2012 Discussion

Discuss 2012 in Smackdown

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show – Smackdown 01/06/12
This is the match Moops mentioned with Mark Henry on commentary. Mark Henry’s the greatest. The match itself is a real game of cat and mouse for the short amount of time it gets and Bryan stooges around for Show like a real champ. This isn’t a long affair by any means but one notable thing happened, Big Show hit a spear! When did he start doing that?! I feel really out of the loop not knowing he spears people now. I love Bryan being a chickenshit, it’s hard not to with the ‘YES! YES! YES!’ shtick. Easily the best part of the match is Henry shoving the shit out of Bryan. ‘GET OUTTA MA DAMN FACE, I BEAT YO FACE OFF BOY’

***

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show – Smackdown 01/13/12
Things start with an ignored attempt at a handshake because Show’s mad and shit. He’s like an angry grizzly bear before the commercial break, and he does another SPEAR! However after the commercial, Bryan starts hunting down Show with a chair and hits like a gazillion chair shots. I’m not keen on them getting pretty much no-sold but I can live with it since he’s a behemoth and all. But then it gets hard to live with, because he’s shrugging off pretty much everything Bryan’s done. He’s SHITE at selling a knee too. Actually, I don’t think Show bumps even once here. He’s fucking bi-polar by the finish after knocking down AJ. He goes from monstrous rage to confessing his sins to Jeremy Kyle in a matter of seconds. Better than the last match but I’m left wanting more, I should mention that Bryan’s great going up the ramp; ‘YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE SO RECKLESS’, ‘YOU ARE A BASTARD’.

***1/2

Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry – Smackdown 01/20/12
I wasn’t the biggest fan of this. It’s a lumberjack match, a stipulation that I’ve never been terribly fond of. Bryan’s mannerisms are great as usual and Henry is beastly, but sadly things break down into everyone brawling just as the match starts to get good which is a shame because the action was building nicely. Bryan was bumping like crazy and eventually taking Henry off his feet was treated like a big deal. Good development if anything.

**1/2

Kane vs. Randy Orton - Smackdown 04/06/12
This was much better than I'd expected. I didn't really like their 'Mania match but I can comfortably say that I enjoyed this one. The No DQ stipulation really is right down their alley, why wasn't it used at 'Mania?! Those body shots at the start were a bit iffy but things got much better after Kane hit a DDT on the ramp. There's some nice chair-use but nothing too over-the-top. I appreciated the finish with Kane getting his comeuppance for exposing the turnbuckle and that's about it really. Nice 10 minute brawl. Can't complain.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus - Smackdown 04/06/12
This wasn't as good, but it worked as a nice development match, just giving us a taste of what these guys are like together. I'm a fan of Del Rio's concentrated work, he never really strays away from the arm and sticks to his game-plan. Sheamus is just a big brute with power moves, but it works for him. Neither guy hit their finisher, but both moves were built-up nicely and seen as legit threats, the Brogue Kick especially. The finish didn't come across too smoothly, but nobody's ever gonna be as good at that as Eddie was. Rodriguez at the end was the highlight in my eyes.

Big Show v. Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 1/7/12
This is better if you watch Bryan's douchey face-to-face backstage encounter with Show from earlier in the show, but even without it it is a fucking great tv match. Tons to like here, from Bryan's early reaction of dread after getting held but his face and headbutted to the floor, to the way his comeback was set up which was really believable and looked good, to Show fighting through the guillotine and the Labell Lock, et. Hell Bryan bleeding from the mouth, wit show frothing at the mouth while in the guillotine was one of the better visuals I can recall in the WWE in years. I think this had to balance between giving Bryan enough to make you believe he was a credible champion, but also keeping Show looking like a monster and leaving room for Bryan to take the pussy's way out at the end and the fact that it did all of that successfully is really insane. Also Mark Henry making Cole his bitch on commentary and then having Bryan use him as a out to get DQ'ed was a really brilliant use of him. Great work from all three guys really.

Daniel Bryan vs Big Show - Smackdown 01/13/12
Yeah that match was even better than last weeks. Bryan was great pinballing for Show, who was full of piss and vinegar. Show catching Bryan coming off the top with a spear was a holy shit spot. Bryan grabbing a chair to even the odds was great, including the chair shot to the chest to set up the DDT on the chair. Every time Bryan managed to get a piece of offense in or slip out of the way, he'd immediately grab the chair. Bryan hits a chopblock, goes for the chair again, but this time Show just punches it out of his hands and goes to the outside. Show clears off the announcers table but buys Bryan enough time to counter and grab the chair again. He whales him in the back all around the ring as Show stumbles. Show charging at Bryan, Bryan moving and Show toppling over AJ was well timed and looked good. The fans chanting "she's ok" was kind of lame, but Show was good in his reaction to what he had done and Bryan was great browbeating him for it. Great match, and Bryan finds yet another underhanded tactic to survive.

