Spoilers follow for the April 18th episode of Smackdown.
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It seems like every second show that Triple H comes out to cut a promo to open up a WWE show. That's fine with me -- Triple H is one of the top heels even without working more than a few matches a year -- but it also needs to add something. On this week's Smackdown, it doesn't add much. It's basically just a recap of Raw, and the announcement that Evolution will face The Shield at Extreme Rules, which should surprise absolutely nobody.
Stephanie helps Triple H cut better promos, but she's not here this time. He does fine without her, although the addition of a McMahon is rarely a bad thing -- as long as it's left to promo, and not in-ring, work.
Alberto Del Rio vs Big E
During Big E's entrance, we get a split screen segment in which he talks about the Intercontinental Championship and the current tournament to determine its new #1 contender. This is a reminder of why Big E shouldn't cut promos of any sort. He and Del Rio actually have a pretty solid match here, and I'll take it as a consolation prize. I hoped Del Rio would become the new #1 contender, but Rob Van Dam eliminated him from the tournament on Raw earlier in the week. They could have had an even better match in a PPV environment, but this will do. The ending almost looked botched, as Del Rio broke his cross armbreaker right after the referee's five count, giving Big E the win in what seemed a bit early. Del Rio then beat up Big E for a few seconds before being countered and slammed to the mat. Big E should have won clean to re-establish himself as a strong champion; the DQ doesn't do that as well, and the after-match slam doesn't, either.
Paul Heyman comes out after the match and cuts a lackluster -- by his standards -- promo about how Brock Lesnar beat the streak. He repeats it about a dozen times, maybe more, before leaving. I guess WWE thinks we need to be reminded that the streak is broken to maintain Lesnar as "The Beast," but nobody's going to forget about that any time soon.
Paige vs Aksana
Paige does the impossible in this match and made Aksana look less than terrible in the ring. And given that Aksana has to perform most of the offense -- for some reason we're booking Paige as the underdog in each match -- that's an impressive feat. This is a more balanced match than Paige's last, and we actually see her start to build some mid-match momentum, instead of the late-game two-moves-and-a-victory thing she's done since being called up. Anyway, this is a decent enough match, given that one of the competitors is Aksana. It's short, had a couple of decent moments, and Paige wins with her submission move, because Paige isn't going to lose any time soon.
I'm still waiting for an in-kayfabe reason as to why we haven't seen AJ Lee, someone who loved her championship, since her defeat. We've had no explanation and it doesn't make any sense. (In real life, AJ asked for some time off, which might even explain the hasty call-up of Paige and the quick loss of the championship.)
Hornswoggle (with 3MB) vs. El Torito (with Los Matadores)
For no reason at all, on Main Event, Hornswoggle decided to join 3MB. Yes, even with WWE's Leprechaun movie coming out at some point in the near future. This won't be a lasting team. Anyway, Hornswoggle and El Torito found one another as enemies on Main Event, so now they get a match on Smackdown.
The match is better than you'd expect, I suppose. But what do you expect? The commentators tried to sell it -- either seriously or jokingly -- and the performers had a couple of great spots, but this is a joke, right? The finale was fantastic, as El Torito hit a top-rope moonsault (the "bullsault"), and ... that's that. There's nothing more to say.
Well, there is a bit more. Bad News Barrett comes out next and says that anyone who was legitimately into that atrocity is an idiot, and by doing so cements himself as one of my favorite characters.
R-Truth (with Xavier Woods) vs. Alexander Rusev (with Lana)
Here's your weekly (or second-time-this-week) Alexander Rusev squash match. The competition is carried over from Raw, during which Rusev beat up Woods and when Truth came to Woods' defense, Truth was also beat up. The opposite happens this time, although Truth at least gets a couple of shots of offense in. He even gets the first pinfall on Rusev since his call-up, which doesn't even last a split second. Rusev eventually locks in his camel clutch, The Accolade, and for the first time we've seen, it doesn't get an immediate submission. This time, it takes a couple of seconds for Truth to tap out. This is how it should be. At least let Rusev lock it in before the jobber of the day taps.
Santino Marella (with Emma) vs. Fandango (with Layla)
Our "Rivalry Mode" match. Since we're still doing this -- for no reason at all, really -- Santino and Fandango fight for a couple of minutes before Santino gets a sunset flip pin on Fandango for the clean victory. I guess that's how far Fandango has fallen. Can we quit this "feud" now?
Batista vs. Sheamus
When these two competitors get in the ring, you can expect a physical bout with very little technical precision. That's exactly what you get here. This match happens because Sheamus was upset that Batista beat him up a couple of weeks ago, and he wants revenge. This is a back-and-forth battle filled primarily with strikes and tosses. However, its winner is never in doubt. Sheamus is going nowhere, while Batista is going to be in one of the biggest matches at Extreme Rules. It's no surprise when Batista hits his Batista Bomb, which I've noticed gets no setup at all lately. No more thumbs down. It's too bad.
The Good: Bad News Barrett's short promo. Paige somehow making Aksana look competent in the ring. El Torito's "bullsault." R-Truth not immediately tapping to The Accolade.
The Bad: Santino/Fandango feud. Big E's mic work. Most of Hornswoggle vs. El Torito.
Match of the Night: Alberto Del Rio vs. Big E.
