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Tonight is a special Tuesday Night Smackdown from Wichita, KS. After Friday’s Smackdown and last night’s Raw, tonight’s bonus action is a welcome addition to our mid-week entertainment. The featured main event is “one more match” between Christian and Randy Orton—in a steel cage. Orton will be defending the title after a fair effort the night before vs. Dolph Ziggler. Tonight also features a contract signing between Triple H and CM Punk. This promises to be interesting.

Other highlights from tonight’s event include:

Randy Orton and Christian battle in a doozy of a cage match.
Mark Henry makes a statement against Orton after the cage match.
CM Punk once again schools Triple H on the microphone and Nash joins a three-way fray.
Sin Cara turns heel (or at least pulls heel move) against Daniel Bryan

Since I didn’t have my Tivo set for the 7:00 CT start time, I jumped in 20 minutes after it started (good thing I happened to be watching Raw from last night and saw the advertisement to remind me!). In an excellent match on paper, we kick it off with Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara. Cara starts with an arm barm that is reversed by Brtyan and turned into a back drop attempt, but Cara lands on his feet and lands a nice arm drag on Bryan. The two trade wrist locks and Bryan hits a running kick followed by a suicide dive to the outside that lands fairly well. Bryan has a look of intensity ever since he came out for the match. He drills Cara with some martial arts kicks followed by a running missile kick into the corner. Bryan locks on a surfboard-like maneuver and locks in a nasty looking submission that is basically an upside down camel clutch. Haven’t seen that one before. Bryan is looking real aggressive but Cara capitalizes on that by avoiding a kick attempt and then flipping DB over the top to the outside. Cara lands a nice reverse springboard plancha on to Bryan. Back in the ring, Cara with some chops and we catch a glimpse of Bryan whispering something to Sin. They collide hard off the ropes with a off-setting flying body presses. They trade Euro uppercuts and martial arts kicks. Cara hits a nice samoan drop and then lands two consecutive lionsaults off the top rope for the pinfall. It was a fun match but what the hell is up with Cara still being so invincible. I don’t get it or like it. After the match the two shake hands. Suddenly, Cara blasts Bryan with a running kick to the jaw!?! Sweet! Cara just pulled a major heel move—just when I was totally starting to hate him. If that’s not a heel turn, then what is? We go backstage Stryker interviewing Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne. Bourne also annoys me with his perma-smile. It’s a total kiddie promo.

Next up after commercial is a recap of the saga between Christian and Randy Orton. It chronicles all the dips, dive and dandy matches, and is topped off by Bret Hart booking the match steel cage match on Friday night. He tells Christian, “this way you have no more excuses for anything!”. Christian is interviewed live by Stryker. He says ‘this is his night. Everyone has turned their backs on him, from Edge to Bret Hart. They’ve called him a whiner, complainer, a little B(*#h, but he assures us he’s a fighter and he fights for what’s right…no matter if people like it or not. He doesn’t need to be the World Heavyweight Champion to validate his career (probably true, but debatable), but it’s because he wants it. And Christian wants to be the world champ and he always gets what he wants’.

During the break, there’s an interesting commercial for WWE.com where WWE basically promotes itself as bigger and badder. I took it as a reference to being attitude-oriented. It advertises faces and heels and says it’s time to ‘declare where you stand’ in the WWE universe.

In Divas action, the wonderful team of Natalya and Beth Phoenix take on Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox. I guess Fox can act like beeyatch all she wants but suddenly become a face just because she got her ass kicked by Natalya last week?! No matter, she gets destroyed by Phoenix and quickly is pinned in a near squash. Fox misses the scissors kick (even when she ‘lands’ it she basically misses) and is clobbered by Beth’s finisher. Next up is the contract signing as we see Hunter going over some paperwork and particulars backstage.

