Smackdown! Journal 6/17/11
This is a thread to recap the events of Smackdown and discuss the events of Smackdown. Beneath my time breakdown of Smackdown are a few discussion questions about the show, should you care to answer them. I plan on doing this weekly, and they will all be in this thread.
8:00- We open with a Christian vignette. Hes going to be a damn good heel, I think much better than his heel run towards the end of his first WWE run. Jeeze the WWE can put together a good video package.
8:03- Randys out, sounds like hes being universally accepted by the arena, though a Peep or two manage to get a boo heard.
8:04- HOLY SHIT! ITS HULK HOGAN! Oh wait, its just a guy dressed as Hulk Hogan in the audience.
8:05- Seeing Orton work a crowd this way is odd. Trying to pump them up by throwing his hands in the air and posturing for them it doesnt quite fit in my opinion. The fans dont seem to care. They also dont seem to mind his horrible beard.
8:07- Teddy Long comes out as Randy talks about how he wants to beat down Christian tonight like thats gonna happen. Teddy says he still hasnt gotten the medical clearance for Orton, so hes not gonna wrestle tonight. Christian comes out to give his two cents. Christian has the perfect heel smirk. Christian does another audience poll, which is quite funny.
8:10- Sheamus is in the house, and hes insulting everyone! Hes not getting much of a crowd reaction, but hes doing a hell of a job working the mic. Christian calls Sheamus strawberry shortcake, and it becomes obvious that theyre going to have to wrestle each other.
Heel vs. Heel main events are not my favorite. Jericho and Edge had one on Smackdown a year or two ago, and it was awful, just each man trying to out cheat the other, and the audience didnt know who to root for. Still, Christian will probably be the face as he doesnt have the heel track record that Sheamus does, at least as of late.
8:14- Cole says its unfair to put Christian in a match just two days before his title shot, and it is! It seems like Christian never gets the proper rest before his title matches. What worse, if he loses hell be worn down AND have another competitor to worry about.
They announce a 6 man tag match with Zeke, Bryan, and Sin Cara vs. Barrett, Rhodes, and DiBiase. Something tells me we might get two Capitol Punishment matches out of this match, and that might be ALL we get. 6 man tag matches generally suck, though last weeks was pretty good.
8:18- It sounds like Zeke outpopped Cara and Bryan. I like Zeke just fine, but over Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara? Come on now. Codys bag men are so emotionless, its perfect! They should start wearing some sort of mask too, Phantom of the Opera style or something.
8:20- Apparently DiBiase was the jerk of the month. The bigger story, though, is that BOOKER T IS ON TWITTER! MUST FOLLOW! Can you dig that, suckas?
8:26- Best overall wrestler in this match? Easily Cody Rhodes. He makes Sin Cara look phenomenal, and then takes control, exhibits his mean streak, and then Flare Kicks Sin Cara. Hes on fire right now.
8:29- Sin Cara does some signature botches, and then tags Daniel Bryan in! He heats the audience up within seconds, and starts to kick some heads in. He pins DiBiase after a VERY questionable three count, and everyone in the arena, including the wrestlers, seem very confused.
8:31- Sheamus cutting a promo backstage with Mr. Striker. Hes kinda goofy sometimes.
8:35- DiBiase CLEARLY got it up at two. I hope this is part of the storyline.
8:37- Well, Jinder Mahal appears to be about Kozlovs size, just much much slimmer. I like Jinder, but hes not very fluid in the ring yet, its kind of like he just puts move after move without any flow.
8:40- Jinder Mahal gets another win, and the mystique continues to grow. Im vey interested to see what the WWE has planned for him. My guess is hell never get above the midcard, but what do I know.
8:45- Big Show is on Smackdown to talk to Josh. He tells us that he thinks Del Rio is in the house, so it looks like Big Show is going Mexican hunting. Other than that, Big Show is not very talkative. Josh Matthews looks scared for his life.
8:49- Teddy Long tells Show that he cant fight Del Rio because criminal and civil charges are being contemplated. I love the WWE, but this is a little ridiculous. The audience cheers when Teddy Says he could lose his job, but then sends his former client, Mark Henry, to wrestle Big Show. This should be a match of the year candidate
8:55- Big Show appears to have knocked Henry out cold. Big Show puts his hood up and walks away from the ring like a boss. They bring out a tiny little stretcher to take Mark Henry away on.
8:57- Booker T says he never thought hed see Mark Henry carried out on a stretcher. Rep for anyone who can find another example of Henry being wheeled out on a stretcher.
