Friday Night SmackDown Review - May 23, 2014

Hulk Hogan addresses the WWE Universe in England.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart Appeared

The main purpose of Hogan's appearance was to promote the WWE Network for the United Kingdom (which will hopefully be getting it by early next year), though that much has been obvious since he first returned back in February. Hogan is notable ambassador for the WWE that is perfect for this kind of stuff, so I don't blame them for using him in this fashion. He doesn't need to get physical and as it was announced, this was his first time in a WWE ring in England in nearly two decades, so it was a nice, nostalgic moment for those in attendance.


Batista def. Dolph Ziggler in a No Disqualification Match

Ziggler may not be getting pushed at the moment, but when he's put in big matches against top names, he shines every time. He had an impressive outing against Batista, who also held his own here. They were given great time and utilized the extreme environment well. I didn't think for a second that Ziggler would actually win, but he looked strong in defeat and Batista came out of this looking like a total beast, so it was certainly a win-win situation.

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Batista scores a hard-fought victory over Dolph Ziggler.

The Funkadactyls def. Nikki Bella and Eva Marie with Summer Rae as Special Guest Referee

And so the crossover storytelling from Total Divas continuing. I didn't mind this as much as I did Nikki vs. Natalya if only because that was a stupid storyline to begin with and this is a bit unrealistic. Regardless, I have no desire to see Eva feud with anyone, especially given that it was even acknowledged by the commentators that Eva is no good in the ring. Will Summer be feuding with both Layla and Eva? That could be a train wreck. For anyone that cares, the match was atrocious.


Bo Dallas def. Sin Cara

People often talk about how fans aren't sure as to whether they should cheer or boo Adam Rose. Well, what about Bo Dallas? Yes, everything that he says and does is extremely cheesy, but none is technically heelish. The reason why fans despised him in NXT so much was because they got sick of him after a while. Thus, it might take some time for him to really garner heel heat on the main roster (facing fan favorites won't do much, especially when it's enhancement talent that no one cares about), but he's on the right track. The match was fine for what it was and I liked the introduction of Dallas. Hopefully they do more to make him unlikable in weeks ahead.


United States Champion Sheamus def. Alberto Del Rio by Disqualification (Non-title)

Needless to say, Del Rio hasn't meant much these days, but you can always count on him for a good match. He and Sheamus have history dating back to 2012 and I though they had a pretty solid match here. Paul Heyman and Cesaro were a bit distracting on commentary, but they did their job in furthering Cesaro's feud with Sheamus. Cesaro's attack on Sheamus was strong and I am loving how he is acting more and more heel each week. They need to go all the way if they really want him to get booed and they are doing exactly that.


Bray Wyatt Addressed John Cena

I hate to sound repetitive, but Wyatt's promos are simply fantastic. This one was no exception in which he discussed his actions from the conclusion of this week's Raw. The fans holding up their phones in the dark background was a very cool visual. The cadence in his promos is great and he did a nice job of selling his Last Man Standing match with Cena at Payback.


Adam Rose Confronted Vickie Guerrero

Rose continues to do just his dancing shtick and not much else. But hey, at least it was over with the England crowd on this show. It was a throwaway segment for the most, but as a fan of Rose, I enjoyed it for what it was. Jack Swagger didn't make an appearance though it wasn't necessary since they confronted each other on Raw. Rose will need to evolve at some point, but it's fun for now.


WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos def. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan by Disqualification

We've seen this match countless times in the past, but they always manage to keep the action entertaining. It was one way of furthering the feud between Cena and Wyatt without having them directly interact, but I expected Harper and Rowan to win to set them up for a tag team title match for Payback. That's perhaps still a possibility, but the non-finish protected both teams and allowed Cena to get his momentum back after being attacked at the end of Raw.


Overall Show

The England crowd wasn't as wild on this show as they were for Raw, but they were still a respectful audience and weren't as flat as most crowds we've had in recent weeks. Appearances from John Cena, Batista and especially Hulk Hogan made this show noteworthy and the action itself was pretty decent. There wasn't much on this episode that is worth going out of your way to see, but the two hours weren't a drag to sit through.

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