Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - May 18, 2012
Opening Segment - This was a good, solid segment that featured more strong interaction Between CM Punk & Big Johnny. Johnny Ace came out to some great heat and Punk just managed to put a little more on him by laying out JL's hypocrisy in no uncertain terms. The part in which JL asked the fans to "pray" for him was hilarious and only served to get another huge chorus of boos. JL "snapping" under the pressure after Punk had his say and left the ring felt right, given the pressure Big Johnny is under in his match with Cena. Thumbs Up
1. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Darren Young & Titus O'Neil - The match was ok, nothing particularly special about it. O'Neil & Young continue to show good chemistry together and it's good that they didn't get a win here in my opinion. They've only wrestled a few matches as a team, Truth & Kofi are the current tag champs and they have a title match that's actually been given some relevance on the ppv. The champs got the clean win at the 3.5 minute mark after Truth hits his finisher on Young. Not having Young & O'Neil get the win here gives the impression that there's still some work to do for the upstart team before they're ready to be legit contenders for the titles and it gives the champs some momentum heading into the ppv. *3/4
Damien Sandow - More great stuff from Sandow on the mic last night. He's really working hard to get this character over and he's already getting strong heat from the crowds. While this is of little meaning, I like the way he holds the mic. It looks like the snooty way you see some people hold a glass of wine or brandy. It's just a little thing that fits in perfectly with the character he's portraying. You know you're getting great heat when you can barely be heard on the mic over the crowd booing you, as Sandow was getting when he said he wasn't facing Yoshi. Yoshi calling him a chicken and them mocking him seemed kinda goofy, but it produced the desired result. Sandow's attack on Yoshi had a lot of intensity and looked really physical. Afterward, Sandow took a few moments to compose himself and reestablish that pompous serenity of his. More good work from this guy. Thumbs Up
Sheamus & Randy Orton - This was a brief, but solid backstage promo segment from these two. They sold their tension well and it continues to look as though WWE is planning a singles feud between these two in the very near future. Thumbs Up
2. Zack Ryderr vs. Daniel Bryan - Like the tag match, this was on the short side, only about 3 minutes, but it did it's purpose. Bryan looked strong against Ryder and seemed to have an answer/counter for everything Ryder threw at him. Bryan got a great response from the crowd, he's as over as just about anybody on the WWE roster right now. The end comes when Bryan delivers a roundhouse kick to Ryder before locking in the Yes! Lock. Ryder taps but Bryan keeps the hold on a bit longer. A good win for Bryan and some momentum going into the ppv. *3/4
3. CM Punk vs. Kane - Strong match from both guys here. Kane is someone that has gotten his share of hate since his return, but he continues to deliver inside the ring. He & Punk put out a damn good back & forth effort that made both men look strong. Daniel Bryan was out there doing commentary and I like that they didn't try to go over the top with it. He didn't take away from the match and did a good job of putting over Punk's ability and touched on their history a little bit. Kane spent much of the match working on Punk's ribs and Bryan did a good job of keeping people's attention focused on that. Punk plays the role of a gutsy, tough champion well as he took much of Kane's best shots and kept coming back with his own. Punk hit the flying elbow for a great looking spot at one point, with Kane kicking out. Kane takes a roundhouse kick soon after and is knocked outside the ring before Punk hits a suicide dive through the ropes on Kane. Bryan gets up as both guys are on the floor and makes like he was going to hit Punk with the steel chair. He turns around and waffles Kane in the back with it before hightailing it up the ramp. The ref calls for the bell about the 12 minute mark, I'm guessing Punk is disqualified. Punk has the chair in hand and Kane sees it and unloads on him. Kane beats up on Punk on the outside, including several chairshots to the back & ribs. He tosses him into he ring and hits two chokeslams while Bryan looks on from the ramp with a smile on his face. There was some great storytelling going on here and Bryan's facial expressions fit in with the jackal like, opportunistic heel persona he's adopted. Punk is going into the ppv with "injured" ribs, so there's a ready made story heading into the ppv. ***1/4
4. Santino Marella vs. Cody Rhodes - This has been the one part of the show that I was really disappointed in. I find myself wondering if Cody Rhodes has pissed someone off backstage because he should not have lost this match, especially in 2.5 minutes. Santino is a fun guy, we all get that, but Rhodes is someone that's come much too far to be treated like this. Santino gets the win via the Cobra. I'm hoping that this is just a small part in a bigger picture in which Cody comes out on top. If this was just a one shot match, then it's just a waste. *
5. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton - Great match between Orton & Sheamus, especially the second half of things. All in all, it was a hell of a back & forth effort from both wrestlers that made them both look strong. The match went about 25 minutes, which surprised me a little, but I'm not complaining. Sheamus & Orton were booked to look roughly even here with neither guy ultimately having a huge advantage over the other. They each hit most of their signature spots & moves, but I liked the way that they each managed to avoid taking the finisher of the other. It makes it look as though it might really take their biggest guns to put the other guy down for the win. The end comes with Orton going for the RKO but Sheamus quickly counters with a school boy roll up for the surprising win at the 25 minute mark. Again, it's fun that they didn't pull out the finishers to end this match. Orton lost the match but he lost it in a way that could've happened to anybody, as anybody can find themselves the victim of an unexpected roll up, and it keeps him looking like a top challenger. I figured there'd be some interference from Jericho and/or Del Rio here but I'm glad to see it come about this way. All in all, Sheamus vs. Orton is going to be the money feud going forward after the ppv and it gave Sheamus a huge win over a huge star. Orton shook Sheamus' hand afterward saying "you got me", before delivering an RKO. While it's Orton's nature, it makes me wonder if a heel turn is in the works. ***1/2
Final Thoughts - In my mind, this was the strongest episode of SmackDown! in probably a month or two. There wasn't really any filler on the show as just about everything had a purpose. I'm hoping that the Santino vs. Rhodes situation is part of a bigger picture and will ultimately server a purpose. Other than that, the show was quite good.
