SmackDOWN! *Spoilers* 09/23

[Juan]

*The entire roster is assembled and Johnny Ace cuts a promo about Triple H's job as COO then introduces the new World Heavyweight champion, Mark Henry. Henry cuts a promo and says it took him 15 years to win the title and he won't lose it for 15 more years. HHH comes out but before he can speak, Christian jumps in and says that as a former three time champion, he's a leader and should get a title shot. HHH makes Christian vs. Henry in a Lumberjack Match as the main event tonight with the entire roster as Lumberjacks. The winner will face Randy Orton at the PPV.

*Sheamus defeated Heath Slater with the Brogue Kick.

*Christian ties to talk to Great Khali and get him to help him during the match when he's a Lumberjack tonight.

*Wade Barrett pinned Justin Gabriel.

*Matt Striker interviews Randy Orton, who said that he was either getting his title back or going to Hell.

*Christian tried to get Ezekiel Jackson on his side in the main event.

*Beth Phoenix and Natalya defeated AJ & Kaitlyn.

*WWE Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton by DQ. After the match, Orton continues to beat Cody with the mask and hits him with the timekeeper's bell, then a chair. Rhodes is a bloody mess. A trainer comes down and cleans off the blood. Orton grabs Cody and gives him an RKO on the announcing table. Orton leaves and returns, then gives him another one. There's blood everywhere.

*Christian talks to Sheamus and gives him a potato as a peace offering, since Irish people love them. He asks Sheamus for help. Sheamus says no problem and bites the potato, then spits it on Christian. He says potatoes are from Idaho, not Ireland.

*Great Khali defeated Jinder Mahal.

*Sin Cara defeated Daniel Bryan. The other Cara came out and nailed the Cara that started the match, then took his place and won.

*WWE Tag Team champions Air Boom defeated the Usos.

*Christian tries to get Zack Ryder's help. Ryder gets a phone call from Hugh Jackman and walks off, ignoring Christian.

*World champion Mark Henry pinned Christian in a Lumberjack Match.

[Lock Jaw]

:rofl: at Sheamus and the potato. Worth watching Smackdown for alone.

[Aguakate]

Henry cuts a promo and says it took him 15 years to win the title and he won't lose it for 15 more years.

...Whoa. Easy there, WWE. Make it believable.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Are you saying a giant, overconfident black man with an excessively large gold belt is not believable?

[Aguakate]

Yeah, but saying he won't lose the Title for another 15 years, you know...

[St. Jimmy]

Cody bleeds? At a TV Taping? Hm. Rest of the show sounds like shit, minus the potato gag. Can't buy Henry, even after the monster heel shit from last night. He's off to a better start than Christian though.

[Aguakate]

I wish the commentators would go back to doing play-by-play, and WWE stopped including them in storylines.

[Xero]

Holy shit, did Cody blade?

[Xero]

Carlito vs. Sheamus. Apple vs. Potato.

Don't Book It.

[Chuck Jones]

Pictures from the Smackdown Taping. All the fans are on the side opposite the hardcam and half the arena is tarped off.

http://i54.tinypic.com/sza03t.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2upak8x.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/dmd1rb.jpg

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Damn. Dayton is supposed to be a huge wrestling town.

[Chuck Jones]

This is the second time in a month that Smackdown's crowds have been anemic like this. 2-3 weeks ago, I heard there was only 3,500 people at the taping, with 1,600 paid. Has to be demoralizing to the guys in the back.

[St. Jimmy]

This will be blamed on Mark Henry.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The stuff with Christian/Sheamus sounds hilarious.

Certainly interested to see how everything plays out, as I always am with SmackDown!; but I would have gone about things slightly different. We will see how it goes. Mark Henry's promo sounds exactly like I envisioned, though. :y:

[Rammsteinmad]

Sounds like a good Smackdown with some good matches and plenty of Christian. :D

Sucks about the low attendance though, must be weird for the live audience that when the wrestlers are posing etc they're doing it towards the empty side of the arena. BUT Smackdown has been treated as the B-Show for the last 5/6 years, and now WWE are surprised it has low attendance?

[DaVe]

For some reason Chuck Jones' posts only seems to be of bad news and facts. Ratings, attendance, and photographic evidence.

But if that's really all that was there, than dayum, that is pretty disappointing. Sounds like an interesting show to watch, though. And the Cody Rhodes report sounds pretty surprising.

[Londoner]

Does WWE have attendances of their shows recorded anywhere online?

[MoFo]

Will watch for Henry and Orton.

