SmackDown Sum-up 6/10/11

How is SmackDown not the flagship of WWE? It has comparable talent to RAW, it has great production value, and puts on quite possibly the best overall wrestling show on television. Of course even great shows have off nights. Was tonight one of those nights for SmackDown?

NOPE! Let's hit the recap!

Christian Spits the Truth: Christian jerks the curtain with a heel promo with a Michael Cole assist. Christian's always been great, but WWE didn't seem to know how to utilize him as a face. As a heel, they're letting him go all out with his smug bastard-ness and he's turning out to be a fantastic heel. He's getting heat right away and building his rivalry with Randy Orton. Both are good ideas.

6-Man Tag: The Corre takes on Ezekiel Jackson and the Usos. While it's weird that they'd just throw the Usos together with Zeke to make a team, this actually turns out to be a decent enough match. The Corre and Zeke carry most of the action, but the Usos do a good job and seem to get over with the crowd alright in this match. Furthermore, this match continues to build up the tensions within the Corre. Wade leaves towards the finish and Gabriel and Slater get beat, leading Slater and Gabriel to tell Barrett that they won't have his back at Capitol Punishment. I think this means the belt is primed to be put on Zeke, which is a cool prospect, but only time will tell.

Jinder Mahal Squashing: Another squash match to set up how awesome Jinder Mahal is. I can't quite decide whether I like Mahal or not, but he's a big athletic dude, so I'm sure he has potential. He squashes Trent Beretta real nice here, and Great Khali comes in to apply the Kona Crush to him. We'll see how this duo plays out (primarily if they put the belt on Zeke).

AJ vs. Tamina: It's time for the obligatory Diva segment, which typically means a pointless two minute match that leads to nothing. However, they ARE trying to push the Divas face stable of SmackDown vs. the heel stable, and this match tries to further that. I'm not a fan of AJ's personality, as I feel WWE is trying too hard to appeal to dorks (LIKE ME) with her, but she's not a bad in-ring performance. And believe it or not, this was actually a fairly solid match. Decent psychology and a win for the face. Surprisingly, I want to see where this thing goes.

THE REAL MAIN EVENT: Okay, maybe that title's a little misleading, but this building feud has so many of my favorite performers and so much young talent that it DESERVES to be a top billed deal. First, Sin Cara takes on Ted DiBiase in a singles match that starts off fairly solid. However, Cody (who had another fantastic pre-match segment) interferes and gets Ted disqualified. Daniel Bryan runs in for the save and Teddie Long (in true Teddy fashion) demands the match be restarted as a tag match.

What follows is a great classic tag team contest. The heels control the action, wearing down the uber-technico Sin Cara, then Bryan gets hot-tagged in for the clear out and finish. It was a little predictable, yes, but every guy in this match is so much fun to watch work that I could care less. It's a shame they won't likely build this feud up into Summer Slam where I'll get to see these guys go at it live, but it's been a fun ride so far. Can't wait to see more.

Sheamus vs. Orton: Sheamus gets a no DQ, non-title match with Randy Orton... alright. I'm not complaining. This match actually starts off a little slow, and at points it devolves into a punch/kick fest. However, it actually had some decent "NO DQ" stuff including some kendo stick work and some pretty brutal stair spots. Sheamus actually gets power slammed onto the stairs, and the bump looks beyond brutal. In the end, and perhaps a little predictable, Christian brains Randy with the belt again and Sheamus gets the win. Of course this isn't about Sheamus, and Christian gets tons of heat going into Capitol Punishment.

SmackDown this week was great. It's not always such, but I maintain it's the best WWE has to offer. Story building, decent Divas match, Daniel Bryan, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, stair bumps...

What else needs to be said? 5 stars out of 5.

CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S WRESTLING SHOWCASE

AND FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES, HERE'S LAST WEEK'S SMACKDOWN SUM-UP FOR COMPARISON.

SmackDown Sum-up 6/3/11

SmackDown is consistently better than RAW in the eyes of THIS reviewer (which, seeing as I have to wear contact lenses, are very poor). However, this week's RAW was actually exceptional, so what did Friday night's show come back with?

Let's hit the recap!

• Christian vs. Mark Henry: After a brief summation of what's been happening with Christian in recent weeks, SmackDown opens right up with a match. It's not horribly long, and I'm not a huge Henry fan, but he's utilized well here. Christian has to chop him down and eventually gets the victory. The next segment has Christian demanding a title shot, only to be shot down by Teddy Long. Then, for some reason... Teddy names Christian as special referee for the Sheamus/Orton main event? I don't see the logic there, but without it, we get no BIG TWIST at the end of the show. Overall, an effective, if not average opening segment.

