My WWE SmackDown, 21st September 2012 Recap

Photo credit: WWE.com 

WWE Hall of Famer Edge kicked off the show by explaining that he now watches the WWE product as a fan, not a performer. He then showed a VT of Kane and Daniel Bryan hugging it out and then arguing on last Monday's Raw. 'The Rated R Superstar' said that he'd never seen anything like it and was perplexed by it all. Daniel Bryan himself then came out and claimed that Doctor Shelby had helped him find inner peace, this was short live though as Edge began having fun by winding him up with chants of "Yes!" and "No!" Kane then also joined them and began arguing with his tag partner.

A confused and frustrated Edge then began screaming at Kane, asking what had happened to the once 'Big Red Machine', also reminding him of all that they'd put each other through. Kane amusingly offered Edge a hug to make amends, so he accepted and even offered a left out Bryan a chance to get in on it. But instead Damien Sandow interrupted them and claimed that this kind of behaviour was ruining the company. Edge decided to settle things by setting up a match (that GM Booker T agreed to) between Sandow and Kane. It was one of the best opening segments to a pro wrestling show I've seen in a while. All four men were on form, especially the three in the ring. Bryan and Kane are the most consistently entertaining act in WWE right now for me.  

Damien Sandow defeated Kane in a fair match up that never really went beyond decent. Sandow is competent in the ring but he's still not quite there yet and has work to do. 'The Intellectual Saviour' picked up the one-two-three after Bryan distracted his tag partner at ringside, allowing Sandow to apply a Straight Jacket Neckbreaker. It's a big win for Sandow pinning Kane like that, a good sign for him.

Backstage an angered Kane hunted down Bryan, but instead came across Doctor Shelby. Bryan shortly popped up from a bin behind (which looked hilarious) and after both Tag Team Champions were calmed down by Shelby they agreed to make amends. Doctor Shelby also suggested getting Bryan a match to make up for causing Kane to loose, which he liked. It was another superb segment between them.   

Sheamus and Randy Orton beat Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio in an enjoyable tag team bout. All four men put in standard solid displays (typical for all of them really) and provided an entertaining contest, superior to the average tag team ones we get in WWE and the rather lacklustre main event of this weeks Raw.   

Cody Rhodes defeated Daniel Bryan in a passable match that never got the chance to get going. It's a shame it wasn't allocated a bit more time, could've been much better I reckon. Rhodes grabbed the winning pin after Kane had a little payback and distracted Bryan with his pyros, giving Rhodes the chance to apply the Cross Rhodes for the victory.

Backstage after the tag champs once again argued over who was better, but soon noticed Sandow and Rhodes laughing at them. Rhodes stated that they were a "spectacle" and a poor unit. Kane and Bryan defended themselves by challenging both men to a tag team match, causing them to walk away in separate directions.     

Brodus Clay won via disqualification versus Heath Slater in a rather nothing bout. The actual wrestling wasn't anything special, it was what happened after that was interesting. As the match was taking place Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal ran in and helped take out Clay with Slater. Hopefully this is the start of a new faction that are tired of being underutilised in the company and are taking action, giving these talents some much needed relevance and creating a hopefully interesting group. I'll be very disappointed if they drop the ball with this one.

Santino Marella beat Antonio Cesaro in comedy match for the most part, it was quite mediocre to be honest. Marella's cobra was once again distracted by Aksana, but this time she was accidentally pulled into the ring and damaged her foot. This caused the referee to be distracted and Marella to grab a quick pinfall win. Afterwards an angered Cesaro dumped the hurt Aksana. Hopefully this means the end of the awful acting skills of Aksana on our screens.  

Daniel Bryan and Kane won via DQ versus Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow in a fair tag contest. The match never really excelled at anything, but the entertaining part came after the bell rung. Bryan came to his partner's aid by snatching the steel chair that Rhodes had used on Kane (which caused the DQ) and him and his tag partner began taking out their opponents and various other teams that had been watching the bout, all the while with big smiles on their faces. It was a glorious end to the show as both men stood tall over the seas of bodies.

