Vincent Michaels
My weapon of choice? A green onion.
Last Week:
Reunited for victory
HOUSTON With WrestleMania XXVII just 23 days away, John Cena and Triple H came to the blue brand with messages for their opponents. Plus, WWE NXT season four runner-up Brodus Clay tried to make a name for himself on Friday night with Alberto Del Rio at his side, but reunited veterans World Heavyweight Champion Edge and Christian said no how, no way.
World Heavyweight Champion Edge & Christian def. Alberto Del Rio & Brodus Clay
As Edge and Alberto Del Rios WrestleMania collision draws near, the two battled in tag team action. Reunited for the first time in more than a decade, Edge and Christian used their veteran skills to achieve victory. After Captain Charisma stunned Clay with a Tornado DDT, The Ultimate Opportunist followed up with a hard-hitting flying elbow.
Triple H accepted a No Holds Barred Match with The Undertaker
Saying emotion would not play a role in his match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania, Triple H eagerly accepted the proposed No Holds Barred Match and confidently predicted victory over The Phenom.
Rey Mysterio def. Drew McIntyre
After a 619 and splash combo, Rey Mysterio beat Drew McIntyre. Following the match, Cody Rhodes emerged, wanting an answer to his WrestleMania challenge. Mysterio heartily accepted.
Layla def. Kaitlyn
Despite a formidable offense from NXT season three winner Kaitlyn, Layla took care of business with a Lay-out neckbreaker. Afterward, Layla held Kaitlyn in the corner, allowing Michelle McCool to connect with a vicious kick from behind.
Michael Cole interviewed John Cena
John Cena came to SmackDown to boldly proclaim that WWE Champion The Miz made the biggest mistake of his career when he blindsided Cena and hit him with the People's Elbow on Raw. When Michael Cole antagonized Cena about the night, all hell broke lose. In the end, Coles WrestleMania trainer, Jack Swagger, was met with the full force of an Attitude Adjustment.
Cody Rhodes def. JTG
Bitter and self-conscious about his injured face, Cody Rhodes unloaded on JTG, finishing him off quickly with a brutal Cross Rhodes.
Big Show & Kane def. Wade Barrett & Heath Slater by Disqualification
Despite being banned from ringside by SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long, Justin Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson couldnt hold back from joining the fray, launching a brutal four-on-one assault against Kane. After watching the assault from outside the ropes, Big Show eventually got back into the ring to help out his partner. The Worlds Largest Athlete first blasted Jackson with a steel chair across the back. Then, as Barrett brandished the chair, Show drove the cold steel back into his face with a massive right punch. As The Corre scattered, Show slammed Kane across the back with the steel chair perhaps payback for Kanes chair shot in their one-on-one match last week.
Kane def. Wade Barrett by Disqualification
After his refusal to join The Corre, Kane paid a painful price when the group of renegades brutally attacked him, resulting in an immediate disqualification in his bout with Wade Barrett. Before total destruction, Big Show rushed to the ring to drive off the vicious attackers.
Edge & Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio & Brodus Clay announced
When Edge attempted to fend off Alberto Del Rio and his protégé, Brodus Clay, Christian came to the champions aid. Then, when the former tag team partners ended up taking quite a beating, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long announced the four would square off in the nights main event.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight:
fighting side-by-size
Big Show and Kane partner to take on WWE Tag Team Champions Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater for their titles. Can the gigantic duo put their differences aside and wrest the championship from the clutches of The Corre?
Find out this and more, on WWE Friday Night SmackDown! on The SyFy Network!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio
After winning the biggest Royal Rumble Match in history, Alberto Del Rio has proclaimed that he will challenge World Heavyweight Champion Edge for his coveted title at WrestleMania XXVII. Edge is a 11-time World Champion at the top of his game and a Master Manipulator known for attacking both the mind and body of any impending adversary. In the squared circle, he is extremely dangerous, wielding an incredible array of maneuvers most prominent of which is the bone-shattering Spear. He has headlined the past three WrestleManias, standing toe-to-toe with the likes of The Undertaker, John Cena, Big Show and Chris Jericho. The future WWE Hall of Famer undeniably knows what it takes to shine in The Showcase of the Immortals. Alberto Del Rio is making his first appearance on The Grandest Stage of Them All. But, in the short time he has been in WWE, he has stepped head-and-shoulders above the rest. His infamous list of accomplishments includes a conquest over two-time World Champion Rey Mysterio on his first night as a SmackDown Superstar and ruthlessly putting both The Master of the 619 and Christian out of commission. That all paled in comparison, however, to the moment he overcame 39 other combatants to triumph in the 2011 Royal Rumble Match, catapulting himself into the main event at WrestleMania. One day later, after choosing to make himself the No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Title, the aristocratic Superstar put the exclamation point on his declaration by smashing The Rated-R Superstar with a guitar and locking him in his excruciating cross armbreaker. Although the match between Edge and Del Rio is sure to be a classic, it almost did not happen. Thanks to the actions of Dolph Ziggler and then-"acting" SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero, The Master Manipulator was stripped of his World Title and fired for using an illegal Spear. But, once the true GM Theodore Long returned, Edge was immediately reinstated and won his title back. Can Del Rio use his incredible momentum to outclass The Ultimate Opportunist on The Grandest Stage of Them All?
