Smackdown This Week: The Good and The Bad

[danquinn]

Tamina/Beth Phoenix- I genuinely think that with these two, Kharma, and Natalya that we could be seeing a more competitive women's division. All the WWE need to do is get rid of that stupid fart angle that they've given one of the most talented women in the company and take that purple butterfly off the "Diva's Championship" and bring back the Women's title.

Sheamus/Cody- Both these guys put on a great match, and although Sheamus' finisher isn't quite main-event worthy in my opinion, he still looks very strong. Cody however needs a decent challenger to the IC title, that title has lost so much prestige over the years and he needs a good feud over it to bring some of that back.

Epico&Primo/Santino&Duggan- This match shows exactly how bad the Tag Team division is at the moment. Santino is a good wresler, he deserves a much better gimmick than he has. Jim Duggan on the other hand won the very first Royal Rumble. That is how old he is, why is this guy still allowed to compete? Yes it's fun and nostalgic for many fans, but we have a massive roster full of exciting talent. Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Curt Hawkins, and a host of other FCW guys that could debut as a strong tag team. But no, they are now just jobbers to Brodus Clay and whatever other 300 pounders the WWE is trying to get over. Nothing against Brodus however, as I actually like his gimmick. The fact that Primo & Epico are Tag Champs also shows the WWE's lack of interest in the division, they are a good tag team, but nowhere near ready to be Tag Champs in my opinion.

Hunico/Gabriel- This match could have been a really good match, full of high risk spots and good storytelling. It could be used to build up Gabriel or get Hunico over as a midcard heel, but again they aren't given the time as they use that time instead to bring back Khali. Someone who never should have been World Champion, and is only interesting until he loses after an unbeaten
streak. Cody also didn't need that extra time on camera, for me it was just pure filler with no relevance, other than the fact Cody & Khali are in the same PPV match.

Bryan/Big Show- This segment wasn't too bad, Bryan did an excellent job of gaining heat with his Vegan rant, however similar it was to Punk's straight edge rants. The back and fourth with the Big Show also worked well, and I'm glad the WWE has allowed time for this feud to develop, and come to a nice end at Elimination Chamber.

Orton/Barrett- Great feud, great match, great workers. Both of these guys work so well together, they sell each other's moves, their feuds are exciting, and their matches are always brilliant. Barrett is a future world champion, and being English myself, I am very excited about his future. Barrett has proved all he needs is a good dance partner and he can not only gain serious heat, but can put on great matches as well. For me he is Smackdown's #1 Heel.

Other than that, for me, it was a pretty below par show. The first and last matches were brilliant, but everything in-between, I've gotta be honest, I could have done without.

Anyways what were your thoughts on Smackdown? Sorry if this sounded a bit ranty, I just had a lot to say coming off of it.

[Jules]

1) Vince isn't interested in a women's 'wrestling' division, he never has been and I doubt he ever will be. The farting is puerile and I'm not even sure who that crap is aimed at.

2) Santino's gimmick works. He always gets a reaction from the audience, and although it is pretty cheap entertainment (although amusing at times) he wouldn't be on TV if he didn't have this gimmick. Even if he changed it I couldn't see him getting over with something different: how many workers change from a comedy gimmick to a serious gimmick actually make the transition successfully and with some credibility? Aside from Mark Henry I can't think of any off the top of my head.

3) Barrett should have gone over Orton. After claiming he would win the rumble and failing, and now losing so cleanly to Orton he is back to square one in terms of World Title credibility. Has hasn't been jobbed as badly as Ziggler, but he's not far short of that.

[danquinn]

1) It's a shame considering how good the Knockouts Division in TNA is, as much flack as the company gets, they know how to get their women over and considering how flexible/athletic/light-weight the women are, there is no end to the unpredictability they can bring in the ring. You're right Vince isn't going to change his mind, but why have a women's division at all? If you're going to have a division with a title, do something with it.

2) It is difficult for a comedy character to change his gimmick, but why do it in the first place? There are so many wrestlers with such little talent, make THEM into comedy characters, not someone with genuine ability in the ring and even on the mic given the chance and the feud.

3) Barrett should have gone over Orton, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the feud has done wonders for Barrett in building him up and giving him some main event credibility. I can see a match between Barrett and Orton for the World title in future. Orton has never had a problem putting people over, and I think that if they give Barrett the chance again in future he'll come out on top. Also Ziggler needs to shed Vickie if he is going to be taken seriously as a main-eventer...I can see a face turn in future with a feud with Swagger for the US title, and Vickie betraying Ziggler in favour of Swagger because of his title win. Could set up a nice match at Wrestlemania. I hope WWE don't abandon Ziggler, he's got the talent in the ring, the mic skills and the look to be a top guy one day.

[Jason Cashe]

I like Sheamus finishers. His Bicycle Kick and his Outsiders Edge are both good finishers, FAR better than Edge's Spear was. Worst Spear in Pro Wrestling and it went over, there are a few people who need updated Finishers but Sheamus isn't one of them. Plus, Triple H is vouching for Sheamus now so it's safe to say dude is safely in the Main Event for a minute.

