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