The Good, The Bad, The Weird: Wrestlemania 31

Let’s try something new, a format that I’ve been meaning to give a go in some form or other: relatively rapidfire rundowns of shows divided into sections representing what was good, what was not, and what was weird, which in the pro wrestling game can translate to anything from transcendent to terrible. It is hard, after all, not to comment on the  rather memorable show that was this year’s Wrestlemania.

THE GOOD

Kidd and Cesaro VS The Usos VS Los Matadores VS The New Day

This was an OK way to start the show, and by that I mean kick off the pre-show. There was noticeably less production on this than during Wrestlemania proper. There were a lot of well put-together spots and Cesaro really looked impressive with very strong looking offense (no Giant Swing though), picking up the pin for his team.

7 Man Ladder match for the intercontinental Chanmpionship

There were no problems here as everyone worked cohesively to put together a match filled with impressive spots. Cody Rhodes is really coming to own the Stardust gimmick and knows how to work the over the top spaceman character. I am coming to see the case for him being distanced from Gold Dust and taking over the role.  After weeks and weeks of damage, Bad News Barrett finally got a good showing, batting opponents around with a broken off part of an outside ladder and later, landing impressive looking Bullhammer forearm shots to knock Bryan and Ziggler off course from picking up the belt. The end sequence of Bryan being faced by a possessed Ziggler that had raced up the ladder to engage the fan favorite in an intense headbutt battle (inspiration from Ishii, Makabe, and Honma of NJPW?) was quitethe amazing visual. Bryan coming out on top felt just right, in a move that will hopefully give some stability and stature to the title.

Randy Orton VS Seth Rollins

This was an extremely athletic exhibition. The first big spot of the match was one of my favorites, in which Orton performed a double draping DDT onto J and J Security from the ring apron onto the floor. Rollins’ aerial maneuvers were second to none. The final spot in which Orton popped up from a Curb Stomp attempt and RKO’d Rollins in the air for the win was amazing, but almost looked too unreal for me. While it was good, I thought the bout with the most pent up aggression leading up to it should have been longer and filled with more grueling exchanges between the two opponents.

AJ Lee and Paige VS The Nikki Bella and Brie Bella

This was an OK match that I didn’t have much to say about. It was good to see AJ and Paige stay on the same…you know, as they make more sense as allies than opponents. Not much time was given to this match and it still paled in comparison to the hard fought battles being shown in the women’s division of NXT.  On the other hand, it seemed like there could be a tease of some tension between the Bellas, with Brie being knocked to the floor and unable to make a save when AJ put the Black Widow submission on Nikki and got the tap out victory for her team.

John Cena VS Rusev

This was a good match. There were a lot of impressive moves and the pacing was better than some of the other big matches on the card. Lana worked some subtle comedy heel moves with her high...heels being tossed in the vicinity of the wrestlers as Cena had a submission locked on Rusev. Rusev’s entrance props were great, particularly the tank. The video before Cena came out was pretty ham-fisted and the fact that Cena still couldn’t shake the widespread boo’s despite the patriotic backdrop seemed to discourage him before the match, or maybe that was just my imagination. I really think it’s time for WWE to start thinking of moving him out to a lighter schedule, special occasion status as other wrestlers move up the roster. In the meantime, his win over Rusev with an FU after Rusev collided with Lana who was up on the ring apron teases at the possibility of Rusev going solo, perhaps taking on a more serious demeanor while Cena could also bring some stability to the US championship.

