It's less than 6 weeks from the biggest show of 2012, and WWE's kicking things off strong this week. Tonight, on a special live Smackdown, the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion collide. Who will win when C.M. Punk takes on Daniel Bryan? Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, and both men are the champions of their respective brands. I can't stress how big that is for two guys who fly in the face of the WWE mold.
Big Show vs. Mark Henry should have been announced in advance. It's a big deal.
Daniel Bryan, Ted DiBiase, and Dean Ambrose signs. I like this crowd already.
I count myself among those who didn't believe Bryan would be going to WrestleMania's World Title match. And hey, we're not there yet.
Bryan's getting more confident every week it seems like.
GREAT Rocky reference and delusions. Where was this Daniel Bryan before the World Title?
OOH. Talk about your history. Both of these guys were written off as never being able to last in WWE, much less be WWE and World Heavyweight Champion.
I'd like to see Miz and Bryan team up. That would really cement Bryan as a detestable guy who turned his back on everything that got him to the title.
2010- Miz is in the U.S. Title picture; Daniel Bryan is a rookie. 2012- Miz is a former WWE Champion who's headlined WrestleMania against John Cena, and Daniel Bryan's the World Heavyweight Champion who will have his own Mania main event.
Similarly, 2011- Sheamus and Daniel Bryan are in a U.S. Title match that's bumped to the pre-show. 2012- they're in the Smackdown main event for the World Heavyweight Championship. Sheamus won the Royal Rumble, and Daniel Bryan won Money In The Bank.
Daniel Bryan's heel run is refreshing compared to a lot of other heels we've seen the past however many years. He's not trying to win matches, prove he's the best or injure people. He's just trying to keep the title at any cost.
After injuries at the Elimination Chamber and Raw, we're going right back to people taking dangerous spills.
Miz is starting to really get comfortable as a long-term guy. He's very smooth in his mannerisms and moves. It's a sharp contrast from the guy trying to get attention and move up the card.
Miz is an underrated wrestler I think. He's not the man of 1004 holds, but he's not just some signature spots and catchphrases as some see him.
I hope Miz isn't lost in the shuffle this year at Mania.
Yeah, there's a big difference between Aksana and Otunga.
It's a shame they've kind of conditioned us to be upset that we're getting the same match we got on Raw.
Yeah, might as well put another nail in that Air Boom coffin.
Glad Ziggler's able to go tonight. I hope he's not risking long-term injury here.
Good match. I hope Ziggler, Swagger, and Kofi are on an upward swing with their careers. If Punk and Bryan can make it to the top of the company, I think these three can. Hopefully R-Truth has still got a good deal of gas in the tank, too.
The Rumblers toys continue the "wrestlers do crazy stunts" thing.
I actually kind of do hope JBL gives a big speech that covers everything and Simmons thinks it over for a bit Then just responds "DAMN".
I'm guessing those will be on WWEShop.com at some point.
Oh shi- WWE's covering that?
I think a lot of people want to roll out of the ring when faced with a Great Khali match.
That didn't really accomplish much (though I don't suppose every match has to).
I like Mark Henry laying into and trash talking Big Show. At least SOMEONE can do damage to him.
Cody Rhodes together with an interrupted Big Show match. I'm ok with this.
Yeah, that match actually happened. Crazy stuff.
I hope all this Big Show dominance is leading to something important for someone other than a celebrity.
Yeah, those aren't the most recent pictures of HHH and Taker. Then again, they're going for memories of the past.
That YouTube show is kind of hard to watch. It feels forced.
Too much commentator blah-blah.
Good promo by Zeke. He's best talking in small doses.
Not a bad match. Just perhaps not a great choice of opponent given Zeke's limitations and Otunga's relative inexperience.
I like the post-match gestures. Otunga's got personality that isn't forced.
I like that they're making a big deal out of that main event. Punk and Bryan are theoretically two of the top guys in the company, and they're going to be relied on to sell live events to a degree when Rock, HHH, Taker, etc. aren't around.
Twitter and Facebook being more important than wrestlers again.
If only that conversation would have been in the Divas locker room?
I'm not crazy about heels half-way making sense. We shouldn't be in position to agree with Cole's commentary.
Punk's one-of-a-kind and not playing a character.
Why remind us of Punk's actions as a heel from a few years back? If anything, he should say he's changed from that now.
Rock didn't sit around and wait for consistent TV time. He took command and went for that top spot. Natural charisma and great athletic ability can get you far.
Are we really teasing something between Punk and Chris Brown? Why give him the publicity?
Technically sound doesn't cover it.
I like that the champions retained, so we're not dealing with just a 6-week reign for someone going into Mania.
I hope he's just selling.
Bryan and Punk could legitimately kick someone's ass. Methodically.
While he might be too early for "World Champion at WrestleMania" level, Bryan's evolving as a performer by focusing his attacks.
More Punk and Bryan instead of going into some other segment is good by me.
Hahaha, nice mocking of Bryan.
Great second ending.
I hope Laurinaitis and Long aren't going to go at it in the ring.
Right back to the dangerous bumps. People are going to continue to get injured.
My God. They're going all-out.
Great technical and counter-wrestling.
Ha. I thought we were going to be in for a 3rd restart.
This is Herculean.
It's never going to be settled, is it?
This is getting crazy. Why are Laurinaitis and Long such big parts of this?
That's all for Smackdown. I'll be back for NXT tomorrow, and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
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