Spoilers follow for the March 26th episode of Smackdown.
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It the final show before WrestleMania! And John Cena is advertised for Smackdown! But first, a little rant. Here in Canada, we typically get Smackdown on Wednesday nights now that it's made the jump to Thursdays in America. Why? Some hockey thing; I don't know. Anyway, this week we got it on Thursday, probably because of hockey. That's fine. But the network advertised it as a "special live Smackdown," much like the very first Thursday show. Please. Don't insult our intelligence. Smackdown was taped on Monday, for crying out loud.
Smackdown opens with the Usos coming down to the ring, accompanied by Naomi. We're doing a fatal four-way match with one man of each of the four major tag teams in the match.
Jimmy Uso (with Jey Uso and Naomi) vs. Big E (with Xavier Woods) vs. Fernando (with Diego and El Torito) vs. Cesaro (with Tyson Kidd and Natalya)
This is a fast-paced match with a good number of fun spots. That's what you want from it, given that its goal is to get us excited for the match at WrestleMania. It's only given one segment, but it's lots of fun. Everyone comes out looking okay. Jimmy Uso wins with a splash to Cesaro.
Match Rating: ***
Renee Young and Byron Saxton are hosting a "WrestleMania Axxess" panel. Why? Because of reasons, I guess. They talk about WWE re-signing Brock Lesnar, showing a clip from SportsCentre, which is where Lesnar announced his re-signing. Then we get a video package about the Heavyweight Championship and its current feud, which is just so mediocre. The feud, not the video package. WWE does a great job with these things.
We come back from commercial still focused on Young and Saxton. They hype the WWE Network. Next video package is about the Intercontinental Championship and its match that's coming up on Sunday. Young and Saxton then hype it a bit, too, before moving on to the Bellas vs. Paige/AJ feud. That's the whole segment.
Following the next commercial break, we get a video package highlighting John Cena and Rusev's feud. Once again, this is an entire segment. After that commercial break, it's a video package for Randy Orton and Seth Rollins' feud.
Finally, we get a second segment containing actual wrestlers. Well, Divas. AJ Lee comes down to the ring. She and Paige had a little spat on Raw, but they work it out here -- which must have been funny for the live crowd, given that it was filmed on Monday, after they'd just fought with each other.
You know, it's nice to see Divas getting time on the mic. AJ is really good at it, Paige is okay, Nikki Bella is okay, and Brie Bella ... really doesn't need to talk. Ever. But at least she's been given a fair shot at it, unlike most of the Divas roster.
AJ and Paige are the first two out. They won't let the Bellas win at WrestleMania. That brings out the Bellas. Nikki gets to talk first, which is good, but then Brie starts talking and it becomes painful to listen to. Nikki has a fun dig at AJ about how much time she takes time off. The Bellas are so much better as heels. Well, Nikki is. Remember when they were feuding? That was fun.
More of the Young/Saxton thing happens, followed with more video packages. We hype Sting/Triple H, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and Wyatt/Undertaker. I think that's all of them. This is just a "play video packages" show, really.
Finally, we get a second match, which is the much-hyped 8-man tag team match for the main event.
John Cena, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, Big Show, Kane, and Bray Wyatt (with J&J Security)
I feel like this match exists just for WWE to show us and say "See, Roman Reigns is totally in the ring for large portions of tag team matches!" Reigns starts the match and does, indeed, spend a sizable chunk in the ring. In fact, for a really good amount of time, only he and Henry wind up in the ring. I think Cena and Bryan only actually get tagged in once each, and they're both near the end.
Reigns has definitely improved in the ring, and I don't have a lot of problem with him being the most prominently featured Superstar in this match. The more work he gets, the better.
This is a long match. It opens pretty slowly, which is too bad, and it kind of stays at that pace throughout. These are all big -- either literally or figuratively -- stars, and there's no way they'd risk an injury on the final show before the biggest PPV of the year. The slow pace and low-risk style makes sense.
Bryan eventually gets in and, after the chaos one expects near the end of these types of matches, hits the running knee on Big Show to pick up the win. Cena and Reigns were both illegally in the ring for more than five seconds, but whatever. This was a disappointing match, but you shouldn't have expected much.
Match Rating: **
The babyfaces celebrate in the ring to close out the final show before WrestleMania.
The Good: Fatal Four-Way Match.
The Bad: Two wrestling matches in a two-hour wrestling show.
Match of the Night: Fatal Four-Way Match.
