Mike Tedesco’s Smackdown Thoughts
July 20, 2013
By: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
Smackdown kicked off with a big announcement from Teddy Long. Mr. McMahon was in the building, and he was going to be giving a job performance evaluation. Long was making a bid to become the permanent General Manager of the show when Booker T, the man Long had been filling in for, made his return after a month and a half away with a triceps injury. McMahon then came out, and he had both of them make some good matches for the evening. Then Brad Maddox came out to try to become the General Manager of Smackdown as well as RAW. In the end, McMahon threw a big curveball at everyone when he made Vickie Guerrero the new General Manager of Smackdown. Truth be told, I don’t mind the move. I like a heel authority figure. What fun is it watching the show every week if the General Manager is going to suck up to you? It should be some fun television over the next few weeks. Vickie is a hell of a character. I’m just hoping she doesn’t start a love fest with another superstar. I’ve seen enough of that with her and Edge. This was a good segment to start the show that changes the direction of the show. I do wonder what the next move for Booker T will be, though.
Dolph Ziggler beat Jack Swagger in a quick little match. Ziggler needed a win after losing twice to Alberto Del Rio and then being attacked by his ex-girlfriend AJ and Big E Langston this week. Ziggler then cut a promo where he faked being apologetic toward AJ only to say he’s sorry he didn’t break up with her a lot sooner. AJ, who was watching backstage, flipped out, and Langston restrained her. Langston made a move to kiss her on the lips, but he instead kissed her on the head. That was a pretty intense segment backstage. It was really well done.
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were set to have a rematch against The Usos, but the match never got started. It was a melee, and then Dean Ambrose came out to overwhelm the Usos. Mark Henry then ran out to exact revenge against them for the assault on Monday. The crowd was really into Henry’s arrival, and I’m interested in seeing where they go with this from here.
Daniel Bryan had a quick enhancement match against Wade Barrett. Bryan is facing John Cena at Summerslam, so they probably wanted to give him a convincing win as soon as possible to make him look like a true threat. I was there on Monday when he came out, and I was pumped to be a part of that crowd. Bryan is so super red hot. I can’t wait to see his match against Cena. What is going on with Barrett, though? Can he ever gain traction and break through to the next level? I thought he’d have a shot at Money in the Bank, but it was never even really close.
The Miz TV segment with Paul Heyman was ok. Again, nothing was really accomplished on the show. Miz literally didn’t even ask him any questions. Heyman pretty much regurgitated exactly what he said on RAW, and that was pretty much it. Miz said Heyman made him sick, and then he walked off. Miz showed good intensity, but it was all for naught. It was a forgettable segment that furthered nothing.
Well, something important happened last night. Chris Jericho had his last WWE match for the time being, and of course he put over a young talent. Curtis Axel looked really good picking up the win. Sure he used a slight distraction from Paul Heyman to his advantage, but he still hung in there and looked great against Jericho. Jericho is such an important piece for WWE in terms of simply putting on a great match against a young star. He’ll be missed, but I think Christian will fill his spot just fine in his absence. Ryback attacked him after Axel beat him, so Jericho has something to sink his teeth into once he’s done with Fozzy.
Damien Sandow came out, and he was completely oblivious to the fact that his friendship with Cody Rhodes is officially over. Sandow claimed they were friends and then called Rhodes out. Sandow forgave Rhodes for attacking him on RAW, and he made him the official protector of the Money in the Bank briefcase. Rhodes then slammed the briefcase over his head. The crowd is really behind Rhodes. I never saw that one coming. I was talking to a friend before Money in the Bank, and he called it that Rhodes was going face. I really didn’t see it coming, but it’s exciting to see.
Rob Van Dam had a quick match against Darren Young where he just hit all his spots and picked up a quick win. There wasn’t much to it. I was happy to watch it, though. I’ve been doing this for five years, and this was the first time I’ve recapped a match with RVD in it. I know it’s weird, but when you recap for as long as I have, you have a list of wrestlers that you just want to recap. RVD is now crossed off on that list.
Vickie Guerrero had a few segments where she was just throwing around her power. First, she slapped the ever-loving crap out of Brad Maddox. That was so nasty! Later on she had Teddy Long escorted from the building. She didn’t do anything to Booker T. Maybe she’s saving that for later?
The main event was really good, and it was also a little scary. Reports from WWE.com, not exactly the most trustworthy source as they’ve been known to kayfabe it up a bit, reported that Orton suffered a stinger during this match. You could definitely see where it happened. Del Rio caught him squarely on the back of the next with an enzuigiri, and Orton immediately held the back of his neck for a bit. It didn’t halt any of the action of the match, though. In fact, Orton carried on just fine after a few moments. He hit all his spots and finished the match strong. I hope he won’t be out for an extended period of time. Stingers can sometimes take six to eight weeks to heal. Hopefully it’s not that bad. Orton contends that it isn’t. Still, this was a really good main event, and I highly suggest you watch it.
Bump of the Night: Vickie’s nasty slap to Brad Maddox
Match of the Night: Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio ** 3/4
Final Rating: ***
E-Mail – MikeyT817@gmail.com
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Thanks for reading!
Mike Tedesco is the official recapper of WWE Smackdown for Wrestleview.com.