The World's Strongest Man continues on his warpath tonight, just 9 days away from his clash with Randy Orton. Meanwhile, the World Heavyweight Champion faces off with his former associate, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. All this and plenty more tonight. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
Now that's how you start a show. Kickass video package.
Pretty awesome Henry promo.
Oh God, Ryder's about to be killed.
Fine segment. Ryder wouldn't have been believable having much of a chance against Henry.
I was hoping Jackson was coming out to interrupt Henry and challenge him to a match, but this could work, too.
Zeke had a decent showing against the World's Strongest Man, but they were somewhat booked in a corner since they want Henry to look like a really big deal right now.
Nice sneaky ad for WWE 12.
A little perplexed about why Sin Cara's still treated as a face, but we'll see where they go with it.
Hunico's got a good deal more experience in the WWE style than Mistico, and it shows. I'm impressed.
Wow, Smackdown's commentary is really annoying sometimes.
That's not what I expected him to sound like. Fine promo; could have been better, but maybe he had first-time jitters?
Didn't see that one coming. I like aggressive Sin Cara, but Bryan going out that easily? Not so sure I'm ok with that. He needs all the help he can get going towards Mania.
Really kick-ass Rhodes package.
What if an RKO really does fell Henry? That'd be pretty anti-climactic.
Well, Natalya's new outfit does look more heelish now.
Booker's color commentary is certainly colorful.
I like Beth sitting on the steps watching what's going on outside the ring.
Natalya's 3rd-generation. Her father's Jim "The Anvil" and her grandfather's Stu Hart.
Brilliant ending.
Sheamus vs. Barrett is always good.
Nice Christian promo.
Storytime Sheamus is pretty fun. I liked this segment overall, until Christian cowered out (though I guess he's still hurt from his recent matches).
I think I like Barrett bringing back his jacket. I think the music could be better though. Something like Regal's would be preferable.
This has been pretty awesome. I enjoy a good brawl when it's done right. They don't need weapons to do it either.
For those who don't think WWE builds new stars, I give you Sheamus. Big showing for him tonight.
I'd like to see Christian work with Barrett on the regular.
I think Air Boom could become a regular tag team. They're meshing pretty well so far.
Jinder has a good look. If his in-ring skills can match it, he'll do pretty well.
I like that they're giving Bourne more of a character than "the guy who does the Shooting Star Press".
I wish the face commentator had more support for the face tag team's name. Even if Booker's not personally a fan of it; Booker the commentator should support the tag team champions and the WWE Universe.
Mahal still looks kind of rough around the edges. He was pretty unnatural on defense here.
The commentators should have sold Khali's turn as a much bigger deal. The man's going to be in poverty if Khali divorces his sister. They pretty much acted like it was a foregone conclusion that it'd happen available; Hardly a selling of the storyline.
That card's looking pretty solid so far. We're just short a U.S. and Intercontinental Championship match short.
Maybe this leads to Rhodes working with the veteran Booker? That'd be pretty cool, honestly, on a ground of assisting Rhodes in getting to that next level.
Rhodes continues to impress on the mic. He doesn't look like he's all that far from breaking through to main event status. As always, though, it's a matter of not pushing him too much too fast while still keeping his momentum.
If you would have told me that these two would be at the level they are now when they debuted, I don't think I would have believed you. It takes time for someone to show this much promise and earn their way up the card. Unless someone comes in with a LOT of experience and has the perfect storm of things needed.
Wouldn't it hurt to punch Rhodes in the face?
Nice performance so far from Rhodes. He's someone I would buy as being ready for the World Title picture by WrestleMania. Honestly, they could have Bryan lose the briefcase at some point before then if he's not ready, and he'd still get the benefit from holding it for a while.
Alabama Slam!! Nice reference to Rhodes' old tag partner. There's got to be a good name for it that would fit Rhodes' gimmick. Rhodes-Stop maybe?
I like the part about Rhodes knowing Orton well enough to counter the RKO. I also like that he essentially lost because of a mistake from being less-experienced, rather than being below Orton on the totem pole. Good showing from a potential future World Champion.
Nice ending to the show. Whoever wins next Sunday's getting a big notch on their belt.
That's all for a much-belated Smackdown thoughts column. A news post is coming up shortly. Thanks for reading!
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