The Rock and Ronda Rousey confront Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

This was a fantastic exchange. Matches should, as I’ll get into later, be serious for the most part. The bonus material is the chance to let it all hang out. Nobody is better at doing that than The Rock. I would much rather see The Rock in a periphery role that emphasizes his dynamic talking skills than a high profile match situation with current wrestlers who ought to be able to beat him. The involvement with Rousey was also great. As a non-follower of real fighting, I had not been all that familiar with the UFC star. She completely blew me away with her poise in the ring. Stephanie also played up her obnoxious ‘talk herself into a predicament’ persona and the interplay between her and Triple H was also very natural. Credit to Hunter, he seems to have a knack for this role where he plays the worn down, reluctant fighter who has to stand up for his wife even though he wishes she would stop getting them into these jams wit her unrelenting trash talk, although it may be a bit stereotypical. This opened the door to many future possibilities, including Triple H VS Rock at next year’s Wrestlemania, which would be just fine with me. Keep Rock out of an incredulous program with Lesnar and guarantee some great promos along the road to WM 32.

Bray Wyatt VS The Undertaker

This was good. Undertaker’s limitations are apparent, though. I don't think it was necessarily bad for Wyatt to lose, it all depends what they do with him afterwards. He needs a solid feud with a substantial back and forth in the main event picture. Something that extends beyond him doing abstract promos. As far as in-ring work, I feel like many have given up Wyatt but I still find him to be compelling in the ring as well as outside of it. Those quickly snapped off Sister Abigail’s looked just great. The Tombstone finish was a bit clunky but a decent enough finish. Perhaps a stiff looking punch before hitting it might’ve made it come off a bit more convincingly. I think the highlight of the match, aside from the Sit Up VS Handstand moment, was the exchange of punches between the two; looked very high impact.

Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns

The physicality in this match did not disappoint. Brock tossed Reigns around with the brutality that only he could bring. Reigns did a very good job in his own right selling an enormous beating and coming back in convincing fashion with a flurry of kicks and punches, plus the well placed Spears. I would have been disappointed with a Reigns victory but I would have taken it too after this display. I still think Reigns’ expressions are awkward. The laughing for instance…I get the idea, that the beating is so bad that all he could do is insanely laugh at the pain, but it looked detached. I didn’t really buy it at first. Now there is a chance to rebuild Reigns with a character better suited to him; hopefully the crowd pleasing jokester path is abandoned. The blood pouring from Lesnar’s head also added immense dramatic effect. As for Rollins’ involvement? A surprise, absolutely. Questionable for sure. But it did make for a compelling story with a very talented performer on top in the end and many possible programs coming out of it. I will talk about that a bit more below.

THE BAD

Not a lot to put in this category, which is a sign of a good show, but I will put one blatant offender squarely in this category.

Triple H VS Sting

This in my opinion was the worst! I am unwavering in my disappointment with this match and had an admittedly whiny twitfit about it right in the middle of the match. I will also acknowledge this match got a huge positive response with many in the crowd, but I will still break down why it had so many earmarks of bad wrestling.

1. This match was established long ago as the result of Sting playing the role of vigilante avenger, stopping Triple H and the Authority from abusing power and firing several wrestlers. This was completely ignored in the course of this match.

2. When Sting finally spoke, he disregarded the notion of this being about WWE against WCW, which truly is a dated and silly basis for a match. It was completely about WWE and WCW in the course of this match.

3. Convenient made up stipulations = they are just making this shit up as they go along. That’s my sentiment when DX shows up and the announcers play it off like ‘oh yeah, this is a no DQ match.’ Since when? I’m not sure, but I am fairly certain there had been no talk whatsoever of this match being no disqualification up until that point.

4. Characters who are great friends both in kayfabe AND storyline suddenly had a need to fight each other. People who don’t like each other are suddenly pals. When DX came out to support Hunter, it made sense. The NWO arriving made zero sense. Here comes the group that tried to run WCW into the ground out to stand in support of it, fifteen years later. Here’s Hogan who has been red and yellow since I don’t know how long suddenly just happens to be wearing his NOW t-shirt and hanging out with Hall and Nash. I understand the role of nostalgia, but not at the cost of any logic whatsoever, including the logic the match was initially built on.

