubbing blow to Truth’s back. Truth hits a few punches and comes off the ropes, but Henry nails him with a huge clothesline. Henry tosses Truth out of the ring. Henry goes out after Truth and presses Truth’s head against the steel steps. Back in the ring, Henry slaps Truth a couple of times and then clubs him to the mat again. Henry goes for a cover, but Truth kicks out at two. Henry goes for an elbow drop, but Truth moves out of the way, and hits a drop kick on Henry. Truth connects with a DDT and goes for a cover, but Henry kicks out at one. Truth attempts a cross body off the top rope, but Henry catches him and hits him with the World’s Strongest Slam for the victory. Winner: Mark Henry.

-We are informed that Kane and The Big Show will go one-on-one tonight.

-We see Yokozuna’s well-deserved Hall of Fame video.

-We see footage from the Ryder Rally from this past Monday in Philadelphia. Backstage, Zack Ryder is in Teddy Long’s office with Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, Teddy, and Aksana. Teddy says he’s not sure if he wants Ryder on his team due to the distractions with Eve Torres. Ryder says he knew Teddy would say that, so he brings in Hornswoggle, who is waving a flag with Teddy’s face on it. Teddy says it’s still not big enough, so Zack brings in The Great Khali, who is dressed in Ryder’s merchandise. Teddy says Ryder and Khali are both on Team Teddy. They all do the “Woo Woo Woo, You Know It” to end the segment.

-Match #2: A.J. (w/Daniel Bryan) vs. Brie Bella (w/Nikki Bella)
The match starts with a tie-up, and Brie pulls A.J.’s hair and takes her down to the mat. Brie kicks A.J. in the knee and applies a headlock. A.J. comes off the ropes and hits Brie with an elbow and then charges at Brie, but Brie hangs A.J. over the top rope. Brie stomps A.J. a few times and goes for a pin, but A.J. kicks out at two. Brie overpowers A.J. and goes for another cover, but A.J. kicks out at two again. A.J. gets a roll though, but Brie kicks out at one. Brie applies a submission hold, but A.J. powers out. A.J. applies the Labell Lock, but Nikki gets on the apron to distract the referee, but Bryan argues with Nikki. A.J. turns her back on Brie, who attempts to hit her from behind, but A.J. moves and Brie hits Nikki and knocks her off the apron. A.J. rolls up Brie for the victory. Winner: A.J. After the match, Nikki gets a microphone and says Brie should have listened to her. She says Brie is rooting for Team Johnny, while she is rooting for Team Teddy. Nikki does a cheerleader bit where she gets the crowd to spell out Teddy. The Bellas leave the ring together.

-We are reminded that CM Punk and Sheamus will team up to face Daniel Bryan and The Miz in the main event.

-Match #3: Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. Zack Ryder (w/Hornswoggle)
The match starts with a tie-up, and Ryder puts Swagger in a headlock that Swagger quickly rolls out of. Ryder hits a drop-toe hold on Swagger and then applies another headlock, which Swagger reverses into a headlock of his own. Ryder gets a roll up but Swagger kicks out at one. Ryder then hits a dropkick and lands some right hands before Swagger tosses him into the corner. Swagger hits a power slam out of the corner and goes for a cover, but Ryder kicks out at two. Swagger stomps on Ryder in the corner. Swagger takes Ryder down and wrenches Ryder’s arm in a submission. Ryder powers out and goes on the offensive. Ryder ducks a clothesline and hits Swagger with a sit-down bulldog. Ryder hits the Broski Boot and goes for the cover, but Swagger kicks out at two. Ryder goes for the Rough Ryder, but Swagger catches him and tosses him into the corner. Swagger goes for the pin, but Ryder kicks out at two. Hornswoggle chases Vickie onto the apron and Swagger gets distracted. Ryder hits the Rough Ryder for the victory. Winner: Zack Ryder

-We see a replay of what happened between Cody Rhodes and The Big Show on Raw when Cody pummeled Show with boxing gloves. We see an interview from earlier today where Cody says he has enjoyed showing Big Show’s embarrassing WrestleMania moments. He says it reminds everyone that Show chokes on the Biggest Stage of Them All. Cody says he enjoyed beating Show’s face and head on Raw. He says the biggest embarrassment will come at WrestleMania XXVIII when The Big Show loses to him. Cody leaves to catch a plane.

-We are reminded that Flo Rida will play The Rock to the ring at WrestleMania.

-Match #4: Kane vs. The Big Show
Kane begins with a kick and some punches to Show, but Show turns the tide with some punches of his own and a head-butt. Kane reverses Show in the corner and hits him with a clothesline. Kane goes for another clothesline, but Show charges out of the corner and hits a big shoulder block. Kane goes to the outside and Show follows. Kane goes up against the ring post and Show charges, but Kane ducks and Show’s wrist hits the ring post. Show gets back in the ring, and Kane connects with a few kicks to Show’s head. Kane goes for a cover, but Show kicks out. Kane puts Show in a headlock, but Show powers out. Both men have a mid-air collision with a double clothesline. Both men get to their knees and then to their feet and Show hits a big clothesline. Show hits a charge in the corner and then a big shoulder tackle. Kane hits a DDT on Show and goes for the pin, but Show kicks out at two. Kane jumps off the top rope, but Show catches him and connects with a chokeslam. Cody Rhodes comes in the ring and attacks Big Show, leading to a disqualification. Show chases Cody through the crowd. Randy Orton comes in the ring and delivers an RKO to Kane. Winner by disqualification: The Big Show

-We are reminded again of the CM Punk and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and The Miz main event for tonight, and we see that the “Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay is in action next.

