Another work week has ended, and now we’re only two weeks away from Survivor Series.  We have yet to hear what any of the Traditional Survivor Series teams are going to look like, and RAW didn’t help out too much.  We do know that Edge will be facing Kane at Survivor Series, but what about the Intercontinental Title?  And how about the tag titles?  McIntyre & Rhodes don’t seem likely to be reforming their team, which broke up last week.  Will another team emerge from Smackdown?

Let’s get to it!

And it looks like we’re starting out the evening with a match!  Edge comes to the ring, we’re reminded that he’s the #1 Contender to the World Champion Kane, and his opponent for tonight… has his own ring announcer.

Match – Edge vs Alberto Del Rio

For the first time in ADR’s tenure in WWE, he shows up for a match without the introduction from his ring announcer…  nevermind.  Edge had scared him off, but the announcement is made for ADR from the steel steps.  He doesn’t get the pyro show though.  Is anyone else glad that there’s some continuity with Edge not being happy with ADR’s ring announcer, who almost cost him the match last week.

Did anyone else hear Matt Stryker say something about “if you’re watching from home…”?  Where else would we be?  We’re certainly not watching it live in the arena, and I don’t think he wanted to make a distinction on whether we were watching it from someone else’s house, or even a sports bar.

Anyone surprised that I knew it was Matt Stryker who said that?  Sometimes I can’t tell on Smackdown who says what… but you’ll see that as this article continues.  I think the Michael Cole thing just confuses me, since he sounds a bit like Todd Grisham.

What exactly would constitute a good outcome in this match?  If Edge wins, Alberto Del Rio loses more of his momentum, which already suffered a bit as he lost to Rey Mysterio.  If Edge loses, that causes the number one contender to lose credibility as the guy who has legitimate claim to be fighting Kane at Survivor Series.  A disqualification to ADR could be the route to go.

Whoa, did anyone else think it was impressive when Alberto Del Rio did the foot-first dive through the ropes, sending himself out to the arena floor?  It’s rare to see someone take a fall like that.

Wouldn’t ADR want the German suplex to be called the Mexican suplex?  I suppose Canadians and folks from the US don’t have that same issue, but ADR closely associates his identity with his homeland.

Was anyone else waiting for a Kane sighting when Edge was getting set for the Spear?

Outcome – No Contest due to complete outside interference by the Gold And Black Attack.

Whoa, did ANYONE think that Nexus was going to show up tonight, let alone to end this match?  I like the fact that David Otunga is leading the way instead of Wade Barrett.

How is it that Kane can decide to work together with Mysterio and Big Show, especially since the guys he was working against were the same ones to help him beat The Undertaker in the Buried Alive match at Bragging Rights?  I’d understand the lack of continuity if it were six months ago, but this was a little less than two weeks ago.  You’d think Kane would just let Nexus do what they please tonight, so long as they didn’t get involved in his business.  Furthermore, why wasn’t it Kofi Kingston who showed up with Big Show and Mysterio?  Or even Kaval?  Waste of time and resources, Smackdown.

Theodore Long time, and he wastes little breathe announcing that Nexus will fight Team Blue in a 10-man tag match involving Edge, Big Show, Mysterio, Kane and Alberto Del Rio taking on

The theme music strikes up, and we’re about to get one of the top young fighters in WWE, an annoying female heel authority figure, and one of the hottest women on Smackdown.

Inexplicably, Dolph Ziggler comes out from the back by himself… and now here we go, here’s some of the explanation.  Apparently this Tuesday on NXT, Dolph Ziggler was caught making out with Kaitlyn, and the only person in the world who could blame him for that, Vickie Guerrero, gets upset about it.  In awesome fashion, Kaitlyn shoves a cake into Vickie Guerrero’s face.  That might actually be worth watching again on WWE.com!

Back to the “live” action, and and we have a JTG sighting!!!  Did anyone else see that JTG lost his chain during his entrance and didn’t even seem to notice?  I’m sure one of the ring attendants will get it, but you’d think he’d want to just hand it to them instead of leaving it on top of the ramp.

Match – Dolph Ziggler vs JTG

As one might expect when the Intercontinental Champion (who has competed on seemingly every episode of Smackdown for the past 4 months and several episodes of RAW) gets into the ring with a guy who has rarely been seen since he parted ways with his tag team partner (especially when Cryme Time was rarely used anyway), Dolph dominates JTG for the majority of the match.  Apparently Dolph isn’t done even after hitting the Zig-Zag, and he locks in his sleeperhold on an already “out” JTG.  Dolph gets some heel points from that.  Nice work, booking/creative team.

Outcome – Ziggler wins by “submission” with the sleeperhold.

