Seemed like a 'treading water' Smackdown this week. Triple H tried to prove that he wasn't really such a bad guy by inviting the locker room to speak their mind, though only Kofi and RVD dared to say things that weren't complimentary. Kofi got a non-title match with Curtis Axel as a result (which he won with a surprise SOS), while RVD got a match with Randy Orton (which he lost due to some Del Rio-ference). Damien Sandow, Heath Slater and The Big Guy all either sucked up to the Facgime or otherwise made non-sensical statements, leading Triple H to brush Sandow and Slater off. 3MB ended up stuck in a match against the Big Show, which went as expected, while The Ryback got a rematch with Dolph Ziggler, which he won when Ziggler got distracted and baited by surprise guest commentator Dean Ambrose, who joined the commentary team from behind through the crowd and freaked out Michael Cole in the process.
In the main event, Daniel Bryan faced Seth Rollins, and he managed to survive the Shield's cheating attempts and landed the Baisaiku Knee for the win. But it wasn't quite his time to end on a high note, as while he celebrated on the ramp Randy Orton laid him out with a belt shot to the back of the head. Maybe next week in Canada...
In other matches, Brie Bella vs. Naomi went nowhere when AJ recruited the non-Total Divas to help her do a group beatdown. As well, the Real Americans defeated the Usos when Swagger shoved an Uso off the top rope into Cesaro's Shoryuken, with that move finally picking up a pinfall victory rather than a Neutralizer setup.
Will Kofi win the IC Title on Monday to keep the "All Championships are on the line" gimmick for Night of Champions alive? We will see!
Treading water is right, although I thought the show was pretty good overall. We got a couple decent matches, and it the pacing of the show was good. Surprised by Kofi's win, but I don't mind seeing him back in the IC picture.
I really hate the HHH as tweener boss. Its like he refuses to let the WWE fans really hate him. Smackdown is going to be the holding pattern show til the storyline ends. Then again, this show very rarely has been anything more than that.
The Wee Baby Sheamus.Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.
I actually think it's better to a more nuanced Corporate character rather than the "BUAHAHAHA I'M EVIL NOW!!" types that have come before. Plus he's just better at hiding things behind corporate-doublespeak now.
My only problem so far with the new Triple H character was the way he berated Damien Sandow and Heath Slater for their comments at the start of this show. If Triple H is going to fire Cody Rhodes for disagreeing with his way of doing things, then shouldn't Triple H be happy when Damien Sandow agrees with his way of doing things? But no, he just accuses him of kissing ass and moves on.
That doesn't mean we need a heel hivemind, I do like it when villains have disagreements amongst themselves, but given that that was a throwaway comment that isn't going to go anywhere, I don't know why we couldn't have had Triple H just accept it and move on without the disparaging remark.
Ladies and gentlemen, the following public service message is brought to you by your friends from D-Generation X, who would like to remind each and every one of you that if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you...
Originally posted by Chumpstaingiven that that was a throwaway comment that isn't going to go anywhere, I don't know why we couldn't have had Triple H just accept it and move on without the disparaging remark.
Didn't you know? It's company policy that anyone who holds the blue (designated) MITB briefcase gets to be buried to the tenth circle of hell so that he has absolutely no chance of getting over as a threat when he DOES cash it in. [/snark]
The way they've treated Sandow in the past month is AS bad, if not worse, as the way Bryan's been buried at the end of pretty much every show since the PPV. At least Bryan gets to be the focal point of the main story (even if politics will likely result in him fading to the background so that Cena can get all the glory when he returns); Sandow just gets treated like a jobber with no reason to exist.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
Originally posted by ChumpstainMy only problem so far with the new Triple H character was the way he berated Damien Sandow and Heath Slater for their comments at the start of this show. If Triple H is going to fire Cody Rhodes for disagreeing with his way of doing things, then shouldn't Triple H be happy when Damien Sandow agrees with his way of doing things? But no, he just accuses him of kissing ass and moves on.
