Monday, October 17, 2011

10/16/11 Bound for Glory

Ratings/Analysis:
Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick (X-Division Title): Nice match to start this show off. This 225-pound weight limit thing should be good, although I'll miss seeing guys like Samoa Joe contend for that belt. A pro-Aries crowd in Philly...likely remembering his ROH days. Mat wrestling, then Aries decides to call a timeout, but Kendrick flies onto Aries. Kendrick with a couple monkey flips before Aries counters. Kendrick staying pesky with the offense but Aries continues to get his shots in. Suicide dive from Aries gets more pops. Kendrick with Sliced Bread #2 but Aries got the foot on the ropes. Cheap shot + brainbuster for Aries ends it. Solid here. **3/4

Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (Full Metal Mayhem): It's physical from the start, filled with counters and strikes. Ladders, tables, chairs, yup, they're all involved here. Dropkick from Lynn to the ladder catches RVD in the face. Yet RVD comes back. Corner dropkick w/chair to Lynn. Vintage RVD! Rolling Thunder on ladder! Haha, EC-Dub chants! Lynn comes back and gets RVD to lie on the ladder. Lynn goes for a senton or something off the second rope, RVD moves, and Lynn's back now hates him more. RVD misses Van Daminator, Lynn throws the chair in RVD's face. German with a bridge for two. RVD suplexes Lynn on the ladder again. Moonsault onto Lynn for two. Lynn looks for another ladder. Ladder propped up like a ramp on the outside. Suplex by RVD? Nope, countered. Lynn sunset flip powerbombs RVD into the ladder! Lynn landed awkwardly, lucky break because it coulda been real bad there. Lynn misses chair shot...Van Daminator! Only two! Lynn down in the corner. Ladder placed on top. RVD grabs a chair...Van Terminator attempt! Oh damn he hit it! ROFL, "Oh Shit!" chants! That's all folks! ***1/2

Crimson vs. Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan: Joe wants Crimson and Morgan to fight, but they work on Joe instead. Crimson then (inadvertently?) elbows Morgan. Morgan stunned, and Joe takes advantage to work on Crimson. Joe again tries to get Morgan to fight Crimson, but that didn't work either. Crimson low bridged to the outside, and Joe works on Morgan. Joe backdrops Crimson to the outside...landing on Morgan Suicide dive by Joe! Whoa, WTF? Morgan to the top?! Flying crossbody (sorta) onto Crimson! Looked like he was going for Joe, but Joe had moved out of the way. Joe with shots to Crimson again. Crimson fighting back. Mostly a boring match with some OK spots (thanks to Joe). Crimson and Morgan pulling each other off Joe when the other goes for a pin. Fire's been lit! Joe's back in and starts working on both guys. Muscle Buster on Crimson...nope, Morgan breaks that up. Carbon Footprint misses, Crimson hits the spear on Joe for three! **1/2

Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray (Philadelphia Falls Count Anywhere): Anderson doesn't do the mic intro today, it's fast start between these two! Anderson gets moves in on Ray. Vintage airbag shot to Ray! Damn, huge kick by Ray there to gain control. Nasty chops from Ray, double ow. Enzugiri from Anderson! Anderson gets a sign..."Welcome to Philly, Asshole." Anderson nukes Ray with it...whoa, not just your regular ol' sign. It's a Dead End sign underneath! One more shot! Ray tries to get away, but now they fight on the floor. Oops, there goes the beer! Ray whips Anderson into the steps for two. Tables! Yes! Table set up near the ring. Anderson and Ray fight up the ramp. Ray suplexes Anderson on the ramp for two. Ray is cut on his head. He signals for Anderson's mic and mocks Anderson. Anderson's up! Microphone shot to Ray for two! They're backstage. Ray misses with a lead pipe. Oh shit! Ray delivers a piledriver on the concrete! Only two? How was Anderson not dead there? Chair across Anderson's throat. Now they go to the crowd! Back to the ring, and Anderson continues the assault. Anderson grabs part of the steel barricade! Ray gets a clothesline in and...another table?! He sets that one up in the ring. Anderson backdrops Ray onto the barricade...it's bent now! Kenton bomb from Anderson misses! Anderson hit the back of his head on that rail. Bubba Bomb on the table! Only two?!?! Anderson placed on the barricade again. Bully with a back splash...misses and Ray's back hates him now as well. Mic Check on the steel! Only two!!! On the outside again. Garbage can shot to Ray! Ray is on the table on the outside. Anderson goes to the top! Anderson with the Kenton bomb to Ray...but he overshot the table just a hair and the table didn't break. Crowd didn't like that. Improvise that finish! Mic Check on the table! Three count! ***3/4

Looks like they've finally just come out and admitted Jackson James is Bischoff's son. Not surprisingly, Tenay and Taz play dumb on this.