8:59- Christian just had a forgettable interview with Matt Striker, and now we have divas. Natty is wrestling! Color me a happy man.
9:01- Natalya is SO good. Tamina is not. Natalya countered a leg lock into a SWEET Sharpshooter. Rosa makes the save, and a short scuffle later, Tamina counters a crucifix attempt by AJ into a Samoan Drop. Not bad for a divas match.
9:07- Johnny Curtis is here with a fresh batch of word play. Hes playing put put, and bends down to pick up an ace in the hole. Oy vey.
9:10- Another horrible Capitol Punishment video package played. I counted 12 Obama tie changes.
9:15- Nobody likes a bully VINCE!
9:16- The Usos come out to heel heat despite assisting Big Zeke last week. Their opponents are Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater NOT of the Corre. They come out to an even bigger heel reaction. One of the Usos starts popping and locking, but they get CRICKETS.
9:19- For those of you keeping score at home, Jay has a tattoo on his chest, and Jimmy does not or does Jimmy have the tattoo, and Jay does not
9:20- The Usos pick up the victory after an EXTREMELY impressive match. Seriously, they might have put on the best show of the night. Consider me a fan.
9:24- A John Cena/R-Truth video package wraps up. Its crazy how the name Jimmy has carried R-Truth from midcard hell to main eventing a PPV.
9:30- Heres Alberto Del Rio, and he STILL claims that its his destiny to be the next WWE Champion. Im so tired of this guy.
9:35- Del Rio has spend five minutes telling us that Ricardo Rodriguez has a family and is a good man. Booooooooooooring. Big Show comes out to make the save.
9:37- Holy CRAP! Big Show is missing shit UP. Hes going Nexus on ringside, except worse. The ring ropes are all messed up, the announce table is down, he even ripped the security barrier right out of the ground. I would be terrified if I were Del Rio, Big Show is NUTS. Theyre going to have to make some serious ring repairs if they want to have Christian vs. Sheamus.
9:44- It was actually Del Rio that broke the ring rope when he went sliding out of the ring. Very interesting.
9:46- Christian comes out to a mediocre reaction, as does Sheamus. A kid in the audience holds up a sign that says, Christian needs to be RKO. Your sign is grammatically incorrect, IDIOT.
9:48- Doesnt look like well be getting the same type of main event we got last week. Only 12 minutes until we go off the air, and Im sure there will be some room for posturing at the shows end.
9:52- 6 minutes into the match and Christian is just starting to get control for the first time. The audience seems to have no idea who to root for. Sheamus is already back in control after Christian gets about 20 seconds of offense.
9:54- Sheamus is putting Christian to shame tonight. Christian has done nothing to impress me yet, and Sheamus has looked strong throughout the entire match. It might be because he hasnt gotten the chance to use much offense, but Sheamus just looks very good, and Christian looks to be having an off night.
9:56- Christian calls for the spear! But Sheamus counters it with a Polish Hammer.
The Broughkick makes for so many interesting counters, its really a great finishing move for many reasons, that being one of them.
9:57- Finally Christian comes out of his shell and does a sort of hot shot where he pulls Sheamus face onto the steel pole! Absolutely vicious! He gets the win with that. No sooner does the ref count to three than Orton runs into the ring to attempt to assault Christian, but Christian runs away.
9:58- Orton teases punting Sheamus and he does. I sincerely hope this doesnt mean Sheamus is going to be going anywhere, because he, Christian, and Cody Rhodes would make a hell of a heel trio.
This weeks Smackdown was pretty weak. The best match was easily the Usos tag match. Christian/Sheamus was too one sided, and nothing really stood out. None of the mic work was any good, and very few stories were developed. My high points were Big Show destroying the ring side area, the Usos match, and Daniel Bryans bit in the tag match, and those were pretty much the only things I like.
Here are some discussion questions
1) What was your favorite moment of the night?
2 Christian looked sort of lackluster tonight and Orton has a concussion. Can they replicate their OTL success at Capitol Punishment?
3) Was the questionable match finish in the 6 man tag match bad officiating or a storyline? If you think its a storyline, where do you think the Daniel Bryan/Rhodes & DiBiase feud goes from here?
4) Big Show and Del Rio got some significant airtime tonight despite the fact that they are both Raw wrestlers. Does it bother you that time that could be spent on Smackdown superstars is being spent on Raw storylines, and if you could, what would you have done in place of the Del Rio/Big Show segments?
5) Randy Ortons punt generally puts wrestlers out of action for an extended period of time. With no rumors of injury, suspension, or any reasoning for time off, do you think well see Sheamus in a non-wrestling role for weeks to come, or will he keep on wrestling?
