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November 6, 2010

WWE Smackdown: Nexus invades, but home team has the Edge

You just knew something was up when the advertised main event for Friday night’s Smackdown of Edge versus Alberto Del Rio went on first instead of last.

After about 13 minutes of action in what was a very good match between the two, The Nexus – led by David Otunga and minus Wade Barrett and John Cena – suddenly stormed the ring and took out both Edge and Del Rio.

That led to Smackdown stars The Big Show, Kane and Rey Mysterio making the save, and a 10-man tag match pitting The Nexus against the Smackdown contingent was booked for later in the show.

I liked the Nexus angle, as it brought an air of unpredictability to the show and also advanced story lines on both Raw and Smackdown.

It was made clear later that Barrett was not aware of Nexus’ Smackdown invasion plan, as it was noted that he had left early for the WWE’s tour of the U.K. Otunga said that the group wanted to prove that The Nexus was about more than just Barrett and Cena.

I’m guessing Barrett isn’t going to be too happy about all of this, especially since The Nexus ended up losing the 10-man tag match. As for Cena, it made sense that he wasn’t with the group because he only has to take orders from Barrett, not Otunga or anyone else.

Meanwhile, Edge continued to be booked strong as he heads into his match with world heavyweight champion Kane at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Nov. 21. In the 10-man tag match, Edge first speared Kane, and then speared Otunga for the win.

Del Rio’s self-centered heel persona was played up during the match, as he abandoned his team after being inadvertently bumped off the ring apron by The Big Show.

Other thoughts on Friday’s show:

The one thing I didn’t like about the Nexus-Team Smackdown angle was the fact that Kane was a part of it. It seemed out of character that he would care enough about defending Smackdown to fight alongside the brand’s top babyfaces. It was explained in commentary that, as the world champion, Smackdown is Kane’s show and he was defending his turf, but it still seemed like a bit of a stretch. It did allow for the confrontation at the end of the match between Kane and Edge, but the same thing could have been accomplished with Kane doing a run-in. The other weird thing about Kane fighting against The Nexus is that it was The Nexus who helped him win the Buried Alive match against The Undertaker at last month’s Bragging Rights pay-per-view. At least the announcers acknowledged that point in commentary rather than ignoring it. I guess it will all be explained at some point. ...

Before The Nexus interrupted the Edge-Del Rio match, I was thinking that Del Rio was going to pull the upset, thus setting him up as No. 1 contender if Edge won the title from Kane. ...

The reason Mysterio was attacked by The Nexus backstage and replaced by Kofi Kingston in the 10-man tag match is because Mysterio reportedly has an inner ear infection. ...

The Vickie Guerrero-Kaitlyn match – which Guerrero won when she pinned Kaitlyn with her feet on the ropes – was awful, but I actually thought it was so bad that it was entertaining. Considering the fact that Guerrero isn’t a wrestler and Kaitlyn is extremely green, I didn’t expect much going in. That was a heck of a slap that Guerrero gave Kaitlyn, though. ...

As bad as the Guerrero-Kaitlyn match was, I didn’t like Michael Cole and the other announcers ripping it the way they did. It’s one thing to do that type of sarcastic commentary on a show that no one watches such as NXT, but it’s just not smart to denigrate your own product on Smackdown. In similar situations, Jim Ross would simply say that the match was “bowling shoe ugly,” which acknowledged that the match wasn’t good without totally burying the product. ...

The triple threat match that saw MVP defeat Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes to earn an Intercontinental title shot against Dolph Ziggler on next week’s show was entertaining. MVP had new entrance music (which was pretty good), so perhaps he’ll be getting a renewed push. Of course I have thought that a number of times before, and the glass ceiling always ends up crashing down on MVP’s head. ...

After losing three consecutive matches to Daniel Bryan, Ziggler needed a convincing win, and he got it over JTG. ...

I like Tyler Rek’s Burning Hammer finisher. Rek’s current heel persona works better for him than the babyface persona he had when he first made it to TV. ...

Is it just me, or has Husky Harris gotten even huskier as of late? I’m begging him to get some new ring gear.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:00 PM | | Comments (24)
        

Comments

Tyler Reks looks like Giants closer Brian Wilson's cousin.

The maybe "next breakout diva" is losing against Vickie. It 's like Wade Barrett losing to Teddy Long. I'll never understand WWE's logic.

I thought show was good SmackDown did a great job hyping Survivor Series with the Nexus angle and hey Kev do see Vickie or McIntyre turning baby face .

I hope Wade is mad enough to go up against Otunga and lose. Otunga stepping up and doing what he did was hugh for the show. Other wise it would have been a very boring night. I think it is about time for the WWE to take the handcuffs off David Otunga. We all know he can wrestler much better than what the show is letting him do. Haters are always going to hate on Otunga, because of no good reason at all.

