8-10-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

     Coverage and thoughts on the August 10, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with GM Booker T coming to the ring. He does a Spinnarooni. “WHAT’S UP HUSTON!?” He says that it feels good to be in his home town. He says this is second week as GM and, “Huston we have a problem.” He says he wants to talk about what happened on Raw. They reshow Sheamus taking Del Rio’s ride. Booker says that watching Alberto freak out made him smile, but what Sheamus did was wrong. He says that Sheamus crossed the line and right now he wants Sheamus to come out and apologize in front of the fans and to Del Rio. Sheamus comes to the ring. Sheamus mentions that last week Del Rio stood in the ring and said that because of where Sheamus comes from, how he grew up and how he conducts himself that Sheamus wasn’t worthy of being World Champion. Sheamus says that Alberto tried to take away his dignity. So he decided to take Del Rio’s car. He says that he had a fun time driving around San Antonio, meeting all the locals, checking out the sights, going to the Alamo, singing songs about Texas and stuffing his face with a giant burrito that landed on the hood of Alberto’s car. Then Sheamus says that today is a new day and he has to face reality. He says if he’s gonna do the crime then he has to do the time. So right now he would like to apologize first to Booker and the fans and also to Alberto. He says he’s sorry for taking Del Rio’s car. Booker shakes Sheamus’ hand. Then Booker says they put this behind them now. He says they’re gonna move on and start…before he can say more Del Rio’s music hits and he & Ricardo come out. Del Rio says that they’re not just leaving this behind them. Then Del Rio gets in the ring. He tells Sheamus that he is not a champion. He’s just a peasant, a thief, a thug and a criminal. Then Alberto says that he filed a report with the San Antonio cops and Sheamus is gonna pay for this. Then Booker chimes in and tells Del Rio that he knows if he files legal ramifications Sheamus will not be able to defend his title. Booker says the title will be put up. Del Rio says that he doesn’t care. Everyone saw what Sheamus did to his car Monday. Then Del Rio says that when a World Champion acts like a common hooligan it reflects on Booker since he is the GM. Del Rio tells Booker that he better do something and he better do it right now. Del Rio says he is very close to taking this matter into his own hands. Then Sheamus says Del Rio is getting all uptight. Sheamus says that he can Alberto’s upset with this situation. Then Sheamus says that he’s been thinking about this all day and he has a solution. Sheamus asks Booker that if it’s ok with him, Sheamus says they shouldn’t wait till SummerSlam. Sheamus says that he & Del Rio should have a World Title match tonight. Booker asks Alberto what he has to say. Del Rio says that everything in his head is telling him to wait, to train and to be ready for SummerSlam. Then Del Rio says to hell with everything. “Let’s do this tonight.” Then Booker says that he has just on thing to say about this. “Now can you dig that? SUCKA!?” This was a long and idiotic segment. Why are they having the World Title match that is going to happen in 3 nights on PPV happen on free TV first? Also the whole thing with the car was idiotic. Sheamus did steel Del Rio’s ride, so should Alberto do? Filing a report with the cops makes sense to me! This came off totally illogical.

Before the next match starts Cody Rhodes comes out with a mic. He says that he is no stranger to wearing a mask and he’s not above telling the fans why Sin Cara wears one. Because he’s ugly. He says that Cara is cockeyed and one ear is bigger than the other. Then Cody says that’s not the only reason Cara wears a mask. Cody says that the real reason for the mask is because without it, underneath it there is nothing special about him. That was pointless.  

Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes. Cara gets the pin. This was a solid match. Cody kept trying to pull Cara’s mask off and Cara got the inside cradle for the win. I’m hoping they eventually ditch the Sin Cara lighting during his matches. That’s gotten old.

Daniel Bryan is backstage screaming no to everyone.

The show the Wade Barrett video package that they showed Monday.

They show a video package recapping Daniel Bryan losing his mind.

