Welcome to another edition of 10 Thoughts on Smackdown!  Sorry for the delay this week, it’s been a really weird week over here on campus. Between job searches, school work, and other miscellaneous business, the delay couldn’t be prevented. Nevertheless, I come to bring you more randomness from the depths of my mind, so here…we….go!
1. Nobody ever gave Bret Hart credit for his mic skills, and for good reason. He’s kind of bland on the microphone, but his character makes for a good spot for a guest GM, or even a permanent one. Incidentally, this makes him the second person to have ever been official GM (guest or permanent) of Raw and Smackdown. The opening promo made Christian look even more like a manipulative heel, but I’ll be honest: I’m not crazy about him in this role. He’s always been great as a smarmy, cocky heel, but a cowardly one? Granted, it IS something different, so I’m not complaining that much…just one man’s opinion.
2. Something that Michael Cole said during the Christian/Daniel Bryan match kind of struck a nerve with me…doesn’t every champion (especially a heel champion) usually invoke a rematch clause? More importantly, the announce team did a good job of covering up Christian’s absence last week, as his absence for the battle royal makes him look all the more like a weasel.
3. Is it bad of me to half expect Christian to submit to a surfboard? I mean, it was proven the other night on Impact Wrestling how dangerous that move is when RVD made the Pope submit with it!! What’s next, WWE signing Beef Wellington to get the ASS PUNCH over as a legit finisher???
4. That’s an interesting direction to go with Wade Barrett. It’s a different way to get heat, but I just hope it gets the kind of heat that he’s trying to get. Walking out on the match will definitely make the crowd mad, but it might lead to Honky Tonk Man or X-Pac heat. Here’s hoping it doesn’t garner either kind of heat, as Wade Barrett is a good competitor, in my opinion.
5. Sin Cara/Heath Slater wasn’t a bad match as televised, but it apparently had some bad botches live. Was anyone there for the live show? If so, how bad a botch are we talking on that finish? Also, Slater was made to look like a jobber, and if the botch was as bad as rumored, then we may be needing to bring back the era of the jobber, or as they called it, “enhancement talentâ€. It’s either “enhancement talent†or “future endeavored†for Slater…either one spells one word: SCREWED.
6. I feel the need to make a correction on the commentary…Ted DiBiase is NOT a second-generation star…he’s a THIRD-generation wrestler! His father and grandfather both wrestled…it may have been an honest mistake, but it doesn’t do much to show that WWE is going to do much with Teddy, if they can’t even remember a fact that they PUSH seriously. The match between him and Orton though was surprisingly good, and I liked the finish. Orton managed to pop an RKO off DiBiase’s most original move, that follow-the-other-guy-into-the-ropes clothesline, and DiBiase looked good in the match. Sidenote: I hinted at a DiBiase face turn coming up soon, now we’ll see if I was right! P.S. I’ve been talking about continuity for a while now, and by mentioning Legacy…they finally had some continuity…thank you!!!
7. I think I see the problem with Kelly Kelly…no grasp of psychology whatsoever. She IS trying to improve, yes, but she still is not believable in the ring. Also, maybe it’s just me, but whenever the Divas Champion comes out to the ring and just holds up the title over her head, it’s just pointless when she’s doing it EVERY match…makes the belt look more like a prop.
8. Ezekiel Jackson/Great Khali wasn’t exactly the best match they could have put together, but it had its own level of intrigue. It furthered the Jinder Mahal story (which I don’t think is doing much to garner interest), and gave Jackson some credibility. I made the comparison to Lex Luger a few weeks back, and I stand by that, especially after seeing Jackson lift Khali into the torture rack this week. I admit, that spot really shocked me, even though I’d read about it. It kind of reminded me of WCW, when Luger lifted the Big Show into the rack…it had that shock value that this match just delivered.
9. Mark Henry/Sheamus delivered the goods tonight. I said a couple of weeks ago that a match didn’t have to be a technical masterpiece to be entertaining, and this match proved just that. Yes, I’m saying Mark Henry had a good match…blasphemy, I know. I’m also putting candles around my house tonight so Blair doesn’t eat my soul for this! No, seriously, Sheamus got his win back, and it sets up for another future match between the two. Sheamus brings out what talent Henry has, and Henry actually comes off as a legit match for the Irish brawler. Put that together, and they actually put on a decently entertaining match.
10. Joe’s Food For Thought:  The Divas matches have been bringing back the old bit with the “earlier comments†in order to boost the angle with Beth Phoenix and Natalya. It used to be done frequently in the pre-Attitude era, so here’s my food for thought this week: Do you think it’s possible that some of these small, yet noticeable concessions can be used more frequently, or do you think they’re outdated? As an old-school fan, I like that they’re bringing back more and more of the older stuff and using it. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing the jobber brought back on Superstars. Hmmmm…
All in all, this show wasn’t half bad. Having the Hitman as a guest GM didn’t truly affect the show that much, but it was a decent build to this Tuesday’s live event. Wait…
11. A “live†Tuesday show only shows that Smackdown is TAPED!!! Just sayin’…
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Until next time…
