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Here are a few things that stood out on this week’s show:
Kane’s promo and actions during the show
I thought Kane cut one of his best promos this week at the start of the show when he talked about the ‘end of the Undertaker’ and his desire for revenge against whoever did this to his brother. Kane showed a lot of emotion, which you would expect if you find a family member in a vegetative state. In the last few months, whenever Kane cut a promo, it was deliberate but sounded like he was reading off a script instead of making things sound natural, but he embraced the situation and transformed his character again into the monster that he once was. I also liked that after his promo, he did the Undertaker pose before breaking down in front of the casket.
I also thought he did a good job of trying to talk to the ‘usual suspects’ who might have done it to Taker. It made sense for the people Kane confronted to be worried because of Kane’s demeanor at the start of the night. I thought it was a good touch to have Punk offer his help to find the perpetrator because Punk could use it to try to recruit Kane into the Straight Edge Society. I also liked how Kane refused Punk’s help as well as Rey’s offer for help.
There was one thing that was running through my head during Kane’s promo and was reinforced during the course of the show. While Kane is looking at the entire roster as suspects in what happened to the Undertaker, he will not find the true assailant until he looks in the mirror. When he was refusing help from anyone it seemed like the classic ‘I don’t want any help because I know that they will find out that I did it and then I will have to do something to them and it will snowball into something really messy’. I would not mind if it is Kane because of the way this started. If he did it, Kane could explain why he did it and talk about how he is there every week trying to get a title match but his brother comes in and gets one offered to him right away without having to work his way back up the ranks.
There was one other thing about this segment that I wanted to talk about. When I read the spoilers for this week’s show and saw what was going to happen, I was not to anxious to see this segment on television. However, as is the case with some spoilers, when you expect something bad it ends up being very good (and with the converse that if you read something and expect it to be great, it can end up being horrible). I think a lot of the credit for this working so well in my opinion goes to Kane for the things I mentioned above. I know that I have been critical of his promos in the past, but if he is going to cut more promos like this during this angle, I look forward to more. For reference, I was surprised at how well Don West’s heel turn as announcer went after reading the Impact spoilers for that episode; and I was slightly disappointed with the first Michael Cole/Daniel Bryan confrontation after seeing what I read translated to the visual.
A Focus on Wrestling
This week’s show featured four matches, three of which went more than ten minutes on the show (so you can add a few extra minutes for them because of the commercial breaks where we don’t see the action).
The opening match between Montel Vontavious Porter and Jack Swagger was the best match of the night in my opinion and did a lot to help both men. Jack Swagger had been wavering between Rey Mysterio and CM Punk’s first title run in terms of his effectiveness because he was losing a lot of matches and had you wondering why he was still the champion, or when he won he did not help his character. Montel Vontavious Porter is someone who they can plug into an upper midcard feud for a match or two to help the ‘bigger star’ regain some momentum that they might have lost. Swagger is being pushed as the top pure wrestler in the company and Porter has shown that he can work a mat based style when he is with someone who has a strong amateur background. Both men were able to showcase their talents and told a very good story. While Swagger got the win, he struggled to beat Porter and did not get to use the Doctor Bomb to get the victory so he had to use a rollup which showed that Swagger is more than a one trick pony in the ring.
I also liked the Intercontinental Title match between Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston. They have had a number of good matches and this one did not disappoint. I really like the way that Kofi and Drew work together in the ring. This was another case of two men who both looked good at the end of the match and neither was hurt by the result. Even with the contrast in styles, they do not offset the other. Kofi can do his high impact moves while Drew works a mat based style. One thing that took away from this match and put it below the opener was the presence of Matt Hardy. I thought that Matt’s presence affected the match a little and the distraction tainted Kofi’s victory a little.
The Battle Royal to determine the fourth participant in the World Title Match at Fatal Four Way was a typical battle royal that had some good action. While it might not have been the best way to select the final participant, it was a way to avoid having Vickie Guerrero choose the final person and got the roster involved in a match. I thought it was good that there were no eliminations before they went to the commercial break. There are too many times when the ‘fodder’ is eliminated early so it takes away the possibility for surprise.
I thought it was strange for Gallows to try to save Kane when Kane was one of the favorites and losing Kane would help Punk’s chances in the match. I did like that Kane and Gallows started to eliminate the others once they had their face-to-face confrontation. I liked how they had Kofi and Drew eliminated at the same time as well as Christian eliminating Dolph so it could further their feuds. It was also good to have Finlay in the match since he is still one of the top wrestlers (when he doesn’t have his shillelagh to cheat). Since Finlay and Christian had past issues, I liked that Finlay eliminated him. While it might not be resolved on television because Finlay appears to be put out to pasture, it would be nice to see him return.
