Anyone catch the show? Not a classic but pretty enjoyable, aside from my Ashes-related fatigue really hurting me in the middle. Gimmick PPVs aren't always a good idea, but sticking a jam-packed one in December, normally the dud PPV, is a great idea and has worked well both times now. Might as well post my thoughts on each match.
Thought the IC title match was okay, although not anywhere near as good as the various singles matches we've seen between these competitors. The finish was different, I know not everyone liked it but it fits Dolph's gimmick well. The spot where Kofi jumped up and under the ladder was pretty cool as well. These three keep me just about tuning into Smackdown, so kudos and hope they can all kick on/return to their early 2010 position on the card, next year.
The Divas match was great. I'm not even going to patronise them by saying it was good for a women's match, it was just a good match, full stop. They worked the table gimmick really well, and tbh they are probably the four best female workers in the E, aside from maybe Gail Kim who never really gets a run for whatever reason. Beth took a couple of really nasty looking bumps during the match but apparently she is fine. The finish was good as well, looked like Laycool were meant to go through the table but it was decent improvisation to finish with the splash.
The tag title match was obviously just there to serve the Nexus beatdown, but getting to see Santino and Koslov is never a bad thing, really pleased that these two have actually found something that works aside from backstage shenanigans with celebrities. Totally Lethal Cobra!
Morrison-Sheamus was SWEET. One of the matches of the year (that's an idea for something for us to discuss actually, might bore you all with my top ten WWE matches of 2010 later). I always enjoy a ladder match that uses storytelling and psychology in amongst the bumps, and there was plenty of clever stuff employed here, I cringed for Morrison and the work being done on his leg. I could name loads of spots I enjoyed, but I'll just say that I LOVED the finish which was impressive, and I must admit that I marked throughout this match as I am sure you are all aware that I'm a bit of a nerd for Morrison. Miz-Morrison somewhere down the line is now pretty much confirmed, maybe the Rumble, can't wait for it.
The Miz and Orton had a decent match, although it was strange seeing the title match slow things down after all the action we had seen in the previous one. I loved Miz's sneaky initial win here, I said to my mate "he should do a Guerrero" so was made up when Matt Striker said, "he lies, he cheats and he steals" and I know a lot of you are Eddie fans so I hope you heard and enjoyed that line.
The TLC match was pretty good, nothing I'll remember especially in years to come but a decent watch. I kind of wanted to see Del Rio get the belt but Edge hasn't been champ for ages so no complaints there, and I'm delighted that Kane is finally not champion. No offence, his title run was okay at first, but I do feel there's been a decline in the quality of Smackdown lately that can hopefully now be addressed with fresh blood at the top of the card. As an aside, Edge is a ten-time champ, but this is his first as a face, amazing.
And finally, Cena-Barrett. Nice to see Punk come out for this, and I'll add a bit more on that shortly. But as for the match - it was decent. I preferred their HIAC effort but most of the reviews seemed to prefer this one. They used the chair stip fairly well, and I don't think the result will have surprised many people although I did think there might be some antics. Cena absolutely destroyed Barrett at the end so I don't know what happens to Nexus from here, but I don't think they are going anywhere just yet. Maybe we'll find out their greater purpose soon enough, I wonder if it will involve Triple H.
Now onto CM Punk, he claimed that someone in the back had wronged him. Well Cena has clearly annoyed Punk lately, including spilling his diet soda (!!) and Punk was vehemently anti-Cena on commentary here. They've had matches before, but never a feud - as a BIG fan of both guys, a Cena-Punk feud is something I have a LOT of interest in seeing. I know we were all quite excited about the prospect of a Bryan-Punk feud, but a feud with Cena shows you how highly they regard him. I hope I'm right about this, it could be GREAT, potentially all the way to Mania? Who knows.
Now finally onto some tips as to what I think we will see at the Rumble:
Miz V Morrison
Edge V Alberto Del Rio
Dolph V Swagger V Kofi V Kaval (bit of a shot in the dark this one)
Natalya V Melina (Melina to turn heel soon IMO)
Tag match maybe
Triple H & Taker as possible entrants to the Rumble (Triple H the more likely of the two). Winner of the Rumble too hard to call at this point, but we could well have one of the great Manias of all-time on our hands looking at the talent available.
Oh yeah, maybe Jericho will come back too. I bloody hope so.
the World Title had been dubbed out, there were a few periods of about 20-30 second silences I thought, and was just curious as to why that was? I wondered at first if it was due to them mentioning the F too much, but then realised the rest of the DVD is full of similar references which haven't been edited out, so I was just a bit confused. Maybe there were some references to Benoit in the original cut?
