Smackdown Discussion Thread

[King Pitcos]

Whether he's a dead duck or the new John Cena, he's entrenched that sort against him now. When he's winking and smiling, they'll say he should be punching people instead. When he's punching people, they'll say he's being a bully.

[Linus]

When it's the right time to punch people, he should be punching people. He should never wink or smile because he looks goofy.

[DeanoTheGame]

He does look daft winking and smiling, but I'm happy with my babyfaces punching people when they interrupt him, tell him they don't respect him and try to push him around.

 

There is no possible way they could've done that segment without people moaning. If Reigns laughed it off, they'd say he's the new Cena. Fight back and he's a bully.

[Linus]

There's no possible way they could have done that segment with Reigns. So they shouldn't have. That segment is made for someone who would belittle Henry and make himself the much bigger man. Or, it could have worked the way they wrote it, if the person doing the disrespecting was a bit more evil. It was the wrong segment to put both him - and Henry - in.

 

Edit: I'm bored at work - does it show?

[FLips]

I wouldn't say he was a bully, but the entire segment was needless.
Mark Henry, who would be considered a respected veteran now, went out there and told Reigns that he didn't think he had what it took to beat Lesnar and Reigns completely fucked him off and went to leave in the middle of a sentence. He didn't even try and defend himself or big himself up.
Henry had all rights to get mad at that. 

It did nothing for Reigns, who managed to look disrespectful, scared and needlessly violent in the span of about 10 seconds.

[Mr_Danger]

If they're not planning on a swerve turn at 'Mania then it is a strange way of booking him. The crowd like Menry so the guy they're trying to get over needs to be doing shit like that to The Miz. Same with them positioning Brock against WWE on Raw. It's like they're trying to make the crowd boo Reigns on the night. Then all that shit with D-Bry is totally inconsistent if they were planning on a a Reigns turn so fuck knows what they're playing at.

[King Pitcos]

He did do it to The Miz a few weeks ago. They complained about that too.

[WWFChilli]

I thought he was pretty bad ass but I'm just a bit bored when I see Reigns now. He just isn't cutting it. But it's not completely his doing, though the poor fucker isn't ready either. I like him, the man looks like a star. He just happens to have been picked to be the Man, in a era where they can't seem to sucesfully make them anymore. He's been booked really badly and this would have happened even 'Dem Wans' boy came back or not. Bryan being around just highlighted the problem even more.

[digforvictory]

It's like officially they're pushing Reigns as the biggest star in the company but in reality they're almost trying to sneak him into the Wrestlemania main event.

 

The last few weeks he's been booked as such an afterthought on the shows, the only time he's closing Raw or Smackdown is when he's a pawn to further the Orton/Rollins feud. Bizarre losses to the Big Show and Rollins last week too, he's been booked like shit.

 

They've decided he's their guy, so book him like that. It's like they're apologetically strapping the rocket to his back.

[King Pitcos]

It's very weird how he had those losses, I wonder if the idea is just "no, he's not superman actually, look" or if they just don't care. Either way, it shouldn't have happened.

 

Part of the reason must be that they just have no main event depth. They shouldn't be doing Reigns vs Rollins matches on Raw at all, really.

[kidkris]

Smackdown this week was absolutely shocking.

 

The opening segment was cringeworthy with mark henry almost offering reigns a blowjob on tv, This is suposed to be the worlds strongest man and he may as well have turned to the hard cam and said please belive in roman cos this is starting to hurt creatives feelings.

 

The matches were ok the intercontinental gauntlet match took up 85% of this weeks show.

 

I have been a fan of wrestlemania since i was a kid growing up its more of a lets get some beers in sit down and make a night of it

but this show is genuinely just not hitting it for me in terms of build and you know the upsetting thing i think creative are actually trying there hardest and they think what there doing is correct and a right way to build to the biggest ppv of the year.

 

So yeah smackdown was just flat really really flat

[Linus]

Hey, it's WWE Smackdown! It's that show where Mark Henry interacts with Roman Reigns!

 

The show opened with that awesome Brock Lesnar interview from Raw, where he told us he was put on this earth to seek and destroy people.

 

Roman Reigns came down to the ring to cut a talky. He said that Paul Heyman & Brock Lesnar thought they could intimidate him. Then Mark Henry's music hit, and the World's Strongest Man* came out. (*Mark Henry is NOT the world's strongest man - that's Žydrūnas Savickas. You're welcome.)

 

Henry said that last week he wanted to see what Reigns had and Reigns showed him something. Well, he punched him & speared him for no good reason, so I guess that's something. They showed video of that.

 

Henry said that he got what he deserved but it had convinced him to put all his money on Reigns to win at Wrestlemania. That's never a great idea.

 

Seth Rollins came out, accompanied by Kane and J&J Security, and Kane said he couldn't believe that Henry really thought Reigns could win at Wrestlemania. Why do The Authority care?

