Top 4 of Smackdown 8/31/12

Was not a bad night for wrestling and unfortunately I could not put every match on the list, nor could I put every segment (kudos to Vickie Guerrero though). I left off Sheamus and Sandow, Rhodes and Mysterio, and way too much time in recaps. However, on the bright side, there were long matches on this episode of Smackdown than there was last week. We tipped it at 28:07, which is about 8 minutes longer than last week. If the 14:55 of recaps had been cut down a bit more (yes, the Anger Management segments were hilarious, but were they necessary in full again?) we could have used it for segment time, or matches. Yes, I’m still hoping those recaps can get cut down more.

4. Prime Time Players vs. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel

Any time Tyson Kidd gets on television is a good time, even if it’s against Titus O’Neil and Darren Young. Kidd and Gabriel are going to be the underdogs in the tag team division, and underdog in the literal sense of the word. They will be used, because they are a tag team, but you know they aren’t getting a title shot. What proved it further is that DURING THE MATCH they showed a Tout from the Usos. Seriously? There is wrestling going on, there is an 88 minute show airing, and you couldn’t find any other time but during the action to show this Tout? For shame, WWE, for not recognizing the talent of Kidd and Gabriel, or recognizing it to put over someone else. Still a decent match for the 3 minutes it was allotted.

Top 4 of Superstars 8/30/12

I really, really, REALLY want Superstars to go back to being 4 matches instead of 15+ minutes of advertisements and recaps and less than 20 minutes of wrestling. The show was only 38 minutes long! About 18 minutes of that should not be recaps. There is plenty of time to have put another 5 minute match in there. Also, if there was another match, perhaps I wouldn’t have the same Top 4 every week. Sure, Scott would continue to be at #1, but I could give a better nod to the three matches on top and throw one to the wolves. It would mean more. As it is I’m throwing three matches on here and thinking in the future I might stop making it matches and start making it individuals again. That’s for another week, though, because I actually did enjoy all of the matches this week.

4. Alex Riley vs. Jinder Mahal

Riley and Mahal are the stars of Superstars of late. If you don’t get one, you get the other. So I’m sort of “meh” watching them fight each other. I’ll be the first to admit the two have come a long way from their early days, but I keep seeing the same thing in the ring. It’s starting to turn into a Cena or Orton or any top face match where you see the same move set over and over and over and… Is it bad? No, they have a good grip on what they are doing. Is it good? No, we’ve seen it before and all sort of want to see something different. They need different opponents. And Riley, honestly, needs to keep that explosive attitude he comes out to the ring with when he’s in the ring. I know he slowed down so he would not have the mistakes he once did, but now he just seems methodical when wrestling. There needs to be a mix of charisma and power, not just one or the other.

3. Ryback vs. Johnny Curtis

Okay, sure, we knew Ryback was going to win, but since I’ve started recording Ryback matches this has been his longest to date. And against Curtis. Who looked incredible in the ring against the big guy. Curtis knew how to play it off while staying in character and made for a highly entertaining 3:33. See, Ryback can win AND still put on a wrestling match. Hint, hint.

2. Epico & Primo vs. The Usos

How could this match not be the best match of the show? Not much I can say about the Usos I haven’t said already, this week, but it’s good to see Rosa back to dancing and Epico & Primo back in action. It will be interesting if Vince doesn’t forget there is a tag team division for awhile and these two teams, along with the others, get a chance to shine for at least a few months.

1. Scott Stanford

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Okay, that was yesterday, but happy birthday to you! What, do you need more of a reason than the day Superstars aired was Scott Stanford’s birthday to have him as #1? Maybe some of his best lines from the week will help convince you.

“This tag team division is absolutely flammable right now.”

“We are livin’ la vida Rosa.”

“And if you’re scoring at home right now that is Jimmy Uso in the ring with that fairly new Samoan Tribal arm sleeve tattoo.”

“Usos asked me if I had any tribal tattoos of my own earlier today.” “And?” “I showed them an airbrushed unicorn on my ankle from a county fair earlier this week. Nothing special.”

“Tribal, no. Temporary, maybe.”

“Always having a terrific time with social media. We’ll see if he has a … terrific time here against Jinder Mahal.”

“I’ve never seen a man get more marriage proposals than Alex Riley.”

“That’s gonna do it… No!”

