Shore's WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Big E Langston turns to help CM Punk, Big Show hits Brad Maddox but misses the mark, El Torito gets the silent treatment, Alberto Del Rio beats up an announcer, and more

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown Hits

Big E Langston and CM Punk: While their match was good, it was the post-match interactions with Ryback and Curtis Axel that I am giving the Hit to. Langston needed something to make him stand out and this was a good start. I would have preferred a more pronounced babyface turn so that it would be easier to stick, but I would guess these two men team together Monday night to face Paul Heyman's crew and that will go even farther to solidify his new character.

Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes, and Goldust vs. The Shield: I went into this match with a "been there, done that" mentality because we have been there and done that. The opening minutes certainly didn't do anything to help that perception, but they managed to have enough car crashes at the end to spin this into a Hit for this viewer. I'm still a little bored with Daniel Bryan's version of the five moves of doom, especially in these tag matches, but that is how WWE treats top babyfaces and there can be no doubt it is working for the live crowds.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Big Show: An uneventful segment for Big Show. Knocking out Brad Maddox gains him no heat (even if Maddox did sell the hell out of it), and the promo wasn't compelling enough to do much. Big Show is only interesting when he is directly thwarting Triple H or Triple H's plans. Maddox and Vickie might be proxies for Hunter and Stephanie, but they aren't established enough in those roles to make this a meaningful segment. Everybody played their parts well, but it was still a miss.

El Torito and Zeb Colter: The crowd was hot for the "gore" of Colter and attack on Jack Swagger, but the heat for El Torito isn't sticking. That much was clear by the total lack of response when Torito and Los Matadores walked out. The crowd was silent. Completely silent. El Torito's athleticism will get him some pops, and beating up heel managers like Zeb will always get good heat in the moment, but the act is just too goofy to work long term. Perhaps the biggest miss of all of this was distracting from what was otherwise a good tag match in the ring.

Alberto Del Rio: Much like Big Show, there isn't much to complain about as it relates to Del Rio's performance. The content left a lot to be desired, and the live crowd never really reacted to what he had to say. (The boos when he attacked Matthews sure did look piped in.) WWE is counting on John Cena's name alone to sell this match, and that will work to a large extent. But while Cena's return might be enough to make it a "must-see" match, it isn't enough to make it entertaining. Del Rio had a chance here to make it entertaining but missed the mark.