Hey Cagesiders, Sergio reporting from Dallas, Texas here.
The Vince McMahon Carnival -- otherwise known as the WWE -- rolled into my hometown last night and I would be utterly remiss if I didn't stop by the American Airlines Center (AAC) -- home of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, respect -- and take in the sights and sounds of Smackdown (SD)!
Big Boss Man Geno already has a quick rundown to Friday's (Oct. 14) show here but I've got the juicy, juicy goods that only someone who was there live could get.
I also managed to snap a few photos while I was there of some of your favorite -- and most hated -- Superstars.
Can't wait for Friday? Ruin the surprise after the jump!
NXT
We were treated a full taping of the WWE.com show NXT to start things off. Brodus Clay squashed a local jobber who I didn't get the name of named Chris Girard. Typical big man squash with Clay getting nearly all of the offense.
I love the kid and his dad freaking out in the background.
Next, Derrick Bateman and his hoochie mama Maxine came out to gloat and suck face before Titus O'Neil and Percy Watson made their way to the ring to smack talk.
O'Neil and Watson got over pretty well, making fun of Maxine's "fish face" and basically running down the couple. At one point, they accused Bateman of being "booty whipped" which got a huge laugh from us in AAC.
Matt Striker came out and booked a match between Maxine and AJ -- who is cute as all get out -- and the main event for NXT which would be Watson taking on Bateman.
Ohai there!
Backstage Matt Striker interviewed Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks. They disparage The Usos and say they don't need to ride the coattails of their ancestors to make it in the business. Hawkins ends the segment by doing the Jimmy Snuka hand gesture and saying "brodda!" Hilarious stuff.
The two made their way to the ring and had a match with the aforementioned Samoans. It was a good match, a testament that when done well, tag matches can do a lot for guys who still need time to develop and can also be entertaining for the audience. The Usos won after hitting a double splash off opposite corners.
And in the main event of NXT, Percy Watson defeated Derrick Bateman to wrap up the show's opening angle. Holy hell, an intelligently -- albeit simple -- booked show. I didn't think the WWE had it in them.
Superstars
Only one match for Superstars and it was between Ezekiel Jackson and Heath Slater. Former The Wrestling Aficionado co-host Jon Knapik explained to me that he hated Slater but couldn't really tell me why. I took it at face value and still accepted it. Jackson picked up the submission win with the Torture Rack.
Pre-Smackdown!
"Are you ready?"
As a special treat to Big D, D-Generation X (DX) came out to thunderous applause. Shawn Michaels was decked out in a Dallas-exclusive DX t-shirt and jeans while Triple H was rocking the Italian suit (he said it from Men's Wearhouse. C'mon, buddy, no one is buying that!).
The "Heartbreak Kid" (HBK) brought up San Antonio and got booed thoroughly. He then said he had jumped off the Spurs bandwagon and hopped onto the Mavericks' one. He even talked up the Texas Rangers who represented the entire state (sorry Astros, suck it!) but when it got to the Cowboys, he was a little iffy. Hey Shawn, I've been a fan for 20 years and I'm a little iffy myself right now.
Jokes were made about the size of HBK's anatomy before the Hall of Famer asked his longtime friend what was up with suit. "Guys like you and guys like me aren't made for suits," he told the former COO. So Triple H started doing a little striptease. First the blazer, then the tie, before making his way to the shirt.
I got to say, Triple H is on a completely different level. Last week, he managed to get the crowd to boo every single person on the roster except for him. Last night, he managed to get the mostly male crowd to chant, "Take it off!" Soak it in, people, that's genius at work.
HBK balked at his friend's little impromptu burlesque to which "The Game" replied, "You mad at me for that? You came out in ass-less chaps and to 'Sexy Boy' for 20 years!" Good point, actually.
Over the PA, Vince McMahon told the two to hurry it up and quit wasting time. They then teased WrestleMania at Cowboys Stadium before doing the whole DX schtick and then slowly made their way backstage which drew the ire of McMahon once again who popped out momentarily from behind the TitanTron. Do they still call it that?
Smackdown!
The show opened up with footage of The Big Show challenging Mark Henry and then putting the boots to the champ from last week's SD!
Teddy Long made his way to the top of the entrance ramp and was joined by John Laurinaitis. They announced a 41-man battle royale -- the biggest in WWE history -- with the winner getting a title shot of their choosing. Hmm, they advertised Mark Henry taking on Randy Orton, I wonder if the "Apex Predator" -- worst nickname ever, by the way -- is going to win?
