Opening Segment
What I Liked:
Alberto Del Rio came out and talked about the 4th of July, and went to the crowd to see if they are real Americans. I did not like that, but liked everything that was meaningful afterwards. Sheamus and Del Rio brawled outside of the ring which ended in Del Rio slamming the hood of his car onto Sheamus. I have been saying for a very long time that the writers need to give us a reason to care and dislike Del Rio. This was a step in the right direction, especially since he attacked one of the top faces in the company. He needs to continue the aggressive attitude he showed because it will separate him from middle of the road heels like Rhodes, Swagger, etc. I also thought that it was right to kick off Smackdown with this feud because you know it is the only feud with no real meaning behind it other that Del Rio wanting to win the title. Give us more, and they gave us a more aggressive Del Rio.
What I Disliked:
Ricardo needs to step away at times from being Del Rio's boy. I feel like it makes Del Rio look weaker and relies on only him to gain the upper hand. Also, at this point, I wonder if we will see these two guys for the rest of the night. They deserve more than one segment on a Live Smackdown.
Grade: B+
Layla and The Great Khali def. Aksana and Antonio Cesaro
What I Liked:
Layla finally gets some TV time. I mean, she is the Divas champion. I would have had her lose this match, put her on a cold streak, and give some sort of interesting angle as her being a champion. You knew Khali would do a few moves and that is it.
What I Disliked:
What the hell is the reasoning behind Khali and Layla pairing? Why not have Cesaro face someone more connected with Long, like a Zack Ryder. I would rather have someone who can actually wrestle and make an interesting Mixed Tag Team Match. You also can tell they have zero idea of what to do with Cesaro. He is a unique in ring talent, with many different ways of attacking his opponent. It is ashame that he seems to be forgotten so quickly after an interesting debut. I feel like he is going to be stuck with no storyline or angle for quite some time.
Grade: D
-Cody Rhodes says he is getting another shot at MITB. Teddy Long says he has to beat Christian to qualify.
