WWE Smack Down! Thoughts 8th Jan 2011

Josh Matthews, Michael Cole & Matt Striker welcome us to Smack Down.

Edge Vs Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match, for the World Heavyweight Championship is up first....

Both guys battle back and forth..... Edge hits a neckbreaker on Kane... Kane hits a backbreaker on Edge.... Kane gets speared to ringside....... Edge follows him, where Kane gets the advantage outside the ring.
Both guys brawl down the ramp and backstage and then back into the arena and through the crowd until they end up backstage again... After a good brawl, they make their way back to the ring... Kane misses his clothesline from the top rope and Edge hits a DDT... Kane gets up before the 10 count and hits a chokeslam on Edge... Both guys to the outside and Edge slams Kane into the steel steps but is caught with a big boot while he is running in for the spear. Edge is chokeslammed through the announce desk and Kane throws Edge in the ring with some chairs and climbs the ropes... he is caught and Edge hits a couple of chairshots on Kane before he hits the Spear.
Kane is down for the 10 count after a chairshot to the leg which keeps him down.
Edge wins and retains the World Championship. Good way to start the show.

No backstage comedy segments or anything which is really refreshing and now it's time for the Intercontinental Championship match between Dolph Ziggler & Kofi Kingston....

Kofi & Dolph have another great little match with Kofi getting the win and becoming a 3 time intercontinental Champion. Dolph hits the Zig-Zag on Kofi after the bell and Vicky gets on the mic and says that as GM Teddy Long isn't in the building, she was ordering an instant rematch. After a minute or so, Kofi hits the Trouble In Paradise kick and gets the second pinfall on Dolph to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Great work by both guys, as always.
After the match, Vicky calls Dolph a "Two-time Loser" and Dolph says that maybe he should look for a new girlfriend...

Video package showing the worst steel cage match ever from Raw between Orton / Wade / Sheamus...

Drew McIntyre & Kelly backstage - Drew says that he has a No.1 contender match later and he asks for her support.... This storyline was suggested by Tiffany when she was in WWE for her and her husband, Drew McIntyre, but WWE are now using the idea for Kelly Kelly instead.... Because they couldn't possibly come up with a storyline of their own, they are just the "Creative" team after all....

Big Show Vs Cody Rhodes Vs Drew McIntyre Triple Threat match to become No.1 Contender for the World Championship.... Vicky says that she has changed the match to a Fatal Four Way and added Dolph Ziggler into the match.... Have I missed something here? Does Vicky become GM when Teddy Long isn't in the building? Not that I mind too much because I like Ziggler and I hope he wins....
Big Show controls the action for a while before McIntyre, Cody & Dolph drive Show through the steel barricade on the outside... Dolph, Cody & Drew battle inside the ring... Big Show gets back into the ring and clears house... Before Wade Barrett slides in the ring and attacks the Big Show and then heads to the back.... Cody Hits the Beautiful Disaster on Show, but doesn't get the pin, Dolph hits the Zig Zag on Big Show, but he kicks out again.... Drew hits the Future Shock on Big Show, but he still kicks out.... Dolph advises Cody to attack the Big Show again but when he turns his back, Dolph hits the Zig-Zag on Cody and gets the pinfall...
New No.1 Contender.... Dolph Ziggler.

Oh no... Michelle & Layla are in the ring.... This Smack Down was going well.... Michelle Vs Kelly Kelly.... Michelle hits a few kicks... Kelly counters back with a kick.... Michelle regains control of the match by a kick... Kelly is down and Michelle kicks her.... Ties her leg in the rope... and kicks it... Kelly and Michelle perform a messed up hurricanrana which looks awful before Michelle hits her amateur version of the Styles Clash for the pin... Wow... Was there any need for this? It just made me dislike everyone in the match more than I did before. Drew McIntyre comes out and tells Layla and Michelle to go to the back instead of maybe Kicking Kelly Kelly some more? lol .... Thanks for saving us from more crappy kicks Drew....
If WWE likes to employ stupid, skinny, blonde models for their own entertainment backstage... Please just keep them out of a wrestling ring...... Please.....

Okay, back to wrestling... Rey Mysterio Vs Alberto Del Rio in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match...

Alberto goes for his armbar submission after about 30 seconds .... and Rey submits... WTF? That was a bit early in the match to have one of your top stars tap out, but whatever....
Smack Down returns from the break and Mysterio is fighting back.... Alberto goes for the armbar submission again, but Mysterio almost pins him.... Mysterio in control and gets a pinfall with a nice Mahistrol cradle and they go to a break...
When they return Mysterio is fighting back again... Mysterio hits a springboard crossbody for a 2 count.... Alberto hits an armbreaker for a 2 count.... Nice Springboard DDT by Rey Mysterio gets a 2 count.... Rey is caught going to the top rope and Alberto continues to work on Mysterio's arm, setting him up for the armbar submission again.... Rey hits a 619 on Alberto which sends him to the outside and hits a cross body from the top rope to the outside on Alberto and Ricardo... Alberto rolls in the ring, but Ricardo holds onto Mysterio who gets counted out....

I can't fault the work of Mysterio or Alberto, but the booking of this match was horrible. First of all, what's the point in having a 2/3 falls match if you just give a fall each to both guys within the first couple of minutes of the match? This makes it pretty much just a normal match with both guys looking weak because they both lost a fall so quickly and so easily..... And then the final decision of what they called a "feud-ending match" was a screwy count-out finish? This is just crap booking. I know they probably didn't want to make one guy look weak with a clean loss - but instead they just made both guys look weak.

Overall this was one of the better Smack Downs in a while.