I totally agree on the Kaitlyn v. Vickie "match" - it was definitely Ed Wood kinda awful. Just sit back and let the awful wash over you and enjoy it. The rest of the show was actually pretty good. Edge v. Del Rio was very entertaining and showed Del Rio can keep up with the top guys. I happen to like the Nexus angle overall and while I'm not the biggest Otunga fan, I thought he performed extremely well. This was the best he looked to me.

I agree w/ Kane's involvement as well. It would have made a lot more sense if Kane did the run-in at the end of the night and took out Edge (thus indirectly helping Nexus...and returning the favor from Bragging Rights, which would have avoided the logic gap present with his involvement against them). Edge seems like he's picked up his game a bit and its good to see him have something to do. I hate the Del Rio car (total knockoff of Eddie Guerrero and JBL) but I love the personal ring announcer (and his interaction w/ Edge).

I also really liked the MVP-Ex-Dashing Ones triple threat match. It sets up Rhodes and McIntyre in a mid-card feud (although I'm not sure they know who the babyface and who the heel are yet between them). I don't like Tyler Reks..yet. He looks disgusting (like an unwashed homeless guy...or Duke the Dumpster Droese). I have no idea if he's face or heel and unless he is gonna go on a "goldberg" style run, they need to find a storyline and opponent for him quickly (Big Show perhaps?).

And lastly, I hate Michael Cole. I know I'm not the only one, but it has to be said as often as possible. He has gone from being an insufferable announcer to being an insufferable character and announcer. I have no earthly idea why Vince would "love" his new persona and the absolute BURYING of talent in his wake. He single-handedly made The Hart Dynasty a joke (he STILL brings up their ill-fated color announcing effort from weeks ago...which he buried then, to their faces. For no reason.) He did his best to bury Daniel Bryan. He has buried half the divas and NXT group. I wouldn't mind it, if it was geared towards a master plan or a full-out heel turn. But it hasn't and doesn't seem geared towards anything. No payoff. Its not a slow-burn heel turn. Its not a full-on overnight heel turn. So far, its nothing. And it makes no sense...and its distracting and annoying. Call me "old-school" but I like my straight guy play-by-play announcers exactly that. Straight man to the color guy. There is a reason the straight lead guy doesn't have the colorful character or persona. It just doesn't work. JR is the best and closest thing to that even remotely working. They need to stop it...before the Cole announcing avalanche buries anymore talent in its wake.

That wasn't the debut of MVP theme Kev, it debuted 2 weeks ago on WWE Superstars and the Vickie/ Kaitlyn Match was so awful it made me want to listen to Hornswoggle on commentary which is more annoying

RESPONSE FROM KE: Thanks for the info on MVP. That's what I get for missing Superstars.

Kev, I'm curious what glass ceiling you think MVP is hitting.

RESPONSE FROM KE: The one that doesn't allow certain guys to get past mid-card status.

Kev, do you think that Otunga's ongoing clashes with Wade Barrett is going to result in a face turn for a Otunga or maybe Otunga will take over the NXT reins and Wade goes solo? Maybe the WWE sees Rock-like potential in Otunga?

Second week in a row that I marked out for Edge. Maybe it's because I'm tired of the Nexus, (I guess that I am against them). Or maybe it's that I'm tired of Kane as champion.

I think that this is the beginning of the end for Otunga in Nexus.

Vicki Guerrero's slap was Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley esque.

I figured that MVP would win the triple threat, so that it would set up a match between the Dashing one and the Chosen one. But it was also good to see MVP get a win.

I see that JTG is still apart of Smackdown...WOW

Can't help but feel that MVP is getting the title shot just because they need someone to lose to Ziggler at a PPV.

I can't stand Otunga because his poor mic work makes me cringe everytime he picks up the stick. Maybe Jennifer needs to hook him up with some acting lessons? I also dislike his boring finisher and find his back muscles weird looking, though, to be fair, I'd be stoked to be as ripped as him.

Wade Barret is a star, and Gabriel and Sheffield have some promise but Heath Slater has to go. That bloke annoys me in a way few wrestlers ever have, and I'm a lifelong fan. If he has any redeeming qualities, I've not seen them.

I think Mr Perfect's boy and Harris could be OK but I hope we've seen the end of Tarver, and his hanky.

One other thought. Does anyone else think wrestlers who wear speedo-style trunks and no kneepads look weird? I think the look does no favours for Alberto Del Rio or Cody Rhodes, who has skinny chicken legs at the best of times.

Husky Harris is auditioning for the new character of "Dusty Rhodes 2010", hence his enlarging...physique.

Here we go, Otunga heads Nexus for the night. Does anyone see a Nexus offshoot ala NWO in WCW?

I wonder if there is going to be a "triple threat" survivor series match between The Nexus, a Raw team and a SmackDown team.. That would be interesting.

