Mr. Artistic guy
Better Off This Way
Unfortunately I watch Smackdown on a bi-monthly basis these. Thankfully, given the state of story progression on the brand, the replays of last weeks action on the fact that they replay half of Raw every week, I miss very little if at all. Good wrestling matches, which Smackdown has come to be known as the home of in the WWE, are only relevant is enhanced by good storytelling and plot points, hence why Smackdown, along with the introduction of the brand re-merger, has become something of a redundant show in the last year or so. It's nice to watch a good 15 minute main event, but nice is not nearly good enough to engage an entire audience of wrestling fans. Wrestling needs people to need it, people don't need Smackdown when they have Raw.
Umm, despite that though I'm still gonna review it now. Go figure.
Kicking off the show with Edge: Insta-mega-pop. Still diggin' the short hair if I'm honest. I've never been much of an Edge fan, I've always acknowledged that he's good in all respects, but good doesn't explain the quality of his career. But an infrequent show-up from a guy who is still fairly fresh to the promo game is going to excite the crowd. And immediately bigging up the Kane and Bryan feud, which I have to be honest, is one of my favourite feuds in the WWE for a good long while along with Punk and Cena. It's perfectly demonstrated how comedy can play an integral role in a serious feud.
Bryan's coming out, and business is about to pick up. YES! NO! YES! NO! Either, it's all good. Feels like a weird thing to say but I'm proud of Bryan from where he came to how good he is at what he does now. After the 'go back to acting' line, it was on.
This is weird though. These are the tag team champions, but in an upper card feud, but that is starting the show off on Smackdown. It's clear how much stock they've put in this thing. 'Edge, you seem angry' I laughed. When Kane went to hug Edge instead of attacking him, it's like the writers have saved their best stuff for this feud.
I'm not going to lie, everything about this opening segment was clever and very entertaining. And then to have Sandow come out once again interrupting an opening segment, he's getting almost main event heat at the moment and it's going to reach it's peak at about Hell In A Cell at this current rate, do something important with it WWE. The way Sandow degrades Kane and co. makes you wonder whether the tag champs are heel/face/a bit of both? Perhaps that's why things have worked out so well, it's not as easy as saying they are heel or face, or even merely tweener, they are just entertaining guys telling a great story. Very modern. One lesson people could learn from that segment is that wrestling id a gosh darn pantomime, and by that I mean you don't have to be afraid to directly involve the audience in your work, it sometimes get a great response.
But alas, the point was proven once again. Entertaining stuff from all men involved, but no storyline innovations. You could have skipped this segment and known just as much about Kane and Bryan by Raw as you did last week.
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After all that wonderful malarkey, we kick the show's wrestling off with Kane and Damien Sandow. Should be an interesting test of Sandow's physical range that we haven't witnessed before; how he tackles big guys.
A quick roll-out after a shoulder block from Kane to Sandow for the early heat. Kane dominates the first minute with good selling from Sandow. Early on, I feel that with Sandow doing as well as he is and Bryan on the outside, Kane will probably lose this match. The match develops a bit more back and forth in the next couple of minutes, Kane going outside for another 'I am the tag team champions spot' buys Sandow enough time to get the upper hand and deliver his finisher in the third minute for a quick victory on Kane.
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The main event looks like a good quality match prospect, another classic Smackdown tag team outing. Orton and Sheamus taking on ADR and Ziggler, all good wrestlers. Another beautiful scene from Bryan and Kane backstage, the height of immaturity - big red freak against goat face. Dr Sheldon may not be a genius, but he's more welcome than Claire Lynch. I do feel like we're seeing a side to Kane we've never seen before and it's permeating in this rivalry where you couldn't have picked a better option.
Nobody will ever care about ADR and Sheamus. The Brogue Kick controversy, as it's inappropriately called, is about as tame a crux of a story for a second rematch in a world title feud. ADR can go to the back of the queue and stay there. Booker T is doing great as General Manager, he's what you might call- legitimate. Yeah, get gone ADR.
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Our next match is Natalya against Layla, with Eve at ringside.