Velvet Sky vs. Winter vs. Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne (Knockouts Title): Nice hat, Mickie. Karen Jarrett out in the ref's outfit here. Madison sucking up to Karen and giving her the crown. Looks like it's one-on-one only, so the other two can tag in whenever. Good sequence from Winter and Mickie. Winter to the outside, and Madison in with something that she brushes in Mickie's face. Mickie goes outside and Velvet comes in to tango with Madison. Karen's slower to make the count than a sloth. Winter and Madison want to go at it, but Karen says no...she wants Mickie and Velvet in? Um, sure. So they try to go for pins on each other and Karen doesn't care (of course).Mickie with some moves, then decks Madison. Velvet comes back with her offense, and she decks Winter. Ha. Winter and Madison pull Velvet and Mickie outside, respectively. Winter and Mickie go at it inside the ring now. Angelina slips the mist to Winter. Oops! Winter gets Karen in the face! Jumping DDT to Winter! No ref! Here comes Traci Brooks! Madison and Velvet now go at it. Velvet hits her version of a facebuster/Pedigree on Madison...three count! *1/2

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (I Quit): Yeah, this should be good. Styles with new music. Quick start here. Nice and physical to start. AJ comes back and tries to get Daniels to eat the microphone. Gutbuster again by Styles. Abdominal stretch to Daniels. No quit yet. Daniels counters out. Delayed suplex by AJ, then a Chancery move! Daniels doesn't quit. Daniels gets out of that, but into an armbreaker! This is what's awesome about this business...stuff like this. Chops by Daniels. Vinatage Styles with the dropkick and the helo over the top rope. Daniels grabbed a toolbox...threw a wrench at AJ that missed. Screwdriver! Daniels tried to stab AJ but that was blocked. Crowd still fairly dead at this point. Daniels with some move on the apron...AJ went into the ropes, then the apron. Ouch. Good camera shot of the screwdriver in the turnbuckle. BME to AJ's back. One more time? Nah, single-leg Boston Crab this time. AJ literally clawing his way to the ropes and gets there. AJ tries more offense, but a backbreaker from Daniels. Faint split chants from the crowd. Daniels with a chair. He puts it on AJ's throat. AJ's cut on his forehead. Love how Daniels stopped short of saying "I Quit" himself. Daniels taunting AJ's wife and kids. Daniels misses the KO chair shot. AJ fighting back now. Moonsault into a inverted reverse DDT.Springboard clothesline. Style Clash blocked into uranagi. BME missed, Pele! Styles Clash! But pinfalls are irrelevant! AJ with the chair! He tosses that aside...screwdriver! Daniels cowers to the corner and quits, then runs away. Crowd deflated and so am I. ***

Post-match, Daniels with the attack. Angel's Wings on the stage and Daniels gloats more. "He didn't beat me!" Um...I guess he means AJ didn't force him to quit? Or AJ didn't win by pinfall or submission? Yeah, whatever will keep this feud going, I guess.

Jeff Jarrett talking about Jeff Hardy and how no one wants Hardy back. Calls "Nero" (Hardy's middle name) out. Hardy with new music again. Hardy comes in and basically starts pummeling Jarrett. JJ fights back but Hardy with a clothesline. Jarrett's shirt ripped off as security separates the two. Woohoo! D'Lo Brown sighting! Al Snow sighting! Chants for D'Lo! Yes! Yeah, I'm down with the Brown!

