Monday, December 22, 2014

Smackdown: Friendship is Magic

Really, Roman?
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Smackdown was live this week and it was also the 800th episode. This made me hopeful that the show would be better than in weeks past. It wasn't spectacular, but I still genuinely enjoyed myself more than I have in the past few weeks. Here's hoping that trend can continue.

Most Pointless Lack of Friendship – Roman Reigns
The first match of the night had the hapless Fandango be demolished by Roman Reigns, which was NOT one of the things I genuinely enjoyed. Roman Reigns is supposed to be impressing us all with his might and dominance right now, right? That's all well and good, but there is no one who matters less than Fandango right now so what, exactly, was Reigns proving by beating him up? He celebrated the hell out of his victory, too. Um, way to be proud of destroying the helpless dancing loser, sir. Carry on your path of eliminating the ineffectual, then.  

Most Entertaining Friendship – Luke Harper, Miz, and Damien Mizdow
Okay, “friendship” is probably not the word to use here. “Temporary alliance” would be more accurate. Luke Harper, Miz, and Damien Mizdow teamed up to take on Erick Rowan and the Usos and the results were delightful. Harper side-eyed Miz and Mizdow's antics for the entire match, clearly having no patience for their shenanigans, and his reactions were fun to watch. Even better was when Mizdow began imitating Harper instead of the Miz, causing Miz to get upset. Later, Miz and Harper ganged up on Mizdow, both refusing to tag him in, and all the while you could hear and feel the crowd willing Mizdow to get in on the match. I also enjoyed Miz and Mizdow hiding behind Harper while trash-talking the Usos. The match was good, too, and got a good amount of time. I may be forced to resign myself to the Harper/Rowan break-up, but it helps when I get to watch matches like this one. I know I wasn't the only one enjoying the antics of the bad guys so much that I didn't give a single fuck about Rowan and the Usos. Of course, Mizdow was by far the most legitimate face in the match, and commentary really needs to stop running him down and recognize that we all love him. I desperately do not want Sandow's resurgence to fade away.  

Best Friends – Seth Rollins, Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury/ Worst Friend – Dolph Ziggler
The scheduled Ryback vs. Seth Rollins match didn't happen, as Ryback was suddenly attacked mid-sentence by a flying Russian/Bulgarian. Because of this, Rollins was prepared to just take the night off with his pals, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, whose supportive nodding game was once again strong. However, before Noble and Mercury could fetch the limo for a well-deserved night on the town, Dolph Ziggler, the eternal enemy of friendship, showed up to ruin everything. He attempted to goad Rollins into a match with him for some reason. Yes, you take on the injured man with the taped-up ribs who just had a cage match the night before, Ziggler! That'll prove...something. Noble and Mercury tried to convince Rollins not to do it (because they love him so much!), but the match ended up taking place. It made so little sense, because Rollins was pretty much the hero here. He was injured but agreed to fight just to prove that he could. Ziggler just wandered out to pick a fight with him for no reason and then stole the win when Rollins was distracted by Noble and Mercury being thrown out. I mean, I enjoyed the match, but the circumstances were just weird.  

Most Improved Yet Still Terrible Friend – Jimmy Uso
The Miz managed to procure a title match for Naomi against Nikki Bella, the revelation of which caused Jimmy Uso to react terribly (and predictably) on Main Event. On Smackdown, when Naomi informed her husband that she didn't want him at ringside during her match because it was something she wanted to do on her own, he was admirably understanding. He remained supportive and appeared to have little problem with her request. Perhaps he had learned his lesson? Alas, no. For during the title match (which was passable, but not spectacular) the Miz came out to cheer Naomi on, which caused Uso to also run out in a jealous rage, distracting Naomi and costing her the match. And so the ongoing saga ended this week with Naomi looking betrayed and upset and Uso at least having the grace to look chagrined.  

Most Confusing Friendship – Adam Rose and the Bunny
So...does Adam Rose still hate the Bunny? And is the Bunny still trying to sabotage him? Are we supposed to forget that ever happened or is it still happening, but in super slow motion, or...what? Both Rose and the Bunny fell afoul of Kane again this week and I'm just bewildered by the whole thing.