Welcome to another edition of 10 Thoughts on Smackdown! The road to SummerSlam is underway, and the Summer of Punk is upon us…let’s see how the Blue Crew is responding to what’s been the hottest angle WWE’s had in about a year.
And here…we….go!
- If they’re trying to book Sheamus as a legitimate challenger to the new Mark Henry…THAT’S the way to do it. Not a classic, but a good match, because it told a good story of Sheamus fighting like a warrior to take down the giant Khali. I know I complained before of how weak they made Big Show look in his last mini-feud with Mark Henry, but they’re making Sheamus look good. I’ve just gotta get used to seeing Sheamus smiling, though…
- Has WWE been listening to us lately regarding the lack of quality in Divas matches?!?! AJ and Natalya put on a good match with good wrestling and a good story with teacher vs. student being told. However, the turn from Natalya, especially the timing of it, shows me what I’ve been saying all along…the Divas division is looking thin. You figure, Gail Kim is gone now, so is Melina. Layla is still injured, Kharma’s on leave, Michelle McCool’s gone. The quality of the matches hasn’t been good lately, and this match was a breath of fresh air. I hope we can see more matches like this one. On a sidenote, while WWE is supposedly looking at Ring of Honor, am I crazy for thinking they should try to sign Sara Del Rey to the WWE? Good idea, bad idea?
- “State of the Showski Address? THIS could be entertaining.†That was my thought when I heard they were going to give Zack Ryder a mic on WWE programming. He wasn’t getting a Randy Orton type of pop, but he got a decent reception on Smackdown. If he gets some wins under his belt, he could wind up with a good following. It all led to Ezekiel Jackson against Ryder, but the segment as a whole was good. With Cody Rhodes talking about the de-valuing of the IC title, Zeke calling out Ryder for botching the type of match, Teddy Long punishing Ryder with a match…it was all good. The match itself was just an afterthought, unfortunately. And it looks like a new Diva’s on Smackdown…no idea who she is, though.
- Looking at the members of the original Nexus on Smackdown…it looks like WWE may be high on a few of them. Justin Gabriel reaches out to an international audience, so he may be getting a small push here soon. Wade Barrett looks to be on a collision course with Daniel Bryan, which could be a very good match. Both of them have had paralleling first years, with the exception of Barrett main eventing. Barrett won the IC title, Bryan won the US title, which are, at least in WWE’s eyes, equally valued titles. Oh, what a year can do for one’s career…
- Tyson Kidd/Daniel Bryan??? I’m believing more and more that SOMEONE on WWE Creative reads this stuff, because I distinctly recall saying when Kidd went against Sin Cara that he’d have a good match with Bryan. And sure enough, it didn’t disappoint. In all honesty, with the way WWE’s cleaning house again, I would wager that this match may have saved Kidd’s job.
- Mark Henry/Vladimir Kozlov merely served to further Henry’s push, and I will give WWE some credit: at least with Kozlov being gone, he was written off with that injury, rather than being future-endeavored. It at least makes him look good on his way out…I think that’s a classy way that doesn’t insult the fans’ intelligence to send someone out of the company, rather than him just vanishing. Kozlov wasn’t the most exciting, but he wasn’t bad, either.
- Superstars invades Smackdown!!!! When did JTG turn heel? I must have missed that somewhere! The six-man tag makes for a good tag team feud between Otunga and McGillicutty and the Usos. The inclusion of Baretta and JTG was obviously so that neither of the Usos nor the champions would have to take the loss…smart booking. The champions are looking better as a team, but still need some work, though.
- So they’re finally debuting Johnny Curtis this next week…for all the segments, all the puns, it’s either going to be a big bust, or a big success. I wonder if he can go in the ring…
- From the “strange bedfellows†department: R-Truth and Christian. It could work to be an interesting alliance between the two, with both complaining about management and conspiracies.
- The main event, ironically enough, was the match I considered the least entertaining. Not because it was a bad match, but because, honestly, I was preoccupied with some other issues. Note to self: no Facebooking while watching Smackdown! I did catch a lot of the match, but not enough to make an actual diagnosis of it. From what I did see, Morrison seems to be more in his element as a tag wrestler. He’s grasping the concept of psychology better, and seems more comfortable with a tag formula. He’s set for a feud with R-Truth, which could be good. Christian and Orton are doing the same old, same old, but I did notice a little bit more fluidity in their work tonight. With most matches that get repeated, it becomes more of a cycle. With these two, they work fluidly. I will admit that the feud is getting long and drawn out, but here’s my thought to ponder for the week: Are fans of today capable of watching longer feuds? Heck, back in the 80’s, we’d see feuds go for MONTHS on a regular basis, and today, if we see a feud drag past two months, we scream that it’s stale. Hmmmm…
Tonight’s show was thumbs up. Good wrestling, good storyline progression…it was one of the more watchable Smackdown episodes I’ve seen in a while. On another note, SummerSlam is shaping up to be a pay-per-view worth buying…if they don’t screw it up. One other thing to mention: people have been bashing R-Truth’s weapon of choice being a water bottle. Try smacking yourself upside the head with a one-liter bottle of water and see if it doesn’t hurt…it’s still a little heavy, people…just sayin’.
Until next time…
