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GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 3/24/2012 SMACKDOWN

SMACKDOWN - 23/03/2012
What this Smackdown needs to accomplish?
•This is essentially the go home show for Smackdown and therefore the most critical in terms of delivering hype and finishing touches for the Smackdown brand matches (Orton-Kane, Rhodes-Show, and Bryan-Sheamus)
•Last week Bryan cost Sheamus his match against Chris Jericho and on Raw Sheamus was happy go lucky. I don’t like that from a storyline standpoint, but hopefully Sheamus acknowledges what happened last week on Smackdown and once again addresses wanting to get his hands on Bryan and the World Title
•We have learned five members of Team Johnny for Wrestlemania and hopefully we learn the 4th and 5th member of Team Teddy on Smackdown
•Video Packages. I’m still hoping WWE delivers the video packages having talents talking about the Triple H and Undertaker match and celebrities talking about who they think will win between Rock and Cena. I assume were not getting that on Smackdown this week, but hopefully we get some outstanding packages to emphasize the importance of these matches
Show Breakdown

1. I have to say I find it amusing now seeing Michael sing the praises of Daniel Bryan. AJ is also tremendous in her role as the head over heels in love girlfriend.

2. I laughed out loud at “Danny”. Bryan’s reaction was pure gold. Quite alot of good comedy in this opening segment here.

3. I just don’t get the whole mentality in WWE that the babyface must always be smiling no matter what. Bryan cost Sheamus his match last week, Sheamus was furious at the time and now they are just standing in the ring together having a discussion. It once again goes back to WWE having to step back and modify the format of how they produce these television shows.

4. Good closing line from Sheamus about kicking Bryan’s teeth in at Wrestlemania. I wish he put a focus on taking the title, but perhaps that’s not the plan and if not we know the babyface won’t address taking the title if he’s not going to get it at the pay per view. I still don’t like idea that Sheamus was upset last week and now tonight he’s happy go lucky. It’s the same format WWE uses with John Cena and we have seen how well that has worked out for him.

5. Another dominating win for Mark Henry. I’m not sure I would have sacrificed Truth like that as he was basically jobbed out here, but Henry is such a bad ass and this is definitely the way to use Mark Henry!

6. Nice to see the Hall of Fame has finally been mentioned again and a great video package on Yokozuna. I hope they air this on Raw next week as well and make one final mention of the Hall of Fame on the A show.  BTW interesting to see in The Horsemen graphic that JJ Dillon isn’t shown.

7. Has Zack Ryder replaced Ted Dibiase with the posse parties now that Dibiase is hurt?

8. I thought Teddy was going to deny Zack, because he didn’t think he was good enough (sabotaging him even further), but at least they had him say it was because of his current situation with Eve. I like Zack showing that he is focused on the team by bringing Khali on board as well. I could do without Hornswoggle however, but I guess they want to get as many people as possible on Wrestlemania.

9. I don’t know if it’s just me, but The Bella Twins outfit really brings down their sex appeal.

10. I have to give WWE Creative some credit here, because the way they write Bryan and AJ relationship is fairly intelligent for a wrestling couple. It is clear that Bryan can be a jerk to her, but he still does little things like hold the ropes open for her so she’s not a complete twit, although still blinded by love.

11. Does the Bella’s on separate sides of the Teddy and Johnny match mean both of them will be at ringside as well? That’s lots of people around the ring.

12. I hope Ryder isn’t saddled with Hornswoggle past Wrestlemania.

13. Good to see Cole noting the history of Laurinaitis costing Ryder the United States Championship.

14. Fun match between Ryder and Swagger and a win Ryder desperately needed.

15. Another solid promo from Cody. Cody is one of the rare talents that WWE has developed really well outside of his program with Randy Orton last year.

16. I like that WWE has graphics for both the Cody-Show and Kane-Orton match before this Big Show-Kane match, but I really feel that WWE needs to dedicate one segment of time to run down the Wrestlemania card. Mentioning these matches in passing just doesn’t have the same effect as a whole segment dedicated to the card. All that being said, it’s still promotion and they gave both matches graphics along with talking about them so that’s a plus.

