WWE SmackDown 09/23/11: The Good, the Bad and the Meh.

WWE SmackDown came from Dayton, Ohio tonight.  If you need a recap, hit up Kaleb Kelchner's excellent recap.  Let's get on with it.

The Good:

+ Sheamus/Slater.  Quick match that served to put Sheamus over.  Nice to see Slater get some offense in, though, which is a little bit of a change.  Sheamus seems to be developing his own "Five Moves of Doom".

+ Gabriel/Barrett.  Another quick match to put over Wade.  I'm a little surprised they had Gabriel job clean, but Barrett needed the victory more then Justin.  Not really much else to say, but was a bit of fun.

+ Christian's story.  I trash Christian's character, I hate it and I don't think it suits him.  That said, the show long story with him trying to get help for the lumberjack match was a nicely done bit of storytelling. 

+ Bryan/Evil Cara.  Another quick match with some fun, though a few botches did get through editing. 

+ Air Boom/Usos.  Quick match, but not devoid of fun.  Filler match, not much else to say.

+ Henry/Christian.  We don't get to see Lumberjack matches much in the WWE, so that was something.  Alright storytelling, not enough use of the lumberjacks.  Match of the night almost by default.

The Meh:

~ Opening segment.  A part of poetry is being able to tell the best and most in-depth story as possible while using the least amount of words, or real estate, as is feasible. TV is a lot like that.

That being the case, the opening segment really served no purpose other then to establish that Christian is still a sniveling, needy man—and there will be a lumberjack main event.  No real promo from Henry, no sight of Orton and no cigarettes from Johnny Ace.  

Not bad, but it could have been accomplished without wasting that much time.  A Miz and Truth run in might have been fun here, but it would have overshadowed the SmackDown roster.

~ Orton/Rhodes.  Couple of strikes against this match.  First it is was a virtual repeat of their past few matches.  The second was it was nothing more then an excuse for Orton to show his crazy side.  The editing was disappointing as well. 

~ Mahal/Khali.  You know you are in "static" mode when Khali gets a squash match.

~ Squash matches for everyone!  Maybe they should use Bourne's music if they ever air this episode on the network next year, because this was a definite holding pattern show tonight.

The Bad:

- Divas Tag match.  You know, it is pretty bad when your "Doom" team can only get a victory over a couple of jobbers.  Just saying.

- The mystery booking of Bryan.  I can understand trying to find a storyline for the SmackDown Money In The Bank winner, but a losing streak?  That's not an angle, that's a glorified way of saying jobber.  Strip him, turn him or have him win clean once in a while.  I get tired of saying this.

- Lazy booking.  Pretty much "enhancement" matches tonight, with not much storyline advancement.  I understand they already have their main event tonight, but a lack of attention to the undercard continues to be the Achilles Heel of the WWE.  The show was just tedious tonight.  They need to take a cue from Raw last Monday on how to establish interest in the midcard. 

- Sloppy Editing.  There were more then a few spots where the editing was abrupt and blatant.  Usually, the 'E is fairly good in this regard, so this was a little surprising.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:  

“Triple H is in complete control.”  “I'm in complete control.”   Oh really?

Khali's facial profile from the side reminds me of a banana.

I know Barrett is a heel, but he needs some sort of pyro. 

If Teddy Long is the GM of SmackDown, why wasn't he in the ring during the opening segment?

"It's from Idaho."  Line of the night. 

Khali has the least interesting turn of the year based on the crowd reaction.  He needs a gimmick change to get over I think.  The Punjabi Pimp?

Evan and Kofi with matching tights.  Air Leprechaun?

"Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry!"

It's a little sad when your No. 1 heel is more over then your No. 2 babyface.

Overall Grade:  D+

It feels like Raw and SmackDown pull straws to see who gets the crap show each week.  That said, the show was largely a static affair with no storyline advancement of note (or that I noticed) and squash matches. 

I don't want to say they could afford a show like this, but ultimately, if they are going to have a throw away show, then this would be the one. 

With the main event already set for the next PPV, and rumored matches for Hell In A Cell including Cara/Cara and Sheamus/Christian and given those are established, they could pick it up next week with a good show get the angles hot. 

Overall, though, just not a fun piece of television when I have to take a break during the viewing because I'm so bored of it.