The first Smackdown since a thrilling Over the Limit PPV kicked off with Commissioner Roose waltzing down to the ring. Roose, with mic in hand, went on a self-lauding presentation about this past Sunday. “Unreal, right folks? That is how you steal a show. Del Rio and Sheamus had a classic! Rock and Mankind had a classic! Hell, did you see the looks on Mark Henry and Kurt Angle‘s face after they were royally screwed out of winning the tag belts? How does it feel, Real Deal? That’s right, payback is an unforgiving B.”
Roose then wasn’t happy about the threats Henry and Angle made on Monday. “You want to threaten my team? Let me tell you something, I just showed you why you don’t want to mess with my brand or my talent. Do I have to show you again? Because if I do, I will have to shut you all up.”
Roose’s show began with his United States Champion Justin Gabriel taking on Sin Cara in a non-title match. Gabriel was on a two-match losing streak after losing to Shawn Michaels two weeks ago and Alberto Del Rio last week before the PPV. He righted his ship after those two losses, landing the 450 Splash and beating a talented Sin Cara for the win.
Sheamus came down to the ring, arm wrapped up, and upset over losing his belt on Sunday to Del Rio. “I want my rematch, right here, right now, Berty. Come on out and be a real champion!” Del Rio came out to the stage, but he wasn’t dressed in his ring attire just yet.
Del Rio told Sheamus he wasn’t in the mood to fight him tonight for the belt. “And even if I wanted to, I have a match tonight with Senior Billy Gunn. Let your arm heal, Sheamus. You can have your shot at Payback… where I will be sure to break your arm this time.”
The next match saw the revival of the feud between Brodus Clay and Godfather. Twice Godfather beat Clay, who was insistent that he can beat him in a singles match. Unfortunately for Clay, the third time wasn’t the charm and Godfather earned another big victory, landing the Pimp Drop on the Funkasaurus and earning the win.
Backstage, Gabriel was shown in the locker room packing his gear up when he was confronted by HBK. HBK congratulated Gabriel on his big win, snapping the losing streak and getting back on track. “Look, kid, I want to put that heat from a couple weeks behind us. I really like where you are in your career and I think you’re a helluva competitor.” Gabriel wasn’t having any of it though. “Just do me a favor, Shawn, and back up off me. I don’t need a pep talk from a has-been. I’m the United States Champion and I don’t need anyone trying to guide me. If you don’t, well then you’re gonna regret it.”
The third match of the night saw Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio take on D-X’s Road Dogg and X-Pac. Road Dogg has a history with these two, and with his new partner in X-Pac, he was looking to get himself back into tag team relevance. The plan unfortunately didn’t go as planned for Road Dogg.
Mysterio and Kofi have been red hot. They foiled some Raw plans and are the top team on Smackdown. They continued the run as Kofi hit the Trouble in Paradise on X-Pac to earn them the win. After the match, Kingston grabbed the mic and proceeded to talk more smack on Team USA, calling them losers and challenging them to a match, anytime and anywhere.
The fourth match saw Randy Orton take on The Miz. Orton was impressive against the struggling Miz. But Miz wouldn’t back down in the match. After landing his patented DDT, he attempted to set up Orton for the Skull Crushing Finale. Orton countered out of it and pushed Miz into the ropes. Orton went for the RKO but had that countered. The two continued to battle some more with Miz taking advantage. But out of nowhere, Orton hit the RKO, covered Miz and earned the victory.
The next match of the night saw Wade Barrett and John Cena go at it. Barrett and Cena were both considered World Heavyweight title contenders and a win for either would help their chances. It was a pretty physical match between the two. Cena was getting worked pretty good by Barrett, who lowered his elbow pad for the Bull Hammer. As he grabbed Cena’s arm and wound up for the Hammer, Cena ducked under and lifted Barrett onto his shoulders. He dropped him with an AA and took the win.
The last match of the night saw Del Rio take on Billy Gunn. Gunn was given the opportunity by Roose to take on the World Champ. Nothing was guaranteed but a victory would do loads for Gunn’s stock. Gunn gave Del Rio a pretty good match to start, but he was no match for the Cross Arm Breaker. Gunn tapped and that was all that was written.
After the ring was clear, Orton’s music hit. He came down to the ring with a mic in hand. Fresh off his win against Miz, he had a lot to say in regards to where he stands in the WWE.
“I came down here a month ago voicing my displeasure in my position here in the WWE. I know you were tired of hearing me complain, and obviously so was Goldust. And I answered his challenge. I made myself better for the company, myself, and most importantly, you the fans.
“I came down here to tell you I am ready for my title shot. I will do everything in my power to earn that chance. I was a champion before and I will be a champion again! I prom…” Orton was then cut off by Cena’s music.
Cena came down to the ring with a microphone in his hand. “Randy, what you said out here was nice and all. And I agree, you are a worthy opponent for the belt and deserve to be in the hunt. But I do too. Randy, I can beat you any day and you know it.” Orton gave a curt nod and put the mic down. As he pretended to walk towards the ropes, he quickly turned and went for an RKO. Cena caught him, pushed him into the ropes and lifted Orton into an AA. He dropped Orton and that was how the episode ended.
Real Deal vs Roose: Road to Wrestlemania 