For some reason we have to get an introduction of Teddy Long just so he can in turn introduce HHH. Speaking of bad WWE GMs, andone know what ever happened to the anonymous Raw GM?! Was that just dropped ad hoc?? HHH comes out and says he cancelled the match between CM Punk and Kevin Nash after consulting the WWE board, and instead, CM Punk will go 1×1 with Triple H (sigh). The crowd responds in a lackluster fashion to HHH’s announcement. Please don’t tell me we have to deal with HHH going over against Punk and burying yet another rising star…er, rising superstar. CM Punk’s Cult of Personality music hits and he gets a decent ovation…this crowd is just kind of lame no matter who is out there though. Now I see why Teddy Long is out there, as he is presiding rather than just being a 4th wheel for a Nash/Punk contract signing. Punk goes into how unnecessary this exercise is. Why are we here—did you add a clause that you can just do whatever you want on this match whenever you want? Hunter sort of concedes he may have caught Punk off guard last night with the change of match, but Punk makes a very salient point about how he did not catch him off guard, because nothing in the WWE catches him off guard and he’s never surprised no matter how stupid, ridiculous or poor the decision might be. Amen to that! Nothing catches him off guard anymore. Hunter stammers over his sentences as he clearly can’t quite hang with Punk when it comes to shoots and fluidity of speaking. He bumbles a line about how Punk should have in intelligence what he lacks in hygiene (meanwhile, Hunter has hair in a pony tail and Punk is clean-cut, so that doesn’t really make sense). Hunter carries on and justifies his actions due to Punk’s disrespect for him, his family and his father-in-law. Please, this is the same guy who basically used to shove his cock in McMahon’s mouth during the DX days…that whole disrespect McMahon argument is pretty weak. Hunter says he tried to work with Punk and he bent over backwards to work with him regarding the WWE Title. I’ll give him that. He uses the example of how he paid Living Colour to approve his ring intro music (are they really still around!?); and who pushed his new tee shirt through; and how he gave him Kevin Nash on a plate like Punk wanted…and Punk still pushes his buttons. HHH says he’s trying his ass off to be the COO around here but now Punk has to deal with him as a man. Punk calmly says he doesn’t want to fight the COO—the new HHH sucks. He wants the Cerebral Assassin; he wants the guy HHH used to be. He wisely points out that perhaps Hunter’s correct and isn’t the right guy for the COO job. He says the last guy who was the COO (Vince McMahon) also couldn’t separate personal issues from business issues. The biggest thing Vince saw that you don’t, is how Punk doesn’t hate the WWE. He doesn’t hate it, he LOVES it. He’d be home if he hated it. Punk says, “what I want is change. I recognize when things suck and I speak my mind. I want things to be different. I want things to be better. I want things to be so much better—not just for me but for everybody (crowd begins chanting “C-M-PUNK”). I am dieing for a change. WE are dying for a change. I want to be a catalyst for that change”. Hunter cuts him off and says “Oh save me! You want to be the catalyst as long as it benefits you. I am sick to death of listening you talk how you’re doing it for them. Yeah, maybe half agree with you and the other half don’t give a damn. You know, some of these people actually like the WWE. They tune in every week (sheep!) and love what they see and come here to have a good time. They like it the way it is. Can it be better? Sure it can be better” (you just contradicted your point, Hunter). He goes on to say they’re alike in how they did what they had to do to get to the top. He calls Punk a martyr and basically accuses him of being shady with his intentions. Punk retorts smartly that half the people liking what they see isn’t enough. Everyone should like what they see. Before he was a wrestler, he was a fan, and at his core he is still a fan and he will do what he knows will make this place better and fun again. HHH doesn’t say anything. Punk says the reason he pushes HHH’s buttons (comments about his wife, etc.) was to test Hunter and give him trial by fire. “And guess what, you failed. You’re just like everybody else. You’re just like Vince McMahon. I thought maybe we wanted the same things; maybe we were alike and on the same page. But it turns out, you (HHH) are too egotistical and vindictive. It’s the same things I’ve seen before—you hire your old buddies to do your dirty work because you can’t get your hands dirty. I’ve seen it before. Punk then grabs a pen and says, ‘if I have to be the catalyst of change, and I have to go through you, then so be it. We’ve never like each other. Just do me the favor, since you’re the COO, at Night of Champion don’t fine me or suspend me after I kick your ass”. HHH says, ‘you compare me to Vince. I respect Vince McMahon and we wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for him. You want to compare me to him, thank you, you couldn’t give me a better compliment”. Thank heavens, Punk interrupts and calls Hunter out on that for living in the past and he doesn’t want to look to the future. You (HHH) are the guy that used to point to your crotch and say “suck it”…and I want change! Hunter says, “you want change, you’re going to get it. This is where I’m not like Vince (Hunter signs). Vince would have gotten in the ring with you and taken a beating because it’s good for business. This is nothing about business between you and me—it’s completely personal—and I am going to kick your skinny fat ass”. Hunter drops his mike and annoying fans mark out to him. Suddenly, Nash comes out to his new remixed NWO music, which I totally dig. He’s charging the ring in a brisk walk. For some reason, HHH is holding back Punk. Nash comes in the ring and upends the table. Punk lands some kicks and punches as he strikes first. Nash rakes the eyes but Punk is all over Nash landing combos and body blows. Hunter decks Punk from behind and Nash flattens CM with a big boot. HHH goes to stop Nash but Big Sexy decks HHH. Nash leaves the ring angrily and Punk and Hunter are both down and perplexed. Three way dance?! Cole appropriately states Hunter has lost control of his company.