This is a thread to recap the events of Smackdown and discuss the events of Smackdown. Beneath my time breakdown of Smackdown are a few discussion questions about the show, should you care to answer them. I plan on doing this weekly, and they will all be in this thread.
8:00- We open with a Christian vignette. Hes going to be a damn good heel, I think much better than his heel run towards the end of his first WWE run. Jeeze the WWE can put together a good video package.
8:03- Randys out, sounds like hes being universally accepted by the arena, though a Peep or two manage to get a boo heard.
8:04- HOLY SHIT! ITS HULK HOGAN! Oh wait, its just a guy dressed as Hulk Hogan in the audience.
8:05- Seeing Orton work a crowd this way is odd. Trying to pump them up by throwing his hands in the air and posturing for them it doesnt quite fit in my opinion. The fans dont seem to care. They also dont seem to mind his horrible beard.
8:07- Teddy Long comes out as Randy talks about how he wants to beat down Christian tonight like thats gonna happen. Teddy says he still hasnt gotten the medical clearance for Orton, so hes not gonna wrestle tonight. Christian comes out to give his two cents. Christian has the perfect heel smirk. Christian does another audience poll, which is quite funny.
8:10- Sheamus is in the house, and hes insulting everyone! Hes not getting much of a crowd reaction, but hes doing a hell of a job working the mic. Christian calls Sheamus strawberry shortcake, and it becomes obvious that theyre going to have to wrestle each other.
Heel vs. Heel main events are not my favorite. Jericho and Edge had one on Smackdown a year or two ago, and it was awful, just each man trying to out cheat the other, and the audience didnt know who to root for. Still, Christian will probably be the face as he doesnt have the heel track record that Sheamus does, at least as of late.
8:14- Cole says its unfair to put Christian in a match just two days before his title shot, and it is! It seems like Christian never gets the proper rest before his title matches. What worse, if he loses hell be worn down AND have another competitor to worry about.
They announce a 6 man tag match with Zeke, Bryan, and Sin Cara vs. Barrett, Rhodes, and DiBiase. Something tells me we might get two Capitol Punishment matches out of this match, and that might be ALL we get. 6 man tag matches generally suck, though last weeks was pretty good.
8:18- It sounds like Zeke outpopped Cara and Bryan. I like Zeke just fine, but over Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara? Come on now. Codys bag men are so emotionless, its perfect! They should start wearing some sort of mask too, Phantom of the Opera style or something.
8:20- Apparently DiBiase was the jerk of the month. The bigger story, though, is that BOOKER T IS ON TWITTER! MUST FOLLOW! Can you dig that, suckas?
8:26- Best overall wrestler in this match? Easily Cody Rhodes. He makes Sin Cara look phenomenal, and then takes control, exhibits his mean streak, and then Flare Kicks Sin Cara. Hes on fire right now.
8:29- Sin Cara does some signature botches, and then tags Daniel Bryan in! He heats the audience up within seconds, and starts to kick some heads in. He pins DiBiase after a VERY questionable three count, and everyone in the arena, including the wrestlers, seem very confused.
8:31- Sheamus cutting a promo backstage with Mr. Striker. Hes kinda goofy sometimes.
8:35- DiBiase CLEARLY got it up at two. I hope this is part of the storyline.
8:37- Well, Jinder Mahal appears to be about Kozlovs size, just much much slimmer. I like Jinder, but hes not very fluid in the ring yet, its kind of like he just puts move after move without any flow.
8:40- Jinder Mahal gets another win, and the mystique continues to grow. Im vey interested to see what the WWE has planned for him. My guess is hell never get above the midcard, but what do I know.
8:45- Big Show is on Smackdown to talk to Josh. He tells us that he thinks Del Rio is in the house, so it looks like Big Show is going Mexican hunting. Other than that, Big Show is not very talkative. Josh Matthews looks scared for his life.
8:49- Teddy Long tells Show that he cant fight Del Rio because criminal and civil charges are being contemplated. I love the WWE, but this is a little ridiculous. The audience cheers when Teddy Says he could lose his job, but then sends his former client, Mark Henry, to wrestle Big Show. This should be a match of the year candidate
8:55- Big Show appears to have knocked Henry out cold. Big Show puts his hood up and walks away from the ring like a boss. They bring out a tiny little stretcher to take Mark Henry away on.
8:57- Booker T says he never thought hed see Mark Henry carried out on a stretcher. Rep for anyone who can find another example of Henry being wheeled out on a stretcher.
8:59- Christian just had a forgettable interview with Matt Striker, and now we have divas. Natty is wrestling! Color me a happy man.