[jkman61494]

Pictures from the Smackdown Taping. All the fans are on the side opposite the hardcam and half the arena is tarped off.

http://i54.tinypic.com/sza03t.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2upak8x.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/dmd1rb.jpg

What you're viewing is the end of the failed brand extension

It's sad to see how it failed, but it has. Having Smackdown be the unloved stepchild of the two brands finally took it's toll in my opinion. No one should be shocked. From shafting Smackdown draft after draft after draft to moving the show on different days to different channels, the WWE almost looks like it went out of its way to see the show fail.

This is also why you're seeing the Raw "Supershow", which is a stupid name as well. Just unify the stinking titles and bring the two shows together. If John Cena is on Smackdown feuding with The Rock, attendance will rise.

It's going to stink for a lot of the talent, as a lot of the lower midcard is going to get taken off TV, or "future endevored". But it may be good for the business as a whole as some of those talented guys can go to TNA and help their product.

[Rammsteinmad]

Plus Smackdown NEVER gets any 'specials'. No King-of-the-Rings, no Draft Lotterys, no Old-School Smackdowns, or any type of three-hour special. It's basically WWE screaming not to watch Smackdown.

[Emperor Smeat]

*Christian talks to Sheamus and gives him a potato as a peace offering, since Irish people love them. He asks Sheamus for help. Sheamus says no problem and bites the potato, then spits it on Christian. He says potatoes are from Idaho, not Ireland.

:rofl:


Sounds like Cody got busted from the edge or bell part of the timekeeper bell because the chair or mask wouldn't unless Orton just nailed him with an unprotected shot.

Also looks like they are running out of ideas for Divas matches on Smackdown since Beth and/or Natalya are always facing AJ or AJ and a partner every week.

[ClockShot]

BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! If it even makes it on TV.

So wait. Christian vs. Mark Henry in a lumberjack match with the winner facing Orton at HIAC. So if Christian would have won that, what would do to Mark Henry? Get the night off? Odd booking, imo.

[Lock Jaw]

I could actually see Cody getting utterly beaten to a pulp as pushing his character to yet another level, where he becomes even more deranged. Move away from the whole paper bag thing.

[Damian Rey]

Well, Orton does have a "rematch clause" as former champ, so I guess it doesn't really matter who's in the match. Nonetheless, sounds like a decent SmackDown!

About the attendance...

I attended the Raw right after SummerSlam in San Diego, and was sitting just to the right of the section across from hard side. Nearly the entire section was empty during the Super Stars taping, and even when Raw started, the section was not entirely full. Now, the arena nowhere near resembled what's posted above, but I'm thinking the WWE nay be taking attendance hits here there, Raw or SmackDown.

[CSL]

What you're viewing is the end of the failed brand extension

9 years and a bunch of spots on TV for guys that probably wouldn't have got them otherwise. What a failure.

[Innovator]

RAW and Smackdown midcards = curtain jerkers on one show. Midcarders then sent to Superstars, then future endeavored.

[Sixx]

Are you saying a giant, overconfident black man with an excessively large gold belt is not believable?

Yo, his belt should look like this:

http://api.ning.com/files/YNoB9AsVnJ9VFlbCw4QM5UbOugnUjPOW0X7UEz44Qtk_/rickross.jpg?width=300

[GD]

The absence of fans is mind boggling.

[Theo Dious]

9 years and a bunch of spots on TV for guys that probably wouldn't have got them otherwise. What a failure.

I'm sure you recognize the "I WIL BE COOL BY SAYING SUMTHING I SEE TEH SMARKS SAY ALL TEH TIME TO MAK TEHMSELFS LOOK COOL" tactic.

[St. Jimmy]

Photos of Cody Busted Open from Tuesday: http://www.wrestlenewz.com/wrestling/wwe-news/graphic-photos-22-spoiler-shots-of-cody-rhodes-from-this-weeks-smackdown/

[Juan]

smackdown sux

[Savio]

Tired of randy orton in the main event scene

[Jura]

I liked the ending of the Sin Cara match but they gotta do something soon to let the fans be able to tell between the two because they don't know who to cheer or boo so they don't really react or they are reacting but WWE has masked it on TV.

[Jura]

Also, the International version of Smackdown sucks balls because they left out a lot of stuff.

[Graveler]

Photos of Cody Busted Open from Tuesday: http://www.wrestlenewz.com/wrestling/wwe-news/graphic-photos-22-spoiler-shots-of-cody-rhodes-from-this-weeks-smackdown/

The screen is probably going to black & white when that segment comes around. It'd be next to impossible to edit and chop that up.

[Jura]

It wasn't in the International version and I'm willing to bet they cut it from the regular version too.

[Aguakate]

smackdown sux

I wonder why this is?

