Surprise, surprise…there’s controversy swirling around the World Heavyweight Title. After Edge used two spears (a move that was banned) to defeat Dolph Ziggler on Friday night, and a referee who’s authority is questionable at best counted the three, nobody is quite sure who the champ is. Vickie Guerrero was the official at the match’s outset, but appeared to injure herself while attempting to spear Edge. The Ultimate Opportunist was able to take advantage of the situation and nailed Ziggler with a couple of spears, then the Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews rushed to the ring to slap the mat on Edge’s behalf. The next day, WWE.com reported that there was uncertainty over who the champ was. Dolph tweeted that he was champion. Edgeheads everywhere cried themselves to sleep.
We probably won’t have an answer to who the champion truly is until next week’s Smackdown. I think the likeliest scenerio is that the title is vacated, with a new champion being crowned at the Elimination Chamber. Realistically, regardless of what they decide to do, the belt is up for grabs at Sunday’s gimmicky PPV anyway. So it’s really not something that matters. At all. Anyways, reactions to the rest of Smackdown after the jump.
- Alberto Del Rio opened the show with another in-ring celebration. He gave his usual schtick about being destined to win the World Title at WrestleMania, and who knows, maybe he is. Kofi Kingston crashed the party and drilled Del Rio with a kendo stick, leading to an impromptu match. Good to see Kingston getting a little bit of a push again. Del Rio won with a nifty cross armbreaker in a match that made both guys look good.
- Justin Gabriel notched a victory over Vladimir Kozlov with a little help from his friends. I think the Corre and the tag team champions are on a collision course, probably to culminate at the Chamber on Sunday.
- Drew McIntye made relatively short work of Chris Masters. Before the two locked up, McIntyre grabbed a mic and told Edge he held him solely responsible for the firing of Kelly Kelly. Really nice to see Drew show some kind of character, and the foundation was laid for an Edge/McIntyre confrontation in the chamber match next weekend. As for the match itself, there was a sitout powerbomb spot that saw The Chosen One seemingly suspended in air after being hoisted up by Masters. I highly suggest you catch a replay if you’re able.
- Wade Barrett and Rey Mysterio were given time to put on a nice, long match with one another. With some help from his stable mates, Barrett was able to secure the win. After the match, the Corre laid into Rey Rey. As Gabriel prepared to hit his trademark 450 splash on the Mexican superstar, the Big Show hit the ring to do his part in evening the odds. His fate was not a pretty one, however, as the Corre dismantled him in the middle of the ring. The beatdown was highlighted by a Big Zeke suplex, and it’s clear that he and Show are being pushed into a program with one another, possibly to meet next Sunday, or in some kind of match at WrestleMania.
- For the second week in a row, Kane crushed his opponent in less than five minutes. This time the victim was JTG.
- Diva’s Champion Eve Torres was victorious over Layla, who’s troubles with her partner continued. Layla and Michelle McCool haven’t been on the same page for weeks now, and the rift between them is getting larger and larger. Wouldn’t surprise me if they end up feuding for the ladies belt in a few weeks.
The World Title debacle was kind of pointless, and the Kane match was definitely just filler. Alberto’s promo was exactly what we’ve come to expect from him, and for the most part, the rest of the show was fairly average as well. McIntyre has the highlight of this week’s Smackdown, and I for one hope we see more of him in the coming weeks.
