Hello everyone this is the Big Red Review covering Smackdown tonight. I rarely do this but when the show is on Tuesday, I'm usually free to do this. They should seriously consider putting Smackdown on Tuesdays already because it mean better ratings and much improved vibe. Anyway I'm not going to go on a tangent here about that because it won't happen anytime soon.
Preview
Tonight will be a regular show but expect more Raw stars on the show. The big advertised match is a champion versus champion match between Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk. This match just happened a few weeks ago and it was a four star match which you would expect coming from the top workers of the company. This should be another fine match and it's going to be incredible to watch it. People may complain about the lack of build up but I'm all for it. Other things that will likely be mentioned is the possible takeover from John Laurinaitis as the GM of Smackdown. The other thing that i'm expecting to be featured tonight will be the huge injury revolving Wade Barrett. Wade dislocated his elbow and will be out for at least six weeks likely costing him a chance to compete at Mania. I'm very unhappy about it because Big Show was reckless and I'll probably give him some grief about it tonight. I'll always respect The Big Show for being a very good entertainer for his size and very reliable, but last night was very reckless. He clearly overthrew Dolph and it cost another man's spot on the biggest stage of them all. I'm sure Wade is going to rehab as fast as possible because he didn't rule out that he was out for Mania on Twitter. If Wade returns, he's a strong contender for the MITB match if he gets a chance although my pick would be Dolph Ziggler. Anyway the show is about to begin so let's get it going!
Smackdown is being held in Rockford, Illinois. I'm not sure what Rockford is but I do know what Illinois is. It's the state where our great champion CM Punk was born. CM Punk is featured tonight so he'll get his exposure and love later because like most of you know, I'm a mega Punk fan. Instead let's give thanks to another guy that I love dearly. His name is Colt Cabana and I want to see him in the WWE someday. That's right I want to see Colt Cabana, not Scotty Goldman. Until then, I'll enjoy his Art Of Wrestling Podcasts that help me travel in the school in the morning to stay awake.
Subscribe, listen, and enjoy. Boom Boom
We open the show with the trio of Josh Matthews, Michael Cole, and Booker T. Josh is growing better as the lead guy. Booker T is becoming a legend as a commentator, while Michael Cole continues to make me want to mute my television. He has been playing that role well since 2003.
YES Daniel Bryan Promo
The show starts off with the most entertaining heel on the roster right now for me in Daniel Bryan. A.J is looking good while Bryan continues to scream "YES" (somewhat please make that a t-shirt). They recap the Chamber with the corny pictures to promote the DVD for viewers that should buy it (don't buy it, use the internet). Bryan talks about how nobody believed in him and how he's main eventing now. Apparently being one of the first matches on the card makes it the main event these days. He brings up Santino and tells everyone how he isn't the true underdog. Bryan is the true Rocky Balboa and deserves to be respected (I agree). Bryan screams out of nowhere "YO AJ, I DID IT YES YES". I laughed hard at that, Bryan is money once again tonight. CM Punk chants are loud right now which is understandable. Bryan brings up Sheamus and how Sheamus ruined his moment winning in the Chamber on Sunday. Bryan says he will do the same to Sheamus at Mania. Out of nowhere, The Miz comes out which is really interesting. People forget that Miz was the mentor of Daniel Bryan at NXT back when NXT mattered.
Miz said he was one person that believed in Bryan. He was talking up how his mentoring helped Bryan and how he knew he could do it. This is really cool to see this after Miz ripped on Bryan all this time. Miz wants to form a tag team with Daniel Bryan one day which would be epic. Can you imagine "Because I'm The Miz and I'm Awesome". Then Bryan starts screaming Yes, Unified Tag Team Champions. This needs to happen one day, please make it happen WWE. Anyway Sheamus has had enough of this love fest and interrupts Miz. He steals Miz mic like a boss and rips Bryan for being a hypocrite. He says Bryan isn't a role model, but a coward. Miz is pissed on how he gets interrupted and stealing the spotlight, which leads to Bryan slapping Sheamus then running away (what a heel). Miz takes the beating because he's the dog house and not very loved these days. Sheamus tosses him out of the ring as we go to break. This was a very good segment and it was cool to see The Miz show up out of all people.
