Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my weekly SmackDown recap list. I always appreciate my loyal readers, but for those of you who are new, each week I recap SmackDown with a long list.
The entries are made up of equal parts observations, humor, recap, play-by-play, revelations, speculations, questions, answers and anything else I notice during the show. I sometimes comment on commercials, too, just because I get bored during them.
I am approaching my 1000th article here on B/R so what I am going to try and do is make sure that the 1000th piece ends up being a recap list. I am planning on trying to make it a special recap list so make sure and check back in the coming weeks to check it out.
I try and interject some fun into these lists, so I hope you have fun reading this week's list of the 168 things we learned, loved and hated from the show.
1. I think the opening video for SmackDown has some new additions to it this week.
2. SmackDown opens with Michael Cole and Josh Mathews running down a couple matches that will take place tonight.
3. Lilian Garcia looks a lot more colorful than usual tonight. It suits her.
4. She brings out Sheamus to start the show off.
5. I like seeing more and more shirts in the crowd for Dolph Ziggler every week.
6. Sheamus talks about Triple H being a big part of his career and having respect for him.
7. I hit everyone I respect in the head with a lead pipe?
8. Oh, Awesome. Damien Sandow comes out and talks to Sheamus about how he is ignorant.
9. Sandow talks about how he was assaulted by DX.
10. Sheamus says a Gaelic word to basically say that DX attacking him was great.
11. Sandow says Sheamus brings disgrace to Ireland and Sheamus says he doesn't have time to listen to Sandow.
12. Sheamus invites Sandow into the ring to talk face to face.
13. Sandow appears to ponder this notion, but he decides against it.
14. Booker T comes out as Sandow is trying to leave and he says that Sandow will face Sheamus tonight.
15. I wonder if WWE is planning to push Sandow to the top right away. He goes from facing Brodus Clay to the World Champion in the span of a week.
16. Mysterio is shown walking backstage as we head to commercial.
17. Until WWE gives Rey some equally aerial-gifted talents to face I am not going to care that much about him. He hits the same moves in every match these days and without other high flyers to feud with he will not meet his potential.
18. After the break, Mysterio comes out for a match against Cody Rhodes.
19. Maybe I was wrong about what I said. These two usually put on a great show together.
20. I wish Rhodes was being pushed harder. When he was IC Champion he was one of the most interesting superstars in all of WWE, and I look at a feud with Sin Cara as a step backwards.
21. Rhodes takes Rey down with a drop toehold into a side headlock to start things off. Rey breaks out but Rhodes puts him in the corner and hits a big right hand for a near fall.
22. Rhodes trips Rey while Rey has a waistlock on and he struts a little bit to show his cocky attitude.
23. Rhodes avoids a 619 and slams Rey's head into the announce table as we head to another break.
24. We return to see Rhodes running into Mysterio's boots, but he manages to hit him with a twisting suplex, similar to what his brother was using as a finisher towards the end of his last run in WWE.
25. Rhodes is really taking it to Mysterio. He follows up a series of strikes with a suplex for a near fall.
26. Rhodes has not attempted to remove Mysterio's mask like he would if this was Sin Cara.
27. Of course, he goes for the mask the second I finish typing that sentence.
28. Rey sends him face-first into the middle turnbuckle.
29. Rey hits a seated senton and spinning headscissors to get back control.
30. Mysterio hits a big kick to Rhodes' head for a two count.
31. Mysterio gets Rhodes in the ropes, but Rhodes catches his legs when he goes for the 619.
32. Rey hits a jawbreaker and then pulls Rhodes's head down to push him into a pinning combination for the surprise win.
33. Rhodes immediately attacks Mysterio following the bell and he tries for the mask again.
34. Sin Cara comes out to make the save.
35. Cara sets up Rhodes so Mysterio can hit the 619.
36. Sin Cara takes out one of his masks and puts it on Rhodes as a way to add insult to injury.
37. Rhodes acts like he can't get the mask off when he comes to and realizes he has one on.
38. Not their best, but a pretty good match.
39. Sweet. They are showing the anger management videos again.
40. What's up, Harold!
41. The way Bryan screams "I am handsome" makes me laugh every time. So does him telling Harold not to touch him.
42. Bryan has great delivery on his lines in these videos. I hope they do more.
43. You can hear the crowd chanting Yes as we comes back to see Eve coming out to the ring to sit in on commentary.
44. Kaitlyn will be facing Natalya after the break. Could be decent given that these are two of WWE's most powerful women.