Daniel Bryan comes to the ring. He gets the mic and screams no and the fans scream yes. He tells the fans to stop chanting yes. The chant continues. He asks the fans if they think that he is nothing more than a catchphrase. He says he is a former World Champion. He says that he deserves to be in the WWE Title match at SummerSlam. He then says that instead of being in the title match, the woman who callously left him at the Alter has not only ruined his reputation by labeling him as psychologically unstable, but she has also put him in a match at SummerSlam with Kane. He asks the fans if he deserves that. The answer is no. He says that deserves more than to stand there and be insulted by the fans as they chant yes in his face. He says that he deserves better than to be walked all over by some skipping broad in a power suit and her overgrown Frankenstein boy toy. Than Kane’s pyro goes off and he comes out. Kane gets in the ring and stare down Daniel. Then AJ’s music plays and she comes out. Daniel goes to leave the ring and AJ tells him not to even think about doing that. She says that she feels like Daniel is a little shocked to see her on Smackdown but this is the show where they first met. She says that she is there because Booker T asked her to be a special guest. Then she says that neither she nor Booker like what they’re seeing right now. She says that she made the Kane-Daniel match for SummerSlam because they’re both incredibly gifted athletes. Then she says that they can’t have them coming out and attacking the fans or each other every week. The fans chant yes again. She says to Kane that she knows they haven’t had a chance to talk since she became GM but it’s really good to see him again. She says that she never had the chance to tell Kane how much she appreciates how sweet he was to her and how understanding he was when other people treated her miserably. Then she turns to Daniel. She tells him she doesn’t want the fact that he’s always been jealous of the friendship between her and Kane, or the fact that Daniel literally never managed to pin Kane in a singles match to drive Daniel’s rage. She then says that if Daniel is as mentally stable and as psychologically healthy as he says he is then he should prove it. She tells Daniel to prove to her and the fans that he doesn’t have anger management issues. Then she says that he can do that starting tonight. She says that Daniel can show that he is a good sportsman before going into SummerSlam by shaking Kane’s hand. He screams no again as the fans chant yes. AJ says that she wants a clean fight at SummerSlam. Daniel screams no into the mic. She tells Daniel to shake on it now. Daniel puts his hand out and AJ grins and walks out of the ring. Daniels screams at Kane to shake his hand. It looked like AJ gave Kane a wink symbol and then Kane hits Daniel in the throat. AJ walks up the ramp as they go at it. Kane goes for a choke slam but Daniel counters it attempts the no lock. Kane shoves him off and gives him a big boot. Then Daniel rolls out of the ring. Kane goes after him but Daniel escapes through the crowed. AJ stood on the stage laughing about the whole thing. Then she says, “That was great.” Then Kane signals for his pyro. This went on WAY too long! The AJ character has now been overdone! Her being GM has really devalued the character! I’m not into her causing the friction between Kane & Daniel! Also the yes-no chants are starting to get old too. Daniel Bryan still does a good job but this as well as AJ’s gimmick has been buried into the ground!

Booker T & Teddy Long are in the GM office. Long tells Booker that he liked how he stood his ground with Del Rio. He then says that a World Title match on Smackdown is huge. Then Tyler Reks & Curt Hawkins come in. Reks says that now that Booker is the GM they were hoping that he can open a few doors for them. Booker says he’s been watching them. He says they might have a great future but he is the GM of Smackdown. Booker says they gotta step it up. Booker then says that he saw what happened on Raw. He says that despite it being 2 on 1 against Ryback they couldn’t get the job done. Booker says that tells him a whole lot. Booker then says that he is looking for A plus talent. Booker walks off camera and Reks tells Hawkins that he can’t go back to his old job. Hawkins says something and Reks says he meant his other job. Hawkins says that might not so bad either. Booker tells them to rise up (I couldn’t really make out what he said) and they walk out. This was idiotic.

They show a Rey Mysterio video package promoting that he will be on the show tonight. I have no idea what the point of this was.

