9-7-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 7, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with David Otunga, Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez (who has a neck brace from the Brogue Kick) coming out of the GM office.

Then they come to the ring. Del Rio says that he is on the greatest role of his career. He mentions that 2 weeks ago he made Randy Orton tap out. Last week he beat Kane and Monday on Raw in a falls count anywhere match he destroyed John Cena. Then Del Rio says that in 2 weeks he will face Sheamus for the World Title at Night of Champions. But to be honest he’s not happy. Because if that match was about skills and brains he would of course be the winner. Del Rio says that at the moment Sheamus has an advantage because he can use something that is more dangerous than a steel chair. Something so dangerous that it should be illegal. That being the Brogue Kick. Del Rio says that the Brogue Kick is brutal and barbaric and should be banned. He asks the fans if they think that kind of move should be legal. Del Rio then says that kicking somebody in the head is a criminal act. He says that Ricardo is not only his personal ring announcer. He is also Del Rio’s only friend. Then he says that Ricardo might now have permanent physical and morale damage. Then Del Rio says that Ricardo isn’t the only one. There are many others that have suffered the same. He says that the Brogue Kick is not like the cross arm breaker. Del Rio says that the cross arm breaker is pure, artistic and is like poetry. The Brogue Kick is a travesty and a criminal act. Then he yells in Spanish for a bit. Then Otunga takes the mic. He says who he is and takes a drink from his coffee mug. He says that he is the only Harvard educated lawyer in WWE history. Then Otunga says that Ricardo hired him because what happened to Ricardo was no accident. He says that Sheamus’ actions were malicious and calculated with the intent to commit bodily harm on innocent people. Then he says that anyone who thinks the Brogue Kick should be legal should have a look at this. They show a video package of Sheamus using the Brogue Kick. Then Otunga says that was difficult to watch. He then says that if WWE continues to turn a blind eye towards this behavior and allow Sheamus to continue using the Brogue Kick it’s a joke. Then Otunga says that they just met with Booker T and they demanded justice. Otunga says that he will make sure that his client’s pain and suffering are not in vain. Then Otunga says that by making the Brogue Kick illegal they will send a message. Then Booker T comes out. He says that when they talked before the show began what they talked about was supposed to be confidential but the first Otunga wants to do is come out running his mouth. Booker tells them that if they wanna to bring their case to the people lets do that. Booker then asks the fans if he should ban the Brogue Kick. They of course say no. Booker asks if they can say that 1 more time. The fans boo louder. Then Booker says that as far as he’s concerned the Brogue Kick is still legal. This segment was decent but I thought it went on a bit long. Also how often do they reuse the “this maneuver/hold is so deadly it should be illegal” bit?

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes & Intercontinental Champion The Miz. Rey & Cara win when Rey pins Miz. This was a good match.

Daniel Bryan is backstage and he runs into Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle wants to hug it out. Daniel wants none of it. Then Hornswoggle offers his hand. Daniel shakes his hand. Then Hornswoggle kicks him in the foot. Then he runs off as Daniel screams. Thankfully this was a quick segment.  

David Otunga is in Booker T’s office. Otunga says that he can’t believe that Booker just put the health and well being of the WWE superstars in the hands of the people. Then Otunga says that before he takes legal action, he wants Booker to take a look at the Brogue Kick and see what it does. He shows him still shots of Sheamus’ Brogue Kick. Otunga says the Brogue Kick is unnatural. He asks Booker what kind of GM he wants to be. Otunga asks if the Brogue Kick will be band. Booker says he will think about it.

Zack Ryder vs. Daniel Bryan. Ryder wins by reverse decision DQ. Originally Daniel got the submission win with the No lock. Before he got Ryder in the submission, he says that he has anger management issues and need a hug. He & Ryder hug and then Daniel lock on the No lock and Ryder taps. Then he reapplied the No lock on Ryder and wouldn’t release the hold and the referee calls for the bell and Lillian says that Ryder’s the winner. Then Daniel flipped out again and was screaming no as the fans chanted yes. Do I think this bit is getting old? YES! Would I like for WWE to end this crap? YES! Do I think it will end anytime soon? NO!

