PUTTIN’ THAT SMACKDOWN…What Happened Last (Tuesday) Night [Jan. 22nd, 2015]

What’s happening, Enthusiasts?  So, Smackdown had a tough act to follow and I wouldn’t say that they so much matched RAW as they maintained their own sense of consistency, which is fine.  Sometimes RAW does get it right, as we saw but, the true mark of any account of excellence is longevity.  It remains to be seen if RAW can maintain, something Smackdown has steadily proven thus far.  In any case, I was adequately pleased with Smackdown’s offering and not so much anxious for The Royal Rumble but more comfortably prepared.  As We the Audience have come to realize, what the WWE comes up with often is hit or miss and seeing how I prefer to avoid disappointment if at all possible, I’ll remain cautiously optimistic about what comes to pass this Sunday night.

We open in Austin, Texas with Daniel Bryan coming out to greet the crowd.  Our hero has some good things to say, seeing how John Cena was able to “earn back the jobs” of Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan.  Since these fellows are back on the roster, so to speak, let’s hear what they have to say about this whole fiasco.  Ryback starts it off first, feeling good to be back and he lets the crowd know it and the We the Audience are glad he's back.  He’s had plenty of time to think and seeing how he’s been through true trials and tribulations, he knows what to be thankful for.  He’s gonna do what he loves and he's gonna throw his hat in the ring for the Rumble with everyone else and he’s going in hungry!  Then Erick Rowan had some endearing words to say.  He’s lived a simple life.  Yet it was dark and for a little bit, it got darker but now the light’s returning and he’s staying strong.  Personally, I really think Rowan and Luke Harper should follow the Ren & Stimpy philosophy and just be odd, strange and maybe a little gross but with an overall sense of dark humor.   Since they are being played as “special” characters, I think that would keep them edgy yet still somewhat innocent.  As I said on the Twitters, he should have been talking about how he discovered the soothing skill of beard braiding and since he supposedly plays guitar, decided to add ukulele to his repertoire.  Anyway, all that leaves is Ziggler to say his piece and from the sounds of it, he gives a mild dig at CM Punk since he decided not to sit at home whining and complaining on podcasts.  I can see why he’d be allowed to do this.  Though the relationship between the WWE and CM Punk is currently fractured, his ghost is still present and strong.  Mixing it up with him, be it indirectly or not, draws heat and with that comes attention and in that respect, it’s like publicity and is basically all good for business.  Nevertheless, Ziggler didn’t bitch about his “turn of fate” and is here, ready and most certainly willing to do everything and anything to stay in the Rumble until the end.

Well, naturally on that positive note, The Authority Representatives in the forms of Dad (Kane), Seth Rollins and J&J Security and Big Show stroll out to rain on the parade as they tend to do.  Regardless, the Faces still have a chance to earn spots in the Royal Rumble; they just have to earn them in their matches.   They win, they’re in.  So, let’s get it started shall we?  Dad decrees that first up will be Ziggler and he’ll go up against the last guy he faced, Wade “Bad News” Barrett.

The first match of the night was solid.  It is nice to have Dolph Ziggler back, kinda missed that scrappy, peroxided head of hair.  Barrett was his usual surly self, doing Ziggler no favors and apparently favoring Ziggler’s left arm, putting “McScrapperton” in a bind as he accounts for an “aggravated injury”.  Though the title wasn’t on the line, Ziggler was in fine form and will probably earn the Intercontinental Title back in time.   I’m not sure if he and Barrett are gonna feud for it but it could make for some interesting wrestling.  In any case, in his standard gutsy fashion, Ziggler bests Barrett for the win and his place in the Royal Rumble.

Next up, we have a true heavyweight match with Ryback up against Rusev to get his place in the Rumble.  If you’re looking for a power match, this one certainly didn’t disappoint.  These big ol’boys collided in the explosive manner one would expect.  Ryback was quite impressive managing to execute a vertical suplex on the Bulgarian Brute.  He even chased Rusev out of the ring a couple of times.  Both were stubborn in this exchange but with Ryback set to “Bulldoze” this time around, they eventually spill out of the ring, where Ryback lays into Rusev hard.  With Rusev dazed and confused, Ryback slinks back into the ring and earns the win and his Rumble spot via Countout.

