What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 4/10/12. With the SD going back to the past, how did it turn out? Let's find out and start the review.
We open up the show with Sheamus and Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnn Gene Okerlund. Sheamus talked about the events of last week and how he let his emotions get the best of him. He publicly apologizes to the referees and the world for his terrible deed. John Laurinaitis comes out and says he demands for Sheamus to apologize for his actions. Umm……he just did. My theory is WWE didn't flip the "on" switch on Roboinaitis. Johnny's excuse is that he didn't hear Sheamus apologize. Once Sheamus apologizes again, Johnny feels that his apology isn't good enough. Sheamus ends up going on permanent probation, meaning he will get fired if he attacks another official. Johnny would fine Sheamus $500,000……in Monopoly money. Damn, and I was gonna buy that house this weekend. The segment ends with Johnny making Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio vs Sheamus and Mean Gene. Man, who pissed in Johnny's Corn Flakes this morning? A pretty basic start to the show. There really isn't a whole lot to say here. I think it was clear that Sheamus was going to be in trouble after Del Rio pulled off the worst Eddie Guerrero chair trick ever. I miss Eddie. I think we all do.
Match #1: Randy Orton vs Mark Henry
Randy got a pep talk from his father, 'Cowboy' Bob Orton, before the match. This was definitely the longest match of the night. I'm gonna go ahead and say this now. There was very little action on tonight's show. I had a feeling this would happen since this was a gimmick based show, but don't you think you can do more than 10-13 minutes of wrestling action in two hours? At the end of the day, that's unacceptable. At the same time, it was a themed show, so it wasn't designed to showcase wrestling and was more or less about the nostalgia level. Still, there's so much nostalgia here that you don't even know what nostalgia is at the end of the night. Yo dawg, we put nostalgia on top of your nostalgia to create maximum nostalgia *head explodes*. The finish comes when Randy is left in the ring and Kane's pryo goes off and everything turns red. Kane is on the titantron and says he's having a lot of fun with this exchange. So much fun that he wants to get the family involved. As the camera pans down, you see the Cowboy is down on the ground. Randy is angry and concerned about his father, so he rushes to the back. It's kinda odd seeing Randy showing a human emotion. The guy is so serious that it's a little strange to see Randy react like this. I guess he does have a heart at the end of the day. Randy is in the back and manages to find his father on the ground, but only to be greeted by Kane and a pipe. Did Randy almost say 'f***'? Watch the scene again and tell me what you think. Anyway, Kane says he's a sucker for family reunions….
That was Kane, ladies and gentlemen. He will be performing stand-up on Friday and Saturday, so check your local listings. What I find strange is I am more interested in this storyline now than I was back at WM. I don't know why, but I think it's starting to hit that groove. Then again, that's just me.
No contest
Match #2: Ryback vs another random guy
The legends in the back talk about how this will be a good, old fashion, squashed match. Hey, it's my job to break the fourth wall. MY JOB!!! Anyway, this guy went by the name Benny Camer. Benny Camer? I bet that guy got made fun of a lot in high school. What's next week, WWE? How about Mark Penis or Johnny Cockman? I think the best part might be finding what goofy name they give the local jobbers. Anyway, Ryback wins with a Muscle Buster. I don't know why, but Ryback is the mad experiment of mixing Goldberg and RVD. What mad genius thought of that?
Winner via pinfall: Ryback
Heath Slater is backstage with Tyson Kidd. He talks to Tyson about being his tag team partner tonight. Heath says he got a manager that believes he can be the next Honky Tonk Man. Well, the man does hold the record for the longest IC title run, so I guess it's a compliment…..Depending on how you look at it. Jimmy Hart comes in and does his 'normal' talk. It makes you wonder why Tyson took the offer, but my guess would be that he didn't want to pass up on the screen time.