Sting vs. Hulk Hogan: I'm calling it now...this should be ugly. Jackson James is the ref, of course. Dixie Carter at ringside. Sting rockin' the Hulkamania T-shirt. Hogan gimping around the ring in an Impact Wrestling shirt. Hogan thinks this is a boxing match or something. Oh, well, of course someone's gonna have to fight for Hogan -- or at least help him out. Flair comes out looking all spiffy. So they finally lock up after an eternity. Hogan with a shoulderblock and the crowd goes nuts just for that. Oh Sting's shirt is off...they're both fired up! Back to lame restholds from Hogan. More punches, clubbing blows from Hogan. Sting has to watch out for Flair on the outside. Sting tossed to the floor so Flair gets involved as Hogan occupies the ref. Hogan and Flair with low blows, and even if the ref saw that, he ain't calling it. Hogan biting Sting. This is absolutely putrid. Flair passes foreign object passed to Hogan...a spike or something. Hogan clubs Sting with that spike and punches Sting about 20 more times. Sting's busted open now because that's the only way that the crowd will stay in this one. Sting with punches to Hogan, then chases Flair. Sting decks Flair a couple times and then nails Hogan with that spike a couple times. Hogan's bleeding now. Stinger Splash to Hogan, a shot to Flair, then another Stinger Splash to Hogan's surgically repaired back. Scorpion Death Lock! Hogan's basically on his side because of the back surgery. Hogan taps, but Jackson James is reluctant to call for the bell but eventually does. Thanks for wasting my time with this crap. -****

Flair assaults Sting, and Immortal now in. Bully Ray with a chair shot. Gunner with a chair shot to Sting. Steiner with a chair shot. Abyss peering through the curtain in the back. Jackson James takes the chair from Bischoff! Whoa! And then Bischoff whacks his son in the back with the chair. Beatdown continues. Flair with the most pathetic looking punches ever...worse than Cena. Sting asking Hogan for help? WTF? Crowd all riled up now.Hulk tearing the shirt! Hogan taking everyone out! Sting and Hogan united? I'm with Taz, what's going on here? Bischoff cowering in the corner now. Hogan KOs Bischoff! Apparently...the "real" Hulk Hogan is back? Sting wants Hogan to do his vintage Hogan poses! Jackson James holding his back and raises Hogan's hand. This was a complete waste of my time. Ugh.

Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode (World Title): No main event intros here...huh? Roode going for the crossface early but Angle got the ropes. At least Angle's worked with Benoit before. Yeah, I said Benoit's name...so what? Angle works on Roode in the corner, then a suplex for two. Angle trying for more pins but that won't work here. Angle now with a bearhug, Roode gets out, but then multiple German suplexes from Angle gets two. Angle moonsault...gets caught! Roode tosses Angle, Angle pretty much lands on his head, BIG ouch. Big clothesline from Roode. Bobby on the second rope with a blockbuster move for two. Chops from Roode now. Belly-to-belly from Angle gets two. DDT to Roode for two, and man Bobby landed on his head that time. Straps come down from Angle. Angle Slam countered into RR spinebuster for two. Angle caught Roode on the top with a throw and gets two. Crossface to Angle! Nice ring position. Holy cow, what a counter into the Ankle Lock. Back into the crossface! Great sequence here. Angle tries to pin RR and gets two. Back to crossface! RR telling Kurt to tap. Roll-through into the Angle Slam for two! Ankle lock countered...RR spinebuster again! RR with a fisherman's suplex for a CLOSE near fall. Angle with the ankle lock again, countered into a victory roll for two. Angle Slam countered, RR to the second rope. Angle uses the ref as a shield. Ref tossed aside, Angle low blows RR behind the ref's back. Angle Slam...and only two! Multiple German suplexes from Angle again. RR counters! Crossface again! Angle crawling closer to the ropes. Angle didn't see the ropes but got underneath them so the hold is broken anyway. Angle with a spear(?!) for two. Angle to the top, gets caught in the crossface again! Again Angle slips out. Angle Slam countered, Fisherman's countered, Angle Slam! RR's hand was under the ropes, Angle had the ropes for leverage, and the ref missed ALL that. Really tainted a potentially good match here. I liked how RR was able to catch Angle in the crossface so much (and counter a bunch of Angle's stuff), but for me, I really wanted that crowd more alive, especially in a world title match. **3/4
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Final Thoughts:
Apparently, Hogan lobbied for Angle to retain because he felt RR wasn't ready for a title reign yet. Yeah Hogan, way to not have faith in your younger talent. One day, Roode will become a champ, I just know it.

Speaking of talent...has Hogan ever had any in the ring? He makes John Cena look like Shawn Michaels or Davey Richards out there. By far the worst "match" I've seen in a long time, and frankly, I never want that on TV or PPV again. Hell, I'd go so far as to say this was worse than Jenna Morasca and Sharmell (taking into account the ages of Sting and Hogan, wrestling experience, and especially the fact that Hogan should have stopped all this wrestling stuff years ago).

And AJ/Daniels can entertain me all they like. Post-match attack was nice to keep the feud going and I expect more great things from them. The finish here was a huge deflating moment, so I'm hoping for better next time.


