Smackdown
Date:
January 10, 2014
Location:
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators:
Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
There
isn't much to talk about coming into this show. Monday was Old
School Raw and the biggest story to come out of that was the
surprising return of Jake Roberts who looked better than he has in
years. Talk has turned to the Rumble though as we're now just over
two weeks away. Things can start to get very interesting very fast
around this time so hopefully the pace picks up. Let's get to it.
We
open with a Wyatt Family promo and Bray talking about Daniel being
lost and needing his guidance.
Usos
vs. Wyatt Family
It's
Harper and Rowan with no Daniel or Bray in sight. Harper overpowers
Jimmy to start by driving him into the corner, only to have Jey make
a blind tag and sneak in with a kick to Harper's ribs. That's all
good with Luke as he takes Jey down with ease before bringing in
Rowan who gets kicked in the chest to change control again. Rowan
runs him over with a shoulder and puts Jey on the corner for forearms
to the chest from both monsters.
Erick
stays on Jey but gets kicked in the head, knocking him back into the
corner for a tag back to Harper. Luke kicks Jimmy off the apron to
break up a tag before it's back to Rowan for some face pulling. Jey
tries to fight back but gets caught in a fallaway slam for no cover.
Harper comes back in and breaks up another tag attempt with a shot to
the ribs and another to the jaw.
A
catapult sends Jey throat first into the middle rope and we hit the
Gator Roll. Back to Rowan for the fist head squeeze until Jey fights
out with a jawbreaker and Whisper in the Wind. Harper and Jimmy come
in off the hot tags with Jimmy speeding things up but not moving as
quickly as he usually does.
A
Samoan drop puts Harper down but Jimmy has to superkick Rowan, only
to walk into a Michinoku Driver from Harper. Everything breaks down
and Jimmy rolls Luke up for two. Harper is sent to the floor so
Jimmy can hit a big dive to put everyone down. Rowan runs Jey over
as Harper comes back with the discus lariat, leading to the double
countout at 9:45.
Rating:
C+. The match was entertaining
but we're getting very close to the maximum amount of times these
teams (or Usos vs. Shield) can happen with the fans still caring.
It's been the same match over and over for months now and it's losing
its interest every week. It also doesn't help that the Usos have
been in the same spot in the division for months now with wins and
losses meaning nothing for them.
Post
match the Wyatts get ready to destroy Jey but Jimmy makes the save
and gets them out of there. They get up the ramp but Bryan and Wyatt
jump them from behind and it's a 4-2 beatdown. There's the running
knee to Jey and Bryan stares at the announcers with his tongue out.
Jimmy gets Sister Abigail and all four Wyatts pose. For some reason
this was on a wider camera shot.
Randy
Orton comes into Vickie's office and demands to see HHH and Stephanie
but they're not here tonight. Randy is in a match tonight but hasn't
been consulted like he's supposed to be. Vickie loads up the Best
for Business line but Orton doesn't want to hear it. He's going to
give the Authority a piece of his mind on Raw because it's best for
Randy Orton.
It's
MizTV with special guest the Big Show. Before Show comes out we look
at Lesnar breaking Mark Henry's arm on Monday before Big Show came
out and threw Lesnar around. Miz recaps the story again and asks Big
Show why he did what he did. Big Show puts it simply: he doesn't
like Brock Lesnar and never has. He's not happy that Brock Lesnar is
back and doesn't like it when everyone who stands up to Brock Lesnar
is left laying.
Big
Show challenges Lesnar to a fight and here's Heyman to answer.
Heyman calls Lesnar the Ultimate Fighter of WWE and asks if Big Show
wants to fight Brock right now. Big Show is ready and Heyman does
his always great fake out, saying Brock will fight when Heyman says
so. Heyman throws out an offer for a match at the Royal Rumble and
says Brock will not be a hard man to find before then.
Batista
is still coming.
Video
on the Network announcement. I drool more every time I hear the
details.
