WWE Main Event 03/13/13 by Jee-S
Alberto Del Rio comes to the ring, grabs a mic and talks about Jack Swagger, says his comments are funny sometimes. Ricardo and Alberto then air the promo where they mock Colter and Swagger on the titantron. Big Show beats Alberto Del Rio by countout after Jack Swagger cheap shots him outside the ring while the referee is looking elsewhere.
Thoughts: Honestly? Nothing special. These two have had great matches on SmackDown!, at the Rumble and at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-views and this rematch didn’t live up to the previous encounters. It was slow paced (even more than usual for Big Show, and that’s saying a lot), had poor value in terms of cool spots or storytelling and the fact that there was no clean winner ticked me off a little bit, but I guess you can’t blame Del Rio or Show seeing as they were working in a much tighter time frame than they’re used to. Jack Swagger attacking Del Rio at the end pretty much killed the feud Del Rio once had with Big Show. Despite everything, I’m still excited to see Del Rio and Swagger lock up at the Show of Shows.
The Usos beat. 3MB after a superkick and a Superfly splash.
Thoughts: Very average match that looked like something that you would normally see on dark matches or minor shows. The 3MB gimmick has never really entertained me and, except for Drew McIntyre, I never particularly liked seeing them work in the ring. I’m happy that The Usos got the win, but does it mean anything on Main Event? I guess it remains to be seen, but I still don’t see WWE building them as future Tag Team Champions, and that’s a shame if you ask me.
Hype video for the Rock/Cena and encounter at WrestleMania 29. Another video replaying what happened with Brock Lesnar and the New Age Outlaws; Lesnar accepting Triple H’s challenge if he can choose the stipulation.
Thoughts: I’m a bit more excited about the Rock vs. Cena match this year because they have something to prove, even if last year’s encounter made the WWE a lot of money. Also this time, the WWE Title is on the line so I’m optimistic that they could pull off a better match this year. I’m not so thrilled for a Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar rematch as the first bout between both of them disappointed me badly, but perhaps with a stipulation they could make things more entertaining. It remains to be seen.
Wade Barrett defeats Justin Gabriel with the Bullhammer Elbow in mid-air. Barrett poses in front of The Miz at the announcer table.
Thoughts: It’s very, VERY rare that you get to see two guys look this good in 3 minutes or so. Fast paced, well worked and entertaining match from both of them. The fact that we didn’t see them go at it for another few minutes really frustrates me seeing as the previous match was more stale and worked less well, yet longer. My wish to see Justin Gabriel on the midcard scene will probably never be granted, so I’ll take him whenever he gets to wrestle. As for Barrett, he keeps on impressing me; he is physical, charismatic and plays his heel persona perfectly. Very good action for 3 minutes.
Video package on what pretty much everything that happened on RAW between CM Punk and The Undertaker, also involving Kane.
Thoughts: Man, it has been a while since Undertaker has had a face vs. heel feud for WrestleMania. I absolutely loved it, I love this storyline and I think these two will have an epic bout at the Showcase of Immortals, regardless of who wins. I don’t think CM Punk went too far by “disrespecting” Paul Bearer seeing as the legendary manager’s last wishes were probably to keep on being used posthumously in WWE storylines. The stealing of the urn at the end by Punk sets the stage for a very interesting response from the Deadman on next week’s RAW. I think Punk is doing one hell of a job as the company’s top heel as he always makes everything he’s involved in a lot more interesting. WWE may screw up on a lot of things but this storyline has been drawn out perfectly. Very excited for what comes next. For what it’s worth, I think CM Punk breaking the streak would not damage The Undertaker’s legacy one bit. The Undertaker is one of the best the business has ever seen, WrestleMania undefeated record intact or not. In my opinion, breaking the streak would only add depth to CM Punk’s heel status and build him even more as a top guy for years to come, which would be very good for future WWE storylines.
This show was basically reviews and useless matches. WWE has used this week’s Main Event to further the storylines and promote the matches we’re going to see at WrestleMania 29. I’m perfectly fine with that, but it made for a stale and disappointing show. I shall be back next week, thank you for reading!
WWE Smackdown 03/15/13 By Joe Thunder
We start Smackdown with Randy Orton and Sheamus defeating Team Rhodes Scholars. Orton gets the pin after an RKO on Rhodes. The Shield shows up on the Tron and tell Orton and Sheamus to find a partner for WrestleMania.