17. This Big Show-Kane match was much more impactful than that one minute match on Raw that didn’t do anyone any favours. This match helped build two matches and I assume will possibly lead to a Cody/Kane-Big Show/Randy match next week on one of the shows.

18. I wonder if Brodus will be the final member of Team Teddy. Team Teddy seems to be the team of all goofs so he’d fit right in.

19. Zack once again looking like an idiot backstage with Eve.

20. Beauty video package as per usual for the Undertaker-Triple H-Shawn segment from Raw to build the Hell in the Cell at Wrestlemania. The package made that segment feel alot stronger than it came off on Raw in my view.

21. Lord Tensai...I like the name and the vignette is pretty slick.

22. Christian on commentary is quite great.

23. As I see The Great Khali out for a match, I’m reminded of an article on wwe.com with a story promoting the return of Ranjin Singh and I can only hope they do not revisit that character. Khali alone is painful, adding that guy just makes them channel changers.

24. I like Booker calling Christian out on his outfit on commentary. I’m not sure what Christian’s going for, but it’s quite the attire.

25. Ziggler taking some great bumps for Khali. I like the little detail of Kofi knocking Otunga’s coffee cup out of his hand as he hit the ring.

26. Funny to hear the crowd chanting “Danny Boy”. I wish Bryan played into it or that he was allowed to react to it. I have a sneaking suspicion that WWE will be playing this one up for a long time to come.

27. Quality main event match with the emphasis on Bryan hanging on to the title by a thread with Sheamus coming for it at Wrestlemania.

What this show accomplished?
The Good
•I liked the overall developments in the Smackdown brand matches for Wrestlemania
•The AJ and Daniel Bryan dynamic. Every week these two impress me more and more. I have to give credit to the creative team for writing them so well and really doing a solid job of fleshing out their relationships
•Hall of Fame video package return! I hope we get this on Raw as well as they really haven`t spent that much time on it this year
•Undertaker-Triple H video package. Another nod to a video package as this package did a tremendous job of making Undertaker-Triple H feel like that money match that I was asking for in my Raw column earlier this week
•Mark Henry.  WWE has gotten Henry back on track after being very careless with him a few weeks back
•Zack Ryder gets a much needed win!
•Aksana was minimized to a brief cameo. This is more like a personal win! I really hope she turns heel at or after Wrestlemania
The Bad
•Team Teddy. This looks like the 2012 job squad and it wasn`t made any better with Truth being treated like a total jobber. They need a big name to complete the team. Brodus would fit in with the guys they have. Rey is probably the best name to give them credibility, but another name I think would work is Mick Foley given his past with John Laurinaitis from earlier in the year
•Bryan-Sheamus. I like basic storytelling most of the time in pro wrestling, but this program continues to be somewhat underwhelming. Bryan and AJ are doing terrific, but the program with Sheamus isn`t clicking fully with me. I also didn`t like that Sheamus and Bryan were able to have a civil discussion in the ring to open the show after Sheamus was livid with Bryan to end Smackdown last week. Sheamus also didn’t appear to acknowledge his loss from last week that Bryan caused.
•Rock and Cena. I don`t recall seeing any hype at all for their final confrontation. Perhaps I missed it, but this should have been acknowledged a few times especially after the Raw rating from this past week
•No Wrestlemania card rundown. WWE should do this. I don`t know why they don’t, because it really makes every match feel important
•The WWE Champion on Smackdown treated like a total after thought
Overall Thoughts
•This was a good show for me. The comedy was better than usual. Daniel Bryan and AJ are just phenomenal. The Laurinaitis-Teddy program is not overshadowing the entire show. Cody is doing solid promo work. Randy is letting physicality do his talking and Mark Henry is back to kicking ass and taking names.
What needs to be accomplished on next week`s Smackdown?
•This will be the final push for Wrestlemania. I assume the wrapping will be finished on Raw so all Smackdown needs to do is put the bow on. They are doing solid pro wrestling storytelling with Cody-Show and Randy-Kane, which I assume will stay consistent. I’d really like to see one final promo exchange between Sheamus and Bryan to really knock home the significance of their match and the World Championship
•Awesome video packages and full card run down!
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