Smackdown – 4/23/10

It’s the last chance for the Smackdown superstars to make a statement going into this Sunday’s Extreme Rules PPV.  Whose would be positive and whose would send them to the PPV on a down note?  Find out right now:

Video Package: Last Friday, Jack Swagger survives a Triple Threat match for his World Title defeating Edge & Chris Jericho.

Jack Swagger comes to the ring and takes the mic, “Jack Swagger is on a roll.  Last week, I defeated two first ballot Hall of Famers…” Starts talking smack about taking The Undertaker to the limit on RAW and shows a video package.  “This Sunday, I plan to dominate Randy Orton… I’m not going to play with the viper, I’m going straight for it’s neck and I’m cutting off his head!”

Non-Title Match
Jack Swagger vs. John Morrison
WINNER: Morrison via pin fall after hitting Star Ship Pain

Backstage: CM Punk & the Straightedge Society are in the office with Teddy Long.  Punk’s complaining about Rey Mysterio‘s actions on RAW trying to cut his hair off.

• Teddy tells Punk, “I hope you win on Sunday because you’d look real funny with a bald head!”  Long then puts them in a match against Mysterio and fellow bald guy, Kane.

Matt Hardy & R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre
WINNERS: Ziggler & McIntyre via referee stoppage after Hardy was essentially Curb Stomped by McIntyre into the steps and looked like he had a concussion

• After match, Hardy was being helped out of the ring and McIntyre attacked him.

A steel cage lowers as Chris Jericho and his NXT Rookie, Wade Barrett, approach the ring.  Jericho takes mic, “This Sunday, I’m going to end the career of Edge… Edge you have no idea the lengths I will go to use this structure… with Edge gone, these Edge-heads will no longer be chanting Spear!”

• Interrupted by Edge walking to the ring gingerly.  “You did injure my ankle last week… (pokes fun at Jericho losing to NXT Rookie, Heath Slater)… Nothing is going to stop me from getting in that steel cage at Extreme Rules (or now, as he enters)… I’ve been injured before.  I know what it takes to come back from injury… Do I look like a man with anything to lose?  Nothing is going to stop me from Searing you through this cage…”
• Edge attacks both me.  Momentarily, the numbers game gets the best of him.  Edge fights back and Jericho bails, locking the cage door with both Edge and Barrett inside.  Edge then destroys Barrett capped off by a Spear.

JTG vs. Mike Knox – Shad Gaspard on commentary
WINNER: JTG via pin fall after hitting a jumping reverse bulldog headlock

• After match, Shad jumped in the ring and attacked JTG with a leather strap.  They will be in that kind of match Sunday at Extreme Rules.

Matt Striker & Todd Grisham run down the card for Extreme Rules

Video Package: Last Monday on RAW, the Straightedge Society’s altercation with Triple H that almost resulted in Punk losing his hair after Rey Mysterio came down to help Trips.

Layla & Michelle McCool with Vickie Guerrero vs. Mickie James & Beth Phoenix
WINNERS: LayCool via pin fall after Layla hit a Neckbreaker on Mickie

• After match, LayCool attacked Beth Phoenix, held her down, and drew on her face/arms with makeup.

Straightedge Society heads to the ring.  CM Punk has a mic, “Rey Mysterio, after tonight I’ll be done talking.  Sunday I’ll let my actions speak… When Sunday is in the books, I’ll be victorious and my hair will remain pure!”  Then tells the crowd that he’s going to save someone and they have a barber’s chair ring side, ready to go.

• Interrupted by Mysterio and Kane’s entrances.

Straightedge Society (CM Punk & Luke Gallows with Serena) vs. Rey Mysterio & Kane
WINNERS: SES via pin fall after Punk countered a Sunset Flip type counter to the GTS by Mysterio

• After match, Punk attacks Rey, but Rey quickly counters, knocking Punk out of the ring and into the barber’s chair.  If not for Serena throwing herself in between Punk and Rey, the straightedge savior would be bald.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

Straight up, this was one of the weaker Smackdown’s I’ve seen in awhile.  While there weren’t many backstage segments, the quality of the matches were just mediocre to me.  The night started and ended okay, but the middle is where it was just blah for me!  Even the in ring segment with Edge and Jericho fell flat for me.  I just wasn’t really into this episode of Smackdown.

Sad part about Smackdown.  Two of the superstars that were fired from WWE on Thursday, Mickie James & Mike Knox, were involved in this taping.  It’s just funny to see all the news wires saying they’re gone, but then you see them on Smackdown because it was taped on Tuesday.