John Laurinaitis welcomes Christian to his team. Entertaining segment to kick off the broadcast with the return of the Peep Show. It never ceases to amaze me how Christian continues to draw a face reaction despite being a whiny heel, which speaks volumes regarding his popularity. He had good humor with John Laurinaitis here and had a logical reason for joining his squad at WrestleMania. Passable match between Kofi Kingston and David Otunga that was fine for what it was worth. Otunga isn't the greatest worker in the world, but I was impressed that he was still able to compete despite not being properly prepared. The overbooked finishes are predictable at this point, so it came as no surprise in the end. Quick match between AJ and Nikki Bella that was able to further progress the on-going story involving Daniel Bryan and AJ. I'm glad to see AJ back in the ring since she is one of the better wrestlers on the Divas roster, and her win over Nikki should hopefully getting her closer to receiving a shot at the Divas Championship. It felt awkward at the end with Bryan celebrating with AJ, as it seemed the crowd wasn't sure to cheer or boo. Effective match with Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes cleanly defeating The Great Khali that was successful in giving Rhodes additional momentum going into his title defense at Mania. Khali's offense was kept limited and played his role well, as Rhodes was able to establish that he can indeed defeat gigantic opponents. Decent promo between Randy Orton and Kane that was finally able to give some meaning behind this impromptu feud. I clearly remember that night Kane and Orton shook hands after their match on SmackDown last summer, so I'm glad they're usually something from not too longer ago as the incentive for this rivalry. Both Orton's and Kane's mic work was nothing to write home about, but did no harm.
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John Cena raps as the Doctor of Thuganomics. Fun throwback rap from John Cena to kick off the show. I've been highly anticipating the return of the Doctor of Thuganomics for a very long time now, so having him enter to "Basic Thuganomics" was a very nice touch. Sure, seeing Cena in a jersey for the first time in years looked a little out of place, but his insults towards The Rock were well delivered. Excellent match between Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler that had both Superstars looking strong in the end. It was obvious Sheamus was going over given that he'll be competing for the World title at WrestleMania, but that didn't take away from the suspenseful action at hand. Their chemistry was unquestionable and has me chomping at the bit for a future rivalry between the two. World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and AJ's interview in the box seats also added good build for their match at Mania. Effective match with David Otunga and Mark Henry defeating Santino Marella in a handicap bout. As much as I don't like the idea of another power struggle (or the fact that Otunga and Marella are captains at WrestleMania), it at least makes sense and gets unused Superstars involved. We haven't seen Mark Henry this dominant in months, so I'm glad he's being rejuvenated as a monster and will hopefully stay that way this time around. Typical squash with Brodus Clay dominating Jinder Mahal within a minute. His gimmick doesn't feel stale since he's been gone for over a month, so I'm thrilled to see him back. Unless he's featured at WrestleMania in some capacity, this does feel a bit random. Yet another solid promo from Undertaker and Shawn Michaels that was nothing short of epic. These two always deliver on the mic together, and their combined intensity here has me intrigued big time. HBK once again did a great job in teasing that the outcome of this match could go either way. Triple H's involvement at the conclusion with the DX gesture was a suspenseful cliffhanger, and has me really looking forward to their WrestleMania encounter. Randy Orton delivers an RKO to The Miz. Entertaining Steel Cage match with Santino Marella successfully defending his United States Championship against Jack Swagger. I don't think the cage was all that necessary, but it made for a fun environment. Vickie Guerrero costing Swagger the match by accident was a nice swerve and will cause tension between the two if the plan is to split them up in the near future. Typical squash match with Drew McIntyre defeating Hornswoggle to earn his spot back on the SmackDown roster. However, any heat he may have gotten from the victory was quickly diminished when The Great Khali interfered. I hope to see McIntyre on Team Johnny at WrestleMania, but they really need to start booking him correctly. Good match between Mark Henry and Ezekiel Jackson that featured a quicker pace than what you'd expect from these two. It was short and sweet, while giving Henry a much-needed victory. I'm not too sure where these two go from here, as both dominant forces need a direction on Friday nights. Throwaway match between Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis that included pretty much what you'd expect. It furthered the Kane and Randy Orton rivalry, but Kane shouldn't be made out to look this weak. The only thing I liked about this match is that thankfully we won't be seeing it at WrestleMania 28. CM Punk delivers a clothesline to Chris Jericho. Strong promo to kick off the show from Triple H and Shawn Michaels. HBK always delivers a quality, heartfelt promo, and this was no different. The tension between him and Triple H was once again well delivered, and adding Michaels into the pending Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania makes me even more excited for this bout. The line about already knowing who was going to win and that he'd be right again from HBK was a nice cliffhanger. Overbooked match between Santino Marella and Jack Swagger that saw Marella win the United States Championship. Everyone else surrounding the ring took away from the action (not that there was much to begin with), and not promoting this ahed of time made it feel random. Santino does nothing for me as champion, but at least he gets a reaction unlike the floundering Swagger. Throwaway Divas match with Eve defeating Alicia Fox. They've had semi-decent bouts in the past, so I would have liked to see this go a bit longer. Zack Ryder's return was a nice surprise, and the kiss Eve delivered to Ryder backstage was intriguing. I'm looking forward to where this angle goes from here and how it will incorporate into WrestleMania. Solid tag team match with Chris Jericho and World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan defeating WWE Champion CM Punk and Sheamus. All four wrestlers can work a great pace, and showed excellent chemistry here. The right winners went over, thus giving Jericho and Bryan going into their respective title matches and each bout successful hype. |
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