What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 8/17/12. How does the last show look going into SummerSlam? Let's find out and start the review.
We open up the show with Alberto Del Rio, or as I like to call him, Alberto "Bradshaw" Guerrero. The ABG demands his world title match and brings up the fact that he was seeking payback for Sheamus stealing his car. Booker T comes out and tells him the match is still off. Hey, Chris Jericho comes out…..why? Anyway, Jericho does a Spanish lesson and claims he deserves a title match after he defeats Dolph Ziggler at SS. I always find it hilarious that Jericho isn't happy about Del Rio's complaints, while Jericho was doing this a few months ago. We aren't five minutes in and we already have WRESTLING LOGIC on this show. Booker BOOKS Del Rio and Jericho in a match. Yeah, that just happened. A pretty basic opening, but not a whole lot to report here.
Match #1: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs Miz and Cody Rhodes
Cody is still convinced that Sin is ugly. I guess it is a sin. I'm just terrible. The mask connection takes down the……Intercontinental boys? Yeah, I couldn't think of anything better. The finish comes when Cody tries to remove Sin's mask, but ends up eating the 619/splash combo. It was also announced….via twitter (UGH!!!), that Miz will put the IC title on the line against Mysterio at SS. I think it's a great edition to the SS card. Probably a good match to open up the show, but we'll see what happens.
Winner via masks: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara
Match #2: Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins vs Ryback Zombies
Reks and Hawkins come out in suits, but start to strip. I guess their previous jobs were Chris Farley impressionist. I guess it's a way for them to get noticed, but it was disturbing. Then again, that's probably the idea. The Chippendale Dudes win this match in quick fashion. I'm not sure about this idea. The male stripper gimmick has been done before and it tends to fail, but I want to be optimistic and see how things go for these guys.
Winner via stripping: Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins
Match #3: Kaitlyn vs Eve
Eve and William Regal had a funny backstage scene. Regal remembers the days of running Raw, but is now reduced to a garbage man. Well, he is the real man's man. Regal's comedic timing is amazing. Why don't they use him more? Hmmm, I wonder if I forgot something? Anyway, Eve wins this match in quick fashion. This is also something I love in pro wrestling. Kaitlyn could beat Beth Phoenix, but couldn't beat Eve? But-chk-ge-ick-but-ick-gaaaaa…..why do I even bother? I'll just go back to giving up on the diva division. You'll find that it saves time. Oh, I forgot that Eve is now Booker's assistant because of this victory. Should it mean something? Well, the coming weeks will tell us, but probably not.
Winner via pinfall: Eve
Match #4: Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton
So, we finally get a good match out of the evening. Bryan is still just as funny as ever. As Bryan has the No Lock applied, Kane's music hits and Bryan starts to search for him. Well, there are no monsters here, but here's an RKO for you, good sir. Well, I like the fact that they didn't make Bryan look like a total pushover, but John Cena tends to have that effect on most people.
Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton
Match #5: Antonio Cesaro vs Zack Ryder
Santino was on commentary for this match. He actually tried to be serious for once, but Santino's character is only gonna get so serious. Cesaro wins with the Gotch Slam. After the match, Antonio tosses around Santino. We better have a new US Champion really soon. Not sure about it happening at SS (Which it should, but it being shown on the pre-show might lessen its chances), but it better happen really soon.
Winner via pinfall: Antonio Cesaro
Match #6: Alberto Del Rio vs Chris Jericho
Before this match could get started, Dolph attacked Jericho in the backstage area. Despite this attack, it doesn't stop Jericho from competing. Yes folks, he has the heart of a face. Anyway, the match goes on and it wasn't too bad. The finish comes when Dolph comes out to attack Jericho again. This leads to Jericho walking into an enzuigiri, so Del Rio takes this match. After the match, Dolph and Del Rio attack Jericho. Sheamus finally comes out for the save. Del Rio leaves through the audience, but Sheamus has something to say. Sheamus wants to face Del Rio at SS, but Booker won't allow that. Sheamus says some good-guy stuff, blah blah blah, heart of the cards, and the match is back on. Well, it didn't take much for this match to get back on. It's pretty anti-climatic, but that's the idea. I know many aren't happy about Sheamus/Del Rio, but at least the rivalry is more evolved this time around.
Winner via pinfall: Alberto Del Rio
Overall Impression:
The show was very filler-based, but it wasn't the worst filler had to offer. They touched base on the other matches happening at SS, so it did the job. I really don't have a whole lot to say about this episode. Since I didn't do a SS Rundown, I will give some pre-show thoughts on the matches right now. Again, I could care less about my predictions, but others seem to enjoy them, so let's a go.
