WWE Smackdown Review (October 28, 2011)

Sorry that there wasn't a Smackdown Review last week. I was going to write it on Saturday but I was busy all day. I will write my "Keg Stand" column tomorrow and I might write a "How I Would Book It" column on Sunday. I plan to continue review Smackdown every week but I will only be reviewing the Smackdown matches. No promos will be reviewed which I don't think is bad because I think the matches are more important than the storylines on Smackdown. It looks like a good match card this week on Smackdown and as I write this, I have not yet seen any of the matches so I'm excited.

The Miz & R-Truth (Awesome Truth) vs. Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne (Air Boom)

This match was not as good as I thought it would be. It was slow in the beginning with The Miz and R-Truth dominating the match. The match got exciting after Evan Bourne tagged Kofi Kingston in but after a little bit of offense from Kofi, Awesome Truth quickly regained control of the match and hit The Little Jimmy Finale on Kofi which led to them getting the win. It wasn't a terrible match but it was a short match and it wasn't very exciting.

Winner: Awesome Truth

Rating: **

Wade Barrett vs. Trent Barreta

It's great to see Trent Barreta on Smackdown! Barreta is fun to watch in the ring and I wish he would get more matches on Smackdown or RAW. This was a quick match that Wade Barrett won in about two and a half minutes but it was not a squash match. Barreta got in some offense and hit some good moves. Barreta looks a little bit like a young CM Punk. I'm not exactly sure what is holding him back but he's a really good performer. I wish the match was a little bit longer and I wish Barreta could have had an easier opponent but it was good to see Barrtta on TV again. Next time, I want to see a little bit more offense from him. He and Barrett had a decent match but Barreta was a jobber in this match. I'd like to see Barreta win a few matches.

Winner: Wade Barrett

Rating: **1/4

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

This was one of the matches I was interested in and I think it met my expectations. It wasn't a great match but it was a good Smackdown match. I thought the match was a little bit boring in the beginning but there was good back-and-forth action towards the end. Dolph Ziggler looked really good against Randy Orton and he came really close to pulling off the upset. Ziggler hit Orton with a really nice looking super kick during this match and Orton barely kicked out. After the superkick, Ziggler tried to hit the Zig-Zag but Orton countered it with the RKO and won the match. I liked this match and I think these two guys should have a Pay Per View match in the near future. Ziggler looks like a future WWE Champion. It's time for him to get more opportunities at the World Title.

Winner: Randy Orton

Rating: ***

Tyson Kidd vs. Daniel Bryan 

Tyson Kidd and Daniel Bryan are two of the best technical wrestlers in the WWE and this was an awesome match. I'm not much of a fan of technical wrestling but I enjoyed this match. It had  fast paced action that was back-and-forth with good reversals and counters. Daniel Bryan won the match with the LaBell Lock. The only problem was that this match was less than three minutes long. I would love to see these guys have a 10+ minute match. It was a really good match and I hope Kidd and Bryan have several more matches in the future.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Rating: ***1/4

CM Punk vs. Christian

This was the main event and it was definitely a main event match-up. CM Punk is my favorite face in the WWE and I think Christian is the best heel in-ring performer in the WWE. Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus made appearances during this match which hurt the match a little bit but this was a great match. My favorite spot of the match was when CM Punk did a springboard off the the top ring rope and Christian turned it into a powerslam. I don't think I have even seen that before and it was executed perfectly. This match went back-and-forth with both Superstars getting in good offense. Sheamus distracted Christian at the end of the match which helped CM Punk hit Christian with the Go To Sleep and win the match. I would love to see what these two Superstars could do in a 15 to 20 minute match without anyone trying to interfere with the match. I hope this is not the last CM Punk vs. Christian match. In my opinion, this was one of CM Punk's best non-PPV matches of 2011 and it was a great Smackdown main event match. 

Winner: CM Punk

Rating: ***1/2

Best Match: CM Punk vs. Christian

I wish it was a longer match and I wish Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio didn't appear during this match but this match was not a disappointment. I also would like to mention that Christian and CM Punk cut promos at the start of Smackdown. It's nice to see the WWE promoting their main events. Christian and CM Punk's promos made this match feel important and all main event matches should feel important. This match wasn't a classic match or a Match of the Year contender but it was an enjoyable match and I hope Christian asks for "one more match" next week. 

Worst Match: Awesome Truth vs. Air Boom

Going into this Smackdown, I was excited about the match card and the matches were as good as I expected. The only match I didn't really enjoy was the Awesome Truth vs. Air Boom match. There wasn't much exciting action and Air Boom didn't really get in much offense. Awesome Truth dominated the match and I think matches are always better when the action is back-and-forth. I like both tag teams but this was not a good match. If these two teams face each other again, I hope to see more offense from Air Boom. This wasn't a terrible match and it was probably the best "Worst Match" I have seen on Smackdown this year. 

When the "Worst Match" includes Kofi Kingston, The Miz, R-Truth, and Evan Bourne, that should tell you how great the other matches were. This was probably the best Smackdown I have seen this year and I gave *** or higher to three of the five matches which means I thought that those matches were good and above average. I wish every Smackdown could be like this week's Smackdown.