The Undercard
Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio defeated Team Hell No in a tag team match that had everything. I loved the action in this matchup, especially with Cara and Bryan. Bryan was able to use his excellent offensive grappling to ground the high flyers in the match. Cara would ultimately be the guy who needed to make the hot tag, and he did to Mysterio. Mysterio went back and forth, and was able to hit a hurricanranna to send Kane to the outside. Kane, in the match, did a fantastic job at keeping up with guys who weigh less than 200 pounds, while he is close to 350. This shows the durability and professionalism he has had over his career. Cara flew to the outside, while Mysterio was able to get out of a submission hold and finally hit a 619 on Bryan. He would pick up the victory for his team, and was clean. This was a fantastic match to watch, and the crowd was really into it. Mysterio and Cara are fan favorites, and should be pushed in the tag team division. I am interested to see where they go from here. Grade: B+
The Great Khali defeated Jinder Mahal in a quick squash match. Mahal tried to ground Khali a few times, but he came bac with a couples clotheslines and a chop. He finished off Mahal with a chokeslam variation, and picked up the win. Remember when Mahal used to make Khali tap out? Wow, how times have changed for the worse for Jinder…. Kinda. Grade: D
Damien Sandow vs. Sheamus was a very solid bout between two different types of offenses. You can see the aggression grow at the match progresses for Sandow, but Sheamus will ultimately be the guy that picks up the victory. The match started with a quick attack from Sandow, who stomped away at the Celtic Warrior. As the match continued, out came The Shield. They attacked Sheamus and finally hit a Triple Powerbomb before they left. Once again, The Shield makes an impact on Smackdown. I just want MORE than this from them. I want to see them put in matches each week. It has been three months since they debuted, and they need to do more than simple attacks. Grade: B-
Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett in a match that was alright, but not great. I felt like out of all of the contests these men have had, this was on the weaker side. Neither man was able to get into the flow of things offensively. Barrett was able to get Orton to the outside, but he would miss an elbow and hit the ring post. Orton connected with a DDT and then an RKO for the finish. Grade: B-