WWE: Smackdown
April 4, 2014
Washington, D.C.
Verizon Center
The current WWE champs are as follows:
WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton (12/15/2013)
WWE Intercontinental Champion: Big E (11/18/2013)
WWE U.S. Champion: Dean Ambrose (5/19/2013)
WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee (6/16/2013)
WWE Tag Team Champions: The Usos (3/3/2014)
48 HOURS UNTIL WRESTLEMANIA 30! Expect a lot of video packages.
Your hosts are Michael Cole & JBL.
– Dolph Ziggler vs. Titus O’Neil
Cole and JBL hype the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal that these two men have entered to be in at WrestleMania. Cole mentions the favorites being the Big Show and various other big guys. Ziggler fights off O’Neil’s power move onslaught and hits the ZIGZAG out of nowhere for the win in 4:00. ¾*
Next up, there’s a video package set to a sit-down interview with Booker T talking to Batista hyping WrestleMania’s WWE world title main event. Bats basically calls foul on the whole deal saying that he won the Royal Rumble and is the only one who deserves the WWE world title shot. He says Triple H should now stay behind a desk wearing his suit and tie. He also mentions how Daniel Bryan has no business being in his ring since he’s just five-foot-nothing, 100-nothing pounds. He’s going to SQUASH him. The Yes Movement is just a fad. He understands why people love him, but Bryan’s just not the real deal. As for Randy Orton, he’s the biggest corporate suck-up ever. Pretty awesome stuff. It felt very “UFC” to me.
– The Real Americans (w/Zeb Colter) vs. Los Matadores (w/El Torito)
Los Matadores get busy headscissoring and armdragging the Real Americans around to start. He even interrupts Cesaro’s very important “We the People” moment with a headscissors. Zeb Colter finally has enough of this and slaps Cesaro across the face. Well, you don’t slap a man. Cesaro feels the same way and acts like he wants to slug Colter, but Swagger manages to talk him out of it. Instead, he turns his aggression onto Diego or Fernando with a series of running European uppercuts in the corner. I can never tell them apart. Cesaro delivers the dead lift gutwrench suplex as we go to commercial. When we return, Diego or Fernando escapes a chinlock from Cesaro and double-DDT’s the Real Americans. Swagger cuts off the hot tag though and tags Cesaro as the Real American punish this guy with a double suplex. Tag to Swagger, he launches Cesaro into an avalanche in the corner, and then levels this matador with a clothesline for two. Once this masked fellow breaks away from a front headlock from Swagger and dumps Cesaro over the top rope, Cesaro pulls down the other guy off the apron to prevent the babyface tag. Belly to belly suplex by Swagger gets two. Swagger Bomb and Cesaro Double Stomp gets two. Now this matador fellow finds a way to dump out both Cesaro and Swagger on their side. Time to make the diving hot tag, but who really likes Los Matadores? He flies circles all over Cesaro. The other matador backdrops Swagger over the top rope, but then he gets booted off the apron by Cesaro. Back to the legal matador, he blocks a running European uppercut in the corner. He comes off the middle rope, but gets caught in the Cesaro Swing and the Neutralizer to give the Real Americans the win. (8:00 shown) My pick to win the WWE tag titles at WrestleMania? The Real Americans. After the work they have done (well, Cesaro anyway) and with the apparent impending doom of their team, they seem tailor-made to win the straps. And let’s be honest, aren’t the Usos better as title chasers instead of long-term champions? Match was mostly a house-show encounter. Nothing special or memorable, but it was fine while it lasted. The crowd only popped for Cesaro, which is understandable and a good thing. **
Another “UFC” type sit-down interview with Booker T this time talking with the WWE world champion Randy Orton. They bring up Randy Orton’s big time main event period over the last six months of 2013 where he won Money in the Bank, cashed in on Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam, and then unified the WWE and world heavyweight titles in December. He calls Triple H “one hell of a competitor” who takes after Vince (?) in that he’s a ruthless businessman and will do what he needs to do to get what he wants. At WrestleMania 30, Orton will no longer see Triple H as his boss and instead will see him as just another body in the ring. As for Daniel Bryan, Orton finds it funny to watch someone struggle to get to the top when it came so easy to him. He doesn’t think Bryan will be 100% after the beating he received from Triple H. Alright, what does Orton think of Batista? He can’t help but “snicker” at Batista when everybody boos him. Orton doesn’t even feel Batista is an opponent for him after he’s been gone for four years. Booker now wants to know what we can expect from WrestleMania 30. Orton will be the last man standing with both titles still in hand, plain and simple.
For the last couple minutes and the first time since 2003, Hulk Hogan appears on Smackdown. He recounts his biggest WrestleMania memories (Mr. T, Rock, Andre) and can’t wait to present the trophy to the winner of the ATGMBR. WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN HULKAMANIA, THE ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL, AND WRESTLEMANIA RUN WILD ON YOU?
There are no more matches on this episode of Smackdown. Just a series of video packages, showing off WrestleMania Axxess, and providing you with anything and everything to get you pumped for the big day.
Matt’s WrestleMania 30 Picks
– WWE World Heavyweight Title: Daniel Bryan over Randy Orton (c), Triple H and Batista to win the title
– WWE Tag Team Titles: The Real Americans over the Usos (c), Los Matadores, and Rybaxel to win the titles
– WWE Divas Title: AJ Lee over the other 13 Divas to retain
– Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Big Show wins
– Main Event Spot: Triple H over Daniel Bryan through nefarious means; Hulk Hogan comes out and doesn’t reverse the decision. Instead, he puts both men in the main event to make for a four-way.
– The Undertaker over Brock Lesnar
– Bray Wyatt over John Cena
– The Shield over The New Age Outlaws & Kane
Until next week, hope everyone enjoys a safe and happy WrestleMania weekend!
