2011 Discussion

Discuss 2011 in Smackdown

Dolph Ziggler vs Big Show vs Drew McIntyre vs Cody Rhodes - Smackdown 07.01.2011
Woah nelly this was brilliant. Absolutely loved Show's performance in the MITB match and this isn't far behind it. viva said a while ago around the time of the MITB match that Big Show vs the world may be the best formula around atm and it comes up again here and again it's brilliant. It's a shame that they cant make a less established monster like Zeke perhaps look as dominant as Show does in this. Start of the match with Show just literally dominating everyone was really fun, loved Drew not being able to get in the ring and him getting more and more pissed off and being kept on the outside. All 3 heel's selling was spot on too which just added further into making Show look like a genuine monster and not a big guy who's easily beaten. The transition spot that took Show out of the picture was awesome. Show's so dominant that the only way he's losing this is if he makes a mistake which he does and then all 3 heels join together to try and take him out for good. Looked really cool too. What looked even better though was the 2nd spot to keep Show down on the outside where Drew launched Cody off the top rope into him. Came out of nowhere and looked great. The transition between Show going from fun giant beating the bad guys up to pissed off monster with a chip on his shoulder was beautiful. Then you get the random interference segment from Barrett which didn't end up as bad as I thought it would. Barrett vs Taker seems a lock for Mania now that he's seemingly on SD now after being booted out of Nexus. I guess Show is just a filler feud until Taker comes back and deals with Kane before Mania. Saw a lot of people on WF complain about Show kicking out of all 3 finishers after Barrett's attack and normally if any old guy did it I would be too but this is a fucking giant. If anyone should be allowed to kick out of all this it should be this guy. All 3 of them were awesome near falls too and totally believable after the run in. Ending was perfect too with Dolph realising after all Show had took there was no way he'd be able to beat so he suckered Cody into his own finisher which was enough to finish him off because you see Cody is a tiny fragment of the sixe of Big Show so it's going to take much less to keep him down!

Really glad that Ziggler won, presuming that he'll get the shot on PPV but I assumed that with Morrison so who knows. Ziggler and Edge had a great TV match last year so this should be really good at minimum. Ziggler's for me the heel equivalent of Danielson at this point where you can put him in there with virtually anyone and he can have a watchable match with them. Seems as though the Danielson match was a real breakthrough for Ziggler too because he's been pushed really well and more importantly, really consistently since that match. Was obvious as fuck when Ziggler was entered into the match that he'd be winning because the only other viable option was the face and that wasn't likely to happen. Really enjoyed how the previous segment transitioned perfectly into the next one. Vickie abusing her power was great too, in both segments. Even more convinced now that Ziggler will win MITB and a world title from it this year. ***1/2 at least.

Christian vs Alberto Del Rio - Smackdown 25.03.2011
Thought this was better than their Cage match last week, quite comfortably so actually, and better than most main events on TV. Finishing sequence was really great and pushed the match up a lot too. Del Rio looks like someone who'd be really lost and uncomfortable if they put him in a match with a less than great worker like Miz for example but so far he's had Edge, Christian and Rey so it's hidden it well so far. 3 Way seems a lock for whatever gimmicky PPV is after Mania at least. Edge/Del Rio could be really good with Edge's arm injury going into it and they had a great little TV match last year too. Aftermath like last week I thought was the best part with Christian stopping Edge from ruining his Mania match and hitting the chair shot himself. Outside stuff during the match with Brodus and Rodriquez was great too. Brodus pulled the best face ever when he was running up behind Edge too.

The Corre vs Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Kofi Kingston - 2 Out Of 3 Falls - Smackdown 08.04.2011
Really shocked at not only how much time this got but how good it was. The falls were done well and they gave it enough time for the heels to get the heat and build to a hot tag for the babyfaces. Show I dont think ever got actually into the match legally unless he did early on but he was a great apron worker. Corre were really good as a unit when they had the heat, especially when they just Kane in the corner and kept tagging in and out putting boots and fists to him. Santino's FIP segment was even better and it came nicely off the 2nd fall which Corre got and carried into the final fall. Kane was amazing in the corner of the screen when Santino was setting up for the cobra but didn't realise that Barrett had tagged in and was waiting for him and then he acted all disappointed in Santino when he walked right into it. Zeke looked awesome too in his short bursts and Corre looked better as a unit here than they or Nexus ever have before imo. One of the best TV matches they've done so far this year. Possibly only bettered by the Big Show 4 way at the start of the year and a few Danielson matches too.

Christian/Del Rio had another good TV match too. All 3 have been good but none of them have great imo. Can't see myself looking back at the end of the year and thinking any of them were some of the better TV matches of that year. Del Rio hasn't made himself look like a breakout main event star in any of them either. They've all been mostly Christian looking great and trying to make him look better than he is.

