This week’s Smackdown opened with an in-ring promo from Edge, and it wasn’t long before he was interrupted by his WrestleMania opponent, Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio was accompanied by Brodus Clay, and it’s nice to see somebody in an enforcer role, they’ve seemed to fall out of favor the past few years. When Edge & Alberto came to blows, Christian hit the ring to make the save on behalf of his blood brother, and a main event was made that would see Edge team with Christian for “the first time in ten years” to take on Alberto Del Rio & Brodus Clay.
I have a hard time believing this was the actual first tag team match featuring Edge & Christian in ten years, as I kind of remember them teaming for “one night only” a few years ago on Raw, but who cares? It’s Edge & Christian, one of the greatest tag team’s in wrestling history. In the main event, the duo was victorious against Del Rio and Clay, despite being a little banged up from attacks spanning a few weeks. Good to see these guys have a mini-reunion, even if it’s going to be short lived. Wish they shared an entrance, though, instead of coming out separately. You can read about the rest of Smackdown (or watch the whole thing) after the jump.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZI2TnZIx4E]
- Cody Rhodes was back in action, and he inexplicably wrestled in slacks and a dress shirt. Why on earth he wasn’t in his wrestling trunks is a mystery to me. He squashed JTG in an extremely short match. It was good to see Rhodes using his protective mask as a weapon in the match, ala D-Lo Brown’s chest protector or Cowboy Bob Orton’s cast. Good heel work.
- Rey Mysterio, who is now officially Rhodes’ WrestleMania opponent, wrestled and defeated Drew McIntyre. I’m not usually crazy about Rey’s matches, but this one was pretty decent. McIntyre hit a nice sidewalk slam on the ring apron at one point, and he showed off some of his technical skills as well. Drew needs to find a spot on the Mania card, and he needs to do it soon.
- Triple H cut a spiffy promo, much better than his last one. He explained what separates himself from the guys Undertaker has faced in the past, HBK included. Of course, the Taker vs HHH match from WM X7 was ignored, but that’s to be expected at this point. I’m as sure Undertaker’s streak will remain intact as I am the sky is blue, but Triple H is making it interesting nonetheless.
- Despite solid new content, a lot of Smackdown has felt like a Raw recap show the past couple weeks. This Friday was no different, as they aired the JBL / Cole / Austin segment from Monday in its entirety, as well as Shawn’s comments about the Triple H vs Undertaker match. I think everyone watching Smackdown falls into the category of having seen raw or not caring about Raw, so I’m not quite sure what the point of this is.
- Layla was able to notch a victory over NXT season 3 winner Kaitlyn with a little help from Michelle McCool. Kaitlyn was on the show because it was taped in her home town of Houston, Texas, and as such, she received a nice ovation. LayCool looked to be on the same page again, which makes me question why they’ve been working so hard to demonstrate the dissension between them. During LayCool’s ring entrance for this match, Booker T dropped the line “Shucky Ducky, Quack Quack.” Why? I have no idea. It wasn’t acknowledged by anyone else at the table.
- Cena cut a short but effective promo saying that all of his attention is now on The Miz. It’s a necessary move to put some more emphasis on the Miz vs Cena match while letting John’s feud with The Rock simmer on the back burner, and I’m glad that WWE realizes this. After he said what he had to say, Cena teased an Attitude Adjustment on Cole, but Jack Swagger made the save. Cole getting a beating is going to generate one of the biggest pops of the year, and I have to think it’s going to be in the form of a Stone Cold Stunner at WrestleMania.
- Kane vs Wade Barrett turned into Kane & Big Show vs Wade Barrett & Heath Slater after The Corre interfered. The match ended when, surprise, The Corre interfered again. After the match, Big Show hit Kane with a chair, so I guess the two of them are even now. Looks like there’s some truth to the rumors of a match pitting The Corre against four Smackdown superstars (two of them being Kane & Show) at WrestleMania.
I have a nagging suspicion that this time next month, Christian is going to be a heel, and might even be a member of Del Rio’s growing posse. Nevertheless, it was great to see he and Edge team up again. As for the rest of the card, it was a sufficient, if unspectacular, build to WrestleMania. If you told me six months ago that I’d care about Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania match, I would have laughed in your face. Now it’s one of my most anticipated matches on the card, despite it containing Rey Mysterio.