Remember those days
The Miz vs Sheamus
We come back with this match going on. Miz is getting pounded by the Celtic Warrior with his signature punches between the ropes. Miz is getting picked apart but gets out of the way when Sheamus goes for a spear. Sheamus hit the ring post hard which leads to Miz hitting an arm bar DDT. I'm intrigued to hear the commentators bringing up how The Miz has fallen and Cole admits that he needs to get back to winning. Miz hits the signature flying close line on Sheamus near the turnbuckle. Sheamus fights back though after Miz hits a weak double axe handle off the top turnbuckle. Sheamus hits an Irish Curse after a few take downs. Sheamus goes for his new finisher (old Finlay's finisher, I'll call it Celtic Cross like it used to be) but Miz gets out of it to hit his neck breaker combination. Miz is ready to go for Skull Crushing Finale but Sheamus avoids it and goes for Brogue Kick. Miz gets out of the way and goes for a roll up but only gets a two count. That leads to Miz hitting the turnbuckle and Sheamus getting him in perfect position to hit the Celtic Cross for the win.
Winner: Sheamus
Decent match for how much time was given. Both men hit their big matches and shockingly enough Miz didn't botch for first time in a while. I'll give it a ** at best due to lack of time given.
We go backstage to see the awful story with Teddy and Askana. Askana is flirting but is interrupted by Mr. Excitement himself. Johnny Ace calls Teddy unprofessional for flirting with an employee and says he's unfit for the job. Teddy ignores it and says that his office tonight is the men's bathroom. That sounds lovely for John and his Harvard pal David. Teddy makes a few other lame jokes but you can feel that the feud is heating up.
They preview The Rock coming back to Raw next week along with recap of Cena's great promo. I can't remember Cena delivered a more authentic promo than that. Cena impressed me last night and I'll be rooting for him. I feel bad because it kind of makes me look like a hypocrite. I was one of the many screaming "Cena sucks" at the Garden for Survivor Series. I kind of regret that even though I've always respected Cena because he's a work horse. It was just the heat of the moment as they say. I still love The Rock but I'm still bitter about how it took him seven years to return and all his lame catchphrases. Boots To Asses was always lame to me along with Cena's Lady Parts. Anyway I'm excited for Monday to see if The Rock can come back to Cena. It will be tough Rocky, don't make the same jokes from 1999 movie star.
I'll be eating this great cereal until April 1st. After that I can't eat that sugary crap. I hope you appreciate it Cena!
Boom Boom Truth vs All American Show Offs
I made those names a bit but in case you are lost, the match was Kofi and R-Truth teaming with each other again versus Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler. Cole is ranting about how Kofi is giving him crap for Cole calling him Kofi Rhodes last night. I don't blame Kofi for getting at Cole like that, it was stupid of him. Swagger gets the advantage early with his mat wrestling but gets a better advantage thanks to Ziggler distraction. Swagger hits his vintage splash in the corner then tags in Ziggler. Ziggler hits an elbow drop then does a few sit ups because he's the man and is my pick to win Money In The Bank this year. Dolph loses control of Truth though and Kofi gets the hot tog. Kofi hits his usual offense of high drop kicks and chops. Kofi hits a huge cross body from the top turnbuckle where he gets so much elevation. He's about to win but Jack breaks up the cover. Truth tries to take him out but Swagger throws him to the outside. Vickie starts screaming for some reason because she fell which was dumb. Kofi close lines Swagger one the top rope which leads to the ref to get distracted. Dolph uses his thumb to hit Kofi in the eye then hits the Zig-Zag for the win.
