By Jake Barnett

WWE Smackdown on Syfy Live Review
Taped on 3/11 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

[Q1] A video played that recapped Daniel Bryan's “Occupy Raw” segment from Monday. Lilian Garcia was in the ring, and introduced Triple H, who made his way out to a mixed reaction. The crowd started a yes chant. Triple H said he's sure that feels good. The crowd had the moment of their life on Monday Night, and Daniel Bryan had the moment of his career. Hunter told the crowd that because of the crowd Daniel Bryan will not be there tonight. He said he would deal with Bryan on Raw, but he wanted to address the crowd tonight.

Hunter said had this crowd been in Memphis on Monday Night, he's sure they would have loved to have been in the ring. More yes chants from the crowd in response. Hunter said he would end the Yes Movement at WrestleMania. He explained that he began protecting Daniel Bryan at Summerslam, so he and the crowd could have a dream and hope in their pathetic lives. He has protected the crowd's hopes and dreams, just like he did for Daniel Bryan, but at the end of the day neither are good enough.

At WrestleMania, Hunter said he will put an end to Daniel Bryan. There will be no Triple Threat, there is no pot of gold, and there is no happily ever after. He then said at WrestleMania he will put an end to their dreams and bury Daniel Bryan. Hunter then said that he would introduce the first competitor of the night, a participant in the Occupy Raw Moment, and Damien Sandow came down to the ring. Hunter replayed the scenario from Monday where Sandow refused to follow his orders. Hunter demanded Sandow apologize. Sandow said he does apologize and it won't happen again.

Hunter said he was happy to reach an accord. He patronized him by saying that Vickie didn't tell him who he was facing, and then shook his hand with a smile on his face. The Shield's music then hit and all three members headed towards the ring...[c]

My Take: About as paint by numbers as you'd expect from a Triple H response to the Occupy Raw segment. The line about burying Daniel Bryan will probably rile up a few people, and it's interesting to see WWE try to play into the internet conspiracies surrounding Triple H. So far, nothing has shaken my from my 100% certainty that Bryan beats Triple H. I'm about 85% sure Bryan ends the night as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

[Q2] 1. Damien Sandow vs. Seth Rollins: The match was joined in progress. Sandow sent Rollins to the floor, but he quickly recovered and got back into the match. They traded offense back and forth until Sandow retreated to the outside. Reigns and Ambrose offered a distraction so Rollins could hit a suicide dive. Rollins hit head stomp for the win.

Seth Rollins defeated Damien Sandow. Time is unknown.

After the match, Ambrose held off on posing and grabbed Sandow from the outside and tossed him back into the ring. They did a triple powerbomb and then posed for the crowd. Kane vs. Big Show was plugged for later. Big E was shown backstage heading towards the ring for the next segment...[c]

My Take: Yawn. I like everybody involved here but there was just nothing happening.

[Q3] Michael Cole introduced a video clip of Hulk Hogan as he explained the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Big E was shown, and Cole reminded us that he would be in the tournament. Fandango made his entrance with Summer Rae. A PIP Promo from Fandango aired, and he entered himself into the WrestleMania Battle Royal.

2. Fandango vs. Big E: Fandango showed some aggression and went on the attack early. It didn't last, as Big E quickly took over and hit the Big Ending for the win.

Big E defeated Fandango by 1:29.

Cole introduced another video package from Monday. It recapped the eleven words The Undertaker said on Monday. Wade Barrett rose from his cherry picker. He explained The Undertaker's streak one more time. Wade had some bad news, of course, and he said The Streak will end. This will lead to children crying and a lack of sleep, which will cause us all to fall asleep at work and be fired...[c]

My Take: Smackdown is officially a Raw Recap show with occasional original wrestling content.

The Real Americans made their ring entrance. A clip was shown of the tension between the team on Monday. The Rhodes Brothers then entered.

