WWE SmackDown Review: May 20, 2011

Hello Folks! Welcome to the best SmackDown review on the Internet. Self-promotion out of the way, let’s proceed with the analysis!

Christian and Sheamus started the show with a solid match. However, the best thing about it was the return of the mini-promo! I was watching a WWF Superstars episode from 1990 the other day and thought to myself (believe it or not) that a good way to improve the programming would be to include the promos during matches!

I was even going to write an article about it, but I guess WWE beat me to it! A brilliant start to the show.

The match was really good. It lasted for a lot longer than I thought it would. I would say that Sheamus had the upper hand for the majority of the match, and I really wanted him to win. However, with Sheamus gaining this much control over the No. 1 contender either means that Christian shouldn’t be in the title picture, or they are building Sheamus back up to main-event status.

I hope it’s the latter. Sheamus has been one of my favorites since he debuted and I always thought he looked right with the WWE Championship round his waist.

Oh, by the way, Cole said Christian was a “tremendous wrestler.” Just slip out, did it, Cole?

It really was a decent match, though, with Sheamus kicking out of the Tornado DDT and Christian kicking out of the Irish Curse. Sheamus looked to gain a win with Pale Justice, but Christian stole the victory with a roll-up.

The fact that he had to steal a victory makes me dubious as to whether he will win on Sunday.

Mark Henry ran in and an assault started on Christian. Orton walked out casually and paced the stage, before deciding to run in and make the save. He helped Christian to his feet and they lived happily ever after...or so they thought.

It was announced that Brie Bella would be defending her WWE Divas Championship against Kelly Kelly at Over The Limit. It would seem like one fellow’s prediction is coming true. Kelly Kelly will win the belt only to drop it to Kharma—hopefully at a pay-per-view.

A quick backstage segment consisted of the Bella Twins reconciling after one left the other to be eaten alive by Kharma on Raw.

Natalya faced Brie Bella next. Natalya was all over the Divas Champion until Brie Bella got the victory with her X-Factor. I don’t know what she calls it, but it was stolen from X-Pac, so X-Factor will do for now.

I was gutted Kharma didn’t show up. I have no idea why she didn’t.

Ezekiel Jackson came out to cut a promo in the ring. It wasn’t anything special but it was good enough. He talked about how he has taken a beating but that they cannot break him, and he will not stop until they have all been injured.

The Corre showed up ready to ambush Big Zeke. Teddy Long put a halt to this and gave Zeke two partners: The Big Show and Kane.

Heath Slater had a new attire, which was refreshing to see. Too many superstars wear brief shaped trunks nowadays. I hope he keeps it—it suited him.

It was a repetitive six-man tag to say the least. The Corre would tag regularly only to be overpowered and sent back to their own corner with brown in their pants. This was repeated over and over for the first 10 minutes of the match until they gained the advantage by forcing Kane outside.

Ezekiel was eventually tagged in, cleaned house and slammed Gabriel not once, not twice, not even three times a lady, but four times! He then picked up the victory with a Torture Rack submission hold.

Matt Striker interviewed Christian, who thought Randy Orton “took his sweet time” coming to assist him earlier in the night. He re-iterated that he isn’t mad at Randy Orton.

Chavo Guerrero came out next and said he would beat Daniel Bryan in under five minutes—a feat that took Sin Cara 15 minutes to achieve last week. He also said that’s a lot less time than he needs to beat Sin Cara at Over The Limit. I think he meant a lot more time. Am I being pedantic? I believe it’s justified.

He also said Sin Cara embarrassed and disrespected him.

It started with weird lighting that suddenly switched off when the camera angle changed. Did anyone else notice that? What was all that about? I want answers!

Daniel Bryan dominated Chavo for the first minute-and-a-half before Chavo changed the momentum by kicking a charging Bryan.

Bryan tried to lock in the LeBell Lock, but Chavo escaped with just a minute to go.

Bryan then missed a huge dropkick off the top rope and Chavo took advantage with a triple suplex and a frog splash.

Bryan kicked out, however, making Chavo fail his challenge. I don’t know what the WWE gained out of that one. It isn’t as if Bryan is a big superstar. I’d have had Chavo win to make him look like a viable threat to Sin Cara.

Sin Cara then arrived, spectacularly, as per usual, and hurricanrana'd Chavo to the outside.

Ted DiBiase turned up with Cody Rhodes in his corner. Seeing them together, it was obvious to see how much further Cody has developed compared to Ted. He cut another amazing promo. You should’ve seen his eyes when the crowd started booing. He looked like Anakin Skywalker in his conversion to the Dark Side. You know the bit where he kills the younglings.

The paper bags appeared again and he made Ted wear one as he represented Corpus Christi. He said he is hiding his hideousness, etc. You all know the bit.

Trent Barreta came out to be squashed, but he didn’t waste his limited television time. He really showed some impressive athleticism and I was fully entertained. He ended up flat on his back with a paper bag over his head, though. Probably not how he envisioned his rise to stardom.

In the second squash match in a row, The Great Khali faced Jey Uso. Halfway through the match, Jinder Mahal came out speaking in what I assume was Indian—he seemed to be berating The Great Khali and slapped him again! Khali didn’t retaliate, but he went back into the ring and dominated Jey, then attacked Jimmy after the win.

Is Jinder Mahal really bringing the Punjabi Nightmare out of hibernation?

In the final interview of night, Matt Striker spoke to Orton. Orton said Christian being 100 percent is an out and out lie. That was about it.

The crowd was fully behind Orton as he began his match against Mark Henry. Nevertheless, Mark Henry gained full control after the commercial. The match wasn’t very long and once Orton got Henry off his feet, the match involved Orton systematically beating Henry until he escaped an RKO and Sheamus interfered.

The abuse began in what was a carbon copy of the start of the broadcast. Christian sauntered out in the same fashion Orton did earlier, before deciding to save his best buddy. They cleared the ring and had a tender moment after Orton shoved him for not immediately running down.

He then RKO’d  Henry and did a jumping split. I’m not lying; it was amazing and hilarious at the same time. The broadcast ended with Orton and Christian shaking hands in the middle of the ring. You can read what led to their subtle rivalry here.

This SmackDown was a really good episode in my opinion. The experimental promo at the start was a brilliant idea and the show featured some really solid matches yet again. SmackDown didn’t fail to impress this week—even the Divas match was good.

What did you think? Do you agree with my glowing review? Will Christian turn heel? Please leave a comment below. I always reply to comments, as you well know by now.

Thanks for reading!