Lead In: Smackdown’s lead in this week on Syfy is Lake Placid 3, a movie about a giant killer crocodile. He’s eventually killed by shoving a gas hose in his mouth and tossing a lighter in. I mention this because, like the croc, Mark Henry has been making people run scared the past few months and it will take something drastic to stop him.
Street Fighting: It’s rare to see a WWE show open without a promo segment. It’s even rarer for the opener to be a match. It’s yet rarer for said show to open with a Street Fight. It’s between Orton and Rhodes and it’s a bit odd. These kind of matches are usually booked when a feud has reached a dramatic moment. This current one certainly has picked up, but it doesn’t seem to have reached that stage. Feuds sure aren’t booked like they used to be lately. The one reason I can think of for this Street Fight is so Rhodes can get some revenge for when Orton hit him with the ring bell and had staples put in his head. Rhodes is uber-aggressive in the beginning, in keeping with how he’s acted during his feud with Orton. 4 or so minutes in the fight finally spills into the crowd, which I always think should happen during these kind of matches. When the action gets back to the ring, cowardly heel Rhodes throws one of his Baggers right into an RKO. The fight goes up the ramp as Rhodes sells fear quite well. Cody’s quick start is fading as Orton has taken complete control of the match. In a match like this, I always think foreign objects should be used in abundance, but the first of this match comes into play 15 minutes in with it being Rhodes mask. Afterwards, Orton looks like he has a noticeable gash on the top of his head with blood visible. Yet another good ring psychology example with Rhodes using various kicks to Orton knee and leg before locking in the Figure 4. Perhaps the best selling of the match is Orton and how he sells the pain of that Figure 4. The Mask comes into play yet again with both wrestlers trading blows with it before Orton throws it out of the ring for the first extended period of time Rhodes has been maskless since he first started wearing it. Cody hits and absolutely beautiful springboard kick after foiling an RKO attempt. Plenty of back and forth action with momentum not staying in either’s corner for long. Orton hits his signature Rope Hing DDT on the outside before bring ing him back in the ring for an RKO for the win. I wish Rhodes would’ve won but he did take Orton to the limit in a PPV quality match that has to be among the best of the year. I’m interested to see where the feud goes from here. Another match? A shot at the IC title? Perhaps, but he puts a Bag on Rhodes’ head first and walks out with The Mask.
Ted The Face: So it’s a Face Ted DiBiase taking on Tyson Kidd. Ted gets a decent reaction, but I’m not sure if this is the start of some sort of push. However, it’s still more exposure then he’s gotten in the last few months. With his ‘face turn’ he was set for a feud with Rhodes, but was buried yet again. He does end up getting the victory after hitting Dreamstreet, so hopefully this is the start of something good for Teddy.
Obligatory Diva Match: So it’s Natalya and Alicia and they actually put some background into this one with the reason for the match given as fallout from the Battle Royal on RAW. It’s nothing special, but at least it’s something. Natalya continues to show why she really should be one of the top female wrestlers in WWE by tossing in the Walls of Jericho, or Boston Crab as the commentators call it, instead of her usual Sharpshooter. I wonder if Jericho will mention Natalya stealing his move like he has done for others in the past.
#OneMoreMatch: Oh geez, that is some terrible mic work from Big Show and I’m glad Christian interrupts him, even if it is to whine some more. He heels on the South and gets more then a little nervous when Show scratches his bchin, thinking he’s setting up for a WMD. He doesn’t go through with it, but does get in a Chokeslam on Christian. That’s a serious disadvantage heading into his match with Sheamus. The ref explains 
to Mr White that Christian is begging off, but Wade Barrett comes out and offers to face him instead. I like it as this continues the Barrett Barrage and it was really this matchup that started Sheamus’ face turn months ago. Christian continues to sell his injury throughout the match, but ends up distracting Sheamus just enough for Barrett to get the roll up victory. Not only does Sheamus lose, but he eats a Spear from Christian to boot.
Epico???: What? Sin Cara faces Epico? Isn’t that Hunico’s tag partner down in FCW? He does show off some impressive technical moves such as 2 consecutive suplexes and some sort of backbreaker submission move. Cara gets his usual flurry of high flying moves in before Hunico runs in to cause the DQ. Could WWE be bringing up the FCW tag team of Epico & Hunico to the main roster? That would be a good move since they spent time in developmental as a team and weren’t just thrown together randomly.
World’s Strongest vs World’s Nerdiest: Nerdiest at least according to Michael Cole, this match was set up by a backstage segment earlier of Henry dressing down Bryan and saying it would be futile for Bryan to use his MITB against him. Big Show is in Bryan’s corner as the World’s Largest Cheerleader and that adds an interesting wrinkle to this matchup. With the inclusion of Bryan into the Henry-Show feud I have to winder if the MITB briefcase doesn’t come into play at some point. I know he said he’s waiting until Wrestlemania, but having him cash it in before that would be a total swerve and could be a new direction for Bryan’s character. As a side note, Cole has been tolerable up until this match, but he starts ranting and raving about how unfair it is that Big Show is in Bryan’s corner. Bryan is going about the match the smart, tactical way by trying to wear Henry down with submissions, but Henry uses his brute strength to continuously punish Bryan before Show knocks out Henry to cause the DQ. He then tries to convince Bryan to cash in the briefcase. Bryan starts to go for it, but Henry instead cashes in a WSS on Bryan. Big Show gets a briefcase shot to the head for his troubles. The show ends with Teddy Long coming out and booking the Henry-Show match at Survivor Series.
