This past Sunday, the Royal Rumble PPV shook up the foundations of Smackdown. Not only did Daniel Bryan successfully evade his two massive World Title contenders, but Sheamus won the Royal Rumble. And the shake-ups continue tonight. Randy Orton and Wade Barrett will continue their big rivalry in the ring! All that and probably some other crazy things coming up. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
I remark on this about every week, but when's the last time Undertaker was even on Smackdown? He's all over the intro, and he might as well be Raw and PPV-exclusive.
Seriously!? Henry's in pretty bad shape right now. I think I might have called an audible there. I do like that Rhodes gets to get a shot there, though. Ezekiel, Jinder, or Khali could be credible enough to step up.
I really hope Henry gets some time off to heal at some point. I guess he's toughing it out until Mania.
Since there's a sign about him: Arda Ocal seems like a pretty cool guy.
It's actually 5 to 1. 5 other competitors and him.
Oh, maybe that will be Henry's out for a while. I'm legitimately concerned about him given that he's taken house shows off and was helped out of the ring Sunday.
Phew. Glad they addressed it in storyline.
Very odd seeing the juggernaut Henry not destroying Long.
Well, there's one way to write Henry off.
I don't think anyone's ever made the decision before the Elimination Chamber, but I could be way off.
Oooohhhh... Sheamus and Cody Rhodes together.
I like that Rhodes got a pretty big showing in the Rumble. Thankfully someone got something out of that trainwreck of a match.
Well, first person to hold the Intercontinental Championship and a WWE or World Title simultaneously since Warrior. Though Triple H beat Kane to unify the titles years back.
HAHAHA. Nice jab at Warrior.
Since Rhodes vs. Sheamus at Mania might be a little early, I guess I'm ok with them fighting tonight. As long as both men look good coming out of it.
God, Cody's impressive. This guy's got to be a future World or WWE Champion.
I think they need to make up their minds on whether the commentators are going to be passive observers or semi-regular characters/wrestlers. This is ridiculous.
HOLY SH- That's Finlay's old finisher!!!!
The only bad thing about Sheamus going to Mania is that Bryan might have lose the title.
Hmmmm.... Rhodes still out here. Maybe he won't end his week on a loss after all.
Gabriel's growing on me as a likeable face.
I wonder if Camacho's ever going to wrestle.
That would have probably worked better if the music was playing.
I half thought Hunico was going to go after Rhodes.
Oh, no. Khali's going to kill 3 guys, isn't he?
Sorry Hunico and Camacho.
As little as I care for Khali as a competitor, he adds some credibility to the brand as someone believable in title matches.
I hope they don't make Bryan look like a total loser in that interview.
BULLSH*T. Predictable television can be good if it's what we want to see.
Oh God no. At least the pun was good.
This is one of the weirdest storylines I've ever seen.
That didn't sound anything like any of the people he was impersonating. Terrible comedy.
Duggan's definitely not ripped, but the fans can get behind him.
NICE switch off the tag.
I hope the young bucks can mostly put away the old codger.
But no. The special appearance guy gets more of a spotlight than the "troops in the trench" working week in and week out. I appreciate Hacksaw's accomplishments, and like that they're promoting his book, but think he should have taken the fall.
Some of those shows are terrible.
I love Bryan's delusional, over-the-top celebrations. At least that's what I hope they're going for.
Now this is kind of crazy, though at least it's consistent with the characters.
If you add the character's ego, Bryan's as big as Show and Henry.
Veganism means I'm better than you.
I love meat. But that's not here or there.
I like that Bryan's playing an exaggerated, jerk version of himself.
If you want Americans to hate you, attack eating meat.
Good promo. He's got good emotion, and isn't just running through talking points rapid-fire.
As much as I'd personally like Big Show out of that match, there are only so many credible performers on the show who should be in that match. And the fans like him a lot still.
I hope we're not setting up Big Show for a title run.
After scaring the bejesus out of the kid last time, I'm glad Big Show asked first.
Fingers crossed that Daniel Bryan walks out of the Chamber with the title. He might be able to make it as someone fans will pay to boo if they don't give up on him.
I hate Big Show destroying people.
AJ's even adorable when she's hurt.
Show was going to punch him out in front of his injured girlfriend!!!!
Please keep AJ as the blind, delusional follower of the evil Daniel. This is great (compared to Big Show winning the title and both members of the couple being stuck in WWE Purgatory).
No. Get this garbage off my TV.
Hopefully this match will make up for the terrible backstage segment.
Maybe we get evil Beth back after all? I want Beth vs. Natalya at Mania.
OOH. Nice post-match, other than Natalya playing stunt dummy again.
Tamina's growing on me.
Natalya should be on the mat selling that like death.
That makes sense. I half-hoped for Khali-Jinder at the show, but I guess they can do that at Mania. That could be bowling-shoe ugly though.
I've also seen Cena since 2002. He's busted his ass to make it to the top of WWE.
Ehh. Not liking that theme. Doesn't seem to fit him well.
AJ, Daniel Bryan, and Wade Barrett all being featured near the end of the program. Good building of the future.
I think the HHH/Taker angle could well sell Raw on buzz alone (without commercials).
So far, so good, but I expect good things from these two at this point.
Nice tease going to break.
A bump through a table used to be a match-ender. They've got to be careful with how they use big spots (or they cease to be big).
Why can't commentary be this good all the time?
Good outside of the box work here.
Whoever put this match together did a good job. They're telling a good story.
The "no chair shots to the head" policy was really noticeable there.
This one's big. Barrett could be a legitimate sustainable main eventer if this next stretch of his career goes well.
Heck, as much offense as Barrett got in here, I don't think the loss hurt him. He's doing well.
Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton sounds pretty good actually. Odd mix of performers, though.
Not really sure what that ending was supposed to accomplish. It was a little bizarre to say the least.
That's it for Smackdown. I'll be back on Monday for Raw. A news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
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