 

Rollins held up his tatty gold suitcase and said anything could happen at Wrestlemania and that Orton was not in the building tonight. His crack security team had secured every entrance, and he was doing this for Orton's own safety. He'd be saving all his revenge for Wrestlemania but fancied a tune-up tonight, so Kane made a match of Reigns & Henry versus Rollins & Kane for the main event.

 

The Bella Twins were shown walking down a corridor. They're on next.

 

Hey, it's Paige! She was already in the ring, waiting to face Brie Bella. AJ Lee & Nikki Bella were on commentary.

 

So they had a two-minute match and it was average to poor. Paige won with a roll-up off a pin attempt by Brie, and AJ skipped around the ring to celebrate with her.

 

At the arena's loading dock, J&J Security were giving instructions to their security team about not letting Randy Orton in. Christ.

 

Hey, it's Dean Ambrose! He came down to the ring as the first man in a gauntlet match, featuring all the challengers in the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match at Wrestlemania.

 

First out to fight him was Stardust. They showed a terrible inset promo where Stardust argued with himself. In an alternate dimension, Cody Rhodes is having a heated feud over the NWA United States Heavyweight title with, I don't know, Alex Riley.

 

Ambrose was on top early doors, but Stardust tricked him using the old "roll out of the ring, wait for him to follow, roll back in and be ready to kick him when he rolls back in" trick. You know, that one.

 

Stardust went for a sunset flip but Ambrose sat down, hooked Stardust's legs, and got the pin, in under two minutes.

 

After the match, Stardust attacked Ambrose and threw him, shoulder-first, into the corner post. Twice. R-Truth came out, the next entrant in the gauntlet, and threw Stardust out of the ring, then waited for the ref to ring the bell to re-start the match.

 

The ref did just that, but Stardust jumped up on the apron and distracted Truth, and Ambrose pinned him with Dirty Deeds in TWELVE seconds. Sucks to be R-Truth.

 

Luke Harper was out next. He also cut an inset promo, and said that he'll piece himself back together at Wrestlemania or something.

 

Harper and Ambrose had a back and forth, with Harper working on Ambrose's injured shoulder. Ambrose bit Harper's hand to escape a crossface, and fought back with chops and kicks and a nearfall off an inside cradle.

 

Harper got the win after four minutes or so, with a discus clothesline and a sit-out powerbomb. It kind of came out of nowhere, which is good, because God knows these matches can get very predictable sometimes.

 

Backstage, more security goons (who looked suspiciously like Area Jobbers) were being given instructions by J&J Security. A geek walked through a door and was pounced on but he wasn't Randy Orton, okay?

 

Hey, it's Daniel Bryan! He was the next man out in the gauntlet match, and because goon-based comedy was more important, this was joined-in-progress.

 

Bryan worked over Harper's leg, using kicks and a surfboard, and Harper had to dump him out of the ring just to get a breather.

 

Back in the ring, Harper got on top, and tried to throw Bryan out of the ring again, but he skinned the cat, headscissored the big man out of the ring instead and hit a topé suicida.

 

Back in the ring, Bryan hit some kicks and Harper dropped him right on his head with an overhead suplex. Harper went for a powerbomb but Bryan locked on a heel hook and Harper quickly tapped.

 

Dolph Ziggler was the last man out, and he did an inset promo making fun of his ladder match opponents, almost calling Bryan a turd again. Brilliant.

 

So they had a match and it was very good. I guess this is the match they might have had at Wrestlemania if Ziggler had gotten his wish for a singles bout between the two.

 

They went back and forth, and got nearfalls, and Bryan tried to hit the running knee but Ziggler hit a superkick. Later, Bryan applied the Yes! Lock but Ziggler made the ropes.

 

The finish came when they fought over a backslide, and Bryan got a nearfall. When they stood up, Ziggler hit a Zig Zag out of nowhere for the win at the eleven minute mark.

 

After the match they shook hands because this was a fight with HONOUR! Bad News Barrett, who'd been shown watching the fight on a backstage monitor throughout proceedings, came out and laid out both men. He stood over them, ranting. This was good stuff and a marked change from the goofiness of this feud for the past few weeks.

 

J&J Security did more stuff with more goons.

 

Hey, it's Los Matadores! And Torito! That means it's time for the six-BEING interSPECIES tag-team match between them and Tyson Kidd & Cesaro & Natalya.

 

Now here's a thing. Torito isn't actually a bull. He's a tiny man in a costume that doesn't even resemble a real bull. So fuck off with getting my hopes up of a REAL interspecies match. Oh, and when Natalya tagged in, they said Torito had to tag in - why??? They're not even the same species, apparently, let alone the same sex. Or are they saying that tiny bulls equals women? Or am I thinking about this too much?