• What Just Happened?: Out of nowhere, we get a Diva tag match with... some Divas I don't recognize. Honestly, I don't know who over half of the Divas actually competing were (Natalya's team). Even worse, just as I was getting used to each Divas style and actually getting slightly into the match, it ends. Thanks again, WWE, for these pointless segments.

• Oh Cody. You so crazy: Cody Rhodes comes out and cuts a wicked promo. I like the build up and animosity they're going for between him and Daniel Bryan, but sadly I can bet that the pay-off will still come out underdeveloped. Nevertheless, great segment that shows off just how good Cody has gotten on the mic. Definitely one of my favorite heels in the company.

• Jinder Mahal vs. Yoshi Tatsu: Jinder Mahal actually gets some time in the ring. The match is a squash, with poor Yoshi Tatsu getting absolutely 0 offense in. This kinda upsets me as, yes, I understand it's meant to make Mahal look powerful, but instead it makes Tatsu look weak. This is because Mahal doesn't pull off anything really impressive. A necessary evil, but brings the show down nonetheless.

• Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett: I was surprised to see this match-up, let alone this match-up for the belt. I figured the Corre would have some way of making sure Barrett walked away as champion. Sure enough, they do after a brief match that has Jackson dominating. I think they have the potential of over-hyping Zeke and making him a new Batista (or worse), but he's got a good intensity AND charisma that makes him fun to watch. I don't think he should be man-handling the Corre each week, but I wouldn't be opposed to them sticking the IC belt on him.

• Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase Jr.: Match of the night! It's been a while since we've really seen DiBiase's in-ring ability stretched, but him and Bryan put on an awesome match. Tons of false climaxes, back and forth action, stiff striking, big spots. This match had it all. Rhodes attacks Bryan after he beats DiBiase, but who should run to American Dragon's aid than Sin Cara. That was a nice surprise, and the promise of the two tagging together is a really intriguing prospect.

• Randy Orton vs. Sheamus: Pretty standard main event. Sadly, Randy DOES resemble John Cena a bit too much nowadays, as he'll get beat up a majority of the match and then have a miracle comeback, but this match was solid enough. Some good back and forth, and I'm becoming a bigger and bigger Sheamus fan the more I see him work. I nearly forgot Christian was reffing the match, his presence was that small until the finish. Orton picks up the victory and then SURPRISE, Christian makes his big heel turn. He brains Orton with his own belt, and walks off with it as SmackDown ends.

Decent card with solid matches from top to bottom. However, I can't help but feel that, without the Bryan/DiBiase match, this SmackDown would be dangerously close to mediocre. It still easily gets 3 stars out of 5 in my book, but I hope next week's installment is a little stronger.

Until then, keep an eye out for more updates, and check out some of my stuff from earlier in the week...

The Weekly Showcase 6/2/11

RAW Recap 5/30/11

PWG All-Star Weekend 8: Night Two

SmackDown Sum-up 5/20/11

On such a day as this, when a wrestling legend passes away, it's kind of hard to think about the current state of wrestling. No, not because "wrestling sucks now, lol". It's simply that, no matter how good the quality of the wrestling I would see today, it'd serve as a reminder to the loss of one of the industry's greats.

Nevertheless, wrestling did happen. Tonight was SmackDown. And ya know what? As I've said in the past and will continue saying, it was a great show. SmackDown won't ever emerge from the shadow of its Monday night brother, but it consistently proves to be a better show. Here are my full impressions.

• Christian vs. Sheamus: Christian opens the show with a rock solid bout against Sheamus. The match even featured a panel in panel "promo" with Sheamus like it was old school wrestling, just in case you needed more explanation for why Sheamus wants to cave in Christian's head.
• Anyway, it's refreshing to have such a good match open the show, and while Christian takes the win, he also gets jumped by Mark Henry and Sheamus post-match. Randy comes in to save Christian, continuing his sentiment that he wants to fight Christian at his best at Over the Limit, and the two continue their friendly rivalry.

• The Low Point: Brie Bella, Divas Champion, takes on Natalya. Yes, the backwards women's division of WWE has fantastic wrestler (and attractive woman) Natalya JOBBING to a model. Thankfully, Naty's great in-ring ability carries the match, but the unconvincing finish combined with the heinous act of Brie getting an honest win over NATY EFFING NEIDHART made this easily the low point of the night. Thankfully, it happens less than halfway through the show, and we move on.

