7/8/11 WWE Smackdown Recap

Jul 8, 2011 - by Steve Gerweck

by The Eccentric

Opening Segment: MITB participants/Christian/Theodore Long/Josh Mathews

All the participants, minus Sheamus, are in the ring. Sin Cara is sitting on the top rope while the others are lined up in the center of the ring. Josh asks Bryan about his chances in the match. He goes on about how it was his dream to win the title before Rhodes interrupts him. He calls him a common man, unlike himself who’s extraordinary and is destined to win the championship. Wade Barrett talks about what he has accomplished during the previous year before Sheamus runs in with a steel chair and clears the ring. He gets on the mic and says that after Orton beats Christian for nth time, he will cash in the briefcase on Orton on the same night and become champion at the MITB pay-per-view. He warns Orton that he is coming for him tonight because Orton punted him last month. They show the footage of the punt. Christian comes out and reminds Sheamus that he had beaten Sheamus before Orton punted him. Christian thanks him because since Sheamus tore up the contract last week, his legal team had a new contract which says that if Orton is DQ’ed or the ref screws him again, the title will change hands. He then goes on to make fun of Sheamus, calling him Ronald McDonald and asks him if he can read at all which ticks Sheamus off and he throws the chair at Christian. Long comes out and makes Sheamus vs. Orton for tonight’s main event. Christian seems very satisfied and Sheamus is smiling too.

Match Two: Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase vs. Ezekiel Jackson
The baggers are out with Rhodes and Dibiase. Dibiase and Bryan start out. Dibiase tries to knock down Jackson but gets punched down. Jackson is tagged in and starts dominating Dibiase and eventually, knocks both guys out of the ring. Bryan is tagged in who suicide dives onto the two on the outside as we go to a commercial. Bryan is hitting Rhodes with multiple kicks in the corner when we return. Rhodes comes back with an Alabama Slam and tags in Rhodes. This is the time of the match when the heels work on Bryan. Soon, he fights back and tags in Jackson who destroys Dibiase. He power slams both Dibiase and Rhodes. Rhodes hits Jackson with his spring board kick and Dibiase hits the Dream Street for the three count.
Winners: Rhodes and Dibiase; Match Rating: 2.4/5

They show a package about the recent actions of Mark Henry.
Backstage Segment: Mark Henry interviewed by Matt Striker
Mark Henry doesn’t answer his questions and just scares him away and the segment ends.

Match Two: Jinder Mahal w/The Great Khali vs. Trent Barreta
Khali shakes the commentators’ hands and joins them on commentary. He speaks some Urdu/Hindi with English. Mahal just destroys Barreta in a squash and hits him with his finisher for the pin fall. After the match, Khali gets in the ring and Mahal hits Barreta with his finisher again.
Winner: Jinder Mahal; Match Rating: 1.2/5

Backstage Segment: Sheamus interviewed by Josh Mathews.
Josh asks him about his recent rampage. He just says it’s an Irish thing and cuddles Josh before moving away.

Match Three: Tamina w/Alicia Fox vs. AJ w/Natalya
Tamina takes control of the match early on. She has AJ in a camel clutch-type move as the crowd chants for AJ. AJ eventually fights back and hits her with a running kick. She rolls Tamina up for the three count.
Winner: AJ; Match Rating: 1.7/5
After the match, Tamina and Fox seem to be arguing about the loss.

Match Four: Kane vs. Mark Henry
Kane seems to be worried before the start of the match. Henry dominates the match early on but Kane hits Henry with couple of baseball slide drop kicks. Kane is on the top rope. He goes for the clothesline but Henry slams him down. They go back and forth before Kane hits Henry with the big boot. He’s on the top rope and this time he connects. He signals for the choke slam but Henry powers out and goes for his Slam but Kane fights back and hits a choke slam. He goes for the cover but Henry gets his boot on the bottom rope. Henry falls out of the ring and Kane follows him. He clears the announce table and apparently he’s going to choke slam him on the table. But Henry rams Kane into the steel ring post. He gets Kane back in and hits a running splash. He hits the World’s Strongest Slam for the three count.
Winner: Mark Henry; Match Rating: 2.3/5
After the match, he threatens Booker T before walking away.

Backstage Segment: Randy Orton interviewed by Josh Mathews
He asks Orton about the new contract stipulations to which he responds that he didn’t read the contract and the end result of the match will be the same, i.e. an RKO followed by a pin fall. He wishes Sheamus luck before walking away.

Match Five: Tyson Kidd vs. Sin Cara
Sin Cara does his high flying stuff early on but Kidd quickly takes control of the match. Sin Cara comes back and hits Kidd with his usual offense. He then hits his finisher off the top rope.
Winner: Sin Cara; Match Rating: 2/5

Backstage Segment: Theodore Long/Matt Striker
Long answers questions about the ongoing Mark Henry investigations. Striker asks him if he’s afraid of Henry. Long doesn’t respond and walks away.

Match Six: Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater vs. The Usos
The Usos do “The Haka” (apologies if I spelt that wrong) on their way to the ring. Jay and Gabriel start out. Soon, the heels are in control of the match with frequent tags. Gabriel and Jay kick each other and both men make tags. Jimmy gets a lot of offense on Slater and hits a Full Nelson Slam. Jimmy hits the Samoan Drop but Gabriel breaks up the pin attempt. Gabriel comes back with a neck breaker and tags Gabriel. Jimmy hits Gabriel with a top rope superplex and Jay hits the splash from the top rope for the three count.
Winner: The Usos; Match Rating: 2.6

Backstage Segment: Johnny Curtis
He says he’s the perfect superstar and when he makes his debut, he’s going to take the cake.
Raw Rewind: The Vince McMahon/John Cena segment
The announcers review the card for the MITB pay-per-view.

Match Seven: Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Christian is on commentary for this one as this match gets underway. Orton hits a drop kick early on in the match and is going for the punt but Sheamus rolls out of the ring. The two fight on the outside and Sheamus Irish-whips Sheamus onto the barricade. The two come back in the ring and Sheamus sends Orton shoulder first into the steel ring post and Orton falls on the outside. Christian is getting close to Orton but Sheamus intercepts him, and Christian backs off. Sheamus again rams Orton into the steel ring post, this time head first as we go to commercial. We come back and Sheamus is in control. He hits an armbreaker DDT as Christian is seen smiling outside. Sheamus is working on Orton’s arm. Orton then hits Sheamus with his usual powerslam sequence. Then, Orton hits a belly-to-belly slam for a near fall. Sheamus is on the top rope and hits a shoulder tackle onto Orton. The crowd starts to chant “Randy.” Sheamus hits Orton with the Irish Curse backbreaker for another near fall. Sheamus works on Orton with a series of stiff blows. He is setting Orton for the bicycle kick but misses. Orton hits his trade mark back breaker and is setting up for the RKO but Christian runs in and starts beating on Orton. Sheamus is ticked off and hits the bicycle kick on Christian but is soon RKO’ed by Orton. Randy Orton stands tall as we go off the air.
Winner: Randy Orton; Match Rating: 3/5

Closing Thoughts
Man, we saw a lot of backstage interviews this week. Like always, Smackdown showcased a lot of in-ring action. The matches were OK and the Main Event was better than the rest. Honestly, Smackdown is kind of boring nowadays. They need to add that flavor to Smackdown again. They need to emphasize a little more on the Entertainment part of “Sports Entertainment.”
Overall show rating: 4/10
Till next week, it’s The Eccentric signing off…..

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