WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 2/21/12

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 2/21/12. With the blue brand going on live, how did the show do? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up with Daniel Bryan. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!! Did I mention yes? Bryan's yes chant is so over the top, but that's what makes it funny. Bryan is being accompanied by AJ. Bryan talks about how no one thought he would main event WrestleMania. Bryan talks about how Santino tried to be Rocky Balboa, but Bryan is the true Rocky. Yo AJ, I DID IT!!! Bryan wanted to enjoy his victory at Elimination Chamber, but Sheamus interrupted Bryan's celebration and took him out. Bryan says he will defeat Sheamus at WM and he will defeat CM Punk tonight. The Miz interrupts Bryan's speech. He claims that Bryan always had what it took to become a world champion and congratulates him. He also mentioned something about him and Bryan forming a tag team. This probably won't be addressed ever again, but that could be an interesting idea. Then again, I wonder what kinda of name they can come up with? How about the Awesome Vegans? Sheamus interrupts the love by talking about how Bryan is a massive arse and hypocrite. Miz is angry for Sheamus' interruption, but Sheamus tells the Miz to not talk until he actually gets a WM match. Bryan takes this chance to slap Sheamus in the face. Sheamus gets angry and charges right after Bryan, but he manages to escape. Miz starts to land a couple of cheap shots, but Sheamus ends up tossing Miz out of the ring. The opening to the show was nothing amazing, but it was good. We got to see Sheamus and Bryan actually talk to one another. It could be interesting to see what both guys end up saying. As for the Miz, I guess he's not the awesome one this week. Did you see that? I made a pun! It's a pun!

Match #1: Sheamus vs Miz

This was a short match, but it was effective. The finish comes when Sheamus hit Finlay's Celtic Cross. For now on, I'm gonna call this the Celtic Plunge because I don't want to explain this part anymore. I'm being lazy, so sue me. Besides, it isn't like the commentators aren't bothering to name the moves themselves, so I might as well take a crack at it. 

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus

Backstage where Teddy Long is ready to get down with his bad-self. John Laurinaitis and David Otunga interrupt, which chases away Aksana. Roboinaitis thinks Teddy isn't taking his job seriously and Teddy isn't fit to run both shows. I resent that remark. Teddy can do his job and get some action on the side. He's a multi-tasker. Teddy makes a crack in how Laurinaitis and Otunga have their office in the bathroom. That was a pretty bad joke, and this is coming from someone who makes bad jokes on a weekly basis. This would be one of the major themes of the night, so get used to it. It will be great since Mr. Excitement is here. MR. EXCITEMENT!! YEAH!!! WOOOO!!! Okay, it's not that exciting. 

Match #2: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger

Oh yeah, remember when Dolph and Swagger were a partial tag team? Well, I guess they're back. This match had its moments, but it didn't last long. The finish comes when Swagger and Truth end up falling on the outside. During this spot, Vickie Guerrero fell to the ground and started screaming. Yeah, f*** you sound bearer. Dolph takes advantage with the ref dealing with this matter and pokes Kofi in the eyes. Dolph hits Zig Zag on Kofi and scores the victory. Has WWE created two tag teams in two episodes? I have a crazy theory at the moment. Just tossing this idea out there, but I project a Fatal 4Way match for the tag team titles at WM. I'd say it will be Primo/Epico, Kofi/Truth, Dolph/Swagger, and the Usos for the tag titles. It's really a stretch at this point, but it sure would be something if it ended up happening. 

Winner via pinfall: Dolph ZIggler and Jack Swagger

Backstage where Santino is training the Cobra by knocking down cups. You got to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy. Heath Slater interrupts and tries to be a dick. Santino says that was a mistake. The Cobra actually spits something into Heath's eyes. Santino informs Heath it's a spitting Cobra. If you're wondering what the Cobra was spitting, it was the remains of Slater's career. That stings. 

Match #3: Great Khali vs Drew McIntyre

Oh no. Drew lost again. Time for a certain fan base to complain how WWE is burying Drew. Regardless, Drew has had a rough couple of months. The fact Drew has made it on the last couple of shows should mean they are going to try something with him. It might end up turning into a good thing. It can also bomb, but I think people are not being patient enough with this bit. Oh, this was a short match. Khali hit the Punjabi Plunge. He celebrates his victory. Drew cries himself to sleep.Yeah, I think you know the routine. 

Winner via pinfall: Great Khali

Match #4: Big Show vs Mark Henry

This was your typical Show/Henry match. The finish comes when Show hits a Spear on Henry. As soon as Show is about ready to finish off Henry, Cody Rhodes interrupts and talks about Show's WM failures. He even showed a clip of Show's match against Akebono. Henry hits the World's Strongest Slam on Show and hits a splash, but can only get a two count. If you don't think Henry's role has changed these past few months, this spot should convince you. Henry gets back up and hits the KO punch on Henry, but immediately chases down Rhodes. Show and Cody seems to be the next rivalry. I really hope Cody comes out of this the victor since Cody has more promise for the future than Big Show. The match never ended, nor was there a bell. It just….Stopped. Did they give up? Did the writers go on strike? This is like wrestling logic mixed with more wrestling logic. It's wrestling logic logic. So much logic that it will blow your damn mind…….Logic.

No Contest/Writer's strike/Countout/Coffee break/I need money

Match #5: Ezekiel Jackson vs David Otunga

This was a replay of the match that was on Raw this past week. Laurinaitis and Teddy are there to support their guy. I like Johnny's mock dance of Teddy. Laurinaitis is the most ridiculous character on this show. The finish comes when Otunga hits The Verdict and defeats Zeke again. You'd think Teddy would learn his lesson the first time, but obviously he didn't. At this point, I'm just waiting for Laurinaitis to use his catchphrase on Zeke. 