2 unnamed guys vs. Jinder Mahal. Mahal wins by submission. This was a pointless squash. Afterwards Mahal attacks the other guy, places him on top of the guy who’s lying on the mat and locks on a double Camel Clutch. Then Ryback make his way to the ring and Jinder runs off. Then Ryback flattens the other 2 guys. Then he chants feed me more to Jinder, who watched from the stage. This was a waste. Does anybody care about a Ryback-Mahal feud?

Chris Jericho is in the ring for the Highlight Reel. Jericho says that for the first time in almost 2 years he gets to say these words on Smackdown. “Welcome to the Highlight Reel.” Then he says that his guest tonight is a man who 3 weeks ago told…then Vickie Guerrero shouts excuse me and comes out. She tells Jericho that his guest will not be lowering himself to being on his show. Vickie says that since Dolph is her client she is there to speak on his behalf. She says that Dolph can win the big one and is the future World Champion. Jericho says that if he can’t interview Dolph he has no problem interviewing his mom. (Can they ditch that joke?) Jericho tells Vickie that she looks great for a woman of her age. Then they go back and forth with the excuse me bit and Vickie screams. Jericho says there’s no reason for them to be yelling at each other. He says they have known each other for years. He says that they’ve never been in the ring together so this is kind of a cool experience for him. Vickie says that if Jericho insults her 1 more time she is walking off this show and then he will have no guests tonight. Jericho pretends to be upset by that. Then he tells Vickie to get the hell out of there. She goes to leave the ring and he tells her to hold on. He says he’s just playing around. He asks Vickie why she’s angry all the time. He tells her that she needs to take it easy. Then he says that she’s probably miffed over what happened on Raw at the end of Dolph’s match. Then he plays the clip on the JeriTron 6000. Then Jericho mentions that Dolph & Vickie have been saying that Jericho can’t win the big one. Then Jericho says that after Dolph lost to Alex Riley it looks like Dolph can’t even win the little ones. He says that’s nothing against A-Ry but up until Monday he had only won 1 match in 2012. He says that record is worse than Vickie’s dye job (that was lame). Then Vickie says that this is exactly why Dolph doesn’t waste his time with Jericho. Because Jericho doesn’t know the facts. All Jericho has is footage. She says the fact is that Dolph doesn’t think Jericho can’t win the big one, he knows he can’t. She says that Dolph can’t wait to prove that to Jericho and to everyone when the face each other at SummerSlam. Jericho says that he doesn’t have to prove himself to anybody. His legacy stands on its own. But Dolph did say something to Jericho that made him think. Jericho says that he hasn’t won the big ones lately and maybe it is time for Jericho to reevaluate himself and maybe it’s time to bring back Y2J. He says that from this moment on Y2J is back. He accepts Dolph’s challenge for SummerSlam and he will prove to Vickie, “Ziggy” and to every Jericholic that he has not lost his touch and that he NEVER EEEEEEEVVERRRRR WILL AGAIN! Then Dolph come in and goes to hit Jericho with the MITB case. Jericho ducks and punches Dolph in the head for a bit. Then Jericho turns to Vickie and she slaps him. Then Dolph gives Jericho the Zig Zag. Then Dolph picks up the case and waits for Jericho to get up. When he does Dolph hits him the head with it. Then Vickie laughs and says to Jericho, “Who’s your mother now?” This segment was better than the others I thought. I wasn’t into the whole “let’s call Vickie old again” jokes but I thought they did a decent job setting up the Chris Jericho-Dolph Ziggler match for SummerSlam.

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth come out for commentary.

Primo & Epico vs. The Primetime Players to determine the Number One Contenders for the Tag Team Titles. Titus & Darren win by DQ. AW threw water on Kofi & Truth. Then Kofi & Truth hit the ring and went after AW and the Players. That led to the DQ. Kofi & Truth stomp on AW. Then after referees come in Darren & Titus pulled him out of the ring. Primo & Epico got pissed at Kofi & Truth for costing them the match. This wasn’t much of a match. It was all about AW getting his team the DQ win and then the champs having words with Primo & Epico.

