WWE SmackDown 11-4-11: Critique, Thoughts and Grade

WWE SmackDown came to us Friday from Greenville, South Carolina. You can always catch various clips of the show on WWE.com.

The show was beginning its build toward Survivor Series Pay-Per-View. The show has been viewed as the "B" show as of late, but certainly has been bringing its "A" game in the ring. 

There were two feuds that went into blowoff mode, a surprising defeat and main event with a possible swerve.  Let's roll.

The Good

+ Rhodes/Orton. I'm a little surprised they gave this one away on TV, let alone as an opener on SmackDown. Two breaks were a little odd as well, but the spacing of the commercial interruptions was all right.

That said, this was a very good match between the two, and Rhodes got enough offense to be credible in defeat. The Hangman's DDT off the barrier looked absolutely brutal. They did more then the usual motions, and it showed. Co-Match of the Night.

+Sheamus/Barrett. Normally, I shy away from calling two guys brawling a strong match, but I make an exception for Barrett and Sheamus. Barrett looked wickedly strong going over Sheamus the way that he did.

Technically, Christian distracting Sheamus was supposed to protect the Irishman, but it didn't feel that way. That's okay though. Sheamus is 16-2 in the last two months. He can take a loss now and then.

Barret did the three-fifths rule tonight (taking much of the offense without going into squash mode). The post-match emotion displayed by Sheamus was great.  he backstage segment with Sheamus yelling before cutting the announcing crew was done well tool. Co-Match of the night.

+ Bryan/Henry.  There were two purposes to the match—the first was to introduce Bryan as a future main event talent, hence the rub by Big Show.

The second was to try to swerve the audience. The match was actually good, but not great.  However, some nice storytelling made it a good main event for TV.

The WWE has some work to do with Bryan, but they seem to be committed to his WrestleMania match and are beginning to build him at the right time. The DQ kept him from getting pinned, which helps his credibility. 

The tease of the cash-in was a great reminder of what the briefcase means exactly, and Big Show nearly sacrificing his title opportunity for Bryan re-established the big man's clean cut babyface status after unceremoniously decking Henry.

+ Feud Blowoffs? Orton/Rhodes and Sheamus/Christian seem to be in blowoff mode. I'm a little surprised with the PPV about two weeks away, and it does deviate from the usual formula of the WWE. Barrett and Sheamus teased a feud a while ago, but it went nowhere. I was intrigued by it before, and I certainly am now.

+ Christian. He was good in limited time tonight in his use as a storyline tool. He managed to save the segment with Big Show to a certain extent. It went from awful to watchable in five seconds thanks to him. 

I'm not sure I like how weak he's being made to look when he took Orton to his limits during the summer. I hope there is redemption in the future for Captain Charisma. Maybe a face turn is in the works now that his feud with Sheamus is in blowoff mode.

+ Timing for Bryan.  I'm glad to see the 'E beginning to focus on Mr. Money in the Bank. They need to rebuild his character. Around now is the right time to establish a champion. Good call by SmackDown creative.

The Meh

~ Kidd/DiBiase. This wasn't actually too bad of a match, but there wasn't enough time to do much. I'm a little surprised DiBiase channeled Russo and attempted about four separate Finishing Move teases during the span of a three minute match. It actually detracted a bit from the match.

~ Epico/Sin Cara + Hunico. Not actually bad for Cara and Epico, but it was merely an excuse to give Hunico a second fiddle. More time could have helped. The Hunico run-in was appropriate, but the post-match beatdown was just typical stuff. Nothing special.

~ PPV Sell. At least they got around to announcing Big Show and Henry. Not much else from the Blue Brand as of yet. The prospective Sheamus/Barrett or Sheamus/Barrett/Christian match looks great on paper. If they add a stipulation to the title match, it might help.

The Bad

- Natalya/Fox. Did Natalya honk someone off? Jobbing to Fox in under a minute destroyed what credibility she gained after her strong performance in Raw's Diva Battle Royal. I get the feeling Rhodes isn't doing the booking anymore for the gals. Pity.

- Big Show promo. Look, I love the big guy.  That said, it's painful anytime he cuts a promo with forced jokes. He needs to be more intense in his promo work.   

Miscellaneous Thoughts

"I'm gonna knock out! Momma said knock you out!" was so far over the head of half the audience that it should have had wings and a propeller.  

"Let's go Sheamus! Let's go Barrett!"  Apparently Sheamus is the new Cena.

"Cole, you are about five seconds away from a beat down."  Do it Booker!  

Seriously good opening match. 

Sheamus had a nice tweener tease tonight. Actually, Wade did as well.

Follow this simple equation. Barrett as a heel + clean wins = $$$.

I wonder if the show of Rhodes' mask on the ground is symbolic of something.

I thought Henry was going to inhale Bryan through his nostril.

Anyone else notice Orton hasn't been near a microphone in a few weeks now?

If SmackDown could borrow Raw's idea of wild storylines while Raw took a cue from SmackDown's match quality, I'd be in heaven.

Overall Grade  B+

Last week had better overall matches, but this week wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. The blowoff modes for Sheamus/Christian and Orton/Rhodes helps matters too by opening things up a bit. The tease of the cash-in added some possible intrigue.

The PPV sell got a flyer this week simply due to rehashing the SmackDown main event from Vengeance. They'll need to use a stipulation or gimmick to add interest. If we get Sheamus/Barrett for Survivor Series, I'm perfectly fine with it. 

Though not epic, it beats the hell of what Raw did this week.