Match #1: Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes in a Street Fight
We open up with a street fight. There's something I never understood about the term street fight in pro wrestling. They call it a street fight, where they are no rules. However, they are nowhere near the street. If this was a real street fight, they would be fighting down a dark ally. Anyway, this was a pretty damn good match to kick off the show. It was a well paced match that showed off what Orton and Rhodes are capable of doing in the squared circle. They fought in the audience, in the ring, on the entrance ramp, and by the announcers' table. I can definitely recommend checking out this match since it might be the best match of the week (James Storm vs Robert Roode does come close). Does anyone else think Booker T is the John Madden of the WWE? He points out the obvious and has those moments where he gets way too excited about the action. BOOM!!! Orton also took out the baggers during this match. This went on for nearly the first half hour of the program. There was a moment where Rhodes used his mask as a weapon. The finish comes when Orton counters Cross Rhodes and goes on the attack. After a couple of moves, Orton finally hits the RKO to win this match cleanly. Michael Cole talked about how Rhodes took Orton to the distance and really made a claim that he belongs in the main stage. Cody has improved quite a bit over the last year, but he needs to eventually get some victories over some of these main eventers (heelish victories work as well). In mainly ways, Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler have the same position in the WWE. Ironically, both are holding mid card championships at the present time. Even though I would've preferred for Cody to get the win, I think his stock is rising. It isn't really clear if his rivalry with Orton is done at the moment since these two can end up meeting up in a Survivor Series match, but I guess we will wait and see. After the match, Orton ends up putting a paper bag on Cody's face and takes his mask. Is the Depressed Cody Rhodes character done? Well, not really sure about that, but I personally want to see the thing go. Even though Cody is doing pretty well with this bad guy persona, the mask is a bit silly.
Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton
Match #2: Ted DiBiase vs Tyson Kidd
A match that really doesn't seem to present much for future storylines.....at least for the time being. I do notice that the commentators talk a lot about how DiBiase does a tailgating deal with the WWE Universe before live events. This might be the start of things to come for DiBiase. I still find him incredibly boring, but I have always been about second chances and I am willing to see what DiBiase brings to the table this time around. This was a really short match. The finish comes when DiBiase hits Dream Street for the clean win. Want to know what Tyson Kidd and John Morrison have in common? They are both going nowhere at the moment with WWE.
Winner via pinfall: Ted DiBiase
Backstage interview with Mark Henry. He talks about how he won't give Big Show another title shot, until he sees someone from a distance. Who is it? Is it Batman? No, it turns out to be Michael Cole's verbal punching bag, Daniel Bryan. Henry thinks Bryan is plotting something since he sees Bryan's MITB briefcase. He tells him he has no chance of beating him for the world title. He has an idea and challenges Bryan to a non-title match for later tonight. Bryan unfortunately takes the bait and it appears we have a match for later tonight. Well, I guess the Aberdeen, Washington funeral service will be busy this weekend.
Match #3: Alicia Fox vs Natalya
I can't believe I didn't make the "I'm Batman" joke since Eve (who was dressed up as Robin) won the Battle Royal this past week. Well, better late than never...
This match again proves my theory that Alicia was supposed to win the battle royal and become the #1 Contender. I guess those ring ropes have butter on them. Well, better than having butter on your head, wouldn't you say (If you get this reference, you're awesome)? Anyway, the finish comes when Alicia hits a roll through legdrop for the clean win. Pretty big win for Alicia. I wouldn't be surprised if they do away with the Beth Phoenix/Eve match right away and just name Alicia as the new title chaser. I am still not the biggest fan of her, mainly because of his Axe Kick that can give people a concussion since she loses control of the move. Then again, maybe the roll through legdrop will be her new finisher? Only time will tell.
Winner via pinfall: Alicia Fox
Back in the ring where Big Show has something to say. Show says he would rather fight than talk or else he would be Frankenstein. Really? So, you would be a mad scientist? Seriously, how many people make this mistake? The monster technically doesn't have a name, while Frankenstein refers to the doctor. Sorry, just one of my pet peeves. Anyway, he threatens the WHC by punching his lights out on every SD until he gives him a title match. Show is taking the CM Punk approach to this since Punk did this on Raw this past week in order to get a title match. Christian interrupts and says he figured Show was done talking since he was set for his match with Sheamus. He decides to tell Show really quickly that he doesn't deserve a title match because he blew his opportunity. Christian would go even further to say he deserves ONE MORE MATCH because he got screwed over. Christian starts to get a little paranoid that Show will KO punch him, but Show assures him it won't punch him. Instead, he Chokeslams him. A very basic scene in which Show is once again trying to get a title match, but Henry continues to ignore him because he knows Show is a threat to steal the only thing that matters to him. After a commercial break, Sheamus is ready to do this match, but it appears Christian is selling an injury and can't compete. Wade Barrett interrupts and says since Christian can't go, he will take his spot. So, now we have a match between Sheamus and Wade.
