Smackdown opens with a flashback of Randy Orton being thrown down the flight of stairs last week. I expect Orton to be back for the Rumble. More on this in my next column.
Booker T and Cody Rhodes are up first with an Intercontinental Title match. I guess they won’t be going one on one again at the Rumble after all. These guys give us textbook match. I can’t say enough for the development of Cody Rhodes. Cody was able to kick out of an axe kick in this match and defeat Booker T by clean pinfall. This was an impressive showing for Cody and gives us an idea of the confidence that WWE has in pushing Rhodes up the ladder. Booker acknowledges the audience applause after the match and looks like a guy that is ready to hang up his boots. To me, this is what giving back to the new generation is all about and Booker T is a prime example of a guy that has known his role since coming back to WWE.
Dustin and Cody meet up in the back and exchange words. Cody tells Dustin not to embarrass himself by trying to make another run. I feel a match coming between these two, but definitely nothing more than like a Royal Rumble card filler.
Zack Ryder and Teddy long are shown next. Drew McIntyre interrupts as Ryder is about to introduce Santino as a candidate to be the new assistant for Teddy Long. Santino tells Teddy his qualifications. Good cheesy comic relief here. Santino points out that Drew was supposed to win last week or Long would consider firing him and that Drew did indeed lose. Long tells Drew that he needs to win tonight or he will be on thin ice and books him in a match with Santino. Long says Santino will be his new assistant if he is victorious. I like good comic relief from Santino and hope it continues. The end is typical when Aksana comes in and does the usual routine with Teddy. Tiring.
Daniel Bryan has a backstage segment with Alicia and AJ. Bryan gets defensive when the two think he can’t handle the Big Show. I see the heel turn coming quickly for Bryan as his character gets more and more frustrated with not getting the credit he deserves(Owen Hart, enough is enough and it’s time for a change, anybody?).
Hornswoggle takes on Heath Slater next in an over the top rope challenge. Really? Heath Slater has earned the low card for life tag with the way he’s been used as of late. The guy has talent; all he really needs is a haircut to be taken seriously. Hornswoggle makes Slater look like an idiot and pulls him over the top rope by his hair to get the win. Slater attacks Hornswoggle after the match, only for Justin Gabriel to make the save. I like seeing Justin Gabriel get some tv time outside of the quick quash matches. His talent level is superior; it just seems like WWE has too much talent and not enough booking ability to utilize all of these younger guys exactly how they should. For now I’ll just settle for the bits and pieces that we get of guys like Gabriel and Dibiase every week.
Ted Dibiase is out next to take on Hunico, who has Camacho in his corner. These guys go for a short bit and Hunico locks in a weird looking submission that ends up in a pinning combination on Dibiase to get the victory. Impressive win here for Hunico! I’m genuinely surprised at the credibility that Hunico has been getting week in and out with these victories that he’s racking up. Looks like Dibiase will need to redeem himself in the weeks to come and possibly work more matches with Hunico and his bodyguard.
Wade Barrett is out next. He shows us another flashback of last week with Orton ending up at the bottom of the stairs. Barrett says Orton has a herniated disc and is finished. He says Orton will never be the same if he comes back. He points out that Orton’s hometown of St. Louis is hosting the Rumble in just four weeks and that Orton will have to sit with the audience to watch the event happen. Sheamus interrupts and comes down to the ring. Sheamus cuts a promo on Barrett acting like an ass and as they face off, Jinder Mahal comes out. I’m thinking this is going to turn into everyone staking their claim to win this year’s Rumble match. Barrett steps out of the ring and Mahal slaps Sheamus. This leads to a brawl with Sheamus, Barrett, and Mahal with the heel tandem getting the upper hand when Barrett hits a sidewalk slam on Sheamus. Mahal locks the camel clutch on the great white as well. Nice work WWE; let’s start to give Mahal heel credibility while you have Ted Dibiase lose clean to a heel in Hunico. I don’t like the booking here.
Santino Marella vs Drew McIntyre is up next. It feels like just yesterday that Santino was being crowned Miss WrestleMania. Santino and Drew work a short match that goes for a few minutes. Santino wins clean here with the cobra and the crowd loves it! I’m telling you right now: Even though Santino is viewed mostly as a joke, this guy has the popularity and fan following to do something huge if WWE worked the angle properly. I’m probably just being too hopeful, though. I don’t expect McIntyre to get fired; I actually think 2012 is going to be his time to develop and work some strong rivalries with top veterans(Sheamus, Cena, Orton ect).
Backstage McIntyre tries to make excuses to Long. Long tells Drew that was strike two and he knows what happens with strike three. Santino comes back and dances around doing the trumpet after telling Teddy they will make beautiful music together. I can just see it now; Santino introducing himself as the assistant to the general manager of Friday Night Smackdown and us hearing that in the same fashion as the John Laurinaitis introduction every week. Good times ahead!
Primo and Epico take on Air Boom in our next match. On a side note here, I like Rosa as a manager. She isn’t TOO MUCH of an annoying distraction, but she fills her role nicely and acts like a manager should with her involvement in matches. The heel duo gets the victory when Epico pulls Primo out of the way of Bourne’s shooting star press. Primo gets the pinfall after Bourne faceplants on the mat. How many times are Primo and Epico going to beat these guys before they get another shot at the titles? And how many times are we going to have to see the same three tag teams(count the Usos) go against one another before WWE adds to the division? There is plenty of talent I’m sure in developmental and even talent on the active roster that don’t get used enough that I’m sure would appreciate a spot in the tag team division. WWE just needs to straighten their focus out and forget about Zack Ryder needing a girlfriend and concentrate more on giving us a variety of matches.
Big Show does an interview with Matt Striker before Daniel Bryan comes into the picture. He cuts a promo on Show and makes fun of him. Show gets angry and tells Bryan he doesn’t want to hurt him. Bryan gets heated and tells him to take his hand off his shoulder. Lots of heat here between the two as Bryan continues his way to being a full fledged heel. I like angry Daniel Bryan!
Tamina and Natalya go one on one in our next match. The heritage of these two is talked about with a mini clip of Jimmy Snuka and Jim the Anvil shown for both men. Tamina makes quick work of Natalya and defeats her with the superfly splash. I expect Tamina to continue this role into the divas title picture over the next few weeks.
Mark Henry comes to ringside for the Big Show taking on Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship. Show and Bryan wrestle for approximately seven minutes. The match ends weird when Daniel Bryan gets thrown to the outside and taunts Mark Henry into shoving him. This prompts the ref to call for the bell and the DQ win for Bryan. Bryan again celebrates like he’s won the super bowl. Heel turn 90% complete? I’d say so. I expect Big Show to have another title shot probably at the Rumble. The seven minutes of action that we did get was actually really good wrestling from the smaller in ring technician and the world’s largest athlete. I was impressed with what these two can do in the ring together.
Once again, for me anyway, Smackdown was the better card over Raw as it had plenty of in ring action mixed with good storyling fueling segments backstage. I prefer what WWE is doing with the divas on Smackdown to the repeat garbage that we keep getting on Raw. Cody Rhodes is continuing his upward climb every week and continues to be one of the centerpieces of the show. I know I asked for a heel turn for Daniel Bryan, but now I’m wondering if WWE is going to head in the same direction with Bryan that they did with Christian and make him a less than credible World Champion in the villain role. Time will tell with this one. My next column out will be for the upcoming event at the end of this month, the 25th Annual Royal Rumble! Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
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