Randy Orton, Christian, and Sheamus continue to deliver strong opening promos each and every week. It furthers the story-line, contains intensity, and sets up the main event for later in the show. General Manager Teddy Long played his part well here too as well.
I'm glad we got a rematch of the six-man tag team match from RAW including six future break-out stars. The action was entertaining, but the confusing finish ruined it. Two referee botches in the same week doesn't come across too good on television. Jinder Mahal has looked very good thus far, and defeating Vladimir Kozlov gives him more credibility as an in-ring competitor. Khali has played his role nicely as well, and expect them to begin his first feud next week. I cringed a bit when I saw Big Show appearing on SmackDown, but I grew more intrigued by what he accomplished. I'm really enjoying this new side of Show seeing that this is the first time in a while that he has ever seemed intimidating. Although it was pathetic to stretcher out Mark Henry after only a few punches, it makes him look that much more dangerous. Although the Divas match wasn't terrible, they really have no direction. We have no reason to care about any of them with their lack of characters, but giving them minute matches does them no favors. The Usos and Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater put on a quality tag team match, which is something that is currently desperately needed in the dying division. You can tell by their entrance that the crowd didn't care for the Usos when they came out, but grew to enjoy them following their talented move set. I'd love to see them strive for the WWE Tag Team Championships, while Slater and Gabriel finally split to bring out Gabriel as a breakout face on SmackDown. Alberto Del Rio's promo finally got me excited about his feud with Big Show, and shows that it holds importance going into Sunday. Big Show going completely berserk was well needed to show how badly he wants his hands on Del Rio, and I hope it doesn't mean he dominates him during their match. The main event was once again very solid, and it shows how much chemistry these two have with each other. It had a unique finish, and gave Christian a good boost going into their upcoming World title match. The punt post-match to Sheamus was needed to hold him off the show for a while, and made Orton look dangerous in the process. Overall, another enjoyable show. It had decent action as a whole, and did a great job hyping three matches booked for Capitol Punishment. It may be too little too late as far as buying the show goes for some viewers, but it has potential to be a very entertaining show on paper. Stone Cold was the hottest part of the show, and having him open with Miz was brilliant. He put the Awesome One in his place, but it was well constructed to get people excited about the return of Roddy Piper later in the night.
Kane and Alberto Del Rio put on a decent match, but it's been a while since we've seen Kane so it would have been smart to build his frustration. The DQ victory made Del Rio look strong, and the crowd loved Show's return as did I. He showed intensity beating up Rodriguez, but I hope this doesn't mean he goes over Sunday. The 6-Man Tag Team Match was nothing special, but a good way to showcase the bright young stars of SmackDown. Giving them more time would have given people more the reason to care about the Intercontinental Championship Match this Sunday. Sheamus looked absolutely brutal in his showing against Santino Marella. He needs this heat back if he wants to be taken seriously on SmackDown. Also, the new submission maneuverer for Sheamus is very interesting, and it's great to see him adding new moves into his move set. Another brilliant promo from Christian and Randy Orton, and it gives them a chance to showcase their hot feud for the RAW viewers who are unfamiliar. I expected a lot more from the Christian vs. Rey Mysterio match, and ending the match in an accidental disqualification did no favors. R-Truth was a huge focal point of the show. The goal was to get heat on Truth going into Capitol Punishment, and that was certainly succeeded. Beating up a baby-face magnet Hornswoggle, and spoiling the return of John Morrison makes Truth a real contender going in his title match Sunday. The tag team match featuring Bourne, Swagger, Kofi, and Ziggler was way too short to even have any decent action. It had more potential given who was involved, and no additional hype was given for Ziggler and Kingston for their title match Sunday. The Piper's Pit was enjoyable, but it was all Roddy Piper. His humor and talking time took away from Alex Riley, and having Miz lose once again makes me think the Awesome One walks out victorious in their upcoming match. There's really not much to say on the Divas segment, as the match only lasted a little more than a minute with singles match rules. It was a lame way of including the Divas, but at least give us some action to make us care about seeing them. Match of the Night without a doubt goes to John Cena vs. CM Punk, as they always put on a quality contest. Giving Punk the win was not only shocking, but a big step in the right direction. Truth looks strong going into their WWE title match. Overall, it was a decent show. It seemed to drag on at times, and some segments were pointless, but they managed to fit everyone in. Everyone but Zack Ryder that is, but that's another rant for another day. I'm not sure how well their last minute build to Capitol Punishment paid off, but the card looks intriguing on paper. Although it wasn't his best promo, I am enjoying the way Christian's heel turn is going. His opening words were simple and effective, and certainly had potential to become a hated heel with the heat he received from only that alone.