 

Top 4 of NXT 8/29/12

I was excited to see Chase Donovan on TV for the first time, less excited when I saw Big E Langston come out. I like Big E, for a big guy he grapples well and can put on a good match, but I knew this was not going to be one of those times. Big E pinned Donovan in 42 seconds. If it doesn’t last at least over a minute, really, what’s the point? Look how strong this guy is? We already have a Ryback, and on Superstars this week he managed to show he could put on a good match (I said Superstars, I’m pretending Raw never happened, that was awful). Briley Pierce interviews Big E, who just huffs at him. I feel like I’ve seen this too many times, let Big E have personality. He’s huge in muscle, but he’s short in stature. Stop giving random guys strong, silent predator. Okay, rant over, to the Top 4!

4. Byron Saxton and William Regal

While Scott Stanford might be my favorite commentator, Byron Saxton and William Regal make for my favorite commentary team. The two of them play well off of one another, letting Regal tell his stories while Saxton calls moves. When Regal calls moves Saxton always has a quip. Sure, they have quiet spots at time, but you get the vibe it’s because they are actually paying attention to the match instead of just having nothing to say.

3. The Usos and Ascension

No match between the two tag teams this week, only a segment. A segment which I enjoyed. The Usos call out Ascension and the Ascension do come out, surprising the Usos by not walking through their long entrance but appearing in the ring to attack the Samoans. It will be nice to see Ascension have an actual feud and the Usos, of late, have really come into their talent in the ring.

2. Mike Dalton & Jason Jordan vs. Hunico & Camacho

I really wanted to make this the #1 match of the episode, but I have to give the nod to the main event this time. However, all four men once again are unbelievably springy and quick in the 4 minutes they are allotted making the time go by even faster. I love this feud, it’s good for all four men who are more about their in-ring abilities, even as the characters finally begin to shine. There was not a man I didn’t enjoy in the ring for this match, even though I’m slightly partial to one of the teams.

1. Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal

Face it, this was a good match. Probably my favorite match that Rollins’ has been in. Rollins isn’t a bad wrestler, he does tend to be in matches working a style that he doesn’t seem suited for. With Mahal Rollins takes the step back and wrestles at a different pace and it seems to fit him better. I know the internet hates Mahal, and loves Rollins, but Mahal gives it his all in this match and helps make this 13 minutes match an incredibly charged fight. Unfortunately, by the times this aired, everyone knew that Rollins had the title, taking away from a bit of the, “Could this be it?” moments.

One again, thank you tons to @hotyounglindsey who allowed me to use her photos from Sunset Flip Photography! Follow her, absolutely worth it.

Top 4 of Smackdown 8/24/12

What an underwhelming show for matches. There were seven matches of the night, only two of them went over three minutes. Kind of makes it hard to rank a match highly when even on other shows, that are about matches, struggle to get five minute matches and I think those are too short at times. I don’t think matches need to be ten minutes to be good, but I do think recaps need to be cut down. That’s over five minutes of show that could have gone to more wrestling, even if it had been spread out over those five matches. Anyway…

4. Ryback vs. Jinder Mahal

I have to say, even though it was interesting to see Ryback have a near storyline, I hope this was the end. Not because it was awful, I had a few chuckles out of this, but because where do they go? This is an instance of possibly writing themselves into a corner, unless they flesh it out more (ha!). If Ryback continues to win their push to make Mahal a legitimate opponent dies, if they let Mahal win their push for Ryback to be nearly unstoppable dies. Of course, since I don’t believe they have long term plans when they going into a storylines, this could continue for the next three months.

3. Segments

Look at Eve trying to steal Smackdown. Since she started with this “assistant” role back at the beginning of the year with John Laurinaitis the woman went form being an internet joke to someone people are beginning to look forward to. Sure, there are still those out there who hate on Eve, but she’s been a great character from kissing up to Booker T and making Long look bad to coming out and holding Layla and Kaitlyn’s arms up awkwardly. Oh, and let’s not forget a sudden appearance of the tag teams. This was a blatant reminder that, hey, WWE does have other tag teams. Now, let’s do something with them. But Vince will likely be bored in 2 weeks and forget again.

2. Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

This is a good match all together, even if it’s better in the end when Ziggler threatens to cash in the briefcase yet again. However, it’s probably time to start watching out how often he goes for that cash-in, as he does it again at the end of the show. There is no reason to continually make Ziggler look weak and like a coward. But the match itself was entertaining and at over five minutes given a proper amount of time to be good while not being overly excellent.