MVP back in the spotlight is a good move. I was just starting to wonder what had happened to him, and now he gets a title match :)

While the Vickie-Kaitlyn match was entertaining for what it was, I wish WWE would treat the diva portion of their programming seriously rather than as a form of comic relief..

I'm looking forward to the possibility of the first-ever tri-branded traditional Survivor Series match (Raw vs. Smackdown vs. Nexus) at the upcoming PPV. All we were missing was a reason to make a tri-branded match, and Nexus's invasion of Smackdown gives us exactly that.

MVP isn't hitting the glass ceiling. He's hitting the mirror that says you have a tired gimmick, no mic skills and a dull ring presence.

MVP is not good enough to be anything more than a mid-card superstar. Can you seriously see him in main events Kevin?

I think with Christian and CM Punk out of action, there is room for someone to elevate themselves to higher than mid-card, but it ain't MVP.

It could well be Wade Barrett. I'd love to see him team up with William Regal to form a snooty British faction. Regal is still one of the best in-ring performers in the business.

RESPONSE FROM KE: There was a time when I definitely could see MVP in main events, but that was before so much damage had been done to his character. If Sheamus can be a main-eventer then MVP certainly could. It all depends on who WWE wants to get behind and give the push to.

I totally agree with Jeremy W. I really do not like Michael Cole. I dont like how he buries the talent but acts as the heel color commentator. I do not like how he acts like Miz's number one fan. I admit, the miz is good, YET he does not act professionally when it comes to calling a match. I really hate the computer as a GM. Its Michael Cole and its really annoying.
Is the Undertaker coming back and will it be at survivor series?

Leave it to SmackDown and the WWE to completely ruin the best thing they had going that night; the match between Edge and Del Rio.

Instead of allowing that to come to a conclusion which would have either pushed Edge even more if he won and made Alberto gain more credibility by pushing Edge to the limit, or allowing Del Rio to win and further push him as a serious competitor...they instead crash it with the B unit of Nexus. Way to go.

To follow this up, they have a team of SmackDown Superstars that makes no sense whatsoever to team up together (Edge and Del Rio after fighting each other? Kane and Big Show, or Mysterio (at the time) when all of them had run ins in the past) and then Nexus takes out Mysterio, and without even any fluidity at all, here all of a sudden is Kofi Kingston who is later announced as the replacement for Mysterio matter of factly about 5-10 minutes after the match already started? And why wouldn't Nexus try to find other members of the team they were fighting and take them out one at a time instead of attacking random jobbers? Where is the logic?

MVP having a new intro theme was a give away that he was going to win that match. At one time I liked MVP as well because he was fresh. Now he plays that "too cool enforcer" who bashes other guys for doing the same exact thing he did when he first came to the WWE. Huh? Not to mention he has one of the lamest set up moves next to Cena's "you can't see me" 5 knuckle shuffle. He just doesn't have "it."

Tyler Reks is going to have to do more than squash a few jobbers to make it. He has no charisma and other than a few seconds of challenging Kaval on the mic, he has no presence.

You call beating JTG a "big win" for Dolph Ziggler? Be nice for Dolph as the champion to beat somebody of merit.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Remember, JTG once pinned Chris Jericho. Actually, what I meant was that Ziggler needed a convincing win, and it was pretty much a squash.

Where was Del Rio's glorious curtain-of-gold pyro?

Vickie/Kaityln is far preferable to anything involving Laycool. God I'm sick of Michelle. Layla by herself can be on my TV anytime, though... I love her facial expressions (among other things).

& Jeremy W, you get a HELL YEAH from me re: Cole. In one extreme example, him talking about how the Goldust wedding was "fake" really shocked and disgusted me. He should be fired for that alone. Yes, it's 2010 and most of us are smartened up about rassling, but could I PLEASE be permitted to enjoy the show without some ***hole at the announce table TELLING ME IT'S "FAKE?" Really horrible... inexcusable.

RESPONSE FROM KE:Actually it was Josh Matthews who said "You know this isn't a real wedding, right?"


hey Kev - Did WWE not state last year that they were no longer going to call this pay per view "The Survivor Series" - I thought they were going to rename or rebrand it ?

RESPONSE FROM KE: They did indeed say that, but Vince changed his mind later.

You're right Eck, you did state convincing win and not a big one like I thought I had read. I guess it is very convincing that Ziggler should beat JTG.

As far as JTG pinning Jericho, wasn't there a period of like 2 months where anybody and everybody was doing that?

i was excited to see the vikki vs kaitlyn match but the match was a joke.it was the worst match of the night.kaitlyn is a rookie and vikki can't even wrestle and she won the match????it is a good story line thought....not the match but them fighting over dolph ziggler.

teddy long's desison was gud and appresiate him against nexus...................

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About Kevin Eck
The Baltimore Sun's Kevin Eck blogs about professional wrestling.
E-mail Kevin.
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