WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 3/16/12

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 3/16/12. How did the blue brand do this week? Let's find out and begin. 

We open up the show with the Peep Show. Christian comes back to host his version of Conan O'Brien. Christian introduces Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis. Christian makes it simple. He just wants…..wait for it……it's coming……..ONE MORE MATCH. Teddy says he won't give Christian what he wants, but Roboinaitis will. With that said, Christian is now apart of Team Johnny. Teddy is about to put Christian in a match for tonight, but Laurinaitis says Christian hasn't been medically cleared. What's funny is how the commentators would bring this up later in the show. Wow, they are now solving the wrestling logic? Whoa, whoa whoa. Pace yourself, WWE. I'm pretty sure the world will blow up if you start solving the wrestling logic. Anyway, Teddy decides to put David Otunga in a match. I like how Laurinaitis doesn't seem to give a crap. He values Christian more than his lawyer. It was a basic start to the show. It was pretty clear that Christian would be joining Team Johnny. In fact, it was one of my predictions. So far, I'm 3 for 3. Teddy announced that Otunga is going up against a new member of Team Teddy, Kofi Kingston. It was announced during the week that R-Truth will be on Teddy's team. Johnny's team seems to be very predictable while Teddy's team is a little more up in the air. Regardless, Teddy's team has the best cheerleader in Aksana. She easily trumps Michael Cole in that department. 

Match #1: Kofi Kingston vs David Otunga

Since Otunga was caught off-guard with the match, he was wrestling in his pants. I'm not sure why he has to pose like he's in a bodybuilding competition. Maybe he thinks he's Major Armstrong? Now, if he can only produce manly sparkles. Then he would be set for business. Teddy and Johnny were on commentary for this match. Cole actually brings up the argument how Teddy didn't know about Christian's "injury". Johnny says Christian had an ingrown toenail. There was quite of bit going on in this shot. In fact, most people would consider this overbooking. Well, I don't believe that. I'd like to think of it as…….no, it's overbooking. Christian causes an interference, but Teddy catches it and persuades the ref to send Christian to the back. Since Mr. One More Match is going to the back, Teddy and Johnny Five argue. Otunga gets his belt and is about to go Simon Belmont on Kofi until Santino intercepts it. Otunga ends up punching Santino. With his back turned, Kofi is able to sneak a Trouble in Paradise for the victory. Oh, and the ref was dealing with the GMs while all the other shenanigans was going on. The match was a mixed bag. It was probably a little too chaotic, but I think that's the idea. Things are heating up between Mr. Excitement and Holla Holla Holla…..

Winner via pinfall: Kofi Kingston

Daniel Bryan is waiting for AJ in the back. She comes out in a new dress. She says it doesn't fit right. Bryan says she's right……the dress look better on the mannequin. Hey, that's no way to talk to John Laurinaitis…..oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. What an asshole. Bryan also says he and AJ can become a power couple, but AJ needs to step it up. That's why he booked AJ in a match for tonight. Bryan will be in AJ's corner for tonight's match. For the record, I thought AJ looked good in the dress. I guess Mr. Yes Man does NOT approve. 

Match #2: AJ vs Nikki Bella

Before the match got started, Bryan needed his own entrance. Those "Yes" chants are really becoming my favorite part of the show. Something about the start of the match was just weird. Nikki starts off on her knees and allows for AJ to hit a dropkick. At first, I thought Bryan paid off the Bellas in order to make AJ look good. As the match went on, that definitely was not the case. What, did Nikki have a spazz attack before the match? Seriously, what gives? Booker T's argument is all over the place. He thinks AJ doesn't want to be in this match, but talks about the importance of winning the Divas Championship. Even Josh Matthews had to side with Cole on this one. Something definitely got lost in Booker's headset. Then again, Booker can be a little crazy while on commentary, so it's probably Booker being Booker. Bryan catches the Bella switch, so the ref prevents it. AJ is able to win the match with a rollup. After the match, Bryan celebrates as if he won the match. His ego is really going out of control, but I like it. Bryan is way more entertaining with this character than his good guy routine. 

Winner via pinfall: AJ…….YES!!!

Match #3: Cody Rhodes vs Great Khali

Cody did cut a promo before the match, but it wasn't anything special. He talked about how Big Show is a choke artist at WrestleMania. The match was nothing special, but it was tolerable. Keep in mind that you have to consider the massive size difference. Among other things. BA-ZING!!! Cody was targeting Khali's knees for this match. Well, that's just not fair. The finish comes when Cody hits Beautiful Disaster for the clean victory. I was actually surprised that WWE let Cody get a victory like this. I realize that Khali is no main eventer, but they try to play up his size on a consistent basis. This actually helps Cody out. He is going up against a giant at WM, so how about beating up a giant in a tune-up match? I think it was a great idea. They need to do things like this a little more often. 