Ryback/Curtis
Axel/Real Americans vs. Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara/Los Matadores
Diego
sends Axel into the corner but Axel knees him in the ribs and takes
over. They run the ropes until Diego stops to shout OLE! Axel sends
him into the corner for something like Ultimo Dragon's headstand
until Diego takes him down with a headscissors. Off to Fernando who
gets taken into the corner for the tag to Cesaro. Fernando nips up
off the mat into a headscissors and it's back to Diego to chop
Swagger in the head.
Axel
comes in immediately and gets dropkicked by Sin Cara, sending him
into the corner for a tag off to Ryback. A few dropkicks have Ryback
in trouble but he bails to the floor before Rey can hit the 619. The
good guys are in control as we go to a break. Back with Swagger
driving a knee into Rey's ribs and elbowing him in the face.
The
Vader Bomb hits feet and Rey kicks him in the head for two as
everything breaks down. Torito dives on Axel as Rey rolls out of the
Patriot Lock but the 619 is caught, only to have Cara break up the
pin. Sin and Axel take each other out to the floor, allowing Rey to
hit the 619 and Drop the Dime for the pin on Jack at 4:40 shown of
8:10.
Rating:
C. I guess they have to put all
the Hispanic guys together since they put all their dancing black
people together. We're just an Aces and 8's invasion away from GANG
WARS 2! This took some time to get going but the ending was very
fun. Sin Cara looks like he has some potential....which is why Del
Rio beat him in two minutes on Raw I guess.
Video
on Cena vs. Orton.
Randy
Orton vs. Big E. Langston
Non-title
of course. Langston takes him down with a shoulder block but Orton
rolls to the floor before a cover. Back in and a headlock sets up
another shoulder block sends Orton to the floor again. Orton comes
in again and punches Big E. down, only to walk into a headbutt for
two. Langston sends Orton to the mat with a single right hand to the
ribs before slapping on an armbar.
Orton
fights up again and pounds on Big E., only to get caught in a
backbreaker. A second backbreaker gets two and Langston is getting
in a zone. Randy escapes the Big Ending and bails to the floor as we
take a break. Back with the chinlock until Big E. powers out, only
to get kneed in the ribs for two. Back to the chinlock but Big E.
fights up again.
The
comeback is short lived again though as Orton sends him through the
ropes to the floor. Langston is sent into the steps twice in a row
for two before we hit the chinlock again. Big E. fights up one more
time and runs Orton over twice in a row, followed by a belly to belly
suplex. The Warrior Splash gets two but Orton hits his backbreaker
to get a breather. The RKO is countered with a splash in the corner
but Orton pokes Big E. in the eye, setting up the RKO for the pin at
14:28.
Rating;
C+. I missed pokes to the eyes.
They're such a simple heel move but they can be just what you need
to get a heel through an ending. This match worked for the most part
but it could have had a few minutes of chinlocks taken out. It's
good that Langston gets to look like he can hang in there against top
guys. There's a future there if he's used properly.
Bray
Wyatt talks about fate being a dangerous beast. She tears you apart
with her teeth while tearing you apart with her eyes. Bray wants to
know if he cuts an Uso, will the other bleed? He asks about the lies
of the world, making Daniel scream LIE. Daniel rants about the lies
of the world making him want to ram his head into a wall until he
breaks something.
Xavier
Woods vs. Fandango
This
is a result of Fandango interrupting and costing Truth and Woods a
match on Main Event. Truth joins commentary and says he and JBL are
down like four flat tires. Woods takes him down with a headlock to
start but Fandango sends him out to the floor. Xavier slingshots
back into a rollup for the pin at 1:25. It's as fast as it sounds.
Post
match Summer Rae goes into the ring to yell but the Funkadactyls take
care of her. Truth beats up Fandango for fun.
The
Usos promises to show the Wyatts pain on Monday.
The
Raw ReBound recaps most of the show.
Shield
comes to the ring for the main event. Reigns declares himself the
new best in the world after pinning Punk on Raw. Ambrose says
there's no reason for someone to own a ten foot python and it gave
him nightmares. He goes into a rant about choking the snake but
Rollins takes the mic and says tonight is about the future, meaning
it's not about the New Age Outlaws. They'll break Punk like they
always do because they are the future.
