Punk earns the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. Solid opening segment featuring the returning Undertaker, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show. The return of Undertaker kicking off the show was a pleasant surprise, aside from the fact it felt a bit brief. Everyone else played their respective roles well and made good points as to why they should be the one to challenge Taker's streak at Mania. It set up the main event nicely and gave viewers something to look forward to later in the evening. Nice match between Ryback and United States Champion Antonio Cesaro. Sure, we've seen it a number of times in the last few months, but these two always seem to work well together. The finish was well done and Cesaro scored enough offense throughout the bout to look strong in defeat. However, I'm still disappointed that WWE continues to have their secondary champions lose for no apparent reason, as it does critical damage to both the champion and championship. Basic match with Mark Henry quickly defeating Zack Ryder. It showcased Henry's domination and continued the strong momentum he's had going in recent weeks. Furthermore, it was nice to see Ryder on television, especially since the show was on his home turf of New York. The pre-match stare down between Ryback and Henry was what really caught my attention, however, as that's a match I've been hoping to see at WrestleMania for quite some time now. Entertaining match between The Miz and Dolph Ziggler. These two have great chemistry with one another and once again didn't disappoint in the squared circle. The near-falls down the stretch created nice suspense and Miz's win was logical with his new movie The Marine 3 being released this week. Ric Flair was an awesome addition at ringside and really helped Miz get over with the live crowd. That being said, I can't help but think that Flair would be much better paired with Ziggler, but I can understand why he's not due to Big E Langston and AJ Lee already being apart of Ziggler's act. Strong segment featuring WWE Champion The Rock and John Cena. I was afraid going into the revival of this feud that these two would produce another month of terrible television by taking shots at one another, but this promo surely proved me wrong. Unlike last year, Cena and Rock brought incredible intensity to their respective promos and really had this viewer invested in what they were saying. If both Rock and Cena can stay at the top of their game going forward, then I'm highly anticipating the rest of this rivalry. Effective segment with Jack Swagger attacking "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter and Dusty Rhodes. All three Legends have patriotic gimmicks, so Swagger ambushing them felt fitting. It didn't generate much heat, but Swagger the best he could to get over with his ruthless antics. It was also a smart way of cramming three notable names into one segment and having it make sense. Fine match with WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No defeating the Prime Time Players. We've seen this match a number of times in the past, so the action was nothing out of the ordinary. It's a shame the Prime Time Players continue to lose, as they have true potential as a tandem and should be the next tag champs. Sadly, Team Hell No is hindering the division more than it's helping it at this point and should really disband sometime soon. On a more positive note, Daniel Bryan taking Ted DiBiase's dollar bill from Darren Young's mouth was hilarious.
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The Shield lay a brutal beating on Randy Orton. Nice opening match between World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio and Damien Sandow. Sandow's pre-match promo was excellent as expected, but Del Rio's rebuttal left a lot to be desired. That aside, this is the match I wanted to see from these two a few weeks ago on Raw, so I'm glad we got it here. It received great time and Sandow scored a significant amount of offense where he looks strong in defeat. It's rare to see SmackDown kick off with a match most weeks, so I enjoyed the change of pace on this show. Good Two-out-of-Three Count Falls match with Antonio Cesaro successfully retaining his United States Championship against The Miz. The first fall came out of nowhere and it was aggravating that the second fall occurred during the commercial break, but the bout was well wrestled as a whole. I would've preferred to see Cesaro win clean here, but the fact that he's still champ is all that matters. This rivalry has run its course, so here's hoping this was the blow-off match and both guys can move on to fresh feuds going forward. Strong segment featuring Jack Swagger, Zeb Coulter, Jim Ross and World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio. I really liked the fact that Ross and Swagger cross paths while on their home turf of Oklahoma, which added a nice feel to it. Ross and Coulter had a fantastic verbal exchange and Swagger also played his role well. Del Rio seemed much more motivated here as opposed to earlier in the evening and even on this past week's Raw. If both Swagger and Del Rio can show this much intensity each time they face off, then I can definitely get invested in this World title feud going into WrestleMania 29. |
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