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http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/smackd10.png
It the final show before WrestleMania! And John Cena is advertised for Smackdown! But first, a little rant. Here in Canada, we typically get Smackdown on Wednesday nights now that it's made the jump to Thursdays in America. Why? Some hockey thing; I don't know. Anyway, this week we got it on Thursday, probably because of hockey. That's fine. But the network advertised it as a "special live Smackdown," much like the very first Thursday show. Please. Don't insult our intelligence. Smackdown was taped on Monday, for crying out loud.
Smackdown opens with the Usos coming down to the ring, accompanied by Naomi. We're doing a fatal four-way match with one man of each of the four major tag teams in the match.
Jimmy Uso (with Jey Uso and Naomi) vs. Big E (with Xavier Woods) vs. Fernando (with Diego and El Torito) vs. Cesaro (with Tyson Kidd and Natalya)
This is a fast-paced match with a good number of fun spots. That's what you want from it, given that its goal is to get us excited for the match at WrestleMania. It's only given one segment, but it's lots of fun. Everyone comes out looking okay. Jimmy Uso wins with a splash to Cesaro.
Match Rating: ***
Renee Young and Byron Saxton are hosting a "WrestleMania Axxess" panel. Why? Because of reasons, I guess. They talk about WWE re-signing Brock Lesnar, showing a clip from SportsCentre, which is where Lesnar announced his re-signing. Then we get a video package about the Heavyweight Championship and its current feud, which is just so mediocre. The feud, not the video package. WWE does a great job with these things.
We come back from commercial still focused on Young and Saxton. They hype the WWE Network. Next video package is about the Intercontinental Championship and its match that's coming up on Sunday. Young and Saxton then hype it a bit, too, before moving on to the Bellas vs. Paige/AJ feud. That's the whole segment.
Following the next commercial break, we get a video package highlighting John Cena and Rusev's feud. Once again, this is an entire segment. After that commercial break, it's a video package for Randy Orton and Seth Rollins' feud.
Finally, we get a second segment containing actual wrestlers. Well, Divas. AJ Lee comes down to the ring. She and Paige had a little spat on Raw, but they work it out here -- which must have been funny for the live crowd, given that it was filmed on Monday, after they'd just fought with each other.
You know, it's nice to see Divas getting time on the mic. AJ is really good at it, Paige is okay, Nikki Bella is okay, and Brie Bella ... really doesn't need to talk. Ever. But at least she's been given a fair shot at it, unlike most of the Divas roster.
AJ and Paige are the first two out. They won't let the Bellas win at WrestleMania. That brings out the Bellas. Nikki gets to talk first, which is good, but then Brie starts talking and it becomes painful to listen to. Nikki has a fun dig at AJ about how much time she takes time off. The Bellas are so much better as heels. Well, Nikki is. Remember when they were feuding? That was fun.
More of the Young/Saxton thing happens, followed with more video packages. We hype Sting/Triple H, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and Wyatt/Undertaker. I think that's all of them. This is just a "play video packages" show, really.
Finally, we get a second match, which is the much-hyped 8-man tag team match for the main event.
John Cena, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, Big Show, Kane, and Bray Wyatt (with J&J Security)
I feel like this match exists just for WWE to show us and say "See, Roman Reigns is totally in the ring for large portions of tag team matches!" Reigns starts the match and does, indeed, spend a sizable chunk in the ring. In fact, for a really good amount of time, only he and Henry wind up in the ring. I think Cena and Bryan only actually get tagged in once each, and they're both near the end.
Reigns has definitely improved in the ring, and I don't have a lot of problem with him being the most prominently featured Superstar in this match. The more work he gets, the better.
This is a long match. It opens pretty slowly, which is too bad, and it kind of stays at that pace throughout. These are all big -- either literally or figuratively -- stars, and there's no way they'd risk an injury on the final show before the biggest PPV of the year. The slow pace and low-risk style makes sense.
Bryan eventually gets in and, after the chaos one expects near the end of these types of matches, hits the running knee on Big Show to pick up the win. Cena and Reigns were both illegally in the ring for more than five seconds, but whatever. This was a disappointing match, but you shouldn't have expected much.
Match Rating: **
The babyfaces celebrate in the ring to close out the final show before WrestleMania.
The Good: Fatal Four-Way Match.
The Bad: Two wrestling matches in a two-hour wrestling show.
Match of the Night: Fatal Four-Way Match.
<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.