Next up is Sheamus vs. Great Khali. Sheamus is wearing bandages across his ribs due a recent attack from Mark Henry. This past Friday, Henry delivered a World’s Strongest Slam on Sheamus across the steel ring steps! Khali has the dexterity of an oak tree, so his matches are pretty dull and predictable. Still, Sheamus lands a nice flying shoulder block that takes Khali off his feet. About five minues in, Jinder Mahal interferes and Khali is DQ’d. The two attack Sheamus after the bell. Sheamus fights back though and delivers his finisher on Mahal (Celtic Cross).

The main event is next with about 30 minutes left in the program. The main event participants are introduced with the challenger being introduced first followed by Randy Orton. They lock eyes before the champ enters the cage and set for battle. But first, a commercial…we return and Christian is working over Orton in the corner. He makes a quick dash to the top of the cage but Orton prevents him by grabbing the ankle. Orton gets a roll up for a near fall (pinfalls count in this steel cage match apparently). Christian hits a nice double armed spinebuster, and the challenger is ahead on points if there were such a thing. The pace of the match gets real slow, especially for a steel cage match, and Christian land a spinning neckbreaker. He calls for the cage door but is caught by Orton before he gets through the ropes. Christian goes over the top of the cage and gets one leg over before being caught by Orton. Both men are standing on the top rop in the corner trading blows. Orton hits a vertical super-plex off the top rope, causing injury to both men. While both are down we go second commercial. Upon returning, we see Christian with a hand on the floor and half his body draped outside of the cage door. He’s going for his 5th escape attempt, his closest one yet, but it is also for naught. Orton is on the defensive most of this match. We see replays from during the break where Christian was whipped hard in the cage shoulder-first. In real-time action, Orton hits a short-armed clothesline, misses an RKO attempt, and then tosses Christian into the cage head-first. Orton has CHrsitian draped over his shoulder in power slam position, and then charges the cage side but Christian gets his arms up, and uses his momentum going backwards to reverse the situation into a nice backbreaker. Christian hits a flying frog splash from the top rope and gests a second consecutive near fall. The doors is open but Christian “Cage” takes too much time getting there. The challenger sets up his spear and goes for it but Orton leap frogs and attempts an RKO. Christian thwarts the RKO and then hits the spear for a third very near fall. Christian has brought it tonight but doesn’t have gold yet. He begins lining up a punt, but of course he misses it. He hits a reverse thrust kick and feints a jump off the middle rope but actually just bolts towards the top of the cage as Orton’s whiffing a third RKO attempt. Randy catches him and holds him upside on his shoulder and then drops Christian with a hard inverted back suplex. This time it’s Orton with a near fall. Great match! Orton hits the middle rope DDT and Cole gives the required “Vintage Orton”. Orton goes into viper mode but Christian tosses Randy off from a fourth RKO attempt. Christian on top of the cage, draped across the top and the two are seated on top of the cage trading punches, raking eyes, and bashing each others faces across the top bars. Orton now standin on the top rope, and then Christian is as well. Orton is trying for an RKO off the top. Then Christian is trying a Killswitch from up top. They bash each other’s heads off the cage. Orton ends up hitting the RKO off the top rope and gets the three count! Randy Orton has defended the title on consecutive nights with two very good matches (Ziggler and Christian). There’s still a lot of time left and as if on queue we hear Mark Henry’s music. Henry comes into the cage and proceeds to lay a beatdown and Smackdown on Randy Orton. Orton fights back but is leveled with a thunderous clothesline. The episode ends with Henry holding up the World Title and Orton laying prone on his back.

Source: wrestlingtruth.com