WWE Smackdown Review (October 14, 2011)

For the second week in a row, I am only reviewing Smackdown matches. No promos or backstage segments. Once again, I will rate the matches using a five star scale. Here is an interpretation of that five star scale:

* is Poor
** is Fair
*** is Good
**** is Great
***** is Excellent

 

Forty-One Man Battle Royal for a Title Match of the Winner’s Choosing Later Tonight

This was a long match with too many commercial breaks but this was a fun match. So many Superstars in this match including William Regal, Matt Striker, and Drew McIntyre. It was nice to see almost the entire WWE roster get an opportunity to show the WWE Universe what they can do. Somehow Jinder Mahal made it to the final three...how the hell did that happen? Orton ended up winning after eliminating The Miz. The first half of this match was boring but the match started getting more and more interesting as the number of battle royal participants got lower. The ending with The Miz and Orton was really good and worth watching.

Winner: Randy Orton

Rating: ***

Beth Phoenix versus Kelly Kelly

This match was okay. It got less than two minutes but both divas did a good job with the small amount of time they had. I didn't really enjoy the match but I liked the effort from both divas. Beth Phoenix won but Kelly Kelly got in plenty of offense during the match.

Winner: Beth Phoenix

Rating: **

Justin Gabriel versus Fake Sin Cara 

I think this got less time than the divas match. Good stuff from Justin Gabriel and Sin Cara. I enjoy seeing WWE Superstars who can work a fast pace and are good high fliers. It's too bad it was a short match because I would have liked to see more. Sin Cara won the match and I think Sin Cara may have the best win-loss record in the WWE this year. Who has he lost to besides Alberto Del Rio?

Winner: Sin Cara

Rating: **3/4

Alberto Del Rio versus Sheamus

This was a boring match and it was too slow. I didn't enjoy this match at all and I hope these two don't have a Pay-Per-View feud in the near future. 

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Rating: *3/4

Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston versus Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger

Good tag team match. I have to say that Zack Ryder impressed me. He's looking better in the ring. Kofi and Dolph did really good too. Jack Swagger didn't really do anything exciting. Good fast-paced action in this match.

Winners: Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston

Rating: ***

Mark Henry versus Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship

Not a bad match but it could have been better. Mark Henry was too dominant in this match. Orton got in some offense towards the end but then Cody Rhodes interfered in the match. It's good to see the WWE continuing to build the Rhodes-Orton feud but I don't like seeing them do it during a main event World Heavyweight Championship match. World Championship matches are supposed to be important matches and they lose a lot of value if they don't have a clean finish or if they are used to promote an upcoming PPV match. Also, I want the Orton-Rhodes feud to be more than just Rhodes interfering in Orton's matches. That's too cheap of a way to start a feud. Next week, I hope Rhodes acknowledges the fact that he was Orton's slave assistant in Legacy and make this a "student vs. teacher" feud.

Winner: Randy Orton by disqualification

Rating: **1/4

Best Match: 41-Man Battle Royal

Matches with several Superstars are usually enjoyable and I enjoyed this match. Good to see everybody getting a chance to participate. I liked that The Miz was one of the final two but CM Punk should have lasted longer in the match.

Worst Match: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

In my opinion, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio can be good if they are paired with a great in-ring performer like CM Punk or Chris Jericho or Rey Mysterio or Christian or Evan Bourne or Cody Rhodes or Randy Orton. You can get a really good match out of Del Rio or Sheamus if you pair them with one of those guys but you can't pair a guy like Sheamus with a guy like Alberto Del Rio. It doesn't work and I didn't like this match. It's like putting butter on butter...you need to put butter on bread. Butter on butter tastes awful. Butter on bread tastes good.