A few good matches here, although if this is supposed to be the biggest show of the year, it didn't meet my expectations. Not by a long shot. **

Saturday, October 15, 2011

10/14/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Battle Royal: *1/2

Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly: 1/4*

Sin Cara vs. Justin Gabriel: *

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus: *1/4

Kofi Kingston & Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger: *3/4

Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Title): *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Dallas for this episode! Long and Laurinaitis start off the show. They've passed Gunsmoke for second place for the longest weekly running episodic show stuff (behind RAW). So of course, epic battle royal time! And I liked the winner's prize...title shot against anyone of the wrestler's choosing.

I lost count of how many people are in there, but at least a lot of people get screen time. I didn't expect Cody to be the first guy out, but whatever. It lasted through THREE commercial breaks! Woohoo! Anyway, I'm not really a fan of this battle royal stuff. Royal Rumbles are different because superstars enter one at a time instead of his crazy battle royal melee dealie. I'm glad Mason Ryan got a little time to shine here. Hopefully he can impress in a good storyline...push that guy and see what happens. Good finish between Miz and Orton. And of course, Orton picks Mark Henry.

KK wearing some Dallas sports apparel gear to the ring to cater to the hometown crowd. Beth and Natalya are the "Sisters of Salvation" now...make up your mind on the team name, WWE! Well, that match didn't really hold my attention much.

And we have Sin Caras dueling! Interesting with the whole mask removal deal. I like Sin Cara negro putting on Sin Cara azul's mask. Justin Gabriel should be a good fit for Sin Cara negro (although he's wearing the blue mask) here.

Alberto gets another win, thanks to Christian. At least Cole admits Christian screwed Sheamus again.

Yeah! Zack Ryder is on the show! And he won! Woo woo woo! You know it!

Orton and Henry finish the show. But Cody interfered again. Damn interference.... Uh oh! Big Show! Faces stand tall on this episode. A very average show at best.

Friday, October 14, 2011

10/13/11 Superstars

Ratings:
Santino Marella vs. JTG: *

Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre: *3/4

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Heath Slater: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Santino is Captain Cobra? Oh, you can do better than that.... The guy can entertain, but the Cobra has to be one the lamest finishers ever. Not really impressed by all this. At least Santino is way over with the crowd.

Good match between Drew and A-Ry. Started a bit slow, but they worked a fairly lengthy match here.

Zeke wins again. Not a match I was really into, sorry. Slater needs someone else to work with -- and Zeke should also work with someone else, for that matter..

Basically, the stuff between HHH, Lauranaitis, and the rest of the main eventers ended the show.

10/13/11 Impact

Ratings:
AJ Styles & Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels & Jerry Lynn: **

Matt Morgan vs. Samoa Joe: DUD

Brian Kendrick & Jesse Sorensen vs. Austin Aries & Kid Nash: *3/4

Mr. Anderson vs. Scott Steiner: DUD

Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Jarrett & Gunner: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Great segment with Angle and Roode at the start. Very emotional and intense, and both showed huge respect for the other. The crowd was into it big time. And of course, Roode is booked in a handicap match. Typical heel move.

Daniels and Styles in an "I Quit" match at BFG sounds good to me! But on this show, tag action also involving two other guys in a different (yet fairly intense) storyline...Jerry Lynn and RVD. Lynn and RVD in Full Metal Mayhem (I guess basically anything goes) at BFG. Another match that looks solid on paper. Very good stuff here, and I liked the ending. Good storytelling.

Time for Joe and Morgan to fight. Lame finish, really. I guess it was all about the post-match attack anyway so Joe could send a message to Crimson. Ooh, Joe's the "Alpha Asskicker." I like that one. I also liked the Triple Threat idea...I'd like to see that one.

I don't know who that woman is that helped out Neal and Shannon Moore, but she's pretty hot.

Decent tag match between X-Division foes. Not sure if the Sliced Bread was supposed to be on the belt, but that was kinda neat.

Knockouts all in street clothes or real nice clothes. So Karen now has a VP role? At least Karen gets heel heat pretty well.

Wait, Steiner's still with the company? Guess so. Bully Ray out to support Steiner in his match against Anderson. Low blow in front of the ref, Abyss hits the wrong guy, lame finish. Yeah, this one sucked. Abyss gets nuked by Immortal after the match. Yup, saw that one coming. And Anderson gets nuked for good measure as well.

TNA showed the card for BFG. Looks solid on paper. Will it deliver?