Winner: All American Show Offs
A decent match but once again didn't get enough time. These four can really tear it up if they get the chance. I'd love to see more of them but that's what house shows are for! They get a ** at best for the lack of time, but look out for these teams. I'm not sure if Ziggler and Swagger will last but Truth- Kingston look to be a legit tag team now.
Recap of Show knocking out Henry last week. Henry sold it like a champ.
More advertising for some new show but I don't care. I'll take the time to address the CM Punk- Chris Brown feud. Punk recently posted a video responding to steroid claims from Brown that we knew were clearly false. Punk owned Brown and challenged him to fight like a man. He feels that Brown didn't suffer enough after what he did. Punk said he would make Brown feel scared and hurt like he never has before. That was awesome by Punk and it makes me love him even more although i'm not sure that's possible. I've been a Punk fan since 2008 when I got back into wrestling. We all know how awesome he is and I could go on and on but the fact is that he says what's right. I've never liked Brown or his crappy music so the more he responds, the more I laugh. You can watch the video by simply going to CMPunk's twitter account. It's really good and I would watch it. I doubt anything ever happens because Brown is so soft but this is fun. I have reasons to go argue with my female friends now!! I know a few Chris Brown fans, I'll go to their house and scream "Best In The World" now. Just kidding, I'm not that crazy. Anyway go Punk damn it!
CM Punk Is Not Impressed
Speaking of Damn quotes, we get a Ron Simmons tribute as he is the latest tribute for the Hall Of Fame. I'm a big fan of this move because Ron was awesome back in the day. I was around for his APA days and it was awesome with JBL. JBL will probably induct him which will be great because JBL is awesome. I'm happy for Ron, this was very well deserved. DAMN!
We go backstage some more and we see Santino training. He is breaking cups with the Cobra in another Rocky moment. If this is his new gimmick, I'm all for it. Anyway Heath Slater comes in like the jackass he is and flips the table over. He laughs like the doofus that he is and gets sprayed in the eye for his actions. Santino has the spitting cobra on him which is awesome. I don't care what it takes, but as long as it shuts up Heath Slater I'm all for it.
Wow I didn't expect Cole to go promote Punk vs Brown now. WWE has started to go all crazy over it which is cool. I just vented my thoughts but I had no idea WWE would promote this. I've tweeted this before and they should get Serena Deeb to fight Chris Brown. She is the former diva from Punk's Straight Edge Society and she would destroy Brown. BOOK IT either that or Cliff Compton because he's the man.
Time to die Chris!
The Great Khali vs Drew McIntyre
Mcintyre gets no entrance which makes me fear the worst. I thought he was going to get a new gimmick now as an arrogant playboy. I didn't know that meant he was still jobbing, screw you creative! How does Khali still have a job? The India market really wants to watch this guy, that's pretty awful. Drew makes an attempt to hit him but he gets chopped down. Khali hits a Punjabi Plunge as I start to cry a little inside for my boy McIntyre.
Winner: The Great Khali
This was a squash and it was beyond stupid. Please let McIntyre do something useful you idiots.
We go backstage with the jerk we know as The Big Show. No mention of Barrett's injury so far, that's not nice. Anyway Big Show says he wants to snap Cody Rhodes neck but right now he will knock out Mark Henry. Matt Striker seemed to like that idea, I sure don't. Where is my Kool Aid?
Mark Henry vs Big Show
I saw a match between these two live at Survivor Series and it was brutal. The crowd had more starting chants like Yokozuna, Sexual Chocolate, and D'Lo Brown during the match than the actual match itself. The match begins while being the twitter geek I am, I tweet #ChrisBrownSucks. Show gets all over Henry early with punches and goes for the WMD punch but Henry ducks and hits a close line. Henry starts to stomp Show down then starts trash talking in a big way. This is awesome as Henry says that he's a shot caller and that he isn't anything. I love you Mark Henry, please join color commentary one day. Maybe Punk and Henry should do that one day, it be epic. Henry continues to say he's a shot caller with more punches which has me under the impression that only Kool-Aid will be served around the backstage area. Show has enough of it and hits a kick after Henry went for a splash. Show spears the daylights out of Henry and is about to knock out Henry. All of a sudden, Cody Rhodes comes out of nowhere and starts talking. He is making fun of Show before showing a video package from 2005. It was Big Show's Wrestlemania remind which had him lose to in a sumo wrestling match. This was pretty funny to watch back in the day, but it was funny how they showed Show's dimple ass. That's not dashing damn it! Anyway Cody is awesome and this makes the feud even better. This gives Henry time to hit a body slam then a splash. He goes for the cover but only gets a two count. Henry is ready to go for the World's Strongest Slam but gets hit with the WMD punch for the win.
