Welcome to another edition of 10 Thoughts on Smackdown, meaning more crazy, off the wall thoughts from the abyss that is called Joe Violet’s brain! As we approach the final Smackdown before the Money in the Bank PPV, this is Smackdown’s last effort to sell Sunday’s event to viewers. As always, the show left me with several thoughts, some of which make sense, some of which do not…so here’s a small sample of what I was thinking throughout the show. And…here….we….go!
1. The opening segment between Randy Orton and Christian served its purpose: to tell the story of how Christian is going to try to goad Orton into getting disqualified. All this does is add another wrinkle to what already has way too many aspects to it already. When a feud is booked, it is indeed good to add wrinkles to the story to keep it fresh…but in this case, it’s been somewhat botched because a lot of fans sympathize with Christian, who’s supposed to be the heel. This overbooked match is an obvious attempt to make Christian the hated heel, but I don’t know how well this is going to work out.
2. Ted DiBiase gets a title shot because he pinned the Intercontinental Champion in a tag match? Cody Rhodes pinned Ezekiel Jackson in a SINGLES NON-TITLE MATCH the week before, and he’s not getting a title shot. What happened to the old days, where there was an actual ranking system? I sure miss those days…speaking of rankings, does anyone know where Booker T lists his “Fave Five�?? Just curious…
2b. The Jackson/DiBiase match wasn’t too bad. It didn’t make anyone look like a million dollars (no pun intended), but it didn’t make either one look like a chump either.
3. Seeing James Maritato, AKA Little Guido, AKA Nunzio, as a referee just doesn’t look right. It’s not because he’s a bad referee, it’s just that I liked his in-ring work as a competitor…seeing him in the stripes is going to take some getting used to.
4. Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes show something in their matches that I feel is a lost art in the ring: continuity. They make their matches look more real by countering each other’s moves constantly and keep their matches fresh. This match could have easily been considered match of the night, in my opinion. A few good spots like the LaBelle Lock on the ropes and the finish…combined with continuity and solid wrestling…now THAT’S a fun match to watch!
5. Sheamus/Sin Cara was a total mismatch of styles, but it was still a decent match. Unfortunately, it seemed to be overshadowed by Wade Barrett being at ringside. The commentary and the sneak attack may have made Barrett look strong, and the win made Sin Cara look strong heading into Money in the Bank. All in all, a well done segment, but it doesn’t change my prediction for the match.
6. Like I said before, Mark Henry/Big Show isn’t going to be a wrestling classic this Sunday, but after watching this segment tonight, it has its own intrigue. If WWE is serious about pushing this PPV as much as the commentary is claiming to, perhaps we’ll see something memorable between these two at Money in the Bank. Either way, I’ll admit it…I kind of want to see this match.
7. Standard Divas match between Kelly Kelly and Rosa Mendes. Looking at the match, I mentioned before how the loss of Finlay might have hurt the Divas division, but I noticed something else this week. Is it just me, or do all these Divas matches seem rushed? It’s almost as if they don’t have enough time in the ring to tell the story during the match…almost like it’s just a way to feature them with using minimal effort. Thoughts?
8. Every week they’ve had Johnny Curtis in backstage segments hyping how he’s yet to make his Smackdown debut. The only other guy I can think of that’s made a name for himself without actually wrestling in the WWE is Zack Ryder. I’m not saying that Curtis is nearly as entertaining as Long Island Iced Z, but maybe WWE’s trying to use the same effect on Curtis…either way, people are going to be waiting for Curtis to actually wrestle, either because they’re into the hype, or sick of it. No matter which way it goes, Johnny Curtis’ debut will be interesting.
9. So Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater aren’t a team anymore…and they go and put on a good match this week. I must say, it may be the best thing that happens to either one of them. Slater’s got room for improvement, but Gabriel’s much better at this point. I always thought Slater was the proverbial “diamond in the rough†in the Nexus and in the Corre, and maybe this is a chance for him to prove that. Slater, on the other hand, needs a little more work. He could be good, but he’s just not there yet.
10. Kane/Randy Orton was pretty much an afterthought the minute Christian hit the stage. You almost knew how this was going to turn out, but the way Orton destroyed Kane with that chair doesn’t do much to make Kane look strong going into the Money in the Bank match. Kane told Teddy Long earlier in the night that he was starting to “feel less like a monsterâ€, and after a segment like that, it doesn’t do him any favors.
All in all, a decent show. It made most of Smackdown’s roster look strong going into Money in the Bank, but it also hurt a few people as well, Kane and Heath Slater in particular. A couple of good matches, a decent dose of Christian, and some good storyline progressions. Not the best show I’ve seen them put on, but by no means the worst. Money in the Bank should be a good PPV, if not for the hype that the John Cena/CM Punk has been given.  Until next week, peeps…this has been 10 Thoughts on Smackdown!
