At Least They’re Trying

The WWE continued to set the scene for Wrestlemania this week on Smackdown with a show that started off incredibly slow, with replays of events from RAW getting the majority of the focus through the first few quarters.

Things picked up later with Michael Cole’s interview with John Cena and a promo from Triple H, but overall, there wasn’t much wrestling.

Having the WWE show the trailer to “The Chaperone” for the millionth time didn’t help matters either.

At the same time, in spite of the repeated material from RAW, having Cena’s interview, Triple H’s promo and the reunion, even if a short one of Edge and Christian on Smackdown proves that the WWE is trying a bit harder to make their secondary show better.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t much of a show.

Matches:

Wade Barrett vs. Kane: A match that ended in a disqualification after The Corre came down and administered a quick beat down on Kane. Big Show, who has been on The Corre’s hit list since they came to Smackdown, hit the ring shortly thereafter with a steel chair and helped out the big red machine. As a result, a tag team match quickly began…well after a commercial break, which pitted Barrett and Heath Slater vs. Kane and Big Show. That match also ended in a DQ, as Show got a chair again and finished the job he started. He also nailed Kane as well, paying him back for the chair shot he gave him last week.

Cody Rhodes vs. JTG: Great wrestling suspends disbelief and considering the fact that JTG didn’t even get an entrance, there was no doubt Rhodes would come out victorious. As a result, this was a joke. All it does is gives Rhodes a win and doesn’t build any type of real momentum for him. Squash matches like this should be seen on Superstars, not on Smackdown.

Layla w/ Michelle McCool vs. Kaitlyn: Built like TNA’s ODB, but younger and better looking, the WWE’s newest diva is something to look at, but wasn’t given much of a chance in her debut match. Again, this was a match that did nothing.

Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre: One of the better matches of the night that was ruined due to a commercial break as soon as the action was picking up. Mysterio has always been an excellent worker that can sell offense and he did it extremely well here early on. That was the main reason why the match was decent, it had nothing to do with Mysterio’s boring finishing maneuver. While he’s an all-time great and arguably the greatest luchadore to ever wrestle in the United States, the 619 just doesn’t get it done anymore. If Mysterio is going to do more than just wrestle for the rest of his career, he needs something else as a finish.

Brodus Clay and Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge and Christian: Clay is a monster that if marketed and pushed right, could be a fun guy to watch. Seeing Del Rio cower and play possum was great as well and helped tell a story. A nice back and forth pace made for a good finish as well.