WWE Smackdown TV taping report
July 2, 2013
Topeka, Kansas
Report by Caleb Harvey, PWTorch correspondent

Smackdown SPOILERS 7/5

- C.M. Punk opened Smackdown dressed in wrestler gear for his "special appearance." Punk watched a replay of Curtis Axel stealing their tag victory on Raw. Punk opened with a dig on John Cena, talked about the Fourth of July, talked about how independent he is, tied it into how he's going to win the WWE Title MITB match, talked about Brock Lesnar, and Alberto Del Rio interrupted.

Del Rio claimed this is his show, so Punk told him off. Del Rio then went off on Americans to "USA" chants. Punk called out Del Rio on his babyface "Born in Mexico, Made in America" gimmick, calling him phony. Del Rio told Punk to get out, but Punk refused. So, Teddy Long booked Del Rio vs. Punk as the main event.

- Backstage, Punk was with Paul Heyman. Heyman questioned whether Punk can out-wrestle Del Rio, which Punk said he's going to do. Heyman tried to talk Punk into letting him be ringside with Punk at Money in the Bank, but Punk said no.

- Rhodes Scholars came out to the ring to face The Usos. A lot of heat on Sandow for his pre-match promo, including his catchphrase of "Slackjaw mouth-breathers." Catchy, ain't it?

(1) The Usos beat Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes) in about 5:00. Cody controlled early, then a quick tag to Sandow. The Usos then got the double-team going, superkicked Cody on the apron, and hit a double top-rope splash on Sandow for the win.

Post-match, The Shield appeared on the big screen. Shield cut a promo on being dominant.

- Divas action was up next. First, a recap of what A.J. Lee did to Kaitlyn on Raw with the photoshopped picture.

(2) Alicia Fox beat Kaitlyn (w/Layla) in 3:00. Kaitlyn dominated, with little offense for Fox. Then, A.J. interrupted skipping around the ring. Fox capitalized with a roll-up for three.

- Backstage skit: A.J. ran away from Kaitlyn, but the Bellas stopped Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn then talked with Langston, who laughed at her.

- Recap of the latest Daniel Bryan/Kane/Randy Orton drama.

- Backstage, Christian and Orton talked with Renee Young about their gameplans against each other.

- Wyatt Family promo.

- Time for Orton vs. Christian. Huge pop for Orton, but Christian lost his pop after wrestling on Main Event. Time for another Face vs. Face match-up flashing back to 2011 Smackdown.

(3) Randy Orton beat Christian in 15:00. Orton dominated early. Christian took it to Orton on the outside, then hit the Spear for a two count back in the ring. Christian tried the Killswitch, but Orton countered with "vintage" offense. For the finish, Christian pushed off the RKO, then went to the top and jumped over Orton, who responded with the RKO for the win. The crowd exploded for the RKO.

- Backstage, Paul Heyman and Teddy Long talked. Long wanted Heyman at the commentary table for the Punk-Del Rio main event, and Long said he would not take "no" for an answer.

- Dolph Ziggler (finally) cut a promo about Del Rio and losing the World Title before facing Drew McIntyre.

(4) Dolph Ziggler beat Drew McIntyre in 4:00. Ziggler dominated early, then Drew over-powered Ziggler and got in some offense. Ziggler then hit the Zig-Zag for the win.

After the match, 3MB tried to attack Ziggler, but he escaped and teased 3MB. They tried to get him again, but Ziggler escaped again.

- Mark Henry video promo to hype Henry challenging John Cena for the WWE Title at the MITB PPV.

- Backstage, Fandango and Summer Rae are standing by. And, the Fandango gimmick comes down from the ceiling.

(5) Fandango beat Justin Gabriel in 2:00. Back-and-forth with some high-flying. Gabriel went for a Suicide Dive, but got hit in the head. Fandango then hit a Macho Man Elbow for the pin.

- Colter, Antonio Cesaro, and Jack Swagger cut a promo about the Fourth of July.

- Main event time - Heyman is on commentary. Del Rio vs. Punk is non-title.

(5) World Hvt. champion Alberto Del Rio vs. C.M. Punk went to a No Contest via double count-out in 18:00. Del Rio attacked Punk's shoulder throughout, looking to soften up Punk for the cross arm-breaker. Punk had a small comeback broken up by a backbreaker. Punk rolled out of the ring, then got thrown into the barricade and over the announce table. Del Rio then attacked Heyman at commentary. Punk then used the commentary table to launch himself onto Del Rio and into the barricade, resulting in the bell sounding. Lilian Garcia announced a double count-out for a No Contest.

After the announcement, Punk threw Del Rio back into the ring and hit the GTS. Apparently this was the end of Smackdown.

After the dust settled, Del Rio got up and cut a heel promo about how he is the champion. Ziggler then came out and cleared him from the ring. Ziggler celebrated, then went ringside to high-five the fans.

That completed the Smackdown TV taping tonight.

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