After the bell has rung and Dolph’s music is playing, the HOT HOT HOT Kaitlyn shows up, and inexplicably Dolph seems less than thrilled.  Why?  Vickie already knows that Dolph made out with Kaitlyn, so why hide it?  As you might expect, Vickie shows up, gets in the ring, and she doesn’t just slap Kaitlyn, she SMACKS her down to the mat.  Potential cat-fight being setup?  I think maybe.

A Triple Threat for later in the evening is announced, with the winner getting an Intercontinental title shot, and is anyone else really surprised and happy that the WWE is giving that sort of importance to their Smackdown mid-card title?  Random matches here and there doesn’t highlight the importance of the belt, and neither did the Kofi / Dolph feud (as that was more “personal”).  Nice work Smackdown Creative Team.

Backstage, and an interesting (to me) note:  Hornswoggle is no longer blonde?  I wonder how much more his gimmick is going to be changing along with that?

People who hate the annoying aspects of Smackdown are about to have their head explode, as Hornswoggle is joined by Vickie Guerrero, who claims that she was just embarrassed on National Television.  Really?  First of all, can someone tell her that SyFy isn’t network television, it’s probably not BASIC cable for most people, and while it’s undoubtedly growing in popularity, it’s not even one of the premier networks in the list of channels.  That said, SyFy isn’t just National television… as it’s available around the world.

Did anyone else hear Vickie say that Kaitlyn can’t even kiss…. how would she know that piece of information?

We switch elsewhere, and Nexus is beating someone down… and that someone turns out to be Rey Mysterio.  Really?  5 on 1, against the smallest guy on Smackdown?  I guess they’re supposed to look cowardly, but it would’ve probably been better to pick someone larger, showing that they’ve got some power to go along with their underhanded tactics.

After the commercial, “Rear View” Josh Matthews sneaks up on Nexus to get an interview, and we hear the phrase that they should’ve mentioned WEEKS ago, saying that Nexus is “not just about John Cena and Wade Barrett”.  Almost too little, too late, fellas.  A lot of my friends and a lot of the other readers of my articles are REALLY getting tired of Nexus, claiming it’s getting tired and boring.  Unsurprisingly, Matthews is left to watch the members of Nexus just walk away, further showing why he’s got that nickname.

Looks like the #1 Contenders Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship is next.

I don’t know if I missed it in a prior episode of Smackdown, but it sounds like MVP got some new theme music.  Does this possibly signal a renewed push for MVP?  This match could go a long way towards determining that.

We also get an answer to my question about Vickie knowing about Kaitlyn’s kissing skills.  Apparently a few days ago on NXT there was a kissing contest the NXT Diva’s competed in featuring Cody Rhodes.  That’s likely where Vickie got her information, and I’m guessing that also somehow helped setup the situation where Dolph and Kaitlyn were kissing.  Is it possible that any of my readers actually watched NXT this week?  I’d like to hear from someone who did.  I’ll try to watch it tomorrow before and after football.  Certainly not during.

Match – MVP vs Drew McIntyre vs Cody Rhodes

Things went as expected early in the match, with MVP getting in some good offense, and then McIntyre proposes a brief alliance to Cody Rhodes, saying they can “settle it” themselves once MVP is done.  A couple minutes later, Cody breaks the alliance, and as expected Drew is not happy about it.

The rest of the match goes relatively as expected.  One of the highlights was a nice tower of doom spot where MVP assisted a Superplex from the top rope.

I don’t know if I pointed this out in a previous article, but has anyone else noticed that MVP has tattoos only on his left arm, not his right?  I wonder if it’s for religious/cultural reasons behind it.  Folks in the Middle East have rules about which arm can do certain actions for cleanliness purposes.

Is it just me, or is Cody’s “Beautiful Disaster” kick just like Morrison’s springboard kick?  Regardless, it leads to a good spot which results directly in the finish of the match.

Outcome – MVP wins by getting a pinfall on Drew McIntyre.  Seems like maybe the new theme song was an indication of a renewed push.

As they hype the match for later in the evening, we find out that Rey Mysterio has been replaced in the main event 10-man tag by Kofi Kingston.  I suppose that’s part of the reason Kane is involved, though I still don’t like it.

Match – Vickie Guerrero vs Kaitlyn

Are the announcers intimating that we’re going to be in a Team Vickie vs Team Kaitlyn situation a la Twilight?  I’m guessing that not only have very few of my readers read Twilight, but most of them are probably tired of the Team Edward vs Team Jacob debate.  Also, I can’t really imagine anyone picking “Team Vickie”.

Oh yes, here comes Kaitlyn, and that outfit she’s wrestling in does her body’s curves justice.  (If you’re reading this on Bleacher Report, you’re going to want to check out the version of this article on GuysNation, where I’ll have an actual photo of Kaitlyn wearing the outfit).