Match #3: Usos vs Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd
Mick Foley was on commentary for this match. During the match, Jimmy was bats*** insane while Mick was getting a little peeved. The finish comes when Mick pulls out Mr. Socko. Jimmy runs away from the fat man. Heath wonders why Jimmy is running away, which allows the Usos to take down Heath and hit the Superfly Splash for the victory. After the match, Jimmy got back in the ring and was greeted by Mr. Socko. It was pretty clear that this match was made to showcase Jimmy and Mick. Another thing I should note is the audience. It just seemed like the audience wasn't interested in the show. I have noticed people talking smack about the recent live audiences after WM, but those audiences don't show up every week. The Miami audience is one of those things that doesn't happen all the time, so it's a challenge to match that level of energy. Still, did everyone get a shot of insulin before the show? Now I feel tired all of the sudden.
Winner via pinfall: Usos
It's time for the Piper's Pit segment. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is in the ring and he wants to get to the bottom of this whole Daniel Bryan/AJ breakup. I think pairing Bryan up with Piper shows that maybe WWE hasn't completely bailed on Bryan. Still, Alberto Del Rio can do something else, so it just looks strange with Del Rio's involvement. I just think WWE is cluttering the whole WHC deal, and they should be taking their time since it's one of the two major championships in the company. Bryan informs the audience that he will get his rematch for the WHC at Extreme Rules in a two out of three falls match. Will they double the 18 seconds at WM? We can only hope……..We can only hope. Piper invites AJ to the ring. AJ still has feelings for Bryan and wants to work out the relationship since she thinks Bryan is a good person. Piper claims that Bryan doesn't care for her, but AJ blames herself for the failed relationship and wants to fix things. Piper says AJ is smart and beautiful and she doesn't need Bryan. Is this Smackdown or Maury? I'm completely lost. Bryan says if AJ cares for Bryan, she will leave the ring. Piper tries to persuade AJ to think on her own, but AJ once again listens to Bryan. So, AJ continues to be that character who is misguided by love. It's almost a real-life lesson. Bryan is about to leave, but Piper wants Bryan to stay. Piper talks about how Sheamus is going to beat Bryan twice at ER. Bryan slaps Piper in the face, retreats, and proceeds to say 'YES'. So, Piper didn't change much in the storyline. AJ is still willing to do anything to be with Bryan, Bryan still loves saying 'YES', and Bryan is still on an ego trip. Not one of the better Piper's Pit segments, but I still enjoyed parts of it. I never thought that Bryan would be in a Piper's Pit segment, so I think that has to be worth something.
Match #4: Great Khali, Alicia Fox, and Natalya vs Drew McIntyre and Bella Twins
After Drew is having a tough time dealing with Khali, he leaves the match. He claims he's better than this match. Was this a shoot? As soon as the divas get involved, it only lasted another 15 seconds. Alicia hits a Northern Lights Suplex and gets the victory. So, is Natalya a face now? When was that established? I guess you can say Natalya officially turned face during that bit involving Eve a month ago, but that's a bit of a stretch. Plus, there was no explanation of for the Natalya/Beth Phoenix separation. It just sorta stopped. TNA Syndrome is really contagious. We need a cure or else nothing will ever make sense again….
After the match, Mae Young arrives and kisses Khali. I like how she kicked Khali in the knee to get him to her height level. What a weird show.
Winner via pinfall: Great Khali, Alicia Fox, and Natalya
Damien Sandow makes another video. This week, he talks about how the world is being overtaken by Facebook and twitter post. He says people need to read more books……and articles from the WrestlingNerd. Yep……that's what he said. That's the absolute truth. He really said it. Don't bother looking at the replay since I already did it for you. What a great day. In all seriousness, Damien makes a lot of good points. It's funny how the smart guy in pro wrestling is the bad guy and gets nothing, while the moron is the good guy and gets all the women. My God……it's high school all over again. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Match #5: Hunico vs "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
Hunico talked about how he doesn't care about the legends and people need to stop talking about the past. Well, I think the IWC would say……no, that's too easy. I'm gonna be the nice guy and give this a free pass. Can we even classify this as a match? Sgt. Slaughter arrived and handed Hacksaw the 2x4. Hacksaw uses the weapon on Hunico, thus causing a DQ. After the match, Slaughter locks the Cobra Clutch on Hunico. This was another one of those matches that was mostly put together for the legends, while it does nothing for the current talents. Well, at least they only pay homage once in a while. If this was a weekly occurrence, I think we would really need to be concerned…..wait a minute?