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http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/smackd10.png
It seems like every second show that Triple H comes out to cut a promo to open up a WWE show. That's fine with me -- Triple H is one of the top heels even without working more than a few matches a year -- but it also needs to add something. On this week's Smackdown, it doesn't add much. It's basically just a recap of Raw, and the announcement that Evolution will face The Shield at Extreme Rules, which should surprise absolutely nobody.
Stephanie helps Triple H cut better promos, but she's not here this time. He does fine without her, although the addition of a McMahon is rarely a bad thing -- as long as it's left to promo, and not in-ring, work.
Alberto Del Rio vs Big E
During Big E's entrance, we get a split screen segment in which he talks about the Intercontinental Championship and the current tournament to determine its new #1 contender. This is a reminder of why Big E shouldn't cut promos of any sort. He and Del Rio actually have a pretty solid match here, and I'll take it as a consolation prize. I hoped Del Rio would become the new #1 contender, but Rob Van Dam eliminated him from the tournament on Raw earlier in the week. They could have had an even better match in a PPV environment, but this will do. The ending almost looked botched, as Del Rio broke his cross armbreaker right after the referee's five count, giving Big E the win in what seemed a bit early. Del Rio then beat up Big E for a few seconds before being countered and slammed to the mat. Big E should have won clean to re-establish himself as a strong champion; the DQ doesn't do that as well, and the after-match slam doesn't, either.
Paul Heyman comes out after the match and cuts a lackluster -- by his standards -- promo about how Brock Lesnar beat the streak. He repeats it about a dozen times, maybe more, before leaving. I guess WWE thinks we need to be reminded that the streak is broken to maintain Lesnar as "The Beast," but nobody's going to forget about that any time soon.
Paige vs Aksana
Paige does the impossible in this match and made Aksana look less than terrible in the ring. And given that Aksana has to perform most of the offense -- for some reason we're booking Paige as the underdog in each match -- that's an impressive feat. This is a more balanced match than Paige's last, and we actually see her start to build some mid-match momentum, instead of the late-game two-moves-and-a-victory thing she's done since being called up. Anyway, this is a decent enough match, given that one of the competitors is Aksana. It's short, had a couple of decent moments, and Paige wins with her submission move, because Paige isn't going to lose any time soon.
I'm still waiting for an in-kayfabe reason as to why we haven't seen AJ Lee, someone who loved her championship, since her defeat. We've had no explanation and it doesn't make any sense. (In real life, AJ asked for some time off, which might even explain the hasty call-up of Paige and the quick loss of the championship.)
Hornswoggle (with 3MB) vs. El Torito (with Los Matadores)
For no reason at all, on Main Event, Hornswoggle decided to join 3MB. Yes, even with WWE's Leprechaun movie coming out at some point in the near future. This won't be a lasting team. Anyway, Hornswoggle and El Torito found one another as enemies on Main Event, so now they get a match on Smackdown.
The match is better than you'd expect, I suppose. But what do you expect? The commentators tried to sell it -- either seriously or jokingly -- and the performers had a couple of great spots, but this is a joke, right? The finale was fantastic, as El Torito hit a top-rope moonsault (the "bullsault"), and ... that's that. There's nothing more to say.
Well, there is a bit more. Bad News Barrett comes out next and says that anyone who was legitimately into that atrocity is an idiot, and by doing so cements himself as one of my favorite characters.
R-Truth (with Xavier Woods) vs. Alexander Rusev (with Lana)
Here's your weekly (or second-time-this-week) Alexander Rusev squash match. The competition is carried over from Raw, during which Rusev beat up Woods and when Truth came to Woods' defense, Truth was also beat up. The opposite happens this time, although Truth at least gets a couple of shots of offense in. He even gets the first pinfall on Rusev since his call-up, which doesn't even last a split second. Rusev eventually locks in his camel clutch, The Accolade, and for the first time we've seen, it doesn't get an immediate submission. This time, it takes a couple of seconds for Truth to tap out. This is how it should be. At least let Rusev lock it in before the jobber of the day taps.
Santino Marella (with Emma) vs. Fandango (with Layla)
Our "Rivalry Mode" match. Since we're still doing this -- for no reason at all, really -- Santino and Fandango fight for a couple of minutes before Santino gets a sunset flip pin on Fandango for the clean victory. I guess that's how far Fandango has fallen. Can we quit this "feud" now?
Batista vs. Sheamus
When these two competitors get in the ring, you can expect a physical bout with very little technical precision. That's exactly what you get here. This match happens because Sheamus was upset that Batista beat him up a couple of weeks ago, and he wants revenge. This is a back-and-forth battle filled primarily with strikes and tosses. However, its winner is never in doubt. Sheamus is going nowhere, while Batista is going to be in one of the biggest matches at Extreme Rules. It's no surprise when Batista hits his Batista Bomb, which I've noticed gets no setup at all lately. No more thumbs down. It's too bad.
The Good: Bad News Barrett's short promo. Paige somehow making Aksana look competent in the ring. El Torito's "bullsault." R-Truth not immediately tapping to The Accolade.
The Bad: Santino/Fandango feud. Big E's mic work. Most of Hornswoggle vs. El Torito.
Match of the Night: Alberto Del Rio vs. Big E.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.