9:01- Natalya is SO good. Tamina is not. Natalya countered a leg lock into a SWEET Sharpshooter. Rosa makes the save, and a short scuffle later, Tamina counters a crucifix attempt by AJ into a Samoan Drop. Not bad for a divas match.
9:07- Johnny Curtis is here with a fresh batch of word play. Hes playing put put, and bends down to pick up an ace in the hole. Oy vey.
9:10- Another horrible Capitol Punishment video package played. I counted 12 Obama tie changes.
9:15- Nobody likes a bully VINCE!
9:16- The Usos come out to heel heat despite assisting Big Zeke last week. Their opponents are Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater NOT of the Corre. They come out to an even bigger heel reaction. One of the Usos starts popping and locking, but they get CRICKETS.
9:19- For those of you keeping score at home, Jay has a tattoo on his chest, and Jimmy does not or does Jimmy have the tattoo, and Jay does not
9:20- The Usos pick up the victory after an EXTREMELY impressive match. Seriously, they might have put on the best show of the night. Consider me a fan.
9:24- A John Cena/R-Truth video package wraps up. Its crazy how the name Jimmy has carried R-Truth from midcard hell to main eventing a PPV.
9:30- Heres Alberto Del Rio, and he STILL claims that its his destiny to be the next WWE Champion. Im so tired of this guy.
9:35- Del Rio has spend five minutes telling us that Ricardo Rodriguez has a family and is a good man. Booooooooooooring. Big Show comes out to make the save.
9:37- Holy CRAP! Big Show is missing shit UP. Hes going Nexus on ringside, except worse. The ring ropes are all messed up, the announce table is down, he even ripped the security barrier right out of the ground. I would be terrified if I were Del Rio, Big Show is NUTS. Theyre going to have to make some serious ring repairs if they want to have Christian vs. Sheamus.
9:44- It was actually Del Rio that broke the ring rope when he went sliding out of the ring. Very interesting.
9:46- Christian comes out to a mediocre reaction, as does Sheamus. A kid in the audience holds up a sign that says, Christian needs to be RKO. Your sign is grammatically incorrect, IDIOT.
9:48- Doesnt look like well be getting the same type of main event we got last week. Only 12 minutes until we go off the air, and Im sure there will be some room for posturing at the shows end.
9:52- 6 minutes into the match and Christian is just starting to get control for the first time. The audience seems to have no idea who to root for. Sheamus is already back in control after Christian gets about 20 seconds of offense.
9:54- Sheamus is putting Christian to shame tonight. Christian has done nothing to impress me yet, and Sheamus has looked strong throughout the entire match. It might be because he hasnt gotten the chance to use much offense, but Sheamus just looks very good, and Christian looks to be having an off night.
9:56- Christian calls for the spear! But Sheamus counters it with a Polish Hammer.
The Broughkick makes for so many interesting counters, its really a great finishing move for many reasons, that being one of them.
9:57- Finally Christian comes out of his shell and does a sort of hot shot where he pulls Sheamus face onto the steel pole! Absolutely vicious! He gets the win with that. No sooner does the ref count to three than Orton runs into the ring to attempt to assault Christian, but Christian runs away.
9:58- Orton teases punting Sheamus and he does. I sincerely hope this doesnt mean Sheamus is going to be going anywhere, because he, Christian, and Cody Rhodes would make a hell of a heel trio.
This weeks Smackdown was pretty weak. The best match was easily the Usos tag match. Christian/Sheamus was too one sided, and nothing really stood out. None of the mic work was any good, and very few stories were developed. My high points were Big Show destroying the ring side area, the Usos match, and Daniel Bryans bit in the tag match, and those were pretty much the only things I like.
Here are some discussion questions
1) What was your favorite moment of the night?
2 Christian looked sort of lackluster tonight and Orton has a concussion. Can they replicate their OTL success at Capitol Punishment?
3) Was the questionable match finish in the 6 man tag match bad officiating or a storyline? If you think its a storyline, where do you think the Daniel Bryan/Rhodes & DiBiase feud goes from here?
4) Big Show and Del Rio got some significant airtime tonight despite the fact that they are both Raw wrestlers. Does it bother you that time that could be spent on Smackdown superstars is being spent on Raw storylines, and if you could, what would you have done in place of the Del Rio/Big Show segments?
5) Randy Ortons punt generally puts wrestlers out of action for an extended period of time. With no rumors of injury, suspension, or any reasoning for time off, do you think well see Sheamus in a non-wrestling role for weeks to come, or will he keep on wrestling?