I was a bit surprised to see Curt Hawkins as one of the final four, but since he needs to ‘make an impression’ during his short term contract this should help him (along with what happened at the start of the show that I will discuss below). It might have been a bit predictable that it would come down to Rey and Kane since they were losers in the qualifying matches with Rey getting the win. But with them being the final two, why not let them have a second chance match. Personally, I was hoping that it would be someone else since Rey and Kane had their chance and could not capitalize last week.
The Little Things Mean a Lot
If you read my columns on a regular basis or listen to audios I have done on the site (including the ‘CA Smackdown Audio’ [for what the ‘CA’ stands for, you need to check out this week’s edition]), I am someone who looks at the minor details during a match or promo and that can be enough for me to enjoy a match more than other people. I want to point out two things from this week’s show.
First, the work of Montel Vontavious Porter in the ring. I had a chance to see Porter wrestle on the Florida independent scene for FIP and I always thought that his style was suited for the WWE. While Porter is a fundamentally sound worker, he does the little things that make you appreciate his ability to tell a story and pull you into his matches. On audio this week, I brought up the way that he sold the burns from his inferno match by showing pain when he hit the ropes or when he would be slammed he would show extra pain. This week, during his match with Jack Swagger, Porter was sent into the ring post twice and he did what a lot of wrestlers today do not do. He sold the shoulder. He did not use the left arm that much during the rest of the match, but when he did, he showed the anguish on his face. There was a spot in the match when he landed on his left shoulder instead of his back and he showed it in his face with his reaction. There are too many times when a wrestler does not sell an injury during the course of a match despite everything short of the arm or leg being pulled out of the socket or joint, but Porter does the opposite. I really hope he is going to get the chance that he had the last time he was on Smackdown to showcase his talents and the ‘it factor’ that they are looking for in the next generation of stars.
The other thing I want to point out is the evolution of Kofi Kingston’s character. Ever since Kofi went off on Randy Orton last year in Madison Square Garden, people have been waiting for Kofi to get back to that point and since he has joined the Smackdown brand, Kofi has found that spark again. Kofi has shown a lot in the ring with his athletic ability but he is also adding some variety in his in ring work. Unlike most wrestlers who have a tendency to go to the turnbuckles too many times, depends on their ‘moves of doom’, or try for a certain move too many times in a match. Kofi has started to use the SOS as a finisher in addition to Trouble in Paradise so both his opponents and the fans are put on notice that they can’t wait for moves a through d to mean the finish of the match.
Other thoughts on the show
Since Hawkins and Archer did not do anything last week on the show other than talk to Vickie Guerrero, I liked that they initiated the attack on Montel Vontavious Porter to get recognized. I wonder if they will try to challenge the tag champs to try to secure a longer contract. I thought they also had a good showing in the battle royal.
While I am liking what Hawkins and Archer are doing, could they come up with a better name than ‘Gate Crashers’? What happens if they get a contract? Do they become the ‘Pass Holders’ or ‘Cast Members’?
I liked that Vickie tried to get Dolph Ziggler into the final spot in the World Title match at the pay per view since it continues that storyline. However, I am also happy that she did not succeed. I would have preferred to see Ziggler turn it down and then say that if he is going to get the spot, he wanted to earn it (while it would go against the concept of a heel who would take every shortcut to get what he wants).
Why is it that every time a wrestler ‘buys a ticket’ to watch action from the crowd, they have a front row seat? It seems a bit too convenient. While a seat anywhere else would make interference impossible, it would add a little realism.
I agree with Matt Striker that Matt Hardy should be charged with assault (and battery) for what he did to Drew McIntyre, but as we discussed on audio, Drew is just as guilty for hitting Hardy while he was in the crowd. Until ‘things are resolved’ there should be no reason for Hardy to be in the building since he ‘crossed the line’ and went over the ringside barrier.
I thought Swagger did a good job of egging on the Dallas fans by wearing an Oklahoma jersey and wanting to sing Boomer Sooner. There is probably only one person who could get away with singing that song and not getting booed. I would have loved to see Jim Ross join in with the rendition of the song.
What to watch on DVR: Kane’s promo; Jack Swagger versus Kofi Kingston; Drew McIntyre versus Kofi Kingston; and the battle royal.
