After a long week of starting a new job, tons of meetings regarding Christmas, very little sleep, and other miscellaneous personal issues, here I am for the Smackdown Report. Time is running out before TLC is upon us, and the only fluff-free show in the WWE promises a great card.
We kick off Smackdown, alerted that the main event will consist of Edge vs Kane to decide the stipulation for TLC. Well, that sounds pretty nifty. Intro begins, we pan out to the arena that is littered with tables, ladders, and chairs, and Rey’s music begins. He eyes the ladder before he opens his mouth. He discusses the King of the Ring shenanigans, and what happened in the qualifying match, thus calling out Alberto del Rio. Rey climbs the ladder…this is the most interesting he’s been in some time.
Alberto cruises up in one of his many fancy cars and approaches the ring. They discuss Rey’s numerous injuries, and Alberto starts climbing the ladder, as well. Face to face, they announce a match for TLC between the two. Alberto declines, so Rey knocks him off the ladder and a brawl ensues. Rey is slip’n and slid’n all around, getting the upper hand on del Rio, sending him through a table and cueing his music. Well, it didn’t drag, the point was made, and the fight was great. Nice to see Smackdown kicked off right!
Commercial.
Come back to Dolph and Vickie walking backstage, and NXThree winner, Kaitlyn appears! She is an official Smackdown Diva, and Dolph appears to be smitten…
Straight to Drew McIntyre (who may have a shirt now?) paired with Dolph Ziggler. Second, Kaval enters with MVP…and their entrance has been perfectly synchronized. This has some potential.
Drew and MVP start off. Drew schemes in the corner before charging, both men locked up. Kaval tags in…and MVP already tags back in. He wears Drew down, but Drew gets some offense in before tagging in Dolph. Both heels are tossed out of the ring, and Kaval goes soaring through the air, grounding them once more.
Commercial.
Come back to MVP and Dolph battling it out, trading power and offense. Ballin’ from MVP, Drew distracts MVP long enough to regain control and tags in. Drew yanks down MVP’s knee pad and attacks. Dolph tags in, MVP reaches for Kaval but is stopped. Drew back in. Dolph back in. Kaval tags in, flying around the ring, twitching with excitement. He goes for a pin after a hell of a springboard, broken up by McIntyre, MVP chases him out but is sent into the announce table. Dolph locks in the Sleeper on Kaval, reversed, by Kaval, Vickie distracts, both men are on the ground. Zig Zag from Ziggler for three.
Grade: B-
You couldn’t really go wrong with any of these four, and the match was excellent. Nothing too terribly exciting happened, but it was a match you couldn’t tear your eyes away from, and my poor fingers couldn’t type fast enough for all the action that took place.
Kane’s pyro erupts about eight seconds into the victory. He Chokeslams MVP, piledriver for Kaval. He grabs a mic and says the show will not continue until Bearer is returned. Edge appears on the screen, announcing where Bearer would be, and Kane dashes off to find him.
Commercial.
Time for the Raw Rebound. I did not watch it this week (I’ve gotten really bad about it)…except for Cena’s interaction, it looked like a good one with all the Nexus stuff. Love when J-Gabe’s head broke the window!
Kane is backstage, Edge is wheeling Bearer all around. Yet another destruction of a Bearer-dummy in a wheelchair…this is too much.
Commercial.
Kofi enters, and we’re told that this is a Number One Contender’s match for the Intercontinental Title. Jack Swagger out next.
Bell rings and off we go. Slow to start, as they’re spending most of it staring at each other. “Swagger Sucks†chants echo throughout the arena, frustrating him, as Kofi attacks. TiP misses, they go back and forth, Swagger in control. Kofi gets fired up, bouncing all over the place. Solid kicks to Swagger’s chest, Kofi to the top rope, taken down by Swagger. He goes for a pin, and Kofi lazily places his legs on the ropes to break it up.
Commercial.
We return to a massive leg drop from Swagger, and a killer submission. Jack attacks the knee of Kingston, slowly working on the high-flyer, keeping him low to the ground. Ab Stretch from Swagger, locked in swiftly, and WOW! Great little maneuver from Kofi, and he regains momentum flying around the steel steps, ref is counting as both men are outside of the ring. Kofi crawls in, Jack crawls in at nine. Kofi getting fired up, SOS from Kofi, for two. Jack goes for the forgotten Gutwrench Powerbomb, Kofi hangs on, gets out of it, eats a boot for two. Swagger driven into the turnbuckle, Kofi to the top rope, crossbody for only two. Signals for TiP, misses, goes for another, caught, Swagger goes for the Ankle Lock, Kofi tossed out of the ring, an amazing TiP from outside the ring to a dangling Swagger, pinned for three.
