Seven days... Wait... Nine days... I hated “The Ring.”
Our show starts off not in the ring, but backstage, with Edge confronting Teddy Long. It seems that Teddy has passed down a ruling that if either Edge or Del Rio so much as touch one another until Wrestlemania, than both of them will be banned from the event. Edge says this is favouritism towards Alberto, as the aristocrat has been allowed to assault Edge for weeks, and now his chances of revenge are lessened. Later in the show, Alberto will complain, because there was so much more he wanted to do to Edge. I like this add on to the plot, especially how much sniping and anger the two have shown towards one another: now the two have to sit there and fume in their bitterness. I only wish that this had been introduced a little earlier in the plot, as having it come up with only two week until Wrestlemania doesn’t really affect the arc as much as it could have if Edge and Alberto were having a time trying to figure out ways around the ruling.
Our first match of the evening is another Wrestlemania Rewind (again, why weren’t you doing this all through the Road to Wrestlemania? It’s just an odd sort of thing to throw out for a single week’s matches.) between Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. Much like I loved their match at last year’s Wrestlemania, I enjoy this match a great deal. Both guys keep up the momentum, and use a lot of counters and dodges to make the action more interesting, as well as their own moves. If you compare this match, with its technical twists and turns, to a more power-based match, like say Batista vs Cena, you can really get to appreciate how many ways there are to have a good match. Unfortunately for Rey, he’s about to have a bad ending to his good match, as Cody Rhodes appears to assault him. Sticking Rey in one of the corners of the ring, Cody rips off his pant leg to reveal... a metal knee brace! The irony would have been greater if I hadn’t been so concerned about Cody ripping his pants a little too far. Seriously, one stray thread, and things could have gone amiss. Anyways, Cody smashes the brace into Rey’s face, much like what happened to Cody months ago. The money shot in this is right after Rhodes kicks Rey, then gets right up close to investigate his handy work, and then quickly shoots out his hand to block the camera from seeing his face. Cody’s timing in all of this has been impeccable, and you really buy the erratic personality he’s now adopted. This, along with Cole/Lawler, is my favourite surprise of a plotline going into Wrestlemania.
Backstage, we see Christian trying to talk Edge out of accepting his match with Drew McIntyre, as Edge’s arm is clearly injured and he should rest it. Edge says thanks, but no thanks, as he must prove a point that he’s still good to go. So he goes to his match, with his arm still taped up, though there are times that I feel he forgets that it’s injured. He doesn’t hold up both arms when he does his pose on the ramp, in order to show that all is not well, but then when he is posing on the turnbuckle, he does indeed raise both arms. Whoops. Drew enters, and is all smiles. I like the look on the Scotsman’s face: it’s not an exaggerated smile, it’s just a knowing grin, like he can read Edge’s cards and is about to call his bluff. Drew, once again, wins my fan support with his body language. Sadly, the match is relatively short, designed just to show that Edge has game, making Drew tap out with the Edgecator. So it looks like we’re not going anywhere with the Drew/Edge rivalry, then.
Speaking of things not going anywhere: remember when Kelly Kelly was conflicted about Drew, thus giving him character development? Yeah, that’s not happening anymore. Or, if it is, we’re just not talking about it. Because here we have Kelly and Rosa in a Tag Match against LayCool. It’s the same match we’ve seen hundreds of times. Give me Beth Phoenix, Smackdown! The reason that people don`t take the Diva matches seriously is because the serious competitors are not given ample screen time to make the audience become emotionally invested. I know that the general concensus is that the women are to give people something to look at, but that opinion only lingers because that`s how the product is being pushed, when, given time and a sense of seriousness, the women`s division could easily be converted into something else. And there are a good bunch of female wrestlers with the WWE right now who can put on a good match: Beth, Natalya, Melina, Gail Kim, Tamina, and even Eve has gotten better from where she started. So stop running out the fluff and give me quality matches. I know they`re there, and they`re not hard to find.
