Mike Tedesco’s Smackdown Thoughts
August 31, 2013
By: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
Smackdown kicked off with MizTV featuring the three guys who were silent at the end of Monday Night RAW: The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, and the Big Show. The Miz was the only one who put some words together when Renee Young asked for an interview on Monday. The Miz questioned both Big Show and Ziggler about the treatment of Daniel Bryan by Triple H, but neither was quick to say anything. Triple H then came out, and he proceeded to cut all three men down while talking about how destroying Bryan is what is best for business. Triple H did mention that handpicking Randy Orton contributed to sold out arenas, but I wonder how much of the arena was sold out for Smackdown. They usually tarp off some sections of the arena for Smackdown. I’d be interested to know if that show was sold out. Triple H’s insult toward The Miz about the WWE Championship was the only one that seemed to really burn. Ziggler and Big Show’s insults all had to do with the storyline. Triple H did his best to reenact his attitude during the McMahon-Helmsley Era from early-2000. It was a good opening segment that carried a little drama with it. The only thing I don’t like is that Big Show always seems to be on the verge of tears at his shaming. Can’t he seethe with anger rather than have tears come bubbling up?
The first match branched out from that segment as it saw The Miz take on Randy Orton. They actually had a good match. While Orton’s style hasn’t changed from face to heel, which is a good thing, he is a little slower and methodical with the moves. That’s fine by me. It’s like he was dissecting The Miz with each move. It looked good. The match had a lot of stuff going on: a good match from The Miz and Orton, Big Show crying at ringside, The Shield coming out, and Daniel Bryan running out after the match. Orton won in a relatively clean fashion. The Shield was going to beat Miz down after the match, but Bryan ran out to clear them away. The crowd went nuts for him, which is always awesome to see.
The next match saw Rob Van Dam beat Damien Sandow in a quick match. There wasn’t much to it. Sandow takes the loss, but it’s not that big a deal. Money in the Bank winners don’t fare so well while holding the contract, but once they cash in, it’s a different story. All is forgotten. I still can’t get behind the pairing of RVD and Ricardo Rodriguez. It just doesn’t make much sense to me. Without Del Rio, Rodriguez’ shelf life is pretty limited. In fact, it already seems like he’s overstayed his welcome. The people aren’t behind him, and they’re not interested in him exacting any revenge against Del Rio. Del Rio came out after the match and cut a promo laced with clichés, but it wasn’t bad at all. I do want to see a Del Rio/RVD match at Night of Champions – I’m just not interested in the storyline that will lead up to it.
Dolph Ziggler took on The Shield in a handicap match booked by Triple H. This was a decent effort from all involved. Ziggler garnered a lot of sympathy for the beating, but he got the crowd behind him thinking he could pull it off. The Shield was taunting Big Show as they laid Ziggler out with the Triple Powerbomb. The theme of Big Show crying during these matches would go on through the night.
Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel were out next. Heyman cut a promo to follow up on what he did to CM Punk on RAW. Heyman was good with the promo as he talked about the beating given to Punk and the match coming up at Night of Champions. I think Heyman has an ace up his sleeve regarding that match. I doubt Punk is just going to kill Heyman on the PPV. I’m thinking either a Brock Lesnar appearance or a new client showing up.
The Wyatt Family mauled Tons of Funk in a really quick match. There wasn’t much to it. Quick and painless.
Daniel Bryan took on Ryback in the main event. It was a decent match that Bryan nearly won until Randy Orton caused the DQ. Bryan locked him in the Yes! Lock, but The Shield took him out as well. Big Show had seen enough, and he got in the ring to scare them off, but he never threw a punch. Triple H then came out, and he spent a minute and a half just yelling at Big Show from ringside until he got out of the ring. Orton then took out a can of spray-paint and wrote, “NO” on Bryan’s chest. It’s still really early in the feud, but Bryan cannot be left lying at the end of every major show WWE produces. There needs to be some glimmer of hope that the crowd can get behind, otherwise that great reaction he got at the beginning of the show is going to dissipate. The beatings are just so thorough that it would seem unrealistic at this point if he did it all on his own.
Bump of the Night: Orton clotheslining The Miz at ringside
Match of the Night: Ryback vs. Bryan **
Final Rating: ** 3/4
E-Mail – MikeyT817@gmail.com
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Thanks for reading!
Mike Tedesco is the official recapper of WWE Smackdown for Wrestleview.com.