What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 1/11/13. Who decided to be spoiler-free this week? Let's find out and start the review.
We open up the show with Booker T. After we get the five-time…..five-time…..five-time…..FIVE-TIME….FIVE-TIME's worth of announcements, Big Show seems pissed off that Booker made the Show/Del Rio match for the world title. He even puts his hand on Booker until Del Rio runs out for the save. I didn't think of this sooner, but maybe one of the WrestleMania plans is to have Show vs Booker. They have been setting it up the last couple of weeks. Anybody thinking this?
Match #1: Randy Orton vs Antonio Cesaro
The match didn't last very long. The finish comes when the Shield attacked Randy, thus resulting in a DQ. The segment ends with Shield hitting their triple powerbomb on Randy. After Randy attacked Shield on Raw this past week, it seems appropriate. I think Shield may have just found their first true rivalry in Randy and Sheamus. I think that could work if done well.
Winner via DQ: Randy Orton
In a taped segment, CM Punk is at Sun Life Stadium to tell the Rock how the current WWE is his playground. Once again, a good promo by Punk. Can you believe we have three more weeks of these promos between Punk and Rock? I think things are looking pretty good as we move forward.
Match #2: Dolph Ziggler and AJ vs Khali and Natalya
Thanks to the power of her jaw, AJ is able to beat Natalya. Is there an innuendo in that last sentence? Anyway, Dolph takes out Khali after the match. To add more salt to the open wound, Big E Langston kills Hornswoggle. Is it still Christmas time? I don't know why, but I got some amusement out of that. I'm a sick bastard.
Winner via pinfall: Dolph and AJ
I love how the Rock starts off his promo praising Flo Rida. Yeah, cuz we need to start every speech by mentioning untalented people. Rock talks about returning home and cookie puss….ugh. I've had a few days to think about this and I still think this is the worse chant Rock has ever come up with. Rhodes Scholars interrupt the Rock to give him a pop quiz. The Rock does well for the first two questions, but that's the power of the script. Damn you script and your….script-ness. The Rock gets tired of the quiz, so he takes out Ask That Guy and Ron Jeremy's homosexual cousin. The segment did two things. It continues to build up Rock/Punk, but it also gives the Miami audience something to eat up. Then again, anytime the Rock is present, it can be looked as an excuse for the audience to be energetic. That's just the presence the Rock brings to the table. Pretty entertaining segment, but not one of Rocky's better promos.
Match #3: 3MB vs Sheamus
Even in a 3-on-1 match, 3MB still can't win. I think this stable is gonna find its way in the bargain bin pretty soon if they keep going down this road.
Winner via pinfall: Sheamus
Match #4: Team Hell No vs Prime Time Players
Another filler match for the night. This was on the show to give a quick reminder to Team Hell No's evaluation next week. I hope it's hilarious.
Winner via pinfall: Team Hell No
Match #5: Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio; Last Man Standing match for the WHC
In terms of Last Man Standing matches, it isn't that great but I did enjoy watching this performance. I think what added to it was the suspense with the close calls. I thought the match was done with Show hit that KO punch, but Del Rio found a way to get back up by propping himself up. The finish comes when Del Rio hits Show a few times with the steel steps and buries him underneath the announce table. This kept Show down long enough for the ref to make the ten count and we've just seen the crowning of a new world champion. I love how Show is struggling to lift that thing. Not for nothing, but this is Big Show we are talking about here. The man that's built to bench press a small car, but announce tables appear to be his weakness. Wait, we have a new WHC?
Okay, so time to talk about what we just witnessed. I think many of you are immediately saying, "why?". Well, that's an appropriate response. There was nothing showing that Del Rio was gonna win the WHC, so why do this now? Well, I have a couple of theories. With Dolph still in possession of the MITB and Show being a heel, it would be kinda silly to have Dolph cash in on Show. Dolph/Show just doesn't sound appealing or look good based on what we have. Now, how about Dolph/Del Rio? Well, that makes a little more sense. In fact, I feel Del Rio won the WHC so they could set up a scenario where Dolph cashes in on Del Rio. Thus we get a Dolph/Del Rio rivalry either leading up towards WM or before the big event. And remember what I said earlier in the night? WWE has been teasing tension between Show and Booker for a while. With Show dropping the title, this will add more tension between the two. I feel WWE was setting up a number of different things with tonight's actions. For the most part, I don't have a problem with this. Sure, it could end up making Del Rio a transitional champion, but this might be the best move as we start to build storylines that will greatly effect what type of card we get at WM. This also helps Del Rio since he's still very fresh in his face turn. I think this could help him gain a following with casual fans as he works on his new persona.
Winner and NEW WHC: Alberto Del Rio
Overall Impression:
I really liked tonight's edition of SD. Even if certain matches/storylines fell in the filler category, there was enough there to make the show worth checking out. Rock and Punk continue to build their encounter at the Royal Rumble. We saw the crowning of a new world champion, and I think we are seeing foreshadowing in a Booker T vs Big Show match at WM. There was plenty of interesting stuff to keep you invested in tonight's show. Yeah, so WWE seems to be on the right track as we start the road towards RR and WM. That's a big plus in my book. That's 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 in the next one.
Del Rio winning the title was so out of nowhere I've been looking for an announcement saying Big Show is going on a 30 day holiday.
ReplyDeleteI'm not expecting a long reign from Del Rio either and like you I also think this was a move to put the title on Dolph.
Not all that sure on your Show/Booker for mania theory but I could see it being used to set up Show's mania match, I know the rumour mill is saying Ryback vs Show at mania so we can get a big moment when he hits the shellshock on him and Ryback coming out to save Booker could give them an excuse to do it.
And since you didn't review TNA this week I'll ask here, what do you think of TNA's new PPV format?
Well, I was gonna save that for the Genesis review, but I can at least say something on the subject. I talked years ago about how the wrestling industry has changed to the point that having a PPV every month doesn't seem necessary. I think giving 2-3 months of build to a PPV, it will be better in the longrun. It could help produce those PPVs that tend to be filler, or just bad PPVs in general. I actually don't mind this move. Part of me wants to see WWE do the same thing. After all, it's called PAY-per-view. If you have the shell out extra bucks for an event, shouldn't the event live up to PPV quality? I personally think this should be the case all the time. Only time will tell what TNA will do now they have decided to switch to this format. While it does give them plenty of time to build their storylines, it also gives them time to goof off and do nothing for weeks until the final two weeks of the event. I hope that isn't the case, but we shall see.
DeleteIt seems Big E Langston continues to use King Kong Bundy's old shtick with not only the Five Count in NXT but now beating up midgets (or vertically challenged to be PC).
ReplyDeleteAnd it is certain that Del Rio and Ziggler will have a feud over the World title, which could work out for WM. Looks like Del Rio is going down the same road as Sheamus; have two lackluster WWE reigns as a heel and then have a good run with the World title as a face.
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ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what the WWE decides to do with Ziggler and his Money in the Bank briefcase. I mean, the rematch between ADR and Big Show for the WHC at the Rumble is pretty much a given, so we'll see whether or not Dolph cashes in and how that affects his chances at the Royal Rumble match.
ReplyDeleteSo many possibilities with the wild card being if Dolph did win the Rumble while still holding on to the briefcase. Instead of challenging for the WHC, he challenges for the WWE Title at WM. He keeps the briefcase at WM and cashes it in after the WHC match and wins the title. Then, he heads off to his WWE Title and wins that title, too, becoming the Undisputed Champion at the Grandest Stage of them all.
I know that's a waaaaaay long shot for that to happen, but a guy can't help but imagine it.