From the outset, the first post-Draft Smackdown of 2011 seemed to be a fairly important one. It's our first look at the recently drafted wrestlers in their new surroundings, so to speak. We get a sense of the direction the show will be going in for the coming months (which is usually nowhere after a draft, because the blue brand's roster generally gets obliterated). We get to see potential new pairings, matches we haven't seen before and so on. Did this edition of Smackdown give any indication of things to come?
Randy Orton, arguably the biggest pick in the Draft, comes out to a big pop. He's got a big grin on his face and he strolls around the canvas for a short while wit a mic in hand, and by the time he starts speaking, he doesn't really have a whole lot to say sadly. He phoned this one in, pure and simple. He's interrupted by Drew McIntyre, who hasn't spent a great deal of time on our TV screens since a decent performance at Elimination Chamber, yet he was also drafted to Raw this past Monday night. So, as Drew makes his way down the ramp he starts cutting a promo, which, while not being the greatest mic work you or I will ever see, was decidedly better than the one he had just interrupted. It seemed like a nice bit of exposure for someone who will soon be trying to achieve the more difficult task of getting over on Raw. Then, it dawns on you: he's about to job out to the already super-over Orton. Lo-and-behold, he eats an RKO shortly after entering the ring.And it doesn't end there. Before Orton could finish his promo, he's interrupted again, this time by Alex Riley, another draftee. A-Ry ate the RKO like a pro, but that's not much consolation for someone who just got jobbed on his debut appearance on Smackdown. This is a front-runner for the most nonsensical segment of the year so far: not only did WWE bury one guy who is making the move to the number one show, but they also felt the need to bury another guy who has just parted ways with The Miz, his mentor, for the lack of a better term, and has had a lot of strong performances alongside some main eventers (including Orton I might add). Riley needs all the help he can get at this juncture, as does Drew, and yet this is how they are portrayed on-screen. No wonder WWE has failed to create main event level stars in the past few years.
Believe it or not, this segment doesn't stop there. Alberto Del Rio, who was drafted to Raw, makes his usual grand entrance with Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez in tow, and cuts a stellar promo on Orton. Just when it looks as if they are about to gang up on the Viper, Christian runs in to team up with him. Teddy Long comes out at this point and books a tag team match between the two sides. This man lives to make announcements.
Now that we've finally got that out of the way, Kofi Kingston's music hits following the ad break. Kofi didn't even make it to the ring, however, as he was attacked from behind by Sheamus, whom he went over cleanly on the Draft edition of Raw as you might recall. Like Drew, this was Kingston's last appearance on SD before making the big switch, whereas this was Sheamus's debut on the blue brand. The beat-down leads nicely into a match for the US Championship this weekend at Extreme Rules, where I expect Kofi to take the title to Raw.
We greeted with the sight of a bruised Michael Cole standing in the ring after our second commercial break. He cuts a promo to build up for his tag team match against Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross, and introduces his tag partner Jack Swagger (drafted to Raw). Sin Cara, sporting a blue SD t-shirt, enters for his match with the All-American American. A recap of Sin Cara performing some of his incredible moves on Swagger from three weeks is shown just before the bell rings. Swagger, using his size to the fullest advantage, started doing push-ups on Cara's back while he was laying on the canvas. After some good exchanges between the two, Cole hands Swagger a belt, but Cara wins with a roll-up. Swagger, pent up with frustration, rushes to attack Cara, only for the victor to send him flying over the ropes. Sin Cara then performed another one of his amazing dives over the top rope. This man has the potential to have some pretty incredible matches in the WWE, and a lot of credit has to go to Swagger for working the match as well as he did (keeping in mind this was a taped show and it could easily have been edited). Many doubted whether the company had the men who cod work the kind of match Sin Cara wrestles.
Next we see a vignette for Awesome / Amazing Kong, who is being packaged as Kharma in WWE. There is a shot of her face this time as she pops the head off a doll she is holding. I greatly anticipate her arrival, especially after seeing these videos in recent weeks.
The bell rings and the Tag Team Championship is on the line between Slabriel (an awesome name for the team of Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel that a friend of mine came up with) and the team of Kane and Big Show. The two Corre members bicker on their way down to the ring and it looks very foreboding for both of them. Funnily enough, I thought this match displayed some of their best tag work to date. Most impressively, Gabriel reversed a chokeslam from the Big Show into a DDT. Nonetheless, the match inevitably finished with a double chokeslam as Show and Kane successfully defended the belts, which should lead to a further disintegration of relations between the Corre members.
Directly following this, there's a short segment between the Great Khali, his storyline brother Singh, and Rey Mysterio. After Rey leaves, a mysterious man whom both Khali and Singh know enters the shot. The whole thing is slightly confusing, as they were all speaking their native tongue and I hadn't a clue who this fellow was.
Rey Mysterio makes his entrance following another commercial break, and we see a recap of his win over Cody Rhodes from the previous week.Rey cuts a promo on leaving Smackdown, thanking the fans who have "allowed (him) to enter your homes every Friday night to entertain you." Why do WWE superstars talk as if Raw and SD have different fan bases? Mark Henry, his opponent, makes his way to the ring and a recap of Henry's heel turn on Raw is played. Looking back, the World's Strongest Man was wearing the black gear that night for once. Should have seen the swerve coming. After a okay match, Rhodes makes the run-in before it could finish and proceeds to beat up Rey outside the ring. Rhodes throws Rey back into the ring with Henry, like a lamb to the slaughter, who slams him to the canvas. Rhodes subsequently put a paper bag over Mysterio's head, as he did last week. I expect Henry and Rhodes to be pushed heavily this summer.
Michelle McCool and Layla's heated match is up next, and it descends into an outright brawl, with McCool dominating things from the beginning. The match ends in a double count-out, and the two cut a promo for a match at Extreme Rules. McCool makes the match a Loser Leaves WWE (anyone else notice the audio inconsistency when she said that?), and it looks as if Layla will go over so that her former tag partner can take a break from professional wrestling.
An interview with Christian takes place in the locker room, and Captain Charisma cuts a pretty good promo on Del Rio and their Ladder Match this weekend for the World Heavyweight Title.
Now it's time for our maaaaaaain event! And it was a thoroughly enjoyable match as well, which you expect when all of these men are in the same ring. Christian, Del Rio and Orton are very good workers as we know, and Brodus has signs of some great potential (the commentators are certainly putting him over anyway). I thought he barely looked a step out of place amongst these main-eventers. Of course, while I am talking about a wrestler who has his entire career ahead of him, you somehow forget that there will be brand new World Champion this coming weekend, someone who has never won the belt before. And based on this outing, I think either Christian or Del Rio would make a fine champion. Orton and Christian won the contest, after the Viper hit a superb RKO on Clay as the big man came charging at him.
So, with the first post-Draft Smackdown over and done with, where is the blue brand headed? Well, Christian is finally going to get his long overdue main event push, Orton looks to be replacing the slot that Edge held before his retirement, while the upper mid-card looks to be filled with some interesting guys like Sheamus, Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan (by the way, where was the American Dragon tonight?) All in all, a pretty decent Smackdown, and not a bad go-home show for this weekend's PPV.
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