Eve has improved over her work earlier in the year tremendously. I put a good amount of stock in Layla, and with her feuding with Eve, it's a good quality rivalry for the Divas title comparatively speaking, not that most people care. I know not why WWE continually tried to push Natalya away from the Divas title, she's better than Beth Phoenix in just about every way, she's probably the best WWE Diva there is although I may have to reconsider that is Eve continues on her current trajectory.
The match itself was probably less than 2 minutes long, pretty much what you'd expect. Little bit of offence by Natalya and a quick reversal and finisher by Layla for the victory.
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ADR's entrance is on. It's a great entrance, just a shame they couldn't have used it on a better superstar. "Excuse me" That's the Pavlov dog heat. It's Ziggler, the never quite will be. Ziggler has had great exposure over his career and still hasn't improved enough in the regards that matter to make it as a competent world champion.
Yes, if you hasn't guessed it that tag match that I thought was the main event, obviously not. They have almost gone out of their way to make Orton seem bland these days, but I think that's WWE's way of not putting too much faith in him in case he gets dropped by another drug test. Orton used to be the future, and it's now the future and Orton is just a guy. Why has he backtracked so much since his legacy days? Sheamus is more interesting these days as a face.
To the match anyway. Del Rio is in control after the break but gets usurped by Sheamus who exchanges a couple of quick tags to Orton to keep the pressure on. Pretty soon Sheamus is cornered and the heels are working him over, but he makes a hot tag to Orton not too long after. Orton sticks in a bit of offence, a sick powerslam to Ziggler amongst it all, but soon enough is in the same position Sheamus was, ADR and Ziggler working over Orton with draining submission and heavy strikes. The makes a set up for the second hot tag of the match which is done successfully. The match culminates with that tornado tag-like everyone-do-their-finisher sequence. Finally there lands and RKO and a Brogue kick to win the match.
Sheamus and Orton just don't know how to lose, which I'm alright with but it does make ADR's conquest seem a bit redundant. A heel can get away with losing, but only as long as the story aspect is there to ensure the feud stays fresh enough to make sense. ADR and Sheamus have surpassed that point. Orton seems to just have a big head of steam because he's Orton. Hopefully the rumours are true about a new opponent for Sheamus because this thing has been dragged out too long. 1 PPV match was too long. Anybody would be an improvement at this stage.
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I'll have the second half up tomorrow.
Umm, despite that though I'm still gonna review it now. Go figure.
Kicking off the show with Edge: Insta-mega-pop. Still diggin' the short hair if I'm honest. I've never been much of an Edge fan, I've always acknowledged that he's good in all respects, but good doesn't explain the quality of his career. But an infrequent show-up from a guy who is still fairly fresh to the promo game is going to excite the crowd. And immediately bigging up the Kane and Bryan feud, which I have to be honest, is one of my favourite feuds in the WWE for a good long while along with Punk and Cena. It's perfectly demonstrated how comedy can play an integral role in a serious feud.
Bryan's coming out, and business is about to pick up. YES! NO! YES! NO! Either, it's all good. Feels like a weird thing to say but I'm proud of Bryan from where he came to how good he is at what he does now. After the 'go back to acting' line, it was on.
This is weird though. These are the tag team champions, but in an upper card feud, but that is starting the show off on Smackdown. It's clear how much stock they've put in this thing. 'Edge, you seem angry' I laughed. When Kane went to hug Edge instead of attacking him, it's like the writers have saved their best stuff for this feud.
I'm not going to lie, everything about this opening segment was clever and very entertaining. And then to have Sandow come out once again interrupting an opening segment, he's getting almost main event heat at the moment and it's going to reach it's peak at about Hell In A Cell at this current rate, do something important with it WWE. The way Sandow degrades Kane and co. makes you wonder whether the tag champs are heel/face/a bit of both? Perhaps that's why things have worked out so well, it's not as easy as saying they are heel or face, or even merely tweener, they are just entertaining guys telling a great story. Very modern. One lesson people could learn from that segment is that wrestling id a gosh darn pantomime, and by that I mean you don't have to be afraid to directly involve the audience in your work, it sometimes get a great response.
