Smackdown Coverage: Ryder’s Way

In perhaps the only time it may ever happen in WWE history, the one-and-only “Internet Champion” Zack Ryder was in control of “Smackdown.”

That’s right, “Friday Night Zackdown” was in full effect as a result of Ryder winning a Battle Royal last week.

Nobody knew what kind of show Ryder had in store and that just made it even more part of the fun.

Matches:

1) Alberto Del Rio vs. Sin Cara: Sin Cara wanted revenge on Del Rio’s attack on him two weeks ago on Raw. It would’ve been a hell of a momentum boost before Sin Cara enters the Money in the Bank ladder match. It was a good back-and-forth affair, as Del Rio showed a bit more aggression in the ring and it paid off. In contrast to the sign in the crowd that read, “Alberto Del Stinko,” he was anything but as he won with his Cross-Armbreaker.

2) Darren Young (w/Titus O’Neal and A.W.) vs. Primo (w/Epico and Rosa Mendes): The action was great in the ring and also plentiful on the outside, as A.W. shouted instructions on a headset microphone at Young. Primo won with a surprise roll-up.

3) Christian/Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler/Cody Rhodes (w/Vickie Guerrero): Santino and Christian make a successful pair. After all, they both qualified for the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the bank together. Howver, Ziggler and Rhodes will also be in that same MITB match. With all of the focus on the big match, it was important to grab some momentum. Ziggler did all that and more as he finished off Santino Marella.

4)The Big Show vs. The Great Khali: This clash of the two giants ended quite abruptly as Show simply knocked Khali out less than a minute in.

5) Tyler Reks (w/Curt Hawkins) vs. Ryback: Hawkins and Reks could make an exciting tag team duo, but instead they were just Ryback’s lunch. Curt Hawkins last week, Tyler Reks this week.

6) Justin Gabriel vs. Damien Sandow: “The Enlightened One” simply owned Gabriel. Sandow is a good worker. His gimmick screams “renaissance,” but his ring attire screams “Randy Savage.” Something’s not quite right.

7) Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho: WWE has done a great job of giving Sheamus credibility as a “fighting champion” with incredible main events every week on Smackdown against guys like Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and now Jericho. There was a great story in the ring as Jericho targeted Sheamus’ head and had plenty of chances to beat Sheamus, but Sheamus kicked out of the Lionsault, two Code Breakers and worked his way out of the Walls of Jericho. Jericho charged at Sheamus in the corner only to eat the Brogue Kick instead. Great match. Go out of your way to see this one. Del Rio ambushed Sheamus afterwards on stage to gain heat for Sunday.

Final Thoughts: A decent edition of Smackdown. Obviously highlighted by Sheamus and Jericho, there were a couple of other good matches, like Del Rio/Sin Cara and Primo/Young. For a GM, Ryder could’ve been featured a bit more. Guys like Ziggler, Del Rio and Show all looked strong and the stage is set for this Sunday. That’s what counts.