Smackdown Reactions: Reeking of Awesomeness

Friday’s Smackdown closed on the scene to the right, and because of that, it was a good show.  Honestly, WWE could have produced a miserable two hour slop-fest, and if they ended it by teasing an Edge & Christian reunion, they’d have my unwavering support.  As you can see, Edge’s nose was bloodied during the final segment of the show, a result of an attack by Alberto Del Rio.  Edge and Del Rio signed the contract that made their WrestleMania match official before the brawl broke out.  The crowd seemed to be really behind Teddy Long during the segment, as their “USA” chants couldn’t have been directed at anybody else in the ring at the time.

Speaking of the combatants nationalities, it was really odd to me that the ring was dressed in so much Mexican fanfare.  Edge, the World Champion, is part of this match too.  It seems like the WWE wants us to remember that this is Del Rio’s time, and who opposes him on the grandest stage of them all is more of an afterthought.  But alas, the segment ended with a mini Brood reunion, so I’ve nothing to complain about.  The rest of Smackdown recapped and reviewed after the jump, along with an embedded video of the entire show for you to enjoy at your leisure.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ec3Xv2qqX1s]

• Edge had a busy Friday night.  Before closing the show with the contract signing for his WrestleMania match, he opened it by wrestling Drew McIntyre.  Edge was victorious, naturally, but it was a balanced match and it did nothing to put down the little push McIntyre is experiencing.  It’s good to see him being built up slowly instead of rocketed up the card, an issue that’s been a sore subject in the WWE recently.
• Cody Rhodes cut another killer promo, and he’s quickly becoming my favorite performer on Smackdown.  He’s got the microphone skills of a seasoned vet despite his young age, and I feel like he’s a guy that’s going to be able to work very successfully as both a heel and a face during his career.  In his promo, he threatened to take the mask of Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania.  Personally, I’m praying that Rey’s mask does not get put on the line in their match, as I feel like that virtually ensures a Mysterio win.  I love Cody’s reasoning for wanting to take Rey’s mask though, and I’m really digging his Doctor Doom-esque fear of having his “destroyed” face exposed.
• The Corre were able to retain their tag team titles against former champions Santino Marella & Vladamir Kozlov, with a little bit of cheating of course.  Marella & Kozlov were fun while they lasted, but I’m guessing this is the end of them in tag title contention.  Hopefully they’re fit into the WrestleMania card somewhere, I think they more than deserve to appear in some capacity.
• LayCool notched a win over Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes, although the problems between Layla and Michelle appeared to continue.  The two of them are on the fast track to splitsville, and it’s more a matter of when than it is if.  The four divas in this match were all unusually loud while they wrestled.  They all seemed to yell for the duration of the match, it was really strange.
• The Undertaker cut a pretty good promo, definitely better than Triple H’s on Monday.  There’s no doubt in my mind that he has his match at WrestleMania in the bag.
• Big Show gained a DQ victory over Kane, but the bigger story here was the involvement of the Corre.  The charged the ring and supplied Kane with a chair, which he hit the Big Show with, leading to the disqualification.  Afterward, while the Corre was attacking the downed Show, Justin Gabriel was shoved into Kane.  As a result, Kane leveled him with the chair and chased the Corre out of the ring.  It looks like this is the start of a face turn for Kane, and I can’t say that I approve.  I’ve heard rumblings of an 8-man tag match at Mania that would pit all four members of the Corre against Big Show, Kane, Kofi Kingston, & Christian, and honestly, I don’t think there’s been a dumber match in WrestleMania history.  If this happens, it’s going to be Akebono bad.
• Jack Swagger SQUASHED JTG.  Prior to the match, Cole says that he’ll announce the referee for his Mania match with Lawler this Monday on Raw.  He says the guy he’s got in mind is “flamboyant” and “awesome.”  Guess that knocks Good Ol’ JR out of the running.  Despite the description being awesome, I’d bet dollars to donuts it’s not The Miz.  I’m really curious as to who he’s got up his sleeve, and I’ll be disappointed if its A-Ry.

All in all, this was a good Smackdown.  Undertaker and Christian finally returned to Friday nights, they squeezed five matches onto the card, and Cody Rhodes came up big once again.  Viva las Canadians!