[Q4] 3. The Rhodes Brothers vs. The Real Americans: Swagger and Goldust went back and forth to start. Cody tagged in and Swagger quickly tagged out to Cesaro. Cody used his speed to turn hit a clothesline. He then tossed Cesaro to the outside. Cody attempted a suicide dive, but Cesaro caught him clumsily and used his strength to pick him up and slam him on the apron with very little leverage...[c]

Cody dumped Swagger to the floor, but got picked up for a Cesaro Swing. Swagger tagged in and attempted a Swagger Bomb, but Cody got his feet up. Cody hit a sunset flip on Swagger, but didn't see that Cesaro had tagged in. Cesaro then put the boots to Cody and picked him up. Swagger tagged into the match, and Cesaro wasn't happy about it. He hit a bit of offense on Rhodes, but Cesaro tagged himself right back in and hit a hanging vertical suplex.

Swagger tagged himself in again and Zeb had a fit at ringside. They argued as Cody went for a tag. Swagger eventually prevented the tag, but another intercommunication allowed Cody to roll up Swagger for the win.

The Real Americans defeated The Rhodes Brothers at 10:04.

After the match, the Real Americans continued to fight after the bell and beat down the Rhodes Brothers. The Uso's made the save. Michael Cole introduced another Raw video package, and this one went over the segment involving John Cena and Bray Wyatt. After the video, The Wyatt's made their entrance...[c]

My Take: Another tag match where The Real Americans looked like they'd be nearly unstoppable if they got along, which is pretty much exactly the opposite of how they were positioned when they got along. This show needs a video package to recap all these video packages.

Kofi Kingston was shown in the ring.

[Q5] 4. Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston: They traded offense early on until Kofi hit a kick that staggered Wyatt and forced him to regroup on the outside. Kofi hit a nice seesaw kick in the corner, but Bray quickly regrouped and sent him to the floor. Cole felt inspired to point out that Kofi Kingston is good, but no John Cena. Wyatt hit a nice running senton and applied a chin lock. Kofi got in a small amount of offense before getting caught in a uranage coming off the second ropes.

Wyatt begged Kofi to get up in the corner, and then hit a big splash in the corner. He then hit Sister Abigail for the win.

Bray Wyatt defeated Kofi Kingston at 4:00

Backstage, Kane had The Shield in his office. He buttered them up with compliments until Ambrose pointed out that Show knocked him out and beat him recently. Kane asked them to be at ringside, to let them pick up the scraps of The Big Show. Rollins called him on his lie and said he wanted protection. Reigns said they don't take orders from him. Rollins said not to worry, because in the end they always do what's best for business...[c]

My Take: Bray Wyatt needs to beat high profile babyface before WrestleMania to solidify himself. His match with Daniel Bryan was awesome, but it was also 6 weeks ago. The Shield and Kane bickering scares me about where that is all heading to at WrestleMania.

The Bellas were in the ring, with Nikki being in a singles match. Tamina made her ring entrance accompanied by AJ.

5. Brie Bella vs. Tamina: AJ joined on commentary. Tamina and Nikki traded offense until Nikki got sent to the floor in front of the announce table. Tamina hit a Samoan Drop and set up Nikki for a splash. She climbed up top, but Nikki got out of the way. She fired up and hit a clothesline and a drop kick. Nikki then hit a knee to the face for a near fall. Tamina hit a superkick for a near fall of her own.

[Q6] Brie Bella took out AJ on the outside. Tamina returned the favor and sent Brie into the barricade. Nikki hit her rack finisher for the win.

Nikki Bella defeated Tamina at 3:21.

Cole plugged Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio for next...[c]

My Take: Nikki is much better than in the past, but nobody cares about the Bella's as a squad. WWE would do well to split them up and have them feud. Nikki would make the obvious heel.

