Spoilers follow for the May 23rd episode of Smackdown.
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I'm often very critical of Smackdown because both fans and the WWE seem to view it as the secondary show, but when it doesn't disappoint, I have no problem with giving it its due praise. This week is one of the times when I have to give it its props. This was a good Smackdown, primarily because of two very solid matches, as well as a main event that was perfectly fine.
It didn't open up particularly well, however. Jimmy Hart was in the ring, and he introduced Hulk Hogan, who was supposed to be the show's host but only appeared in the opening segment. I'm surprised he's allowed to fly to the UK, honestly, with his health issues. Hogan talks about Legends House and the WWE Network -- not yet available in the UK -- before announcing that the Network will, indeed, come to the UK at some point. When? No date was announced. Here's hoping it comes to Canada soon, too, as well as wherever you, the reader, lives, obviously.
<color=red>No DQ Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Batista
A rematch from last week's Smackdown, but with the added stipulation that there will be no disqualifications (or countouts), Batista and Dolph Ziggler do a great job of entertaining in our opening match. A couple of big spots, great use of the announcer's table and the barricades, and a showing of aggression from both parties gave us a very good match. If Dolph Ziggler and Batista become a true feud, I would be perfectly okay with that. It's interesting how Batista can have a secondary feud even with how important the Shield/Evolution rivalry is, even though Triple H and Randy Orton cannot.
Anyway, Batista wins after Ziggler missed a high-risk spot and Batista followed up with a spear. He then beat up Ziggler some more after the bell rang.
Match Rating: ***1/2
<color=red>Special Referee (Summer Rae) <color=red>Match: Eva Marie and Nikki Bella vs. The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi)
Nobody cares about this. Nobody. Well, probably nobody. Maybe the Total Divas watchers out there. Why isn't Layla in the match to continue the Summer Rae/Layla feud? Whatever. It seemed like the point to me was to show up Eva Marie, who disappointed in last week's Special Referee match. Summer Rae refused to count for the Marie/Bella team, but the second The Funkadactyls got a pin, it was a quick three count. The Funkadactyls win, Summer Rae runs away from the ring, and everyone looked around, confused and/or frustrated. The match actually wasn't bad until the quick finish; even Eva Marie looked okay in the ten seconds she spent in the ring.
Match Rating: **
Bo Dallas vs. Sin Cara
Bo Dallas is re-debuting on Smackdown. He's not important enough for Raw, apparently. He cuts a quick promo before the match and then dominates Sin Cara in a fast match that wasn't particularly interesting, even though he showed some technical prowess. He picked up the victory with the Stratisfaction -- err, I mean the "springboard bulldog."
After the match he shakes Sin Cara's hand and says that if the luchador bolieves, he might one day succeed. Bo Dallas is playing an incredibly cheesy heel, but it could work out well for him.
Match Rating: **1/2
Out next is Bray Wyatt, whose resemblance to Bo Dallas (they're real-life brothers) is noticeable after just seeing the younger brother. Perhaps we shouldn't follow one up with the other, huh, WWE? Wyatt cuts a promo about how he's a necessary evil, and John Cena's poisoning our children, and basically saying nothing he hasn't said already in the last couple of months. But he delivers it with such conviction and with such great charisma. Please let him do something else soon.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus
Cesaro and Paul Heyman are on commentary, which gives us two things: (1) Paul Heyman's client, Brock Lesnar, conquered etc., and (2) Cesaro refused to answer Michael Cole's questions in English, which was kind of funny. Cesaro speaks five languages, you see.
The disappointing thing was that this commentary distracted from what was a physical, back and forth match. Alberto Del Rio is usually good for a strong match, and he and Sheamus work really well together. Sheamus has looked better in recent weeks, too, which helps. After a lengthy bout, Cesaro interferes and gives Del Rio the DQ victory. Cesaro then hits Sheamus with the Neutralizer outside the ring. So, we're doing Cesaro/Sheamus for the United States Championship at Payback? Fine by me.
Match Rating: ***
Vickie Guerrero is in the ring next, telling us that she knows how to party. Adam Rose and his Rosebuds come out. Vickie is a lemon. She and Rose don't see eye to eye. She falls off the apron and is caught by the Rosebuds. I'm bored.
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso, with John Cena) vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan (with Bray Wyatt)
The two non-Wyatt members of the Wyatt Family seem poised to take on the Usos for the Tag Team Championships at some point in the near future. If this was a preview of that, it was slightly disappointing, if only because we've seen better from all parties. Harper and Rowan seem to only want to pull out all the stops against the biggest of names, while the Usos haven't done too much at all in recent months. The match starts out really slow, but eventually picks up into something worth seeing near the end, especially once a fresh Uso tags in and starts flying every which way. That's more like it. Sadly, a Wyatt interference ends the match just as it was getting good. Cena then runs in and delivers an AA to Rowan to send the show off the air.
Match Rating: **1/2
If this is the type of Smackdown we could see every week, it would be worth tuning in for. Unfortunately, it was probably just this good because it was in the UK, and the WWE likes to put on a good show for the UK crowd.
The Good: Batista/Ziggler. Del Rio/Sheamus. No more Bo Dallas vignettes.
The Bad: Poor finishes to otherwise solid matches. Vickie/Rose segment. Hulk Hogan's shameless advertisement of a Network not even in the place he's advertising it.
Match of the Night: Batista vs. Dolph Ziggler.