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 06.05.2011
This was fucking great for a short match. Short as in just over 5 minutes. Sheamus looks great on offence and his control segment was perfectly fine. Once Danielson starting coming back though it got really good and hot. Sheamus did this diving shoulder block over the top rope and into the ring on Sunday that looked cool. Well he went for it again here and Danielson caught him with it in the Lebell Lock which looked awesome. Teased tap was great too. Normally dont care for the suicide dive being blocked but it looked great here, largely down to the camera work as well as an awesome spot on both guys' parts. Only negatives were the time and the fact that Danielson looked like a total jobber. Figured seeing as it was on SD that it might get more time than your average Raw match but I guess it got cut down with all the title stuff going on during the show. Not looking good for Danielson atm. Got put in the goofy skits with the "comedy" guys and has looked like a generic midcard job guy all year.

Daniel Bryan vs Sin Cara - Smackdown 13.05.2011
Lost my shit for a second when Danielson's music came on as the opponent. There were quite a few flaws with this but none due to what these two were doing in the ring. Putting Danielson in there with Sin Cara isn't helping one bit to get him over and the crowd was disturbingly dead for Danielson's control segment which fucking sucked (the reaction, not Danielson). Also I fucking hate how they have that stupid lighting on for all of Sin Cara's matches. Chavo interfered at the end and it was a really wierd dynamic in a face vs face match having a heel try to cost the least over babyface the match. After the match they were trying to do an angle where Sin Cara was unhappy with Chavo when he saw the replay on the tron and although they did a decent job with it and they got the point over, it's pretty much impossible for Sin Cara to get any real emotion or storytelling over. One because he doesn't speak and two because you can't get any emotion with that mask on as it covers his entire face. Aside from some outside stuff not making sense the match itself is really enjoyable. Think I spoke last week about Sin Cara needing to be in there with guys who can work his style as he comes to learn the WWE style and Danielson is definitely one of the right guys to put him with in that sense. He made him look terrific too and everything looked totally crisp. Chavo was entertaining on commentary in the sense that he was a total goofball pretending to be a huge star but coming off like everyone knows he's a nobody bar his surname. Chavo taking credit for everything Sin Cara did was enjoyable though. Danielson hit one of the best top rope dropkicks that I've ever seen him pull out either.

Christian vs Sheamus - Smackdown 20.05.2011
As you'd expect this is really good and they get plenty of time to put a strong match together. In another world where tag wrestling still mattered to WWE, Sheamus & Drew would be tagging together and ruling the motherfucking world. Sheamus has come on leaps and bounds lately and his offence, like McIntyre's is just brilliant. Christian is Christian and he eats up everything that Sheamus gives to him really well. The McIntyre matches from last year were more focused and had a clearer story to work with than this but this is still a totally great "throwaway" match of sorts for a go home show.

Daniel Bryan vs Cody Rhodes - Smackdown 27.05.2011
Like other people have said this is really enjoyable. I just hope it's a tease for a future lengthier PPV match because that would rock. This felt a bit short though and kinda basic for these two I thought. Some really nifty sequences that they put together too. Cody reversing Danielson's running leapfrog into his kick off the ropes was sweet. Absolutely love Danielson's surfboard whenever he goes for it and I think that was the first time he just rammed someone's knees into the mat which was awesome. Cody tapping before the lebell lock was even properly locked in was a nice touch. Aftermath definitely hints at a PPV match which they hopefully get with 10-15 minutes.

Christian vs Sheamus vs Mark Henry - Smackdown 27.05.2011
This was a nifty little match too. Christian basically took a beating from the two heels for the duration of the match and Christian always takes a great ass kicking. Henry looked great in this and I still think a Christian/Henry match could be really good. Maybe they'll do it next to open and have Sheamus/Orton as the main. 4 way for the PPV seems probable which is odd seeing as they renamed the PPV which used to be Fatal 4 Way. Raw 4 way could easily be done with Cena/Truth/Punk/Rey. Henry lifting Sheamus up in a bear hug position and just dumping him out of the ring was incredible. Finish was booked really smartly with Orton run in possible costing Christian a title shot and the way they showed the Robinson shouting that Randy was in the ring and distracted him was cool. Hated Orton's music going off mid match so he could he come down to ringside though.

Randy Orton vs Sheamus - No DQ - Smackdown 10.06.2011
Man this was really good. Went really long for a TV match and the longer time helped them in this case for it to develop. Orton is much more durable on SD it seems. He goes through all of his usual shtick and it's decent. Sheamus is really good too and he continues to look great on a weekly basis nowadays. The No DQ stip helped to add to the match and provided some good spots. The cane stuff was good and Sheamus getting his foot trapped in the ropes, leaving him open to Orton getting his revenge with the cane. The slam on the steps was a cool spot too and Sheamus certainly didn't hold back taking the bump. Possibly a 3 way at the PPV now that Sheamus has technically beat Orton 2 weeks in a row now.