^Despite just seeing this match on Raw, it was still a solid way to kick off Smackdown! All four men gave a good showing and it felt very refreshing to start the show with this much action.
Backstage, Big Show wants to team with Orton and Sheamus to take on the Shield. They’ve already selected Ryback to be their partner. Show stares at Ryback for a second before walking away.
^I fully expected Show to be their partner with the buildup that we’ve seen over the past several weeks, and I still think it’s a possibility. Good promo work from everyone here.
Aksana and Tamina are defeated by Kaitlyn and Layla.
^Am I seeing a real divas match on tv? WWE must’ve realized that with WrestleMania coming up that they needed a female match for the card. I’m guessing Layla will turn and want a title shot from Kaitlyn, or Layla will ask nicely for the title shot and Kaitlyn will turn heel. I don’t think it will be a face vs face title match.
Backstage, the Bella twins attack Cameron and Naomi.
^Welcome back, ladies! Actual female storylines being set into motion? Let’s hope nobody scraps it and we get some real development with this.
Kane is defeated by Dolph Ziggler.Tension builds with Daniel Bryan and Big E. which leads to a brawl where Kane kicks Big E. to the ground. Ziggler takes advantage and hits the fameasser on Kane when he gets into the ring followed by the zig zag for the pinfall. Big E. hits his finisher on Kane after the match.
^Do I think Team Hell No will lose their titles at WrestleMania? I’m not sure. So what do I think? I think Team Hell No’s opponents for WrestleMania were revealed on both Raw and Smackdown this week. I love the fact that Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler will be in the same ring. Now if only WWE can script Kane and Big E. out of the match and make it a one on one bout for the Tag Team Titles…wishful thinking!
Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo yet again mock Zeb and Jack Swagger.
^As much as I’ve enjoyed all the promo work from Both Swagger and Del Rio, I’m much more anxious to see what sort of match they deliver to us at WrestleMania.
Jericho and Truth are shown laughing backstage at Del Rio making fun of Swagger. Swagger and Colter come into the locker room and tells Jericho he’s no different than Del Rio. Jericho tells him to worry less about politics and more about their match tonight.
^Vintage Jericho! I love it!
We get another Fandango video. I still don’t care much for the vignettes.
Fandango refuses to wrestle the Great Khali.
^The man formerly known as Johnny Curtis is a piece of work, eh? I don’t think I’d want to wrestle Khali either, though. Perhaps Fandango will be made famous by a veteran superstar at WrestleMania after all? And what’s with naming a WWE character after an online app?
Booker T has confirmed the six man tag between the Shield and Orton, Sheamus, and Ryback for Mania, and Orton and Sheamus are attacked by the Shield when Matt Striker interviews them.
^The Shield appears dominant, and they’ve repeatedly come out on top. I don’t think it will continue once the “big show” rolls around. Pun intended.
The Shield attacks Ryback before he can do more than grapple Mark Henry. Henry slams Ryback three times after the attack.
^And now Ryback will want Henry at Mania, and Big Show can stand in to team with Sheamus and Orton. Oh WWE, your predictability kills me. As soon as the match was announced on Raw for Smackdown between Ryback and Henry, we all knew it wouldn’t happen. I guess this works pretty well in terms of match setup, though.
Jack Swagger defeats Chris Jericho to close the show. Swagger stops Jericho’s attempt at a codebreaker and wins the match using the gutwrench powerbomb.
^Solid main event. I’ve seen Swagger have a better match recently with Randy Orton, and I’ve seen Jericho have a better match not too long ago with CM Punk. The two together certainly had the best match of the night, but it wasn’t anything we’ll be talking about months from now. I like the heel use of Zeb to distract Jericho from getting the win, but what I like more is that Zeb didn’t actually help Swagger pick up the pin at the finish. Swagger has been booked strong, and he could probably have a very good match with Alberto Del Rio if it’s given the right amount of time at WrestleMania(I said this about Sheamus and Dbry last year in my predictions column, and I did more than eat my words on that one).
Storyline development, divas, typical Fandango crap, and good wrestling throughout capped off by a good main event. I’d call it a solid/good show! I’ll be back with the Raw Analysis at some point early Tuesday. Thanks again to Jee-S for taking the time to review Main Event and share his thoughts with us! Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
