Shore's WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Daniel Bryan and Christian steal the show, Big disparity over MITB match hype, Curtis Axel loses and that's OK (maybe), and Ryback cries his way to a win

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown Hits

Daniel Bryan vs. Christian: What a great match. Daniel Bryan is holding clinics just about every week on Smackdown, which was Christian's spot before he got hurt. You put these two guys together and it was everything you could have hoped for on a PPV match, and they gave it away on free TV. I will never understand that--it's a holdover from the Monday Night Wars that isn't necessary anymore--but there's no question I enjoyed the hell out of this match.

Chris Jericho vs. Curtis Axel: Another good match between these two, and I'm also putting it here for Axel's loss. Normally the mid-card champions losing like this annoys me to no end, but Axel showed some growth out of this. He was very aggressive in the ring and his temper tantrum after the match points to something. At least I hope it does. Losing is not a big deal in wrestling, but losing for no reason is.

WWE Championship MITB match hype: Just like losing for a reason is fine, so is a non-match finish for a reason. The non-finish of Sheamus vs. Orton had a reason, and a very good one at that. The build for the Raw side of MITB was a Hit, and I like how they put Orton on the top of the ladder to create a different moment from Raw. I still think Bryan takes it, but I also think he goes back to his feud with Orton right after.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Ryback vs. The Miz: This was a miss before the bell even rang. Both of these guys are milquetoast characters right now, and while Miz is surviving--barely--with that character, Ryback makes me want to change the channel right now. I was never a big fan personally, but I understood his appeal as a monster. Now they have taken that appeal away by making him a whiney bitch, and he's using those tactics to win matches. I hope his match with Jericho is good and he puts Jericho out. It may be the only thing that saves the guy.

World Championship MITB match hype: The hype for this match would have been better if they just didn't mention it. The mess of a match, topped with the clusterfark of commentary and run-ins, did more to take heat off of the match than it did to build it. The match already suffered from a lack of a person to cheer, now there is no one to cheer, AND it looks like the match is filled with bumbling nobodies.