The show not being live? Not enough "top" stars? The storylines not being as interesting? The notion that Smackdown already is WWE's "B" show?

[Juan]

I was joking

[Aguakate]

I was joking

I wasn't. It's clear people don't get behind Smackdown 100%.

[RGWhat316]

Yeah there was definitely no blood shown on tv. Just cut it right to Orton leaving and Cody never even being shown.

[GD]

I was a Smackdown guy when Brock Lesnar was with the DOUBLE DOUBLE E.

[Droford]

Yeah there was definitely no blood shown on tv. Just cut it right to Orton leaving and Cody never even being shown.

Howd you miss the blood all over Orton's chest, Cody's legs, the Announce Table and the towel Cody had before the table spot?

[Triple Naitch]

Booker: "This is the real Sin Cara. I can tell by the black markings on the boots."

Cole & Matthews: "You said the opposite last week."

Booker: "Maybe they switched boots."

:lol:

Booker is incredible.

[TheChairman]

What a god awful show. I don't understand why they didn't allow the Cody Rhodes thing to show. It would have furthered his need for the mask, and built his, along with Ortons character.

[Shisen Kopf]

Bc the WWE is tv pg now. No ketchup.

[Rammsteinmad]

I'm really gutted that Christian isn't facing Orton at Hell in a Cell. Their feud really called for it. After that Street Fight at Summerslam, Christian STILL doesn't give up, forcing them to really take it to the next level.

Seems that was what the HIAC match use to be about. Now it's just like 'oh well, it's a HIAC PPV, so you two can face each other'. Dunno... Orton and Henry doesn't seem to have been going long enough to be personal enough to warrant a HIAC match.

[Rammsteinmad]

Booker: "This is the real Sin Cara. I can tell by the black markings on the boots."

Cole & Matthews: "You said the opposite last week."

Booker: "Maybe they switched boots."

:lol:

Booker is incredible.

LOL'd so much here, especially when all three of them were laughing for catching Booker out. Good stuff. :lol:

[Aguakate]

Booker: "This is the real Sin Cara. I can tell by the black markings on the boots."

Cole & Matthews: "You said the opposite last week."

Booker: "Maybe they switched boots."

:lol:

Booker is incredible.


It was funny 'cause Booker took it so well, but it seems to me like Cole is always trying to make other commentators look bad on the air...that I don't like.

[Rammsteinmad]

I like it. I said this in another thread recently, but the way Cole, Booker and Matthews are always laughing, joking and catching each other out is really fun to hear. It sounds like they are enjoying themselves more and sound more relaxed than JR and King who always sound so 'business' with their announcing. It sounds and feels more 'natural'.

[GD]

Insane Khali chants during the lumberjack match.

[GD]

Nice editing by the WWE

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CLxCEO41I0Y?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[XCaliber]

Coulda sworn I was viewing an episode of Saturday Morning Superstars don't get me wrong it was nice to have a bigger card for a change but they were all booked like squash matches.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I personally think they should have aired the Orton/Rhodes stuff in its entirety. It'd be perfect for both characters to advance. Rhodes would come back looking for revenge, and he and Orton could have a pretty nice feud.

[MIZantine Empire]

I like it. I said this in another thread recently, but the way Cole, Booker and Matthews are always laughing, joking and catching each other out is really fun to hear. It sounds like they are enjoying themselves more and sound more relaxed than JR and King who always sound so 'business' with their announcing. It sounds and feels more 'natural'.
i like that too, it makes it more enjoyable as a viewer to hear them having fun. i liked when cole and matthews said all of bookers lines, lol. moving on, it looked like orton was seriously laying into rhodes..i felt like i needed an adult, lol

[Vastardikai]

Nice editing by the WWE

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CLxCEO41I0Y?hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Side note: Nice Selling by Randy Orton

It's like he was walking normally for a few steps, stop, grimace, limp once or twice, then repeat.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Man, I really want to see Rhodes come back more deranged and target Orton. Could really be Feud of the Year kind of stuff. Let Sheamus position himself to challenge Henry for the World Heavyweight Title -- it seems that crowds are really digging his babyface shtick.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I thought that the Orton/Rhodes beatdown looked amazing. Sure, they didn't show Cody bleeding out of his face, but the blood was EVERYWHERE. Also, Cody is technically 2-1 against Orton in their last three matches. Good stuff.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It made Orton look like a killer, which is important heading into Hell in a Cell. This isn't the Orton you want to be trapped inside a cage with. It effectively sold the idea that at the PPV, Orton could get his win back against Henry, in my opinion.

[XL]

Hmmmmmmmm. Musta cut it from the version I watched. Faded to the next segment after the rope drape DDT.