Why in the world would Vickie Guerrero turn her back on Kaitlyn just to mock the announcers?

One of the announcers questions during this match whether Dolph Ziggler is really worth fighting over, and another one of the announcers mentions that “this is what WWE is all about”.  Really?  WWE is all about love triangles?

Outcome – Vickie Guerrero gets a pinfall with her legs on the ropes to illegally hold Kaitlyn down.

We get a Kelly Kelly sighting and a Kaval sighting as MVP is celebrating the fact that he won his match, and now Nexus ambushes MVP and Kaval, showing that they really are trying to take over, broadening their target area.

Match – Tyler Reks vs Chris Masters

Please, can Nexus get involved in this match if it lasts any more than 2 minutes?

Did anyone else notice that Tyler Reks’s hair is bedazzled to match his trunks?

Is it ever a good idea to have a rematch on Smackdown from something which was previously relegated to WWE Superstars?

Did Michael Cole really just refer to himself as being a part of Smackdown?  He might say he associates himself with “Team Blue”, but I think most people really just associate him with RAW, where he has a much more significant role.

We hit the two minute mark, and unfortunately this match still seems to have some decent length still left.  Masters didn’t even get to the Master Lock attempt until the three minute mark… blocked by Reks, and here’s the finish…

Outcome – Tyler Reks wins the match with some sort of inverted Attitude Adjustment.

Really, announcers?  Did Tyler Reks really DOMINATE Chris Masters?  That’s not the match I saw…  I’m sure a lot of people would’ve preferred it to have been a short, squash match, but it certainly wasn’t.

Main Event Time – Slater, Gabriel, Otunga, Harris, McGillicutty vs Big Show, Edge, Kofi, Kane, Alberto Del Rio

Did the announcers just say that tonight’s main event is a retelling of West Side Story?  For those who might not be familiar, West Side Story involves gangs, but it’s basically just a retelling of Romeo and Juliet… both of which are love stories, with a member from each group being in love with one another.  Unless Kofi Kingston and Michael McGillicutty are secretly having rondezvous, I don’t see much comparison at all, and I’m disappointed the announcers even tried to make the reference.

NOW Alberto Del Rio gets an entrance announcement without the help of his personal ring announcer.

Is this the only way they could fit Kane into the show this week, by having him be part of Team Blue?  He REALLY doesn’t fit into that group… even less clear of a choice than Alberto Del Rio, as I’d once again like to point out that Kane has received more help from Nexus than anyone.

Did Michael Cole just say “if you’re just joining us”?  How about “in case you missed it”?  How many viewers do they actually think tuned in for the final 10 minutes of the show?

How awkward does Kane look, just standing stoicly on the ring apron?

Does anyone else see Husky Harris and wonder what might’ve happened if WWE had signed Samoa Joe?

Alberto Del Rio gets knocked off the apron, he’s not happy about it so he walks off, making it a 5-on-4 match, in favor of Nexus.  Had ADR even entered the ring for this match?  I remember healthy helpings of Big Show, Edge and Kofi, but neither of the heels.  Isn’t it about time for Kane to get involved?  Whether he gets into the ring or shows some dissention against #1 contender Edge, I think we need to see something from the champ.

Kane finally gets tagged into the match, and what direction do they go with things?  Did Kane wrestle as an opponent of Nexus?  Did he join up with them?  Face to face with David Otunga, and what does Kane do?  Kane smacks Otunga in the mouth and then goes after the other members.

Thank you, Michael Cole, for reminding people that Kane got help in the Buried Alive Match by Nexus.

Kane decides he doesn’t like Big Show getting involved in the match, so Kane takes out the giant.  Then somehow Edge tags himself in and Kane only looks mildly frustrated?  Granted, Kane eventually decides to target Edge for a potential chokeslam, but from the start Kane didn’t seem to care too much that the man he’ll be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against in two weeks just did essentially the same thing Big Show did.

Outcome – Edge doles out a couple spears (one to Kane, one to Otunga) and the pins Nexus’ one-night-only leader.

Couldn’t WWE have done something with the outcome to this match to give Nexus an increased push, making them long strong, and also pushing things between Edge and Kane?  Nexus comes out of this show looking like they failed in their efforts, Kane gets put down, and Edge is really the only one who looks good due to the outcome?  Not a great ending, but a pretty decent episode of Smackdown.

– – –

As I promised, here’s a look at Kaitlyn’s outfit for the evening:

And now just one final remaining question that’s burning in my head, but which really requires a picture to illustrate my point:

Have you ever been so jealous of Vickie Guerrero?

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