Smackdown Coverage: Not Too Good

Headed into this “Super Smackdown,” expectations were high and believably so.

When the main event is CM Punk Vs Daniel Bryan, how couldn’t they be?

A few weeks back, the two world champions squared off on Raw for nearly 15 minutes in a contest that reminisced back to their “indie days,” as both men took it to each other in a technical masterpiece.

Unfortunately, that match didn’t end cleanly, as Chris Jericho interfered and hit the Codebreaker on Punk to give Bryan the nod.

These two would go at it again for nearly 20 minutes this time. Unfortunately, fans that hoped for a clear, decisive finish were let down about three times.

However, watching these two go at it again in the ring made up for all that and both men needed to look as evenly strong as possible headed into Wrestlemania.

You might also forget there were other matches on this card as well, but at the end of it all, it was an underwhelming show.

Matches:

Sheamus vs. The Miz: These two followed up a decent opening segment with a back-and-forth affair with momentum shifts like pendulum swings. A good story was told as Miz looked for self-redemption as he’s been on a free fall as of late and Sheamus sought to continue his hot streak since the Rumble. After both men countered each other’s finishers, Sheamus pulled out his new finisher, “The Message” (formerly Finlay’s Celtic Cross) and secured a victory.

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger/Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie): It took shrieks from Vickie at ringside to distract the referee, a thumb to the eye to Kingston from Ziggler and the Zig Zag finisher to write off Kingston and Truth in a bout overflowed with athleticism.

The Great Khali vs. Drew McIntyre: Can you say “Khali squash”? It’s a shame to think that the once-proclaimed “Chosen One” who gave it his all in the ring has now been reduced to sheer enhancement talent.

The Big Show vs. Mark Henry: Henry dominated Show until Show turned things around and speared Henry and motioned to the crowd for the chokeslam. Cody Rhodes came out and cut a promo on Show’s past Wrestlemania embarrassments and presented fans with a video package of Show’s “unflattering” Sumo match loss against Akebono at Wrestlemania 21. Show turned around and got caught in The World’s Strongest Slam and Big Splash but kicked out at two and knocked out Henry and walked up the ramp.

Ezekiel Jackson vs. David Otunga: Big Zeke looked to avenge his past loss against Otunga but ultimately came up short once again as he lost cleanly.

CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan: In this second “champion vs. champion” match, the two made much use of the 20 minutes they were given as they wore each other down with rest holds, ring dives and technical counters. Nothing new if you’re familiar with both men’s past work, but more than enough to satisfy any fan. Bryan advanced up the ramp, only to have Sheamus roll him back in the ring and allowed Punk to kick Bryan in the head and put him down for the three-count. John Laurinaitis was unhappy with this and forced the match to continue. Bryan scored a pin with the ropes for leverage. Teddy Long came out and said it wasn’t going to happen that way and made the match continue again. After a superplex, both men hooked each other’s legs simultaneously and the referee counted, but both men’s shoulders were down. Johnny Ace declared Bryan as the winner and Long declared Punk. Both men argued to close the show.

Final Thoughts: In a rather un-newsworthy show, the few good things to come out of it were Sheamus looking stronger with every win, Otunga as well and an excellent Punk promo before the main event. As for Punk-Bryan itself, the in-ring action was great as both men were evenly matched. The multiple finishes also played into this and helped move along Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis’ recent power struggle. The rest of the show failed to deliver and that isn’t a good thing as we inch closer to Wrestlemania. Typically, WWE dishes out their best shows around this time of year and this show was ultimately a disappointment.