1. Alberto Del Rio vs. Randy Orton

The match itself could have been better. Orton’s not been up to his usual self since his return, which is a shame. I like Orton, even if I’m still one of the last, but even I have to admit his in-ring performance is suffering. Del Rio is brilliant in the ring, even if I stand nearly alone there as well, but together there wasn’t enough sparks. What helped make this match make it to #1 this week is one thing, Orton tapped. No one believed it. Honestly, go back and look at the last year of Orton’s career. Orton is the one face most likely to lose cleanly, but to tap out to Del Rio, it still shocked everyone when they saw it (or read it in the spoilers).

All-in-all this was an underwhelming Smackdown, but it had it’s highlights. For the record, I nearly gave the segments number 1 or 2 just because at least I had no real complaints about those, but let’s give it up to the hard working wrestlers.

Top 4 of Superstars 8/23/12

This week all of Superstars was taped before Smackdown, which gave us a team of Matt Striker and his condescending Cole-isms and Scott Stanford and his love for everyone and ability to let negativity roll off his shoulders. Unfortunately for the show there was too much recapping, with nearly 8 minutes of recaps or ads for things that are airing later in the week. There was 19:38 of actual match time (I count from bell to bell, entrances and conversation are not counted into the match time). Considering the show was 39 minutes long there’s still about 12 minutes I didn’t figure in. Probably more on air ads.

4. Damien Sandow vs. Yoshi Tatsu

A lot of people called this a squash, however I think Tatsu had a pretty good offense for the bit of time he got to show it off. Sandow was going to win, that was clear, and Tatsu’s treatment is absurd in the company, but I’m glad to see him in the ring. He helped make Sandow look even better. Still not the best match of the show, but decent enough.

3. Alex Riley vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre comes out looking stylish in the new jacket from last week, but the ending of this match is already predetermined. Superstars is no longer just about good matches and having quick rivalries (believe it or not, just a year ago, it was even if there was no given plot). Superstars is about putting over the guy they are going to push or want to make sure you remember. Unfortunately, it’s not Drew, though Drew looks incredible in the ring. I’m not taking away from Riley, Riley’s come a long way since his ended quick feud with Miz, but I’m ready to see something for McIntyre again. Great match that didn’t flow the way you would have expected it to, which is always a plus.

2. Cody Rhodes vs. Justin Gabriel

Before the match started Gabriel and Rhodes had a sort of smile off. Rhodes wanted to prove that he could get a better smile and crowd reaction and told Gabriel to watch him as he climbed up onto the ropes and did his smile. I love both guys so I was at home just cheering like a fan girl all by my lonesome. Was a sad moment for me, but the match itself made up for it. Great match where the two never truly slow down, which is what I like to see. Ultimately, predictably, Rhodes wins and no one is surprised.

1. Scott Stanford

This week Striker and Stanford took more opposing sides while calling the matches, especially for the first and third match (Scott seems less capable of taking a side when either Riley or McIntyre are out there, more so against one another). It made it interested to see Scott clearly playing the face announcer instead of being enthusiastic about everyone and everything, though he still never truly has a horrible thing to say about anyone, making him the ultimate face announcer. Still, as Striker took repeated barbs at Scott and Striker tried to talk himself up as much as he did the matches (though Striker did give a good reason for Rhodes and Gabriel’s continued feud) Scott is the one I always feel the need to praise. Scott doesn’t seem to be affected by the negativity and in fact pokes fun of himself, making it harder for Striker to continue. Scott gets better every week.

A few of Scott Stanford’s great lines of the week:

“When you look up the term Shot Out of a Cannon you see a picture of A-Ry.”

“What’s wrong with excited and happy? Just look at the guy.”

“Two words we always use to identify Drew McIntyre: Ruthless Aggression.”

“A-Ry, he’s got him done!”

“Talk about explosive! That’s the word I love to explain Riley!”

 

Top 4 of NXT 8/22/12

This week’s Top 4 is leaving off a match that could have made it, I mean, Tamina Snuka versus Sofia Cortez are great wrestlers, but I’ll admit to folding under pressure. Sofia is no longer with the company and since I do these blogs to promote the beauty of the wrestlers, the laughter, the athleticism, giving it to someone who is gone doesn’t feel right. And Tamina, on her own, doesn’t work for this.