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http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/smackd10.png
I'm often very critical of Smackdown because both fans and the WWE seem to view it as the secondary show, but when it doesn't disappoint, I have no problem with giving it its due praise. This week is one of the times when I have to give it its props. This was a good Smackdown, primarily because of two very solid matches, as well as a main event that was perfectly fine.
It didn't open up particularly well, however. Jimmy Hart was in the ring, and he introduced Hulk Hogan, who was supposed to be the show's host but only appeared in the opening segment. I'm surprised he's allowed to fly to the UK, honestly, with his health issues. Hogan talks about Legends House and the WWE Network -- not yet available in the UK -- before announcing that the Network will, indeed, come to the UK at some point. When? No date was announced. Here's hoping it comes to Canada soon, too, as well as wherever you, the reader, lives, obviously.
<color=red>No DQ Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Batista
A rematch from last week's Smackdown, but with the added stipulation that there will be no disqualifications (or countouts), Batista and Dolph Ziggler do a great job of entertaining in our opening match. A couple of big spots, great use of the announcer's table and the barricades, and a showing of aggression from both parties gave us a very good match. If Dolph Ziggler and Batista become a true feud, I would be perfectly okay with that. It's interesting how Batista can have a secondary feud even with how important the Shield/Evolution rivalry is, even though Triple H and Randy Orton cannot.
Anyway, Batista wins after Ziggler missed a high-risk spot and Batista followed up with a spear. He then beat up Ziggler some more after the bell rang.
Match Rating: ***1/2
<color=red>Special Referee (Summer Rae) <color=red>Match: Eva Marie and Nikki Bella vs. The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi)
Nobody cares about this. Nobody. Well, probably nobody. Maybe the Total Divas watchers out there. Why isn't Layla in the match to continue the Summer Rae/Layla feud? Whatever. It seemed like the point to me was to show up Eva Marie, who disappointed in last week's Special Referee match. Summer Rae refused to count for the Marie/Bella team, but the second The Funkadactyls got a pin, it was a quick three count. The Funkadactyls win, Summer Rae runs away from the ring, and everyone looked around, confused and/or frustrated. The match actually wasn't bad until the quick finish; even Eva Marie looked okay in the ten seconds she spent in the ring.
Match Rating: **
Bo Dallas vs. Sin Cara
Bo Dallas is re-debuting on Smackdown. He's not important enough for Raw, apparently. He cuts a quick promo before the match and then dominates Sin Cara in a fast match that wasn't particularly interesting, even though he showed some technical prowess. He picked up the victory with the Stratisfaction -- err, I mean the "springboard bulldog."
After the match he shakes Sin Cara's hand and says that if the luchador bolieves, he might one day succeed. Bo Dallas is playing an incredibly cheesy heel, but it could work out well for him.
Match Rating: **1/2
Out next is Bray Wyatt, whose resemblance to Bo Dallas (they're real-life brothers) is noticeable after just seeing the younger brother. Perhaps we shouldn't follow one up with the other, huh, WWE? Wyatt cuts a promo about how he's a necessary evil, and John Cena's poisoning our children, and basically saying nothing he hasn't said already in the last couple of months. But he delivers it with such conviction and with such great charisma. Please let him do something else soon.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus
Cesaro and Paul Heyman are on commentary, which gives us two things: (1) Paul Heyman's client, Brock Lesnar, conquered etc., and (2) Cesaro refused to answer Michael Cole's questions in English, which was kind of funny. Cesaro speaks five languages, you see.
The disappointing thing was that this commentary distracted from what was a physical, back and forth match. Alberto Del Rio is usually good for a strong match, and he and Sheamus work really well together. Sheamus has looked better in recent weeks, too, which helps. After a lengthy bout, Cesaro interferes and gives Del Rio the DQ victory. Cesaro then hits Sheamus with the Neutralizer outside the ring. So, we're doing Cesaro/Sheamus for the United States Championship at Payback? Fine by me.
Match Rating: ***
Vickie Guerrero is in the ring next, telling us that she knows how to party. Adam Rose and his Rosebuds come out. Vickie is a lemon. She and Rose don't see eye to eye. She falls off the apron and is caught by the Rosebuds. I'm bored.
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso, with John Cena) vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan (with Bray Wyatt)
The two non-Wyatt members of the Wyatt Family seem poised to take on the Usos for the Tag Team Championships at some point in the near future. If this was a preview of that, it was slightly disappointing, if only because we've seen better from all parties. Harper and Rowan seem to only want to pull out all the stops against the biggest of names, while the Usos haven't done too much at all in recent months. The match starts out really slow, but eventually picks up into something worth seeing near the end, especially once a fresh Uso tags in and starts flying every which way. That's more like it. Sadly, a Wyatt interference ends the match just as it was getting good. Cena then runs in and delivers an AA to Rowan to send the show off the air.
Match Rating: **1/2
If this is the type of Smackdown we could see every week, it would be worth tuning in for. Unfortunately, it was probably just this good because it was in the UK, and the WWE likes to put on a good show for the UK crowd.
The Good: Batista/Ziggler. Del Rio/Sheamus. No more Bo Dallas vignettes.
The Bad: Poor finishes to otherwise solid matches. Vickie/Rose segment. Hulk Hogan's shameless advertisement of a Network not even in the place he's advertising it.
Match of the Night: Batista vs. Dolph Ziggler.
<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.