Shore's WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Two great matches highlight a good show that fails to do much for the Survivor Series PPV
Oct 29, 2011 - 11:07 AM |
By Chris Shore
WWE Smackdown Hits
Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler: Here are my whopping two complaints: The action before the commercial was solid but boring, and I see no reason to have Ziggler lose clean here. But to some degree those are picking nits. Most TV matches are lame going into the commercial. I don't get that, but it is what it is. Ziggler losing clean sucks, but it is Randy Orton. Ziggler may deserve to be his equal in my eyes, but not in WWE's eyes. If you cannot see anything else, go see this match.
CM Punk vs. Christian: While the Ziggler vs. Orton match may have been flashier and more fun, this match shows you what kind of match you get when you stick two guys in the ring who can just go. It was effortless and smooth. I hated the finish on this, and with reason. I expected a screwy finish, but did we really need three run-ins? We couldn't do it with two? Still, the rest of the match is "go-out of your way to see" quality, though stick with Orton vs. Ziggler if you only have time for one.
Wade Barrett: I like that they seem to be serious about Barrett again, but they have to be careful. I don't think he can survive another stopped push. The fans are willing to accept him again, but turn him into jobber extraordinaire again and don't expect to find them so forgiving. A good squash match for him tonight.
Mark Henry: Mark Henry continues to prove why he is the "must-see" act in WWE right now. Since his title hunt/reign has started, I can think of two bad promos from him, and one wasn't even his fault. He had the perfect tone here tonight, and he made me care about a feud I had written off until their match Sunday.
Overall Show: This was a fun two hours of wrestling television that produced not one, but two matches you should go out of your way to see. WWE TV has been middling to terrible over the past few weeks, so kudos to them for having a good show.
WWE Smackdown Misses
Overall Show: Even though it was a good show to watch, it was not a good show for WWE. Television can both be a ratings juggernaut and a setup for PPVs if done properly. It's not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. WWE may have put on a good ratings show, but it wasted one of the very few opportunities it gets to convince us to buy Survivor Series. And that will always be a miss in my book.
Tyson Kidd vs. Daniel Bryan: A forced setup, a too short match, and then time taken up by playing the same video twice and Michael Cole leads me frustrated. I also didn't like how "Bret Hart's boy" tapped out to "Shawn Michaels's boy" in two minutes. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but that's sure what it looks like to me.
Big Show: Big Show destroys a ring and has to be carted from the ring, but the next time we see him it's all smiles and chuckles? He got better as it went on, or at least he got more serious. But encouraging the fans to cheer a monster heel is a fail of epic proportions in wrestling. It didn't hurt the feud because it's Big Show, but I would have expected a more serious Show than what we got.
Teddy Long and Aksana:Enough! Please! I can't take any more of this stupid recycled storyline. It is the Smackdown version of the anonymous Raw GM. There never seems to be any progression in the story, only the same silly jokes every week. Accept we've seen this exact act before with Teddy Long. It may yet end differently, but so far, it feels like recycled material.
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