Bryan also cut a really awesome heel promo to open the show. Whoever doesn't think he can talk are flat out wrong. He's way better than Cody Rhodes.

Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry, 1/20 SD Lumberjack match
Hesitant nomination as its super short and doesn't have a real finish (even if it's awesome) and the fact that I'm an admitted mark for both of these guys, but this was a lumberjack match and it was worked exactly how a lumberjack match should be worked. Mark Henry was Mark Henry that you know and love. He chucks Bryan down near to the ropes as Bryan waves his finger and tells the lumberjacks not to touch him. Henry drops a big forearm over his back, and Bryan slides out of the ring to shove one of the Usos to remind them...not to touch him. Back in the ring and Henry continues beating up on Bryan with forearms across the chest, piefacing him, headbutting him, and talking all kinds of shit in the process. This is basically shit talking babyface Henry. Henry shoulder blocks Bryan and he tumbles to the floor where Barrett grabs him and throws him back in, as Bryan screams "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" Bryan eats a clothesline with a big spin bump that Henry got a really good nearfall off of. Close up shot on Henry who makes his usual awesome pissed off facial, following it up by military pressing Bryan out of the ring and ontop of the lumberjacks. The lumberjacks lift Bryan and Bryan nails one of them with a forearm as they all jump him. Henry goes and grabs him and basically hip tosses him back into the ring from the apron...Bryan nails a dropkick and the beast falls into the sea of lumberjacks...Bryan holds onto the ropes and keeps kicking at Henry who is trying to get back in. Awesome sequence. Then the other Jacks hit the ring and maul Bryan. Henry does his power up spot on the outside shoving everyone off of him at once... Then he storms into the ring, grabbing and throwing bodies out of the way to get at Bryan. He gets Bryan up for the WSS as everyone jumps Henry, who drops him, then everyone starts brawling with everyone to sell the Royal Rumble match, meanwhile Bryan grabs his title and skips town. I thought this had a great chaotic atmosphere, made Henry look like a beast, further established Bryans new heel character and built the PPV all in like 8 minutes. Fun tv match.

Wildcard Battle Royal - Smackdown 17/2
Seriously great battle royal, I'd say esily better than this years Rumble, and I don't recall seeing too many other standard BRs in history that were better than this. Some really nice looking eliminations, including a lengthy segment with Gabriel and Primo. I really liked Primo and Epico teaming up on everyone, until the more experienced of the two eliminated the rookie of the team. Drew looked fantastic at points, a total star. The finish was brilliant too, and the crowd reaction to Santino, and his win, was a special moment. The only thing the match could have done with was William Regal, and some kind of giant for everyone to gang up on. Brodus would have been a fun fit if he hadn't been dropped from TV recently.

CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan - Smackdown 21/2/12
Surprised that this hasn't had a mention yet. Better than the Raw match already nominated, with Punk being considerably better than normal. His selling of the arm here was superb, he kept going back to it throughout the match. The actual armwork was real nice too, and I loved Bryan's kneedrop that he rubbed in Punk's face whilst grabbing the arm. Finish(es) were kind of what you'd expect for a champion vs champion match on free TV, and even still it was decent enough and put both guys over a bit. Really good match, my #2 as of right now behing Finlay/Tajiri.

Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE 1/10/12)
I prefer 1/4/12 but this had a bunch of cool moments to separate it from its predecessor. This was again filled with fun bumping and selling from Bryan, as Show would continuously swat away the annoying bug. I liked the point where Show absorbed a bunch of kicks to his chest before catching Bryan's leg and dismissing him with one shove. And that mid-air spear cut-off spot ruled. So, like last time, Show is made too look like an absolute beast. Bryan persistently and desperately using the chair, only to repeatedly be shutdown by Show, was an entertaining approach to Bryan's comeback flashes without necessarily resorting to high-risk hope spots. The angle ending the match was excellently executed, with the camera and timing of the collison being spot on to not telegraph the moment nor ruin the ambiguity over whether AJ deliberately sacrificed herself or not. Plus, she really threw her body backwards to sell the impact. These guys match-up well. More please.

Randy Orton v. Mark Henry 4/12
Henry was tremendously great in this. Randy Orton doesn't have the worst punches in wrestling, but they look awkward as fuck and this was shot from a distance and they still looked like killer blows the way Henry was eating them. This is a house show match and Henry took a drop toehold on the stairs, got great air on the missed big splash and took the RKO like it was a ppv main event. The spot with Henry catching the cane and smashing it over his knee was great, as was his mockery of Orton's pose (which had me fucking laughing my ass off when he did it in the live Cage match I saw back in Dec.). Henry is like Jake Roberts in that he doesn't have a ton of offense, but everything he does looks like it could kill you and has purpose from the headbutts, the closelines, to the elbow drop, to the slam variations, et. Lots of fun nuance in this, including Orton wiggling free of an early WSM attempt and eating a running powerslam instead, Orton going for his mid-rope DDT and Henry working through it for a second WSM attempt and Orton hitting the RKO and sprinting over for the immediate cover like he knew he was fucked if he wasted even one second of time. I have been to enough WWE house shows over the years (and have another one coming up on Sunday) to know they often have really good matches, but this was a great match.

