On this live edition of Smackdown, Mick Foley brings holiday cheer to the WWE Universe. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, Mark Henry looks to deck the Hall of Pain with Daniel Bryan as they face off in a steel cage match. Can Mr. Money in the Bank win the World Title (for real this time)? Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens, with my personal notes from attending the show in-person in parenthesis.
This should be interesting. I'll give my thoughts on what's going on on the show as I normally do, then in parenthesis I'll add how the segment was received live (from where I was seated anyway). Let's get the ball rolling:
(I don't remember seeing snow outside the arena or anything).
(Foley got plenty of chants).
(It was actually hard to hear Foley live).
I hear Foley actually has a Christmas room in his house. How can you dislike this man?
Interesting that they namedropped Warrior. I get the feeling that we'll hear from him on the matter.
(We knew it was coming, but the home crowd plug was well-received).
The Christmas fear line was pretty cool.
Those match ideas and names were clever, though of course silly.
(Yeah, we weren't happy to hear Cole was there, and didn't give him that respect).
Cole looks hilarious. The tie really makes it.
That was kind of the pot calling the kettle black from Mathews.
But they cant BOTH be Santa!
Haha, Cole.
Weird, but appropriate segment.
(From where I was sitting, it sounded like it took a bit for Booker to get the necessary cheering).
And of course, Cody Rhodes comes out.
(Very happy to see Rhodes. He got a good amount of boos live which thankfully came across on TV).
I thought the mask was acryllic?
Pretty tough
(Tried to start a "Son" chant after that. Didn't work.)
(As annoying as "What" chants are, it feels natural live).
Good stuff from Rhodes to set up the match.
You're supposed to say "5 time" 5 times.
WWE's all like "Boom, Divas match".
(We were expecting another round of AJ/Kaitlyn vs. Beth and Natalya but this made sense with the holiday theme. I'd have rather seen the tag match if it wasn't for that theme).
No way the winner gets a Divas' Title match. Jerks.
Way too short of a match, but they had other stuff to get to.
(Live, we were like, Really that was the whole match? The Divas kind of stayed on the ramp for a while for some reason.)
That felt even shorter on TV!!!
Wonder what kind of shenanigans we'll get with the kiss stipulation. Nothing actually prevents them from kissing someone without the stipulation.
(Just had an AHA moment for later segment with Daniel Bryan.)
Justin Gabriel match. I'm ok with this.
I like that nickname!
(Jinder got a good amount of heat from where I was at least. Lots of "What?" chants. I could only hear him for part of the time).
Good promo from Jinder. Would be more appropriate closer to Christmas, but you know...
Jinder's growing on me. Got some good moves and a great presense.
DiBiase doesn't make minimum wage as a WWE Superstar.
Movember plug! AJ, Kaitlyn, and Johnny Curtis also supported that all month, with the former two having a competition to see who could raise more via Twitter.
I had wondered where the money went.
Made sense for DiBiase to do this. Cool.
(DiBiase was pretty over. He had a match previously in the night on Superstars, and obviously people wanted presents. Seems like a pretty nice guy.)
Good match. Jinder's protected, Justin got the win, and DiBiase got to be a babyface.
(The 450 Splash is awesome live. How does he pull it off?)
Ahh, goofy Mick Foley, Good times.
The NXT-Smackdown crossover confusion continues.
Lady Gaga eating a corned beef sandwich!?
Didn't expect Goldust.
(We could barely hear, or sometimes not hear a lot of the backstage stuff. Did like seeing Piper and Dusty there, though I think a number of younger fans weren't familiar with them).
Otunga's a Raw guy, but hey whatever.
Otunga being a good heel. Jerk move.
Yeah, Orton's going to win that one.
(Segment got over live with all the cameos and Orton's name was pretty roundly cheered. Probably the most over person there - though Cena got a bigger reaction from my perspective on the TitanTron.)
Which show will Kane be on when he returns?
(Yes, they show the Kane video, WWE commercials and recaps live.)
Smart plug for WWE '12. Good set up for their match. Cole cracked me up a bit here.
I guess they're saving that match for later.
(I think the segment did more to get us booing Rhodes than supporting Booker. He got some nice heat. Seeing how many segments there are tonight, I see why they built it for later).
Kofi vs. Tyson. NICE. Exactly the kind of match I want to see.
(Nice seeing Kofi. He was pretty over with the younger fans in particular. Nice to see. Tyson avoided fans at ringside, not wanting to be touch. Good heeling.)
Oh, Kofi...
(Kofi taking the suit was hilarious. Likable babyface.)
Good match. I like these guys and hope we see more of them in the future (instead of some of the same old, same old).
(The "Boom" thing was pretty over.)
Kaitlyn heel turn? Wouldn't surprise me. It's believable. She'd be the girl to give guys wedgies.
(That would explain why she was talking trash to people in the crowd with AJ signs. Which was hilarious.)
(Sheamus was pretty over, too. One of the top reaction-getters. Good to know!)
HAHAHA. Shovel reference. NXT Season 3 featured a segment were she said she'd be deported and beaten with them).
By the way, mistletoe berries are POISONOUS!!!
(Orton's over. No denying it. With the "Little Jimmies" and older fans alike, at least there).
Orton just oozes star presence.
(There was a "Cole is right" sign.)
I love the new Harvard-colored gear. He's got the character part mostly down.
Ah, under protest. Of course!
Otunga just got Kiefer Sutherland'd. Kiefer'll never live that moment down.
(The Christmas tree stuff was great live. People wanted him to hit the tree closest to them next).