5. Sting lost. I would actually be OK with this if it was a decent match. But he loses after a joke of an interference-filled match and now you can do what with him? Plus he shakes the hand of the victor who blasted him with a sledgehammer. This may be viewed as an ode to WWE defeating WCW to please the megalomaniac Vince McMahon, but in fact it embodied the worst elements of WCW’s shoddy booking.

THE WEIRD

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale

This was OK but was peppered with some odd decisions. The sudden inclusion of all of the wrestlers who had JUST fought in the 4-way tag team match for one. Couldn’t six other guys have been found to put in this match, instead of making the tag team match seem like it was completely insignificant? It was great to see Hideo Itami in there. Even if he didn’t go all the way til the end, I was able to isolate him in the ring and see him pull off some tremendous kicks on several other entrants. Seeing him square off with Cesaro at the start hinted at a great potential match. The showdown between Miz and Mizdow was no surprise; it’s timing was what landed the match in this section. Why would they break down right before a final showdown with a huge obstacle like the Big Show? Well, OK, belief suspended, sometimes emotion overtakes logic. And Mizdow coming close to eliminating Big Show but not quite getting the job done was realistic. But why give Big Show the win among all these guys when he has not been doing anything noteworthy lately? Again, it’s disingenuous to suddenly tack on this story of The Big Show striving for his first battle Royale win when there was no mention of it on RAW or elsewhere leading up to the night. This could have been an opportunity to add prestige to a new star. Oh, and putting Big Show over Cesaro in the same spot as last year, only this time, Cesaro can’t lift up Big Show for the body slam? Sure, it may seem like a clever call back to last year’s battle royale, but it’s depressing when you think about it. Feels like we only go backwards.

Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns VS Seth Rollins (in Triple Threat Match after Money in the Bank briefcase is cashed in DURING the main event)

Although this was mentioned before as a highlight, the transformation of the match into a triple threat competition in the middle of it definitely wasn’t 100 percent kosher. In my last post exploring different possible outcomes of the main event, I mentioned this as one of them, kinda, imagining Rollins cashing in and taking title froma beaten up Lesnar after he had defeated Reigns. I suggested it could happen because of the novelty of being the first Money in the Bank cash in during a Wrestlemania, but considered it very unlikely because of it potentially devaluing the status of the Wrestlemania main event, and possibly the win itself. I guess WWE went with the former of those two thought processes. I could not foresee the briefcase coming into play during the match, and for good reason. It had never been done before. And in previous cash-in’s, the referee has checked on the champion to make sure they had some semblance of awareness before ringing the bell. That brings into question whether interrupting a match with the Money In The Bank Contract really makes sense. I think in the end, I could allow some room for creative license.

There are some other reasons the decision works for me. The way things are going for Rollins, it is conceivable that he will have more Wrestlemania main events in his future where he will be able to score a legitimate win. It also serves as a very crucial save from what seemed to be a very calculated campaign to put Reigns at the very top of the company, a position which he truly doesn’t seem cut out for, at least not yet. I acknowledge that WWE can’t come right out and say ‘we screwed up and we are going to change’ when these sorts of missteps take place, so I always appreciate seeing course correction when it is needed. This also keeps a very hot Brock Lesnar, whom fans have been bursting at the seams to get behind as an aggressive babyface, as a highly sought after attraction. He still has not been pinned and now he has been unjustly dethroned. This puts him on a path toward vengeance that fans, myself included, will absolutely clamor for. And without breaking up this very effective pair of Lesnar and Heymanm

 So there it is. Let me know what you think and throw down your own good, bad, and weird choices in the comments below.

twitter: @Mondocurrymark

Wrestlemania Rewrite part 3: The Aftermath, London Calling

Ok, now let’s look at where all that could lead. And ahead is not so much a strict timetable of events as a spread of possible programs and alliances coming out of a Wrestlemania  main event won by Roman Reigns, backed by a suddenly reformed Shield.

Just a quick recap of the Wrestlemania fantasy I’ve etched into my mind, which can be read in full here.

Wade Barrett retained the intercontinental championship title after interference from Sheamus.

