WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown tonight from Hershey, PA. Credit to Prowrestling.net for these results:
– WWE has a little less than a quarter of the arena on the camera side tarped off. There were plenty of “Yes!” chants and “Woooooo’s” before the dark match earlier.
– Booker T came out to a big pop. Michael Cole was out next to insane heat. Lilian Garcia came out to a respectable reaction.
– John Laurinaitis came out to pretty massive heat. He said he disagrees with the decision of the board of directors. He said it will be like leading the lamb to the slaughter on Sunday. He asked the crowd to support him and then asked that they say a prayer for him.
– C.M. Punk’s music played and he received a massive pop. Punk headed to the ring as the fans chanted his name loudly. He said his prayers have been answered because after Over The Limit, Laurinaitis will be terminated. Punk said he would like to be the first to wish Johnny the best in his future endeavors.
Punk said he has no respect for Big Johnny and by this time next week, Punk will be WWE Champion and Big Johnny will be on the unemployment line. Laurinaitis blamed the fans and said they can go to hell. He booked Punk vs. Kane for later in the show.
– R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defeated Titus O’Neil and Darren Young. Truth hit Paydirt on Young for the win. Lots of love for Kingston from the fans.
– Zack Ryder was filming his Youtube show when Damien Sandow walked past him. Sandow is up next.
– Damien Sandow came out and introduced himself as our intellectual savior. He said he would bestow upon us enlightenment that we so desperately craved. He said Yoshi Tatsu was not worthy of facing him. Yoshi called Sandow a chicken, and now it’s on! Sandow hit Tatsu with a chickenwing neckbreaker and left. The match never took place.
– A Big Show vignette was shown with answers teased for tonight.
– Backstage, Sheamus said he looks forward to the four-way match because it gives him a chance to show what kind of champion he is. Orton said that while there are three other guys in the match, he would love to pin Sheamus. They had a staredown.
– Daniel Bryan beat Zack Ryder. Ryder came out to a decent pop, but his reactions have cooled considerably from where they once were. Bryan came out to a big reaction and got a mix of “Yes!” and “No!” chants, but the “Yes!” chants definitely won out. Bryan put him away quickly with the Yes! Lock.
– Kane defeated WWE Champion C.M. Punk by DQ. Daniel Bryan was on commentary for the match. Bryan went to hit Punk with a chair, but turned around and hit Kane with it instead. Bryan then hightailed it up the ramp, and Kane, thinking that Punk had hit him with the chair, lit Punk up with some throat thrusts and a pair of chokeslams. Jeremy notes that perhaps should Kane just pretend that all his opponents hit him with steel chairs since it seemed to bring out the best in him.
– Santino Marella beat Cody Rhodes in a champion vs. champion match. Santino caught Cody coming off the ropes with the Cobra and pin. The crowd was actually split for this match, but popped huge for the finish.
– Randy Orton came out to a very big reaction. Sheamus followed to a mix of cheers and boos and some “Sheamus” chants. Fickle crowd.
– World Hvt. Champion Sheamus defeated Randy Orton. Orton went for the RKO, but Sheamus schoolboyed him for the win. The crowd was about 70/30 in favor of Orton, but popped big for Sheamus’s pin. After the match, they shook hands and then Orton hit the RKO to a big pop. The show should end with Orton standing over Sheamus in the ring.