Winner via pinfall: David Otunga

Punk cuts a promo backstage. Punk talks about Bryan's ego, addressing Chris Jericho next week, and how Laurinaitis lacks talent. I like the part where Punk brought up his messiah character in relation to Bryan's current character. It's nice for the characters to address their old days. Can't always pretend that the previous character never happened. It's like they're saying, "I changed characters and we will never talking about the past. Anyone talking about their past character will be shot. Nobody talks about the past…..NEVER!!!". 

I think I need to get this out of the way before I talk about the final match. The commentators addressed the CM Punk/Chris Brown stuff on their show. I know this is a topic that has gotten a lot of attention in the last few days, but I really don't know the full facts. I'm also not interested in knowing the full facts, so don't even bother explaining it to me in the comments cuz I really don't care. I know the general facts, but not every little detail. At first, I thought this was a publicity stunt, but I'm not really sure. I think WWE only brought it up since it's getting a lot of attention and might as well see what you can get out if it. Plus, I'd imagine the WWE would be quick to stick up for their stars when someone is spewing silly allegations. Especially allegations that involve steroid use. WWE would kinda look bad if they didn't support their own champion. If he did something stupid, that's a different story, but Punk seems to be speaking for some of the right reasons. Reckon, they're not really defending him as Punk is speaking on his own, but by showing the video on SD, they are at least on his side. I think that's why they aired the video. That and….It's free publicity. Might as well get as much free publicity as you can get since it doesn't come around all the time. People love free stuff. That's what RPGs taught me. Besides, who is Chris Brown anyway (Don't answer this question. It was more or less sarcasm)? Sorry guys and girls, but I actually listen to GOOD music. Besides, I learned all I need to know about this guy when I heard Michael Cole plug #Notnopunks. Notnopunks? I admit my grammar is questionable at times, but who the hell taught this guy grammar? I got one. How about, #notnoeducation? Sounds stupid, right? Well, that's only because it is. Anyway, I expect this to die down really soon since it's a twitter war. Besides, this is the type of stuff I don't like to talk about. I may have given some brief thoughts into it, but that's about as far as I'm gonna go. I also ask for people to not talk about this subject in the comments. This is my own personal request and I hope you respect it. I generally let anyone say anything they damn well please, but let's make a small exception for this. I'm here to review stuff that's fun, not this TMZ stuff. I do want to say for the record that I don't condone Chris' actions. Punk is right. You don't hit a woman. I know people will be quick to bring up Stone Cold, but I really don't want to talk about this subject anymore. This is a place built for fun. Let's get back to the fun. 

Match #6: CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan

This is a wrestling review. Let's get back to the action and get excited again. Punk and Bryan deliver a great wrestling match. This is supposed to be fun. THIS IS FUN!!! I'M HAVING FUN!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE FUN TOO!!! I'm actually being serious. Punk and Bryan put fourth one hell of a contest. Despite it being a good match, there was some weird moments. Bryan was trying to retreat, but Sheamus would arrive and toss Bryan back in the ring. Punk gives Bryan a little Falcon Kick and it seems like Punk has won the match, BUT WAIT!!! Laurinaitis arrives and says there was interference. He orders the ref to restart the match. Punk and Bryan would duke it out a while longer. Bryan ends up grabbing the ropes and gets the pinfall on Punk. So, it appears that Bryan has won, BUT WAIT!!!  Teddy arrives and says Bryan cheated, so he demands for this match to be restarted. Punk and Bryan once again continue to beat the crap out of each other. The finish comes when Bryan hits a Super-Plex on Punk. Both guys lock a leg on their opponent and the ref makes the cover. Both guys had their shoulders down, so they both won and lost the match. After the match, Laurinaitis says Bryan won the match, while Teddy says Punk won the match. Things start to get a little physical between the GMs. Laurinaitis looked like he was ready to throw down and Teddy seemed to be game. Teddy tosses his jacket, but Laurinaitis tosses it right back at Teddy. The show ends with Teddy walking away from the fight, BUT WAIT!!! Oh, that's the end.

It appears the power struggle is now in full gear. I was enjoying that little exchange between Laurinaitis and Teddy. That's the most animation I have seen out of Laurinaitis in quiet some time. I like the finish since it makes both guys look strong. Gotta keep the champs look good going into WM, so the finish made sense. In many ways, both guys won the match and the champions don't look weak at the end of the day. This match was great and made me get interested in the Teddy/Laurinaitis deal. I think it was good all around. I know I'll get some disagreement on the Teddy/Laurinaitis deal, but that's okay. 

Double Pinfall

Overall Impression:

I thought this was a pretty fun episode of SD. There was some interesting storytelling and there was some good wrestling matches. You can make the argument that the show was nothing too special for the first half, but the second half was great. I think the Punk/Bryan match makes it worth checking out. In fact, I recommend checking out the last half hour of the program. Even though some people will probably hate the Teddy/Laurinaitis program, I will give it a chance. Plus, I like how they got angry at each other. It was interesting that Teddy left the right, almost showing a sense of doubt. Then again, can you really blame him? Laurinaitis is not the cream of the crop in the wrestling world, but the guy does have a wrestling background. I can see Teddy thinking of a way to outsmart Laurinaitis. Oh, and if people are going to bring up the Teddy/Eric Bischoff deal, stop living in the past. Anyway, I felt this was a decent show to watch and I enjoyed the live edition of SD. 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 or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time.