Winner: Big Show
A bad match like we expected but thanks to Rhodes video package and Henry trash talking, I'm generous to give it a * 1/2.
Big Show goes to chase Cody, but Cody runs fast away. I'm not sure I don't like the feud because wasn't Shaq supposed to be with Big Show? I have no idea what to expect right now, but hopefully they can continue to build on this.
The replay of Undertaker and Triple H from last night. The feud got awesome with the announcement of Hell In A Cell. That moment got me interested because these two guys are the two legends from that match and that's the perfect match to end things. It also makes history with the first Hell In A Cell match in history. They preview Bryan vs Punk in what should be another four star match given time. Thank you for booking this fellas.
Ezekiel Jackson vs David Otunga
Oh no why are they doing this? This is a rematch from the piss break match that it was from last night. Otunga gets on top of Jackson early but Jackson has had enough and shows some intensity. Jackson hits a mean shoulder block then a few lariats in the corner. Jackson goes for the Torture Rack and has it locked in but Otunga holds on to the ropes. Otunga hangs up Jackson on the ropes then hits the A- List slam for the win.
Winner: David Otunga
I'm not rating it because it went on for two minutes with nothing good. Otunga is getting a mini push which doesn't look good because he's not very good in the ring. I'll give him credit for making his gimmick work well but I'm pessimistic about putting this guy in matches.
They have a replay of Eve's heel turn which was odd. I've never liked Eve because she can't act and is very dull. She also isn't really good at wrestling so I wasn't sure why she was getting a high profile on Raw. Then she showed some value on Monday becoming a heel and really showing a nice heel side to her. She has some potential and it was a cool twist. I'm not going crazy over her, she needs to prove more. So relax people, keep avoid sipping on skunk juice and avoid hoe skis. Anyway Cole is a Eve fan now because he's a true heel and can be awesome at times.
Matt Striker is busy tonight and goes to interview the great CM Punk. Punk approves of Teddy becoming GM while he hopes for Johnny Ace to become an employee at Men's Wear house. Punk does an impression which was hilarious. He should really go do that, I'll go buy a suit there in a heart beat. Punk said he'll address Jericho on Monday because he's concerned with Bryan. He has no idea what's with him but he's crazier than Punk was the leader of the Straight Edge Society. Punk makes more references to it by saying if A.J gets her head shaved, he's suing Bryan for copyright infringement. That was pure gold and it made me laugh hard. I miss the SES they were an awesome stable and really carried the show when Jericho and Edge were drafted to Raw in that draft lottery. That was a great segment and I want this match to go down.
I miss this greatness
CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan
A huge pop for the champion while Bryan counters it by screaming "YES". I love that so much and I'll be doing that a lot during softball season to get inside teams heads. They continue to ramble on about the Brown Punk issue that has Booker T saying Brown can throw hands. Booker T is disappointing me tonight big time with no Booker isms and talking this nonsense. He continues to talk big about Brown which makes me say (look below for picture). Anyway the match begins with lots of mat wrestling but then Bryan misses a drop kick. We go to break while these two look at each other after a great stale mate.
I vote for this man to take over control of both brands.