-We see a video package of The Big Show, Stephanie McMahon, and David Otunga being in Connecticut for the WWE’s Anti-Bullying Campaign.

-Match #5: Brodus Clay (w/Cameron and Naomi) vs. Heath Slater
Brodus quickly shoves Slater to the mat and does a little gyration while Slater backs away. Slater goes for a punch, but Clay blocks it and levels Slater with a right hand of his own. Clay follows that up with an elbow drop. Slater gets on the offensive and connects with a drop kick to Clay’s knee, which sends Clay to the mat. Slater goes for a pin, but Clay quickly powers out before the one count. Slater continues the offense until Clay pushes him away and then head-butts Slater as he is charging towards Clay in the corner. Clay hits Slater in the stomach and then with a knee lift, and finishes him off with a suplex and a big splash. Winner: Brodus Clay

-Backstage, Zack Ryder runs into Eve Torres. Ryder said Eve was right and then called her smart. Eve turned on him and asked if he didn’t think she was smart before. She said she would be going to dinner with someone else and walked away with a smirk on her face.

-We revisit Monday Night Raw where Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Triple H talked about the Hell in a Cell Match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and see the Punk/Sheamus vs. Miz/Bryan match plug again.

-Match #6: Dolph Ziggler (w/David Otunga and John Laurinaitis) vs. The Great Khali (w/Teddy Long)
Christian is on commentary for the match. Ziggler attempts some punches, but they have no effect on Khali as he shoves Ziggler into the ropes and then hits him with a clubbing blow. Ziggler goes to the outside and stands by Johnny, but Khali grabs him and tosses him back into the ring. Khali puts Ziggler in the corner and delivers a big chop. Khali takes Ziggler to another corner and does it again. Ziggler hits s dropkick to Khali’s knee and Khali goes down. Ziggler kicks Khali and punches him numerous times before hitting an elbow drop to Khali’s head. Ziggler puts Khali in a headlock, but Khali overpowers him and tosses him away. Khali hits Ziggler with two clotheslines and then attempts the Khali Chop, but Ziggler ducks under and applies the Sleeper Hold on Khali. Laurinaitis rings the bell and announces that Ziggler wins by submission. Teddy grabs a microphone and says Ziggler has until the count of ten to get back in the ring. Ziggler doesn’t, and Teddy says Khali wins by count-out. Winner via count-out: The Great Khali. After the match, Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston run down and toss Ziggler back into the ring where Khali hits him with the Khali Chop.

-We see Daniel Bryan, The Miz, and A.J. walking backstage. The Miz says, “After everything I’ve done for you, I need you to do this. We need this.” The main event is next.

-Match #7: CM Punk and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and The Miz (w/A.J.)
Bryan and Sheamus start the match. Bryan quickly tags in The Miz. Sheamus takes Miz down and goes for a quick cover, but only gets a one count. Miz goes for a hip toss, but Sheamus reverses into a big clothesline, and goes for the pin again, but Miz kicks out at one. Sheamus tags in Punk, who comes off the top rope and clubs Miz’s shoulder. Punk slams Miz and goes for the cover, but Miz kicks out at one again. Punk tags in Sheamus and launches Miz into Sheamus’ flying shoulder tackle. Sheamus goes for the cover and Miz kicks out at two. Sheamus hits a backbreaker and goes for the cover, but Bryan breaks it up at one. Sheamus grabs Bryan and tosses him back into the ring, but Bryan quickly rolls to the outside. Miz takes advantage and kicks Sheamus out of the ring, which allows Bryan to connect with a running dropkick on Sheamus. The Miz kicks Sheamus in the head and then applies a headlock. Sheamus hits Miz with a back body drop and tags in Punk. Punk hits a flying clothesline from the top rope, and follows that up with another clothesline and a swinging neck breaker. Punk hits Miz with a flying knee lift and a bulldog. Punk scoop slams The Miz and goes up top for the elbow drop, but Bryan distracts him, and Punk shoves him off the apron, but this allows The Miz to hit a DDT on Punk. The Miz goes for the cover and Punk kicks out at two. Miz tags in Bryan who kicks Punk in the stomach. Bryan stomps Punk a few more times and then drops his knee on Punk’s face. Bryan goes for the cover, but Punk kicks out at two. Bryan tags in The Miz. Miz hits a running knee lift on Punk and goes for the cover, but only gets a two count. Punk counters The Miz’s neck breaker attempt and connects with a kick to the head. Miz tags in Bryan who tries to keep Punk from tagging in Sheamus, but to no avail. Bryan tries to run away, but Sheamus catches him with some clubbing blows. Sheamus power slams Bryan to the mat. Sheamus is setting up for the Brogue Kick, but Bryan quickly tags in The Miz and runs. Sheamus chases after Bryan and gets caught by The Miz when he re-enters the ring. Sheamus hits The Miz with the Brogue Kick for the victory. Winners: Sheamus and CM Punk. Smackdown comes to a close with Punk and Sheamus celebrating as Bryan and A.J. look on from the ramp.

Quick results:
1. Mark Henry def. R-Truth
2. A.J. def. Brie Bella
3. Zack Ryder def. Jack Swagger
4. The Big Show def. Kane via disqualification
5. Brodus Clay def. Heath Slater
6. The Great Khali def. Dolph Ziggler via count-out
7. Sheamus and CM Punk def. The Miz and Daniel Bryan

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