Bluegrassrivals

WWE Smackdown T.V. Opener: John Lauranitis & The Full Roster

The show opens with the roster outside the ring. John Lauranitis is in the ring. He hops on the mic and addresses them. Lauranitis says Triple H has lost control of WWE. He mentions how he fired R-Truth and The Miz. Lauranitis says he changes his mind. Now he thinks HHH has control of things. Lauranitis then introduces the new World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry.

In-Ring Promo: Mark Henry

Mark Henry comes out and the entire roster slowly splits into two sections, making way for the intimidating new champion. Henry gets in the ring with Lauranitis. Henry says it's taken him 15 years to earn the title, and it'll take 15 more before someone can take it away from him. He looks at all the roster outside the ring and says none of you can take it from me. He tells Ezekiel Jackson he didn't believe in him. Teddy Long either. HHH's music hits.

In-Ring Promo: Henry, Triple H and Christian

Out comes the C.O.O. of WWE, Triple H, suit-and-all. HHH enters the ring with Henry. HHH puts his hand out for the microphone, but Henry won't give it to him. Several moments later he does. Before HHH can say a word, out of nowhere Christian has a microphone and enters the ring. Christian in a cheesey way complicates HHH on the job he's doing as C.O.O. Christian sucks up some more and then mocks Henry as champ, saying he can't envision him on a box of cereal, talking to school kids, etc. Christian says he deserves to be the face of Smackdown. He needs to be the World Heavyweight Champion. He says he deserves one more match for the title. HHH asks Christian if he's done talking. He thanks all the Smackdown roster for coming out tonight. He ensures them he's in control of the company. HHH says he's tonight there will be a LumberJack match. It will be Christian vs. Mark Henry. The winner of that match will face Randy Orton at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. HHH walks off. Christian looks worried. Henry closes in behind Christian. Christian finally turns around, sees Henry, and immediately exits the ring.

Backstage: Sheamus

Backstage we see Sheamus in his lockerroom. Josh Matthews announces that after the break, Sheamus will be in action next. On that note, we head to our first commercial of the evening.

Heath Slater vs. Sheamus

We return from commercial and Tony Chimel introduces Heath Slater, who is already in the ring. Next, he introduces Sheamus. Sheamus makes his entrance and we're about to begin our first match on tonight's Smackdown. Slater uses his speed to get some offense in on Sheamus early on. It doesn't take long, however, for Sheamus' power to counter-act that and change the momentum of the contest. Sheamus repeatedly shoulder-blocks Slater down to the mat - hard. Michael Cole does a bunch of crappy comedy on commentary, while Sheamus continues to dominate with ease in the ring. Slater gets in a little offense now, knocking the big man off his feet. Slater has Sheamus in a rear chinlock. Sheamus powers out and is again in firm control of the bout. The finish comes when Sheamus hits a flying shoulder-block off the top rope and follows it up with his big boot finisher for the clean pinfall.

Winner: Sheamus

Backstage: Christian and The Great Khali

Backstage we see The Great Khali warming up. Christian walks up and tries to convince him to help him in the LumberJack match tonight. Christian thinks Khali can't understand him. Khali finally responds, "I understand you are small" in english. Christian tells him good joke and asks him if they've got a deal. Khali just keeps calling him small. Christian thinks he's on his side and leaves happily. We head to commercial.

Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel

We return from commercial and out comes Wade Barrett to the ring. A clip from last week's show airs, showing Justin Gabriel hitting the 450 splash on Barrett and pinning him in the tag-team match last week. Out comes Gabriel. It's Barrett vs. Gabriel in one-on-one action now. Barrett immediately goes to work on Gabriel. Barrett lands some big knees and then hits Gabriel with a big boot to the face that knocks him out of the ring. Cole and Booker T bicker back-and-forth a bit on commentary. Gabriel manages to counter Barrett's attack and knock him out to the floor. Gabriel runs and flies over the top rope, hitting Barrett with a front-flip onto the floor. Gabriel throws him back in the ring and hits a moonsault off the top rope for a nearfall. Barrett cuts Gabriel off with another big boot and floors him. Barrett immediately follows up with his Waste Land finisher for a quick pinfall victory.

Winner: Wade Barrett

Josh Matthews pushes a Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes match for later tonight on Smackdown as we head to another commercial break.