Match #4: Wade Barrett vs Sheamus
Christian is still on the outside selling the Chokeslam from earlier. I think Josh Matthews asked the dumbest question possible. He said "Who will win a world title first. Sheamus or Wade?". This is pretty stupid considering that Sheamus has already become a world champion.....twice. I guess Matthews was asleep during that time period. Anyway, this was a physical, brawling match between the two. The finish comes when Sheamus is about to hit High Cross until Christian gets on the ring apron and Sheamus tries to take a shot at him. This allows for Wade to score a quick roll up for the win. After the match, Sheamus attacks Wade until Christian hits a Spear on Sheamus. The bad guys retreat while Sheamus is really pissed off. Want to know the funny thing? You can always tell Sheamus is angry by just watching his skin color change. He's like a chameleon.
Winner via pinfall: Wade Barrett
Backstage where Sheamus, Christian, and Wade are all brawling backstage. Security shows up to break up the fight. It does seem random for Wade to jump in the middle of all this, but I think this will lead to some sort of SS pairing. There was another backstage scene. Bryan and Big Show are talking about the match Bryan has tonight against Henry. Show tells him to keep that briefcase warm because he will be using it tonight. Show of hands. Is anyone really buying a MITB cash in tonight? Yeah, I don't think so. Especially when Show/Henry has already been established. At the moment, it makes no sense for Bryan to cash in the briefcase when there are still a good majority of people that don't care about him.
Match #5: Sin Cara vs Epico
Epico is a new guy on the WWE roster. It turns out he is the cousin of Carlito and Primo Colon. Well, it appears the guy comes from a wrestling background. Overall, the guy didn't look too bad out there. The finish comes when Sin Cara is about to hit the Swanton until Hunico (Used to be Sin Cara Negro) attacks Sin Cara. By the way, I like how WWE didn't hardly say anything in regards to Hunico's new name. The only way you would know about this is if you barely heard Cole say this or looked it up on the internet. I hate to say this, but this looks like something you would see on TNA. Based on the very little explanation, that is. The storytelling aspect of this whole thing hasn't been done very well and I wouldn't be surprised if casual fans have no idea what's going on at the moment. After the match, Hunico and Epico continue to attack Sin Cara. So, I guess Epico is going to be in this feud.....yeah? From a storytelling perspective, it really isn't that engaging. This would help if there was more promos between the two. Then again, Sin Cara's English is a little rusty. That's kind of a problem. Maybe they should get a translator? Either way, they need to start explaining things.
Winner via DQ: Sin Cara
Match #6: Mark Henry vs Daniel Bryan
Bryan was getting destroyed in this match. He does get some moves on the big guy, but it really doesn't go anywhere. Keep in mind that WWE needs to establish Bryan as a top contender in order to make this a fight. Lately, they haven't done much with Bryan and just recently ended his losing streak in an uninspiring manor. At some point, WWE really needs to figure out what they are going to do with Bryan so when the time comes to cash in MITB, people will pay attention. Still, I bet this further puts the idea that Bryan will be the first MITB holder to not win the world title. Then again, that discussion is for another day. The match ends with Show gets involved an KO punches Henry, thus causing a DQ. A DQ in two straight matches? Whatever. After the match, Show is encouraging Bryan to cash in the briefcase, but he is still beaten up. After a while, it appears Bryan is about to cash in MITB, but Henry is back up and attacks. He hits World's Strongest Slam on Bryan. The bell never rung, so the MITB cash in never happened. Show runs in to attack Henry, but the WHC is able to take out Show with WSS. Teddy Long comes out and says it will be Henry vs Show for the WHC at Survivor Series. Well, the match was inevitable. You knew it was going to happen. Based on how things turned south with the WWE Championship picture, the WHC picture might be the most intriguing of the two world title matches, and this is coming from a big CM Punk fan.
Winner via DQ: Mark Henry
Overall Impression:
In many ways, this felt like a filler episode of Smackdown. They did establish some new things like Epico joining in the Sin Cara/Hunico rivalry, but it really felt like a filler show. Now, was it a bad filler show? I wouldn't say that. I really enjoyed the opening match. In fact, there was a lot of action on tonight's episode. Then again, only the Orton'Rhodes match felt like really good action. The Sheamus/Barrett match was entertaining at times, but the rest of the matches were pretty forgettable. This is a SD were if you missed out on it, you didn't miss a whole lot. Still, I do recommend people to check out the Orton/Rhodes match, cuz it was really good. Everything else is skippable, but there was some decent entertainment to be seen. Okay, time to rank the shows for this week. In terms of wrestling quality, I rank it SD, Impact, and Raw. In terms of promos/segments, I rank it Raw, SD, and Impact. Outside of some of the Muppet gags, there really wasn't anything special with the segments for this week. MVP of the Week is a pretty easy choice. I'm going with Robert Roode over on TNA. He made a heel turn and won his first world championship. This is probably the first face/heel turn in TNA that actually made sense and just wasn't spur of the moment/Vince Russo style writing. If done correctly, Roode/Storm can be the best thing TNA has every put on television in years. Only time will tell if they do it right or screw it up, but I will be optimistic about it. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. 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.
That wouldn't be a Plants vs. Zombies reference now, would it? :3
ReplyDeleteYes, you're correct.
ReplyDelete