Handicap match time. Roode flipped the bird and it got censored...really? They can say a lot of TV-14 stuff, but the bird is blurred out? Weird. I like how the crossface is being put over more as a submission finisher for Roode.

Whoa, Jeff Hardy saves the day! He really didn't miss any on-air time because he did TV tapings, then went to jail for 10 days, then is back in time for any involvement at BFG. Crowd definitely behind Hardy, so that's a good thing. So Hardy now has two more allies in Beer Money. Hopefully Hardy continues to stay clean. It would be one of the best feel-good stories pro wrestling can offer. We don't need another Scott Hall free-fall tragedy, please. Jarrett basically tries to ban Hardy from getting to BFG, but we all know Hardy will get there.

I really don't give much crap about these contract signings. Frankly, Hogan and Sting is probably gonna suck. Hopefully it doesn't, but seriously, do we really think Hogan will pull off something stellar with all those back surgeries?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

10/12/11 NXT

Ratings:
AJ vs. Maxine: *1/4

Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks: ***

Percy Watson vs. Derrick Bateman: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
In Dallas, Texas, for this one! For those that don't know, Darren Young got a 30-day suspension, so we won't be seeing him for the next month or so. But does it matter? The season will still likely be going on when he returns anyway!

Bateman and Maxine start off the show and does the usual heel promo to suck up to Lauranaitis, diss the Cowboys fans, and woo Maxine. So wait, is Percy Watson gonna be Titus' "pro" now? Titus making sounds like he's leaking oil. Percy looks very presentable without those glasses.

Wait, Titus brought up his 30 redemption points! Maybe they do matter!

Wait, WTF? Striker's coming out again? Hey, he's the host again! Zing for Striker with the Sherri Martel reference. Divas match next!

Maxine's degree in criminology interested me. Very little crowd reaction while Maxine was on offense, but then the crowd finally got into it after AJ mounted a comeback. Shining Wizard is a good non-submission finisher for AJ.

Usos have one cool entrance...really like that stuff. Impressive dives to the outside by the Usos...channeling their inner Undertakers there. Nice long match here. Great last few minutes of action there. One of the best NXT matches in the show's history. Considering NXT has had a ton of paltry stuff, it was a nice treat to see.

Percy and Bateman had a respectable match here. Not a bad finisher for Percy.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

10/10/11 RAW

Ratings:
Sheamus vs. John Cena: N/A

Christian vs. John Morrison: 1/4*

Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry: *1/2

Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Tamina & Rosa Mendes: 1/2*

Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, & Mason Ryan vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & David Otunga: *3/4

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk: N/A

Alberto Del Rio & CM Punk vs. The Miz & R-Truth: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
I LOVED the start to the show. No wrestlers or talent in the building...they're all outside for a solidarity rally. HHH comes in the building. A lot of "you knows" from HHH. He ain't quitting. Oops. HHH wrestling a broomstick for two hours would be amusing. But yeah, thankfully, all the guys who didn't walk out last week all come out one by one. Whoa, Cena mentioned Bischoff! I got a good laugh when Cena even mentioned Mike Adamle (sucks that the crowd didn't react on that one). Sheamus  comes out, then Punk.

Sheamus vs. Cena. HHH refs. Punk gets to talk! Epic win! Wait, Vince comes out?! WTF? Faint "You got fired!" chants from the crowd. Guess the match is over just like that. Citing possible financial catastrophes, HHH is no longer running RAW (via board of directors). Instead...enter Lauranaitis as the interim GM! Uh oh. Epic staredown!

JR, Lawler, and Cole all get their time to come out. They actually do this before the show starts at TV events, but now people get to see it around the world. Cole of course takes all the credit for this change, which makes me want to kick him in the nuts.

Morrison hates Lauranaitis, so he gets a match. Christian sucks up to Lauranaitis and gets to face John now. Both in street clothes. Ziggler, Swagger, and Rhodes run interference and the match is over in a few minutes.

Mark Henry acknowledges Big Show again after what happened on Smackdown. Orton! Not a bad match here, but wow, Rhodes again showing up! He's getting a lot of air time tonight. Orton then eats a World's Strongest Slam...and then another. Cody's doing the whole paper bag routine...similar to the Beautiful People thing in TNA. I think Cody needs to take some evil laughter lessons from Kane.

Divas tag match. Hey, Eve can do more than a one-legged dropkick and moonsault!

Lauranaitis comes out and makes Del Rio vs. Cena for Vengeance. He then fires JR, which shouldn't be a surprise, given the history -- and hell, Lauranaitis needs the heel heat. Wait, Lauranaitis didn't wish JR the best in his future endeavors? Just fired? Fail!

