Mike Tedesco’s Smackdown Thoughts
June 15, 2013
By: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
I really enjoyed the opening segment that kicked off the show that saw Daniel Bryan call out Kane. These two have put on some great matches, but their comedy segments have also been excellent. Last night was another one of those moments. They were actually dealing with serious subject matter in the form of the dissolution of Team Hell No, but they made it so you could laugh about it a little bit. Kane has been around the block in WWE, and he’s done it all. He’s been involved in classic storylines, he’s been a World Champion, he’s given a priest a Tombstone Piledriver, and I think his line last night of, “So let me get this straight… are you like breaking up with me?” is up there with those moments. The image of this 7-foot man in a mask with a costume that mimics the scars left behind from a human autopsy saying that line is hilarious to me. I genuinely laughed out loud. It did get a little serious afterwards with some physical interaction after Bryan said Kane was the weak link, and Randy Orton had to come out to diffuse the situation. Then The Shield showed up on the screen to remind them that they’ve never been beaten and the main event would be no different. It was a great way to keep advancing the ongoing tension between the two men, and it set up the main event well. You’re left wondering if they really can unite and beat them for the first time ever. They also got in some great promotion for the WWE Payback PPV this Sunday.
I really enjoyed the first match of the show with Sheamus and Antonio Cesaro. Those two are just straight up brawlers, and they beat the hell out of one another in that match. Sheamus even had a cut on his shoulder. It’s more of the same from them. They’ve had awesome encounters in the past, and last night was no different. I’m really interested in what they’re doing with Cesaro. They’ve had Zeb Colter talking him up in interviews. I’m hoping that if he links up with him they could start tapping into some of that potential that he holds. I just think he’s terrific.
The next match was kind of blah for me. Heath Slater beat The Great Khali for whatever reason. I hope this isn’t the start of a feud between them. Put it on Superstars!
Dolph Ziggler had his first match back on Smackdown since sustaining that nasty concussion from an errant kick by Jack Swagger a month ago. He competed alongside Big E Langston against his Payback opponent Alberto Del Rio and Chris Jericho. This was a decent little tag team match. Nothing really blew me away. I just kept watching Ziggler’s head hoping it didn’t bounce around too much on the mat. I always feel uncomfortable watching guys who have just come back from a tough injury. I remember when Triple H came back from the first quad injury in 2002. Every Pedigree he gave I was expecting him to stay down. It’s going to take some getting used to again.
Kaitlyn knocked the hell out of Aksana in a match that never got started. I guess she really took that secret admirer thing to heart. She seriously thought that was going to work out? Seriously though, I would have liked to see AJ come out and face off with her once. She was just out there for the previous match.
Curtis Axel beat the Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett in a quick little match after he got him while he was entering the ring. This was ok. Barrett did some talking before the match started to try and get out of the match, and that brought out The Miz. I wasn’t really big on The Miz’ promo work here. It’s not going to be a homerun every time, but he just seemed so phony in his delivery. He seemed like he was just going through the motions with the “really” thing and getting a lame chant started with the crowd. Even setting himself up to get hit while outside was just so telegraphed. For as good as he was in the opening segment last week, he was just as bad there last night. His face run is really on life support in my opinion. Some guys just can’t connect with the fans that way I guess.
The main event was killer. It had everything. It was well booked, it had some great drama, it had a result that you didn’t see coming on a Smackdown, and it had a crowd that was just absolutely unglued throughout the match. It was the perfect TV match. I’ve said in the past that The Shield’s undefeated streak would never come to an end on Smackdown. I’m glad I was wrong there. Every now and then they’ll put something important and extremely memorable on Smackdown. This was a match that you need to go out of your way to see. I’m sure there have been better six-man tag team matches this year, but the crowd, the result, and the energy made it so memorable. I gave it my highest rating of four stars, and it’s hands down one of my favorite things I’ve seen on the show all year. This was just excellent.
Bump of the Night: Sheamus giving Sandow a fall away slam into the barricade
Match of the Night: The Shield vs. Team Hell No and Randy Orton ****
Final Rating: ****
E-Mail – MikeyT817@gmail.com
This week marked my fifth year here on Wrestleview.com. This is such an awesome website filled with great people who love what they do. I’m so proud to call so many of them my friends. Most importantly, I’d like to thank you, the reader. It has been so much fun recapping this show every Friday for the past five years, and I look forward to many more. Thank you for taking the time to read my stuff every week.
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Thanks for reading! Enjoy WWE Payback!
Mike Tedesco is the official recapper of WWE Smackdown for Wrestleview.com.