GotMyNerdOn: First Smackdown after Raw 1,000

Off the heels of the controversial Raw 1000, here's a look at Smackdown:

Intercontinental Championship Rematch: The Miz defeats Christian

• The Miz opens Smackdown, with his first speech as the new IC Champ;
• Christian interrupts and says he's invoking the rematch clause right then and there; I guess it's supposed to be sold as a shoot, but no one is really surprised; rematch stated right away;
• the intense match goes back and forth between the two, showcasing the skills of both wrestlers;
• in true awesome heel fashion, with the ref out of position, The Miz thumbs Christian in the eye and then rolls him with his other hand held fast to Christians tights for the win, retaining the IC belt.

The Good: Well fought match, as good, if not better than, their previous bout at Raw 1000; thumb to eyes for the win further enhances The Miz's heel persona.
The Bad: Nothing really bad; maybe the initial cheap promo about this being a shoot, but nothing major.
Rating: A




Ryback defeats Jinder Mahal via Countout

• the two looked good in this smashmouth match, for displaying some decent amount of in-ring ability;
• not the best match, a few botches here and there, but nothing major (just looks silly how they sold the moves at some points);
• looks like Ryback is finally getting into a decent feud with another wrestler;
• Jinder draws heat, by letting himself be counted out for a Ryback win.

The Good: Not another Ryback squash match!!! Decent started match for what appears to be a new storyline feud;
The Bad: Too short of a match; Jinder and Ryback should smoothen out the "rough edges" in their performances (in particular selling the moves)
Rating: B


Filler: Raw 1,000 Recap - CM Punk vs John Cena, CM Punk turns on The Rock

• video recap of the closing moments of the match, the DQ, and CM Punk's heel turn;
• announce team opinions, then bunch of Touts;

The Good: Nice promo for CM Punk;
The Bad: the video recap is too long in itself (should have just stuck with highlights, not the entire closing minutes of the show); adding the Tout reactions is just unnecessary waste of airtime;
Rating: C


Backstage: Sheamus gives wedding gift to Daniel Bryan

• Sheamus approaches Daniel Bryan, then recalls the tough week Bryan had with AJ, the Rock, and Charlie Sheen (ack!);
• Sheamus' wedding gift was just hilarious; appears to be a book titled "How to last more than 18 seconds", showing Sheamus' winning brogue kick to Bryan in their previous WM28 encounter

The Good: Just the right amount of time spent for a good promo;
The Bad: nothing bad, I could think of;
Rating: B




Sheamus defeats Cody Rhodes

• after an elbow to the face, Cody rolls out of the ring and whines to the ref about the "cheapshot" getting a lot of heat;
• Sheamus pretty much dominated the first part of this match, driving an exclamation point after catching Cody Rhodes, holds him up for a second or two, then drops him to the most amazing tilt-a-whirl backbreaker (followed by astounded ooohs of the crowd); pinfall only for two;
• turning point at the ring apron, when Cody pushed Sheamus, hitting the ring post hard;
• Sheamus limped back inside the ring, barely beating the countout; Mr. MITB Dolph Ziggler then made his way to the ringside, watching the match closely; cut to commercial break;
• Cody has since then dominated the match, working on the legs and scoring a couple of nearfalls;
• another turning point: Cody launches a moonsault but hits nothing but the mat; (not sure what Sheamus was supposed to do to avoid the move; instead of stepping back, he dashed closer, his head nearly clipped by Cody's boots);
• Irish Curse backbreaker then cover, kicks out at 2; White Noise attempt countered and pushed out of the ring; Battering Ram attempt on top rope countered with arm drag; follow-up with Disaster kick which connects (crowd "oooohs" again); cover but kicks out;
• Cody trying a second Disaster Kick was caught and drops into a White Noise then gets Brogue kicked; one two three, Sheamus retains;
• Dolph Ziggler poised to cash in the MITB, but leaves the ring instead; Jericho sporting a Dolph's show off shirt then run down and dragged Dolph back into the ring right into another Brogue Kick; Jericho then gives Dolph a Codebreaker;

The Good: great quality match; Jericho's face turn ensures storyline feud with Dolph (great opportunity for the young gun);

The Bad: none (I really liked the match; highlight of the night)

Rating: A+

Antonio Cesaro defeats United States Champion Santino Marella

• right off the bat, it's clear that Cesaro has a great size and strength advantage over Antonio;
• Cesaro's headbutt barrage looked silly, then nearfall; gutwrench suplex looks great, then another nearfall;
• Aksana tried to distract Santino, but did not affect the match much;
• Cobra is countered with a stungun/hangman, followed by the Neutralizer for the win.

The Good: Cesaro's strength and skills showcased a lot; great push for a US Champ title shot
The Bad: Santino is just ridiculous
Rating: B




Filler: Raw 1,000 Recap - Triple H challenges Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman

• recap started with Triple H and Paul Heyman dialogue, then Stephanie's music hits;
• cuts to Stephanie already in the ring and started saying her piece all the way to Brock's appearance and being knocked off by Triple H;

The Good: Nothing really; just a recap;

The Bad: Tooooo long; while this Raw 1000 segment was good, this is Smackdown, and should therefore not take that much time;

Rating: C

Damien Sandow defeats Yoshi Tatsu

• match already started during the break / Raw recap;
• Sandow dominated the fairly short match, showing mean streak both on outside and inside the ring;
• Sandow wins and gets his mic time;

The Good: Damien Sandow establishing himself to be a heel, generating a lot of heat;
The Bad: Yoshi Tatsu did not show anything at all besides selling the moves; then again we didn't see the start of the match because it started during the break (hate that)
Rating: C




Fatal-4-Way Match for #1 Contender for WHC; Alberto del Rio defeats Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, Kane

• things started off with Mysterio fighting Del Rio and Bryan on Kane; fights spilled to the outside;
• momentum swings back and forth among the four contestants, scoring numerous pinfalls;
• just before the break, Kane just countered a double suplex of Bryan and Mysterio;
• Summer Slam "Perform Storm" promo featuing Brock Lesnar shown (what?!);
• after  the break, Bryan and Del Rio in the ring, momentum shifting quickly;
• Bryan locked in Del Rio's cross arm breaker, but Mysterio scores a leg drop from the top rope on Del Rio, breaking the hold; match continues shifting back and forth;
• Del Rio about to tap out of the Yes Lock, but his hand is caught by Kane;
• Mysterio scores double 619 on Del Rio and Bryan, then Drops the Dime on Bryan;
• Mysterio pulled out of the ring by Ricardo Rodriguez while Del Rio covers Bryan for the win and becomes the number 1 contender.

The Good: Good exciting match, with the momentum swinging back and forth;

The Bad: Not enough time to showcase talents of everyone; Daniel Bryan gets buried (to continue storyline with AJ?)

Rating: B

All in all, this edition of Smackdown is a good one, with a lot of quality matches (more quality matches than the historic Raw 1,000), and good build up of several storylines. Not a fan of the (excessively) long Raw recaps, and some of their talent could use more polishing up.

Final Rating: B