Lillian Garcia introduces a returning Christian, who comes out to a solid pop from the crowd. He welcomes us to the return of the Peep Show. He talks about the twelve man tag at WrestleMania before introducing David Otunga and John Laurinaitis. They kiss each other’s asses for a bit, and then Christian trashes Teddy Long before introducing him. Christian gives them both the opportunity to convince him to be on their team at WM. He lets Long go first. Long doesn’t say anything and Christian goes off about wanting one more match for the World Title. Long tells Christian he’s got another thing coming if he thinks he will beg him to be on his team. Laurinaitis interrupts and tells Christian it would be an honor to have him on his team at WM. He tells him that if team Johnny wins, Christian will have one more shot at the World Title. Christian announces that he’s joined Team Laurinaitis. Long tells Christian he is going to compete tonight, but Laurinaitis says Christian is not medically cleared. Long instead books David Otunga in a match right now with Kofi Kingston.
^Was there any doubt which team Christian would choose? Somewhat of a waste of time, but I’m glad to see Christian back on Smackdown. It’s getting harder and harder to believe that Team Long will get the win at WrestleMania the way the two teams are matching up.
Otunga wrestles in slacks against Kofi. JL and Teddy are on commentary with Santino and Christian at ringside. They work a solid match and Kofi goes for the boom drop but Christian trips him up. The ref sends Christian to the back per Teddy Long’s orders. JL and Long start arguing and the ref gets distracted. Otunga takes his belt off but Santino grabs it. Otunga turns around and walks into trouble in paradise from Kofi. Kingston gets the pinfall.
^Decent match to open the show. We’ve got eight matches on the WrestleMania card and seven of them have had a very solid buildup, including this twelve man tag. Otunga is somewhat boring in the ring. Kofi usually delivers a solid performance and did a pretty good job here working with Otunga.
Backstage segment with AJ Lee and Daniel Bryan. She tells him she doesn’t think the dress he bought her fits right. Bryan says it looked better on the mannequin. Bryan tells her he wants her to be a champion like him. He tells her she’s going to be in a match tonight that could lead to a Divas Title shot if she wins. He tells her the match is next.
^I can’t wait for her to turn on Bryan. That mannequin crack makes you hate Bryan, which is exactly what the segment was for.
AJ Lee goes one on one with Nikki Bella. Bryan plays cheerleader during the match. The Bellas try to switch out and Bryan tells the ref so they get caught. AJ ends up getting knocked down by Brie because of Bryan’s continuous distraction, but AJ counters Nikki and rolls her up for a three count. Bryan celebrates like he’s won the match when it’s over.
^It’s a good storyline for Bryan. The girlfriend angle can be run several different ways but we all know the eventual outcome.
Matt Striker interviews Cody Rhodes about his match with a giant at WrestleMania. Rhodes says Big Show is dominant most of the year, but always fails on the grandest stage of them all. Rhodes says to just watch tonight if you want to see how to defeat a giant.
^All he needs is a gut and some bleach for his hair and you’ve got a spitting image of the American Dream. I love Cody’s promo work.
Rhodes goes one on one with the Great Khali. Rhodes uses a lot of kicks towards Khali and uses an armbreaker to bring Khali to the ground. He then works the legs of Khali. Rhodes is able to take Khali off his feet again when he pulls his neck down on the ropes and then hits the disaster kick for three count.
^Cody Rhodes just figured out how the Great Khali can have a somewhat decent match. That was really good work by Cody to have a solid performance against an immobile giant. As time passes and I become a bigger and bigger Cody Rhodes fan, this dude continues to climb the ladder. Canceling Money In the Bank at Mania because of Wade Barrett’s injury was a mistake. Rhodes should’ve been booked to win it instead. This guy has so much upside in this new class of younger talent. I just want to see Rhodes featured in a World Title rivalry since he’s earned it.