 

Anyway, Kidd & Cesaro & Natalya won when Natalya pinned Torito after a powerbomb. That's all you have to know. So fucking dumb.

 

Roman Reigns came out for the main event but he was NOT joined by Mark Henry. They cut to the back, where Mark Henry had been assaulted by PERSONS UNKNOWN. Zack Ryder, Titus O’Neill, Darren Young and a doctor attended to him. In the best hands there.

 

So Seth Rollins and Kane came out and this was now a handicap match. J&J Security marshalled some goons to keep a watch on the ramp, because no-one comes to the ring from any other direction. No-one. Oh, there is that one guy, but he probably wasn't around to remind them of this DESPITE BEING IN THE FUCKING RING.

 

This was mercifully short. Well, five minutes. Which is long enough. Reigns took out four men - Rollins, Kane, and J&J Security - and pinned Kane after a spear. It didn't make Reigns look strong, it just made the others look like geeks.

 

After the match, Reigns left. BUT! there was still five minutes left! What could possibly happen? Yes, I am Jack's complete lack of surprise. Randy Orton's music played and the security goons faced the ramp, ready for him. Only Orton came through the crowd - in full wrestling gear, mind - and attacked Rollins.

 

He gave RKOs to Noble and Mercury, and beat up the security goons, too, and stood tall in the ring while Rollins high-tailed it. And that's your show.

 

This was an Average Show. It wasn't terrible, and the in-ring for the gauntlet match was very good. But, for Christ's sake, this was the second show in FOUR DAYS to treat the audience like total idiots in laying out a "surprise" that Helen Keller could see coming. Not that she could tell you about it, mind....

[Linus]

Hey, it's WWE Smackdown! It's one long advert for Wrestlemania! I bet SyFy were stoked!

 

The show started with the Usos and Naomi coming out. This episode of Smackdown was taped after Raw went off the air on Monday and apparently not everyone knew so there's a few empty seats.

 

The Usos are out because Jimmy Uso is fighting in a four way against Big E (representing The New Day), Fernando (for Los Matadores), and Cesaro (who had Tyson Kidd & Natalya with him). Only they didn't explain that straight away so I figured we were getting the exact same match they were putting on Wrestlemania. Graphics are helpful sometimes.

 

Anyway, they had a match, and it was a fun little train wreck of a match, with lots of Cesaro-inspired fun. Jimmy Uso won with a splash off the top onto Cesaro. I can't say it made me want to see the tag-team match at Wrestlemania but then that's probably why it's on the pre-show...

 

They announcers - minus Byron Saxton, who would be coming down our eyes from Axxess with Backstage Renee through the night - plugged the main event, an eight-man tag with Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, John Cena & Mark Henry versus Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, The Big Show & Kane.

 

After a break, they threw to Byron Saxton & Backstage Renee, who showed stuff from Axxess. For ages. And ages. And ages.

 

Finally, we went back to the arena, where AJ Lee made her way to the ring. She cut a talky about the match she & Paige would have with the Bellas on Sunday, and how she still wanted to team with Paige even though they had their differences.

 

Paige came out and wondered if this was another way for AJ to screw her over, but AJ said the important thing was not letting the "Kardashians" win at Wrestlemania. They agreed to to be partners.

 

This brought out the Bellas, and Nikki ran down AJ for disappearing for half a year. Brie said everyone wanted to be the Bellas, and AJ said, "yeah, right, everyone wants to be D-list failed actresses." Paige said they were proud to be freaks, geeks, and misfits.

 

Nikki wanted to go right there, but Brie held her back, and they left, with Nikki calling AJ & Paige "bitches". Ooooooh! This was good.

 

They threw back to Axxess, and back to Backstage Renee and Byron Saxton. Again, they plugged Wrestlemania. For more ages.

 

Hey, it's John Cena! He came to the ring for the main event, and was followed by the rest of the competitors, and... they went to a commercial break.

 

After the break, the match kicked off. It was a good match, notable for making Roman Reigns look like, well, John Cena. Seriously, he could have had the "SPOILER: I WIN" t-shirt and everything. Well, he didn't win, but his team did, when Daniel Bryan hit the running knee on The Big Show.

 

They went twenty minutes, and it was a fun main event, but it really did nothing for anyone. Sometimes that's not important, but maybe tonight it should have been?

 

This was a Decent Show. The two matches were good, as was the Divas' segment. On its own, and for what it was, the Axxess reports were also good. But Smackdown should be a two-hour fighting show, not half a glorified news show. Weird thing is, take out the Axxess segments and you have a really good one-hour wrestling TV show. Food for thought.

[DeanoTheGame]

Having an hour of Wrestlemania video packages on the last show before Wrestlemania is a lot more preferable than having an hour of the usual Smackdown nothing-really-happens filler, I reckon.

[King Pitcos]

That might be a good point, actually. I wonder if this Smackdown might have actually been better to watch than the last month of build.