WWE SmackDown 10/07/11: The Good, the Bad and the Meh

WWE SmackDown came from beautiful Biloxi, Mississippi.  Coming on the heels of the Hell In A Cell PPV, it would deal with the aftermath of both the PPV, and the infamous "walk out" by the roster on Raw. 

Overall, the show needed a ton of explanations, a lot of matches and some good old fashioned storytelling.   How did they do?  Let's find out.  

The Good:

+ No Michael Cole on Raw?  During the Cara/Del Rio match, Cole said he would not be on Raw unless Triple H stepped down.  Given that Triple H isn't apparently stepping down, I sincerely hope Cole doesn't show up.

+ Del Rio/Sin Cara Blue.  Quick match with nothing overly special, but had some fun spots.  Sin Cara took all of that belly-to-back suplex on his neck.  Not much else to say, but worth the time they put into it.  Afterwards, Sin Cara Black debuted a muted version of Sin Cara Blue's music and beat down the blue Power Ranger.

+ Air Boom/Swagger and Ziggler.  Ziggler and Swagger got the drop on Kofi and Evan, who debuted some music I could not hear.  Overall, this wasn't a great match, but it told a pretty nice story for the time, and established Vicki's henchmen as threats to Air Boom.

+ Big Show/Henry segments.  It was nice to see the big guy again.  That said, this wasn't his best outing on the microphone.  He went from happy Show to sad Show to angry Show.  I'm sure he'll get comfortable again on the stick, but not bad for his return.  Henry came out on his end of the segment slightly smug.  Overall, a bit more animation from Henry then normal.  I don't anticipate a good match for obvious reasons, but it will be interesting. The second part served to simply put over Show.   It was nice to see Henry go through a table.

+ Booker and Hornswoggle.  I was under the impression this was for the crowd itself, but I guess they ran short on time.  Worth a chuckle though.

+ Bridging storylines.  I actually like the fact they are bridging the events of the two shows together, which creates a nice sense of continuity for those who watch both shows.   It's more effort then the two shows have done in the past with each other, so it is a good start.

+ Sheamus & Orton/Christian & Rhodes.  Standard formula tag match, but alright for a TV main event.   Orton taking the "damsel in distress" role was a nice change.  Could have used a few more minutes though and otherwise felt they were just going through the motions.  Match of the night.

The Meh:

~ Opening segment.  Honestly, it was simply an excuse to recap the events on Raw.  The opening video package did what it supposed to do, and was well done.   The segment simply dragged on from there until Rhodes hit the stick and, more or less, forced the crowd to wake.  Swagger reverted back to form, which is to say he has none.

Del Rio came out afterwards, and said he brought them together for some reason that never was established.  Long came out after that and pretty much setup a few matches.  Overall, they could have accomplished much more with less time by simply staying with the video.

~ Orton promo and reasoning.  His reasoning for not being out with the rest of the roster is perfectly in line with his character.  Overall though, just an average interview.

~ Mahal/Jackson.  Mahal is the new Heath Slater.  Aside from that, a quick enhancement match for Jackson.  The "Shh" part from Zeke got a chuckle for me though.

~ "Walkout!"  Less then stellar night for it, but I'll give them a week to clean it up before failing it.  Heaven help them otherwise for blowing the great potential for the angle.

The Bad:

- "From the vault."  I could get by without ever seeing Noble job to Hornswoggle.  Ever. Again.  It's almost as bad as Kelly Kelly squashing Tamina.   I normally just blow these segments off, but this deserved some special ridicule. 

- Beth/Fox.  I counted this as a 20 second match, but I might be wrong.  Fox did alright in the aftermath.  More or less, something that could have been accomplished in a backstage segment, saved about a minute of screentime, and called it good.  Just saying.

- Heel logic.  Normally, one of the WWE's strong points was painting their heels with some logic so they aren't just bad guys with a O.C.D. for the good guys.  But the fact they are complaining about chaos when they are the source of is, at best, funny, and at worst, a gigantic plot hole and sheer stupidity.   They need to shore this up and quickly. 

- Video abuse.  They played the same damn video twice, I believe, recapping events of Raw.   I don't need to be reminded.  I understand it's a big angle, but this was a borderline turn off.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

 
Of all the mid card heels, Rhodes has the most heat.  "I said SHUT UP!"  Cody rocks.

"Shaddup Teddy!" 

Sin Cara Black's intro sounds like it was bad New Age Dubstep recorded off blown speakers. 

"I had to go to the bathroom."  I love Booker.

"We're going to be right here, on SmackDown."  Wow, great emotion there Kofi.

Bourne had a nice "super" moment when he realized he better stop selling the Zig Zag and tag into the match.

For the love of all that is holy and good in this universe, WWE, never show Kelly Kelly going psycho again.  

"It's time for some tears!"  Somewhere in Quahog, Quagmire feinted and mumbled "Giggity!"

Brodus Clay is still Donkey Kong.

Sheamus will be Heavyweight Champion by December.  Calling it now.

"You know who I am."  Thing's father?  Sorry for the Mae Young reference.

Overall Grade:  C-

Surprisingly, this show wasn't as good as I thought it would be.  That said, it wasn't entirely bad either.  More or less, no real angle advancement and it felt like a "check" in a poker game, simply waiting to see what happens on Raw before going forward.

I don't have any idea why, but it seems like the WWE has issues with dealing with the aftermath of pay-per-views.  Perhaps it's just the hype coming from them, but I was hoping for more.  That said, this wasn't an entirely bad show.  It was nice to see Big Show return and damage Henry, and it did serve to build into next week's likely main event.  All things considered, however, it just below average.