Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 12, 2011

Redundant, non-funny segment to kick off the show. Triple H's comedy gets old after a while, and this is certainly no way to make Christian look going into SummerSlam. Exclaiming that he was "suing" the entire WWE accomplished nothing, and once against made Christian come off as a coward.

Good match from Christian and Sheamus, but it wasn't really given enough time to develop. The two have excellent chemistry, so I hope they can feud once Christian's rivalry with Orton is over. The count-out victory keeps them both semi-strong going off into Sunday, so can't complain about that. On a side note, it's disappointing that Christian's great matches start the show, while Orton finishes it with nothing much better.

Now Beth Phoenix looks like an absolute monster going into Sunday. I'm glad it was over quickly seeing that Kaitlyn and AJ are very green in the ring, and the post-match attack on the two "bimbos" helped establish Phoenix and Natalya as top heels.
I, personally, think Hunico (the guy that was playing Sin Cara last night) is a much better wrestler than Sin Cara as I didn't notice as many obvious botches, but I do understand that swapping the two now would confuse the viewers, fans, and conflict with business. But what I don't understand is why couldn't they have held off another week for the real Sin Cara to return following his suspension?

Much like the starting match, the bout between Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio had great action, but it was way too short to be anything special. The finish seemed to come out of no where, but it did help Del Rio recover some lost momentum. It was a special, fresh attraction between two Money in the Bank winners, so I'm hoping for a future rematch. The post-match attack from Wade Barrett was a smart move in helping Barrett get some heat going into their match on Sunday after being overlooked the past few weeks.


Mediocre match from Ezekiel Jackson and Cody Rhodes, but I don't expect much from the Superstar with only five moves in his repertoire. However, I am very satisfied with the ending result, as it's about time the final gave Rhodes his first singles championship. The fire that Big Zeke displayed following the contest was intriguing, but it unfortunately leads me to believe this feud is not yet over.

I wasn't too thrilled to see Johnny Curtis killed on his debut after all the strange hype he's been given for the past two months, but it helps keep major heat on Mark Henry. The teasing by Sheamus that followed was predictable, but it should get fans excited to see the Celtic Warrior finally get his hands on Henry come this Sunday.

A better match from the Great Khali than I expected, but did it really need to be the main event? Sheamus and Christian could have gone for ten minutes if given the slot. Nonetheless, the bout was short, simple, and effective, and I was impressed by Orton's jumping RKO on Khali, something that is difficult for a man of his size. Christian's promo that closed the show was a great way for him to recover from earlier in the evening, adding suspense and new-found intrigue to his upcoming match with Orton over the World title.

Overall, an entertaining SmackDown that served its purpose in building towards SummerSlam this Sunday. Although the action was light and some bouts could have gone longer, the broadcast was successful this week in every match somewhat building hype towards this Sunday.