Overall it was a very enjoyable show, thanks mainly to the inspired duo of Kane and Daniel Bryan. Edge's surprise appearance was a pleasant surprise too and his segment with the tag champs was fun. We also had a solid outing involving Sheamus, Orton, Del Rio and Ziggler. Compared to most SmackDown's recently I'd call it a big success.    

My WWE Raw, 9th July 2012 Recap

AJ stated things off by admitting that the thought of being the special guest referee at this Sunday's WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank was "overwhelming" and then welcomed out WWE Champion CM Punk. AJ claimed to Punk that she was mentally stable despite his accusations last week, and also went on to admit that the champ turns her on. She then got down on one knee and proposed to Punk, which provoked quite a reaction from the fans.

This cued Daniel Bryan to come racing down to the ring and warning AJ that this was a huge mistake as CM Punk doesn't care about her, but he still did, and got down on one knee and also proposed. Punk called Bryan's bluff and exposed him for a fraud and a liar in regards to really caring about AJ. Then came a familiar tone, the one of the Anonymous Raw General Manager making their return via laptop to Michael Cole once again after a pleasant absence. The GM booked a mixed tag match pitting Bryan and Eve versus AJ and CM Punk, much to Bryan's dismay. AJ simply said before leaving that she predicts that she will be leaving the arena that night with her future husband. It was a fairly decent segment to start the show once AJ's proposal came out.

Sheamus defeated Jack Swagger in a brief squash match. Alberto Del Rio then congratulated 'The Great White' via the big screen and also warned him that he will defeat him on Sunday for the World Heavyweight Championship. I still see Sheamus grabbing the win at MITB.

Lord Tensai and Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyson Kidd and Christian in a fair tag match. It was solid enough but deserved to have been allocated some more time for me considering the talent involved. Afterwards Vickie Guerrero looked impressed at the actions of Tensai as he further attacked Tyson Kidd after the bell had rung. Possible new client for her in the future?

Cole refused to read an announcement from the Anonymous GM after he'd accidentally spilt a drink on Jerry Lawler. So Lawler stepped up and revealed that the GM had booked himself versus Cole in a WrestleMania rematch. After a dispute from Cole, the GM announced that there'd be a poll online to determine if the match would happen or not. Like it wasn't bad enough we had to endure this awful in ring feud years ago for far too long, we have to witness it again and take time away from the real talent? 

Brodus Clay defeated Drew McIntyre in a worthless squash match.

John Cena came to the ring and actually did a good job in promoting the Money in the Bank pay-per-view by drumming in how important the "must see event" was with two MITB contracts up for grabs that have always rewarded the holder with a World title. He didn't tell any childish jokes or kiss up to the fans, he just gave a decent promo like we all know he's capable of.

John Cena and Kane versus Big Show and Chris Jericho ended in a no contest. The bout itself was average for the most part, with the periods between Jericho and Kane salvaging it a bit, but Big Show and Cena's interactions just being quite poor. The bell was oddly rung after Show had pulled Cena out of the ring as he went to pin Jericho. Big Show then attacked Jericho and Kane with a ladder, but Cena managed to make a comeback and charge Show out of the ring with a ladder of his own. I'm hoping there will be more participants added to the WWE Championship MITB on Sunday such as the rumoured Rey Mysterio and Miz, I think the bout is going to need it.

Sin Cara defeated Heath Slater to qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship MITB match. It was a passable contest, if not very memorable. Afterwards Slater complained about how unfair it was that he wasn't in the MITB match and challenged any former champion from the back. So Bob Backlund joined Slater and managed to lock in his signature Cross-Face Chicken Wing and force him to tap.

Jerry Lawler defeated Michael Cole in a predictable waste of time after the fans (for some reason) voted in favour of the contest happening on WWE.com. The only positive is that we at least didn't have Lawler on commentary for a while. The Anonymous GM then revealed that he was reversing the decision after Booker T had thrown Cole back into the ring during the bout.

