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Last night's Smackdown featured two really strong matches, a fun brawl that ended a long running feud (I think), and we saw plenty of storyline progression. With WWE opting to make Team Cena vs. Nexus an elimination match, I imagine Smackdown won't get nearly as many matches on Summerslam as they should, so instead we'll probably just keep getting great bouts for free on TV. Works for me! Smackdown is just a great wrestling show, with logical storylines and great matches and character development. I hope that doesn't go away when it moves to SyFy.
Here's my thoughts on the show, as it happened:
Kane cut another great "dark" promo to open the show, and he reveals that the Undertaker awoke long enough to say "Rey Mysterio", making him the attacker of the Undertaker. The promo did a great job of presenting the storyline reason why Rey would be behind the attack, and this was a really well done segment. I was sort of surprised we didn't get a rebuttal from Mysterio, but I imagine that will come eventually. The "camera in the casket" angle was a nice touch. Now, did Rey really do it? Stay tuned (for a few weeks, at least).
Drew McIntyre vs. Christian was a fantastic match, and it was a nice break from the Christian-Matt Hardy storyline (which I hope isn't being dropped). Drew is back to being a really aggressive heel, and it works for him. Christian bumps and sells huge, as usual, making the match just a lot of fun to watch. McIntyre's work on the left arm was excellent, setting up for Christian to be selling it after hitting the reverse DDT. Drew tosses Christian into the ringpost, and just when it looks like McIntyre has it all tied up, Christian turns the DDT into a small package for the pin. Real good stuff, and I look forward to a rematch.
A Cody Rhodes grooming tip on facial cleansing. Well, I suppose this is better than plucking nosehairs. Suddenly, Ted DiBiase looks to have ended up in a better position.
Alberto Del Rio is telling us about excellence. Zzzz......
CM Punk was GOLD in berating the SES members backstage for letting him down. Just great, great stuff from Punk, as he laid into Luke Gallows Joseph Mercury and Selena for letting him down in recent weeks. His throwing a bag at Gallows and telling them to do something or "pack their bags" was a nice touch.
Luke Gallows vs. Big Show started off pretty good, with Gallows trying to be aggressive, but Show taking over, including his new trick with having the ring announcer hold a mic up to get the sound of his loud chops. Match was just starting when Punk attacked Show for a somewhat lame DQ, but they made up for it with the vicious post-match attack on Show's right hand, which of course he needs to do knockout punches and chokeslams. Show's facial expressions here were great, and it was nice to see the SES get some major heat going again. Good segment.
I'm not quite sure why Dolph Ziggler had to beat Kofi Kingston again to get an Intercontinental Title shot, but the match was great, so I'm not complaining. This time around, the match was built around the premise that Ziggler was dominating Kofi, and even when Kofi started to rally, Ziggler cut him off. Ziggler has really been showing huge strides in his work, and now he is incorporating some innovative moves into his matches. Vickie slaps Kofi, which wasn't needed since Ziggler had been in control, and this move backfires. Kofi goes insane and just beats the crap out of Ziggler, somehow earning a disqualification (why, I'm not sure, as there was no clear DQ point to me). Kingston just continues to destroy Ziggler until he is pulled off him by referees. So, we will have a title match next week, and we've seen a new side of Kofi. Awesome stuff.
Jack Swagger gave the perfect interview for a person in his situation. He's got nothing to lose, no PPV title shot, so he is looking to cripple Rey and, presumably, take his spot at Summerslam.
I must say, Tiffany touching her head with her foot is impressive. Flexible women are awesome. Vickie Guerrero throws a switch into the Women's Title bout, so it is Michelle McCool defending instead of Layla. This was a solid match, and I liked the way the wrestlers (and announcers) sold the superplex. Of course, Layla and Kelly got involved, leading to the cool finishing spot where McCool pulled Tiffany off the ropes into the Faithbreaker. LayCool retains, and are out of challengers (unless Rosa is going to stop exercising and wrestle). Theodore R. Long then appears and reveals that LayCool can't be co-champions, so someone has to give up ownership of the title next week. That should be interesting.
Alberto Del Rio tells us we are mentally constipated. Funny, I think he has verbal diarrhea. We've gone beyond overkill with the vignettes for him.
I thought it was bizarre that we didn't get a Rey Mysterio promo before the main event, given Kane's accusation and Swagger's promise to injure him. Anyway, Rey has "healed" from his injuries, so this match saw him back to a faster pace and he got a lot more offense against Swagger than he has in their recent matches as a result. After some good in-ring action, the brawled into the concourse (loved the bit where fans came out of an elevator right into the middle of the brawl). The stuff in the street, with cars having to stop, was fun, as it has been a while since we've seen a brawl like this. Now, you knew someone was going into the water, so it was just a matter of when. Rey hit some really stiff kicks here, then Swagger took over, but seemed to take forever to set up the slam, which Rey turned into a headscissors and sent Swagger into the drink. Swagger apparently can't swim and calls for help, but Rey refuses, and I think that is the end of the Swagger-Mysterio rivalry. So, might as well switch to the PPV program, which WWE did, but having Kane pop up and chokeslam Rey into the water. Yeah, it was a bit hokey (Kane trying to drown Rey would make more sense) but I thought the finish worked well.
What To Make Sure And Watch If You DVR'd The Show: Christian vs. McIntyre and Kofi vs. Ziggler were the best matches, but the SES-Show stuff and the main event were good too. Honestly, I say this all the time, but it is true. Just skip the commercials and recap packages and enjoy the whole show.