4. Segments

After the Tamina and Sofia match Raquel comes out to further taunt the loser, which in this case is Tamina. She draws an “L” on Tamina’s forehead with her lipstick… sort of. She actually draws it upside down, since Tamina is knocked out and her head is sort of laid back. When Tamina stands up it’ll be more of a 7. I get why Raquel did it the way she did, but in the end it was just distracting as everyone was commenting the same thing, “It was more of a 7.” There is an interview with Briley Pierce, and I give him credit because unlike some other backstage interviewer I won’t mention the name of, Pierce shows personality. Ohno… not as much.

3. Kassius Ohno vs. Jake Carter

Well, as usual, when someone doesn’t get an entrance you know that he’s likely losing. Poor Jake Carter. It wasn’t a squash, luckily, as there were over four minutes of match, but it wasn’t spectacular. Ohno is trying to fit the character they have written him into it, and doesn’t seem like he’s comfortable with bringing it to the ring. Meanwhile no one actually worries about trying to tell a story with Carter as NXT has fallen into the same rhythm as Raw and Smackdown. You know, the “these are the guys were are pushing and that’s that” mentality. I miss NXT Redemption’s storytelling, but that’s for another day and another blog.

2. Derrick Bateman vs. Antonio Cesaro

Let’s face it, I am a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Derrick Bateman. I have been since his first incarnation on NXT. So, I really wanted to make him number one, but there is a rule out there that if Kidd fights, he’s number one. It’s actually a good rule because, well, it’s Tyson Kidd. So Derrick and Cesaro slip to number two, but do an incredible job in the short match. Cesaro’s grown on me, but he didn’t really grow on me until he started with Smackdown, and this match helped my opinion of him. Derrick… well, he’s still one of my favorite guys… ever.

1. Michael McGillicutty & Johnny Curtis vs. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel

Kidd and McGillicutty have such chemistry in the ring that I’m surprised these two just don’t have a permanent side feud. Gabriel returns and while he’s not as fast as the commentators keep trying to lead you to believe, he never misses a step and is in no way a slow athlete. Curtis might be the weakest of the three, but that’s like saying Twilight Sparkle is the weakest of Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. (Oh yeah, I got an My Little Pony reference in). There’s just that much greatness all in the ring. Curtis does a move that surprises me from him. I don’t think high flyer when I think Curtis, and I’m really sad Gabriel moved out of the way because this move was … awesome!

The photos are thanks to @hotyoungLindsey and her photography. Check her out on facebook and see how good she is!
https://www.facebook.com/SunsetFlipPhotography

 

Top 4 of Smackdown 8/10/12

Looking at the numbers I would have thought this Smackdown couldn’t have worked. Total match length time equaled a horrible 14:53 for five matches, though the Jinder one wasn’t much of a match nor was it supposed to be. There were only 5:39 of recaps for the night, also not bad. So what was Smackdown filled with? Segments. And I’m not complaining. In fact, it made it really hard for me to get a Top 4 because I liked every segment, even the Jinder Mahal and Ryback segment. It’s putting Ryback in a feud and everyone loves to hate Mahal, so why not? I’m also pained slightly because I had to leave AJ and Kane off of the list (and Bryan, God, I still hate saying that I like Bryan segments), but it had to be done this week.

4. Chris Jericho Highlight Reel

The man has the smoothest delivery of anyone in the WWE. He makes everything flawless and manages to change with the times. I’m going to miss this man when he’s gone again, but I don’t care about that right now. Right now I have the highlight reel, and he manages to insult Vickie Guerrero without sounding like a prig. I like Vickie, and I still laughed at Jericho’s insulting her.

3. The Booker T segments

Who’d have thought that I’d be this behind Booker T being a GM? I’d be even more behind it if they added someone to that Smackdown commentator table, because I can’t keep listening to that much of Mathews. Eh-hem, anyway, my point is that Booker T works wonders with Eve and Kaitlyn in one segment, creating a match where one of them will be his assistant. I like new Eve since she became the corporate-climbing lady, but boy will I be rooting for Kaitlyn. I love the divas, and okay they aren’t wrestling much, but it proves that they make great eye candy and lead to fun segments. The other segment that deserves a nod is the hint that something is going to change for Reks and Hawkins as they try to talk to Booker T. I’m a NXT Redemption mark, so when they talked about that “other job” I so hoped it would be the security thing again. When the Del Rio thing happened I was crossing my fingers they would end up being one of the cops. But, alas, we are still in the dark, but we know anytime Reks and Hawkins are on screen I get a little happy.

2. Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes

The match lasted 3:45. Not great time, but Sin Cara and Cody Rhodes don’t need it. The two of them know how to wrestle an entertaining match (at least now for Sin Cara, his return has been a lot better). It also started an interesting storyline. I’m always down for unmasking storylines, and loving that Cody Rhodes is showing glimmers of Dashing again.

1. Antonio Cesaro vs. Christian

For those keeping track at home, this match lasted 4:06. Proving great matches can come from a short amount of time, but they better not be slow and plodding. Cesaro has grown on me since his FCW days where I didn’t care much about him one way or another. There is a slight botch in this match, but it works for the match. It was a good excuse for Christian to have gotten the upper hand.

Top 4 of Superstars 8/9/12

4. Zack Ryder vs. Tensai

I kept flip flopping on making this 3 or 4. Both matches were good but left me going, “Huh…” At least with McGillicutty and Santino they seem to have a rivalry going… on Santino’s Foreign Exchange, which Scott does a great job of mentioning during the bout. However, Ryder vs. Tensai? I don’t get it. Good match for what it was. Tensai is good, Ryder is good, but together it’s an awkward combination that they manage to pull off in an entertaining way.

3. Michael McGillicutty vs. Santino

If anything, I have to concede that McGillicutty had fun in this match. He ran from that Cobra and made it look like it was particularly terrifying while not quite making it look serious at all. It was fun to watch the running in circles and the match wasn’t half bad.

2. Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Reks & Curt Hawkins

Well Gabriel is doing his best to have two matches on my Top 4 Matches for this week, and this one is even better than his one on NXT. Granted, he has Kidd, Reks, and Hawkins to help that along. Reks and Hawkins, as always, communicate better than tag teams typically do. They seem to be in one another’s heads and are always there to save one another. So why do they always lose?? Then you have Gabriel and Kidd, who are almost as well suited together. Two excellent tag teams that put on an excellent match worth watching. My one complaint: why was I listening to the commentators talk about AW and the Prime Time Players? I get it, these are two tag teams, those guys are tag teams, but call the match!

1. Scott Stanford

“The Czechoslovakians would give Santino a 9.9 there.”

Forgive me if my praise of Scott Stanford turns into a rant on Josh Mathews. For the Zack Ryder vs. Tensai match there was a lot that went wrong that Mathews seemed to just figure he would sit and stare at the screen for. First, Tensai spilled Josh’s water on him when he was pushed over by Ryder.

Mathews shouted to watch out, stood, and moved out of the way. Then dropped it when he sat back down. Great time to have either mentioned Ryder was clumsy with his aim, or he thought Tensai did it on purpose, or… come on, just sell the fact that you just had it spilled on you! Nope! Second, where the Hell was his commentary during the second half of this match? Scott talked. Paused. Talked. Paused. TALKED. PAUSED. Holy Hell, Mathews, do you need more cues to understand to pick up the conversation. And yes, Scott honestly paused, waiting for reactions or for Mathews to jump in. This happened in the Santino match as well, but not as badly as during the main event. Yet Mathews is somehow the one working everything while Scott gets 20 minutes on Superstars. Great job, WWE, on showing it really is all about seniority.

By the way, Scott Stanford is awesome.

Top 4 of NXT 8/8/12

As usual, let me explain the match I’m leaving off, which is Kassius Ohno vs. CJ Parker. This was a squash match that lasted about 5 minutes (I’m guessing as I didn’t actually time the NXT matches. My bad). Ohno seems to still be getting back into shape after having to change his regimen last year when trying to prove he was not taking drugs, he just has elevated testosterone, and it seems to cost him. Now he’s a small guy who wrestles methodically. Methodical works better for a bigger guy. Ohno needs to change his style a bit and just let go. He’s not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, but it makes the match a little plodding and Parker looking confused as he waits for the next move.

Also, have I mentioned liking Chris Russo? He’s the ring announcer. Good voice.

4. Bo Dallas vs. Jinder Mahal

Dallas can flop. He’s trying to go to the Ziggler school of taking a bump. I still don’t believe when he kicks or hits someone it hurts, though. So when Jinder struck Dallas, and Dallas flopped, it was fun. When Jinder put Dallas in the camel clutch, it looked like it hurt. But it wasn’t a spectacular match, but between the two they didn’t stop fighting, where Parker and Ohno had too many dead spots.

