Friday Night SmackDown Review - March 22, 2013

Big Show collides with his 'Mania partners on Miz TV.

Decent Miz TV segment to kick off the show guest starring Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show. Everyone played their roles exceptionally well, but no one's mic work was all that intriguing. It was a pretty standard segment that established the main event for later in the night as well as the six-man tag team match at WrestleMania 29, so at least it was effective in that aspect.

Basic squash match with Mark Henry dominating Zack Ryder. We've been seeing the same shtick from Henry for weeks, so this was nothing out of the ordinary. Ryback's ambush on Henry was well done, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. I would have liked to see these two kept apart going into their clash at 'Mania, but I'm content with the approach they're taking instead.

Good match between Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston. It was basically a retread of what we saw on this week's Raw, but it was still well-wrestled, regardless. Ziggler could use all the momentum he can get after being booked so poorly since the start of the year, so more decisive victories like this one will only benefit him. Kingston, on the other hand, is in desperate need of a gimmick change, as he's maintained the same stagnant character since his debut over five years ago.

Great match between Jack Swagger and Chris Jericho. Although their main event match last week was quite similar, I still enjoyed this bout nonetheless. Swagger and Jericho have awesome chemistry with one another, so I wouldn't be against a full-fledged feud between the two later down the line. Fandango's interference wasn't surprising, but it was most definitely impressive. While he may be a great athlete, I'm still confused as to why Fandango is getting a WrestleMania match before established stars such as Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, and Damien Sandow, among others.

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The Miz forces Antonio Cesaro to tap out to the Figure Four.

Throwaway tag team match with Brodus Clay and Tensai taking on Team Rhodes Scholars. The contest lasted a mere minute before it ended in mayhem at ringside with everyone attacking one another. The involvement of the Bella Twins and the Funkadactyls leads me to believe that we'll be seeing a mixed eight-person tag team match at 'Mania. I don't have a huge problem with that match, but it's a shame that Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow would be apart of a more meaningful match at the event.

Brief match between United States Champion Antonio Cesaro and The Miz. The match was over before it even started, as Miz locked in the Figure Four Leg Lock two minutes into the contest and forced Cesaro to tap out almost immediately. I simply don't understand why WWE continues to have Cesaro lose meaningless matches for no apparent reasons, as it only devalues the title and its credibility. There's a slight chance that this could have set up a Triple Threat between Miz, Cesaro, and Wade Barrett at WrestleMania, but that's doubtful.

Typical six-man tag team match with Randy Orton, Big Show and Sheamus defeating 3MB. With it happening so late in the show, you knew it wasn't going to last long, so that didn't come as much of a surprise. However, I liked how they teased tension between Orton, Sheamus and Show, as it gives the impression they won't be able to co-exist at WrestleMania. Furthermore, it was nice to see The Shield make an appearance despite the fact they didn't do much except engage in stare-down with their 'Mania opponents.

Overall, a decent show that didn't feature many noteworthy moments, but nothing terribly bad, either. Of course, the only match worth watching for a second time would have to be Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger, but everything else was mostly missable. However, I appreciate the effort that was put into building a number of matches for WrestleMania 29 in just over two weeks.

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