Winner via DQ: Hunico
Cody Rhodes comes out to cut a promo. He talks about how he doesn't care about tonight's gimmick and how he deserves the IC title back. The 'American Dream' Dusty Rhodes arrives to talk to his son. Cody says he's embarrassed that his father is out there and would rather talk about this in private. Big Show interrupts and shows an embarrassing Cody clip, but this one showed one of his Grooming Tips from his "Dashing" Cody Rhodes gimmick. It was the one where he put on lip gloss. I have to admit, this was pretty funny. I miss the dashing gimmick. He really played the character well. Anyway, Cody is really embarrassed about the clip. Once Show leaves, Dusty starts to dance. Cody leaves since he is embarrassed by his father. Well, at least they showed something else besides the same WM clip. I like the touch of bringing up the dashing gimmick, but now I want to see the gimmick again.
Match #6: Sheamus and Mean Gene vs Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio
I like Sheamus' pep talk with Mean Gene before the match. Yeah, we are probably gonna lose, but we can drink our problems away. Yeah, since I'm sure that's what you want your babyface to say. Howard Finkel did the in-ring introductions for the good guys. Sheamus was pretty much at a disadvantage since he had to deal with two people. What, no John Cena effect tonight? The finish comes when Bryan and Del Rio take Sheamus out on the outside of the ring. Ricardo Rodriguez joins the bad guys to corner Mean Gene. Yeah, somebody will save him…….any minute now…….Umm, hello? Where in the world are they? Oh, there they are. What took them so long? Were they serving tapioca pudding in the back? What the hell? Anyway, the Legends arrive to help out one of their own. Del Rio runs away while Bryan is arguing with Piper. Oh no, I can't take on a bunch of senior citizens, so I'm bailing on you, Bryan. Sheamus is back up and hits the Brogue Kick on Bryan. After the match, Ricardo is still there. All the legends take their shots on Ricardo. Del Rio needs to give Ricardo a raise. He simply needs it for all the medical bills. After the humiliation, Sheamus ends it with a Brogue Kick on Ricardo. No, Michael Cole. It isn't milk and cookies, it's tapioca pudding. Cole gets in the ring and talks about how they need to go back to the retirement home. Okay, Cole. What did you think you were gonna accomplish by getting in the ring with 10+ former wrestlers? They punch Cole, and now the show is over. Once again, another one of those matches that was designed to showcase the legends. Hooray……..I think.
Overall Impression:
I think they went a little overboard with tonight's gimmick. No, I take that back. They went WAY overboard with the concept, but at least it isn't a weekly occurrence. These tribute shows are always difficult to review since it really isn't meant to be taken seriously. This show got a lot of crap from wrestling fans for many reasons. Was there too much focus on the legends? Yes, but the show was called "Blast from the Past", so what did you think was gonna happen? Was there very little emphasis on in-ring competition. Oh, without a doubt. Like I said earlier, I think I timed around 10-13 minutes of actual competition. Even for a tribute show, that's unacceptable. At the same time, I don't think the show was meant to showcase wrestling skills. It was there to pay tribute to the people who built this company. I guess part of the reason I'm not jumping on the bashing wagon is because we should learn to honor the elderly. Then again, this is coming from my perspective since recent real-life elements in my life has caused me to not be overly harsh on tonight's concept. With that said, I did like a few of the things on tonight's show. There was some funny moments and I thought some of the current storylines were progressed a little better. I think the Kane/Randy rivalry is getting a little better and I liked how Show brought up Cody's dashing days. There might have been things I enjoyed about the show, but I do admit that there was so much potential for tonight's show. WWE was playing it too safe with the legends and I think they could've done so much more. Still, it was a show that wasn't meant to be taken seriously, which is why it's difficult to review this. It's funny how these "live SD" end up turning into these gimmicky shows. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. There probably won't be an Impact review for this week. I do apologize for that in advance, but life gets in the way sometimes. If I don't review Impact, the next review will definitely be TNA Lockdown. I also apologize for this review showing up later than usual. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time.
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