4/22/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes: **

Jack Swagger vs. Trent Barreta: N/A (squash)

The Big Show & Kane vs. Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (Tag Team Titles): *1/2

Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre: *1/4

Wade Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston (IC Title): *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Very solid opener between Rhodes and Mysterio. These two have great chemistry together in the ring. I also liked how both men got offense in on each other post-match -- instead of one person beating down the other. Sure, Cody ultimately got the upper hand, but it was good to see Rey fight back a little. It was announced on the second half of Smackdown that Rey and Cody will go at it at Extreme Rules in a Falls Count Anywhere match. This should be good again. I got high hopes for this feud. It's been very good so far, and I hope it keeps delivering.

LayCool segment was good to watch. I'm actually a bit interested in how this turns out. The whole couples therapy deal...not sure how I feel about that segment, but the storyline is noteworthy to me, seeing as how the two have been paired together for some time. Obviously McCool is playing the heel in this one. I think Michelle plays a pretty flawless heel diva...no pun intended.

Poor Trent Barreta. Lots of talent, but jobs to Swagger.

Ha, so does Big Show have a stinkface-like maneuver now? So he basically sat on Heath Slater in the corner, but it was still a pretty good touch to have the announcers indirectly mention people like Rikishi who have used similar moves.

So it looks like there will be more tension in the Corre, now they lost the tag team titles. I personally did not like the decision to have Corre drop those belts so fast. They won't be taken seriously if they lose a bunch. I wanted them to have a decently long title reign. Even though Barrett retained his title, there's definitely notable tension between him and Ezekiel Jackson. I'm not really liking all this tension in the group. The original Nexus group started out so well because it was basically 7-8 guys taking out everyone and looking like a team when doing it. When the group fragments and tension builds, only weaknesses tend to show. To me, this is just bad booking of Corre, what could have been a potential powerhouse group. The same goes for New Nexus. I hope the WWE Draft repairs all this. Seriously.

IC Title match was OK. Liked Kofi's high-flying attack as usual.

Overall, the show was average. I'd probably give it somewhere around a 5 out of 10.

Anyway, the WWE Draft takes place next week. It was supposed to be in June, but moved up likely due to Edge's sudden retirement. I've read reports on how Alberto Del Rio was supposed to get the World Heavyweight Title and then get drafted to RAW, while Miz would go to Smackdown. It could theoretically still happen, since technically the WWE will probably hold off on fully enforcing brand switches until after Extreme Rules. Again, I think Randy Orton would be an ideal choice for Smackdown as its top face. People like Daniel Bryan (midcarders with no real storyline and are getting lost in the shuffle) would benefit from switching brands as well. We'll see what transpires next week!