The feud over the Intercontinental Championship has grown stale fairly quickly, but the action here was still good for the most part. I'm behind an Usos face turn as they contain tremendous ability. The Corre has never meant less, so I'm hoping this is the final end we see of them following next Sunday. Jinder Mahal has seemed promising in the ring thus far, and his work with Trent Barreta is a nice start. This is the first time I've found myself intimidated by the Great Khali in at least three years. The Divas continue to flounder, but at least they are beginning to give them characters with AJ being an example. The match was lackluster, but it's a work in progress for both rookies. At this point, Randy Orton has become more over than he has ever been with Christian heel. His mic work was perfection, and the set-up to their final battle at Capitol Punishment was logical as well. Christian's heel promo is having me highly anticipate his future as a top star. Nice work from Dibiase, Rhodes, Sin Cara, and Bryan. I was hoping for a more special moment for a Legacy reunion, but what we got was acceptable. The faces continue to go over, and this feud has been enjoyable. I'm expecting to see at least Rhodes and Bryan compete in a rematch at the pay-per-view. The main event was probably the best match ever competed with these two involved. It was not only solid, but highly intriguing and suspenseful. Both Orton and Sheamus took full advantage of the no-disqualification stipulation. The Christian run-in was logical, but it succeed in garnering more heat for his new heel character. Overall, another great and enjoyable show. The wrestling has really gone into effect since the Draft, and SmackDown has the perfect roster for it. Building towards Capitol Punishment was also achieved, and left me with a good taste in my mouth for each angle provided. Opening up the RAW broadcast with the live Tough Enough results was a brilliant idea. The drama, and even a surprise appearance from Mr. McMahon, made the segment that much more memorable. Although I don't agree with Andy's victory or the actions that followed, I wish him the best of luck in his WWE future.
The segment that R-Truth followed with was the most humorous thing has done to date, and has got me behind him as of now. His statement was clear, and set up the main event nicely. I was expecting an eventual match between McGillicutty and Santino, and it was a predictable win that I cared nothing for. It is somewhat sad that it seems that Santino and Kozlov are the only two to receive title shots consistently with the division being dead. With Kharma, I guess I should started getting back used to the same old lackluster Diva matches we witnessed before her debut. I'm glad Phoenix is finally being used on RAW and hopefully she is next in line for a title shot. Obviously, there are no doubts that CM Punk and Rey Mysterio will provide us with a solid match every time they work together. The finish was a nice play off last week, and here's hoping we see a rubber match at Capitol Punishment. In what was probably the lowest point of the show, Alberto Del Rio's mocking of the Big Show was disappointing. I am not looking forward to this feud as it is, and the crowd simply didn't care. Hopefully this leads to Del Rio going over both Show and Kane and back on track for the WWE Championship. I completely "marked" out when I saw Zack Ryder was about to compete against U.S. Champion Kofi Kingston, even more so when I noticed him conversing with Dolph Ziggler. The match was simple and make Ryder look like a legitimate contender, while also keeping Dolph's feud with Kingston alive on commentary. Shockingly, Booker T competed in his first WWE singles match in five years with very little hype. His contest against Swagger showed he's hasn't changed a bit in the ring, anything to get him off commentary. Bourne's interference at the end was nicely done, even if his spin-a-roonie was horrible. Very similar to the main event a few weeks ago, the main event didn't do that much for me. However, I was impressed with Alex Riley here and predicting he becomes a huge star in the near future. Stone Cold's interference was predictable, and the reverse decision has been over-used to the point where it's annoying. Overall, a decent show that included some watchable action and enjoyable segments. From a hyping point of view for Capitol Punishment, they were unsuccessful in making me care about the show, leaving them some major next week during the three hour All Stars edition. |
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