Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
I'm not usually a fan of the "cold open" going right into a match with no promo setting it up. Especially when it involves The Shield and Daniel Bryan.
Good opening tag match. I had some doubts about The Shield initially, but they're doing a really good job. I don't think I can get too excited about the possibility of Sheamus vs. Christian if they're trying to set that up. Both men are talented, but there's just not a lot there to get excited about.
Interesting Vickie/Colter segment. I liked the Network plug at the beginning and the Valentine's Day nod. As for Swagger facing three babyfaces, that's kind of an odd idea. It puts the odds against the heel, which is the opposite of the general "rule", and it splits fans' loyalty between his three opponents.
I enjoyed Cesaro's promo. I think it's too early for him to be the top champion, but I'm not complaining that they're building him up as we need new names in the main event scene.
I really liked that fatal four-way. The ending was especially good. I think I would have been down with them starting a Kofi heel turn there. Or if they started building to Big E vs. Henry, but I think that one can wait a while. It should certainly happen at some point, though.
I'm starting to like Bad News Barrett from a "so bad, it's good" perspective. His material's really standard heel stuff and I don't see how he'll get far with the gimmick, but it's entertaining for a brief segment every so often.
Good eight-man tag. The ending wisely set up the Usos vs. the New Age Outlaws. I can see a big Usos title win happening at Mania. Maybe WWE could bring back the Dumpster match? It'd be a fitting last hurrah for NAO.
That was a pretty good promo from Orton. I think he needs to get the win here, but Cesaro should have a good showing.
Fine enough Rusev promo. I feel like I've seen a billion evil foreigner heels, but it's going to come down to what he does once he moves past the promo stage.
That was a quick match between Sandow and Young. It looks like they were crunched for time or something.
Not a bad continuation of Titus vs. Darren after the match. The feud doesn't seem like a major priority, but WWE is going through a complicated time right now with the fan "hijacking" situation, the Network launch, etc. Since WWE's focus is on those things so much, other things get lost in the shuffle to some degree.
That was something of a convoluted segment with Fandango vs. Miz. I like that Emma is getting a good deal of focus, though. All in all, not a bad use of that time. I wouldn't be surprised to see Santino and Emma vs. Fandango and Summer Rae at Elimination Chamber.
Good work with the video putting over Cesaro.
HOLY #@$&!!!! I did not expect Cesaro to get the win there. I'm very glad WWE is pushing him. He's got a lot going for him and this match was a great first step for him to be a main eventer. That said, I think Orton's going to need to gain some momentum if the plan is Orton vs. Batista at Mania. He isn't being booked like the top act in the company. That's for sure.
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