• 6-man Tag Action: Ezekiel Jackson is next out, and he (despite not being super talented on the mic) manages to rock a pretty good promo, effectively setting up a match between him and Wade Barrett at Over the Limit. I can't help but draw favorable comparisons to guys like Ron Simmons, and even Ahmed Johnson when Zeke is at his best, and he's definitely there now. The Corre, predictably, tries to assault Jackson, but Teddy Long (who I neber like) comes out and instead makes a match with Jackson teaming with Big Show and Kane taking on the Corre.
• What proceeds is a great tag match by any standard. Of course, the veterans of Kane and Big Show never disappoint, and they've been feuding with the Corre long enough that the chemistry is there. I shit on the Corre's booking for a while, as they weren't a credible threat for a good long while following Wrestlemania, but they are good workers. Jackson and Show/Kane take the win. Super match all around.

• Five Minute Challenge: The Chavo/Sin Cara rivalry comes to a head in the next installment. Chavo, again claiming to be the mentor of Sin Cara, jealously spouts on about how the luchador would be nothing without him and that he can beat Daniel Bryan, who Sin Cara defeated in 15 minutes last week, in 5. Bryan and Chavo proceed to put on a solid and suspenseful match.
• The timer is really what made this whole contest, as it gave the contest a sense of urgency and, whenever it would slow down, Chavo frantically was checking the clock. Chavo's a veteran, and his emotion sold the match. Bryan's a fantastic worker, and his physicality anchored it. In the end, Chavo couldn't pin Bryan in five minutes, even after hitting his frog splash. This made him snap, but luckily, like any good technico, Sin Cara swoops in to save the day. I'm not sure if this feud will conclude at Over the Limit, but it's certainly been entertaining thus far.

• Ted and Cody; the new odd couple: Cody Rhodes comes out accompanied by Ted DiBiase come out together, at first puzzling me as the two seemed to be feuding last week. Cody does his usual AMAZING schpeal, and bolstered by some funny stuff with Ted wearing a paper bag, I really enjoyed this segment. And guess what, there was actually wrestling following it! Sure, it was Ted squashing Trent Beretta, but it was still good to see a talky segment actually lead to somewhere. Fun stuff.

• Khali Gets Serious: The Great Khali continues his predicted move back into a monster heel. His new "manager", Jinder Mahal (I finally know his name) interrupts his match with Jey Uso and slaps him. This puts Khali into God mode, and he proceeds to destroy both Uso brothers in the next few minutes. I'm no big fan of Khali, but I do agree this is the correct direction to be taking him in. Let Khali be a monster. Leave the goofy comedy to Zack Ryder.

• Orton vs. Henry: The main event has Randy Orton taking on Mark Henry. I've been fairly skeptical about Orton being the "face" of SmackDown now, as I've seen his move set and personality homogenized to a John Cena-like level in recent weeks. However, this actually proves to be a good match, and Orton pulls out some more of his arsenal while Henry is actually shown to be dominating portions of the match.
• Sheamus, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes out and attacks Randy, making the match a no contest. Christian comes out to make the save, but actually stalls to let Randy get a bit beaten up showing that, although "cool" with each other, these two are still rivals. Orton and Christian clean house, and the curtain falls on SmackDown as we head into Over the Limit.

Momentum. Great matches. Good storytelling. Despite a slight hiccup here or there, SmackDown is, without a doubt, the best regularly televised wrestling show. Tonight's episode gets a 5 out of 5. This is where WWE needs to be heading.

To see how WWE DOESN'T need to be heading, check out my recap of this week's RAW HERE.

For my brief words on the death of the great Randy Savage, look HERE.

And for my weekly wrestling showcase, check HERE.

Like my stuff? Tell your rasslin' buddies. Until next time, I'm out...

SmackDown Sum-up 5/13/11

As weeks continue to go by in WWE television programming, I become more and more certain of a couple of things.

1. Zack Ryder deserves much more screen time than half these schmucks, and
2. SmackDown is a superior show to RAW.

This Friday was no exception, as although Friday's show didn't have the volume of matches Monday's had, the quality of them (along with the storytelling) vastly outstripped RAW. Let's head to the recap.

• "Nah guys, really. It's 'kay...": Christian opens up SmackDown, essentially trying to cool the ire of the crowd for him losing the belt last Friday. Christian's natural charisma aided in what could have been an extremely awkward attempt at appeasement, and before too long we were into the show and setting up matches. Mark Henry interrupts Christian, followed by Sheamus, both wanting a piece of the former champion. Before they can beat up on him too bad, Randy Orton, in true "face" fashion, rescues him. The main event is then set up later as a tag match featuring the four of them.

• Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan: I genuinely look forward to Sin Cara's weekly appearance, but when I saw he would be taking on Daniel Bryan, I nearly flipped my shit. This match was great. Lots of exciting spots, great technical wrestling going on, it was just a lot of fun.
• Of course, if this was just going to be a "card filler", the quality of wrestling would easily push it up. However, this match actually furthered the Sin Cara/Chavo angle, as Chavo not only introduced Sin Cara, but commentated the match AND interfered; giving Sin Cara an opening to land his finisher. Sin Cara, despite wearing a match, sells his emotions both during and after the match extremely well, and you could tell he was more than a little hot at Chavo for giving him the win in this dishonest fashion. I can foresee a real Rudo vs. Technico rivalry building between these two, and it should be fun to watch.

• Kharma Strikes Again: Layla's next to come out, and attempts to work the crowd. Sadly, I don't think she was succeeding very well, and I actually relished Michael Cole's interruption. Cole rants a little about his own feud with Jerry Lawler, but before he can get too far, Kharma comes out. She does her usual schtick on Layla, but in a surprise move, she actually goes after Cole. While I would have loved to have seen Kharma actually destroy Cole, and I think it would have gone further in showing how much of a threat she is (this whole "Diva destruction" angle is getting somewhat tired). It's good to consistently see Kharma, and I'm glad that WWE had the wisdom to NOT put a pointless Diva match to bring her out. I just hope we see her get an official match some time soon.

• The Corrrrre Comes Together: Kane is scheduled to have a match with Wade Barrett. Though I question their continually splitting them up, I understand Kane and Big Show are big singles draws that can hold good matches separately. Case in point, this is a solid match. Both wrestlers are in their element here in what turns out to be a back and forth brawl. Despite it being one of the night's longer matches, the pace was so high that it didn't drag in the least.
• The match ends in disqualification when the Corre interfere and beat up Kane. Ezekiel Jackson attempts to take on his old team, but in a surprisingly competent move, the Corre overpowers Zeke and takes him out as well. Not only was the match solid, but these post-match shenanigans all served great purpose as well. The Corre is looking to be a genuine threat again (after several months of looking just plain stupid) and the Corre and Zeke feud is furthered with the odds being continually stacked against Zeke. I expect it to come to a head in time for Over the Limit, but it may drag into Summer Slam as well.

• Khali's Reality Check: The Great Khali comes out for a "Kiss Cam" segment. Honestly, this was the point I felt SmackDown was going to lose momentum, but even this seemingly stupid segment served a purpose. As Khali has pretty much become a joke under the management of Ranjin Singh, a new player (who, not knowing his name, I can only identify as Khali's potential new handler), has seemingly appeared to whip Khali back into shape. I can foresee this leading to Khali becoming a "monster" heel again. Although I'm not a Khali fan in the slightest, I certainly would appreciate having him taken more seriously. We'll see where this goes.

• Only Smoke and Mirrors...: Cody Rhodes comes out to face his former partner, Ted DiBiase. As you might expect, Cody gives another silly/crazy rant. The match itself is somewhat forgettable, but it wasn't bad. Predictably, Rhodes takes it, but I can see this building him up to be more relevant in some kind of title picture. Also, Cody's gimmick, though silly, is lots of fun. It's good to see him getting a lot of appearances on LIVE shows.

• The Main event: Lastly, we have our main event. As most main events seem to be, we get a bit of a slower paced match, with the strongest segments being those that involved Christian vs. Sheamus. However, the pace eventually quickened halfway through the match, resulting in a very fun contest overall. The contrasting styles of all the dudes involved certainly helped with this. The finish was great, and ended the show on the highest of notes, leaving Orton staring down Christian and building up their rivalry for their match at Over the Limit.

SmackDown knows how a wrestling show is run. Build up a good main event? Check. Use your talented wrestlers to handle the mid card while building up intriguing plot lines? Check and Check. Use even dumb segments to build up towards future payoff? Triple check. When all that comes together, you get a 5 star show. That's what SmackDown was this Friday, and I for one can't wait for next week.

Monday is RAW, and with it will come my recap.

For last week's installment, click the link HERE.

For the first two installments of the Wrestling Showcase, my spotlight on Youtube's wrestling goodness, click the links HERE and HERE.

Until next time, stay sexy, peeps...