Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Superstars and Smackdown.
Superstars:
Christian vs. Big E is on Superstars? Wow. Either way, it was a pretty good match. I can't think of the last time Christian DIDN'T have a nice performance. It'll be really interesting to see where Big E is in a few years. I've definitely seen worse big guys. He's 8 years younger than Big Zeke (who's only had one match in the last year, by the way, and that wasn't even on TV. Why are they still paying him?)
I was starting to wonder where JTG was. He's now on a 47-match losing streak, with his last win being back on NXT Season 5. I guess someone's got to be that guy. I don't think this match really did much for Kofi but show us that he's still there and can still do his signature moves. He's really someone who needs something new to do.
Smackdown:
Pretty good little promo between Orton and Bryan. I kind of expecting them to save that for next week's Raw, but maybe they have more twists in mind. This could be a really good story if they play it right.
I'm ready for a cage match between Barrett and Bryan. It's funny that a couple of years ago it was seen as somewhat inevitable that Barrett would go over Bryan in a feud. Now it's the exact opposite!
Axel vs. Rhodes was pretty good. Do we get a 3-way (or more) feud involving Sandow, Rhodes, and Axel? It's really weird that Rhodes can beat the MITB holder, but not the IC Champ.
I really liked that Heyman/Axel promo. This is working out pretty well for Axel.
Ziggler vs. Langston was fine for what it was. Where the heck do they go from here?
Wow. The World Champ is in the middle of the show? I definitely get Bryan being in the main event, but it kind of makes the World Title look somewhat unimportant.
Del Rio won? I'm shocked, honestly. I was all set for him to look vulnerable again.
Nice enough post-match. I wonder if WWE doesn't trust RVD to do a good enough promo on his own?
I'm not going to lie: it's kind of cool seeing Show and Henry bust up some fools. Talk about a killer tag team. 3MB are still pretty young, so they're not beyond saving down the line.
Fine enough post-match. Even as dominant as Rollins and Reigns have been, I think they might be the underdogs here from a kayfabe standpoint. Show and Henry have a good number of World Titles between them (WWE, World, WCW, and ECW).
I was expecting a longer promo from Zeb, but I guess they want to tread carefully with this angle. It is pretty weird that PTP just magically became faces with no on-screen explanation.
About time they let Young show what he can do, no? I don't know if I'd push him over Cesaro, but both guys are pretty solid acts in the ring.
These Ryback segments are kind of painful. I'm starting to give credence to the CONSPIRACY theory that he's being punished for saying that he wants to bigger than Cena. I don't know if that's what's happening, but he's definitely not the guy he used to be. Obviously, he could be lower on the card or not on TV at all, but this doesn't seem like much of a consolation.
That was a pretty awesome cage match. Wow. Hats off to both guys.
Pretty clever ending. I hope that people aren't going all "OMG BURIED~!". I much prefer this to SUPERFACEWINSLOL.
More wrestling coming up.
I've stated this before, but I definitely mirror your thoughts regarding Sandow and Rhodes. I think Rhodes is definitely the future of the company, but being booked to win twice over the MITB holder for the WH Championship and promptly losing to the IC Champion the next show makes little sense. My guess here is that Rhodes was used to help put over Axel for this match on Raw with Punk? My argument there would be why not use someone else to help put Axel over for Raw and not someone who is continuing to be built up himself? It just confused the fans with regards to logicality and really also devalues Sandow to epic proportions.
ReplyDeleteI have really grown to be a fan of Sandow. He consistently puts forth great promos and has virtually every tool it takes to be a World Champion, which speaks volumes for someone who hasn't been on the main roster all that long. That being said, it's a bit frustrating and confusing to see him win the briefcase over so many up-and-coming superstars and then to have him continue to be booked so shabbily. Your points made sense in terms of what the WWE is thinking with regards to Sandow, but I just don't agree with the WWE's booking of Sandow at this point.
I'm a bit surprised to mention you not minding Big Show's position in the company right now. I know you've been a higher proponent of him being just an evil heel who uses his size and aggression to his advantage instead of being a "high-fiving" smiling good guy. I know you also are a bigger proponent of the younger guys getting more air time, so it's a bit surprising that you're not minding Big Show at 41 in these circumstances. What caused your change of tune, so to speak?
WWE does all this weird "50-50 booking" where a lot of people end up being at about the same level and few people break through the glass ceiling to be in that top tier. I'm really out of ideas for why they do what they do. I know that it meant more for Axel to beat Rhodes than it would for him to beat someone lower on the card, but Rhodes just got some big wins.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Vince is "gun shy" with Sandow or what. It could be some big long plan they have where Sandow stays kind of where he is for now before breaking out later (he does have a good while to cash the briefcase in), but I don't know for sure.
Sometimes it's just fun to watch two big guys run roughshod on people! As long as he's being used in a way that will get over the people he's feuding with (meaning that he doesn't clobber The Shield), I'm fine with him knocking some heads around for now. I still think that he's an act that has an expiration date, and was upset that they signed him for five years just recently, but I'd rather him be in this position than doing comedy stuff or going over performers who look like they might be able to break out sooner rather than later. He's fine in small doses (especially when he has better people to play off of).