The opening segment put more heat on Big Johnny and featured good interaction with CM Punk. The tag match was ok, nothing special, but it gave the champs a win heading into the ppv. Damien Sandow continues to impress me with his work and delivered another great promo before delivering an intense beating to Yoshi Tatsu. Bryan vs. Ryder, again, was nothing specual but it was ok and did it's job of giving Bryan some momentum. Punk vs. Kane was a very good outing for both guys with Bryan playing his role very well. Instigating a post match beating on Punk via Kane was a great touch and Bryan's facial expressions as he watched were spot on. Orton vs. Sheamus was another great match, ultimately better than I expected, with both guys pulling out a damn good back & forth effort. Sheamus getting the clean pin was an added bonus, as was a lack of expected interference. To me, this show felt more like what we're used to from SD! than what we've gotten, overall, for the past few months. It felt like SD! went back to the formula it's used for the past couple of years, as a whole, in which they have a few strong promo segments coupled with a couple of strong 10+ minute matches all while doing a solid job of hyping the upcoming ppv.
Grade: B+
Opening Segment - This was a good, solid segment that featured more strong interaction Between CM Punk & Big Johnny. Johnny Ace came out to some great heat and Punk just managed to put a little more on him by laying out JL's hypocrisy in no uncertain terms. The part in which JL asked the fans to "pray" for him was hilarious and only served to get another huge chorus of boos. JL "snapping" under the pressure after Punk had his say and left the ring felt right, given the pressure Big Johnny is under in his match with Cena. Thumbs Up
1. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Darren Young & Titus O'Neil - The match was ok, nothing particularly special about it. O'Neil & Young continue to show good chemistry together and it's good that they didn't get a win here in my opinion. They've only wrestled a few matches as a team, Truth & Kofi are the current tag champs and they have a title match that's actually been given some relevance on the ppv. The champs got the clean win at the 3.5 minute mark after Truth hits his finisher on Young. Not having Young & O'Neil get the win here gives the impression that there's still some work to do for the upstart team before they're ready to be legit contenders for the titles and it gives the champs some momentum heading into the ppv. *3/4
Damien Sandow - More great stuff from Sandow on the mic last night. He's really working hard to get this character over and he's already getting strong heat from the crowds. While this is of little meaning, I like the way he holds the mic. It looks like the snooty way you see some people hold a glass of wine or brandy. It's just a little thing that fits in perfectly with the character he's portraying. You know you're getting great heat when you can barely be heard on the mic over the crowd booing you, as Sandow was getting when he said he wasn't facing Yoshi. Yoshi calling him a chicken and them mocking him seemed kinda goofy, but it produced the desired result. Sandow's attack on Yoshi had a lot of intensity and looked really physical. Afterward, Sandow took a few moments to compose himself and reestablish that pompous serenity of his. More good work from this guy. Thumbs Up
Sheamus & Randy Orton - This was a brief, but solid backstage promo segment from these two. They sold their tension well and it continues to look as though WWE is planning a singles feud between these two in the very near future. Thumbs Up
2. Zack Ryderr vs. Daniel Bryan - Like the tag match, this was on the short side, only about 3 minutes, but it did it's purpose. Bryan looked strong against Ryder and seemed to have an answer/counter for everything Ryder threw at him. Bryan got a great response from the crowd, he's as over as just about anybody on the WWE roster right now. The end comes when Bryan delivers a roundhouse kick to Ryder before locking in the Yes! Lock. Ryder taps but Bryan keeps the hold on a bit longer. A good win for Bryan and some momentum going into the ppv. *3/4