Backstage: Matt Striker Interviews Randy Orton

Backstage, Matt Striker is with Randy Orton. He asks if he cares to comment about his match with Rhodes tonight. Orton says no. Striker asks him what's been going through his mind since losing the title. Orton says he's been thinking about going to hell, referring to Hell In A Cell. Orton says he's going to drag Mark Henry to the depths of hell with him. He says maybe it'll be Christian. Regardless, when he comes back from hell, he's bringing the World Heavyweight Championship with him. With that said, the former champ walks off.

WWE Hell In A Cell PPV Hype

The commentators hype up the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV in nine days. A video package airs, highlighting the history of the WWE Hell In A Cell match. Clips of Mick Foley, Undertaker, and many others are shown, showcasing how barbaric the match is, historically speaking.

Backstage: Christian and Ezekiel Jackson

Backstage, Christian is with Ezekiel Jackson. He's doing the same thing he was doing with Khali earlier, trying to persuade him to help him as a LumberJack against Henry later tonight. Same result as Khali, Christian walks off assuming he's got his back even though he never says it.

A.J. & Kaitlyn vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya

We return from commercial and A.J. and Kaitlyn are already in the ring. Next, Beth Phoenix and Natalya are introduced. It's time for some Diva tag-team action. Kaitlyn and Natalya start things off. Kaitlyn controlling the action early. Phoenix hits Kaitlyn with a cheap shot from behind the ref's back, allowing Natalya to gain control. Natalya tags in Phoenix and Phoenix continues to go to work on Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn finally tags A.J. in. A.J. is on fire and immediately goes to work on Phoenix. Natalya tries interfering during a pin attempt, so Kaitlyn runs in as well. They fight to the floor while Phoenix hits A.J. with the Glam Slam inside the ring. Phoenix scores the pin and the victory for her team.

Winners: Beth Phoenix & Natalya

We head to commercial, and are told on the way out that after the break it will be Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes next on Smackdown.

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes

We return from commercial and immediately Randy Orton's music hits. Out comes the former World Heavyweight Champion. Out next is the current WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. One-on-one action is getting underway. The bell rings and Orton simply throws Rhodes out of the ring. Orton goes out after him and brutalizes him on the floor, slamming him into the barricade, etc. The match returns to the ring. Orton's leg gets caught up in the ropes and Rhodes takes advantage, gaining the upper hand in the match. Rhodes is focusing his attack on Orton's leg now. Rhodes takes the turnbuckle off the top rope simply as a distraction to the ref. While the ref is distracted, Rhodes takes his face mask off and blasts Orton with it. He tries to pin him, but Orton kicks out at two. Orton blatantly hits Rhodes with the mask in the face and the ref calls for the bell. Orton is disqualified. Rhodes wins.

Winner by DQ: Cody Rhodes

After The Match: The Viper Strikes

After being DQ'd, Orton goes ballistic and attacks Rhodes. He hits him repeatedly with his own face mask. Orton hits Rhodes with the middle-rope draped DDT move. Two referees try and get Orton to stop. Orton picks Rhodes up and throws him out of the ring. Orton follows him out. Orton hits Rhodes with an RKO on top of the announce table. As expected, Rhodes being busted open and bleeding is heavily edited as expected. After the RKO all we really see is Orton, kind of covered in blood on his body, walking away.

n for Friday, September 23, 2011.

Backstage: Christian and Sheamus

Backstage, Christian approaches Sheamus in his locker room. Christian gives Sheamus a potato as a peace offering. Christian tells Sheamus when he wins back the title, he'll give Sheamus the first shot at it. Christian then does his routine to try and get Sheamus to help him in the LumberJack match. Sheamus mockingly tells him he will help him. Christian thanks him and walks off.

The Great Khali vs. Jinder Mahal

We return from commercial and Great Khali is making his way to the ring. Michael Cole has his serious voice on and talks about Orton's attack on Rhodes prior to the break. Out next is Jinder Mahal. Khali vs. Mahal is now in progress. Khali chops the hell out of Mahal early. Mahal uses his speed and quickness to chop Khali down to size. Mahal is in control of the match now. Mahal works over Khali, focusing a lot on the big man's legs. Khali eventually makes a comeback, using his power to knock Mahal down by basically running through him. Khali simply puts his foot on Mahal's chest and scores a pinfall. Khali wins.

