What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown on 6/17/11. I didn't want to review this show since nothing really happened, but I haven't reviewed SD in a while and just figured I would get this one out there. Well, let's begin the review.
We open up the show with Randy Orton. He claims the concussion rumors are indeed true, but he doesn't care and wants to beat up Christian tonight. Teddy Long comes out and says he hasn't gotten a medical clearance from Orton or his doctors, so he cannot allow it. Christian interrupts and says he will win the championship this Sunday. He also claims if Orton is a good guy, he will give him a rematch in five days. Christian is also mocking the audience in the process. Sheamus comes out next (damn, how many people are going to show up in the opening?) and says he deserves a title shot more than Christian because he actually beat Orton last week. Long says Sheamus does bring up a valid point. He says it will be Sheamus vs Christian and if Sheamus wins, he will get added to the title match. If he loses, the match remains the same. Long also says Orton is allowed to observe this match, but cannot touch anyone or else there will be consequence. Overall, a pretty basic opening. This furture adds fuel for Christian and Orton. The thing that is perplexing is the match between Sheamus and Christian. Christian is still fresh into this heelish character while Sheamus is a full fledged heel. I like to consider Christian a tweener for the time being since even though he is doing a lot of the stuff a heel would do, the audience understands why he is angry and feels he got a raw deal, no matter how much the audience wants to root for Orton. Even though you should feel sorry for Christian more than Orton. Still, this does feel like a heel vs heel match, and that is kinda strange. Did Russo show up to write this show? Anyway, I like how Michael Cole is blaming Long for Christian losing the title, but a few months back he was blaming Christian for losing the title. Wrestling logic since heels have to side with heels. I also watched this segment, and it really felt like the boos on Christian were edited in. I am sure he is getting more boos than before, but these felt edited in by the WWE. At least, that is what I think?
Match #1: Ezekiel Jackson, Daniel Bryan, and Sin Cara vs Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase
This match was longer than the one they had on Raw this past week, but I cannot say it was any better. Okay, I can't be THAT harsh since the in ring quality was there, but the finish ruins the match. The finish was strange and most likely a botched finish. Daniel Bryan hit a drop kick and pinned DiBiase, but DiBiase didn't kick out in time and the ref hit the three count and the faces won the match. Some people would blame the referee for making a mistake, while others can blame DiBiase for not realizing the count. See, it's these screwups by DiBiase that keep WWE from using him more. I know the IWC loves this guy, but he is still making these simple in ring mistakes that he should have been cleaned up on a while back. What was interesting is SD didn't do a second take of this match. I guess they figured embarrassing DiBiase like that was the best method? Then again, I am bring harsh against DiBlandess since the ref was clearly at fault here based on the replay. Maybe the WWE wanted to embarrass the ref instead? Who really knows?
Winner via "pinfall": Ezekiel Jackson, Daniel Bryan, and Sin Cara
Match #2: Jinder Mahal vs Kozlov
There was a Sheamus interview backstage, but it was generic stuff. Is Kozlov a SD Superstar now or not? Eh, who really cares, right? Also, did Mahal kill Ranjin Singh? I remember in a past episode where Singh just disappeared and Jinder slapped Khali and thus the giant started taking orders from him. I bring this up since nobody is saying where Singh is and nobody seems to care. This is the first match I have seen of Mahal, and I have to be honest....I am not impressed. It just feels like his in ring ability isn't there yet and he doesn't really seem marketable at the moment. I am also not impressed with his mic skills. He is ok on the mic, but that's the problem. He is so "okay" and average that he isn't even worth paying attention or acknowledging. I just found out he is only 24, and that could be the reason he isn't turning any heads. I will give him some more time, but if he is going to be in the big time, he better step up his game. Anyway, a short match and it ended when Khali chopped Kozlov in the skull while the ref was distracted. Mahal follows up with a Full Nelson Slam for the clean win. If that is going to be his main finishing move, they will probably give it a Punjab pun at somepoint.
Winner via pinfall: Jinder Mahal
Josh Matthews is in the ring and wants to ask the Big Show some questions. Show comes out and claims the only reason he showed up is because he heard Alberto Del Rio would be on SD tonight. Show gets a little choked up when seeing the video of him getting hit by the car. Again, I know the video was intended for dramatic effect, but everytime I hear Show growling, I just laugh. Anyway, Long comes out and says he cannot allow Show to lay his hands on Del Rio. He says because Ricardo Rodriguez's representives or Del Rio himself put a restraint on Show and if he does another attack, he goes to jail and is fired from WWE. Long says he will give Show an opponent since he can't fight Del Rio, and it turns out it is Mark Henry. Show is once again sporting the yellow deal on his fist. I thought it was a glove, but a close up shows it to be yellow tape. Still, I am distracted by the bright color. I guess it is true what they say, bright and shiny is awesome. Anyway, so Henry is making his way to the ring. Before Henry can get his whole body in the ring, Show goes apes*** and attacks Henry. The bell never rang, so the match was never official. He is literally punching Henry to death...
Damn, you gotta admit pro wrestling has been going a little too far lately with attempted murder. Anyway, Show leaves while the medics attend to Henry and carry him out on a stretcher. Damn, you almost feel sorry for Henry considering he didn't do anything to Show.
