Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga and Ricardo Rodriguez once again kicked off the show. Del Rio congratulated Booker T on banning the Brogue Kick while it's under investigation. Otunga, also amusingly sporting a neck brace like Ricardo, then complained that Raw GM AJ Lee's booking of him against 'The Great White' last Monday were the actions of a mentally unstable person.
Otunga next interviewed Christian via satellite and asked him about the effects of the Brogue Kick after being a victim of it last year. Strangely Christian admitted that he hadn't been the same since and that the move should be banned. He did also mock Del Rio and act as a face, which is why I find it strange that they chose 'Captain Charisma' to do this segment and not another active heel who's also felt Sheamus' finisher. Christian was using an injured elbow as the reason for his absence, although the truth is it's actually because WWE struck a deal with TNA so they could use Ric Flair at this years Hall of Fame ceremony and TNA could use Christian at theirs to induct Sting.
Daniel Bryan also joined the trio and thanked them for bringing the issue to light and Booker T for allocating him a WrestleMania rematch against Sheamus that night, claiming that if the Brogue Kick had been illegal back then he would've won on April 1st. The World Heavyweight Champion himself Sheamus decided to come out and said Bryan was wrong, cracked a lame joke and warned both Bryan and Del Rio that those who forget history "are doomed to repeat it" regarding their upcoming bouts with him. Before he left he also ripped off Otunga's neck brace with a big grin.
Sin Cara defeated The Miz in a fair match up. It wasn't anything that special but the action was solid enough and both men gave good efforts. In a poor ending Sin Cara messed up his roll up finish which looked too fake for the one-two-three.
After some exchanged words between Miz, Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio and, well, okay Sin Cara didn't talk but he pointed (which Rhodes amusingly pointed out didn't get people anything) backstage afterwards Teddy Long on behalf of Booker T booked a Fatal Four Way between them all at Night of Champions for the Intercontinental title. I said a couple of weeks back that I hoped they'd put on that match, should be good I reckon.
In another brilliant anger management segment between Kane, Daniel Bryan and Doctor Shelby the newest tag team in WWE discovered how soothing squeezing stress-relief balls was. After reflecting on what they were doing, they stopped and Kane remarked "Mine's bigger than yours." Their segments have been some of the if not the best currently in WWE. I'm really hoping they win the tag titles on Sunday, they're far more interesting than the current title holders.
Kane beat Kofi Kingston in an enjoyable contest that exceeded my expectations. I was predicting a bit of a dull, if passable match but it was livelier than expected and had decent displays from both men. A disappointed Doctor Shelby appeared on the ramp after the bell rung which forced Kane to hug his fallen opponent, Kofi's scared face was hilarious.
Randy Orton defeated Tensai in a passable bout. Though the start was quite drab the rest of the match was decent enough, Orton was on his usual solid form in the ring. He really is one of the most consistent performers in the company today. Afterwards Vickie Guerrero attempted to distract 'The Viper' but he caught on and scared off Dolph Ziggler who was attempting to attack Orton from behind.
Antonio Cesaro complained that the number one contender for his United States Championship would be determined in a Battle Royal on Sunday and that it wasn't worthy enough for his prestigious title. Tyson Kidd then joined him and warned the champ that he's going to loose the title come NOC. Cesaro took exception to this and threw Kidd out of the ring. Brodus Clay then joined Cesaro and with the help of Tyson took him out. Cesaro's mic work was okay here, good to see him getting more air time of the blue and red brands lately.
Wade Barrett warned that after announcing that his services were open for business last week, next week someone will "get to sample the product." Rather ominous, eh? It's good to have him back on SmackDown, it certainly needs all the main event level talent it can get.
Kaitlyn defeated Beth Phoenix in a largely average match up. Although Kaitlyn was given a clean win over Phoenix, which is a step forward for her and also means someone in the back must be keen.
Sheamus beat Daniel Bryan in a highly entertaining back and fourth main event. As usual these two put on a very good match together and in turn received a healthy response from the fans. The action was sound and the pace kept you engaged from start to finish. Sheamus grabbed the win after forcing Bryan to tap to the Texas Cloverleaf.
Overall I felt in-ring content wise this weeks SmackDown was an improvement on last weeks. Although I'm still not that hyped for Sheamus versus Del Rio on Sunday, I'm hoping their feud is coming to an end soon. There's only so long you can keep pitting the same two men against each other on PPV.
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