Santino vs Antonio Cesaro; US Title: I briefly talked about this in tonight's review. If this wasn't in the pre-show, I would say Antonio wins, but that's not the case. I think WWE should do something different and actually do a title change in the pre-show. If they do this, I think it would make people tune in more often for these matches, which aren't necessarily bad matches to watch. Despite this being on the pre-show, I'm still picking Antonio to emerge victorious in this match.
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Prime Time Players; WWE Tag Team Titles: To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Kofi and Truth as a tag team. I really hope the PTP go over in this match. They failed the first time, but learned from their mistakes and I think will take the gold this go around.
Miz vs Rey Mysterio; IC Championship: Miz is still a fresh IC champion, so I highly doubt they will de-crown him immediately. Plus, I would like to see them evolve this rivalry for more than one match. I think it could be fun and interesting. Miz remains IC champion after SS.
Kane vs Daniel Bryan: Bryan really needs this victory since he's been losing a lot lately, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Bryan end up losing again. To add to Bryan's frustrations, Charlie Sheen could get involved with this. This one can go either way, but I'll pick maybe man to win this match.
Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler: One of the things I would like to see WWE do is build this up till the next WM. Here's my idea. Have Dolph defeat Jericho at the PPV, Jericho leaves depressed, while Dolph goes on to reign supreme. At some point, Dolph cashes in the MITB and becomes WHC. Months go by and BAM, Jericho comes back, he's hungrier than ever, and he's ready to fight Dolph in a SS rematch at WM. Of course, I'm talking out of my ass since this probably will never happen, but I can dream. It honestly makes the most sense for Dolph to go over in this match, so I'll pick Dolph to win this match. At the same time, I wouldn't be shocked to see Jericho win this one.
Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio; WHC: I just realized that I have a lot of heels winning. I'm gonna have to change that and say Sheamus will win this match….but will he still be champion?
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar: The match that's had the most buildup. I really hope WWE goes out there and let's the two unload on each other. Now, I'm not talking about blood or anything like that, but I want to see a very physical match between these two. This one should be fun to watch, but who should win? Well, Brock needs this win more than Trips, so I'm gonna pick Brock to win this match. Again, it wouldn't surprise me to see Trips get this victory.
CM Punk vs John Cena vs Big Show; WWE Championship: Show doesn't really belong in this picture and it would be a shock to see him win. At the same time, I would really hate this idea. In my opinion, this is gonna come down to Punk and Cena. I personally think that it would be stupid on WWE's part to make Punk drop the title to Cena right now. Mostly because Punk just changed his persona, so why change his character if you were gonna give the title to Cena regardless? It just seems like a waste. I think Punk winning would add to his frustrations, thus making his character more interesting. To be fair, it's possible for Punk to come out of this scenario better than before, but it's really hard saying that, especially considering how WWE loves to book Cena. Plus, I think Punk vs Cena should happen on its own and not involve Show, which is something you can do at the next PPV. I've heard a lot of dirt sheet reports saying otherwise, but I don't care for dirt sheets. In fact, the hell with the dirt sheets. I'm picking Punk to retain his title, thus setting up Punk/Cena at Night of Champions.
Those are the picks, that's the review, so I think we're about done here. That's gonna do it and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought about my review and what YOU think will happen at SS. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time……REGAL REGAL!!! See, I remembered.
Great review as always.
ReplyDelete1) Anyone remember the TV/European title. It was beneath the IC/US title and now the US title seems to become beneath the IC title. This is fine for me. Hope Caesro beats Santino.
2) I'm starting to see potential rivals and build up to bringing back the tag team division. They brought in more teams. The Usos, PTP, Primo and Epico and now Reks and Hawkins. I sincerely hope that a) Kofi and Truth loses b) somebody brings in a TLC match.
3) The Miz should win, but I have a feeling that the mexican cena will win.
4) More could of been done between Ziggler and Jericho like consider the MITB briefcase involved.
5) I want a match at summerslam between Clay and Sandow.
6) I saw a hint of something big happening to the WWE with Brock Lesnar winning. I remember Heyman saying something about taking over the WWE. I would love to see Heyman taking control of the WWE and forcing McMahon and HHH the rebel against them. Although, I don't see the WWE creative being that well...creative.
