WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 2/3/12 (Vegan Madness)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown on 2/3/12. How will the blue brand be effected after the events of the Royal Rumble? Well, let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with Teddy Long. He informs the audience who will be competing in the SD Elimination Chamber match. It will be Daniel Bryan vs Big Show vs Mark Henry vs Wade Barrett vs Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton. It will be for the WHC. Just as Teddy is going to continue with the show, Henry interrupts. Henry talks about how it's unfair that he has to compete in this type of match and demands a 1 on 1 match for the world title tonight. Henry refers to himself as a big fish. I guess he would be considered Big Bertha? Anyway, Henry threatens the SD general manager to get what he wants. Teddy doesn't seem to like that. Teddy takes Henry out of the EC match and he won't get a world title match tonight. Henry continues to threaten him. Yeah, because it worked so well the first time. Teddy decides to suspend Henry. Henry doesn't seem to like it, but he might as well get his money's worth. Just as he's about to attack Teddy, Sheamus arrives for the save. They do a stare down, then Sheamus hits him with the Brogue Kick. Henry fell right on his arse. Kinda funny how Henry just stood there to take the Brogue Kick. Maybe Sheamus gave Henry the evil eye of death? Sheamus talks about winning the Royal Rumble and announcers he will decide who he will face after EC. Cody Rhodes interrupts and talks about becoming a dual champion. Teddy makes it Sheamus vs Cody immediately. A lot of information being served for the opening. We find out that there will be two world title matches inside the EC, which wasn't the case last year. I guess those online reports of Henry being injured were true. Henry has been battling with a lot of injuries lately, so I guess WWE decided to give him some time off. With Henry's "suspension", there's an open spot in the EC match. It will be revealed a little later in this show. 

Match #1: Sheamus vs Cody Rhodes

This was a short match, but it gets the job done. It was decent to watch. The finish comes when Sheamus hits a different type of finishing move. If you remember Finlay, he called it the Celtic Cross. Then again, that isn't to be confused with Sheamus' Celtic Cross, which was also known as the Razor's Edge when used by Razor Ramon/Scott Hall. Have I confused you yet? The technical term of the finisher is the over the shoulder back to belly piledriver. I'm just going to call it the Celtic Plunge to save time and sanity. Did you brain explode yet? I apologize for that. 

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus

Back from a commercial break where Cody is pissed off that he lost. The next match was going to be Justin Gabriel vs Hunico. Ever notice that Hunico never rides the bike to the ring. He just pushes it with his legs. Cody, Hunico and Camacho attack Gabriel. The match never got started. Great Khali shows up and clears house. Cody eventually retreats. It was later revealed that Khali would take Henry's spot in the EC match. I know a lot of people aren't too happy about this move. I admit that there are better choices available, but it isn't like Khali is going to win. He's just another big guy to add to the mix. Then again, any other superstar thrown in this match wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Drew McIntyre is currently on a losing streak and Teddy is losing confidence with him. It would make no sense for Teddy to put Drew in a match like this. Gabriel is making strides, but isn't quite there yet. It seemed like Hunico was probably the other alternative, but Khali connects better with casual wrestling fans. 

Backstage where Teddy is talking to McIntyre. Teddy says Drew is predictable and needs to find a new way to keep his job. Drew leaves to go think about it. In other words, more Scottish embarrassment set for next week. Speaking of hilarity, Santino arrives and has come up with a new idea for a tag team. It will be called SantinHOOOOOOOO. Hacksaw Jim Duggan arrives and they want a match. Teddy books them in a match against Primo and Epico. Once they leave, Aksana arrives. More of the same old deal between Teddy and Aksana. Aksana talks about seeing a massive piece of wood. Teddy is blushing, but she's talking about a 2x4 that's on the floor. Duggan comes back in the scene and takes the 2x4 with him. I'll admit, that was pretty funny. These Teddy/Aksana scenes only serve to put innuendos on the show. Think about it?

Match #2: Santino and Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Primo and Epico

A pretty short match. It was okay for what it was worth, but nothing to brag home about. The finish comes when Rosa Mendes distracts Santino for a split second. Primo takes advantage and hits the Backstabber for the victory. The tag division is starting to lose a little bit of steam. I'm not referring to Primo and Epico. I'm referring to the competition in the tag division. I guess that's where Santino comes in….I guess. 

