Mike Tedesco’s Smackdown Thoughts
February 15, 2013
By: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
The show kicked off with another angry Big Show rant. This man is firing on all cylinders right now, to me at least. I love the angry side of him. His little promo was quick and to the point. Alberto Del Rio has never pinned him. Basically, buy the PPV on Sunday and see if he can. Chris Jericho came out, and you could tell he was having a lot of fun out there. Jericho cut a good promo that touched on his history with Big Show and the Elimination Chamber as well. The only thing I didn’t like was the EEEVER thing that he did. I didn’t like it back in the day, and now that Jericho has hit the big 4-0, I like it even less. Still, this was a successful opener to set the tone for the rest of the show.
I really enjoyed the Mark Henry versus Randy Orton match. I know, I know. Surprise, surprise – Mike liked a Mark Henry match. It was really good, though! Henry looks unstoppable. He looks so unstoppable that a multi-time World Champion in Randy Orton feels desperate enough to think that the only way he can beat him is to weaken him with a chair. Even that didn’t work as Henry still clobbered him with the World’s Strongest Slam. Henry looks like the favorite heading into the Chamber match. He then proceeded to cut a killer promo backstage with Matt Striker. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you find it somewhere. I was glued on every word.
After that we got a Divas match, and what an ugly match it was. It was full of miscommunication and botched moves. Just ugly. Layla couldn’t even execute a jackknife pin. They were just completely off.
I can’t say I was the biggest fan in the world of The Rock’s promo on the show. I love seeing him and hearing the reaction he gets, but this was just lame. He kept calling CM Punk the “spoiled little boy,” and I just don’t see it. It was just a little lame. I think this feud culminated three weeks ago, and they’re just struggling to get whatever life it has left. Though I have to admit that people are already going to order the show just for The Rock, so this promo probably had no effect on the decision to watch.
The Shield took back a little of the momentum they lost on Raw by beating down Brodus Clay and Tensai. Dean Ambrose was much better than he was on Raw with the promo he cut. The Raw promo was just awful. At least they were smart enough to keep Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins away from the microphone.
The Miz and Cody Rhodes had a quick little match, but I must say I enjoyed it. They were able to take a little over three minutes and make it entertaining to watch. This was successful overall.
Jack Swagger decimated Zack Ryder for the second time this week, and Zeb Colter decimated everyone else on the microphone for the second time this week. I said it in my Raw thoughts, and I’ll say it again: Jack Swagger now has all the tools for success. There are no more excuses for him now. I’m excited to see where this goes.
I really enjoyed the Big Show/Chris Jericho main event. The thing I love about Jericho is that he understands that he can lose and still retain his heat. He’s established enough. This put over how angry and dominant Big Show is. Jericho intimated earlier in the night that he’s a six-time World Champion. Thinking of that, after watching this match you’ve got to be left thinking, “If Big Show can do that to a six-time World Champion, what will he do to Alberto Del Rio?”
Bump of the Night: Mark Henry taking a clothesline from Randy Orton outside the ring
Match of the Night: Big Show vs. Chris Jericho **
Final Rating: ** 1/2
Enjoy the Elimination Chamber PPV! Thanks for reading!
Mike Tedesco is the official recapper of WWE Smackdown for Wrestleview.com.