The Undercard
John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio to start off Smackdown. I cannot remember when the last time John Cena started off in a match on Smackdown. This is a very smart idea, to book a high profile match at the very beginning. I actually enjoyed this match. Cena and Del Rio is a match that people may not invest long term in, but can appreciate the match. This is much better than Del Rio facing Khali, which was brutal to watch on Raw. Cena struggled getting out of the gates, as Del Rio locked in a few submission holds to slow down Cena. I enjoyed the aggression from Del Rio, who would throw Cena into the Announcer's table to gain the upper hand. Cena picked up the victory with the flying legdrop onto Del Rio. Again, Cena uses something else for his finish, and I feel like he is beginning to rely more on his other moves than the usual five. Del Rio brought a good match out of Cena, and vice versa. After the match, Cena would get hit in the head with a briefcase, courtesy of Dolph Ziggler. Excellent start to the night. Grade: A-
The Great Khali defeated David Otunga. What else can you say besides poor Otunga? He has talent but gets squashed by Khali in a very bad match. Grade: F
Kofi Kingston and Team Hell No defeated Prime Time Players and Wade Barrett. This match was entertaining to say the least. The crowd is definitely invested into Team Hell No, and Kofi was the man who kept the match rolling at a hot pace. You added two feuds into one match, but none of the men put on a bad performance. Kane and Titus started off slugging at one another. They are the two strongest men in the match, and showed it. Bryan seemed to be the weak link once again, as Wade Barrett controlled his momentum all match. Barrett looked really crisp and clean through each move, with a few clotheslines and then a side slam to control his opponent. I really wanted to see the heels win but they did not. Smackdown is so predictable in deciding the victors, and it begins to frustrate me to see the heels always suffering the loss. It would benefit more from the challengers to pick up the surprise win. PTP needs to get a big win, as it seems to have been months since that has happened. Nonetheless, the match was great and forwarded two angles for the WWE. Grade: B+
