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Wrestling excitement and interest has soared these past few weeks, especially on the heels of a fabulous PPV on Sunday in Chicago. It was great matches, great storylines allowed to play out properly, an amazingly electric crowd, and one hell of a main event that exceeded expectations. I have not enjoyed a wrestling event this much since returning to the sport in 2009 (after 20 year hiatus), and perhaps not since Wrestlemania III…if anything at all ever. I completely loved MITB 2011.

So here we are then—the first Smackdown episode since this legendary PPV and I’m proud of our blue brand boys. Their MITB match was excellent and everyone showed up. Both matches were good, but I really liked the fresh faces and superior action and aerial maneuvers of the Smackdown match that kicked off the PPV. It was a great blend of speed and aerial (Gabriel, Slater, Cara) with power and grinders (Sheamus, Bryan, Kane and Barrett). Ultimately, the high points were fast and furious. When I saw the Raw lineup, I couldn’t help but think of all those old, stale faces that bored us to tears on Smackdown just months ago—Mysterio, Kingston, Swagger, and even Del Rio as much as I like his work. My point being, I really like the fresh feel and new lineup that Smackdown is sporting these days.

The episode starts with Randy Orton in the middle of the ring, crying foul over his title loss at MITB. He obviously wants a piece of Christian and says he will not be satisfied ever until he takes out Christian. The new champion’s music hits and we see our boy come out wearing a ‘Hit the Switch’ tee shirt. He confronts Orton’s anger issues as being the real problem Orton needs to deal with, and indicates it was easy to use that weakness against him. He reminds Orton of how unfair it was that HE ever lost his title to begin with and that he’s been battling Teddy Long’s incompetence and the organization’s favoritism to Orton (true that) these past months, and he finally overcame these obstacles. Orton predictably comes unhinged and races after Christian only to be interfered with by about 10 referees and Teddy Long. Orton wants his rematch tonight but Long reminds him he already signed a contract to face Kane in a street fight tonight (oh joy, a sloppy meandering match with nothing but kicks and punches). Long asks Orton to do the right thing and honor his deal and he’ll get a rematch very soon. Orton doesn’t go quietly but ultimately has no choice but to acquiesce. Long gets in Christian’s face and tells him he isn’t getting off easy either. He will face the Intercontinental Champion (Ezekial Jackson) right now. Christian doesn’t understand why and neither do I really…but the match is booked and begins after the first commercial.

EZ Jackson starts off strong and clubs Christian out of the ring with his big clothesline. Christian revives and goes for a baseball slide but misses and is shoved backwards into the announce table. Jackson charges Christian outside the ring, but succumbs to a drop-over toe hold and crashes into the steel ring steps. We get a commercial break and return with both men in the ring. Jackson mostly has the upper hand but when he gets cooking he makes a mistake to the more experienced champion, such as missing a useless elbow drop after connecting with a big boot. Christian tries a couple times for Kill Switch but can’t overpower the behemoth. Jackson gets the Champ in a fireman’s carry position and falls back for a Samoan drop. He goes for his series of body slams, but by now he is tiring and the more cagey Christian sees this and eventually is able to land his finisher Kill Switch for a clean victory. Christian defeats Ezekial Jackson via clean pinfall!

We return from commercial and the omnipresent and uber-annoying Michael Cole is in the ring introducing Daniel Bryan, with the least possible enthusiasm one could imagine. Bryan goes on to defend his MITB victory to Cole and say he will be the first to tell everyone when and where he plans to cash in the contract. I was thinking Summerslam, where he saved the show last year, but he wisely goes for the grand-daddy of them all—Wrestlemania 28! As this is announced, we get some generic hard rock music that must belong to Heath Slater. Slater tries to call out Bryan for being the weak link in NXT and Nexus, but it just seems lame coming from him. We’ve got a complete cheese-dick trying to talk smack to a consummate professional. I actually feel embarrassed myself when I see how NOT over Slater is as he bellows out his “one man rock band” mantra. That folks, is the essence of douche-chills. The two are now going to face off 1×1 and the match starts with Bryan drilling Heath with a dropkick and near-miss with the Labelle Lock. Slater scurries out of the ring to regroup. Back in the ring, Slater is in control briefly and he tells the crowd to ‘shut up’. The increasingly-annoying Booker T interrupts his bad commentary to tell us Bryan is now at the top of his irrelevant Fave Five list. This happens as Slater lands a reverse elbow smash off the ropes and works DB in the corner with stomps, chokes and right hands. Slater whips Bryan hard into the corner and Daniel bounces off hard a la Bret Hart. Slater gets an irritating smirk showing how proud of himself he is. Slater continues to work over Bryan and gets a near fall after smash Bryan’s face to his knee. Matthews tells us all these instruments Slater can play (drums, guitar, bass) and I want to slap him for trying to put over this knob to us. I’ll bet a mortgage payment he doesn’t know three chords on any instrument, much less be some ‘one man rock band’. Bryan back body drops Slater high over the top rope to the outside and follows it up with a flying knee smash off the apron. This sends Slater crashing hard into the crowd barrier. Back in the ring, Bryan hits a perfect missile dropkick from the top rope for a near fall. He tries to work in his submission again but enables Slater to hit a spine-buster. The two trade inside cradles for near falls and the action is back and forth. Bryan looks to be landing a spinning DDT from the top but it’s actually a guillotine head lock that Slater taps out to. Winner by submission is Daniel Bryan. I’ll give Slater some credit. He may be a tool but his in-ring work isn’t the worst, and he did look pretty good at MITB even though he’s still battling irrelevancy with the fans.