The Authority disbanded after Sting defeated Triple H.

Cena won the US championship title from Rusev.

The Shield ostensibly reformed, with Rollins and Ambrose assisting Reigns in achieving victory over Lesnar.

Now then, let’s look at the opening moments of RAW that would follow all this.

The original Shield music hits and Roman Reigns comes out carrying the heavyweight title belt. He gets halfway down the ramp, then stops, looks back, and Rollins and Ambrose soon follow. The three make their way to the ring and pace the canvas. Reigns teases the buzz in the crowd. Says he promised he would win the title at Wrestlemania, but didn’t say how. Raises questions about there being possible premeditation, then gives the mic to Rollins. Rollins suggests the fans must have many questions. That they don’t owe an explanation to anyone, but will clear some things up. He made a mistake, bet on the wrong team. Talks trash about the Authority’s lack of organization. Asks if he would do it again? Says, maybe… Is he sorry? He apologizes for nothing. He simply saw the writing on the wall, realized it made sense in that moment to help return the most dominant team in WWE’s history to power, and yesterday is the result. Rollins teases talking about the Money In the Bank briefcase.

But first Ambrose takes the mic. Says the fans must wonder how he could possibly go along with this plan? Could he possibly trust Rollins? Like Rollins? Is he crazy? He says, you know I’m crazy. He doesn’t know if he will ever trust Rollins again and may go on continually watch his back. But he realizes the two have something in common, always have: The desire above all else to be the best. He also realized that the three men standing in the ring, when on the same page, are unstoppable.

Rollins says now about this briefcase. He does see a need to take some responsibility for his actions last year. So he will use the briefcase as an insurance policy. If someone comes after the title, somehow manages to get the belt through nefarious means, Rollins will be there to cash in and claim it back. But, in the more likely turn of events that Reigns and The Shield hold off all comers, then the day the briefcase run expires, he will cash in and make a match against Reigns in a match that, no matter the outcome The Shield wins. And it will be the most incredible title match  in WWE history.

Other gears set in motion…

A new heel faction rises to power, which Wade 'Bad News' Barrett assumes leadership of. At some point, he and Sheamus discuss a planned collusion between them. They complain about the lack of opportunity they have long experienced because of their proud European heritage, that out of jealousy they have been held back, and often distracted by being made to fight amongst themselves. But no more. The future is theirs and their name is the European Union (negotiable). Their ranks will be joined by Cesaro, and possibly Tyson Kidd because, Europe, Canada…close enough! Adrian Neville can join the RAW roster and quickly join them, adding a high flyer to the team. They can also get the allegiance of Rusev.

Does this seem too cliché? Is a nationalistic anti-American gimmick too passé in 2015? It’s one of the hottest going stories around Rusev’s run right now. And also, the sentiment can be made more subtle here. However, there could be a touch of reality lent to it when you consider the core among this group really haven’t had a lasting successful push. This is especially signified by Cesaro and those famous words directed his way when Vince McMahon went on the Stone Cold podcast.

The Shield could continue its dominant run as babyfaces with an edge, or a group that fights both heels and faces (what a concept). Reigns could contend with a round of top tier oponents like Rusev and Bray Wyatt. With momentum from Wrestlemania, Wyatt could win the title from Reigns by way of a lot of tricks and outside interference, perhaps 1-22 months after Wrestlemania. Rollins could cash in the briefcase the next day on RAW and win the title back for The Shield, giving him a boost of main event star power.

Rollins could also feud with Neville in competitive bouts of agility and high spot-filled matches.

Sheamus could feud with Bryan, or whomever he caused to lose the IC title match at Wrestlemania.

Cena could challenge the increasingly influential European Union heel faction. He and Barrett could have a match to unify the IC and US titles, with the winner’s title being the dominant one and the loser’s title being retired. And, with interference aplenty, Barrett could win that match, gaining a push for his group. Leading up to it, promos could be run emphasizing the prestigious history of both belts.