7) The Divas Division...stop giggling...They need an improvement badly. I did respect the match tonight with Eve and Kaitlyn. So here are three points in having their division mean something besides what the casual audience sees them as...sexual fantasies. A) make them learn how to wrestle. Have you seen them throw a punch lately? Downright sloppy and clumsy. Also, STOP USING THE DAMN ROLLUP AS A FINISHER!!! I'm looking at you Kelly Kelly. B) Get some better Divas. The current Divas division is riddled with some of the worst actresses and unintimidating women out there. They don't have any divas (besides Eve and AJ, but they are not competing for the title) that can actually show ambition and emotion. Secondly, where are the intimidating heels. Remember Jazz, I hated her, although that is exactly what she was supposed to do. C) The Divas division first lost its honor falling from the Women's division to the Divas division. Then lost its novelty with poor wrestling and poor storylines. Bring the Women's title back and use non-barbie like women that couldn't hurt anyone. Damn that was some pent up rage.
8) Show is not even a factor in the main event at SS. It's hard to say what creative will do, but I have to say if they want Punk/Rock to go down then CM Punk must win.
I think Eve make the better choice to be Booker's assistant since Kaitlyn from what I've seen her do on superstars and nxt is one of the few divas they have they could build a solid division around and the optimist in me would like to see that happen.
ReplyDeletePlease put the belt on Antonio WWE. He'd make a far better champ than Santino for so many reasons. Plus he'd be a perfect choice for an idea I've had about the title for a while, put the US title on a foreign heel who then cuts a promo dissing america and says he doesn't want to be it's champ so he gets rid of the title and brings back the european title, this will give him major heel heat and set up an patriotic face to go after him.
I hope AW's firing doesn't get PTP de-pushed, as they'd make for good tag champs for now.
As long as Miz keeps the title I'd be happy enough with any result from that match.
And while I'd love to see Bryan beat Kane I don't see that happening.
And while I agree that Dolph should ultimately go over Jericho I think Jericho should win and put Ziggler over in the rematch. But if the do have Dolph winning here I'd like to see a rematch were Jericho puts his career on the line maybe against the MITB briefcase to fully prove he can still win the big one. You could then have him win the match and the title and then drop it to Ziggler.
Whatever the outcome I hope they just give up on the Sheamus/Del Rio rivalry. It just isn't working and is doing neither man a favour by continuing it.
Brock needs the win far more than HHH but I wouldn't be surprised if he lost again, at the very least Brock needs to be standing tall over a decimated HHH at the end of the match.
I'm thinking Cena hits the AA on Big Show but Punk takes out Cena and steals the victory for himself, that way he keeps the title and you can set up another Punk/Cena fued
I hate to go on an smark rant but I hope this new "push" for Hawkins and Reks doesn't last long. Mainly because I liked how they were smash-mouth, in your face, almost rebellious young guns (also their song was kick-ass). I really hope they can be used to help revive the tag team division.
ReplyDeleteAlso this gimmick of a male stripper doesn't look like it will go over so well.
"heart of the cards" got a real LOL outta that one
ReplyDeletemy predictions
Santino vs Antonio: i want Antonion to win, but i suspect WWE gonna let Santino keep his US Title since it's a pre match... and cuz his merchandise sells
Kofi Truth vs PTP: i want PTP but probably Kofe/Truth/Jimmy wins too... losing AW hurts... maybe they'll find PTP another manager and will win tag team champ next big event
Miz vs Rey: Rey wins but somehow the title is not going to change hand. Miz will get disqualified one way or the other. Miz needs a longer title reign and WWE needs to keep the Rey fans happy
Kane vs NONONO: Kane wins due to interference by AJ in one way or the other
Y2J vs Ziggy: i want both to win... it's hard to tell who's gonna win depends on where WWE wanna go from here out... another last push for Y2J or building up Ziggy as a legit threat for the WHC... ok, probably Ziggy wins but Y2J will "look good"
Sheamus vs ADR: Sheamus wins. and sets up the next rivalry with Ziggy
HHH vs F5: i think Refresh is going to win... he's not gonna be happy if WWE makes him go 0-2 since "coming back". a good chance HBK would show up injured, and might even get a sweet chin music in... but F5 gonna prevail and just might beat up both HHH and HBK, pretty bad
Punk vs Cena vs Show: another one that's hard to call... punk with the "respect me" new attitude might be here for a while; on the other hand, Cena hasn't touched the WWE title for a while now... even Show, WWE just might surprise everyone and let the big guy win, and set up a rivalry with... Ryback? lol i can only dream... Ryback is still having his feud with Jinder Mahal (which might be a last-minute add-in match, where Ryder finally gets to beat up and pin Mahal to end the stupid feud). ok if i have to choose, CM Punk.
Y2J needs a win.I am a die hard Y2J fan and I want to see him win.
ReplyDelete