I liked the cookie sheet/wreath stuff. Ridiculous? You bet. But it was FUN and that's what mattered.
Singapore Candy Cane!
Fun little match here. Orton can beat Otunga a lot without it mattering much based on where they are on the card.
(The whole outside of the ring part was over. He played to the crowd and they took the bait. More people need to do this.)
Kind of crazy that Barrett helped Otunga given their history. But it's more about hurting Orton.
(I think we all expected 3 there).
Wait, why didn't Barrett come back out and do more damage?
I'm fine with Orton going over the younger, fresher talent.
(Big reaction for the pounding, RKO, and win)
(Orton stayed in the ring through the Mark Henry segment. Henry got the biggest heat on the show).
Strong promo from Henry, which I guess makes sense with him being the World's Strongest Man.
(Not going to lie: I'm glad we didn't see Show live. A lot more people I'd rather see).
(Bryan got a so-so positive reaction. There were the ROH fans cheering, but in general I don't think people are ready for him as a main event player).
Wow, 20 people - only a few entrances on TV. They like Hunico.
I assume Epico and/or Primo were with the Raw brand in Japan.
Did not see Hornswoggle being in this one...
(I couldn't even see Hornswoggle over the barricade!)
Nice continuity with Titus being ok with Hornswoggle being in the ring, with the others seeking an easy elimination.
I'm just going to go ahead and consider the NXT Rookies as Superstars at this point.
(Even the kids were waiting for Hornswoggle getting back involved).
Commentary not being on topic? What a surprise. At least it's not 3 people arguing like usual.
They could have built Sheamus vs. Zeke more. That should be a big thing.
Haha, poor Curtis. Even the announcers forget him.
Wait, no facepaint for Yoshi? Odd.
AWESOME spot with Tyson and Hornswoggle. Well done. Tyson's fantastic in his role.
The "static" thing looks too deliberate now. If it gets those videos in people's consciousness, it's good by me.
Titus looked like he belonged here, and not just a "rookie".
(Titus was surprisingly over live. The spinebuster was cheered and the younger fans at least barked).
Chaos in AND out of the ring in this one. Nice.
I love the psychology here. Work together to take out the big threat.
(That barricade MOVED. Well-deserved "ooooohhhhh!")
Good psychology HERE too.
Does Hornswoggle have a monitor under there or something?
Great stuff with Sheamus saving Hornswoggle and powering over those 4.
Rare good call from Cole with the "back to _______" stuff.
This is bizarrely entertaining.
(This was pretty good live, too. Half of us were worried about a Sheamus heel turn. The fans were sucked in).
Hahaha. Could this have built someone up for something important? Yes. But this is a one-off goofy holiday show so I'm ok with this.
What could Hornswoggle want that he couldn't buy with a pot of gold?
(We had no clue what was going on with that SyFy show plug. It was just thrown up there. SO, no reaction)
That looks like a good show, actually. But, how much can they get out of that premise?
I don't think Cole should undermine Bryan so much, even as a heel. There's "I don't like him", then there's "he's a nobody".
Why isn't Ricardo with Alberto in Japan?
(People were excited to see that goof Ricardo).
I can easily buy Piper and Dusty buzzed and debating at a WWE holiday party.
Wow. Hornswoggle isn't wasting any time, is he?
Foley's all too natural in this role.
Of course Sheamus "gets" him.
That... makes sense for his voice. I guess they had to come up with SOME reason he could suddenly talk.
Funny segment. Well done for "sports entertainment" stuff.
(We got a good kick out of Vickie being called a grandma, and the eggnog pouring).
Good to see AJ getting a chance to get a bigger role in the company. She's earned it I think. Both were good and "natural" sounding in this segment.
(And yes, AJ's adorable live, too. Shorter than I expected, though.)
I think that's the de facto "cage being lowered" music now.
Good line throwing to break.
That was actually pretty funny by Cole. I got NXT Season 3 flashbacks. For those who didn't watch, it was basically wrestling's version of "Mystery Science Theater". I'd love to have a more current reference (I'm sure there's one that would fit), but that was really a pretty good metaphor. Maybe like Statler and Waldorf having running commentary on everything going on (which was comical in its own right).
But never mind that, here's Daniel Bryan.
I like that article idea.
Mark Henry was awesome walking up the ring there. Really set the stage, as did the focused commentary.
Talk about your size differences.
You'd think Bryan wouldn't want to win via early escape, but when you're facing someone that big and dangerous, it's a game of survival.
Merry Christmas indeed. This can't be the same guy who used to come to the ring to something sounding like Barry White.
(Bryan got some decent cheers. Talented guy, but he hasn't been built up enough for us to care.)
THAT CLOTHESLINE.
(Awesome bump live. How do you even do that?)
Great story here. Brutal monster vs. never-say-die technician.
(He got some "Let's go Dragon" chants, too, from aforementioned fans of his indy work).
That is kind of a jerk move from Long.
("Tap" chants during the Lebell Lock. He got at least one sign I saw as well.)
YOU CAN DO IT, KID. Boy would this match be great with JR calling it.
Great stuff.
(We thought he was THIS close to winning the title there).
That finishing sequence was amazing. I think Bryan got elevated here. Hats off to both men for a job well done.
(After the match, Theodore Long put Henry in another title match with Randy Orton. Barrett got in the cage when Orton tried to escape, and attacked him. Henry escaped to retain, then Barrett ate and RKO. Orton passed out high fives at ringside, and that was a wrap. Overall, an incredibly enjoyable experience.)
That's all for Smackdown. A news post will be up later in the day, then I'll move onto NXT. I'm determined to catch up ASAP! Thanks for reading!
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