3. CM Punk vs. Kane - Strong match from both guys here. Kane is someone that has gotten his share of hate since his return, but he continues to deliver inside the ring. He & Punk put out a damn good back & forth effort that made both men look strong. Daniel Bryan was out there doing commentary and I like that they didn't try to go over the top with it. He didn't take away from the match and did a good job of putting over Punk's ability and touched on their history a little bit. Kane spent much of the match working on Punk's ribs and Bryan did a good job of keeping people's attention focused on that. Punk plays the role of a gutsy, tough champion well as he took much of Kane's best shots and kept coming back with his own. Punk hit the flying elbow for a great looking spot at one point, with Kane kicking out. Kane takes a roundhouse kick soon after and is knocked outside the ring before Punk hits a suicide dive through the ropes on Kane. Bryan gets up as both guys are on the floor and makes like he was going to hit Punk with the steel chair. He turns around and waffles Kane in the back with it before hightailing it up the ramp. The ref calls for the bell about the 12 minute mark, I'm guessing Punk is disqualified. Punk has the chair in hand and Kane sees it and unloads on him. Kane beats up on Punk on the outside, including several chairshots to the back & ribs. He tosses him into he ring and hits two chokeslams while Bryan looks on from the ramp with a smile on his face. There was some great storytelling going on here and Bryan's facial expressions fit in with the jackal like, opportunistic heel persona he's adopted. Punk is going into the ppv with "injured" ribs, so there's a ready made story heading into the ppv. ***1/4
4. Santino Marella vs. Cody Rhodes - This has been the one part of the show that I was really disappointed in. I find myself wondering if Cody Rhodes has pissed someone off backstage because he should not have lost this match, especially in 2.5 minutes. Santino is a fun guy, we all get that, but Rhodes is someone that's come much too far to be treated like this. Santino gets the win via the Cobra. I'm hoping that this is just a small part in a bigger picture in which Cody comes out on top. If this was just a one shot match, then it's just a waste. *
5. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton - Great match between Orton & Sheamus, especially the second half of things. All in all, it was a hell of a back & forth effort from both wrestlers that made them both look strong. The match went about 25 minutes, which surprised me a little, but I'm not complaining. Sheamus & Orton were booked to look roughly even here with neither guy ultimately having a huge advantage over the other. They each hit most of their signature spots & moves, but I liked the way that they each managed to avoid taking the finisher of the other. It makes it look as though it might really take their biggest guns to put the other guy down for the win. The end comes with Orton going for the RKO but Sheamus quickly counters with a school boy roll up for the surprising win at the 25 minute mark. Again, it's fun that they didn't pull out the finishers to end this match. Orton lost the match but he lost it in a way that could've happened to anybody, as anybody can find themselves the victim of an unexpected roll up, and it keeps him looking like a top challenger. I figured there'd be some interference from Jericho and/or Del Rio here but I'm glad to see it come about this way. All in all, Sheamus vs. Orton is going to be the money feud going forward after the ppv and it gave Sheamus a huge win over a huge star. Orton shook Sheamus' hand afterward saying "you got me", before delivering an RKO. While it's Orton's nature, it makes me wonder if a heel turn is in the works. ***1/2
Final Thoughts - In my mind, this was the strongest episode of SmackDown! in probably a month or two. There wasn't really any filler on the show as just about everything had a purpose. I'm hoping that the Santino vs. Rhodes situation is part of a bigger picture and will ultimately server a purpose. Other than that, the show was quite good.
The opening segment put more heat on Big Johnny and featured good interaction with CM Punk. The tag match was ok, nothing special, but it gave the champs a win heading into the ppv. Damien Sandow continues to impress me with his work and delivered another great promo before delivering an intense beating to Yoshi Tatsu. Bryan vs. Ryder, again, was nothing specual but it was ok and did it's job of giving Bryan some momentum. Punk vs. Kane was a very good outing for both guys with Bryan playing his role very well. Instigating a post match beating on Punk via Kane was a great touch and Bryan's facial expressions as he watched were spot on. Orton vs. Sheamus was another great match, ultimately better than I expected, with both guys pulling out a damn good back & forth effort. Sheamus getting the clean pin was an added bonus, as was a lack of expected interference. To me, this show felt more like what we're used to from SD! than what we've gotten, overall, for the past few months. It felt like SD! went back to the formula it's used for the past couple of years, as a whole, in which they have a few strong promo segments coupled with a couple of strong 10+ minute matches all while doing a solid job of hyping the upcoming ppv.
Grade: B+