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The Royal Rumble aftermath episode of WWE Smackdown took place this week featuring plenty of action and several memorable moments. We had a Orton-Barrett match this week too. Besides, The Great Khali made his Smackdown return and Hacksaw Jim Duggan too chipped in with an one-off match. Here are the top 10 talking points of WWE Smackdown 3/2/2012.
1. Smackdown Elimination Chamber match set:
Much like this week’s Raw, Smackdown too kicked off with its General Manager Teddy Long revealing the six participants of the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. This match will most likely be the show-stealer since Bryan’s title reign is poised to end at this match.
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2. Mark Henry Suspended:
Mark Henry got suspended indefinitely for putting his hands on Teddy Long. This was an innovative way to keep Mark out of action allowing him to recuperate and return as and when he thinks its best for him without ruining the momentum that he has got until now with his monster heel character.
3. Sheamus‘ Rumble ramifications:
For the second consecutive year, a Smackdown superstar has won the Royal Rumble. While it was Alberto Del Rio in 2011, Sheamus turned out to the winner in 2012. This Friday night featured the 2012 Royal Rumble winner Sheamus, revealing us the details about his decision on his preferred title match at Wrestlemania. Sheamus took a familiar way out by categorically stating that he would make his decision after Elimination Chamber. My guess is that he would go for the World Heavyweight Championship. But the question is, what does he do until Elimination Chamber? He is not in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match and hence needs a short feud with someone, so that he remains hot with the crowd till Elimination chamber.
Sheamus hitting his new finishing move on Cody Rhodes
4. Cody Rhodes brags about his Royal Rumble accomplishments:
Cody had already revealed his intentions of doing a Ultimate Warrior by holding two championships at the same time. He emphasized on it this week as he talked about his intentions of winning the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match. Rhodes did a good job of getting himself heard. He made a valid point of cleaning up the ring which lead to Sheamus’ victory. He and Sheamus put on a good match with a lot of back and forth action. However, much like The Miz on Raw, yet another Royal Rumble beneficiary in Cody Rhodes, got buried in the same weeks. Sheamus used a new finishing move which was similar to the swinging side-slam, to get the victory.
5. The Great Khali is back:
The Great Khali made his Smackdown comeback by making the save for South African Justin Gabriel who was the victim of a three pronged attack by Cody, Hunico and Camacho. Khali, who came back as a surprise entrant at the Royal Rumble after a brief hiatus, was immediately put in the limelight. He was also announced as the replacement for Mark Henry in the Smackdown Elimination chamber match. He could be in line for a major push in the near future.
6. Divas of doom goes kaboom:
The rift between Natalya and Beth Phoenix widened after Beth tagged herself in to get the pinfall over Aksana in tag-match. While Natalya was trying to lock Aksana in the sharpshooter, Tamina chipped in by making the save. I didn’t care a lot about this match. I watched it just to check out if Kharma comes out or not. She did not do so. Hope she comes back soon and takes out all the trash in the WWE divas division.
7. Big Show‘s WMD gets thwarted by AJ:
In a segment that started with Michael Cole praising Daniel Bryan on his victory in the Triple threat Steel Cage match at Royal Rumble, Big Show made his presence felt and ultimately the segment ended with Daniel Bryan taking a cowardly escape route by using AJ as his shield.
AJ prevents Big Show from punching Bryan
8. Team Santin”ooooooo”:
Once again, Santino Marella provided the fun quotient throughout the show on different occasions. He with Hacksaw Jim Duggan formed team Santin’oooo’ and took on the Tag Champs Epico and Primo. Jim Duggan, at his ripe age, seems to be pretty agile and athletic. But unfortunately, this match ended on a losing note for them as the tag-team champions knocked them over, pretty soon.
9. No-disqualification match between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett:
In a no-disqualification match that exceeded expectations, Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett, fair and square. Everything about this match was perfect. It was aggressive, fast paced and kept the crowd on its feet throughout which is the biggest testimony to any good match. While this may or may not be the end of this long-running feud, victory in this match has enabled Randy Orton to get his aura of invincibility back which had been lacking for the last few weeks.
10. Daniel Bryan’s got no Ophidiophobia:
Immediately after the end of the main event, we heard Teddy Long make the announcement of a blockbuster match next week featuring Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton. On hearing this Bryan went to the ring and showed us that he’s got no fear about the Viper and he is ready for the match next week. A good finish to the show to keep the viewers interested until next week.
