What more could we ever hope for from Smackdown? Christian as the #1 Contender for the World Championship. Layla finally turns on Kaitlyn after many months of inevitable buildup. Alex Riley on commentary with Michael Cole. And a CM Punk match!
I thought that Fandango/Punk match was going to follow the template of Fandango's recent matches on Raw - five minutes, Fandango gets in some offense, then gets beat on for a bit, and takes a walk. I was pleasantly surprised by the end result there. Fandango got to look pretty good in the loss.
That was a goofy but fun little three-way backstage promo between Van Dam, Orton, and Christian. I was definitely pulling for Van Dam to win the #1 contendership and have a high-profile match at Summerslam. I don't think Del Rio's losing the title anytime soon, so why not have the novelty of an ADR/RVD match?
Riley was actually decent on commentary, even if he was a bit of a left-field choice for me. Has he been commentating on any of the other shows? I know Regal does commentary for NXT; I'd love to see him called up to one of the major shows while JBL is out mountaineering.
Originally posted by used2bcoolRiley was actually decent on commentary, even if he was a bit of a left-field choice for me. Has he been commentating on any of the other shows? I know Regal does commentary for NXT; I'd love to see him called up to one of the major shows while JBL is out mountaineering.
According to Cole at the top of the show, Riley has been doing commentary on Superstars.
Originally posted by DionysusDid Riley/Cole touch on their time as Miz's sidekicks?
They did, yes, particularly during the Cody/Sandow segments. Riley said he understood what being "Protector of the Case" was like, said Cole was there to remember it as well, and he wished that he'd had the guts to throw the briefcase into the Gulf of Mexico like Cody did.
Originally posted by used2bcoolThat was a goofy but fun little three-way backstage promo between Van Dam, Orton, and Christian.
Rob Van Dam/damn... -> one more match/loss... -> R-K-O/bro...
so stupid but kind of charming.
The main event was awesome. For all their matches, including one where he beat him for the world title, I think that's the first time Christian has pinned Randy Orton. (Maybe an elimination tag match back during that feud.)
I'm really surprised about Christian over Van Dam (or some kind of multi-man SCRAMBLE) too, especially since they had Del Rio go ahead and beat RVD on TV anyway. But no complaints from me for even the slightest bit of respect/affection being shown to Christian.
It's hard to envision the Lay.J. "Flawless!" skits, but I know she's already got a trunk full of piggy props in her attic to deploy on Kaitlyn.
Bryan/Cena Best/Beast Christian/Del Rio Ziggler/Langston Kane/Wyatt Henry(& Show?)/Shield Rhodes/Sandow
So that's already seven with Orton, Sheamus, and RVD unaccounted for. RVD can get something vs. Curtis Axel as the prodigal Heyman guy or Fandango to avenge that walkout (important). You'd think they'd want to give Orton something to do to hide him in plain sight if he's coming out at the end. Sheamus is banged up but not so much that he'd be left off SS, I don't think -- the "hey Royback, ye need to be noicer to people" feud seems inevitable at some point. Orton vs. Sheamus is perpetually talked about, but is there even room? I'll say again, the best thing for the card, the Shield, and Big Show's knee is Shield vs. Henry/Orton/Sheamus.
All in all, all but guaranteed to be the best SummerSlam in four or five years
Del Rio vs Christian is a fine IC match disguised as a World Title match, which I get because it has been that way for awhile. I am just oldschool and wish they would stop giving World Title notches to guys who shouldn't have them.
I think Christian has been on a ROLL lately with his Raw matches so I'm looking forward to checking this out when me and the kids sit down to watch it sometime this weekend!
"You are going to get a certain amount of snarkiness on the Internet no matter what, and my rule is that you don't post anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face." Marc Andreyko (Writer of DC Comic's "Manhunter")
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoDel Rio vs Christian is a fine IC match disguised as a World Title match, which I get because it has been that way for awhile. I am just oldschool and wish they would stop giving World Title notches to guys who shouldn't have them.
The World Heavyweight Title hasn't been a "World" championship in years, name notwithstanding. It is the secondary title, and I think it's doing a damn fine job as such. In reality, Christian is a completely viable WHC, even though he'd never be seriously considered for the World Championship.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoDel Rio vs Christian is a fine IC match disguised as a World Title match, which I get because it has been that way for awhile. I am just oldschool and wish they would stop giving World Title notches to guys who shouldn't have them.
Have you not noticed the World Title has basically been the IC title for at least 2 years now?
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoDel Rio vs Christian is a fine IC match disguised as a World Title match, which I get because it has been that way for awhile. I am just oldschool and wish they would stop giving World Title notches to guys who shouldn't have them.
Have you not noticed the World Title has basically been the IC title for at least 2 years now?
Are you sure you read what I wrote there?
When we talk of unifying titles it is always the WWE Title and Big Gold belt, IC and US. Maybe the Big Gold belt should gobble up the IC and US titles instead.
It's wrestling so tracking title reigns is trivial in the grand scheme of things, but it is getting messy. Ric Flair 16 times Champion, John Cena 13 times, Edge 11 ... but there were two companies or two brands. Do Del Rio and Ziggler get those same notches even though we all agree, even if we fail to see this, that the Big Gold Belt is a secondary title? Mark Henry winning the Big Gold Belt was a great moment after ten plus years, of course he just one himself another secondary title. Maybe it just depends who holds it and how you as an individual choose to see it.
Enough about that. Christian gets in on the hunt for the second most important title, I can live with that. Christian doing this on the second biggest PPV after missing extended time is something I just can't get behind. Christian has had a great run and has risen higher than anyone could have imagined, but his ship has sailed and quite some time ago. You want to give him this shot at Backlash or some secondary PPV I will not complain, but this match is going to be a tough sell and I will be surprised if the live audience is engaged at all.
Rellik looked like one of the cooler additions to the roster, but he's now 0-2 and has been cemented as a total jobber. Nice to know things haven't changed much for Johnny the Bull, no matter what his gimmick is.