While Smackdown is the WWE’s B-Show and the storylines aren’t nearly as intriguing, the wrestling action on Smackdown this week was much better than what was seen on RAW.
Light on promo, it appears the angles between Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes, Christian and Randy Orton and Mark Henry and The Big Show will continue for the foreseeable future.
And that’s a good thing. While Rhodes needs to develop his character more, that angle can pick up steam in the ring thanks to Bryan’s ability. As far as Orton and Christian go, every pay per view match these two have had has been a classic, so why not continue the angle? Big Show and Henry have no one else to wrestle in the company essentially, but Henry has been solid as a heel the past few weeks. As well, it’s nice to see Show on the defensive for once.
Overall, again, while the show lacks the flair of RAW, its ability to deliver a ton of action and as little filler as possible is the key to what can be more than a B-show.
Matches:
Sin Cara vs. Ted DiBiase: It’s obvious now that Sin Cara is beginning to get used to the pace of a WWE match. His high spots are much cleaner and his overall polish is starting to show. At the same time, DiBiase was solid here. Not only did he sell well, he had several solid counters to Cara’s offense, which provided a nice back and forth pace to this contest. While you knew he wasn’t going to win, he was allowed to paint a bit more than the average jobber.
Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan: Bryan is easily the best worker in the company, but Rhodes, who sometimes shows flashes of solidity, wasn’t on his A-game in this match. From the lackluster selling of a frankensteiner, to the overall sloth-like pace this match had, Rhodes need to work harder. There are dozens of wrestlers that would love to work with Bryan; Rhodes needs to prove himself worthy.
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: Barrett definitely showed how strong he is here with several power moves. However, Jackson, who was working an “injury†during the contest, came back strong and got the win with Torture Rack. Overall, this is good feud that should continue, but needs to be developed with microphone time and longer matches.
The Usos vs. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel: A good tag team match between two great young tag teams. A nice variation of quick tags and high impact moves, with both team showing charisma in the ring and an ability to captivate the crowd. While the Usos where the dominant team in the ring, Slater was able to get the pin with a school boy. The WWE can only benefit from putting these four in the ring more often.
Jinder Mahal vs. Yoshi Tatsu: After a brain chop from Great Khali and a full nelson slam from Mahal, Tatsu was put out to pasture. The bell never rang.
Christian vs. Kane: A decade ago, this would have been a squash match, but on this night, Christian was in control for most of the contest. Keeping Kane off his feet with a variety of short cuts and submission holds. However, once the show came back after a commercial break, Kane fought back and all of a sudden, this became one of the best matches on Smackdown this year.
It was all for naught though, as Mark Henry hit the ring and took out Kane and cost Christian the match.
Things got spicy right after, as Teddy long hit the entrance ramp and made an impromptu tag match between Christian and Mark Henry and Kane and Randy Orton.
Christian and Mark Henry vs. Kane and Randy Orton: This match was almost a predictable one in the fact that Henry dominated at times, while Christian played the role of the opportunist. At first, none of it appeared to matter once Orton got the hot tag after a Kane Chokeslam. After an assortment of clotheslines and his usual posturing, Orton eventually hit the RKO on Christian, but in the process, left himself wide open for Henry’s falling front slam finisher.
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