-------

There you  have it. A change in direction. A call back to a very successful faction that ended too soon. A fade away of ineffective characters like Big Show and Kane (what, you thought I forgot them?), and a rise to power of new stars.

What do you think??  Let me know in the comments. Or

Twitter: @MondoCurryMARK

Royal Rumble Forecast

Couple of quick thoughts before the 2015 Royal Rumble kicks off. I have a combination of predications and wishful thinking of things I'd like to see happen, yet could be considered realistically in line with the direction that WWE has been moving in.

Coming out of the Royal Rumble match and triple threat title match, I would like to see and consider it plausible to see a Daniel Bryan Vs Seth Rollins for the WWE World Championship main event Wrestlemania 31. The seeds for this idea were planted firmly while listening to Jim Ross' excellent podcast where he envisioned the same scenario. He has no apparent inside track, just a lot of experience and knowledge about the business, and many other scenarios involving Roman Reigns and/or Lesnar in the mix have arisen as well.

What I like about the idea of a Bryan/Rollins setup is that it puts two wrestlers who are on the rise in the spotlight. Both have been over with the fans, Bryan's momentum only hitting the brakes after time being taken away for surgery, in their respective roles as baby face and despicable heel. Both can put on an extremely impressive technical match with years of indie experience to draw on, and this is widely known to audiences watching them for the past 1 - 2 years. It would be a credible win for either of them, and would show that WWE is putting a concerted effort on promoting the future instead of constantly falling back on the past. Whether all of the powers that be at WWE are really down with that last sentiment, I'm really not sure.

So where does that put the others in the main event picture is the next logical question. Reigns seemed the next most likely to be pushed to the number 1 spot, but signs suggest that WWE  is aware of what other insightful fans have been saying: He's not ready. I look back to the amazing feud between The Shield and The Wyatt Family, and think this would be a perfect time to rekindle heat between Reigns and Wyatt, leading to a match between them at Wrestlemania. The 6 wrestlers involved in that series of matches brought so much energy to it, bringing down the house each time. Reigns and Wyatt were always positioned as the clear leader of each group. WWE could play it smart and bring those past battles into focus as a partial cause for whatever may lead Wyatt to attack Reigns, like say screw him over in the Royal Rumble match tonight. Bray has such a strange peripheru role, sometimes just kinda being there until he decides to go after someone based on some half-baked philosophy he is given to justify it. But looking at his eventual win in that unfortunate program with Dean Ambrose, he did come out on top showing that he is in one of the top heel slots. I echo the sentiment of others that it would be interesting to see a Roman Reigns heel change, but don't see it happening with WWE putting so much spotlight on him as a face.

It's been suggested that Cena go on to face, and probably defeat Rusev at Mania. It makes perfect sense to me, keep Cena out of the main event where smart marks will groan, and give him a through and through heel like Rusev to vanquish and make it a feel good moment. At the same time, if they put Rusev over Cena, even better.

Brock Lesnar is the trickiest part of the puzzle. In my ideal world he would be winning and moving on to main event Wrestlemania. He is the most compelling talent to watch and by far the most phsysically impressive. But his days at WWE would seem to be numbered with no sign of him staying with the WWE instead of going with offers from the UFC. Still, this still would seem to have a question mark at the end of it, especially with Brock coming across like a face at the end of the last RAW. Could that have just been to give Rollins the come back victory after being knocked around by Lesnar?

Well, going with the idea that his days are numbered, it would make sense to take him out of the main event picture. 'Have heard the possibility of Heyman turning on him. I hope that doesn't happen. It could be interesting, but to me Heyman has always been loyal - even when he turned on CM Punk, it was after CM Punk said he wanted to go in a direction without Heyman. I don't think a betrayal would really make sense. Phasing Brock out as a face could leave the door open for a huge eventual comeback that would get fans clamoring for it. At the same time, he could make another star. If, for instance they put him in a program with Ryback....I don't love it, and cannot imagine Ryback winning, but if they are as high on him as it seems, a solid match with Lesnar would make him appear stronger.