Damien Sandow comes out. He says he knows there’s a match scheduled to begin but he feels it is imperative that he gets something off his chest. He mentions that last week he lost a match by count out to Sheamus. He sees this as nothing more than comic justice. He says that Booker T put him in a match that he was not prepared for. He says that he needs proper time to access his opponent, seek out his weaknesses and exploit them. Which quite frankly is the reason he has yet to be pinned. Then he says he knows that they unwashed masses have a hard time comprehending this but he will make the following statement. He says that he was disgusted and appalled at the response in the annals of social media. He says that he saw tweets and TOUTS that called him a coward. He assures the fans this. His actions were intelligent, not craven. He says that the anonymous people that send their feelings through social media are the real cowards. He says that that none of them have the gumption to dare call him craven to his face. Then he says that he cannot comprehend the fascination of the WWE with social media (Neither can I). He says that instead of tweeting how about reading. Then he says that when Einstein discovered the theory of relativity he did not TOUT about it. And furthermore…then Randy Orton’s music plays and he comes out. Sandow asks what he could possibly have to say that would add to this discussion. Orton says that he’s not here to add to the discussion. He’s here to fight. Orton mentions he that he told Booker T that he can wait on facing his original opponent for tonight. Orton then says that he wants to face Sandow. Sandow says this is not right. He says that Booker T can’t just go around switching opponents. Orton says that Booker can and he has. Then the bell rings.  

Then Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero come out. Dolph does commentary.

Randy Orton vs. Damien Sandow. Orton wins by count out. Orton was setting Sandow up for the RKO but Sandow rolled out of the ring and ran up the ramp just like last week. Afterwards Dolph & Vickie taunt Orton a bit as they walk around the ring. Then Orton rolls to the outside and he & Dolph have a stare down. Dolph taunts Orton some more. Then he goes for a punch but Orton punches Dolph. Then he throws Dolph in the ring and as he’s getting in the ring Dolph pounds on him. Dolph goes for a clothesline but Orton ducks and gives Dolph a power slam. Then he was setting up Dolph for an RKO but Sandow comes back out and Orton gives him an RKO. Then Dolph & Vickie run up the ramp. Why is it that WWE feels the need to make their heels look like cowards and get flattened? Dolph bails and Sandow eats an RKO? How are the fans supposed to take these guys seriously if they’re booked like this? The match itself was solid but they need to make the heels more believable. 

Backstage David Otunga shows Booker T some X Rays of a spine. One that looks normal and one that looks like how Ricardo’s is right now. Then Otunga shows Booker that on Ricardo’s X Ray the discs are bulged. Then Otunga says that he has doctors who will testify to the trauma that is caused by the Brogue Kick. Then he demand the Brogue Kick should be banned. Otunga then says if Booker doesn’t, he will file a law suit against Booker, Eve, Teddy Long, Smackdown & WWE. Then Booker tells Otunga that he is no shape to make demands. The only demand that Otunga needs to know is Booker. “As in DA man” (That was corny) who’s running the show. Booker says he will think about it. Then he tells Otunga to get his gear because right now Booker is demanding that Otunga goes to “DA ring” and face “DA World Heavyweight Champion” Sheamus. This bit was weak. Having Booker constantly say “DA” was idiotic.

R-Truth & Kofi Kingston come out to do commentary for the next 3 way tag match.

The Usos vs. Primo & Epico vs. The Primetime Players in a number one contenders match. The Players win when Darren Young pins Primo. This was a decent to solid match. Jimmy Uso & Primo were on the top rope. Then Darren grabbed Primo and gave him the gut buster power bomb. Then Jimmy Uso gave Primo a top rope splash and went for the cover. Then Darren tossed Jimmy Uso out of the ring and covered Primo for the win. So the Primetime Players get ANOTHER shot at the tag titles!

