Friday Night SmackDown Review - June 8, 2012

Sheamus takes advantage of the Big Red Mosnter Kane.

Effective segment to kick off the show featuring World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. Ricardo Rodriguez's Sheamus impersonation was hilariously funny, and it was nice to see some heat put on him rather than the usual sympathy by attacking the Celtic Warrior. What didn't make sense to me was that Teddy Long was in charge, when John Laurinaitis easily could have had either David Otunga or Eve to fill in for him.

Throwaway match between Alberto Del Rio and Great Khali. Obviously, Khali isn't the best worker, so his offense against another guy the crowd couldn't care less about didn't mean much. However, Del Rio picking up the submission victory was a nice momentum shifter and came off as impressive.

Nice aggression from Brodus Clay during his squash match with Derrick Bateman. I'm glad to see him move over to Friday nights where he can hopefully have longer matches and be given more room for his character to evolve. It's a shame to see Bateman be Clay's latest victim, as the current NXT rookie does indeed acquire talent.

Slow match between Drew McIntyre and Sin Cara. I liked how McIntyre was able to get in some offense, but Sin Cara looked like he was moving in slow motion on several occasions. It could quite possibly be due the fact that he just recently returned from injury and wanted to keep it at a slower pace to avoid any botches. Nonetheless, Sin Cara has improved in the ring since he's return and will continue to flourish on Friday nights.

Although the visual of Ryback picking two men up on his shoulders to execute his finisher is still pretty cool, we've seen it so many times in the last few weeks that it wasn't as special as it once was. If they won't push Ryback into a legitimate feud yet, then he should at least go back to squashing under-carders on the roster.

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Intercontinental Champion Christian takes on Dolph Ziggler.

Solid promo segment featuring Christian and Cody Rhodes. I've enjoyed this feud first since it started at Over the Limit, but this promo really gave viewers a reason to care about the angle. The delivery from both guys was spot on, and it was interesting to see Rhodes acknowledge whether Christian is truly a face or is just manipulating the WWE Universe. My only complaint is that they didn't advertise the Peep Show enough, but that's nitpicking things.

Great match between Intercontinental Champion Christian and Dolph Ziggler. It's been awhile since these two last locked up, so this match felt fresh. Obviously, both Christian and Ziggler are tremendous workers and their chemistry really clicked. However, it's disappointing to see Ziggler take yet another loss, even if he looked good in defeat. Rhodes played his part nicely on commentary as well.

Fine segment turned featuring Michael Cole, Hornswoggle, and Damien Sandow. There was really no need to replay Cole's match with Cena from Raw last Monday, as watching it once was painful enough. Having Horsnwoggle impersonate Jim Ross was classless, but thankfully, Sandow saved the segment. It fit well with his ignoramus gimmick he's got going, and it was also able to include the underrated Tyson Kidd. Sure, Kidd got demolished, but at least it gives reason for a match to occur between the two next week.

Typical squash match with Antonio Cesaro defeating Jimmy Uso. Of course, it was brief, so we didn't get to see much of Cesaro's in-ring abilities, but it solidified his dominance inside the ring. Some of his maneuvers look vicious, so I'm anxious to see what he can do when his matches are eventually extended.

Good match between World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Kane. Sure, it felt boring at times, but it managed to flow nicely and protect both men with the flunky finish. However, the interference from Alberto Del Rio towards the end was pretty predictable, despite being logical. I didn't like seeing the Celtic Warrior getting the advantage to close the show, especially since it should give viewers a reason to think Del Rio could be leaving No Way Out with the title.

Overall, a decent show that was mostly filler, but at least most of it was executed correctly and had a purpose. Nothing was all that entertaining on this show other than Christian, Cody Rhodes, and Dolph Ziggler, but it was nice to see the younger talent once again given time to shine. Sadly, this show didn't at all get me excited for No Way Out next Sunday, as the minimal build for that show has been uninspiring thus far.

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