BRM Reviews the 3/29/2013 Smackdown

[Big Red Machine]

ROCKY PROMO- awesome, as usua- JOHNNY ACE! Overall, an entertaining, but ultimately pointless segment. This would normally be perfectly fine for a filler show like Smackdown has become, but with Rocky making so few appearances, this feels like a waste.

WADE BARRETT vs. CHRIS JERICHO- 4/10

After the match Jericho purposely mispronounces Fandango’s name… which is about the only thing you can do with him. It’s either that or make fun of his dancing. I cannot believe that WWE thought that a ballroom dancer who is super-touchy about the way people pronounce his name was not only a good gimmick, but a gimmick worthy of taking on Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania. I will be surprised if the gimmick is not scrapped by the end of the year, and doubly surprised if it is still appearing on Raw or Smackdown in a non-jobber capacity by the end of the year.
Anyway, after Jericho makes fun of his name Fandango comes out, but rather than charge at Jericho to avenge this slight (and remember, getting angry when people mispronounce his name is Fandango’s ONLY character trait at the moment)… Fandango decides to first let his lady-friend take up some time by dancing, then waste some more time by dancing with her, before walking down the ramp with her… and still having an angry expression on his face… before walking away like a little wimp to dance some more.

JOSH MATTHEWS INTERVIEWS PAUL HEYMAN- good

BENCHPRESS COMPETITION: Mark Henry vs. Ryback- AWESOME segment! Henry finds a loophole with which he can injure Ryback before their match and to make matters even more dastardly, he does it just before Ryback was about to break Henry’s newly-held bench-press record!

DANIEL BRYAN & KAITLYN (w/Kane) vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER & AJ LEE (w/Big E. Langston)- 4.25/10
I wish this had gone a lot longer. Kaitlyn picks up the win over AJ, mostly erasing AJ’s win over her on Raw. If you were just going to erase the win, what was the point of having the champion get pinned in the first place?

SHIELD PROMO- awesome!

Before this match, Cole said “The Great Khali really has his work cut out for him.” This is a sign that you are using your 7 foot tall 420 lbs giant incorrectly.

THE GREAT KHALI (w/Hornswoggle & Natalya) vs. JACK SWAGGER (w/Zeb Coulter)- 3/10 (but I am temped to forgive this because Hornswoggle got a face full of barricade. After the match, one of the top babyfaces in the country has his friend distract the heel so he can jump him from behind. Some babyface.

SHEAMUS, ORTON, & BIG SHOW PROMO- okay

SHEAMUS, RANDY ORTON, & THE BIG SHOW vs. TEAM RHODES SCHOLARS & ANTONIO CESARO- 5/10
The outcome was never even close to being in doubt and the match was pretty standard. After the match they have a non-conclusive brawl with the Shield.

Overall, a bad episode of Smackdown, with the Ryback-Henry segment being the only saving grace.