[Jules]

Feb 5, 2012 20:13:10 GMT -4 danquinn said:

1) It's a shame considering how good the Knockouts Division in TNA is, as much flack as the company gets, they know how to get their women over and considering how flexible/athletic/light-weight the women are, there is no end to the unpredictability they can bring in the ring. You're right Vince isn't going to change his mind, but why have a women's division at all? If you're going to have a division with a title, do something with it.

2) It is difficult for a comedy character to change his gimmick, but why do it in the first place? There are so many wrestlers with such little talent, make THEM into comedy characters, not someone with genuine ability in the ring and even on the mic given the chance and the feud.

3) Barrett should have gone over Orton, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the feud has done wonders for Barrett in building him up and giving him some main event credibility. I can see a match between Barrett and Orton for the World title in future. Orton has never had a problem putting people over, and I think that if they give Barrett the chance again in future he'll come out on top. Also Ziggler needs to shed Vickie if he is going to be taken seriously as a main-eventer...I can see a face turn in future with a feud with Swagger for the US title, and Vickie betraying Ziggler in favour of Swagger because of his title win. Could set up a nice match at Wrestlemania. I hope WWE don't abandon Ziggler, he's got the talent in the ring, the mic skills and the look to be a top guy one day.

I completely agree with your point 1) above. I honestly don't know why these female wrestlers (not divas) sign with WWE; it's never going to be a good career move. I've advocated removing the divas from TV as in-ring performers for a while now - I just don't see what they bring to the show with the way that division is being booked right now.

[danquinn]

The WWE is too reliant on filler now I think, especially on SmackDown, if you think about it, between the first match and the last match, besides Bryan/Big Show...was any of it actually needed or advance a storyline somehow? My answer is no, and if it did, it was done very poorly.

[Jules]

Feb 5, 2012 21:30:52 GMT -4 Jason Cashe said:

I like Sheamus finishers. His Bicycle Kick and his Outsiders Edge are both good finishers, FAR better than Edge's Spear was. Worst Spear in Pro Wrestling and it went over, there are a few people who need updated Finishers but Sheamus isn't one of them. Plus, Triple H is vouching for Sheamus now so it's safe to say dude is safely in the Main Event for a minute.

Completely agree about Edge.

I wouldn't disagree about Sheamus either: nothing sells stiff like a kick to the face, also its an explosive move that has the element of surprise I like to see. The crucifix bomb is no worse than some of the other top-line talent finishers, e.g. Cena's AA and Punk's GTS, neither of which I have ever particularly liked.

[Kid Dynamo]

I support the Brogue Kick as a finisher.

I support the Diva's division being abolished. Bring back the valet! That solves Vince's problem of needing something to masturbate to on Raw without a real diva's division. (that was terribly inappropriate but there's no other explanation)

I support anyone who thought Natayla having a fart gimmick fired, to include Vince McMahon (come back Shane! I was SOOOOO hoping you were 1/2/12!!! I know you want to stand on your own two feet, but the company needs YOU!!!)

I support more focus on the midcard. Promote Road Dogg to creative director of the midcard division, since he spent his whole career making every aspect of the midcard interesting (Tag Team Titles, Hardcore Title pre 24/7, and Stable vs Stable fighting that wasnt for the World Title, etc).

Cody Rhodes vs Great Khali would be an EXCELLENT feud; fuck PWTorch. We all know Khali is a 400-pound pile of crap, but he's also infinitely credible on Smackdown as a perennial-World Title contender (former World champ, WWE ddnt bat an eyelash at putting him in the Chamber). Imagine the credibility Rhodes gets when he defends his belt against a former World champ, and for the IWC, imagine how much more in love theyd get when he makes a Khali match watchable!!!

I thought the vegan bit was stupid; of course us normal folk hate vegans, but that's lazy creative work. That said, Bryan and Show totally make it work, but I hope that gets dropped later.

Still looking forward to Sheamus/Bryan, specifically Bryan spending 6 weeks trying to get out of the match while simultaneously proclaiming that he's so much better than Sheamus. (Isn't this the gimmick Lawler had when he wrestled back in the 90's?)

Finally, I like the Santino/X vs. the tag champs gimmick. It leads to a WM payoff of Sock n Cobra vs. Epi-Primo for the Tag Titles, which would be a fun match where the Tag Champs can go over against two WWE mainstays in a fun match. In all honesty, this is probably way better than Ziggler/Foley.

Speaking of, who turns face first, Ziggler or Miz?

[Johnny Rebel]

I don't usually watch Smackdown, so I'll keep this short: Rhodes vs. Khali would be an absolute train wreck. Khali's nothing but a joke at this point and Rhodes will undoubtably take the blame when he can't push the giant to a 5* match and we'll see him back to kissing Randy Orton's behind.

No thanks!

[Jason Cashe]

I have to ask...What is IWC? I must be missing something here..

[Michael Callahan]

Internet Wrestling Community.

[Jason Cashe]

You know, I think I knew that...