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Backstage: Jack Korpela brought in Smackdown’s “special guest” tonight, WWE champion The Miz. Alex Riley accompanied Miz, apparently just as “guest.” Miz wanted to know why he’s here on Smackdown. He said he already beat Rey on Raw. Miz said the real reason he’s here is because he’s in-demand all day, every day. Monday – Rey on Raw. Tuesday – media all day. Wednesday – Jimmy Fallon and guest at the Knicks game. Thursday – VIP at the hottest club in NYC. Friday – Smackdown. Saturday – Tribute to the Troops. Sunday – Riley interrupted: “And a partridge in pear tree!” Miz looked him down, then vowed to put Orton through a table at the PPV on Sunday. Miz said he is the present, future, and he’s awesome.
WWE champion THE MIZ (w/ Alex Riley) vs. REY MYSTERIO — non-title match
Nice feeling-out process to start, then Rey clobbered Miz in the corner with a cannonball splash. Miz wanted a top rope moonsault, but Miz crotched him and began working on the left leg/ankle. Riley landed a cheap shot on Rey behind the ref’s back as Cole reset the events tonight with a four-way (or three-way) World Title match booked for TLC in Houston. On the Raw side, Cole noted Miz has an opportunity to validate his “advantageous” WWE Title victory via Money in the Bank cash-in with a victory over Orton at the PPV. That was a good point brought up by a caller on the Livecast today, which WWE really could have reinforced on Raw leading to the PPV. Before cutting to break, Mysterio took out Riley on the outside with a running sentaun from the ring apron.
Back from break, WWE had a very shaky hard camera as Miz and Rey traded control center-ring with the crowd hot for the exchange. Miz landed a turnaround cross-body splash off the ropes, which was good for a two count. Miz then cut off Rey yet again by ramming him into the turnbuckles. Miz wanted a top-rope move, but Rey cut him off. Back and forth action here.
Rey then snapped off a top-rope huracanrana for a two count. Striker noted Rey has the home court advantage compared to Monday on Raw. Rey wanted the 619, but Del Rio came out of nowhere tripping Rey from the floor. It was good for a two count only from Miz. Rey then kicked Del Rio on the floor, which drew a pop from the crowd. Rey wanted a springboard splash, but Miz got his knees up to block. Miz then made the cover for the win.
WINNER: Miz in 13:00. Good, back-and-forth match that was a step-up from their match on Raw. Miz continues to improve in the important area of selling intensity with his eyes, with the camera zooming in tight on his facial expressions looking for a story in the ring. (**1/2)
Post-match: Del Rio tried to attack Rey, but Edge made the save. Miz got involved and a four-way brawl broke out. Edge and Rey cleared the heels, then Long stepped out on stage. Long said everyone seems to want some action tonight, including Miz, who he said “hasn’t proven anything.” He then booked a tag match later tonight: Miz & Del Rio vs. Edge & Rey. The crowd liked the sound of that. Cole said he thinks that’s awesome…because they get to see Miz again. After the announcement, the director cut back and forth between Edge and Miz, who sold intensity with his eyes.
WWE champion THE MIZ (w/ Alex Riley) & ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. REY MYSTERIO & EDGE
Back from break, Edge completed his ring entrance with everyone else already in the ring. The opening bell sounded with nine minutes of TV time remaining. The heels quickly went to work on Edge as the announcers noted Del Rio has his first major title shot on Sunday. Del Rio and Rey picked up a battle that led to Del Rio flooring Rey. Del Rio slowly walked around Rey to sell his arrogance before bringing Rey back into the ring for the heels to work him over. Miz landed clubbing forearms to the head before walking toward Edge with a glare.
Del Rio re-entered and promptly took a kick strike to the face that stunned Del Rio. Edge made a hot tag and cleaned house on Miz, who also tagged in. Edge then got that look in his eyes wanting the spear, but Riley grabbed his foot. Edge and Miz exchanged finisher teases. Suddenly, they cut backstage to show men sprawled across the ground. There was a camera shot of Kane’s feet in the distance. Back in the ring, Edge dropped Miz with a spear, then Kane’s pyro shot off to interrupt.
Kane stormed the ring and the announcers played it up like Kane was the babyface looking for revenge. Kane stormed the ring and tackled Edge. The remaining members of the Smackdown locker room stormed the ring trying to separate the two men. Santino and Kozlov joined the mix. Kane and Edge were briefly separated, then Kane grabbed poor Trent Barreta for a chokeslam. A second later, Edge surprised Kane with a spear. They abruptly went off the air in the middle of Edge landing right hand blows on Kane.
WINNERS: No Contest in 9:00. The concerning trend of main event matches ending without a finish continued here. The show ended with a nice, intense exchange between Kane and Edge, but it followed the curious decision to make Kane almost seem sympathetic in the feud. As for the booking of Miz, I don’t like the idea of him being involved in a match where the final scenes aren’t focused on him, even on Smackdown. Whenever he’s on TV, his segment should ultimately focus on what he’s doing if WWE wants to reinforce Miz as “the most must-see champion in WWE history.” Not having depth on the Smackdown roster forced WWE’s hand to put Miz in this slot.
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