Speaking of not being able to find quality matches: the Corre! Actually, that`s not true in this case. This week, it`s Wade Barrett competing, and as he`s the only one in the group worth watching, I`m actually excited to see him appear. It seems that our match tonight is for the Intercontinental Championship. Huh! Not certain why this couldn`t wait until Wrestlemania, but whatevs. So Wade and Kofi Kingston square off against one another. Wade still seems a little slow in the ring, but that might just be because he`s in there with the human hummingbird that is Kofi. At least he doesn`t seem totally lost, and the two work well together in the pacing of the match: Kofi speeds things up for a bit, Wade slows it down, creating a nice tempo that doesn`t excess in either flips or punches. I`m torn on the finish of this match: as per usual in a Corre match, one of the gang (Slater, in this case) tries to interfere, and once that happens, you know exactly how the match will turn out, thus killing the suspense. However, the move of having Kofi go for Trouble in Paradise, Wade ducking, catching Kofi on his shoulders, and hitting Wasteland was a really, really good moment. So all is generally forgiven. Wade pins Kofi, and is now the new IC Champion. My first reaction was admittedly disappointment, just because I`m a big Kofi Kingston fan, and to see him go to Wrestlemania without the title is a bit of a slap in the face, especially considering how many quality matches he`s put out over the last year. Still, at least the new Champion is Barrett, who, as I`ve said, is the only interesting member of the Corre. And, in a sense, he`s had it coming, as he`s been one of the few breakout stars who didn`t win a championship in his first few months (as opposed to guys like Sheamus and Drew), and he kind of carried the main Raw plot for about half a year as leader of the Nexus. All in all, I`m happy.
Now we have, as in week two, a reply to Triple H from the Undertaker. And, as in week two, it’s much better than Hunters. The gist is essentially the same as before, but given that nothing has been built on in the plot, and nothing’s really developed, you can’t do a whole lot with promos regarding it. What works with Undertaker’s take, though, is that he emphasizes that he’s not going to lose. Whereas Triple H leads into his promos with an almost lament, and that it will be a tough fight, etc., Undertaker comes out and tells Triple H that he has no idea how accurate the phrase “defeat the Undertaker or die trying” is. See, that right there is what I need in this. Get in one another’s face. Hype your own abilities. Remind the audience that you are both gods and then carry on as such. Don’t remind us that it will be a big ticket match, which we already know; tell us how awesome you are going to be, and how much ass you intend to kick, and how you intend to walk away victorious. Undertaker does this, and does it well. The kicker was: “Triple H, you’re number has been called. And that number... is 19.” Brilliant. He has told us that Triple H is powerful, but rather than dwell on that alone, he’s showing his confidence and intensity. Thank you, Taker.
Next match: Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth. It’s good to see Truth again. Obviously, this is another match designed to get Swagger back into the spotlight, but as a throwaway match, it’s not that bad. It’s got a good back-and-forth feel to it, though Truth flubs a dive out of the ring, catching his foot on the top ring rope. Naturally, Jack wins, Cole rejoices. I’m just happy to be giving Swagger screen time again, so no complaints here.
Time for our Main Event: Christian vs Alberto Del Rio, with Edge and Brodus Clay in their corners, respectively. At this point, I’m not entirely certain where they’re going with the constant Christian push against Del Rio. I had thought that it was gearing for a Triple Threat at Wrestlemania, but surely they would have announced it by now if that were the case. Maybe a plot after Wrestlemania is finished? Anyways, as per usual, this match is great. The thing that has kept Del Rio from earning my usual resentment of newcomers getting pushed to the main event is the fact that his matches are good, he has a character that he plays very well, and carries himself with the confidence of someone who has been at the top for a while. It doesn’t hurt that he’s been paired with guys like Mysterio, Edge, and Christian either. Again, the match is fantastic, and we get moments where Edge has a chance to attack Alberto, and using his power of facial expressions, he has to force himself to resist, settling for attacking Clay instead. Sorry, Clay, that’s what you get when you’re a minion. Just ask Alex Riley.
Christian wins, and as Alberto lays helpless in the ring, Edge crawls up with a steel chair, literally foaming at the mouth (that’s kind of gross, Edge) for a chance to beat Del Rio. I like how Edge hasn’t completely given up on his villainous impulses that he had as a heel, but unlike Orton, he doesn’t act on them as frequently, so the messages are less ambiguous. Christian stops Edge in mid-swing, tells him that he can’t do it... so Christian takes the chair and hits Del Rio for him. Hee. What are friends for?
Thus this week’s Smackdown, and I found it very good. The matches were solid, and the action was consistently kept up. I like Barrett as the new IC champ, the development in Rhodes/Rey plot was a good twist, the Teddy Long ruling was a good element, and Undertaker is singlehandedly saving his Wrestlemania match for me. Very good work, Smackdown.
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