45. Both women are in the ring when we return from commercial and they lock right up.
46. Nattie takes Katie down right away and starts talking trash right away.
47. Nat hits a nice kip-up when Kaitlyn puts her in a headscissors.
48. Natalya keeps on Kaitlyn and yells that she deserves respect as she locks in an abdominal stretch.
49. Kaitlyn breaks out and hits a dropkick to take Nattie down.
50. I love how Josh Mathews has to remind Cole to talk about the match that is actually going on and not just to Eve.
51. Kaitlyn rolls up Natalya for the win.
52. That was a better Divas match than we are used to seeing. Natalya looked really good in that match, both aesthetically and performance-wise.
53. Backstage, we see Matt Striker interview Booker about AJ as the Raw GM.
54. Book says she has made plenty of mistakes as GM, including attacking Vickie.
55. Booker says AJ is off her rocker and Vickie walks up and talks about how AJ can no longer be GM.
56. Vickie says if the board of directors doesn't take action, then she will.
57. I know I keep pointing this out, but hyping the fact that we will see a recap video is a total waste of time.
58. We get a recap of the whole Punk/Lawler interactions from this past Monday.
59. Haha. They edit it so it looks like Lawler accepted the challenge right away instead of thinking about it for two hours before accepting it.
60. They manage to get around the blood by making everything look almost black and white while overexposing everything that was blue. It kind of looked cool, actually.
61. Excellent! Anger management, clip two is up next. The only recap videos I approve of are these. Classic.
62. I just thought of something. WWE might be testing the waters with these kinds of skits to see how they would do on the WWE Network in a grander scale.
63. Would you watch a WWE-based sitcom?
64. Starring Harold?
65. How did Josh Mathews just pronounce "hooligans?" I need the spelling of his version. Hyuligans?
66. This show is pre-taped. I wonder why they wouldn't edit out little mess-ups like that?
67. I just got happier when I found out what was happening next. After the break we get Sheamus vs. Sandow.
68. This is the big test. Lets see how Sandow does.
69. Sheamus muscles Sandow into the ropes and Sandow goes through the middle rope and yells at the ref to do his job. Classic Sandow.
70. He does it again and Sheamus grabs him by the beard and leads him around the ring.
71. Sandow bails when Sheamus throws him into the ropes to break out of a side headlock.
72. Sandow keeps the ref between himself and Sheamus until he can get in a kick to the knee.
73. Sheamus immediately comes back and sends Sandow out of the ring again.
74. As Sheamus comes out, Sandow pushes him and throws him into the steel steps
75. The ref starts counting as Sandow gets back in the ring.
76. The ref gets to eight before Sheamus rolls back in.
77. Sandow stays on him and lays into him with vicious offense.
78. Sandow hits a side Russian leg sweep but he takes too long going for his special elbow and Sheamus runs him into the corner.
79. Sandow hits his finisher, but Sheamus kicks out.
80. Cole mentions that Sandow was trained by Killer Kowalski. I like him even more now.
81. Sheamus hits a back drop to get back the advantage and he starts hitting all his signature offensive moves.
82. Sandow tries to leave the ring but Sheamus rolls him back in.
83. Sheamus hits the Irish hand grenades on Sandow over the ropes and follows it up with a slingshot shoulder block for a near fall.
84. Sandow breaks out of the Irish Curse Backbreaker attempt and rolls out of the ring again.
85. Sheamus goes for White Noise and Sandow breaks out and he also avoids a Brogue Kick and goes out of the ring again.
86. Sandow finally breaks free and runs to the back.
87. The ref counts him out.
88. I really wish the match ended differently. A clean loss would have been way better than running with his tail between his legs.
89. Other than the ending, I really enjoyed that match. Sandow has a ton of potential.
90. We see a replay of all the tag teams fighting last week before we gets Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd vs. Prime Time Players.
91. We see a quick tout from The Usos as Young and O'Neil control the match early on.
92. Nice. Gabriel rolls over Young to hold his face up so Kidd can hit a running kick.
93. That is a move we used to see in Motor City Machineguns matches all the time, but rarely in WWE.
94. O'Neil tags in and hits his slam where he holds onto one arm of the opponent.
95. Young is back in quickly to keep pressure on Kidd.
96. Kidd makes the tag to Gabriel and Young gets hit with a few kicks.
97. Gabriel kicks O'Neil in the head to prevent him from coming in the ring.
98. Kidd leaps over the top ropes to take out Titus but Young crotches Kidd on the top rope before hitting a gutbuster for the pin and the win.
99. That gutbuster looked really good. He threw Gabriel in the air so there was a moment where he was suspended before coming down onto Young's knees.
100. Nice. The third anger management video is shown. This one is my favorite. Kane was simply hilarious reciting his entire history.
