WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 5/18/12 (Plus WWE Over the Limit thoughts)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 5/18/12. Why am I reviewing this? I don't know, but let's begin. 

We open the show with John Laurinaitis. He is upset with the Board of Directors changing the rules of the match. Johnny brags about bench pressing 250 pounds and running a mile in six minutes, but he's not in the greatest shape going into the match. Cena is so overpowered that the combined powers of Super Man and Wolverine wouldn't stand a chance against him. Yeah, so running a mile in six minutes isn't gonna do you a lot of good against Cena. He wanted the BOD to call off the match, but they refuse. Again, if the BOD have this much power, why don't they run the show? After having a moment for a prayer, CM Punk arrives to crash the party. Punk talks about throwing together a party for when Johnny is fired. Let's bring in Andrew WK and……wait, I did that bit in the TNA review. Punk continues to mock Johnny, which leads to Punk vs Kane for later tonight. Punk is okay with this match since he's a real man….

After watching that, life makes so much sense. Anyway, Punk leaves, which allows Johnny to completely flip out at the WWE Universe. He is angry that the fans keep giving him crap and blames them for the antics of Cena and Punk. I think Johnny also said this…

Overall, I liked what Johnny did here. In fact, it was one of the rare times Johnny stood out in the promo. I think he has grown very comfortable with his character. As for Punk, this was not one of his better promos. In fact, that's two promos he has cut that have been well below his normal rants. You really have to wonder why Punk and Bryan aren't exchanging more promos towards each other? I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this is a one-time match between Punk and Bryan. For some reason, I can't help but think it should be more. Hopefully, they will give this rivalry more than one match. 

Match #1: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Titus O'Neil and Darren Young

For some reason, Titus and Darren are starting to grow on me. I like what they are doing as a tag team. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to call them up to the main rosters. The match was short, but it was okay. The finish comes when Truth hits the Little Jimmy. It would look pretty stupid for the tag champs to lose this match, so they needed the victory. On paper, the tag title match at Over the Limit sounds great, but I'm just not into it. I guess it's because what AW has brewing in the pot seems more interesting at the moment. Oh well, I'm sure it will be a decent wrestling match. 

Winner via pinfall: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth

I like the bit where Zack Ryder was filming a spot for Z Long Island, while Damien Sandow seemed disgusted with Ryder. Sandow is walking towards the ring. He's supposed to have a match against Yoshi the Dinosaur, but Damien isn't impressed with Yoshi. He declines the match since he wants someone who can give him something meaningful. Yoshi calls him a chicken and starts to act like the giant chicken from Futurama…..

Damien is pissed off, so he beats the crap out of Yoshi. Damien is sporting pink tights and purple kneepads. I guess those are the sophisticated colors of society. Damien finishes off Yoshi with a Straight Jacket Neckbreaker. He will probably call it the Peace of Justice. Anyway, I like this Damien character. Still, why does he look like Ask that Guy? 

Match #2: Zack Ryder vs Daniel Bryan

Oh, I didn't know Ryder was still working here. Sorry about that, but he really has been a ghost these last few months. Ryder actually makes the match interesting, but he falls victim to the Yes Lock. Bryan winning should be no surprise here. With that said, Ryder fans will probably complain. 

Winner via Daniel Bryan: Submission

Match #3: CM Punk vs Kane

Bryan was on commentary for this match….

I actually enjoyed parts of this match, but I can see some people not liking it. The finish comes when Punk and Kane are on the outside of the ring. Bryan gets a chair and is about to use it on Punk, but thinks twice and hits Kane with it. Because of the attack, Kane wins via DQ. Bryan drops the chair and leaves, which gives new meaning to the term "Runaway Guys". Punk grabs the chair (WRESTLING LOGIC!!!) and is angry with Bryan. Now, Kane was not aware of who attacked him. Since he saw Punk with the chair, he assumed it was Punk. That's when Kane starts to go ape s*** and destroy Punk. After a bunch of chair shots and two Chokeslams, Kane finally leaves Punk alone. During the attack, Bryan was enjoying himself on the entrance ramp. Once again, that's all the build-up you get with Punk and Bryan. You practically have to go on WWE.com to get more of a storyline. The Indy fans know that Punk and Bryan (Bryan Danielson) have known each other for ten years, but I wish they would've cut more promos towards one another. I'm looking forward to the match, but part of it feels empty because of the very little interaction between Punk and Bryan. Punk and Johnny have had more interaction in that time-frame. Hell, Bryan and AJ have had more interaction. Do you see where I'm coming from? If this rivalry is gonna continue, I hope they can at least address these situations on TV. This is why putting a PPV in three weeks isn't a good idea. I would actually cut down on the PPVs, but now I'm thinking about the days in which I did the Wrestle Ramble. Plus, we can talk about that on another day. Again, I want to see Punk vs Bryan, but I always wanted to see more promos between the two. 