Randy Orton comes to the ring. The Smackdown crowd goes crazy for him. They seem more alive than the Raw audience. Orton says when he has a problem with someone, he doesn’t usually talk about it. He says he usually is the hunter, but he feels like he’s being hunted by Kane. He says they are going down a path that leads to them destroying each other, and that’s fine. He just wants to know why Kane chose him. He says he embraces hate, and hate embraces him. He’s calling Kane out right now to explain himself. Kane comes out. He asks Randy if it makes him uncomfortable living in the unknown. Kane shows a video of last year on Smackdown when Orton defeated Kane and they shook hands after the match. Kane says he watches that footage every day to remind himself of what he had become. Kane tells Orton the WWE isn’t big enough for the both of them. He says he needs closure and will not be whole again until he’s destroyed Orton. Orton says that was enlightening and tells him to come to the ring. Kane stops halfway to the ring and tells Orton slaughtering him now would not be good enough. He tells Orton he wants his demise to happen at WrestleMania.
^Despite the small bit of logic behind the booking for these two, I like the potential for their match. Two solid performers in a one on one match should make for a great opening match to WrestleMania. I actually remember that match they had last July on Smackdown; it was a pretty decent match. Also, Orton and Kane are both solid guys on the mic and they have a pretty natural chemistry together cutting promos.
Drew McIntyre comes out next. Teddy is up on the big screen and welcomes Drew back. Long tells Drew he is excited to have him back because it gives him the opportunity to book him in a match with this man…out comes the Big Show. Show destroys McIntyre and ends the match with a chokeslam followed by a WMD. The ref tops the match because Drew is unconscious. Show is declared the winner. Rhodes is shown watching backstage on his tv screen.
^Is this a new theme? Knockout victories in WWE? Show looks good, but trying to convince any of us that he has a chance of defeating Rhodes at WrestleMania is just ridiculous.
Out comes Mark Henry for a match with Yoshi Tatsu. Henry destroys Tatsu from pillar to post and hits the WSS for the three count victory.
^Dominant Mark Henry is back. Jobber Mark Henry takes a back seat so that team Johnny can win decisively at Mania. Christian, Wade Barrett, and Cody Rhodes all chasing the World Title later this year makes me wonder how Henry could possibly be more than his boring old self after WrestleMania.
Next up we have Chris Jericho taking on Sheamus. Jericho wants to address the comments he made about CM Punk and his father on Raw. He says he can tell a lot the fans aren’t happy with what he said and want him to apologize. Jericho says you can never go over the line when you’re telling the truth. He says he’s telling the truth about Punk having an alcoholic gene. He says he’s figured out the real CM Punk. He says he will be walking out of WrestleMania as the new WWE Champion.
Sheamus and Jericho wrestle a solid match with AJ Lee and Bryan at ringside. Sheamus is able to kick out of the lionsault. Sheamus hits the diving shoulder block off the top rope and only gets a two count. He calls for the celtic cross but Jericho counters out and applies the walls of Jericho. Sheamus fights out and gets to the ropes. Jericho fights out of another celtic cross and Sheamus clotheslines him over the top rope to the outside. Sheamus throws Jericho at Bryan and AJ who move out of the way. Sheamus throws Jericho back into the ring and gets on the apron. As he looks at Bryan, Jericho knocks him off the apron to the floor. Bryan kicks Sheamus in the head while Jericho has the ref distracted. The ref counts Sheamus out and Jericho is the winner. Sheamus nails a brogue kick on Jericho after the match as Bryan watches on from the top of the stage.
^Jericho gathered some good heat before the match with his promo on Punk. Sheamus and Jericho left something to be desired after the show they put on. I’d like to see these two go at it again in the future. Daniel Bryan also gathered some good heat as he cost Sheamus the match. That World Title match has potential to be a lot better than people expect. I know it will be overshadowed by the three “bigger” matches, but I think Bryan and Sheamus will take the audience by surprise on April 1st.
I use the word solid probably more than any other in my writing, and tonight isn’t too much different. We had a really good show full of buildup and hype for Mania along with some really good wrestling. I’ll be back with ROH sometime tomorrow, and maybe a WrestleMania themed piece before Raw on Monday. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
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