Keep in mind, Randy Orton is very likely to be somewhere in the mix, as this would be the time for him to return. Do they trust him? He did seem to be getting a lot of positive buzz as soon he put his hands on Rollins and Hunter. Would they have enough faith to enter him in the Rumble as a surprise entrant and go all the way, for a match against Rollins at Wrestlemania?? If we get Rollins/Oron at Mania, I really think it's not fresh enough to be the main event. Put it ont he undercard and move forward with Bryan and Lesnar, a match I'd love to see but don't expect. Otherwise, look to hear a lot of 'No! No! No!' coming out of Philadelphia.

Smackdown Sweep Up 1: August 29, 2014

While everything that matters happens on RAW, there is a show called SMACKDOWN, which does have its moments. With RAW demanding a solid 3 hours of your time plus the numerous WWE Network distractions and goings ons in other wrestling companies, here's an effort to keep you in the know about what was interesting...or not...and what is worth tracking down and checking out in case you missed the number 2 show.

This SMACKDOWN kicked off with Bray Wyatt facing Roman Reigns. Immediate thoughts going off in the brain: whoah, this is way too big for SMACKDOWN. This is the stuff of potential main event angles. You could sense this was not going to culminate in any actual win or loss situation, but even teasing at it seemed a bit too much like giving away something of premium value. A win over Bray would surely help Reigns solidify his stature as legit championship contender down the line. And Bray doing even just ok in a feud between them would solidify him as a major player. This should've been advertised. Perhaps it was and I missed it. In any case, unsurprising run-in by other Wyatts to give the DQ finish. Big Show and Henry come to the rescue, leading to classic SMACKDOWN main event booking: throw 'em all in a six-man tag match.

Seth Rollins vs Rob Van Dam. I wanted to see this when I learned this would be RVD's last match in the WWE...at least under this current contract. He won in a count out finish against Rollins on Main Event making the finish of this even  ore obvious. A good match. Nothing special, but seemed as though RVD worked ever so slightly more to get some interesting maneuvers in. I really feel RVD could've been booked much stronger, even if he wasn't going to do anything substantial, he could've been promoted as someone difficult to beat, making up and coming heels' victories over him more meaningful. The way things have been, you could smell 'nothing of any importance is going on here' from miles away. I had even been thinking, considering RVD's past dealings with Heyman, he could've been someone to put against Brock a few times on TV. Even if the outcome would be predictable, they could've done some entertaining hardcore stuff with Brock still dominating even if RVD got in a spot or two. Oh well.

Jack Swagger vs Rusev. At this point one must note that this is solid booking with an emphasis on wrestling, a nice reprieve from RAW and all its filler. This would be a submission match. Victor must win by making opponent give up. Cole or maybe it was JBL declare this to be the most important match between the two. Perhaps he forgot it was a SMACKDOWN taping? In fact, from the stipulation down to the quality of the match, it was what one might say is too good for SMACKDOWN, more suited for RAW. (But hey, for those of us who want to keep enjoying a little extra wrestling on throughout the week, keep it coming!) They did some good back and forth, and the submissions really brought out a heightened sense of suspense, despite the predictable outcome. You could hear fans really popping for Swagger narrowly escaping the Accolade.

Fantastic heel booking of Bo Dallas found him throwing in a towel, thus confusing the referee, and tripping up Swagger for Rusev's ultimate victory. Bo was an effective antagonistic jerk. Rusev was victorious. Swagger lost due to interference. All 3 players came out looking strong. Bo furthered his psychological bullying of Swagger with his injury making him unable to respond to the taunts, making an eventual match between the two something I will look forward to. This is a match to seek out and watch.