Winner via DQ: Kane

Match #4: Cody Rhodes vs Santino

I really didn't like this match. I'm fine with Cody and Santino having a rivalry. I'm fine with the IC vs US Championship approach, but here's a tip. If you're gonna have your two mid-card champions face each other, make it longer than a 2-3 minute match. These are supposed to to be the top mid-card guys, so wouldn't a longer match be more meaningful? It kinda blows my mind. Who's idea was this? The rivalry just barely started and it's already on thin ice. By the way, Santino won with the Cobra. Again, I'm not upset about Santino winning. If you want Santino to win, that's fine, but this should've been a longer match. Heck, you can put this on PPV and I think it would make it more meaningful. Then again, maybe that's not the idea? Maybe creative isn't quite sure what to do here? Well, it wouldn't surprise me after…..THAT. I need something to calm me down. I need something to distract me…..

That will do!!!

Winner via something: Santino

Match #5: Randy Orton vs Sheamus

It's pretty custom to get some lackluster matches on the week of a PPV. Mainly because you want to play it safe and make sure the competitors are healthy going into the PPV. With that said, I was impressed that they allowed Randy and Sheamus to deliver this type of match. I thought it was awesome. It was very physical and intense. I highly recommend this match. Outside of TNA Sacrifice, this was the best match out of the week. The finish comes when Sheamus gets a rollup on Randy. I can see people not liking the finish. Keep in mind that they want to make both guys look good going into the world title match. A rollup victory protects both guys, so this was the best way to do it. I would rather see this match end in a rollup than via countout/DQ. Speaking of the Fatal 4Way match, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio were absent tonight. I can allow for Jericho to pass since he was on Raw, but where has Del Rio been? You almost forget that he's apart of this match. Maybe he had a family emergency or got a minor injury? Still would like to know why he wasn't here. 

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus

Overall Impression:

In terms of wrestling quality, SD was pretty decent this week. Then again, that's mostly thanks to the Randy/Sheamus and Punk/Kane matches. Damien was pretty entertaining and Johnny continues to get comfortable with his character, but there wasn't a whole lot groundbreaking about this show. I was mostly expecting a filler show since we are on the week of the PPV. Well, that's pretty much what we got. Unlike last week, the filler this week was pretty entertaining. Again, I would've liked a promo between Bryan and Punk. Come on, WWE. At least give me one. One promo. One promo is all I ask for……and a possible date with AJ, but that's beside the point. The other area this show falls short on is building up OtL. Certain elements of OtL are intriguing, but it really feels rushed. I'm not a fan of these PPVs that get less than three weeks of build-up. There really is too many PPVs out of the year. Now, there was a particular headline that did show up in the middle of the week. WWE will be starting three-hour Raws in July 23. I know some people will ask what are my thoughts on this. Well, I'm gonna save that for the upcoming Raw review. Mainly because I'm gonna put some very quick thoughts on the OtL PPV right now, so I didn't want to crowd everything in one article. Okay, here we go….

Zack Ryder vs Kane: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha……oh, that's funny. Yeah, I got Kane winning……woo woo woo….

Layla vs Beth Phoenix; Divas Champion: Layla just became the champion, so it would be really odd to see Beth get this one. Then again, I have said that the Diva Division is more confusing than Sonic '06's storyline, so nothing would surprise me at this point. Even with that said, I have Layla retaining the title. 

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger; Tag Titles: Part of me wonders if AW's crew is going to crash this party. Plus, I'm not big on the idea of Dolph getting the tag titles. I can actually see a title change here, but I'm sticking with Jamaican Jimmy to win this match……HA!!!

Sheamus vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Alberto Del Rio; WHC: It would seem a little premature to have Sheamus drop the title, but this might be the best scenario. Maybe they have a particular "rockstar" win the title and carry it all the way into SummerSlam? Hey, it's just a thought? Randy and Del Rio don't really seem prime on capturing the title this Sunday, so I think I narrowed it down to two. I say Sheamus gets this match for the time being, but the next rivalry should be Sheamus and Jericho. I think that could be a lot of fun. 

CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan; WWE Championship: I haven't seen Punk losing his championship lately……until now. Since Bryan is one of the hottest things in pro wrestling, I can see WWE give him the championship because they want to embrace the art of the orgasm. This is a potential show-stealer right here, but I'm still gonna pick Punk to retain the championship. If this rivalry continues, Bryan should eventually get the title. 

John Cena vs John Laurinaitis: The battle of the Johns. The only thing missing is the John itself……aw, never mind. As I mentioned on Raw this past week, I think Johnny will get some help to win this match. It will probably be the Big Show, but maybe there will be a surprise return…..

Well, that's what I'm hoping for. My prediction is for Johnny to still be the GM after the PPV. Why give him the power of both Raw and SD and only take it away after two months? Yeah, sounds pretty dumb. 

Those are my predictions…..which I don't care if I get right or wrong. Still, people want to see them, so….there you go. That's also gonna 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.