WWE Smackdown Storyline Tracker
By Robin Scannell, PWTorch Specialist

Episode - January 27, 2012

(1) World Title Picture

Big Show came to the ring and apologized for what he accidentally did to A.J. two weeks ago. Show said that A.J. had forgiven him after he apologized. He spoke about not having the heart to continue and may consider retiring after Sunday.

Daniel Bryan then came to the ring and said that A.J. didn’t remember the apology and that Show should do the honorable thing and quit now. Bryan slapped Show twice and Show pushed Bryan into the corner and said whatever happened to Bryan wouldn’t be an accident.

Mark Henry then came out and said he didn’t care about Show’s hurt feelings, Bryan’s Napoleon complex, or about A.J. Teddy Long then came out and booked Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett and Big Show vs. Mark Henry.

Later, backstage, Bryan spoke to Henry and tried to convince him that Henry needed to hurt Show, as Show didn’t deserve to be in their title match after losing to him twice already. Later, Bryan asked Kaitlyn to do A.J. a favor by telling Big Show that Henry was going to injure him. When Kaitlyn asked Bryan how he feels about A.J., Bryan said he keeps himself private.

In the main event, Big Show defeated Mark Henry via count-out during the commercial break. After the match, Bryan, who was at ringside, attacked Show with a chair and applied the LeBell Lock. However, Show managed to get out of the hold and hit a chokeslam. Show went for the WMD, but Bryan escaped from the ring.

***

(2) Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett came to the ring and said that even if Orton returned, he wouldn’t be the same. A video of the injury angle then aired. After, Orton came out to the ring and brawled with Barrett. Referees attempted to control the situation and then Long sent out some lower card wrestlers. After Barrett was out of the ring, Orton hit a number of RKOs on the wrestlers that were sent out.

Reax: At the end of that segment, a lower card wrestler was RKO’d by Orton, then another wrestler confronted Orton and was RKO'ed also. This happened about five times. Nonetheless, the segment was good and sets up another match between them, or at least an encounter in the Royal Rumble match.

***

(3) Royal Rumble Match Hype

The Royal Rumble ‘by the Numbers’ video, from Raw, aired. Also, a video aired on Rey Mysterio’s 2006 Royal Rumble win.

Reax: There wasn't a great deal of build for the actual match, with much of Smackdown focusing on lower card feuds, as WWE has been doing for a while. I don't know why they didn't cut out the two minutes dedicated to Aksana-Natalya and use that for 30-second spots of wrestlers talking about the Rumble match and what it could mean to their careers spread throughout the show.

***

(4) Justin Gabriel vs. Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes had an inset promo about giving Justin Gabriel a re-match before he wins the Royal Rumble. In the match that followed, Rhodes beat Gabriel in around two minutes.

***

(5) Tag Team Title Picture

Backstage, Yoshi Tatsu and Santino formed a tag team, although they couldn’t agree on the name. Epico & Primo (with Rosa Mendes) defeated the newly formed tag team of Santino and Yoshi Tatsu. Rosa Mendes had an inset promo in Spanish.

***

Other Stories

- Hunico (with Camacho) defeated Ted DiBiase in a short match. After the match, they attacked DiBiase, focusing on his hurt wrist.

- Backstage, Natalya asked for a re-match with Tamina, but it turned into Natalya saying that she could beat Aksana and that match was booked. In the match that followed, Aksana rolled up Natalya for a near-instant pinfall victory.

- Brodus Clay defeated Alex Riley in a very short squash match, making him 5-0 since returning to WWE.

- Sheamus defeated Drew McIntyre, continuing McIntyre’s losing streak.

Reax: The losing streak isn’t really going anywhere. Could they be building up to a breakout performance at the Rumble? He doesn’t need to win, but perhaps if McIntyre looks strong by eliminating a few guys, Teddy Long will reconsider, and McIntyre can move on from this and start winning matches.

Current Feuds Active this Week (# weeks)

Smackdown

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett (11)
Tamina vs. Natalya (5)
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show (7) / Mark Henry (4)
Ted DiBiase vs. Hunico (w/ Camacho) (4)

Feel free to email any comments to scannell.torch@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @robinocracy for my thoughts on the pay-per-view and non-wrestling related things.

[Torch photo (c) PWTorch.com]

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