Shield
vs. CM Punk/New Age Outlaws
The
Outlaws haven't wrestled on Smackdown in nearly 13 years. Naturally
the Philadelphia fans are WAY into Punk. Ambrose and Punk get things
going with Dean headlocking Punk to the mat, only to get caught in a
headscissors. Off to Road Dogg who works on the arm for a few
seconds before handing it off to Billy for more cranking. Cole
screws up history by saying the Outlaws debuted as part of DX as
Billy puts Rollins in an armbar. The Outlaws take turns on the
armfor a bit before Punk comes in with a top rope elbow to the arm.
Seth
gets in a shot to the jaw and tags in Ambrose, only to have Punk take
him down into an Indian Deathlock. Punk misses the high kick and
Dean bails to the floor as everything breaks down. Shield is sent to
the floor to regroup as we take a break. Back with Ambrose working
over Road Dogg until Roadie comes back with the shaky right hands.
Rollins comes back in with a knee to the head for two before it's
back to Reigns for some corner stomping. Back to Ambrose who does
the Road Dogg arm wiggle, only to have Road punch him in the face.
Ambrose
will have none of this selling for old guys and knees Dogg in the
ribs before tagging off to Rollins for a chinlock. Road Dogg is
taken back into the corner for more triple teaming before Reigns
comes back in for a chinlock. Reigns lets him go and ducks his head,
allowing Road Dogg to put him down with a DDT. Ambrose can't break
up the hot tag attempt and it's Punk in to clean house.
CM
hits his usual stuff on Ambrose but can't get the GTS. Both guys hit
cross bodies to put each other down and it's a double tag to bring in
Billy vs. Roman. Everything breaks down with Gunn cleaning house and
getting two off a Jackhammer to Rollins. Punk hits a suicide dive to
take out Seth but Billy takes too long setting up the Fameasser,
allowing Reigns to spear him down for the pin at 14:25.
Rating:
C-. This feud has lost its way.
Punk beat Shield on his own, so why should I want to see him fight
them with a variety of partners? I have no problem with the Outlaws
getting a match on Smackdown as they still looked fine out there.
They were never my favorite team though and it's not like they were
known for their in ring work in the first place. The match wasn't
bad but it was little more than fine.
Overall
Rating: D+. I remember reading
something like same Smackdown, different week and that's about as
accurate as it gets. There's just nothing on these shows that you
need to see and we're not even getting a great match every week
anymore. The show is back to being a supplement to Raw and that's
not something I need when Raw is as bloated as it is.
Results
Wyatt
Family vs. Usos went to a double countout
Rey
Mysterio/Los Matadores/Sin Cara b. Real Americans/Ryback/Curtis Axel
Randy
Orton b. Big E. Langston – RKO
Xavier
Woods b. Fandango – Rollup
Shield
b. CM Punk/New Age Outlaws – Spear to Gunn
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
I find that the product today is best watched LIVE....Punk & The Outlaws is a pretty sweet combo though. And I hate to say it, but how would Jake Roberts fare in the Rumble? He was moving quite gingerly on Raw. I can't see him delivering left jabs, a short clothesline then a DDT on anybody. I loved Jake.
ReplyDeleteIntercontinental champion vs. World champion on a taped show eh?
ReplyDeleteSigh.
Randy Orton halts the momentum of a young up-and-comer once again.
ReplyDeleteSTUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
So Smackdown is taking a page from Dixie's playbook???????
ReplyDeleteAssuming he was able to stay in control on Raw, a spot in the Rumble seems warranted. Jake being in there, DDTing Slater or someone of that talent level and being thrown out by a big name is all that needs to happen.
ReplyDeleteJake is still capable of hitting his signature spots. There's a video of Jake wrestling an indy match on DDP's youtube channel, plus I'm sure Jake will only stay in there 2 minutes at most so not to expose him.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing that backstage skit, I'm starting to think that this Bryan story is going to get Rydered. Hopefully something out off left field happens.
ReplyDelete