But alas, the point was proven once again. Entertaining stuff from all men involved, but no storyline innovations. You could have skipped this segment and known just as much about Kane and Bryan by Raw as you did last week.
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After all that wonderful malarkey, we kick the show's wrestling off with Kane and Damien Sandow. Should be an interesting test of Sandow's physical range that we haven't witnessed before; how he tackles big guys.
A quick roll-out after a shoulder block from Kane to Sandow for the early heat. Kane dominates the first minute with good selling from Sandow. Early on, I feel that with Sandow doing as well as he is and Bryan on the outside, Kane will probably lose this match. The match develops a bit more back and forth in the next couple of minutes, Kane going outside for another 'I am the tag team champions spot' buys Sandow enough time to get the upper hand and deliver his finisher in the third minute for a quick victory on Kane.
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The main event looks like a good quality match prospect, another classic Smackdown tag team outing. Orton and Sheamus taking on ADR and Ziggler, all good wrestlers. Another beautiful scene from Bryan and Kane backstage, the height of immaturity - big red freak against goat face. Dr Sheldon may not be a genius, but he's more welcome than Claire Lynch. I do feel like we're seeing a side to Kane we've never seen before and it's permeating in this rivalry where you couldn't have picked a better option.
Nobody will ever care about ADR and Sheamus. The Brogue Kick controversy, as it's inappropriately called, is about as tame a crux of a story for a second rematch in a world title feud. ADR can go to the back of the queue and stay there. Booker T is doing great as General Manager, he's what you might call- legitimate. Yeah, get gone ADR.
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Our next match is Natalya against Layla, with Eve at ringside.
Eve has improved over her work earlier in the year tremendously. I put a good amount of stock in Layla, and with her feuding with Eve, it's a good quality rivalry for the Divas title comparatively speaking, not that most people care. I know not why WWE continually tried to push Natalya away from the Divas title, she's better than Beth Phoenix in just about every way, she's probably the best WWE Diva there is although I may have to reconsider that is Eve continues on her current trajectory.
The match itself was probably less than 2 minutes long, pretty much what you'd expect. Little bit of offence by Natalya and a quick reversal and finisher by Layla for the victory.
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ADR's entrance is on. It's a great entrance, just a shame they couldn't have used it on a better superstar. "Excuse me" That's the Pavlov dog heat. It's Ziggler, the never quite will be. Ziggler has had great exposure over his career and still hasn't improved enough in the regards that matter to make it as a competent world champion.
Yes, if you hasn't guessed it that tag match that I thought was the main event, obviously not. They have almost gone out of their way to make Orton seem bland these days, but I think that's WWE's way of not putting too much faith in him in case he gets dropped by another drug test. Orton used to be the future, and it's now the future and Orton is just a guy. Why has he backtracked so much since his legacy days? Sheamus is more interesting these days as a face.
To the match anyway. Del Rio is in control after the break but gets usurped by Sheamus who exchanges a couple of quick tags to Orton to keep the pressure on. Pretty soon Sheamus is cornered and the heels are working him over, but he makes a hot tag to Orton not too long after. Orton sticks in a bit of offence, a sick powerslam to Ziggler amongst it all, but soon enough is in the same position Sheamus was, ADR and Ziggler working over Orton with draining submission and heavy strikes. The makes a set up for the second hot tag of the match which is done successfully. The match culminates with that tornado tag-like everyone-do-their-finisher sequence. Finally there lands and RKO and a Brogue kick to win the match.
Sheamus and Orton just don't know how to lose, which I'm alright with but it does make ADR's conquest seem a bit redundant. A heel can get away with losing, but only as long as the story aspect is there to ensure the feud stays fresh enough to make sense. ADR and Sheamus have surpassed that point. Orton seems to just have a big head of steam because he's Orton. Hopefully the rumours are true about a new opponent for Sheamus because this thing has been dragged out too long. 1 PPV match was too long. Anybody would be an improvement at this stage.
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I'll have the second half up tomorrow.