Match #3: Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, and Tamina vs Natalya, AJ, and Kaitlyn
This was a very short match. Tamina and Natalya were the ones that shined in this match. The finish came when Tamina hit the Samoan Drop on AJ for the clean win. It is still pretty clear the WWE doesn't really know what to do with the diva division and I think Booker T said it best, this division is wide open now that Kharma isn't around. I think I heard one of the commentators mention something about the Green Lantern movie. Oh yeah, because the best way to wash out the bad taste of a diva match is by watching a bad film. Well....there is a chance the movie can turn out good, but who knows?
Winner via pinfall: Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, and Tamina
Johnny Curtis cuts another promo backstage. Yeah, I have been hearing about these promos by Curtis. Anyway, he says he is the ace in a hole for SD. During this promo, he is playing golf and pulls an Ace card out of the golf hole, get it? I think I just figured out Curtis' gimmick in the WWE. He will be the Master of Bad Puns. What's next week, reaching for the stars and he literally climbs a ladder to touch a star? Or maybe he will say go the distance and watch Rocky go the distance against Apollo Creed? Besides, don't people get enough bad puns on my show?
Match #4: Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel vs Uso Twins
Wow, Usos in a match for two straight weeks? This match wasn't too bad. It was short, but I think the all the guys put on a decent performance with the time they were given. The finish comes when one of the Usos hits the Snuka Splash for the clean win. Usos WINNING for two straight weeks now? They might be trying something with them? It is a positive that the Usos finally got a crowd reaction after the match. It only took a year for them to get a reaction.
Winner via pinfall: Usos
Del Rio has come out to cut a promo. He talks about how he is NOT afraid of Show and says bad things happen to bad people. He then says Ricardo was a good friend and he will get Ricardo's revenge by dealing with Show. Show comes out, but Del Rio runs through the audience. This is when we get more dramatic tension with Show as he realizes he cannot lay his hand on Del Rio. He decides to do the next best thing. He destroyes the announcers table, the railing, and everything around him.....
Man, another wrestler off the deep end now? You know, with Truth off his bipolor medication, Rhodes needing therapy, Sting being batsh** insane, and Show punching people like a madman, you have to wonder what is going on with these wrestlers? Seriously, I am concerned about the mindset of our entertainers.
Match #5: Christian vs Sheamus
It is kinda difficult to figure out who the audience was pulling for in this match, but I think they were pulling for Christian. This was a pretty good match and probably the best match of the evening. The finish comes when Christian headbutts Sheamus' skull off the steel post and pins him for the clean win. I kinda like Christian winning the match like this, because it shows he is willing to cheat or try anything in order to win a match. After the match, Orton immediatley charges for Christian, but he retreats. Orton stares for a while and decides to skull kick Sheamus. The show ends with a staredown between Christian and Orton from a distance. I would really like to see Christian get the title back. The reason I say that is because if Christian wins, it will let this feud continue. This is probably one of the best feuds going on in pro wrestling right now and the two are putting one some great matches. I personally want to see more Christian/Orton and want to see them do some sort of a gimmick match. I am calling for Christian cheating to win the title at CP and some gimmick match happens between the two, maybe a TLC match or something? Now, THAT would be kinda cool.
Winner via pinfall: Christian
Overall Impression:
This week's SD was basically on the average side of things. Nothing about the show really stood out, but it wasn't overly terrible and at least watchable. There was a couple of decent matches, but also some boring spots. Really, the purpose for this showing was the buildup CP one more time, and I think they did that. They didn't do it in the best way possible, but I think they got the word out when they did the All Star edition of Raw this past week. The overall card for CP is a decent one, but almost nothing is leaping out at you. The Truth/Cena match will be interesting to watch, but I think Truth is just doing filler for the world title scenery since he isn't ready for a world title and they may be preping for CM Punk to be the next world title contender once Cena beats Truth this week. I am not opposed to Truth getting the world title, but I think it's a little soon. If he keeps this up, I can see him getting the title towards the end of the year, but right now it would feel rushed. The IC Championship buildup really hasn't been there and you almost forget it is on the card. I wish they would have built up the match a little more with SD, but they didn't. Ok, time to rank the shows. In terms of wrestling quality, I have to rank it Impact, SD, and Raw. Ok, ok, ok.....before you give me the third degree, TNA did actually put forth some good in ring action for this week. WWE was lacking in this department, so give TNA their due.....at least for now. In terms of the promos/segments, I would rank it Raw, SD, and Impact. Raw really stood out in the promos department this week, while the other two shows were lacking in this category. Really, it's thanks to Christian and Show's insanity that doesn't send it into last place for this week. Since I couldn't do a CP Rundown, here is a quick prediction list of what I think will happen at the PPV, here we go....
Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio doesn't have much going after this, so I can see this going into another PPV. I am picking Del Rio
CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio: WWE is trying their hardest to make sure Punk stays with the company. A win here and a world title might get Punk thinking about staying. I am picking Punk.
Miz vs Alex Riley: Kinda odd to see Riley win a match against a former world champion so soon. I am picking the Miz to steal this one.
Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler for the US Title: Can go eitherway....I am picking Kofi for now.
Wade Barrett vs Ezekiel Jackson for the IC Title: I still don't think Zeke is ready for the title, but I think WWE wants to get the title off of Wade and maybe put him back in the main event. Zeke takes the title, but I can change my mind on this one.
Randy Orton vs Christian for the WHC: Christian needs to pull an Eddie Guerrero and cheat to win. I want to see a gimmick match between these two and hopefully it happens.
John Cena vs R-Truth: Truth is impressing me, but he still isn't ready for the title. Cena retains the title.
Ok, so there was a quick pick list for you folks. That is going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it....even if this was one of my weaker reviews. As always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.
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