SmackDown Review: Daniel Bryan and Big Show vs. Kane and Batista in the Main Event
By Mike Smith
WWE.com
Friday Night SmackDown was a very good show. Solid matches and a great segment with The Shield made this show must-see.
Let’s break it down.
Batista and Daniel Bryan promo/Kane and Big Show run-in
Bryan and Batista was a fun promo, now we just need to add Orton and this should be the WrestleMania XXX main event.
Kane ran in to help Batista beat Bryan down, then Big Show came out to make the save. Vickie Guerrero then made the main event, Batista and Kane vs. Bryan and Big Show. Should be a good match.
Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler/Christian w/ Renee Young/Sheamus run-in
Alberto Del Rio was on commentary for this match.
Really good match. Ziggler went for the Fameasser but got distracted when Del Rio got on an arena mic, allowing Christian to hit the Killswitch. Ziggler’s allergic to bad matches, as he’s proven many times in the past. It has to be said about Christian though, no matter how much time he misses, he never skips a beat. He can go in the ring.
Christian played up the heel persona by yelling at the crowd and telling them to shut up so he could hear Renee ask her question. Sheamus then made a run-in and beat up on Christian before Christian retreated. More playing up of their feud.
I think Christian and Sheamus could have a good feud and WrestleMania match but it already feels like we’ve seen too much of them together, and we’re still 30 days away from The Show of Shows.
Ths Usos vs. Curtis Axel and Ryback
Pretty good match with The Usos picking up the victory. The way The Usos end a match, with one diving over the top rope and the other hitting a top rope splash, is amazing. Can’t wait to see what The Usos do with the titles moving forward.
Kane w/ Byron Saxton
Kane playing up the whole “Daniel Bryan got lucky” thing, since Bryan beat him on Main Event. It’s a heel thing, but it’s pretty stupid since all Bryan does is beat him down. It’s not all there is, it’s a crutch and it’s lazy booking.
Eva Marie and Natalya vs. AJ and Tamina Snuka
AJ tapped out to the Sharpshooter from Natalya.
Really dumb ending. Champions shouldn’t lose on TV all that often, but if they do, they should never tap out. AJ was put in a position where she had to put the Total Divas over and she did it. I can’t wait until this show gets cancelled because it’s making WWE elevate a bunch of Divas who don’t deserve to be on the roster at all. Natalya can wrestle, but pretty much none of them deserve to be WWE Divas.
The Shield promo
This was billed as “The Shield Summit”. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns came to the ring without Seth Rollins.
Ambrose starts things off, he’s very upset and claims him and Reigns were lied to by Rollins. Ambrose says this meeting was called by Rollins and demands Rollins come join them now. Rollins comes out, but Reigns stops him and says he hopes Rollins thought about what he has to say. Rollins apologizes but says he needed to make a point. Ambrose and Rollins take turns hitting each other, with Reigns getting in a shot. Rollins asks if they’re done “here”, or if they, as a team, are done. Rollins then stands with his fist out, in The Shield’s trademark circle, and both men join him, with Ambrose showing the most reluctance.
Really good. These guys have developed so much, they were even pretty funny, without losing the seriousness of the moment. I don’t want the ride with this team to end.
Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio
Sheamus wins with the Brogue Kick.
It should be said that Sheamus has been fantastic since he came back. The company decided to put more fanfare towards Batista, even though Sheamus has been a work horse ever since Batista left. Still, Sheamus is having fantastic matches. Del Rio’s pretty underrated in the ring too.
The Wyatt Family promo
Luke Harper opens up, asking why John Cena does “it”. Asking, “is it for the fame?” Then Bray steps in and says Cena has a legacy, but that he has one of his own.
Bray’s good, but Harper is better in his limited role. I don’t know if Harper could carry them like Bray does, but in their roles now, Harper is better, and that’s saying a lot.
Batista w/ Byron Saxton
Batista repeats that there is nothing special about Daniel Bryan and that he is the only “real man”. Silas Young from the independent circuit should definitely sue Batista for this one.
Alexander Rusev vs. Lana promo
Lana actually brought something to the character this time, other than the fact that she speaks a different language. She introduced Rusev as “the man who will invade WWE”. Other than that, still nothing going on here. Going to need a lot more layers to this character for him to get over.
Daniel Bryan and Big Show w/ Renee Young/Daniel Bryan and Big Show vs. Batista and Kane
Renee asks Bryan and Show what they think of Batista saying that he’s the only real man left in this company. They continue to mock his skinny jeans and name their team “Respect the Beard and Fear the Giant”.
Bryan and Show win after Bryan pins Kane following a KO punch from Show. Bad ending. I get that Show is coming back from an injury, but, Show shouldn’t have come out of this match stronger than everybody else. Batista is in the WrestleMania main event, Bryan should be, and no matter what happens Kane should get involved somehow, Big Show should not. Show coming out of this match stronger than the other three men just doesn’t make much sense.