Super SmackDown Live Review - April 10, 2012

Roddy Piper invites AJ and Daniel Bryan onto the Piper's Pit.

Decent segment featuring World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and John Laurinaitis to kick off the show. Laurinaitis forcing Sheamus to apologize didn't make all that much sense since these guys have no history with each other whatsoever, but it was fine for what it was while setting up the main event match nicely.

Good match between Randy Orton and Mark Henry before the non-finish. These two have great chemistry and were able to use their surroundings to their advantage. I'm glad Henry wasn't defeated here since he'll be challenging for the WWE title next Monday, but he could have least won this bout via count-out when Orton ran off. That being said, I could see Kane attacking Bob Orton backstage a mile away, but it was still an effective way to progress the feud.

Quick squash match with Ryback destroying another local athlete. Based upon what we've seen both this week and last week, it's looks like they're building Ryback up as a face, which is fine by me as long as he maintains his intense persona. That clothesline in the first five seconds of the match was impressive that got a good pop from the live crowd. Keeping the contest brief is the best way to establish him as a threat.

Fun tag team match with the Usos defeating the team of Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd, but the bout was vastly overshadowed by Jimmy Hart and Mick Foley at ring-side and on commentary. I was looking forward to Hart aligning with Slater since they have similar gimmicks, but Foley and Hart added nothing to the match despite how much I love those two alumni. It's a shame, too, since this win for the Usos could get them one step closer to the WWE Tag Team Championships, but it was easily forgettable.

Strong Piper's Pit segment featuring Roddy Piper, AJ, and Daniel Bryan. Piper is always brilliant with WWE appearance he makes, and this time was not different. He certainly brought out the best in Bryan and made valid points that had Bryan react in the aggressive manner we've all been waiting for from him. AJ played her role very well here as the love-struck girl who couldn't make her mind. Having Bryan slap Piper was the perfect way to end, and gives me hope we're finally seeing the much-needed evolution from the Bryan character.

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Cody Rhodes encounters his father Dusty Rhodes.

Meaningless match with The Great Khali, Natalya, and Alicia Fox defeating Drew McIntyre and the Bellas in a six-person tag team match. None of the Superstars involved are even feuding, so this felt a bit random. Additionally, having McIntyre walk off in the first ten seconds didn't make any sense and it ended about a minute after that anyways. It's always good to see Mae Young, though.


Throwaway match between Hunico and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan that hardly accomplished anything. Hunico has been onn quite the roll on Friday nights as of late, so it would have been nice to see him pick up a singles victory over a WWE Hall Famer to further that push. Instead, Duggan got himself disqualified with the use of a foreign object and celebrated afterwards like it was nothing. As much as I enjoy Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter, this felt like one giant waste of time.

Pointless promo featuring Cody Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes, and Intercontinental Champion Big Show. Rhodes hasn't been able to catch a break since losing the belt at Mania, and has been unnecessarily buried ever since. I was hoping for Goldust to make an appearance for a family reunion, but we got Show instead for no good reason. Is this supposed to be leading to Rhodes reclaiming the gold? If not, then this feud needs to end as quickly as possible.

Mediocre main event match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and "Mean" Gene Okerlund defeating Alberto Del Rio and Daniel Bryan. I highly despite the decision to put Okerlund into the match, who did nothing to enhance the action, but rather diminished it. The fact that I can't even recall what happened in the conclusion of this match says this was highly forgettable and was unneeded. More focus should have been put on Del Rio prior to this contest, who last week defeated the Celtic Warrior to earn a future opportunity at the title.

Overall, an uninspiring show that was felt dragged on, irrelevant, and an attempt to squeeze every legend onto the two-hour broadcast. The action as a whole was obvious below average and none of it truly had a purpose. It's safe to say the only highlight of this show was the Piper's Pit that exceeded my expectations, while the rest of this program did not. With this being the third straight lackluster live show they've produced for SmackDown, they should thinking about sidelining this concept for the foreseeable future.

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