WWE SmackDown Results, Questions and Comments (1/28/2011)

Every Friday Night, WWE produces their Blue Show, and as I watch it, I write up an article with my perspective in the form of questions, comments and random factoids.  Some people find it funny, with it sometimes being compared to Seinfeld standup comedy.  I wouldn't go that far, but people do seem to enjoy it. 

The polls in the GuysNation version of this article get lots of votes, providing an interesting perspective on how the wrestling fan community reading the articles view the things WWE is presenting.  I enjoy the results of those polls and the comments people leave, so I encourage you to do that.

The show gets under way as Vickie Guerrero announces that Teddy Long is still on the shelf and won't be in attendance, leaving her as the acting GM for the evening.  Before Vickie can make another announcement, Randy Orton makes his way out with a very timely interruption.  

Apparently Randy Orton is out there to thank her for inviting him to Smackdown.  He asks her to "excuse me" (him) for what he's going to do to Dolph Ziggler later in the evening, which is just like what he's going to do to The Miz on Sunday at the Royal Rumble.

Did anyone else laugh when Randy Orton mockingly told Vickie Guerrero "nice hair"?  Maybe I'm just noticing it for the first time, but her hair eerily reminds me of Kate Goslin from John & Kate Plus 8, which I only know because I see her on he cover of trashy magazines at the grocery store.

Dolph Ziggler shows up and tells Orton not to treat Vickie that way (disrespectfully),  saying "do you know who I am?"  Does anyone else find that ironic, since Dolph's gimmick started with him introducing himself to people backstage?  Maybe Orton wasn't on the same show as Ziggler back then.

Ziggler says he deserves respect because on Sunday, he's going to be a World Champion.  I guess he's not familiar with the way Orton conducts himself, because Randy doesn't treat anyone with respect, whether they are a champion or not.

Orton tells Ziggler that he has to earn respect (because I guess Randy understands SmackDown better than Dolph does), and then plants him with an RKO.  A bit of a shame, as Randy doesn't even hint at giving Vickie an RKO, but there's really no need for her to get taken out so early in the show, given her responsibilities.

The announce crew introduces the main event of the evening, and much to my disappointment, not a mention of "Rated RKO" despite Orton and Edge having teamed up before.

During the commercial break, there's a nice preview for Mega Python vs Gatoroid.  NICE!

Match - LayCool vs Kelly Kelly & Kaitlyn

Before LayCool can even think about getting on the mic, they're attacked on the way to the ring by The Special K's (Kaitlyn & Kelly Kelly, as I'm calling them, because Triple K isn't appropriate).

I guess we're going to see if Kaitlyn's in-ring skills have improved since we last saw her.  Beauty is her strong-point, and as she's got muscles in all the right places, we're sure she'll eventually put together some great in-ring skills...

Just as I'm typing that, Kaitlyn ges BOOTED in the face by Michelle McCool and then pinned.

Outcome—LayCool dominates as McCool gets a brutal kick to land to the face of Kaitlyn, leading directly to the pin.

I can't complain too much about this match.  Kaitlyn looked hot and got some face-time on SmackDown, which hasn't happened in a while.  Maybe this will start a feud between her and LayCool, which is something I could get behind.

The moment we come back from commercial, we hear Drew McIntyre's music, which is odd because Kelly Kelly probably just got backstage.  What are the odds that they interacted behind the curtain?  COuldn't WWE have shown a little interaction to keep up with some continuity?  There's a good chance they'll be involved with each other by the end of the night (ON THE SHOW, NOT AT THE HOTEL, SICKOS), so why not have that now?

So apparently Kelly Kelly agrees with my logic... or someone told her to agree with my logic... and she's sitting at the announce table for the match.  

Match - Drew McIntyre vs JTG

The non-regular in a Smackdown ring, JTG, gets some action tonight, and if I were him, I would've walked by the announce table before the match to get myself possibly inserted into the angle with Kelly Kelly and Drew McIntyre.  I'm not saying he should talk to her or anything, but at least lock eyes with her.

McIntyre is aggressive through the match, with JTG basically getting thrown around, apart from a little bit of offense.

Michael Cole asks where McIntyre's priorities are, questioning whether McIntyre wouldn't rather leave Kelly alone and focus on winning the Royal Rumble and going to Wrestlemania... and I'm thinking that there are a lot of guys who would probably rather win Kelly Kelly into their "favor" than to focus on winning the seemingly random Royal Rumble.

JTG gets in some more offense, performing well as he makes the most of his opportunity, but Drew McIntyre executes a nice reversal to the Backslide.

Outcome - Drew McIntyre gets the win after rolling through a backslide and hitting the Future Shock DDT for the pinfall.

After the match, Drew McIntyre simply leaves the ring, not attacking JTG, and Kelly Kelly gets into the ring as if she has something to say... and then remains silent as if she forgot what was on her mind.

