Smackchat: January 29th 2015
Smackdown is War
So I don't remember anticipating Smackdown this eagerly in a loooooooooong time. Coming out of an extremely controversial Royal Rumble. I do not want to spend much time on the outcome, because it is what it is what it is and I have moved on from it. I think Triple H summed up everyone's feeling when he said…."Man that triple threat was one of the best matches I have ever seen in my life." I have heard so many people say this over the past few days. Because as badly as that Rumble match was booked, the WWE delivered this amazing match, and almost everything is forgiven. At the end of the day that's all we want- amazing matches telling amazing stories with hard working passionate guys who have earned their spot.
Coming into this episode of Smackdown, the first real TV produced since Royal Rumble, there are so many questions to be answered. How will the WWE Universe respond to Roman Reigns? What's next for Daniel Bryan? How will John Cena respond to Rusev? I am sure at least one of these questions will be answered.
Opening Segment
So Triple H is feuding with the weather? Hunter is in fine form tonight bringing the majority of the world up to speed on why we didn't see a live episode of Raw on Monday. He also comments on Deflategate telling us that WWE loves balls. Triple H is in 2009 era comedy mode, reminding us that no matter how evil he is he can still break the 4th wall and deliver some great one liners. Triple H's comedy act works really well when we don't see it often. He even teases a BIG announcement for Raw.
H comes right out with it and acknowledges that the fans were not happy with the outcome of the Royal Rumble. This brings out The Vest in the World to a mixed reaction. Well not really a mixed reaction, sort of like… no reaction. Not good. A chorus of boos would have been at least some reaction. Say what you want about Cena, but you can feel the electricity when he enters an arena. Always to a reaction by the way. We get preview of the next few months as Reigns goes toe to toe with someone far superior on the mic. Man Paul Heyman is gonna eat this guy alive.
Roman Reigns vs Big Show
Ok… why the hell was Roman Reigns upside down for 1/3 of this match? What the hell was that??? I have never seen Big Show, or anyone, do that upside calve lock. Ok… moving on. This was a smart move though. Roman Reigns needed to come out swinging tonight… he sort of did? I am not sure if Big Show was the best possible opponent. Roman should have went out there and put on a really great match with someone like… Cesaro or Wade Barrett. Someone that could have at least made Reigns look really credible and good. Not taking anything away from Big Show, but his slow plodding style does nothing for Reigns' explosive offense. That Superman punch is pretty over though, can't deny that.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Hall of Fame announcement-
Paige won this video package. I love Paige. I am happy Arnold is going in, although he is only loosely tied to WWE. He hit Triple H once, that's what qualifies you for the Rumble. Remember when he was on Smackdown promoting End of Days? He was rocking that cool beard. End of Days had a pretty good soundtrack.
John Cena/Rusev Segment
You want to know why John Cena is in his words The Face That Runs This Place (awesome btw!)? Because of promos like this one. HOT DAMN! Cena was on fire harkening back to his Thuganomics gimmick! Rusev started out complaining about the Rumble ending with some impressive mic skills of his own. Cena hit the ring with a head of steam and got some great verbal jabs in about pubes and boobs. If this is a preview of this feud, sign me up!!!! This one segment alone got me super excited for this match/matches. That's how your top guy is supposed to handle himself on the mic.
Renee Young is my celebrity crush. So is Paige. They should be my friends…also the Bellas….
The Ascension mid entrance promo sold me on this team for the first time since they joined the main roster. Such a simple easy way to get them over. The early 90s style promo was a perfect balance of tongue in cheek goofiness and honest intimidation. Many lolz for "Olddust".
I like that the Dust Brothers gimmick is that Stardust is now too weird even for Goldust. Cody is golden, no pun intended.
Daniel Bryan vs Kane in a Casket Match
Concessions Kane comes out first. Daniel Bryan follows to a MASSIVE pop. Michael Cole reminds us that Bryan has never been in a casket match. Thanks Cole. Bryan and Kane have pretty good chemistry, but by now I am a little tired of this match. Hopefully this is the last of their series.
The match starts off with Bryan coming out strong. His Yes Kicks connect to the joy of the Hartford crowd. Kane takes control by the time of the first commercial break and Bryan has already been wrestling longer than he was in the Rumble.
After the commercial break we get a few casket teases. It is at this time that I realize this HAS to be the first casket match ever on Smackdown. No hyperbole here- I could watch Bryan wrestle all day. I know I said it before but it seems Bryan hasn't changed his offense at all. I just hope he is 100%. Because if it turns out he came back too early, and he gets another injury, for literally no reason, that would suck. I am confident that there is solid plan for Bryan, but was it a plan that could have waited until after the Royal Rumble? We may not know yet, but fingers crossed. If he continues to deliver excellent matches like this one than I am fine with it. This was probably the 2nd best casket match of all time (HBK Taker will always be number 1). Lots of fun spots, including the multiple casket teases, the Yes Lock in the casket, and Bryan delivering the Knee Plus to Kane on the ropes. The final image of Bryan standing on the casket while the ENTIRE arena chanted Yes was a cool ending to a really great match.
Overall Smackdown produced another solid outing. Between great mic work from Cena and Triple H, fun backstage segments (yo R Truth loves magic), and the 2nd best match of the week as the main event, Smackdown was a must watch this week. A really great 2 hours of TV. The WWE had 3 days to plan this show, and it was overall very well put together. You could tell they were saving most of the big moments for Monday, including Triple H's Earth shattering announcement. The image of Bryan standing tall yet again on an episode of Smackdown once again proves my point that WWE could benefit HUGE from another brand split.
