8-24-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 24, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Randy Orton coming to the ring. He says that he thrives on confrontation. He mentions that Alberto Del Rio said that Orton should mind his own business and that Orton’s win over him was tainted. Orton says, “Too bad.” Then he says that he wants a World Title match and he challenges anyone who has a problem with that to come to the ring. Out comes Sheamus. Sheamus says that Del Rio has blown every chance he’s gotten at the World Title. Sheamus then mentions that both he & Orton beat Del Rio “Fair and square.” Sheamus says that he wants Orton to have a title match. Then Booker T comes to the ring. He asks the fans if they want the match to take place. Then Booker tells Orton that they have to talk about what happened Monday night. Then Del Rio & Ricardo come out. Del Rio complains about what happened to him at SummerSlam & Raw. He says that he wants a rematch for with Sheamus for the title. He calls Sheamus a cheater and says that Orton is a crazy animal. Del Rio then says that he should have been World Champion by now because everyone knows that Sheamus cheated. He then says tells Orton the only reason he beat him is because Sheamus cheated again. Then he says that he filed a protest and is still waiting for an answer. He says there is a conspiracy against him. Del Rio then tells Booker that he is just like Sheamus. He calls Booker a criminal and a cheater. Then Booker tells Orton that he will always be in line for a title shot, but the next guy in line was Del Rio. Till Del Rio came out and ran his mouth. Then Booker gives Del Rio a rematch with Orton and the winner will challenge Sheamus for the World Title at Night of Champions. This was a decent opening segment but this is the same way they set up the WWE Title match for SummerSlam. They’re doing the same stuff in only a month. I thought they all were decent to solid on the mic here though.

Michael Cole is doing commentary by himself and mentions that Josh Mathews isn’t there because of the Kane attack from SummerSlam. They reshow that.

Teddy Long is on commentary. Long tells Cole that there will be a guest commentator for every match this week.

Ryback comes to the ring and says that tonight Jinder Mahal will finally realize his place in the food chain. Then he and the fans chant, “Feed me more.”

Ryback vs. Jinder Mahal. Ryback gets the pin. This was a short match. It looks like that was it for this feud since Ryback got the clean win. What’s next for these guys?

Kaitlyn comes out to do commentary for the next match.

Divas Champion Layla vs. Alicia Fox. Layla gets the pin. This was a decent and short match. I was actually better than I expected. Afterwards Kaitlyn gets in the ring and she & Layla have a stare down. Then they shake hands and then they hug. Then Eve comes out and raises both their hands and they both look confused. I was ok with this.

They recap the John Cena-Jerry Lawler-CM Punk segment from the end of Raw.

They have a backstage segment with Dolph & Vickie. Dolph says that if anyone to talk about the best in the world, they’re talking about him. Vickie says that Dolph was the guy that sent Jericho packing (even though Jericho laid him out!) Dolph says that when it comes right down to it Jericho can’t win the big one (he beat Dolph at SummerSlam). Then Dolph asks what was up with AJ making him put the Money in the Bank case on the line. Then Vickie says that she will take care of AJ and Dolph should concentrate on being the future World Champion. Then Sheamus comes by. He says there’s no time like the present. Sheamus tells Dolph that if he is as good as he says he is then he should cash in the Money in the Bank case tonight. Dolph says that’s not gonna happen. Then Dolph says that when he does cash in it will be on his terms. Then he says that if Sheamus happens to be World Champion when he does Sheamus will never see it coming. Then Teddy Long comes by and tells Sheamus & Dolph that he will advise Booker to make them face each other later. Then Long says that if Dolph is as good as says he is than maybe he will cash, but then again maybe not. Dolph says that it sounds great to him & Vickie. The walk off and Vickie doesn’t look to thrilled. This segment was ok but I don’t get why they’re having the guy who has the Money in the Bank case facing the World Champion in a NON TITLE match!

Cody Rhodes is on commentary for the next match.

Sin Cara vs. Heath Slater. Slater gets the pin. The referee was distracted with Slater and then Cody Rhodes turned Sin Cara’s mask backwards. Then Heath Slater hit a Scorpion death Drop for the win. This was a decent match. Afterwards Cody gets in the ring and kicks Sin Cara for a bit. Then he goes to unmask him but referees come in.

Vickie Guerrero is on commentary for the Sheamus-Dolph match.

World Champion Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus wins by DQ when Dolph hits him with the Money in the Bank case. Sheamus was going for the Brogue kick. Dolph dropped to the mat. Then Vickie handed Dolph the case and then he hit Sheamus with it. Afterwards Dolph hit Sheamus again. Then Dolph hinted that he was going to cash in but the referee took too long and Sheamus recovered so Dolph bailed. I thought the match was good and the post match stuff was ok too.  

They show a Wade Barrett video package. These have been really good. I’m hoping they make him a credible heel when he returns!