101. Harold got lucky.
102. I nearly spit out my gin fizzy when he mentions electrocuting someone's testicles.
103. I didn't notice the Mr. Rogers reference the first time! For the first time ever I am happy to see replays of a previous show. I loved those skits.
104. Remember when Shawn Michaels Superkicked a little girl in a skit? Classic.
105. Ricardo Rodriguez brings out Del Rio in a sweet Excalibur Roadster. Kudos to whoever picked out that car for him to drive.
106. Josh Mathews tries to ask him a question and Del RIo interrupts him.
107. Del Rio says he made one of the toughest men in WWE history tap out.
108. I love how by complimenting Orton he is really putting himself over by calling Orton one of the toughest. Its a good heel move on his past.
109. Del Rio brings up Mathews being attacked by Kane before he says he is going to attack him right now.
110. Kane's pyro and music hit and he comes out to make the save. Mathews is outside the ring pretty quick as Kane gets in the ring.
111. Hahahaha! The delivery is classic when Kane apologizes as a part of his recovery program. He sounded like a normal person and not Kane when he talked.
112. Teddy Long comes out and announces Del Rio vs. Kane for right now.
113. Dr. Shelby works wonders.
114. We return to see Kane in control of Del Rio.
115. He hits a low dropkick to Del Rio for a near fall.
116. Del Rio gets on the top rope and Kane uppercuts him off the top to the floor.
117. Del Rio comes back in with kicks to the arm of Kane to soften him up.
118. Del Rio goes for the Cross Arm Breaker right away and Kane easily throws him off and hits a boot to the face followed by a sidewalk slam for a near fall.
119. Kane goes to the top and hits a flying clothesline.
120. Ricky grabs at Kane's legs and Kane gets distracted.
121. Del Rio hits a back stabber for the pin and the win.
122. He just stole Carlito, Epico and Primo's finisher?
123. Kane is pissed after the match and he goes out and attacks Josh Mathews.
124. Kane says he is sorry as he grabs him and throws him in the ring like he is seriously sorry for what he is going to do.
125. Its nice of him to apologize before he chokeslams him. That is progress for Kane.
126. After the break, we see Michael Cole deliver a speech about not attacking announcers before we finally get the recap of Triple H's faux retirement speech.
127. Vickie is out next to bring Dolph ZIggler out for his match with Randy Orton.
128. You're looking at the future of this company people, in my opinion.
129. Orton is out after the break and it looks like he gets a pretty big pop.
130. He really doesn't talk much these days.
131. Orton knocks Ziggler down early with a shoulder block but Ziggler hits a nice dropkick to get one back.
132. They circle each other again and Ziggler locks in a headlock.
133. Orton does a textbook reversal into his own headlock.
134. Orton ends up hitting his own dropkick before laying in with stomps to various body parts.
135. Best dropkicks in WWE today belong to these two.
136. Orton hits a slingshot suplex for a near fall.
137. I like how Orton seems to be going back to basics a bit with some of these moves. It is like he is trying to keep up with Ziggler by using some moves he doesn't use too often.
138. This feud on a long-term scale, if done right, would be amazing.
139. Ziggler comes back with a kick and a neckbreaker.
140. He hits several elbows on Orton before a big jumping elbow for a near fall.
141. Dueling chants break out to show support for both men.
142. Ziggler's chant lasts a bit longer. Nice.
143. Orton hits his signature backbreaker for a nice pop.
144. Orton tees off and kicks Ziggler right in the pec.
145. Ziggler hits a huge screaming clothesline to take back control, but this time he misses the jumping elbow and both men make it to their feet.
146. Orton avoids Ziggler in the corner and starts going to work with all his signature moves.
147. Ziggler hangs up Orton when he goes for the rope-hung DDT.
148. Orton grabs Ziggler like he is going to hit a suplex from the apron but he walks Ziggler all the way to the top rope for a nice superplex. That was unique.
149. Ziggler hits a huge leaping DDT out of nowhere for a near fall.
150. This is a great match so far.
161. Ziggler tries for the Zig Zag and Orton hits the rope-hung DDT this time for another near fall.
162. Orton avoids a fame-asser and hit an RKO for the win.
163. Other than Cole incorrectly identifying the Zig Zag for the millionth time, that ending was great.
164. Vickie grabs a mic from Lilian to remind us that Ziggler is still the Money in the Bank holder.
165. Orton celebrates in the ring as Ziggler retreats up the ramp to end the show.
166. I really enjoyed tonight's show. I think each match had something I enjoyed.
167. Even the Divas match was watchable.
168. I hope Sandow gets another shot at Sheamus because they had good chemistry.
Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave your thoughts on this week's show in the comments section below.