Winner via pinfall: Cody Rhodes

Randy Orton arrives to cut a promo. I like how he starts off the promo, "My name is Randy Orton". No s***, Sherlock. Thank you for telling me that once since I thought it was Bumble Bee Tuna for a minute there. Anyway, Randy wants to know why Kane has been attacking him. Kane arrives and shows a clip of the Kane/Randy match from last year. It showed Kane shaking Orton's hand at the end of the match. Kane says he sees the clip on a daily basis and hated what he saw from himself. That's why he vowed to go back to his monster ways. Kane says the WWE isn't big enough for the two of them, so he will destroy him. Orton thanks him for the explanation, but now wants to kick his ass. Kane is walking down the ramp, but says it will have to wait until WM. So, it appears we have a new match on the card. The strange thing I was gong to talk about how Kane/Randy had no storyline going into tonight. Well, it wasn't much, but at least it's something. Still, I already had a made-up theory as to why Kane and Randy are feuding. It's completely stupid, but that's not going to stop me from sharing it. Kane secretly went out and slept with Randy's wife. Ever since that traumatic night, she has had to go through countless therapy sessions. Since therapy cost a lot of money, Randy has to pull it out of his pocket. You would think Randy would be more concerned about his wife, but he's more concerned about his checking account. What a douche. Regardless, this has made Randy very pissed off, so he takes his frustrations out on Kane. That would have been a hell of a backstory, but I suppose we will go with this humanity deal…..I never get to have any fun.

Match #4: Big Show vs Drew McIntyre

Teddy welcomes back Drew and says he's excited that Drew is back. Drew was making the match interesting, but it was too much to overcome. Show hits the Chokeslam and follows it up with the KO punch. The ref calls for the match as Drew is unable to compete. So, Drew got a taste of his own medicine from a week ago. Show needed the victory since he has something going for him at WM. Even with that said, the internet will still get angry that Drew lost. I don't think they will ever let it go. 

Winner via ref decision: Big Show

Match #5: Mark Henry vs Yoshi Tatsu

If you have ever played Super Mario World, you are probably familiar with the f*** you Yoshi jump. Well, this was the f*** you Yoshi squash. Henry wins with World's Strongest Slam. The match was kinda there for no reason. I guess you can say it was there to show the dominance of Team Johnny, but that's a bit of a stretch. Still, I think we are forgetting the bigger story. MY DINOSAUR GOT SQUASHED!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Winner via pinfall: Mark Henry

Chris Jericho is ready for his match against Sheamus, but he has something to say. Jericho talks about getting a lot of hate mail for the comments he made about CM Punk this past week, but he refuses to apologize since he was speaking the truth. Jericho calls Punk a fraud and a Jericlone. Jericlone? It has a nice ring to it. While there was a "CM Punk" chant in the arena, Jericho starts to chant, "see you drink". Jericho finally lays down the pipebomb and is ready for his match. It was a re-hash of the promo from Raw, but Jericho did add a different take to it. It was good….damn good. It will be interesting to see what Punk has to say and/or do on Raw next week. That alone makes me excited for next week. 

Match #6: Chris Jericho vs Sheamus

Bryan and AJ show up in the middle of this match. This was a great match. Jericho and Sheamus put on a great contest. This was probably the best match I saw all this week. The finish comes when Jericho distracts the ref while Sheamus is on the outside. Bryan uses the opportunity to hit a drop kick on Sheamus. With Sheamus out, the ref counts to ten and Jericho wins. The outcome protects both #1 Contenders and makes them look strong and smart, so this decision made the most sense. After the match, Sheamus gets back up and chases off Bryan and AJ. As the Yes couple is looking from the entrance ramp, Sheamus gets back in the ring to hit the Brogue Kick on Jericho. Owe, my face. 

Winner via countout: Chris Jericho

Overall Impression:

I don't know about you, but the reason I have enjoyed SD is the fact they tend to step away from Rock and Cena. Sure, they still talk about it, but it's nice to not dedicate every part of the show towards this rivalry. I understand WWE wants this to be the main attraction for WM, but I kinda feel they are going overboard with the build-up and not focusing on the other matches. The two world title matches are a prime example since those rivalries should get a little more screen time. To be fair, they have set up Punk/Jericho very well and it will be interesting to see what they do in the next two weeks. Sheamus and Bryan is coming along nicely, but they should add more to it. Anyway, I enjoyed tonight's SD. I found the segments to be decent while the matches were fun to watch. The main event was the highlight of the evening, but we also saw Bryan go deeper in his heel persona. We finally get an explanation for the Kane/Randy rivalry. I wasn't big on the promo work (at least from Randy's perspective) but it was acceptable. This is a show I can recommend checking out. It was fun and had some good action, so……enjoy. 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.