2-15-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the February 15, 2013 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Big Show coming to the ring. He supposes the fans think what happened to him last week was funny (I thought it was cheesy). He hopes the fans & Del Rio are happy. Then he says that because of what Del Rio did last Friday 3 innocent people suffered his wrath Monday. Big Show then mentions that Del Rio has never pinned him. The fans keep saying what and he asks if they’re listening to him. He says that Del Rio doesn’t have what it takes to pin him. Del Rio will never pin him. The rage that he has inside of him right now he will unload on Del Rio at the chamber PPV. He will ball that rage up in a nice tight ball (He makes a fist as he says this). When he lets it fly Del Rio’s fiesta will turn into a siesta. Then Chris Jericho comes out. Jericho says that he’s known Show for 16 years and he can read him like a book. Jericho knows what Big Show’s feeling right now. Big Show says that if Jericho knows him like he says he does than Jericho should be as far away from him as possible right now. Big Show is not in the mood for anybody’s crap right now. He asks Jericho what he’s even doing out there and why he’s bothering him. He says Jericho should be on tour somewhere with Fozzy, writing another book or hosting some giant robot fighting show. Big Show tells Jericho that they’ve been through a lot but right now Jericho needs to stay away from him. Jericho says that right now he is standing face to face looking at Big Show. Jericho is back in WWE. He’s pumped to be here and is feeling better than ever and every Jericholic knows that it’s true. He knows that Big Show is angry and might even be feeling some doubt about Del Rio, but Jericho’s been partners with him. They were tag team champions. Jericho knows how dangerous Big Show is. He knows that he is the world’s largest athlete, a giant, a destroyer. Big Show is the biggest force in this company. Then Jericho reminds Big Show that he is a 6 time world champion. He has headlined WrestleManias. He has been in more chamber matches than any other human being on this planet. This Sunday he will be in another one and if he wins this chamber and if/when Show beats Del Rio it will be Jericho vs. Big Show at WrestleMania. Jericho points to the WrestleMania sign. Then he says when they face at Mania he is going to beat him and become the next world champion, and that is a fact that Big Show can never EEEEEVER forget again. Then Big Show says that he & Jericho have been through a lot together. If Jericho wins the chamber & goes to WrestleMania & Big Show is world champion it will be the last WrestleMania appearance of Jericho’s career. He tells Jericho to get out of his face before he hurts him so bad that he won’t make it to the elimination chamber PPV. He’s trying to do Jericho a favor & tells Jericho not to make him hurt him. Then Booker T comes out. Booker sees where this is going and he likes it. We don’t know if Jericho-Big Show will happen at WrestleMania so it will happen tonight. Jericho will face Big Show. This was the usual “Start Smackdown with a promo and have Booker T book match” opening segment, but I thought Jericho & Big Show were both good on the mic.

Randy Orton is backstage and Matt Striker mentions that given the path of destruction that Mark Henry’s been on the past 2 weeks including on Orton, plus the face that the chamber is only 2 days away how does Orton feel about facing Mark Henry again tonight? Orton doesn’t say anything. Then Striker runs off and the camera pans to Mark Henry & he & Orton intently stare at each other. This was a decent bit.

Time for a video package on Mark Henry & the hall of pain.

Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry. Henry wins by DQ when Orton hits him with a chair. This was a solid match. Afterwards Orton hit Henry with the chair in the back. He was going to hit him again but Henry grabs the chair out of Orton’s hands, sends him off the ropes and then gives Orton the world’s strongest slam.

Mark Henry is backstage. He comes across Matt Striker and some other guy. He tells the other to split and then he grabs Striker’s mic and tells Striker he’s not interviewing him. Then he tells Striker that he’s been home for 9 months frustrated about his return. The hall of pain is officially open for business and it’s been getting filled up lately. He mentions what he did to Orton. Then he says they’ll lock 5 guys in a steel enclosure with him. He suggests that the have law enforcement handy. They should have the National Guard, the Army; Marines & Navy because they’re gonna need it. No one and he means no one is stopping his road to WrestleMania. This was a really good promo. Mark Henry is great as the unstoppable monster.

Time for a Shield video package. They show the brawl from Monday.

Layla vs. Tamina Snuka. Tamina gets the pin. This was decent.

They reshow the Rock-Punk segment from the end of Raw.