I hope Mason Ryan gets a good push. Excellent size and great potential. Hopefully the entrance music will grow on me. He's in a six-man tag tonight. Ziggler, Swagger, and Otunga are the "Agents of Change," according to Cole. Not a bad name. Otunga didn't get much action here, and that was for the better, I think. Good job letting Mason get the hot tag. Well, maybe it was more of a warm tag with the crowd reaction. Good power finisher from Ryan.

Brodus seems to be getting a promotion to a non-Superstars, non-squash match situation soon.

"The Reunion" is promoted because Cena is in it.

Main event. Lauranaitis interrupts everything mid-match? Oh, of course! Miz and Truth get reinstated by Lauranaitis, the last piece of the puzzle! I actually loved the Truth/Miz rap duet, even though I hate Cole's overzealous reactions. At least ADR and Punk worked as a team for part of the match, then a convenient knee injury from Alberto makes Punk go at it alone. Of course. Premature DQ bell.

I guess HHH is a wrestler again. Looks like we have four guys for the Survivor Series elimination match. In the meantime, those four will be in tag action at Vengeance. Meanwhile, Otunga gets to sip a beverage with Lauranaitis. Yeah, whatever.

Friday, October 7, 2011

10/7/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sin Cara: *1/4

Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (No Countout): *

Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox: N/A

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Jinder Mahal: DUD

Randy Orton & Sheamus vs. Christian & Cody Rhodes: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Glad that Teddy Long will run Smackdown to keep the HHH walkout storyline intact. Frankly, I've seen a ton of HHH already, so trust me, I won't be missing him too much.

The show started with Christian and company talking about the walkout. Cody got a nice heel reaction...he plays the role extremely well. Del Rio has become the leader of this anti-HHH faction, and I like it. Heck, he's the WWE champ, so who better to lead the team, right?

Del Rio  faces Sin Cara! Should be good because at least ADR speaks Spanish. I guess he's working with Mistico (blue Sin Cara comes out). But of course, Hunico (black Sin Cara) cannot be forgotten! Oh! Michael Cole said "negro" on TV! Yeah, I know, it means "black" in Spanish. ADR German suplex put Sin Cara on his head...ouch. It earned two replays instead of just one! Average match here, but the whole point was to keep the storyline going between the two Sin Caras.

Air-Boom on Smackdown now as well. Ziggler and Swagger got their shots in before the bell. Not much to really comment on here, other than it's much-needed momentum for the heels.

Divas time. Wait, Alicia Fox is still on TV? And apparently she also beat Booker in golf and Cole will never let it go now. So much for Alicia, getting thrown to the wolves here. Too short a match to rate.

Hey, Big Show's back from his vacation! I think he gained more weight while on leave, but eh, he's the Big Show, right? He's probably the most gentle, sensitive big man I've seen on camera. And then he turns serious and is gunning for Mark Henry. Do I really want to see two giants battle? Usually no.

Oh, Big Show indirectly referenced his WCW title run when he was 23! Yeah, that was cool.

Mark Henry came out and basically said Big Show might get a title shot...on Mark's terms. Yup, whatever happened to fighting champion? Oh, that's right, we're not supposed to know about this continuity or to believe what heels say. Sounds about right.

Orton asked why he wasn't a part of the walkout. Good response, I'd say. Stays true to the Orton character.

Mahal runs his mouth on Zeke, so Zeke punches Mahal. Ha, that was cool. First Santino on RAW, then Zeke on Smackdown. I guess any sort of push is over for Jinder, at least for right now. Dammit, how many slams did Zeke give Jinder? That was boring as heck.

Oh great, Lauranaitis on Smackdown too? Yup, you can count on Lauranaitis. Insert eyerolling here.

Oh, what the hell?! Seriously? Hornswoggle does a spinaroonie? One of the few times I agree with Cole there. Give me some wrestling.

Main event time! Not bad here. Wish they got more time.

Mark Henry came out and basically says no. Big Show runs down to the ring and lays big time into Henry. Security comes out, but yeah, good luck with that. Spear by Big Show! Show nukes all the security guards. Henry still won't give him a match. Yeah, wrong answer. Clear the announcing area! Chokeslam through the announce table! Teddy Long gives Show his title match before he could break Mark's ankle. So no broken ankle, but instead, a busted back for Henry! Emphatic statement by Big Show tonight.