Smackdown may be the WWE’s B-Show, but it has something RAW doesn’t have: three legitimate players in the World Title picture.
Over the last few months, Christian and Randy Orton’s angle has been the best angle in the ring. With the inclusion of Sheamus, it can only get better. After a solid promo to start the show, Sheamus inserted himself into this feud and made it even more entertaining.
While that was the main storyline for this week’s episode, there was much more going on the show. Smackdown continues to push Mark Henry, who looks in line for a title shot soon. At the very least, Henry’s matches are surprising. Even though it’s obvious he’s getting over, his win over Kane is a major accomplishment for him.
Overall, it’s nice to see the WWE making something out of someone who many fans didn’t see ever breaking through their role as a lower mid-carder.
Another guy getting a push is Jinder Mahal, but it’s more illogical than anything else. Squashing youngsters, Mahal may be winning his matches, but he’s more of a boring heel that the fans don’t even consider worthy of hating.
Aside from that, this episode was anything but boring. With seven matches on the card and enough promo to keep you engaged, it’s fair to say that this week’s Smackdown was better than RAW, by far.
At the very least, they have their format down to a science- fast-paced matches and short, but effective promo.
The writers on Impact and RAW could learn a bit by taking a look at it.
Matches:
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase vs. Daniel Bryan and Ezekiel Jackson: A decent match that saw all four competitors deliver their share of offense and get the crowd involved. However, the best moment was when DiBiase delivered his Dream Street finisher on Jackson for the win. Could this be the end of DiBiase’s over year-long demise and the beginning of his first real push in the company?
Jinder Mahal w/ The Great Khali vs. Trent Barretta: A complete squash match that had Mahal destroy Barretta with the Full Nelson slam for the win. After the match, Mahal hit the move on him again.
Tamina w/ Alicia Fox vs. AJ w/ Natty Neidhart: AJ was impressive in this match, hitting a shining wizard and a clothesline in the corner. Tamina showed her strength, but her best work was selling the offense of AJ. Cute and athletic, with a bit of a rocker look, she has a bright future.
Kane vs. Mark Henry: Henry got the win after he hit the World’s Strongest Slam on Kane. On quite possibly the biggest role of his career, could Henry be in the running for a title shot soon?
Tyson Kidd vs. Sin Cara: A solid cruiserweight match in spite of some sloppy secondary maneuvers. All in all, Cara was able to entertain and Kidd made him look even better. The match wasn’t an epic, but after Cara hit a flipping urinage suplex from the top rope, the crowd popped and Cara’s job was done.
Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel vs. The Usos: A quick match, but one that was fast-paced and fun. After losing to Slater and Gabriel a few weeks ago, The Usos got the win after they hit a superplex and a top rope splash on Gabriel.
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus: A routine match with both competitors doing their usual dance. Sheamus does earn bonus points for his performance, as his top rope shoulder block was a nice added touch. It all went to hell though after Christian hit the ring and cost Sheamus the match. Next thing you know, Sheamus nailed Christian with the Bicycle kick and left himself wide open for an RKO.
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