WWE SmackDown January 7, 2011: New Champion and Contender Crowned

World Heavyweight Champion Edge def. Kane in a Last Man Standing Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

Similar to RAW, they did the right thing by having the World Title match open the show. It was a good match, and made sense to have it open the show with the Contenders match later in the show.

Obviously, they could of done more, but it was still a decent Last Man Standing match with the stars involved. The ending was suspenseful, and some great spots were involved like the tremendous chokeslam through the table by Kane.

It was the perfect ending to blow-off this less-than-stellar feud, and both can now move on to something fresh in the new year.


Kofi Kingston def. Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler (twice) to win the Intercontinental Championship

Obviously, these two have met over a dozen times, but every time they do, it's the best match on the card. That wasn't the case tonight since the title contest was too short, but still an excellent match while it lasted.

The crowd was super hot for Kofi's crossbody, and Ziggler sold it perfectly. It was huge surprise to see it win the match (in a good way), and cashing in the rematch clause immediately makes sense storyline wise for the future.

Giving Kingston the title may seem like a step back, but he doesn't have enough momentum right now to go to main event. As for Ziggler, giving him the title was a good idea seeing that there was a lack of challengers with his incredible reign and that it was time for him to escalate to bigger things.

Tyler Reks, Cody Rhodes Jack Swagger, and Curt Hawkins are four great challengers right off the bat for Kofi Kingston.


Dolph Ziggler def. Cody Rhodes, Big Show, and Drew McIntyre to become the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship

When I saw the match preview, I had no idea Ziggler would be entered into the contest. But even when I saw he did enter, I still had doubts he would win with the tremendous reversals and pinfalls in the match.

The contest actually turned out to be really good, and Big Show played his part well. Carnage was everywhere, and the teamwork was played out well. The definite highlight was the three finishers taken by Big Show, where the suspense really sunk in.

The clean finish was perfect. This win will do wonders for Ziggler, and becoming the contender against Edeg will put on a great match. Oh, did I forget to mention Wade Barrett's intervention?

Former Nexus leader Wade Barrett intervened and attacked Big Show, thus starting a good feud between the two. They face off next week, and I'm very looking forward to Barrett's debut on the blue brand.


Michelle McCool def. Kelly Kelly

Yes, of course, the match was terrible. But the match wasn't the focal point here.

After Kelly's loss to one-half of Lay-Cool, they attacked her brutally before Drew McIntyre came out to save her and further display his love interest. The part was still bad, since no one cares about either of them, and making this the only miss of the night.


Alberto Del Rio def. Rey Mysterio in a Two-out-of-Three Count Falls Match

With little debate this wins Match of the Night. The chemistry and history between these two has really clicks, and always put on a good match.

However, the ending bothered me. I'm glad Del Rio won, but was it necessary to end this 5-month rivalry by count-out for the last fall? I really do not want this to continue, because I can't think of anything else that can top it.

This gives great momentum to Alberto Del Rio going into the Royal Rumble, and hopefully a returning feud with Christian could only help him more before Wrestlemania.


Final Review

Without a doubt, this was a great episode. Moreover, this has been the best episode ofSmackdown in a long time and gave pay-per-view quality matches.

We witnessed a new champion, new contender, World Title match, debut of a new superstar, and the culmination of two long rivalries. A really high note to start off 2011, and hopefully we see more episodes like this in the future.