Friday Night SmackDown Review - August 26, 2011

Great opening segment from the interim General Manager Bret Hart and Christian. It's always nice to hear Bret get the reaction he deserves in his hometown, as well as the chemistry he had with fellow Canadian Christian. Captain Charisma's whining antics are old at this point, but Hart's words with Mark Henry were entertaining.

Putting Christian and Daniel Bryan against each other is simlpy making a dream match, but this bout wasn't everything I'd hoped it be. It was pretty good for the most part, but it lacked the pace it should of had. Smart move by giving Christian the victory going into next week's title bout.

I'm glad to see Wade Barrett taking a storyline stand against being placed against lesser opponents. Maybe he can join The Miz and R-Truth apart of the conspiracy? Nonetheless, I'm a bit disappointed they're not continuing his rivalry with Daniel Bryan over the briefcase.


Pointless match between Sin Cara and Heath Slater. For those of you unaware, the contest was taped twice due to an excessive amount of botches between the two, giving us the throwaway we got on television. I really hope we see the Sin Cara get some direction soon, otherwise the controversy as to who is portraying the character will cease to exist.

Solid contest between World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase, two men who share history apart of Legacy. Given that DiBiase has been booked to look weak since coming to SmackDown, this contest proved he can hang in there with top stars and give a decent showing. The ending set of moves was awesome, and here's hoping Rhodes attacking DiBiase means a babyface turn for the third generation star.


Just when I thought the Diva's division was looking up, we get this sloppy, horrible match between Divas Champion Kelly Kelly and Tamina. Tamina is not the right person to put Kelly in the ring with, and it accomplished nothing seeing neither of the Divas of Doom made an appearance.

A better than expected match between Ezekiel Jackson and The Great Khali. Usually, putting two giants in the same ring together means a train wreck, but it told a story and Big Zeke was able to make it work. The torture rack on the Punjabi Nightmare was nothing short of impressive, and helps give credibility back to Jackson after his recent string of losses.

In what easily won Match of the Night, Mark Henry and Sheamus put on another spectacular match that exceeded their previous bout at SummerSlam. They got great time, and both looked strong in the end. That Brogue Kick to Henry at the conclusion of the contest was epic, and the count-out victory gives Sheamus a win he needs, keep Henry strong, and continues to feud now that both have count-out victories. Following a ruthless World's Strongest Slam, this rivalry should certainly continue after Night of Champions.

Overall, a pretty good show that built nice hype going into next Tuesday's live SuperSmackDown. The action was solid as a whole, but not many new storylines were developed. A fun middle-in-the-road show that had its two hours go by quickly.