Next up is an intriguing battle for UK with two likeable heels facing off—Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus. This is really more of a table-setter match to build on recent animosity between the two but create even more tension for a genuine heated rivalry. Barrett comes out strong and gets an early upperhand but Sheamus turns it around with the Irish Curse. Neither man gets much momentum going as they both go to the outside. The match ends up with the two pounding each other by the announcer’s table for a double countout. After the bell, Sheamus gets the better of it by clobbering Sheamus with the brogue kick. The crowd in general is quiet tonight but seems to favor Sheamus slightly. Sheamus almost seems to be soaking in what few cheers he’s getting as he raises his arms high and mighty. Sheamus and Wade Barrett battle to Double Countout.

Somewhat surprisingly we see Randy Orton’s introduction with still a full 35 minutes left in the episode. Usually this means some sort of shenanigans are planned, or an ‘impromptu’ tag team match will be booked, say with Kane and Orton suddenly teaming up against Christian and whomever on a Teddy Long whim. We shall see what happens, but whatever it is, I’m sure it won’t be another 35-minute classic that Punk and Cena delivered on Sunday. Orton is introduced first and then out comes Kane. We’re reminded there are no rules in the match and it only ends in pinfall or submission. Personally, I’m not a fan of matches that end up in the dressing room, concession stands, or parking lots. Kane charges and eats a boot from Orton and Randy hits at Thesz Press followed by some ground and pound. He goes for an immediate RKO but Kane is not nearly softened up enough yet. Kane plows Orton over the top with a clothesline and now the out-of-ring carnage will commence. They battle up the ramp-way towards the stage in back. The announcers remind us how Kane is recently feeling ‘more human and has lost the monster within’; I’m not sure what this really means and I haven’t seen any tangible evidence either way. Back to the match, Orton is raking Kane with a kendo stick to the back, knees and shoulders. Orton takes it back in the ring and Kane follows accordingly. Kane resists a rope-assisted DDT by back body dropping Orton back outside. Kane tosses Randy into the crowd barrier as we go to commercial.

Back to action and it’s Kane well in charge as he hits the charging low dropkick off the ropes to a hapless Orton. A minute later and we’re back outside the ring. Kane lands a big uppercut to Orton, who was attempting a Macho Man-esque double ax handle off the ring apron. Kane goes for the choke slam by the announcer’s table but Orton fends it off by jumping on top of the table and punching and kicking Kane away. However, Orton’s weight topples himself and the entire table over and he plows to the floor in a heap along with the table. He gets up quickly limping and with a frenetic yells and a smile that tells of more pain than pleasure. He wags his finger in the air as if to reassure himself he’s okay. It appears he has some legit pain and this was a reaction to play it off. The referee tends to him as he yells out in moderate agony. If he was truly hurt, he fights through it like a pro and irish whips Kane into and over the steel ring steps. We see a replay and he actually stepped through the hole on the table (where the monitor would be) and that’s what caused him to trip and fall over, while taking the table with him. I’m assuming he’s feeling some genuine sting. An enraged Orton goes back after Kane and lays a flurry of punches on him as he smashes the big red monster’s ankle between steel ring steps. Now it’s Kane screaming in agony, but his pain is likely more of a work. We get a second commercial as Orton holds his hamstring. After the break, it’s Orton still in control but Kane fends off a second RKO attempt and lands a sidewalk slam. Kane now goes to the top rope even though his ankle is supposed to be destroyed. He lands the leaping lariat and starts measuring the choke slam. As he goes for it Orton hits the RKO out of nowhere, but it’s only for a near fall! Kane kicks out at 2.5 and the announcers put over the monster while Orton looks incredulous. Randy stands over Kane and retreats to the corner to line up the head punt. As he charges, Kane catches him and hits the choke slam, but this time it’s Orton who kicks out just before the 3 count. The two have traded places from moments ago, and now it’s Kane who can’t believe his eyes while Orton is listlessly laying across the canvas. A third commercial comes and I’m pleased we’re getting a solid main event match. Back from this break and Kane has a chair. He drills Orton in the solar plexus and three times across the back. Orton cries out in pain and Kane gives the signal for the tombstone pile driver (on the chair no less). But of course, Orton scrambles out of it and hits the RKO on the chair for the pinfall victory. Randy Orton pins Kane after RKO on steel chair. It was a match that exceeded my expectations even if it was the predictable finish for Orton. There’s a good 7 minutes left in the episode so let’s see what happens next.

Orton interrupts his own post-match celebration and sees the game Kane struggling to his feet. He looks on respectively and the two share a moment of mutual admiration in the ring. They shake hands and Kane limps away while Orton’s music kicks back in. After a recap of highlights, Kane’s music comes on for a flash as a tribute to his efforts, but his little moment is interrupted by Mean Mark Henry. Henry takes advantage of the injured Kane and destructs him with a World’s Largest Slam, followed by a big splash, and then finally the same move he did to Big Show at MITB, where he put Kane’s already injured ankle inside a folding chair and then jumped off the middle rope onto the chair/ankle with all his ~420 pounds. The episode ends on this note, with Mean Mark strutting away. Meanwhile, where the heck was Orton to help out Kane…he was in the ring literally 10 seconds before the attack started. Ah, that’s more good scriptwriting for ya. Overall, a solid if not spectacular episode. Smackdown is pretty consistent these days in that they enough appealing talent and a steady of dose of in-ring action, so it’s near impossible for them to have a terrible episode. All they have to do is book some solid matchups and let the pros do their thing and it’ll be okay.

Recap:

Christian pins Ezekial Jackson after Kill Switch: B-
Daniel Bryan defeats Heath Slater via submission (guillotine choke): B
Wade Barrett and Sheamus battle to Double Countout: C-
Randy Orton pins Kane after RKO: B+

Note: Bear in mind grading is very subjective (I usually refrain), but an “A/A+” match would be what we saw Sunday with the MITB and main event matches.

Source: wrestlingtruth.com