Daniel Bryan vs Tyson Kidd - Smackdown 05.08.2011
So wanted this match earlier in the year after the Superstars tag at the start of the year when they seemed to tease it but it never happened so I was super excited when I got it here. Thankfully Kidd got a lot of offence in for a Superstars guy which meant you could have a proper FIP segment for Danielson which made the match. Danielson looked incredible btw. The top rope dropkick that he hit in this match looked insane and he set the leg work up really well by going for it after the dive. Normally I'm impartial to Cole and Booker on commentary and sometimes I enjoy their banter but when they do nothing but talk nonsense during matches like this and literally don't talk about the match at all it's so annoying. I don't think they mentioned Kidd once bar when Booker said something about him having big shoes to fill. Barrett being on commentary didn't help as they had to talk to him too but jesus christ at least call the match in between. Poor Josh tries to focus on the match every now and again but Cole and Booker are having none of it. How Danielson is able to get over with Cole and Booker calling his matches I'll never know. Cole literally just buries him all the time and not in the way that Lawler would talk shit about Bret all the time but he's just burying him like he does the divas and then you have Booker making him sound like a dork calling D.Bryan the superhero. Why oh why they have these 2 on commentary when you have Scott Stanford doing Superstars I'll never know. Match is awesome anyway despite the retarded commentary and I love the way they're adding more submissions for Danielson to win with. Just need to tell Booker what they're called now. Fucking anaconda. Right up there with the 4 way and Rey/Cena for WWE TV MOTY.

***1/2

Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio – Smackdown 08/19/11
Well, this was like a see-saw match for me, on one-half, it bored me. On the other-half, it had me feeling all giddy and tight around my butt. The match starts off with some fiery kick exchanges which was fine, but then Del Rio started working the arm, and although it was solid enough work, it was like watching mature porn, it does the job but you don’t like watching it. I get what Cole’s trying to do with his commentary but it just feels way too forced, kinda makes me wanna bottle the guy. Bryan’s comeback brings some life into the match, especially with a sweet-as-candy flying knee. Almost immediately after Bryan adds some excitement, Del Rio stops being boring too. About fuckin’ time. Both guys just go back and forth towards the end, a sweet bridging suplex deserves an honourable mention. The transition into the finish was pretty sweet too, I wasn’t too high on Del Rio going in, but what he showed in the second half of this match has me thinking twice about the ‘ol Mexican. Bryan is Bryan. Quality as per usual.

***1/2

Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd – Smackdown! 08/05/11
This was a fine little exhibition, but I can’t say it’s something that I’ll definitely remember 6 months down the line. A lot of the match revolved around Bryan’s leg and Kidd working over it every way he could, I even marked a little for the Figure-Four on the ring-post like Bret used to do. Bryan did a good job of still selling the leg, even while on offence which I appreciated a lot more than I should. There was one sweet-ass dropkick from Bryan that looked like it could’ve beheaded Kidd, Henry VIII style. Booker on commentary was as fun as ever, he’s slowly becoming one of my favorite commentator’s in wrestling. No matter what anyone says, you can’t dispute that he’s incredibly enthusiastic about the product. The finish was basic enough, almost exactly what you’d expect. No bad taste left in my mouth or anything, in fact, a rather sweet taste. I would kill for some Haribo’s right about now.

***1/4

Daniel Bryan vs Sin Cara - Smackdown 16.09.2011
Short match but I thought it was tremendous. Danielson really brings the hate and is out for Hunico's blood. Match starts off perfectly to set the tone of the match with Danielson charging at Hunico at kicking him into the corner and then just beating on him. Danielson's kicks are even more effective when he's like this and Hunico brings the stiffness straight back to Danielson too and even throws in some neat leg work. Danielson really needs a big heated rivalry now with someone like Henry so he can have more matches like this where he can act like psycho and lay into someone. First time he's really got mad and gone for someone with any real heat during his WWE run and it stood out all the more because of how rare you get WWE matches with this kind of heat and if Danielson had a longer high profile version of this match it's stand out even more. Sucked that the crowd was dead for it but they were dead for everything so it's not like it was just these two they didn't care about. That bump that Danielson took from the ring to the floor when Hunico just threw him out was nutty and looked awesome when he bounced up on the landing. Cole was actually really good for this match and the whole show actually and sounded like a legit commentator talking sense but still having favourites. His line about Danielson having a steak being why he's all fired up was great. Mistico coming back and doing the double Sin Cara deal was odd and didn't get over very well. Doesn't help when they're doing an angle like this that Mistico can't talk but at least you could tell the difference between the two clearly when they stood against each other. Booker's "what the hell" when Mistico appeared was brilliant. Booker had the most random line ever even by his standards later in the show when he just blurted out "Big Bubba Rogers baby" and everyone just blanked him. His "HIP BONE CONNECTED TO THE LEG BONE" line was crazy too. One of the better Danielson matches of the year for me along with his second with Del Rio and the SD match with Kidd not too long ago.