Mark Henry v. Sheamus - Smackdown 4/24
This never quite got to the level of "great" but it was a very good tv main event. Lots of fun spots with Henry ragdolling Sheamus around. Henry also got in a really cool counter of Sheamus over the ropes chest punch spot, as he just crushed him with an elbow. Several fun cut off spots, including a Henry side step of the brough kick/clothesline combo that really surprised me. Finish with Sheamus doing a roll through escape off the top seemed sort of out of place, but this was good tv wrestling

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus - SD 05/04/12
This is basically the story of the match at ER but with one fall. Sheamus' arm is wrapped up after the brief but good match he had with Bryan that opened the show. Bryan immediately targets the injured shoulder and beats on Sheamus in the corner. He does "I have till five!" again which was cool. Sheamus is very impressive here again in his selling as he really focuses on his offense with only one arm including a tilt a whirrel back breaker. Bryan's assault on the arm is a little different than what it was at ER such as the flying knee to Sheamus' shoulder on the floor and gets a great near fall after a flying headbutt to it. Sheamus' comeback is even better in this because he sells the arm so brilliantly. I loved his one armed Irish Curse back breaker. I really liked how he covered Bryan during pin attempts with his good arm. It's little things like that that really impress me. Bryan gets another near fall off a flying drop kick to the shoulder. Sheamus mounts another comeback with a huge double axe handle that Bryan sells gloriously. Bryan goes for the Yes Lock but Sheamus escapes and throws him into Del Rio who's on the apron. Bryan tries for another top rope move but meets a Brogue kick instead for the Sheamus win. This was another really great Sheamus performance here and I loved Bryan using more of an aerial assault on Sheamus' hurt shoulder to make his offense more impactful. Sheamus is really beginning to impress me as of late because of these last two performances.

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus - SD 05/04/12
I thought this was pretty great and can't imagine how a match this length could have been much better. Sheamus selling was really good and sustained throughout the match and Bryan is a guy who knows how to target a body part. Really loved Bryan's subtle facial reactions throughout the match as it added an extra touch to this. All the big spots looked really sick, including the diving knee and post bump. I also thought Sheamus chest clubbing spot looked particularly nasty. I wasn't in love with the Del Rio interference spot, but the ebb and flow of this match was excellent and the finish was sick. One of the three or four best tv matches of the year

Sheamus v. Dolph Ziggler - Smackdown 6/19
I have enjoyed all of their matches though I think they lack a natural chemistry. Still this was the best of the bunch and was flubless with some really nice and different spots from both guys. I actually really liked the fact that Ziggler was working over Sheamus neck to set up for his finish and it made for a different feel to the match. The big spots on the floor both looked really good and Ziggler leaping into the Sheamus forearm was a sick spot. I also thought the finish with Ziggler going to the leg as a last resort and Sheamus hitting the kick almost in desperation was really cool. Really good tv main event

Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara vs. The Miz, Cody Rhodes - 09/07/12
Pretty good sub-10 minute sprint that's been done a million times. Mysterio and Cara have some notable chemistry but it needs to be worked on and tweaked a little before they become a real good team. There's definitely something there that can be developed upon, and only more matches together will discover that something that I can't quite put my finger on. Miz works real well in a tag situation, I probably prefer him in tag-team competition as opposed to singles. But it looks like he's in singles for the foreseeable future anyway, so scrap that. Rhodes has looked a little lost for the better part of this year, but it looks like he's starting to find his feet again, some more matches like this and he should be back in mid-card title contention instead of doing nothing-matches on Superstars with Ryder. Nice and fluid tag-match, satisfying finish for the most part, I wish Rey would do something other than a belly flop after the 619. **1/2

CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler - 10/05/12
This felt more like a preview of a PPV match than an actual contest. A PPV match between these two would be off the chain but I can't see it happening for at least a few months. Maybe at TLC or something, once the Cena shizz is over and before Rock at Rumble. Heyman at ringside is great, especially during the double-KO spot where Heyman pep talks Punk into finishing the match. If I didn't know any better, it looked like Ziggler was going to get an upset win here, he got a good few near-falls that weren't too shabby and got all of his shit in against the champ. Punk was being a decent scumbag, didn't bust out any real swank shit but I liked the GTS coming out of nowhere. As far as 10 minute TV main-events go, this was pretty good. Not even their best match this year, but real easy to watch when you're not looking for anything too deep. ***