Home ▸ SmackDown ▸ SmackDown! (04/01/11): Road to WrestleMania

Holy crap, you guys! It’s WrestleMania Weekend!

This week’s SmackDown! is the last stop before the big event itself; expect a lot of hype and build-up for the Grandest Stage of them All.

Apologies for the no-show last week – I’ve been on the receiving end of my own smackdown, thanks to my immune system. (I’m trying to get all the awful puns and wordplay out of my system early, but we all know that’s not gonna last long.)

BWF has been a veritable hub of activity this week – kudos to all the writers and contributors!

As for SmackDown!, we kick off the show with a championship bout!

WWE Intercontinental Championship – Wade Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston: Last week, The Corre added the Intercontinental title to their collective résumé, but Kofi’s out to reclaim his title by invoking his rematch clause. Given that The Corre have a match at ‘Mania, I’m guessing this match will break down into anarchy at some point! This is a spirited bout – I’ve not been blown away by either man recently, but kudos for this outing. Kofi lands a massive Boom Drop and starts signaling for Trouble In Paradise. He goes for the kick, but Barrett manages to plant his boot in Kingston’s face first! Kofi then lands Trouble In Paradise, but the rest of The Corre soon land in the ring to end the match in a DQ. The Corre’s WrestleMania opponents – Big Show, Kane, Santino and Kozlov – come down to even the odds, and this descends into a riot. The Corre are forced out of the ring, and retreat to the back. Your winner: Kofi Kingston by DQ

We go backstage to Matt Striker(!), who is standing by with the Not-So-Dashing Cody Rhodes. Rhodes justifies his attack on Rey Mysterio last week by citing ‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ Gotta give Rhodes credit – he’s given some great promos during this feud.

We then cut to ‘Dead Eyes’ Grisham, who is at WrestleMania Axxess in Georgia. His special guests, for some reason, are the Bella Twins. Let’s just skip ahead, shall we? They introduce a brilliant video promo for Undertaker/Triple H. This is, without doubt, WM27’s main event. Whether or not it finishes the show, everybody is talking about this match, and rightly so. It’s gonna be a good one, guys.

We go BACK to Grisham and the Bellas, who lead into a hype video for Orton/CM Punk. Punk has the potential to steal the show at ‘Mania – I just hope this match can live up to people’s expectations.

More Axxess fun… I don’t think we’re getting a lot of wrasslin’ action tonight, folks. Then again, the sole purpose of this episode is to achieve maximum hype for ‘Mania, and they’re doing a good job of it. We get another look at the video shown on RAW, announcing the Road Warriors’ induction into the Hall of Fame. Deservedly so – I’d go so far as to say they’re the greatest tag team of all time. It’s nice to see Paul Ellering being inducted alongside them, too.

Back to SmackDown!, and Jerry Lawler’s music hits. Josh Mathews mentions that Michael Cole scarpered as soon as he heard Lawler was showing up. Jerry gets a mic, and delivers a promo to camera. He talks about everything that Cole has done over the weeks to humiliate him, then promises to shut his mouth at WrestleMania. Great intense promo. I can’t wait to see Cole getting an ass-whoopin’!

Aaand, we’re back to Axxess. Grisham and the Bellas introduce a clip from RAW, as Shawn Michaels interrupted the staredown between Triple H and the Deadman. We’ve all seen it, so I’ll skip past this. Great segment, though.

Time for a look at SnookiMania! Say what you will about Jersey Shore, but you have to give Snooki credit for getting so into the spirit of things. Great move by the WWE to get her involved, I’d say.

How about Alberto Del Rio/Edge? I must confess, I feel like Del Rio’s been losing a bit of steam since winning the Rumble. I’m sure this match will be solid, but I can’t imagine it being a show-stealer by any means.

Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters: Holy crap, a match! Oh, it’s a Chris Masters match… Well, it’s not another Bella Twins segment. Be grateful for small mercies, right? This bout is all about building Cody as a threat to Rey Mysterio and making sure nobody forgets how dangerous that mask is. And they do a good job. Masters almost locks in the Masterlock, but Rhodes gets a leg through the ropes. One dunt to the side of the head by Rhodes’ mask, and Masters is soon on the receiving end of a Cross Rhodes. After the bell, Rey Mysterio runs down to the ring. He sets up for a 619, but Rhodes manages to escape.  Your winner: Cody Rhodes

We’re shown a clip from Chris Jericho’s performance on Dancing With The Stars. I did wonder how well the WWE would take to his appearance on the reality show, but then again, we all know how much the WWE loves mainstream attention. In all fairness to Jericho, the boy’s got moves! Cheesy, cheesy moves. But moves nonetheless.

We close the show with another look at the confrontation on RAW between John Cena, The Miz and The Rock. Needless to say, I’ll be very intrigued to see what role The Rock will play in the WWE Championship match at ‘Mania. That Attitude Adjustment on The Rock? Oh hell no!

Well, that’s it for SmackDown!. Hope you all enjoy WrestleMania 27, and make sure to come right back to BWF for all the post-Mania coverage. Cheers!

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