Antonio Cesaro & Aksana come to the ring. Cesaro tells Lillian that he would like to speak to the fans in 5 different languages. This bit is idiotic. Aksana gets the mic and he victory in Swiss, Italian, German, French & English. Then he says something in German and says that if the fans didn’t understand that, that’s the point. What is the point of this gimmick?

Christian vs. Antonio Cesaro. Christian gets the pin. This was a solid match. Afterwards Christian was posing on the turnbuckles. Aksana then got on the apron. That distracted Christian and Cesaro pushed him out of the ring. Then Cesaro went outside the ring, picked up Christian and rammed back first into the barrier.

Time for the Rey Mysterio video package again followed by the Raw Rebound.

Eve is in Booker’s office. He comes in and asks what she wants. She asks if there are any positions that have opened up for his administration. Booker says that he hasn’t got any job for her. Then Teddy Long & Kaitlyn come in. Long tells Booker that Kaitlyn has something she wants to talk about. She says that is super psyched that Booker is the new Smackdown GM and she was thinking that he might need an assistant. Booker says that if Teddy referred her then she’s got the job. Eve says that she is way more qualified than Kaitlyn. Eve says that Long is holding a grudge. Eve says that she is being discriminated against and will mention it the Board of Directors or whatever. Booker says he will keep this as fair as possible. He says that next week Kaitlyn will face Eve and the winner will be Booker T’s assistant. They all agree. This was a pointless bit too.

Rey Mysterio, Jr. vs. Intercontinental Champion The Miz. Mysterio gets the pin. This was a solid match.

World Champion Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio for the Title. Cops come Del Rio gets the mic The match never starts because cops to down the ramp. Del Rio gets the mic and says that he never filed the report. He tells the cops to get out of there. He says he wants to have his title match. The cops get on the apron and then Del Rio tells them, “Go!” They get in the ring and Sheamus goes after them. Then Sheamus pounds on Del Rio in the corner. Ricardo jumps on Sheamus’ back and the “cops” attack Sheamus. Del Rio then tells them to pick Sheamus up. They guys hold Sheamus and Alberto slaps him. Then Del Rio hits a charging Enziguri. Then the cops walk to the back and Del Rio stands over Sheamus taunting him. Sheamus attempts to get up and then Del Rio locks him in the cross arm breaker. Del Rio poses in the ring while Sheamus lies on the mat selling the attack. This ends the show. This was really good. I thought they did a better job building to their title match here than at the start of the show. The attack was well done.

There was A LOT of talking on this week’s show! The opening segment with Booker, Sheamus & Del Rio was long and made no sense. The Kane-Daniel Bryan-AJ segment was also too long. The AJ character has been devalued in my opinion. Even the whole yes-no bit with him and the fans is getting stale. The Highlight Real segment was a bit better. I thought they did a decent job hyping Jericho-Dolph at SummerSlam. I could have done without the Vickie jokes though. The end when Del Rio and his guys attacked Sheamus was really well booked. I thought they did a better job of building to their title match here. Rey-Mia, Christian-Cesaro & Sin Cara-Cody Rhodes were all solid matches. The Jinder Mahal squash followed by Ryback coming out and flattening the same 2 guys was pointless. The Booker T segments backstage were kinda weak. I wasn’t into the bit with him, Teddy Long, Kaitlyn & Eve. Having Cesaro say stuff in 5 different languages every week is idiotic too. Primo & Epico vs. The Primetime Players wasn’t much. This was about AW getting his team, the DQ win and the champs having words with Primo & Epico. I’m guessing that they’ll do a 3 way for the Tag Titles if they remember to have a Tag Title match at all. I read that Randy Orton beat Jack Swagger but I didn’t see it on the show. So overall I thought this week’s show had 3 long segments and not a lot of wrestling. I thought the highlight of the show was the end. Overall I thought this was a mixed bag show this week.