Order of elmination: Cody Rhodes, Michael McGillicutty, Derrick Bateman, Yoshi Tatsu, Titus O'Neil, Matt Striker (?), William Regal, Percy Watson, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, someone I didn't recognize, one of the Uso brothers, Ted DiBiase, Tyson Kidd, Daniel Bryan, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, Drew McIntyre, Justin Gabriel, Mason Ryan, (who had eliminated the previous three), Primo, Santino Marella, Alex Riley, Kofi Kingston, (he skinned the cat, flipped over, tried to head scissors Jack Swagger out before Swagger slapped on an ankle lock and kicked him out), Zach Ryder, the second Uso brother, David Otunga, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Dark Sin Cara, Christian (Sheamus eliminated the last four), R-Truth, CM Punk, Sheamus (Christian snuck back in and tosses him over, Sheamus chased him to the back), Swagger, Jinder Mahal. Wade Barrett was thrown out at some point as well. At my point, that's 39 Superstars, not 41. Maybe I missed a couple of guys or maybe the WWE lied to us. Which do you think is more likely?
Orton thought he won but the Miz crawled back in and tried to eliminate him. They duked it out and ended up on the apron, trying to knock each other off. Orton got a hold of The Miz and nailed a pretty sweet RKO on the apron which led to both of them falling onto the floor. The referees consults with each other and announced Orton as the winner. Replay footage confirms the call. You see, FIFA? Instant replay can work!
Like I said, they promoted Henry/Orton for the show so no surprise that "The Viper" wanted to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.
"I hear voices in my head, they tell me to crap in bags..."
Backstage, Albert Del Rio (ADR) and Ricardo Rodriguez were seen heading to their car. Teddy Long is all, "Where you playa going?" ADR is all, "Orton picked Henry, I'm deucing." But yeah right, Long booked the WWE Champion against Sheamus for later on in the evening.
Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly stepped into the ring to take each other on next. Oh good, something fresh. As Jesse Holland said, "Who da thunk it." They really need to inject something new into the women's division. Anyway, it was basically a squash which the champ won with her GlamSlam -- or an Implant Buster, whichever name you prefer -- finisher.
No photos for this match. If you want to see some, check out the previous 16 events. I'm sure you'll find one or two.
Sin Cara's music hit but no Sin Cara? Que es esto? Then we saw footage on the TitanTron of the luchador taking on Evil Sin Cara backstage. Evil took it to his lighter counterpart and ripped off his mask. He kept saying in Spanish, "This is mine!" Then he stood holding both masks -- with his back to the camera, of course -- before putting on the blue one.
He came out and wrestled Justin Gabriel in a short match that he won with a senton bomb.
Backstage, Long guaranteed safe passage for Air Boom while on SD! (what is this, Middle Earth?) before Vickie Guerrero joined in and made fun of the tag champs for being crybabies. She demanded Swiggler get a match but Long put the kibosh on that. Assistant to the SD! General Manager Zack Ryder came out and booked a tag match between him and Kingston against Vickie's cubs. Then him and Long had a woo woo/holla holla off. Awesome.
Alberto Del Rio beat Sheamus via disqualification after Christian ran in and attacked Sheamus. It was a good match and the "Great White" is getting crazy over as a face. Christian laid him out with a Spear and left the ring only to come back and hit another one.
During the match, I proposed that Sheamus' new entrance song should be a reworked version of the Garth Brooks song "Shameless." That one's free, WWE.
The tag match came up next which Long Island Boom won. It was a really fun match -- again, a GOOD tag match, weird! -- that saw Kingston run in and hit the Trouble in Paradise on an unsuspecting Ziggler. The Ghanaian then pulled his partner -- who was actually the legal man -- on top of the former Spirit Squad member to pick up the win.
Backstage, Sheamus tells an Irish parable about a bridge troll and a white bull that confuses some and downright freaks out the others. Looks like The Jobbening of Christian will continue at Vengeance.
And in the maaaain event of the evening, Mark Henry had his 84th match with Randy Orton. It was exactly the same as the others -- which isn't necessarily bad, the two work very well together -- but it was just more of the same. The ending came when Rhodes ran in and attacked Orton for the DQ. The two heels beat Orton down until The Big Show ran -- or rather, quickly walked -- to the ring to even the odds. Both faces hit their respective finishers on their Vengeance opponents to close out the show.
Post-Smackdown!
There was a dark match between Alberto Del Rio and John Cena that I didn't stay for because, you know, screw that.