Last week, Rey Mysterio did some damage to the face of Cody Rhodes during their match on Smackdown, and Cody refuses to give a face-to-face interview, only talking with his back to the camera to hide his face.  He claims to have a deviated septum and a broken nose which is going to require surgery, and that the doctors have told him he's not supposed to compete in the Royal Rumble.  

Did anyone else find it ironic that Cody Rhodes said that Rey Mysterio "shattered his dreams"?  If you don't understand that comment, you either don't know much about Goldust, or you don't realize that Cody Rhodes is related to Goldust.

I'm going to have to watch this promo a second time, because this was a really good promo delivered by Cody Rhodes.

Elsewhere backstage, it's Edge who gives an interview.  He talks about how he's not going to forget what The Corre did last week, but he's focusing on the main event tag match tonight.  Edge gets the gold star for referencing Rated-RKO.

In yet another backstage location, we find Michael Tarver, who really IS everywhere this week as he greets Alberto Del Rio backstage.

Alberto Del Rio rolls into the arena, making his entrance with his fancy car, his falling pyro shower, and his personal ring announcer.

Instead of the opening bell ringing, ADR gets the microphone and sets out to PROVE that he's going to win the Royal Rumble.  He's got a Royal Rumble exhibition with new guys showing up every 30 seconds until he eliminates everyone.

The first guy to show up... is some bald guy named Seth Allen who I've never heard of.  Matt Stryker mentions one of Seth's accomplishments, but I didn't get the opportunity to type it in, since Seth gets eliminated too quickly.

Mike Stevens apparently a brass knuckles champion, is next, and he actually lasts long enough in the match for the next guy to show up... and SURPRISE... it's KANE!!!

Oddly enough, fresh off of mourning his father's 20 foot fall that he caused while trying to track down Edge over a month ago, Kane gets into the ring... and just waits there.  I would think he's still upset enough that he would want to dominate.

Before Kane or ADR can be eliminated (Mike Stevens was gone right before Kane got there), Kofi Kingston shows up... and in surprising fashion, Kofi dumps Kane and ADR over the top rope.  Neither of those guys seems willing to let it go, and as they stalk the ring, the countdown timer hits and Rey Mysterio shows up!

The exhibition doesn't continue, as Vickie Guerrero makes it a tag match.

Tag Match - Kane & Alberto Del Rio vs Kofi Kingston & Rey Mysterio

It's been a long week, otherwise I'd try to come up with an interesting team name for both of those pairings.

Having just mentioned that Kane has never won the Royal Rumble, why would Matt Stryker say that someone will need sorcery to eliminate Kane on Sunday at the Rumble?  

After having Kofi and Rey baseball-slide-kick him into Kane, what are the odds that next time Alberto Del Rio yells at a tag team partner outside the ring, he ensures he keeps one eye on the guys in the ring?

Alberto Del Rio shows that he's clearly more arrogant than he is strategic, as he angers Kane, resulting in the Big Red Monster leaving the ring, leading directly to the finish of the match.

Outcome - with the odds in their favor, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio double-team ADR, with a 6-1-9 that leads directly to the Trouble in Paradise, and Kofi Kingston gets the win - his second big accolade of the evening.

Big Show's in the house, and he's apparently not happy about being attacked by The Corre two weeks ago.  In fact, he's angry about it.  

The Corre shows up, and I think they're basically just trying to show off the fact that they finally got their tshirts made.  Pathetically designed shirts, with their stable name written diagonal fashion.  I think my 13 year old nephew could do a lot better than what we're seeing represented by the fellas around the ring.

Heath Slater is the unlucky guy who gets into the ring, and it's an impromptu match.

Match - Heath Slater vs Big Show

Slater gets a little bit of offense against Big Show, meaning he hits three moves in a row after gettind dominated at the start, and then Big Show dominates some more.  When Big Show signals for the chokeslam, it looked like The Corre was going to consider getting involved... but they don't.

Outcome - Big Show gets the win over Heath Slater after the chokeslam.

After Heath Slater gets buried, is it safe to say that if there's no leader in The Corre, then you could at least say Heath Slater is the lowest rung on the ladder?

Big Show takes out three of the members of The Corre before Zeke Jackson takes him out with another big clothesline.  The locker room shows up and we get a brawl, previewing things for the Royal Rumble.

Did anyone else notice that RAW Superstar "American Dragon" Daniel Bryan (Danielson) showed up?  What's he doing in attendance?

It's nice to see WWE remind us of all of those records set in the Royal Rumbles of the past, because with the new 40-man format, none of the records which will be set in the new format (with a longer Rumble with more eliminations) will matter towards the official history of the Royal Rumble.

I'll be updating this article throughout the evening, likely finishing it before I go to bed.  Updating it on my site, GuysNation.com, is the priority, so if it's not updated as quickly as you might hope, you can check it out there, along with various other entertainment-related articles (not just limited to sports)!

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The version of this article from Monday Night RAW, complete with a half dozen polls!