Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the First Edition of SmackDown: Under Review. Now to give you a slight idea of how this will work going forward. Since this is a review, not a recap (yet), of SmackDown I will not being going into every little detail of the night. Instead I will be reviewing the show by each segment or match. This means it is up to you, the reader, to go and watch SmackDown so that you can follow along. If you happen to miss it, YouTube and WWE.com usually have most of, if not the entire show, to watch for free. As time goes on I may change the way this column is done but as of now, let review!I'd like to start by saying the Mark Henry video package was great, This "Hall of Pain" gimmick he has going now seems to be the fire he needed to jock for the top spot on the Blue Brand. The video just showed how dominant he's been in the past few months and how he decimated not only The Big Show, but also Kane and Kozlov. Showing his attacks on Orton also helped with the build for Night of Champions, making Henry look like something even Orton might not be able to handle. The in-ring promo did nothing but add to what the video package had achieved; making Henry look mean, scary, and unforgiving. His words were fierce and his size and presence make you really believe he'd snap your neck on a whim. Throwing Ryder in the mix was gold; hes growing a following and the crowd is starting to get behind him. He's a great character who can speak well on the mic but was still small enough to make him look pathetic next to Henry's hulking mass. The news of the matches and the no contact rule were great for the story and led to the downfall of Ryder. Ryder's intimidated retreats and "I'm screwed" facial expressions while Henry held him foreshadowed well the beating he was about to receive. Kudos to Ryder for grabbing his manhood and getting a few shots in first, but we knew he was ring pancake the moment he came out. Sorry Broski but WOO WOO WOO to you anyway. Henry's match with Jackson was okay for two power move big men. This was nothing more than trying to show off Henry's strength by putting him up against Ezekiel Jackson. Jackson is a scary big dude and not many in the WWE right now I think could rival his physique. The idea though is to put Henry over as a destroyer so having him own Jackson, while sad cause Big Zek is really better than that, was to be expected. Jackson isn't a big player but I really think they could give him more of a chance than what he got with Henry, that was just sad.So we've seen Aksana, the trashy blonde foreign bimbo so now we're getting Aksana the trashy, Gothic looking seductress? I really hope they bring Golddust back to SmackDown to get back at Aksana. As for dear old Teddy Long, run Playa that woman crazy. Sin Cara vs. Tyson Kidd was a great match-up that ended up being sort of lack luster. First, can i ask what is with the lights? Why is it Sin Cara is the only one who gets special lights for his match? This is the goofiest gimmick ever. This had show stealer potential written on it though, but I felt like Kidd was held back almost. Both use a fast paced style and can go airborne when needed but Kidd seemed to just get ate up by Sin Cara's aerial feats. The commentators during the match were the worst part of this though, Micheal Cole doesn't seem to care, Booker T sounds so forced and Josh Matthews get no credit what so ever sometimes. I figured Sin Cara would win and the post match interview was surprisingly good. You can tell the WWE is trying hard to appeal to the Hispanic market and Sin Cara is SmackDown's resident Latino. Daniel Bryan sounded great on the mic, he seems a little bland but Bryan has always been know more for his in-ring, no nonsense style more than his amazing orator skills. The surprise beat downs though make Daniel Bryan look a little weak and having the "Master of Submissions" tap out to his own signature submission move is sad. Cody Rhodes video package, this was a win. I didn't like Rhodes when he first started out but he's grown on me. I really thought Ted Dibiase would have been the star from Legacy but Cody not only put on outstanding matches since than but his promos are, in my humble opinion, one of the best on SmackDown, if not the whole WWE, currently. His run with the Intercontinental belt should be good, as he's shown he can go the distance with top guys in the past and should be able to do it here. Bring a little prestige back to IC Title would be a excellent, remember when it wasn't sad for guys holding the IC Title to have held a World Title before than?Randy Orton's promo was great here, not only did he put Cody Rhodes over as a formidable up-and-comer but also put over how Mark Henry is a dangerous man. It's nice to see them really committing to the Henry push although whether he gets the title remains to be seen.And Barbie Bar... I mean Kelly Kelly is out for a match with Natalya. I love what they have done with Natalya and Beth Phoenix. The Diva's division has become really sad and it's nice to see a push for female wrestlers and not failed models. The match was dominated by Natalya, she is just so much more powerful than Kelly Two-Times. The roll-up victory was cheap and made me question why they are blowing up Beth Phoenix and making Natalya take a back seat. Could it be who Beth goes to bed with each night? I am calling it now look for Natalya to turn on Beth at some point while she is holding the title. Same Christian promo we hear week in and week out anymore. It's really sad they still have him doing this, it makes him look so weak. Sheamus' story was a little odd, it's awkward seeing him as a face but he does it well. Him telling Christian off and being able to intimidate him enough to leave the ring defiantly will get him some cheers. The look Christian and Wade Barrett shared was cute, seems to be some bromance may be brewing. Sheamus and Barrett are a good match up and this match could one day be a big main event. These are two big guys who can talk well in front of a crowd and get it done in the ring. Both have Champ written on them for years to come if they can stay healthy. Christians run in was expected and the obvious double team had to ensue. Christian and Barrett would make a good team in my opinion and would be a nice combo if you're looking to revitalize the tag division as HHH said he was. Sheamus also got to display his power and in-ring abilities by taking out Barrett and avoiding the sneak attack from Christian. I don't think this trio is done with each other yet.Air Boom is a real odd pair that work well due to both of there high-flying styles. Jinder Mahal and The Great Khali feel so forced and silly. This is seriously not working out, Khali is no longer the monster that won the World Heavyweight Title years ago and Mahal is okay at best. Air Boom has the same match every night though. Bourne goes in and gets beat up offering a little offense here and there, finally gets the tag to Kofi, Kofi goes crazy and drops everything on them, than one hits their finisher and go for the pin; they're exciting but not very inventive. Khali giving the shove to Mahal is a good thing since this needs to end. It's a bad story and the WWE should feel bad for doing it.Cody Rhodes is once again, going big places. This match with Randy Orton could actually be for the World Title in a about a year, if not sooner, if things go well. The whole bag gimmick is great and seeing Booker get one and his face is awesome. Cody's promo abilities have really started to come into their own and he really is in line for a shot at the Big Gold Belt soon. His match with Orton was gold on this night. Even though he lost, Cody Rhodes looked strong and seemed to control two-thirds the match. This was a awesome chance to showcase one of your up and comers while still building your main event guys.The post match beat down by Henry was nicely done. Great heel tactic to pick the scraps of a weakened opponent like Orton and destroy him. Him sitting on the chair, pinning Orton, and telling him he's only moving still cause Henry wants the title was a powerful thing. It's not often that someone in the WWE like Randy Orton gets man handled like that and it will draw heat to Henry now that it has. Night of Champions is defiantly going to be fierce fight between these two competitors.All in all SmackDown this week had a nice showing. I'm rating it a 6/10 since while it was good, it was nothing special nor was there anything completely show stopping. It did well to build towards NoC and showcased some good matches and newer talent; you can really tell they are trying very hard to get newer talent over on the big stage. This is defiantly more of a wrestling show than the "sports entertainment" produced on Monday Night RAW and this really seems to allow for younger guys not fresh on the mic yet to develop in the ring and move toward that goal. Thank you all for Reading folks and look for the new SmackDown: Under Review next Saturday.
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