Santino Marella comes to the ring. He says that he was U.S. Champion 166 days. Then he says that he’s finding himself becoming less American and doesn’t like that. Then he says that he couldn’t even remember how apple pie tastes, so he had one. But that isn’t the point. The point is that he feels like he let everyone down when he lost the U.S. Title to Cesaro. Then he says that fans have been asking him if he and “cobra” are still on the same page. He says, “Lets find out right now.” He pulls out the “cobra” and he talks to it and says that because it was “distracted” by Aksana it cost “them” the U.S. Title. UGH! Santino tells his puppet that he’s not mad at him. Then he says that it’s not about how often you fall but about how often you get back up. Then he says he would like to quote the famous Italian American actor Robert DiNero. He says a line that another actor said. Then he says he would like to quote the other famous Italian American Rocky Balboa. Then he says the line from the end of Rock 4. He sees that his puppet is all psyched and that’s the cobra he loves. I’m not loving this promo. He tells the “cobra” that he believes in it and that together they can once again become U.S. Champion. (Who writes this garbage?) Then out come the new U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro & Aksana. Cesaro says winner in the same 5 languages (I’m tired of that bit). Then Cesaro says that he is a winner. Then Santino heads up the stage and goes after Cesaro but Aksana distracts the “cobra” (I can’t make this crap up). Then Cesaro lays out Santino. This was really idiotic! Why are they acting like a cobra sock puppet is real when Santino himself said that it isn’t a real cobra!? This is just as stupid as invisible Little Jimmy!

Backstage Del Rio yells at Ricardo again.

The Primetime Players are on commentary for the next match.

WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Primo & Epico. Kofi & Truth win when Truth when he pins Primo. This was a decent match. The match turned into a brawl. Primo went for the back stabber on Truth but Truth held on to the ropes. Then Truth hit his finisher for the 3 count.

They show a video package of a Smackdown World Tour.

Backstage Matt Striker interviews Kofi & Truth. He asks them now they beat The Primetime Players and Primo & Epico who do they see as their next challengers. Kofi says that’s not up to them but he & Truth are willing to take on all comers. Then Truth says that “Little Jimmy” said that there’s a lot of talent in the locker room to deserve a title shot. Truth says they don’t worry about competition. Competition worries about them. Then the Primetime Players show on rag on “Little Jimmy.” Then Titus says that “Little Jimmy” isn’t real just like Kofi & Truth aren’t the real tag team champions. Then he says that they’ll the titles and you know what’s gonna happen after that. Then they do their millions of dollars bit. Then The Usos come in and say they deserve a tag title match. Then in come Primo & Epico. They say that beat the Primetime Players and one of the other teams and that they should get the next shot at the titles. Then in come Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd and then all 5 teams brawl. I thought this was decent. I haven’t seen the tag titles have this much meaning in awhile. This will probably be the only time they focus on those. The brawl was good though.

Booker’s in his office and talking on his phone saying that he’s got something taken care of. Then Teddy Long comes in and tells Booker that the referees broke up the tag team brawl. Then they discuss what to do about the tag title situation and try to decide who should challenge for the titles next. Then Eve comes in and with a win-loss record for each team. She also shows Booker that she has organized his schedule. Booker puts her over and she then she pretends she never saw Long standing there. This was decent.

They show a video package of Kane-Daniel Bryan storyline.  

They reshow the Paul Heyman-Brock Lesnar promo from Monday and they also show still shots of Lesnar breaking Triple H’s arm.

Then they replay the Shawn Michaels promo from Raw.

Sheamus is on commentary for the main event.

Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio in a World Title number 1 contenders match. Del Rio wins by submission. At least they didn’t have the match go to a no finish and have both guys face Sheamus at Night of Champions. Orton was going for an RKO but Del Rio held on to the ropes. Then he locked Orton in the cross arm breaker for the win. Then Ricardo gets in the ring to celebrate with Del Rio but Del Rio shoves him down. Del Rio takes Ricardo’s shoe off and throws at Sheamus. Then Sheamus gets in the ring and he & Del Rio brawl. Ricardo jumps on Sheamus and Sheamus throws him off. The Del Rio gives Sheamus a roundhouse kick. Then Ricardo gives Del Rio his other shoe and he hits Sheamus with it knocking him cold. Then as Del Rio & Ricardo are headed up the ramp Dolph comes out and goes to cash in the Money in the Bank case again but Orton gives him an RKO. Then Del Rio & Sheamus have a stare down while Orton looks on to end the show. They once again made Dolph look like a chump. There’re not too many heels that actually have any credibility in WWE these days! The match was good and I was ok with the post match stuff right up till Orton gave Dolph the RKO.

This week’s show had its ups and downs for sure. The opening segment that set up the Orton-Del Rio match was the same as how they set up Cena-Big Show. The Orton-Del Rio match was good and they had Del Rio win. I have a feeling though that Randy Orton will get in there some how. They made Dolph look like a loser AGAIN! I don’t why they feel the need to bury all the time! I was ok with the Booker-Teddy Long-Eve segment backstage. I’m hoping they don’t turn Long heel though since Booker was impressed with Eve’s abilities. Ryback-Jinder was meaningless and I’m guessing that’s the end of this feud since Ryback got the clean pin. The tag match was solid and I enjoyed the brawl backstage with all 5 tag teams. Layla-Alicia Fox was ok too. The Santino talking to his cobra bit was really idiotic! Him saying he doesn’t feel like an American was lame. I’m also tired of Cesaro saying a word in 5 languages too! Sheamus-Dolph was good too. I wasn’t really into having the guy with the Money in the Bank case face the World Champion in a non title match but the in ring action was good. Overall I thought this was a mediocre show.