That doesn't mean we need a heel hivemind, I do like it when villains have disagreements amongst themselves, but given that that was a throwaway comment that isn't going to go anywhere, I don't know why we couldn't have had Triple H just accept it and move on without the disparaging remark.
I thought that the whole point was to show that HHH is a guy who has no friends on the roster. Sandow wasn't buttering up HHH; he's legitimately happy that the guy he hates just got fired, but HHH is still accusing him of brown-nosing. There's basically no way to get on this guy's good side if you aren't already one of his pre-picked guys. No one on the roster likes or respects HHH, they're just afraid of him.
The best line in HHH's promo was the "I didn't fire (read: screw) Cody. Cody fired (screwed) Cody." The worst (most illogical) was the line about "I asked Cody to go to the ring & perform his job, & he failed." If losing a match is failing to do one's job, then half the roster on any given week is failing to do its job.
I'm also laughing that this is exactly the style of "Open Forum" held by every "corporation" of more than 6 people that I've ever been at. There'll be no repercussions -- feel free to ask any questions or make any statement with no fear of repercussions. Uh, bullshit. If one believes that, one may be to stupid to work in a corporate environment. I was glad that almost none of them were stupid enough to fall for that.
This is why it's important for HHH to throw a putdown back at anybody who says anything. It's exactly the corporate equivalent of Rock's "It doesn't matter what [you think] ..." He zinged back at everybody who said anything, regardless.
"I work for all of you!" Does that mean we can fire you?
"I can see how, from your point of view, you wouldn't understand that." (to Kofi) That's always been one of my personal favourites!
"Daniel's Bryan's ego has gotten so big in the last few weeks that he can't even be bothered to stand on stage with the rest of you little people." How did the monkeys in the truck manage to not give us a reaction shot from Hornswoggle. (*duck*)
"Guys, I have to say that this has been really helpful. For me this has been cathartic. I think this is great, & I'm really excited." I can't tell you how many times in corporate I've heard exactly those same words, although usually after a meeting that got much more out of control than HHH would ever allow. I'd love to get a copy of the management book that has the actual scripts written out. (It would save a lot of time in meetings to just be able to say, "Refer to rhetoric on page 42.")
Did they get Scott Adams (dilbert.com) to consult on the writing staff??
Originally posted by emmaI'm also laughing that this is exactly the style of "Open Forum" held by every "corporation" of more than 6 people that I've ever been at. There'll be no repercussions -- feel free to ask any questions or make any statement with no fear of repercussions. Uh, bullshit. If one believes that, one may be to stupid to work in a corporate environment. I was glad that almost none of them were stupid enough to fall for that.
Agreed with this. HHH isn't playing a "tweener" who is afraid to get booed. He's being a complete dick boss and being quite excellent at it. He HAD to bury Sandow for his comment to encourage "honesty" from everyone else. I loved that whole segment.
I did think his interaction with the Big Show was kind of odd, but like any dick boss he was just trying to pump up a disgruntled employee as insincerely as possible.
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
After tonight*, it's only a matter of time before the WWE notices everybody chanting "WE THE PEOPLE" along with Coulter and we get a Real Americans face turn with Zeb Coulter embodying the more positive side of the Right, even still hating ADR. Seriously, if worked right, a tag-team move similar to the 3D with Cesaro's uppercut instead of a 3/4 neckbreaker could BE the new 3D, in a matter of speaking. They're really just a diva accompanying them ringside away.
Reviving the Tag Division means having a team with that "it" factor, and I see it already there. Don't give Swagger the stick, keep him in tag matches to hide his flaws in ring (chiefly none, that I can think of, besides being subdued and a little no-sell-ish). Meanwhile we get Cesaro awesomeness in small doses, which is what we got already, which means some solid hammerlock transitions into some simple mat wrestling.
EDIT: I watched the replay.
(edited by Lexus on 9.9.13 0821) "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and the world laughs at you." -Me.
Let me take that analogy. Saying "What" besides during an Austin interview/match or maybe an Angle promo, is like saying "USA! USA!" when both wrestlers are from other countries.