WWE SmackDown 10/14/11: The Good, the Bad and the Meh

WWE SmackDown came from Dallas, Texas.   As always, hit up Kaleb's Kelchner's blog if you need a recap.

Needing some recovery from a universally panned Raw and to build towards the Vengeance PPV next week, the show needed a strong performance, more or less, to build some momentum for the Mexico tour.  How did they do? 

The Good:

+ Opening segment.  Short, sweet and to the point.  Simply to announce to the opening Battle Royal to commemorate SmackDown becoming the No. 2 longest running episodic program, or whatever.  Lauri is tolerable in small doses. 

+ Battle Royale.  An orgy of violence is always a good thing.  Interesting with Rhodes being eliminated first.  The jobbers went next to clear the morass of bodies down to a tolerable level needed to tell some sort of story.  Some action with Punk and Orton was highlighted, and Punk and Awesome Truth.  Ryan looked strong in the middle part of the Royale, then Sheamus towards the end.  Miz and Christian also had good showings.  There were was a lot of fun spots in the match, and it was good use of the existing feuds. 

+ Cara Black/Gabriel + Cara/Cara segment.  I actually liked it due to the quick nature of the segment and the mask switch.  The "mask is everything" was nicely established in this segment.  The match between Gabriel and Sin Cara Black had some fun spots.  Wish they could have had a few more minutes, but all well.  Cara Black has a nice Senton Bomb.

+ Sheamus/Del Rio.  Nice storytelling match, with Del Rio working over Sheamus' arm for the Cross Armbreaker, then Christian running interference.  Sheamus needs to learn how to sell a bit better though as he was using the arm Del Rio was working over for various clotheslines and so on.  Interesting Del Rio channeling his inner Punk and pinning the Celtic Warrior with a roundhouse, but is was nice establishment for Del Rio going over the No. 2 babyface on the Blue roster.  Good reminder of the Sheamus/Christian feud as well.  Could have used a few more minutes.

+ Kofi & Ryder / Zig Swag.  Ryder and Dolph really need to take their feud to TV.  Fun match to watch, with enough offense to go around.  I believe Air Boom/Zig Swag could be in blow-off mode.  Nice variation of the standard tag formula with the heels grinding down the faces after the initial burst of offense.  The latest motif with Ryder getting help to pin Ziggy is unique.

+ Orton/Henry.  Good TV main event with some good storytelling.  Some good spots as well, and some nice elements of a stand-up brawl.  The feud is also in blow-off mode.  The match needed to end the way it did to further establish Big Show/Henry and Rhodes/Orton for Vengeance, and send the fans home happy.  Great chokeslam by Big Show on Henry. 

+ PPV sell.  Though they weren't overt about it, they did enough to build some good matches from the SmackDown side of the house with continuing Sheamus/Christian, and building Rhodes/Orton and Henry/Big Show, with the possibility of a Survivor Series match for Ziggler/Ryder. 

The Meh:

~ Phoenix/K2.  WWE.  End this please.  I don't care about K2 anymore.  Thanks for toning down Kelly Kelly's screaming, though.   This gets a "meh" because of the clean pin and, hopefully, being the blow-off for the feud.  The match was too short to really establish anything.

The Bad:

- Show pacing.  This is just a minor thing, but the show felt like it had two gaping holes with the "Vault" segment, then the back to back videos.  Again, just a minor issue though.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

"You flip flop more then Netflix!"

Ryder and Ziggler did a nice bit with Ziggler's elimination at Ryder's hands to continue their feud.  Hope they continue with their story.

Orton needs to do a slightly better job on his clotheslines.  I know they are part of his "Five Moves of Doom" set, but he telegraphs for a full 10 seconds before delivering 'em. 

I wonder if Miz is going to split from Truth soon?

Orton is turning into Christian, albeit subtly.  "Didn't I say vengeance would be mine?  I will take back my World Heavyweight Championship."   He may as well just have said "One more match."

Beth looks good with spikes. 

"Kelly Kelly makes very few mistakes in the ring."  Huh?

I like Teddy and Ryder's chemistry.  "Holla.  Woo.  Holla Holla.  Woo Woo."

Vickie for Raw GM.

"Woo Woo Woah...Radio..."

Overall Grade:  B+/A-

Good, strong show overall, which was needed after the Raw fiasco.  Solid storytelling show overall and furthered the angles it really needed to. 

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/894771-wwe-smackdown-101411-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh

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