SmackDown Review: 2/7/2014
By Mike Smith
WWE.com
Daniel Bryan and Kane promo
Bryan comes out to kick off SmackDown. Bryan brings up that The Authority said if he beat Randy Orton on Monday’s Raw, that they would make him the new “face of the WWE”, and even though he won, he doesn’t want to be the “face of the WWE”. Bryan says The Authority showed their true colors by having Kane come down and attack Bryan after he beat Orton. They show a replay of Kane’s actions on Raw. Bryan says that he stayed out of Kane’s way and never questioned Kane’s corporate actions, but now he wants to know why Kane stabbed him in the back. Kane apologizes, using corporate language. Bryan then brings up all they went through as Team Hell No and wants to know where “that Kane” went. Kane says he is happy that he joined The Authority, and that he and Bryan were never friends. Bryan tries to get Kane to settle all this in the ring, but Kane decides to make a match between Bryan and Antonio Cesaro for later in the night.
My Take: They’re building to something between Kane and Bryan, it’s been done before, but they have a different dynamic now and it could be good. This promo dragged a little bit though when Kane came out, it was good, it just moved too slow.
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston/The Wyatt Family promo
Seth Rollins was on commentary. Michael Cole asks him about the dissension between Ambrose and Reigns on Raw, and Rollins does a good job putting spin on it. Reigns hit the Superman punch and the spear, then he angrily tagged in Ambrose while he wasn’t looking and made him pin Ziggler.
Bray Wyatt talks about the dissension, and how they are all trying to be the guy with “the biggest teeth”. He says that The Shield think he is a joke, but if they could see the “monsters that live behind my eyes” they would know he’s no joke. Luke Harper says that the people that try to get in their way will be the first that they take down.
My Take: Ambrose and Reigns did a good job of furthering their story throughout this match. Rollins was very good on commentary.
The Wyatts promos continue to amaze. They’re so good, Harper is so much better than I thought he would be.
Sheamus vs. Ryback
Curtis Axel comes to the ring with Ryback. Axel tried to get involved early, but Sheamus hit him with a Brogue Kick on the outside. At the end, Sheamus went for a Brogue Kick, but Ryback caught him on his shoulders for a powerbomb. Ryback then tried to follow up with the Meat Hook Clothesline, but Sheamus countered with a Brogue Kick for the win.
My Take: This was actually a good match. I’m a Sheamus fan, but Ryback can be pretty disappointing in the ring. However, this was a pleasant surprise.
Alberto Del Rio with Renee Young
Del Rio says he is going to turn Batista into a “little puppy drinking milk out of a saucer.”
My Take: Not bad from Del Rio, I liked his hook phrase here. “He is ‘The Animal’, but I am the tamer”.
Antonio Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton with Renee Young
Very good match from the former Ring of Honor stars. Bryan wins with the YES Lock.
Renee asks Orton about his relationship with The Authority and he says it doesn’t matter because he’s got business to take care of. His loss to Bryan was a fluke, and he will prove it when he beats Christian tonight, and John Cena next Monday.
My Take: Bryan and Cesaro are amazing. If they had a summer-long feud over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, that would be okay with me.
Orton is so good as a heel, the role he’s playing right now was made for him.
AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella/Titus O’Neil with Renee Young, Darren Young attack
Tamina Snuka and Brie Bella were at ringside. Nikki accidentally threw AJ into Brie while Brie was on the ring apron. While Nikki was showing concern for Brie, AJ locked in the Black Widow for the win.
Titus introduces Renee as he gives her an exclusive interview. He says that Young was deadweight, and the only weight that Titus intends on carrying is a title belt. Titus then tells Renee to “run along”, right before Young attacks.
My Take: It feels like forever since AJ won a match with the Black Widow. It’s easy to forget that she’s the Divas Champion.
I didn’t think that Young would be taken seriously after their split, but he came off pretty serious here so we will have to see where this goes. These guys could have a good feud if given the chance.
Cody Rhodes and Goldust pre-taped promo/Bray Wyatt vs. Goldust/The Shield promo
Cody and Goldust talk about Cody’s moonsault on Raw, and how it was a desperate move, but he did it because they are desperate because they want their titles back.
Bray picks up the victory with Sister Abigail. Cody goes in to defend his brother, Bray stares Cody down until The Shield appear on the Titan Tron.
Dean Ambrose tells the Wyatts to watch what they say about The Shield. Seth Rollins threatens to scrape all their beards off with his boot. Roman Reigns says one of them would’ve been WWE World Heavyweight Champion if not for the Wyatts. When Reigns said this, Ambrose stared him down without Reigns realizing.
My Take: I like when Superstars talk like this. It’s not a bad thing to admit to being desperate when talking about winning titles.
Pretty good match from Goldust and Bray. Goldust has lost that nostalgic feel, so he has to try harder to get the crowd into his matches, but he can do it.
The Shield’s promos aren’t as good as the Wyatts’, but the Wyatts do it pretty much with just Bray. The Shield does it equally involving all three men, which is more impressive.
Randy Orton vs. Christian
Orton wins with a catch RKO when Christian jumped off the middle rope. Orton is now 1-1 in his series of one-on-one matchups against his Elimination Chamber opponents.
My Take: Very good match from Orton and Christian, these guys are both excellent performers in the ring. Orton’s biggest knock right now is that he’s the guy who beat Daniel Bryan all those times, but that shouldn’t be held against him. He’s an excellent performer.
Overall Impression
Good show from the Blue Brand. SmackDown is the best wrestling show on TV, and it’s not even that close. Even Ryback had a good match tonight, and Del Rio had a good promo, that’s how good this show was.