The Undertaker vs. Triple H
The time has arrived. After weeks of high anticipation comes an epic battle years in the making. A resurrected Triple H will face off against The Undertaker in a clash of WWE titans at WrestleMania XXVII. Weeks of a campaign filled with ominous 2.21.11 imagery finally culminated on February 21st when the two Superstars met in the ring on Raw after each had spent months recuperating from injury. Although no words were spoken, the men reached a tacit agreement to compete against one another at The Show of Shows. Precisely 10 years ago, the two respected and feared Superstars squared off on The Grandest Stage of Them All at WrestleMania X-Seven. During that contest, the action spilled outside the ring in a memorable display of power and determination. In the end, The Demon of Death Valley prevailed by pinfall. Despite their legendary status, each man goes into the match with something to prove, having suffered major setbacks in 2010. The Game had been sidelined for 10 months after King Sheamus ambushed him at Extreme Rules while The Demon of Death Valley was waylaid by his brother Kane during a Buried Alive Match at WWE Bragging Rights. In order for The Cerebral Assassin to overcome The Deadman, hell first need to negate the psychological advantage of his opponent. After all, The Undertakers famous win streak at WrestleMania hit 18-0 last year, and the list of his fallen foes remains littered with renowned Superstars, including Randy Orton, Edge and more recently, Shawn Michaels. Not only did The Phenom defeat HBK two WrestleManias in a row, he ended the mans career. A fact certainly not lost on Michaels close friend, Triple H, who may well use the misfortune as a motivator. For his part, The Game also possesses a list of enviable accomplishments. Not only is he a former King of the Ring, Triple H has also reigned an incredible five times as World Heavyweight Champion and eight times as WWE Champion. Despite all the accolades, though, he has never beaten The Undertaker at WrestleMania, a feat only a Superstar of Triple Hs caliber could achieve. With both powerhouses eager to prove to the world that they are now running on all cylinders, the match will prove to be both a test of wills as well as strength. Can The Undertaker possibly continue his extraordinary record of victory at WrestleMania? Or will his formidable foe finally put an end to The Streak?
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole with Jack Swagger (Special guest referee "Stone Cold" Steve Austin)
Since 2008, Jerry The King Lawler and Michael Cole have called the action from the broadcast booth a few feet away from the ring. At WrestleMania XXVII, however, they'll be on the other side of the table as the individuals embroiled in battle themselves with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin mediating as special referee. Commentary cohorts turned adversaries, Lawler and Cole will tussle in a WrestleMania-bedecked ring for the first time in both men's very contrasting careers. And while The Texas Rattlesnake will be tasked to sustain order in this unusual bout, The King will need to maintain a vigilant eye on his enemys handpicked trainer: Former World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger. In between them all, in the all-important stripes of match official, stands the WWE Hall of Famer known for, ironically, raising hell. As Austin demonstrated when he Stone Cold Stunnered his way into it (at JBL's expense), the multiple-time WWE Champion abides only by his own unique set of rules. Stomaching months of insufferable disrespect from his immediate left, Lawler challenged his broadcast partner to this heavily personal clash. The WWE Hall of Famer hit his boiling point after Cole's (repeated) involvement in the legend's long awaited WWE Championship opportunities, earned after two decades in WWE. The leader of the so-called Cole Miners not only stripped Lawler of a title-bearing trip to the main event of WrestleMania, but the brazen broadcast journalist then continued to stir the emotions of the Hall of Famer with a comment about Lawlers recently passed mother. Its been Michael Cole's intolerable fanhood of WWE Champion The Miz thats seemed to run parallel with the previously peaceable WWE personality's fall from impartiality. Under the headset, the self-proclaimed "Voice of WWE" devolved from demure ringside storyteller to sourpussed supporter of WWE's most despicable Superstars. Thus, the selection of Swagger as Coles coach and corner man is a natural fit. As if not clear enough by the bejeweled symbol sitting atop his head, Lawler's career has been studded by crowning achievements of all kinds around the country and across the globe. Counting more than 140 championships in his dynasty of accolades, the Memphis-born Hall of Famer surprisingly dances for the very first time on The Grandest Stage of Them All this year against an adversary that the WWE Universe could have never predicted. The King, of course, needs no training for his long awaited performance at The Show of Shows, but as he discovered while coiled within The All-American Americans ankle lock, Lawlers dream of triumph at WrestleMania is sufficiently jeopardized. Amid all of his championships and victories, none will be sweeter than a pummeling of his longtime announcing associate at The Show of Shows. Conversely, a defeat at the hands of Cole, the quintessential to quote Freddie Blassie pencil-necked geek would be the greatest disgrace of all. History will be made at WrestleMania XXVII in this contest no matter how potentially obscure, depending on the victor. Which voice of Monday Night Raw will emerge the winner at The Greatest Spectacle of Them All and how will Lawler compete with an obstacle like Swagger? Can The King manage to keep his hands off the peevish "Voice of WWE" per the orders Raw's General Manager? Just how much hell can "Stone Cold" raise while officiating this unlikely clash?
