WWE SmackDown 09/30/11: The Good, The Bad, and The Meh

WWE's Friday Night SmackDown came from St. Louis, Missouri.  As always, if a recap is needed, hit Kaleb Kelchner's excellent blog.  This was the "go home' show for the WWE before Sunday's PPV "Hell In a Cell".  

Last week was a fairly weak show overall, so they needed a strong showing tonight to recover some steam heading into New Orleans.   Did they accomplish it?  Let's find out.

The Good:

+ Opening Segment.  You know, it's nice to see a heel actually generate his own heat.  It was a pretty simple concept, but came across much better then last week's opener without the wasted time.  It's interesting the RKO was being set up as the devastating finisher it was tonight.   Henry continues to be strong on the stick, and Booker was suitable in his role during the segment.   Nice sell on his part on the PPV.   If I had to take Henry's promo versus Cena's on Monday, I would take Henry's work tonight.  His business with Orton pending for Sunday felt more personal, and that's what needed for a PPV turn around this short.

+ Khali/Henry.  Quick match, but was suitable to give Khali a bit of credibility while getting Henry over.  Nice bit with Henry kicking out of Khali's Chop, while Khali jobbed to the World's Strongest Slam.  Overall, a bit better then I was expecting.  I'm guessing Khali got wrote off TV for a bit after the sputtering storyline that was his angle with Mahal.

+ Swagger/Bourne.  Quick match that could have used another three minutes or so, but some fun none the less. They continued to lay some ground work for a Swagger & Ziggler/Air Boom feud in the future (continuing the storyline setup from Monday). Bourne got enough offense to be credible while taking the pin for Swagger.  

+ Cara/Slater + HuniCara segment.   The match itself was simply an excuse to give MistiCara a tuneup, but the segment after the match was what was enjoyable.  The new gear on HuniCara looked good, and the reference of "you first stole my gimmick as Mistico" (please tell me I wasn't the only one who caught that) was well placed, and a nod to the folks who know the odd history these two have.  Overall, I do think the match will be fun if given the proper amount of time.   I suspect we're going to get a two or three PPV set from the feud, probably more for MistiCara's benefit then anything else. 

+ "The Conspiracy Theory".  I actually dug the video as a nice way to remind folks of the conspiracy events thus far.   The heels getting together for the tease on Monday is a good hook for the show, and should be a nice bit of continuity.  I could do without seeing Lauri or Hunter's pink tie on TV, though the former is necessary to setup Vince's return. The latter simply being an atrocity.

+ K2/Natalya.  This was more for after the match then anything else.  K2 sold Nattie's submission very well, and was a good overall sell for the Diva's match on Sunday.  There wasn't enough time in the match to tell a story, and I will never be a fan of a Champion who's finisher is a roll up.  How many matches Kelly Kelly's have ended that way as of late?  Too many.  K2's rollup is the new Five Knuckle Shuffle.

+ Rhodes/Sheamus.  Rhodes promo could have possessed a bit more "umph", but it was alright.   The match was entertaining, with Rhodes working over Sheamus' arm and Sheamus showing the usual babyface vulnerability and false comebacks.  The ending was needed to sell the Christian/Sheamus match on Sunday, but it wasn't as effective as it could have been.

+ Ryder/JTG.  I admit I liked it with some good action and the commentary was funny.  It was nice to see JTG on SmackDown again.   Good change of pace match for the show, and nice placing by Creative for the match. 

+ Orton/Christian.  Orton is attempting to feel out more intensity in his promos, which automatically made tonight better then his usual fair.  Better then his average promos as a face for Randy.  The match itself was, more or less, a redress of their previous matches, but on TV, that works for a main event, given the competitors involved.  Christian had a nice spot with "I'm going to embarrass you in your home town, like you tried to do to me."  I wonder if he's playing with adding some vendetta aspects to his gimmick?   It was nice they got the RKO on Henry out of the way. 

The Meh:

~ Lack of finishes.  Overall, this didn't overly detract with the double countout and the DQ on Rhodes as the aftermath of each match made up for 'em, but they can't do it every week

~ Triple H "behind the scenes".  You know, the nice thing about DVR's  is you can fast forward past the parts that hold no interest for you in any capacity. 

The Bad:

- PPV ads.  The ads for Henry and Orton didn't seem to hit as well as they usually do.  That's always an issue with a short hype cycle for a PPV.  Beyond that, nothing really bad with it, but they need, at least, three weeks to build a PPV well, and it didn't happen here.  A pity, because the matches should be good.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

"How can you kiss my ass and insult me in the same sentence!"  Line of the night.

Nice botch on Khali's Titantron tonight. 

The belly flop onto the chair is the new punt to the head. 

"The 'One Man Southern Rock Band" versus the "One Man Mariachi Band'."

"Oh Radio...tell me everything you know."   On a side note, I wonder what Zack's frequent flyer miles are up to now. 

JTGizzle is the best nickname ever.

They are going to run out of big guys to induct into the Hall of Pain.  I wonder if Brodus Clay is next?

"GO!" *cue Benny Hill theme song*

Does Sheamus tearing through the crowd remind anyone of seeing Jason tearing after the teen through the cornfield in "Freddy vs. Jason"?

Overall Grade: B+

A much better show then last week, with better match quality and better storytelling.  This wasn't a home run show for the "Blue" brand, but a nice performance none the less.  The PPV urgency was noticeable. It didn't sell as well as it could have, but they did create a few more buys tonight, particularly with seeing K2 crucified by Natalya and Henry eating an RKO (which makes me wonder if he will actually win on Sunday.  Had some fear he wouldn't due to his monstrous build and the WWE's propensity for dropping the ball.)

Overall, the plot hook with the midcard heels banning together and Triple H showing up tonight was a nice continuance and did enough to sell Raw as a tune-in event to see what the bad guys have come up with.  Over all, not an excellent show, but like Raw, a fun piece of TV, and some ways better then Raw this week.