Cole is really putting over both guys as we return to break. I'm very happy with him tonight limiting his annoying moments. Bryan targets Punk's right arm especially after Punk wiffs on a flying cross body. Bryan uses an arm bar then uses more submissions to crank up the pressure. Punk fights back but Bryan hits a suplex targeting the bad arm again. Ryan hits some hard kicks on Punk's chest then hits a knee drop. Bryan starts to target the arm some more with a standing surfboard submission. Punk uses a modified back suplex to get out of it. Punk starts hitting some hard kicks then hits a nice spinning heel kick. Punk goes for a neck breaker but the right arm is hurting him too much to pull off the move. Bryan goes for the Labelle Lock but Punk reverses it into the GTS. Bryan shoves away and goes to the outside. Bryan decides to call it a night but Sheamus has none of that and throws him back in the ring. Punk hits a round house kick that was Mirko Cro Cop like for the win.
That didn't last long with Mr.Excitement himself coming out to serve justice. He re starts the match after the outside interference which was a great move. I want to see more wrestling damn it, thank you Big Johnny Please become GM for Smackdown too.
We get back to the match during break and we saw a highlight of Punk slamming Bryan into the barricade. Punk started mocking Bryan by screaming YES which was awesome. Out of nowhere, Bryan pins Punk using the ropes for the win. Johnny Ace starts clapping his hand while Booker T is having a melt down. It was a vintage Booker T rant where you can't understand much which makes it so awesome. Teddy Long comes out to re start the match after what Bryan did. This is awesome, that means more wrestling between these two greats. The match re starts with both guys brawling in a big way before Punk hits a back suplex that takes Bryan out of the ring. That looked painful but nothing was more painful than the suicide dive that Punk did to take out Bryan. His head literally went crashing into the barricade which made the crowd pop crazy. We get back in the ring where Punk hits the classic springboard close line to take out Bryan. Punk hits the running knee to take out Bryan, but Bryan reverses the bull dog by dragging Punk's bad arm to the ground. Bryan carries Punk to the top turnbuckle and hits a hurricanna only for Punk to reverse it and nearly win it there. Bryan goes for a kick but misses it badly. Punk hits another round house kick which leads to Punk going to the top turnbuckle for the elbow drop. He gets caught by Bryan but on two occasions Punk tosses him up. Bryan is relentless though and gets back on the turnbuckle to perform a superplex from the top turnbuckle. Both men are down for the count but go for the inside cradle and get he win. Both men did it at the same time, so here comes more controversy.
Winner: The Fans
That was another incredible match by both men and really made the show awesome there. Both guys were money tonight like you expected and that gets a **** for me. The GM's coming in was cool but due to the lack of a clear finisher it hurt a bit. Still though easily best match of the night.
Teddy Long and Johnny Ace go at it with each other which leads to John taking off his jacket!! If you remember from the Del Rio Punk feud, you don't want to make Big Johnny take his jacket off. I laughed hard when he took his jacket and started yelling. That was awesome as Teddy stormed off. This is a cool feud despite the brands really don't matter anymore.
Stars Of The Show
1. CM Punk/Daniel Bryan- Both guys had great segments then had a great match. They both get the top spot hands down, you can't top them.
2. Sheamus- His mic work continues to improve and he's really a top baby face now for the haters out there. His match was decent too, he's the real deal.
3. Mark Henry- That trash talking made me laugh so hard. He has to get some love here, now if only he brought up Kool-Aid.
This was a nice show although it was pretty bad in the middle. It seemed a bit too promo filled along with the matches being too short in the beginning. They should have put more time into the first two matches because they had potential to be even greater. Still Bryan and Punk put on a great match. That made my night and it proves that these two probably made ratings skyrocket for this show. Put Smackdown on Tuesdays because people will tune in more and you get to read this awesome review!! I enjoyed the show overall.
Contacts
The very own signature.
For those that were impressed or enjoyed my work, well here is everything you want if you want to contact or talk to me.
On Facebook, you can add me by typing in the name Allen Strk
You could follow me on Twitter at @AllenInnovation
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This was fun doing everyone, hope you enjoyed this. Hopefully they have more Tuesday episodes.