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
At WrestleMania XXVII, the inner-turmoil that consumes Cody Rhodes will turn outward, targeting the Superstar he blames for all his recent misfortunes Rey Mysterio. In the final moments of a fast-paced match on the Jan. 21 edition of SmackDown, Rey Mysterio delivered to 619 to his handsome adversary. Mysterios leg brace which Rhodes himself had exposed earlier on struck his opponents nose with tremendous force, causing it to break. Though injuries are always a potential hazard in the squared-circle, the results would be catastrophic for the Superstar who prided himself on his extraordinary appearance. Weeks later, Rhodes would return to SmackDown a completely different Superstar than before the injury. Replacing the sheer confidence that once accompanied his dashing persona, Rhodes came forth as a bitter shell of a man; drowning in self-conscious contempt; unable to stand the mere feeling of the WWE Universe staring at him. And, in his warped mind, the sole reason for all that he was experiencing was The Master of the 619. On the Feb. 25 edition of SmackDown, Rhodes and his WWE Hall of Famer father Dusty Rhodes shocked the WWE Universe when they executed a sinister plan to gain revenge on Mysterio. Luring the masked Superstar into a false sense of security, Cody unleashed a brutal assault on his adversary and ripped off his mask. Rhodes went on to challenge Mysterio to a fateful match at The Show of Shows one week later, promising to rip his foes mask off again and expose him to the WWE Universe. What lengths will the darkly-obsessed Cody Rhodes go to quell his inner-demons at the expense of Rey Mysterio?
John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler & Lay-Cool
Break out the pickles, slather on the suntan lotion and get ready to pump those fists, WWE Universe: Jersey Shores Nicole Snooki Polizzi is going to WrestleMania. The reality television icon, New York Times best-selling author and Rolling Stone cover girl will join John Morrison & legendary Diva Trish Stratus to battle Dolph Ziggler & Lay-Cool in an explosive Six-Person Tag Team Match. Crashing the party as special guest star of Monday Night Raw less than three weeks before The Show of Shows, the self-proclaimed Princess of Poughkeepsie struck up an immediate rapport with The Prince of Parkour. Although Morrison is an admitted Jersey Shore fanatic, WWEs resident cougar Vickie Guerrero made it clear that she is unimpressed by the pint-sized party girls outrageous MTV antics. But as fans of the popular series are already well aware, Snooki doesnt take trash-talking lightly especially from a grenade like Vickie. When Vickie confronted Snooki in the locker room area and threatened to slap the reality star, the poof-coiffed powder keg unleashed on Vickie with a hard slap of her own. As they say in Seaside Heights, it was on. Later that night, Vickie with the help of Michelle McCool & Layla defeated a returning Trish Stratus to join her so-called business associate Dolph Ziggler on Raw. After Vickie celebrated her questionable victory with Lay-Cool, Snooki emerged from her seat at ringside to acquaint the treacherous trio with her own patented brand of Jersey justice. Trish, a Tough Enough trainer and seven-time Womens Champion, joined her fellow reality television star in the ensuing brawl, prompting Vickie to issue a bold WrestleMania challenge, proposing that Ziggler & Lay-Cool face Morrison, Trish & Snooki on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Never backing down from a challenge whether it be a dance contest or a game of flip cup Snooki spoke for her team and accepted. Joining the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson and Donald Trump, Snooki is the latest pop-culture icon hoping to make an impact at The Show of Shows. Will her WrestleMania debut alongside Morrison & Trish in her first WrestleMania match in five years prove to be a shore thing? Or will Vickie & Lay-Cool send the diminutive Jersey Shore star back to the Garden State?
Find out, Sunday Apr. 3 at 7/4 PT, only on pay-per-view!