Something else that strikes me about the way they are presenting Swagger and his injury is that this is EXACTLY how post-SUMMERSLAM Cena SHOULD be booked!! After the unprecedented one sided beatdown by Lesnar, Cena should've been...still should be...showing signs of trauma, be them mental or physical, and losing matches or at least just squeaking by; then getting stronger little by little to try for a sympathetic comeback against Lesnar. It's been documented that the decision to do 'Super Cena' on last week's RAW was a decision made by Vince. Perhaps they'll course correct in the weeks to come.

Paige vs Emma. I blinked and this was over. But considering how little we've seen of Emma lately, it makes sense. Paige should be shown as a strong champ. I have more to say about the followup: the new direction of her feud with AJ Lee, which has me...confused. AJ switching things up and playing the role of the fake friend...or real friend...giving Paige chocolates and professing her love, i mean 'like.'

This might make sense except Paige isn't even playing along -- she spit the chocolate in AJ's face. AJ acted upset, which makes her look like an idiot. If this is "mind games" it doesn't make sense because Paige has the title and no reason to care if AJ is her friend or not. She called her own bluff already and took the title. This is very frustrating bad booking because AJ and Paige are clearly extremely talented PRO WRESTLERS, head and shoulders above most of their peers. They stand a chance to make an impact. Is this going to make for the next Lita and Trish?? No. But could it? Yes Yes Yes. When you have two very strong wrestlers and a faltering story, ditch the story and make it about their competition with one another, plain and simple. Have them cut old school tried and true biting, pissed off promos on one another and give us a wrestling match to look forward to.

AJ left and came back to CM Punk chants and neither the writers nor her has given reasons to cease them. The confusing psycho or not psycho character is not moving forward and not befitting a face. Ditch it and bring something new, without delay.

Sheamus vs Damien Mizdow. Yeah, this has lasted more than one day. After a bit of time the gimmick actually grows on you a bit. It helps Miz to be a somewhat more over even more repugnant heel. After the match, Sheamus won (as if you needed me to tell you that), Miz even got to run in to get a petty cheap shot in. Fun stuff. I just don't see what poor once a very credible heel himself Damien Sandow gets out of it in the slightest. Perhaps if the gimmick continues, they could find some way to have Sandow interact with Miz in a way that gets Sandow over as a heel a bit too? Perhaps even explain WHY Sandow would be doing this in the first place??

Ziggler caught Miz and gave him some grief on the ramp, so expect a tag match with these four on the next RAW.

Jimmy Uso vs Stardust. First off, I really like the heel turn of the 'Dust Brothers.' Since Cody turned into Stardust, I've always felt the two took on a resemblance to corny classic Batman villains from the BAM! ZIFF! POW! show back in the day. And now that I think about it, the Conquistadors. So the heel role makes sense and feels right. The match ended in a hot minute with Jimmy getting a roll up for the win. The match is worth watching for the classic heel antics: Golddust apologized before the match for the attack on RAW, said they lost it in the moment. Then after this match, another attack from out of nowhere. This should lead to a very fun match at Night of Champions.

Reigns, Big Show, and Mark Henry vs The Wyatts. I can't remember too much about this match but it was good. It was good in that way that all those matches with the Shield were. A lot of moving around. High impact moves. It reminds me why Reigns was so impressive to me as a team player: he would come in and break up the action with some very fast high impact moves...but as a singles competitor, I'm feeling a bit lethargic. Reigns and company won. This could continue in a number of ways. I'd like to see Bray in a program with Big Show. Keep Bray strong and give him a devious way to bring a giant sized Show down, who really hasn't been up to much of anything lately. And the thing with Jericho seems pretty cold. That or get the other Wyatts back into winning mode and show them as a force to be reckoned with in matches against Show and Henry.

Overall this was an entertaining SMACKDOWN. No earth shattering events, but storylines were supported, wrestlers were made to be strong, and there was little filler between people with nothing going on.

Feel free to hit me on twitter with suggestions, criticisms, trash talk, and the like at @mondocurrymark.