KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As The World’s Largest Athlete and The World’s Strongest Man collided with Randy Orton and Sheamus in SmackDown’s tag team main event, “The Hounds of Justice” poked a stick at The Phenom and dual No. 1 contenders to the World Heavyweight Title went head-to-head in an epic WrestleMania Rematch.
Fandango opened SmackDown, initiating an impromptu dance with the lovely Lilian Garcia, before dropping the ring announcer to the canvas and belittling both her and the WWE Universe.
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The Superstar that upset Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 29 then went on to question whether Lilian could even say his name correctly. Luckily, pronunciation extraordinaire Santino Marella was on hand to take up the challenge. After doing his own hilarious rendition of “Fandangoing” — with the Cobra as a dance partner — Santino evaded Fandango furious charge, pulling down the top rope and sending the nimble aggressor to the ringside floor.
The quick moves of the two-time Intercontinental Champion proved insufficient once the bell rang, however, as Fandango ultimately blocked his Cobra strike to plant The Milan Miracle into the canvas for another huge win.
In a rare Champion vs. Champion showdown, newly crowned United States Champion Kofi Kingston triumphed over his longstanding adversary, Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett.
Although The Barrett Barrage drove “The Wildcat” into the mat with brutal force in the match’s final moments, the resilient Kingston still possessed enough presence-of-mind to counter The Bare-Knuckled Brawler’s pin attempt to score a quick three-count.
The World’s Largest Athlete increased the apparent fraction between SmackDown General Manager Booker T and his Senior Adviser Theodore Long — sticking it to the five-time WCW Champion in the process.
In the climatic final moments of an extremely personal back-and-forth WrestleMania Rematch between the duel-No. 1 contenders to Dolph Ziggler’s World Heavyweight Title, Alberto Del Rio countered Jack Swagger’s Patriot Lock to cinch in the Cross Armbreaker. But, the action would not end there.
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To the amazement of all, the “Real American” used every bit of his strength to transform that painful finishing maneuver into an impressive pin attempt. And while he nearly picked up the three-count for his trouble, he could stop the Mexican Superstar from answering back with a small package for the heroic win in an incredible showdown!
From an undisclosed location, the “Hounds of Justice” twisted the knife about their brutal Raw assault of WWE Champion John Cena four days earlier — before turning their attention to their imminent clash with the reunited Brothers of Destruction and Daniel Bryan this Monday, as Raw broadcasts from the United Kingdom.
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When Primo, Epico and Rosa Mendes stole a parking lot spot away from The Great Khali, Natalya and Hornswoggle, the fired-up competitors decided to settle their dispute in a Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match.
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And in the match’s final moments — after an angry Rosa made the mistake of pursuing ’Swoggle outside the ring and suffered a fierce Natalya clothesline as a result — Khali caught Epico off the rope and delivered the Punjabi Plunge for the huge triumph.
Earlier in the night, after experiencing two separate assaults from Mark Henry, The Celtic Warrior struck back with a powerful attack of retribution on The World’s Strongest Man during his target’s interview with Renee Young.
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This only added to the fireworks in the final moments of SmackDown’s explosive tag team main event. When Randy Orton looked ready to finish off a reeling Big Show with the RKO, Mark Henry slammed into The Viper from out of nowhere. This brought Sheamus into the action, nailing The World’s Strongest Man with such force that it knocked both Superstars out of the ring.
As Sheamus and Henry hit the floor, The World’s Largest Athlete seized the opportunity, hitting a still-reeling Orton with the chokeslam for the giant win.