WWE Smackdown: 5 Thoughts About Friday Night

WWE on Smackdown this week was a decent show which included the return of Bret "The Hitman" Hart as the special guest General Manager, the return of the former World Heavyweight Champion, and possibly the permanent change of a masked superstar.

The WWE has certainly been raising several questions in my mind on this show, and here are some thoughts that I had about Friday night.

Christian Is Back!

Christian made his return to Smackdown this week after being seen nowhere last Friday and while I expected Edge's words to knock some sense into Captain Charisma, the exact opposite occurred.

Christian continued to whine this week and he ran back to his lawyers yet again. He got his rematch against Randy Orton, which will occur in a steel cage match next Tuesday on the live Smackdown, which I am very excited to see.

The WWE continues to give Christian the heel persona with the baby attitude, and it makes me wonder what their plan is for him going into the future. 

Daniel Bryan Loses... Again

Oh man... things are not looking good at all for Daniel Bryan. The American Dragon lost his fourth straight match this week, and this time it was against Christian.

They put on a good match and Bryan had one pretty cool submission maneuver but eventually lost when Christian hit the Killswitch. 

Daniel Bryan is Mr. Money in the Bank. He won the blue briefcase a month and a half ago and for a while he was looking like he was going somewhere on Smackdown.

But now after four straight losses, I would say that he has lost way too much steam and is almost definitely poised to lose the briefcase.

Is the Old Sin Cara Gone for Good?

It looks like Sin Cara has been evicted from the WWE. 

In the match that was shown on television we saw the "new Sin Cara" defeat Heath Slater in a very quick match. But what the people who were at the event will tell us is that this was the second match between the two that night.

In the first match, the real Sin Cara had so many botches that they had to re-do the match with the other Sin Cara.

There have been reports that the WWE has gotten rid of Sin Cara for good, and it looks like we will be seeing much more of this new Sin Cara, who we truly know to be Hunico, on Smackdown from now on.

The Saga of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

There has been tension between Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase for weeks now, and tonight that tension boiled over. 

After Rhodes gave his speech about how he was re-inventing the Intercontinental Championship, DiBiase got into the ring to face Randy Orton. DiBiase put up a good fight but in the end, it wasn't good enough against The Viper as he lost after an RKO.

After the match, it looked as if Rhodes was going to help his companion up, but then hit a Cross Rhodes on his protege and it looks like their partnership may now be over. The bag was placed on the head of Ted DiBiase, and the Intercontinental Champion left him lying in the ring.

We should expect these two to start a feud after tonight, which I would expect Rhodes to conquer in order to make him look like a dominant champion. The WWE is grooming Rhodes to be a future world champion, and DiBiase could be another solid stepping stone for the man with the mask.

Mark Henry Loses

I fully expect Christian to lose next Tuesday against Randy Orton. After that match, I expect The World's Strongest Man to be waiting.

When Mark Henry lost his match against Sheamus tonight, I was very surprised. I didn't think the WWE would let him lose any steam after becoming the No. 1 contender last week. But then Henry got up after the match and hit a World's Strongest Slam on Sheamus on the steel steps.

This moment was a sign of pure dominance for Henry, showing that he doesn't need to win to prove that he is still the true No. 1 contender. 

I expect Henry to win a world title before 2011 is over, and now we should all get ready for next Tuesday's Super Smackdown.