3. Tamina Snuka & Paige vs. Caylee Turner & Kaitlyn

Three of the women in this match were incredible. One, I’m not sure what they are doing with her, and I’m convinced they don’t either. Caylee Turner doesn’t have it in the ring. She didn’t have it before she was made a ring announcer. Were they training her all of this time? Kaitlyn, Tamina, and Paige are amazing athletes that for the majority of the match dominated it. Caylee refused to be tagged in by her partner, Kaitlyn, during the first part and it made it highly entertaining. Once Caylee went into the ring the quality went down. It’s hard to believe she’s overpowering any of the women in the ring. I’ll quit ranting now, still worth watch, if just because two of these women are gorgeous, three are talented, and Regal’s commentary for them is entertaining.

2. Promos

There were three different promos/segments on this week. As everyone knows, I enjoy plot. First one of the night is a look back at last week with a quick NXT recap of Dalton and Jordan’s win over Hunico and Camacho and they say exactly what everyone was thinking, “I don’t think anyone expected we would win.” They are interviewed by Briley Pierce and the enthusiasm from Jordan and Dalton is catching and they confirm they will be sticking together as a tag team.

Next, a new Ascension promo. I’m sorry, but ASCENSION!!! YAY!!! Just watch it, I have no words.

Last segment is a meet up between Bo Dallas and Derrick Bateman. Here Dallas tries to prove to me he has been learning something as he seems to have a good conversation with the poor jilted Bateman who somehow didn’t qualify for the tournament. He hints at anger and after walking away the camera catches Bateman watching Dallas. Is this hinting at Bateman going heel again?

1. Michael McGillicutty vs. Justin Gabriel

This match started off slow but I didn’t really fear. Somewhere along the way I became a Gabriel fan, and I’ve been a McGillicutty fan for a while (which is tough when at arenas because I’m always coming up with weird things to shout his way because, “Let’s Go Michael McGillicutty!” sounds awful). Once McGillicutty and Gabriel found their rhythm this turned into a great grappling match with a few springboard moves from Gabriel. Great match up that likely could make it onto match of the week.

Top 4 of Smackdown 8/3/12

I lost FCW to do a Top 4 for, so it seems only suiting that I would pick up the B show and explain why you should watch. Going in everyone already knew Booker T was going to be GM. And everyone groaned. It’s not really fair of WWE to have spoiled it themselves! I avoid Smackdown spoilers very carefully all week because I like that element of surprise and then… BAM! “Hi, Booker T is GM.” And I honestly thought I would hate it, but…

4. Booker T as GM

Okay, Booker T is pretty inarticulate during commentary for the most part, it’s why Podswoggle came up with #ShitMyBookerSays. As GM it’s like someone wanted to make sure you understood him. Was he perfect? Of course not. But there was something endearing about him while he was making matches and interacting with the Superstars. It was fun, well put together, and could make for a few, interesting storylines.

3. Chris Jericho, Christian, Kane vs. The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan

Okay, so it was a very random team against some of the better heels who are all on the cusp of not really being heels. So it’s almost like tweeners vs. tweeners with their leanings towards one direction or another? Either way they know how to put on a good match! Ziggler sells everything. Everything. The match was mostly about Jericho and Ziggler, though, which is why it dropped down a bit. Not because it wasn’t incredible, but because it felt like this was a way to make sure those other guys had some air time.

2. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio

Again, this one loses points because it wasn’t a full match. Though the story told was brilliant. Del Rio is angry after he had just said he would not fight until Summer Slam that now he’s stuck in a match with Orton. When things are starting to look lost Ricardo Rodriguez interferes, but before that the two were having what could almost be a brutal match. Almost. “Welcome back, Randy! Welcome back!” After the match ends due to disqualification Del Rio continues to work on Orton until Sheamus comes out to put a stop to it.

1. Sheamus vs. Tensai

I honestly usually prefer matches that are quick and bouncy. I prefer matches that have guys like Dolph Ziggler, Tyson Kidd, or Mike Dalton (watch NXT, seriously, he’s awesome). However, Sheamus and Tensai do not hold back while walloping one another. By the end of the match both have welts and are bloody. Despite liking speed I guess I have to give it up to a good, bloody brawl once in awhile as well.

And with that I close out with, now that Booker T is GM: #ScottStanfordForSmackdown