Grade: C+
I’d like to see Swagger take on someone who is a little closer to his element. I think he’s fantastic, but he falls into the background when paired with a high-flyer, as Kofi’s spots steal focus. But I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy this match. Towards the end, the attempted pinfalls were executed in a way that kept the fans guessing, wondering which maneuver would win. Tensions ran high, and the finish was spectacular.
Kane backstage, again. Another decoy is destroyed. In the time it takes to do all these little segments, we could have had a decent mid-card match.
Commercial.
Masters is in the ring as we return. Cody enters next.
Bell rings. Cody pounces, Masters threatens to hit Cody in the face causing him to freak out and step outside of the ring ropes. Masters locks in the Masterlock (now there’s a sentence), but Cody is on the ropes so he must break it up. Fight continues back inside the ring, Cody in control. Masters gets fired up, couple big drops, some chops, but the Beautiful Disaster connects, so does CrossRhodes, and it’s over.
Grade: D
Normally I’d complain about the short length, but Masters was not looking good tonight, and both men packed a lot into the limited time they had. So it worked, just not very well.
Commercial.
As if we needed another reminder, they recap all that has gone down since Bearer disappeared.
Whoa! Rosa enters. Ready for a squash? LayCool, next. Apparently, it’ll be Layla in facing her.
Here we go. Rosa can’t seem to do anything without holding her arms out like a drunken uncle. Rosa gets some offense on Layla, throwing her into Michelle, but Layla hits her finisher, and it’s over.
Grade: F
Yeah…
They go to attack her further after the match, and out comes Hornswoggle. Thankfully, Beth comes sprinting out, as she takes on the Flawless Ones. My god, it’s great to see Beth back. Oh, it’s not over. The Eagle comes out to take on Hornswoggle. And yes, this is actually happening. Hornswoggle eats a…foot? Beth Glam Slams the Eagle! Tadpole Splash from Swoggle, and it might finally be over.
Commercial.
Another Raw recap? Really? This time showing the Miz/Lawler interaction on Monday. Once it’s over, Cole assumes we’re all dying to hear him talk about it, and refuses to. That works for me.
Kane enters. But…
Commercial.
Edge’s turn to enter. Bell rings. Edge lures Kane outside the ring, and gets the upper hand until he is caught, and driven into the ring. Both men roll back in, keeping busy and steadily moving. Back outside of the ring, annnd…back in. Couple elbows from Kane, uses the ropes against Edge, and halting to a submission. Kane goes flying outside of the ring, after missing Edge, crawls up but Speared by Edge.
Commercial.
Come back and Edge is on the top rope, but knocked down. Kane goes for the Super-plex, Edge fights his way out, back to the top, Kane strikes. Edge’s turn to get knocked out of the ring, Kane follows. Kane is thrown into the steel steps, and tossed back in. Edge again to the top rope, knocking down the Big Red Machine. Kane goes for a piledriver, reversed, pinned for two. Kane goes to the top rope with a big clothesline. Signals for Chokeslam, reversed, DDT from Edge connects, for two. Crazy bug eyes, calling for a Spear, but Kane attacks first. Another Chokeslam signal, but Bearer’s voice echoes, begging Kane to come find him. Kane walks up the ramp, looking conflicted as the ref counts. He chooses to go back in at 9, Speared by Edge for three.
Grade: C-
This is the best these two have looked in weeks. Bearer’s pleas at the end and what led to the victory was subtle enough that it didn’t slap you in the face with it, but the storyline was still able to grow. Instead of those awful backstage segments, they should do more stuff like this. I was very content with most of this match.
Edge has the mic, and is about to announce the stipulation. He chooses “his specialty†which only means one thing…TLC! He promises to bring Bearer out, and we know where this is going. It’s not a dummy any longer, it’s…someone I don’t recognize. Kane jumps the mystery man. Back to the screen, Bearer appears to be strapped down to a tow truck of sorts. Kane is backstage, and off they go. Just like last week. And the week before. And the…zzzzz…
Credits roll.