Winner: The Great Khali

Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan

We return from commercial and Sin Cara is making his way to the ring. We get a video recapping the double-Sin Cara fiasco from last week's Smackdown. The announcers speculate which one this is. He does the Sin Cara jumping-in-the-ring entrance and the announcers are convinced it's the real deal. Out next is Daniel Bryan. That's our next match here on Smackdown. The bell rings and the Sin Cara-yellow lights come on for the match. Bryan takes Sin Cara down with a headlock. They do some reversals and submission attempts back-and-forth early on. Bryan and Sin Cara botch a spot a bit. Sin Cara starts flying now, and is in control of the match. Bryan quickly fights back and hits a big suplex-style slam on Sin Cara for a nearfall. They have some timing issues on another spot. Ouch. Sin Cara hits a hurricanrana on Bryan on the floor. Sin Cara goes to the top rope and out comes the second Sin Cara. He knocks Sin Cara off the ropes and onto the floor. The second Sin Cara kicks Bryan in the head and pins him for the victory. The announcers are baffled.

Winner: Sin Cara

Backstage: Christian, Zack Ryder and Orton's Lockerroom

Backstage, Christian knocks on Randy Orton's door. Out of it comes Zack Ryder. Christian compliments Ryder for his work on Raw. He complicates him on his cool sunglasses. Christian asks Ryder for his help. He tells him to get Orton to help him tonight. Ryder gets a phone call and leaves. Christian thinks about knocking on Orton's door, but opts not to and walks away. We head to commercial.

Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston vs. The Uso's

We return from commercial and Air Boom is introduced. The WWE Tag-Team Champions Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston make their way to the ring. Out next is The Uso's, Jimmy and Jey, are out next. This is a non-title match. Jey and Bourne start things off. Bourne works some leg kicks to Jey. The Uso's double-team Bourne and now Jimmy is tagged in. Jimmy goes for a pin but Kingston comes in to break it up. The Uso's utilize some more double-team action to work over Bourne. Bourne eventually fires up and makes a comeback. Now he's trying to make the tag. He does and Kingston comes in with a flying arm-smash. Kingston is flying all over the place. Kingston is going nuts. Kingston with a nearfall on Jimmy. The Uso's double-team Kingston and now Jimmy is in control of the match. Out of nowhere, Kingston hits the Trouble In Paradise on Jimmy. He tags Bourne in, who hits the Air Borne on him for the clean pinfall and the victory.

Winners: Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston

The LumberJack match between Christian and Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship is up next. On that note, we head to commercial.

World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry © vs. Christian (LumberJack Match)

We return from commercial and get a long, drawn out video package highlighting Hugh Jackman's involvement on Raw this past Monday. After that we go back to the arena and we see the lumberjacks already surrounding the ring. Christian's music hits and Tony Chimel does his thing. "Somebody's gonna get they ass kicked" plays as the new World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry makes his way to the ring. Our World Title Lumberjack match is now officially underway. We head to a mid-match commercial before anything happens. We return from commercial and the bell rings. Christian immediately wants to leave the ring, but the lumberjacks won't let him. The announcers put this over as being the first Lumberjack match for the World title in the history of Smackdown. Henry smashes Christian into the corner. Henry slams him down. Christian tries fighting back with punches, but all they do is piss Henry off. Henry manhandles Christian and throws him out of the ring. The lumberjacks throw him back in. Henry goes back to work on Christian in the ring. Christian tries making a comeback again, but can't knock Henry off his feet. He keeps trying, though, and is getting in his first real series of offense in the contest thus far. Christian comes off the top and finally knocks Henry off his feet. Christian tries pinning Henry, but Henry kicks out at two. Christian was trying to get him with the Killswitch, but he was too big. Henry knocks Christian down and now seems to again be in control of the match. Both guys go out to the floor. Every single lumberjack tries attacking Henry, but he literally fights them all off by himself. Henry rolls back in the ring, while all the lumberjacks are laid out. Christian is still on the outside and is looking at what just happened. It appears as though Christian is simply going to walk away. As he tries to, Sheamus comes from the back and throws Christian back in the ring. Henry is waiting for him and hits him with the World's Strongest Slam for the easy pinfall victory. Mark Henry wins and retains his World Heavyweight Championship.

Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Mark Henry

After The Match:

After the match, Randy Orton's music hits and out comes the former champion running to the ring. Orton and Henry face off. Orton starts blasting Henry with punches. He tries to RKO him but Henry avoids it. Orton blasts Henry some more and knocks him out to the floor. Henry remains on the floor, looking on at Orton in the ring. Orton is in the ring grilling him right back. The announcers put over Orton vs. Henry at Hell In A Cell and we fade away on that note. That's Smackdow