Winner via pinfall: Primo and Epico

Back in the ring where Michael Cole is going to interview Daniel Bryan. Cole actually admits that he was wrong about Bryan. He has been harsh on him and finally admits that this guy has what it takes to make it in the WWE. He wants to shake Bryan's hand, but Bryan doesn't seem to care. Bryan says he accepts Cole's apology, but he wants to talk about himself. Bryan says this isn't about Cole, this is about him. Once Cole leaves, Bryan talks about how he defeated Big Show and Henry at the RR. He goes on a rant in how he's a role model because he's a vegan. He says being vegan just makes him better than other people. He wants people to be vegans because it's wrong to hurt animals. Oh great, a PETA nut job is running around in the WWE. If Bryan's a vegan, where's his vegan powers? The Scott Pilgrim movie lied to me. Now I'm really sad. Joking aside, Bryan is really becoming a jackass. Bryan went on to say that Big Show should not be allowed to compete in the EC match because of what he did to AJ and how Bryan has defeated him four times. Big Show finally arrives to speak his case. Show says he would've arrived sooner, but he was enjoying a big streak. Mmmmm…….steak. That's probably why I would fail at being a vegan. Chicken is just too tasty to give up. Show says Bryan isn't a role model and Bryan is losing it. Bryan talks about how Show is a loser and provokes him. Show finally has had enough and attacks Bryan. During the scuffle, AJ arrives in a neck brace. She seems concerned for Bryan, but is scared of the giant. Show is about to KO punch Bryan, but she tells him to stop. Bryan is able to escape with AJ and the scene ends. There was a lot going on in this segment. Bryan continues to dive deeper in his heel persona while Show is getting tired of his attitude. AJ makes her return tonight. She continues to stick up for her kayfabe boyfriend, which isn't much of a surprise. I enjoyed this scene for the most part. I think Bryan is much more comfortable as a heel. He just seems to be in his element right now, which is why it's working. Cue the ROH fans in 3…..2…..1……go.

Backstage scene where Beth Phoenix and Natalya are preparing for their match. Natalya is farting….and I'm not making that up. Once they leave, Santino arrives in the scene and faints at the smell of Natalya's farts. Mock this scene as much as you want, but I bet this segment drew in a higher rating than TNA this week. That's kinda sad since TNA was actually presentable this week. Regardless, the WWE creative staff has been playing a little too much Conker's Bad Fur Day when you have massive wood and farts taking place on the same show. By the way, I am aware that a similar scene happened last week. 

Match #3: Tamina and Aksana vs Beth Phoenix and Natalya

Very short match. Beth tags herself into the match and hits the Glam Slam on Aksana. After the match, Beth doesn't seem to care about Natalya. They did something similar at the RR. I have a feeling that Beth is going to fly solo since Natalya continues to screw up while Beth is dominating the division on her own. Once Beth leaves, Natalya tries to put Aksana in the Sharpshooter, but Tamina kicks her head off. She hits the Snuka Splash on Natalya to end the scene. Natalya might be losing, but Tamina is Charlie Sheen right now. She's winning. She's got Superfly blood flowing through her veins. 

Winner via pinfall: Beth Phoenix and Natalya

Match #4: Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett; No DQ match

Before this match got started, Bryan complained to Teddy that he wants Show out of the EC match. Teddy says they will talk about this while they watch the main event. I don't know about you, but I think Wade's new entrance theme sucks. I know he debuted this theme at the RR, but I didn't bring it up. This was the best match of the night. There was a number of weapons in this match. Wade pushed Orton off the top rope and into a table, but only gets a two count. Wade hits the Winds of Change, but Orton has his foot on the rope. That was so close, but so far away. The finish comes when Randy hits the RKO on Wade. He wants to hit one more, so he hits a second RKO. The second RKO was on top of the steel chair. Orton wins this match. I don't mind Orton winning this match. The blow off feud generally goes to the face, and this is most likely the end of this rivalry as we move closer to WM. Still, Wade hasn't looked good this week, so they need to get him back on track. As Orton is celebrating his victory, Teddy says that it will be Bryan vs Orton. Bryan heads to the ring and celebrates for a while. He celebrates and……just leaves. Yeah, that will show him? The show ends with Orton looking confused as Bryan is hopping around like an idiot. It will be interesting to see how they book Bryan vs Orton. Then again, I imagine that shenanigans will allow for Bryan to win via DQ or something like that. I think WWE just wants Bryan go around screaming "YES". 

Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton

Overall Impression:

Not a whole lot that was groundbreaking about SD this week, but it was okay. It kinda felt like a filler episode since not a lot of new things were addressed on the show. Still, I was entertained for most of the night. There wasn't a lot of wresting action with this show. The only match that stood out was the main event. Still, it was a pretty solid main event. The promos/segments were entertaining. Some of them were a miss, but it was a tolerable evening for the blue brand. A good portion of the show was dedicated to Bryan. He's really coming into his own with his heel persona. It just seems like a better fit for Bryan. Still don't know why Bryan has to have an orgasm after a match, but it seems to work for him. Bryan's next t-shirt should only say "YES" on it. Not an amazing episode of SD, but it was entertaining at times. It has its flaws, but no show is perfect these days. Wow, who would've thought we would've had a week were all three wrestling shows actually did good this week? Pretty good week if you're a wrestling fan. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.