Time for the Raw rebound followed by tweets from the WWE roster. Who cares about these tweets?

Time for a TOUT from Eve. She says she firmly believes that the safety of the WWE super stars is the most important thing there is. She is fully confident that Booker T will make the right decision on Smackdown.

Teddy Long is backstage with Kaitlyn outside the GM office. Long talks about Otunga wanting the Brogue Kick banned. Kaitlyn says that Otunga doesn’t have a case. Then Long says that he doesn’t think it’s right for Otunga to want to personally sue him. Then Dolph & Vickie come by to go into the GM office. Long stops them from going in Kaitlyn walks off. Then Long tells Dolph & Vickie that Booker is busy. He asks what he can do for them. Dolph says that he needs to face Randy Orton again. He says that people are saying that his win over Orton Monday was a fluke and Long knows that’s not true. Then Dolph says that earlier on Orton attacked him unprovoked. Dolph says that he wants to beat Orton on 1 of the most prestigious night in WWE. Night of Champions. I wouldn’t really call Night of Champions a prestigious night. Long says Dolph isn’t a champion. Then Dolph says that Long is a glorified assistant. Long says that Eve is the assistant. He is the senior adviser. Long says that while every title will be defended at Night of Champions not every match needs to be a title match. Long then says that he will advise Booker to make that match. Then Dolph hold up the Money in the Bank case and says by then he might already be World Champion. Dolph walks off. Vickie then tells Long that maybe by then Long will be sued for everything that he’s worth.  

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was a squash. Barrett dominated the whole match.

Afterwards Barrett gets the mic. He wants to make something perfectly clear. After 6 months away taking part in meaningless matches like the match he just had doesn’t interest him. He says that it practically bores him to tears. He then says that if he’s not going to instantly be thrust into the title picture then he will do something to make life more interesting for himself. He says that he is officially open for business. Good promo from Barrett.

Alberto Del Rio rides out to the arena for the main event.

World Champion Sheamus vs. David Otunga. Sheamus wins by submission. Sheamus gave Otunga White Noise. Then he was going for the Brogue Kick but Booker T came out. He said that due to evidence that was presented to him and the high stakes that are involved Booker has no choice but to ban the Brogue Kick. Sheamus is pissed about it. Del Rio taunts him from ringside. Otunga gets the upper hand for a bit but then Sheamus locked Otunga in the Texas Cloverleaf for the submission win. Then Del Rio walked back up the ramp to the stage. Sheamus stared him down while holding the title to end the show.    

I thought this was a weak show overall. I wasn’t really into the whole “this guy’s finisher’s dangerous and has to be banned” bit/promos throughout the night. The main event was mostly Sheamus dominating and he managed to win despite his finisher being banned. Tatsu-Barrett was a squash. I liked Barrett’s post match promo. I’m hoping they book him as a heel with credibility. Daniel’s backstage bit with Hornswoggle wasn’t much and thankfully it was kept to a minimum. Ryder-Bryan was decent but I didn’t care for the reverse decision. This whole “Yes/No Daniel has anger management issues” is not working for me. The 3 way tag match was solid but why have the Primetime Players win again? Why not let 1 of the other 2 teams get the title match for something different? The bit with Teddy Long & Kaitlyn, followed by the bit with him, Dolph & Vickie was ok but not great. The opening bit with Del Rio, Ricardo, Otunga & Booker was ok but a bit long. I also wasn’t into the Booker-Otunga backstage segments. Sandow cut a really good promo before his match with Orton. Orton was decent on the mic too here. The Orton-Sandow match was solid but once they made Dolph & Sandow look like chumps. So on the whole I thought this show was a bit weak and didn’t really do a lot to build for Night of Champions.