ThunderStruck: WWE Smackdown Analysis 09/13/13

Big Show comes out and “apologizes” by reading from a piece of paper for his action on Raw. Triple H comes out and implies that he’ll fire Big Show. Show begs and Hunter instead suspends him for the night without pay. Big Show goes to leave and the Shield comes out. They beat him down after some back and forth antics and deliver the triple powerbomb.

 


 

^If Big Show doesn’t get involved in the WWE Title match on Sunday, I’ll be shocked. The guy has had so many heel/face turns that one more is to be expected. Nice to see the Shield looking dominant again.

AJ Lee does commentary while Bri Bell, Naomi and Natalya take on the Layla, Aksana and Alicia. AJ gets involved and causes the win for the total divas cast by DQ.

^A mess of divas working together. That’s what this match was. We KNOW that WWE has a handful of female wrestlers, so why not showcase that with a couple one on one matches that last five to six minutes on a show? It’s obviously too much to ask for.

Vickie Guerrero is introduced by Lillian Garcia. Vickie brings out R-Truth and then Fandango for a dance contest. Miz comes out with an afro on and calls himself “Miz-co Inferno.” The Great Khali interrupts and wants in on the contest as well. They all dance and the audience decides that Miz is the winner. Fandango is angry after losing but gets taken out by Miz and Truth when he attacks them.

^For a dance contest, this wasn’t awful. Miz was pretty funny with Truth encouraging him on with his moves. I like how WWE continues to make guys like Miz, Fandango, and Truth relevant when they aren’t competing for any major titles. Good work on what could have been completely horrendous here.

Ryback is conducting an interview backstage. Yes, he is. Ryback is interviewing Robert Evans(Rashad Evans from Ring of Honor). Ryback interviews him and then slaps him to the ground. He says his dreams are beating the holy hell out of people like Evans.

^The skinny ROH guy just became another victim of Ryback’s bullying. I wonder what face will eventually confront Ryback for all of his bully antics. Nice cameo for Evans here, and surprisingly not terrible mic work from Ryback with the promo.

Vickie Guerrero tells Ricardo Rodriguez that he will not be in Rob Van Dam’s corner at Night of Champions because she fears for his safety. Ricardo argues with her and she books him in a match with Alberto Del Rio tonight with RVD in his corner.

^I find it hard to believe that Ricardo Rodriguez won’t be involved in the matchup on Sunday.

Damien Sandow cuts a promo and then loses to Santino Marella after he delivers a cobra.

^Santino on a roll! I’m completely baffled by Sandow’s loss here, but I always enjoy Santino in any performance. The match was short, but the crowd seemed to really enjoy the story from these two.

Michael Cole interviews Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel. Axel says Punk won’t get to Heyman on Sunday because “CM Punk can’t beat Curtis Axel.” The crowd cheers when Heyman talks about the beating that Punk will give him. The crowd gives Paul Heyman a goodbye chant.

^I’m stunned by Axel’s lack of charisma when you consider his family heritage. Heyman is the only convincing act in the pair, and it’s ironic for Axel to say that Punk can’t beat him when Punk has always come out on top in their one on one brawling.

Alberto Del Rio goes one on one wth Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio pins Rodriguez after a reverse underhook suplex off the top rope. RVD attacks Del Rio after the match when he applies the cross armbreaker on Ricardo.

^That finished looked PAINFUL on Rodriguez’s face! Not a bad match, but I’d definitely like to see Ricardo in his El Local constume and compete in the ring more often. RVD getting the upper hand on Del Rio means nothing when it comes to the match on Sunday, and the reason I say that is because the hype for the match has been so minimal this time around.

Dolph Ziggler defeats Dean Ambrose to earn a US TItle match at Night of Champions. Ziggler goes for a cover after a fameasser and the Shield break it up to cause the DQ finish. The Usos comes out and go after the Shield. Vickie Guerrero comes out and makes it a six man tag match.

^Sounds like Teddy Long had a hand in the booking of the show. Ambrose and Ziggler had some enjoyable chemistry, and now I’m excited to see what they put together on Sunday in their title match.

The Shield defeat Dolph Ziggler and the Usos. Rollins pins one of the Usos when he blocks the big splash with his knees.

^One might think the Usos will face the tag champs on Sunday, but I still think it will be the Prime Time Players. The chemistry with the Usos and the Shield was awesome here, and I’m sure it would be fun to see again on Sunday, but I don’t think WWE is heading in that direction. Good match with Rollins looking particularly sharp in his performance.

Edge has Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan on the cutting edge show. Words get heated between Orton and Dbry. Orton attacks Dbry but gets caught in a yes-lock. Orton taps out as he struggles to get out of it and refs come down to break it up. Dbry leads the crowd in yes chants to end the show.

^Now THAT is how you hype a WWE Title match! Dbry gets the upper hand and sends the crowd home happy. I’m not sure exactly what “tough” questions Edge asked, but bringing him on board this week to promote the WWE Title feud has still been enjoyable to watch.

This definitely felt like another episode of Raw overall, but it was highly entertaining and the wrestling was sound for what we got. Good overall ending to build up to Night of Champions. Thanks for reading!

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