Opening Segment
What I Liked:
AJ starts off the show, but Vickie Guerrero immediately interrupts her and says everyone is talking about Dolph Ziggler. AJ makes fun of Ziggler and calls Vickie a grandmother. She gets slapped for that, and CM Punk comes out and bashes both, while Daniel Bryan makes his way out and talks to everyone in the ring. We finally get Sheamus out, and the tag match is underway. I liked how they made Ziggler feel like the main story, only to quickly be overshadowed by Punk and Bryan. Everyone did a great job telling two stories inside of one segment. Vickie and AJ are very similar because both have been able to capture the attention of the WWE Universe without having to wrestle. They are so good at connecting with the crowd in any way.
Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler def. CM Punk and Sheamus
What I Liked:
This was an excellent tag team match that featured a lot of athleticism and the strength of Sheamus. Punk connected with a great delayed vertical suplex, something that is rare to see from him. Also, Sheamus and Punk made some classic quick tags to ground their opponents quickly.The pace of the match was also really solid, because you were able to bring Kane out to cause a riff in the fast paced action. Sheamus and Ziggler are doing great with the short window they have to make this become interesting. The heels get the victory, which usually means they will not win on Sunday. One thing that is vastly overlooked is the close attention to details from these guys. Rarely do you see a mistake or a missed cue. They are always in the right spot at the right time, have that chemistry with basically any superstar. You can tell how much they really care about putting on a great match every night they go out.
What I Disliked:
I thought Bryan should have controlled the offense much more than he did. This would have been a great time to show off his skills on Punk or even Sheamus. I feel like they put child gloves on Punk and Sheamus, as they rarely get a clean loss. They feel like it will devalue what kind of champion they are but it is more of a dramatic storyline for the fans to care more about.
Grade: A-
Brodus Clay def. Heath Slater
What I Liked:
An alright match between the two guys, with Slater getting a little bit of offense. We have your typical squash match with Clay, who is a perfect fit for the Smackdown crowd. After the match is what I enjoyed more. David Otunga comes out to focus on Clay's knee and attack him before their pre-show match at No Way Out. I really feel this is the one thing Clay is missing from growing more in the company. He has yet to have any sort of feud or diversity to overcome.That is so crucial in character development. They accomplished that to a certain point tonight.
What I Disliked:
Why is the pre-show match? The card only has 5 matches, and one of them is a damn Tuxedo Match between Santino and Ricardo. That should be the pre-show match because it is a complete joke. At least this match would have some sort of relevance to it.
Grade: B-