A clip was shown of Del Rio from last weeks Smackdown, as he interfered and cost Dolph Ziggler a match. Ziggler made his ring entrance, followed by Del Rio. A PIP promo from Del Rio was shown, and he said he would make history and be the first winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

6. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio and Ziggler traded kicks early. Dolph hit a dropkick that sent Del Rio to the outside. He then did his ten elbow drop bit. Del Rio took over with a kick to the head...[c]

Ziggler missed a splash in the corner and hit the post. Del Rio hit an enziguri and covered for a near fall. Ziggler hit a huge drop kick as Del Rio came off the ropes. He then hit a cross body and jumped on Del Rio in the corner for ten punches. He followed up with a neck breaker and covered for a near fall. Dolph went for the Zig Zag, but Del Rio blocked and hit a tilt a whirld back breaker. Ziggler fired back with a DDT for another near fall. Del Rio hit another kick to the head, but still couldn't put Ziggler away.

[Q7] Del Rio missed an enziguri in the corner, and Ziggler quickly hit fameasser for another close near fall. Ziggler went up top, but Del Rio stopped him, and hit an inverted suplex from the top. He covered for a close near fall of his own. Del Rio went for the cross armbreaker, but Dolph avoided it and hit the Zig Zag for the win.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Alberto Del Rio at 10:52.

Renee Young interviewed Dolph in the ring and asked him about defeating Del Rio twice in a row. He told her he had an exclusive for her, and entered himself in the Battle Royal at WrestleMania. He tried to get somber and talk about destiny, but the crowd was totally quiet. He said he'd have his WrestleMania moment when wins the Battle Royal.

My Take: A very solid match that won me over as it went on. I'm not sure what to think of the promo afterwards. I'm not sure many people relate to being on the verge of tears over a WrestleMania Battle Royal, but I guess you have to try and set yourself apart.

Michael Cole introduced the next member of the Hall of Fame class, Carlos Colon. After the video, Cole mentioned that the Hall of Fame ceremony will be on the WWE Network. They then explained how to sign up for the WWE Network. The Wyatt's were shown on the screen. My TV glitched out for a few seconds, and I missed a bit of the promo. What I hear was Bray Wyatt speak about the love of his sister. He then told John Cena not to worry, because he would make it quick. Kane was shown backstage walking towards the ring. He told the Shield to follow him, and they did...[c]

My Take: I missed a lot of the Wyatt promo. I'll have to catch it online later. What I saw was pretty good though. It does seem like Wyatt is only scratching the surface of his problem with Cena, and I hope they develop it more in the next week or two. Their issue doesn't feel personal enough yet for a WrestleMania blood feud.

Kane made his ring entrance in slacks. The Shield did not join him. Big Show then made his ring entrance.

7. Kane vs. Big Show: The Shield walked down a few seconds into the math. Show slapped Kane so hard in the chest it hurt through my TV. Kane put boots to Show and hit a seated dropkick for a two count. Kane dominated the offense and signaled for the choke slam. He grabbed a choke, and so did Show. Kane broke free, but ate a clothesline. Show followed up with a spear, and rolled to the outside.

Show climbed to the top, but Kane grabbed him and hit a chokeslam. He covered, but only got a near fall. Kane signaled to the Shield to finish his job for him, but they backed off the apron and refused. Kane flipped out and turned into a chokelsam. Show covered and got the win.

Big Show defeated Kane at 5:09.

After the match, The Shield started to leave, but Rollins lagged behind a bit. Kane tried to grab Rollins for a chokeslam, but Reigns hit a spear to take him out. Kane raged as The Shield left...

My Take: Ooof. That match was rough. Show and Kane don't move like they used to, and it showed here in a negative way. The spear at the end of the match was nice, but I'm not really excited about the potential Kane and Shield feud at all. Overall, a very missable episode of Smackdown that felt more like an advertisement for Raw. I'll have more to say with Chris Shore in the Smackdown audio tomorrow.

Do you have questions, comments or cocerns? E-mail me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or on twitter @barnettjake.

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