Shore's WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Excellent hype for No Way Out, first half hour of show is best in months, David Otunga fails, Ryback marches on, Damien Sandow looks great

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown Hits

Opening Segment: This was great stuff to open Smackdown. Usually when they get that many people in the ring with mics it turns into a mess. Each person managed to add something and not distract from the people before them. I thought Brian was exceptionally good going after Punk in regards to AJ. The "Look at the hero" line especially well done. If you have to open with talking, this is how it's done.

CM Punk and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler: Usually these combination tag matches fail to hype either match. Occasionally, they manage to get one match over at the expense of the other. This match managed to be one of the very rare ones that put heat on both title matches going into Sunday. That, and the match was good in and of itself. The first half hour (roughly) of the show was stellar.

Big Show promo: I have been critical of worked shoots, and this one is starting to slide into the dangerous territory, what with Big Show referring to Vince changing his name from Paul White. Still, Show was effective in this promo, and hit all the right points. It's still Big Show vs. John Cena, and that suffers from all the staleness around both men, but they have done everything they can to make it feel fresh. This promo helped a lot.

Damien Sandow: This guy has star written all over him folks. His mic work is exceptional, his in ring work (what little we have seen) is smooth and fluid, and he draws heat big time. He's got a good, long run ahead of him if he can stay healthy.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Ryback: I am officially done with the two on one handicap match where the jobbers cut stupid promos before the match. Ryback is impressive looking, and has done well in the ring, but enough is enough. Let the squashes continue if you want, but this gimmick is stupid.

David Otunga attacks Brodus Clay: This match does nothing for me, I'll admit, but the attack from Otunga was particularly weak. Attacking a leg isn't all that hard, and there are a number of ways you can make it look believable. Otunga didn't use any of them.

John Cena: He wasn't so bad here. I'm kind of indifferent about his segment with Big Johnny. What is a miss is the idea that Cena left his home in West Newbury and drove the hour to Smackdown. It's just a little thing, but little thing matter. This didn't kill the story or anything, but Cole's announcement of Cena coming shook me out of my suspension of disbelief. That's always a miss.