Santino Marella, who'd been investigating the mystery of who the Anonymous Raw GM was all night, then joined them and concluded that they must be hiding under the ring. And sure enough Hornswaggle emerged from the ring and was revealed to have his own laptop with the 'Raw GM' sticker on. He then attacked Lawler, Santino and Cole before running off. The whole segment felt like a waste of time.  

AJ and CM Punk defeated Eve and Daniel Bryan in a mediocre main event. Unfortunately while the interest in AJ has risen, her in ring skills are still catching up. AJ grabbed the win with a roll up pin after Daniel Bryan refused to tag with Eve to prove how much he cared for AJ. Afterwards Bryan asked AJ to leave with him and get married that night, while CM Punk admitted to AJ that he wasn't going to marry her. In response AJ slapped both men and smiled as she left. Well, I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how things play out on Sunday! 

My WWE SmackDown, 22nd June 2012 Recap

Teddy Long informed everyone once again that John Laurinaitis had been fired and was then interrupted by Big Show, who came to the ring and claimed that he didn't care about Laurinaitis being terminated or the fans. He also called John Cena lucky after beating him in a Cage match at No Way Out. Show then threw his hat into the upcoming Money in the Bank match, stating that no amount of men could beat him, even though he's never won any MITB matches that he's participated in. Brodus Clay then interrupted him and began exacting some revenge until he was attacked from behind by David Otunga. This allowed Show to slowly beat down Clay.

Otunga then mocked 'The Funkasaurus' and his dance moves. It wasn't a bad start to the show, Big Show's promos are definitely a lot more interesting than they have been for years, just a shame his ring work hasn't improved.

Ryback defeated a couple more rookies in a Handicap match. I like him but I am just starting to grow tired of these now.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Christian in a great back and fourth contest. It's no shock that these two solid wrestlers put on a very good match up. Afterwards Cody Rhodes attacked Christian's already damaged arm.

Kane defeated Daniel Bryan in a surprisingly good bout. Don't get me wrong I was expecting an enjoyable match here, it just exceeded my expectations and is probably the best one on one match Kane's been involved in since his return. These two have put on solid bouts whenever they've worked together. Kane Choke Slammed Bryan for the winning pin after guest time keeper AJ rang the bell early, distracting Bryan.  

Guest GM Mick Foley began thanking the fans until he was shortly interrupted by Heath Slater, who warned that he was going to protest after his embarrassment on Monday's Raw. Foley then introduced his opponent for the night, Zach Ryder.

Zach Ryder defeated Heath Slater in a fair but short match up. Like I've said Slater has grown on me over the last couple of months, I just can't see him ever rising above his current position on the roster. But you never know.

Titus O'Neil and Darren Young defeated The Usos in an enjoyable tag team bout. It's great to see the tag team division get this brief revival, let's just hope Vince doesn't get bored with it like he normally tends to. Afterwards backstage Epico and Primo attacked the winning tag team.

United States Champion Santino Marella came out and thanked all the fans who had made and brought their own signs, asking the cameraman to highlight them. He then asked one female fan (obviously fake) holding a 'I heart Santino' sign to join him in the ring, she did, then snogged his face off. It was an odd segment, if a little amusing.  

Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler in a solid main event. I'm almost tiring of writing compliments for these two now ha ha, but they have just been putting in tremendous efforts over the last year with consistent performances. People have been asking and begging for a Ziggler push and even though he's been loosing to 'The Great White' he's getting into that main event scene and getting that deserved push. And with Vickie Guerrero as guest GM next week you can bet on Ziggler getting a World title match on Raw or SmackDown. I can't see him winning it just yet, but keep patient.

Overall it was a very good SmackDown in-ring wise with some great bouts, a big step up from last week. Outside the matches it wasn't so interesting, as a big fan of Foley's I was quite disappointed with his contributions and Big Show just repeated himself again really. Still, probably the best wrestling show of the week for me.