The Rock comes to the ring. He wants to make something perfectly clear to Punk. This past Monday Punk ran off with Rock’s title. Running off with the title doesn’t make him a champion. All Punk did was make a trade. That trade was holding on to Rock’s belt for 6 days in exchange for an ass kicking that will haunt Punk for the rest of his life. This Sunday Rock will make Punk suffer & treat him like the small little boy that he is because that is exactly how Punk acts. Punk loses his toy, comes out and runs his mouth. He tries to steel it back, keeps someone like Heyman around to hug him when things go wrong and to tell Punk how great he is. Rock is no spoiled little boy. He is a man. It took Rock 10 years to win back the WWE Title and it will take him 1 night to make sure that Punk never touches it again. Then Punk & Heyman show up on the Tron with the belt. Punk asks Rock, “Are you talking about me and my championship?” Punk tells Rock this isn’t a belt, this is a championship title and it belongs to the best in the world. He mentions the travesty that happened at the rumble when Rock committed grand larceny. Rock took what belonged to Punk. Punk beat Rock at the rumble and now Rock is throwing a fit and complaining. He calls Rock a hypocrite and says Rock’s blood is boiling. That fits exactly into Punk & Heyman’s plan because Rock will give him this beating that will haunt him for the rest of his life and that’s what Punk wants Rock to do. He wants Rock to snap and get disqualified because when he does Sunday at the chamber that means Punk wins just like he won at the rumble. Punk says that beat Rock at the rumble 1-2-3 and to change things up a bit at the chamber Punk will let Rock beat himself. Punk then mentions that if Rock gets counted out or disqualified then Punk wins. Then Punk says that this nightmare they’ve been living for the past couple of weeks, the “people’s era” will be a blip on the radar. It doesn’t matter to Punk if he beats Rock or if Rock beats himself. Either way Punk will still be the reigning defending champion of WWE. Then Rock says that Punk talks a big game about what he will do but the fact of the matter is that Punk’s words are worthless. Rock mentions that Punk said he would stop Rock at the rumble and that didn’t happen. Rock gave his word that he would beat Punk and become champion and that happened. Even after Punk & Heyman paid The Shield to put Rock through a table, at the end of the night at the rumble Punk got beat. Rock tells Punk not to think about this Sunday. He should think about what will happen Monday because this Monday morning Punk will wake up and it will hit him like a ton of bricks that he failed. He couldn’t beat Rock and couldn’t get the job done. Punk should go home tonight and think about what any little spoiled brat punk should do. The bottom line is that this Sunday at the chamber, Punk is a spoiled little boy standing in the way of The Rock who is a steam roller of a man. Rock will beat Punk this Sunday and will go on to WrestleMania WWE Champion. Heyman knows it, the fans know it and Punk knows it. “If you smell what The Rock is cookin’.” This was great! Both guys were awesome here. I’m looking forward to their match at the chamber just as much as I was looking forward to their rumble match. I’d love to see Punk win the title back and then they have Rock-Cena-Punk at WrestleMania for the Title. Punk really deserves to headline Mania!

Brodus Clay & Tensai vs. Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal. Brodus & Tensai win when Brodus pins Jinder. This was a squash.

Afterwards The Shield comes out and they beat down Brodus & Tensai. Then they give Brodus the triple power bomb. Then Ambrose gets the mic and says, “Don’t you dare think for one moment that this Sunday it’s gonna look any different.” Cena, Sheamus & Ryback will learn the hard way that their actions have consequences. This Sunday they will be put on trail and sentenced and they will believe in The Shield. This was good. Ambrose cut a really good short promo here.

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes. Miz wins by submission. This was a solid match. Miz was taped up from being swung into the ring barrier by Cesaro Monday.

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. This was just like the squash they had Monday. I have no idea why they had Swagger go over Ryder in the same kind of squash match twice in the same week. Then Swagger once again introduces his great friend Zeb (Dutch Mantel). Zeb says that in the Declaration of Independence it says that all men created equal but it is the choices you make that define you. Dou you end up to be a great patriot like Jack Swagger and himself or do the choices you make resemble this man right here from Long Island who cares more for his hair then he does the country that he lives in. He then says that the fans are not blind but they refuse to see. This country is broken and Jack & Zeb know how to fix it. Jack Swagger is a great man, a great patriot and a real American & he knows how to fix the problem. It starts right here. “Remember, we the people.” This bit with Dutch Mantel playing the heel American and being pretty much a bigoted old man is down right stupid! If they wanted to have Mantel manage Swagger and be his mouth piece I’m ok with that, but why sick them with this terrible gimmick?

Backstage Matt Striker mentions that earlier tonight Big Show reminded everyone that in their previous 2 matches Del Rio has never pinned him. How does Del Rio respond? Del Rio says that he & Ricardo will answer this. Then Del Rio asks Ricardo if he is world champion? Ricardo says si. Is Del Rio the guy who beat Big Show twice? Si. Did Big Show look like a gigantic pumpkin last week? Si, he looked like a huge round pumpkin. Then Del Rio that Big Show right. Del Rio has never pinned him, but he loves to do what seems impossible (What’s so impossible about pinning Big Show? It’s been done many times before?) Then Del Rio asks Ricardo if he will beat Big Show Sunday to go to WrestleMania as World Champion. Ricardo chants si. This was hokey. 

Chris Jericho vs. Big Show. Big Show gets the pin. This was a good match. Afterwards Alberto & Ricardo were on the stage. Del Rio & Big Show had a stare down to end the show.

I thought this was solid show overall. The start of the show was the typical ‘start the show with a promo and Booker T comes out and books the main event” segment but the Jericho-Big Show match was good. Del Rio’s promo was a bit cheesy. I’m hoping the Del Rio-Big Show match will be as good as their last 2. Brodus & Tensai vs. Heath & Jinder was a squash. I liked The Shield coming out afterwards though. Hopefully that 6 man tag will be good too. Ryder-Swagger was the same squash that they had Monday and the Zeb character is lame. Orton-Henry was solid too. Layla-Tamina was decent. But by far the highlight of the show was the Rock’s in ring promo and then Punk & Heyman showing up on the Tron. Both guys were really good here and I’m looking forward to their match Sunday. So on the whole I thought they did a good job with Smackdown this week and a good job building to the main matches at the Elimination Chamber.