With the Rumble just days away, this Smackdown was a little promo heavy with some bits just for comedy so that our wrestlers can “choose” their entry numbers into the Rumble and others to set tones.   Naturally, the one that got the most flack was Roman Reigns’ for his interview with Renée Young.   Actually, this was much improved in my opinion.  On the internets there were all sorts of talk about the Andre the Giant analogy/redundancy but, meh.  We have bigger things to worry about than content at this point.  I doubt he writes his promos so, if people are gonna nitpick, pick on the writers.   As for his diction and execution, still a little 1-dimensional but he’s definitely beginning to find his voice.  He’ll find the middle ground before long, then hopefully we can start getting more case specific.

As for the next match, we have some Divas action with Brie Bella taking on Naomi.  Nikki accompanies her sister and Paige and Natalya sit in on commentary.  The match wasn’t bad but I found myself distracted by the commentary again but, not in a bad way like with the Bellas.  Natalya and Paige were kind of sultry which reminded me of like a Quiet Storm sort of radio segment mixed with a hint of Love Line since some Total Divas  storylines spilled into the discourse.  I could care less about what’s going on, on Total Divas but I think it’s a bit of a red flag if I’m getting distracted from the match.  Both Brie and Naomi could use a little more “pizazz” character wise.  The Bellas promo just made them look like a couple of bitches and if that’s the point, kudos but usually, in these sort of cases, you want to kinda like the bitch-itude.   The disses should be funny  so We the Audience can love to hate them but, they just came off petty.  Paul Heyman is a good example of someone who manages this balance well.  As for Naomi, I enjoy watching her ring work but character-wise I’m at a bit of a loss.  Alicia Fox at least gets crazy from time to time, Paige is her Evanescence self, the Bellas got the twin thing going, what does Naomi have? We know she’s got the skill but We the Audience enjoy being entertained too.

To follow, we have the “broken brothers” in Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in a big ol’hoss fight.  And boy, do they get down.  On opposing sides now, their clashes have a tense but fuzzy tone to them and I think that’s appropriate.  As I’ve stated in previous posts, one thing that I do agree with in how their characters are portrayed is that they are a little “off” and that shows in their matches.   They know they’re no longer compatriots but at the same time, I feel they come off confused about this as well but they play for their new teams regardless.   I think this leaves a lot of room for reunions and break-ups in the future.  Yet, in a bit of surprise, Harper manages to land the pin this time around, dashing Rowan’s Royal Rumble hopes…so it seems.

We then come to the main event with Daniel Bryan vs. Dad / Kane.   Since this is a No Disqualification match and for Bryan’s entry into the Rumble, things get “dirty” pretty quickly.  Dad starts it off with the kendo stick first and then Bryan got his chance and nearly broke one over on Dad.  Well, Dad’s answer to that is one of them there “steel chairs” on top of just being ruthless to our hero, just like I like to see Dad play.  He dealt Bryan some nasty blows but eventually Bryan is able to execute a clean YES! Lock.    Just as Dad looks as if he’s about to tap out J&J Security, on loan from Seth Rollins, legally break up the party, forcing our hero into a 3-on-1 match.  Well, it seems like nothing can keep Bryan down and with his heart and feet, he takes out J&J and then takes out Dad, knee first, for the win and Rumble!  Yet, as Bryan heads back to safety, Big Show deals him a cheap shot to the kidneys.  J&J join in and the spoil-sports have at our hero.   This prompts Ziggler to come out to the rescue, followed by Ryback and Rowan and before long, the locker room clears and we have ourselves our annual pre-Rumble brawl.  Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns even join the party, with their entrance music to announce them to boot.  This is my only problem with this, especially in Reigns’ case ‘cause it takes him like 8 years to get to the ring.  He can’t enter from the Orchestra Pit area in these cases? I like that he goes through the crowd but when it’s a brawl, it’s just inefficient to do it the usual way.   I understand that we haven’t seen much of them this episode but, given the nature of the brawl, unnecessary to mark their entrances.  They should have just gotten in there with everyone else.  We would have noticed and besides, the music kills the seeming spontaneity of the brawl.  Anyway, as you can expect, the Faces manage to clear the ring and we are now set to Rumble.  I’m up for it.  Let’s see if they can make it worth our while.

 

See You Sunday,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)