Friday Night SmackDown Review - March 2, 2012

Kane decimates Randy Orton at ring-side.

Excellent match between Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler to kick off the show. These guys have great chemistry and I hope to see an actual feud between them down the line. I'm glad Sheamus is picking up victories over former World Champions, which will only benefit him as he goes into his World Championship match at WrestleMania 28.

Throwaway match with Santino Marella defeating Heath Slater. Sure, it was due to the aftermath from last week, but other than that, it served no purpose. These are the types of matches that should be saved solely for WWE Superstars.

Decent Divas match with Eve defeating Natalya in a brief bout. These are two of the few Divas in the division that can actually wrestle, so I would have rather seen their match go a bit longer. It was confusing who to cheer for, since both competitors are considered tweeners. In that case, I hope this leads to a much-needed Natalya face turn in the near future.

Great match between Big Show and Mark Henry, but the finish was never in doubt. This was certainly better than some of the matches we've seen from them in the past, and did a nice job of keeping the pace going. I'm glad Henry was able to get some dominant offense in throughout the contest, but he's been buried so badly lately that it's predictable he'll come up short. He was once a force to be reckoned with on Friday nights, so it's a shame he's fallen this far due to poor booking.

---

A distraught Drew McIntyre realizes he's been fired.

Typical squash match with Justin Gabriel defeating Drew McIntyre and costing him his spot on the SmackDown roster. The action was fine for what it was, but at this point, nobody cares about McIntyre given how his angle has been terribly booked and not given enough emphasis. It's a true shame since he has potential and isn't being used correctly. Firings never last long in WWE, so expect McIntyre back in television relatively soon.

Great match between World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. The drama behind it was very nicely built-up and made this bout more suspenseful than it already was. The finish was well done and allowed Bryan to pick up yet another victory. Kane's ambush on Orton seemed a bit random, but it was a fun brawl to close the show.

Overall, an enjoyable show that was decent as a whole, but didn't accomplish much. With WrestleMania only a month away, the blue brand has to start kicking their respective programs into high gear if they expect to get any momentum going into the big event. The action was pretty good, but the angles need more focus if they wish to succeed.

---