WWE Smackdown 26/8/11: Results, Review and Analysis

This week’s WWE Smackdown took place in Canada and fittingly, the special guest general manager for this show was none other than Canada’s own Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. A SummerSlam rematch between Christian and Mark Henry was also announced for this week’s show. Continue reading to know more on what happened in this show and my analysis on the show.

Smackdown Opener:

Christian arguing with Bret Hart

The Smackdown General Manager of the night, Bret Hart came out first and announced a live Smackdown show next week on 30/8/2011(tuesday). He announced Mark Henry Vs. Randy Orton championship match for that show. Christian interrupted Bret and asked for a rematch with Orton. Bret initially refused and called Christian as an embarrassment to the WWE and Canada. But Christian showed the court order to grant him a rematch. Bret gave in and announced a Steel Cage match for the World Heavyweight championship next week. Mark Henry came out and was visually disappointed at the turn of events. But before he could attack anyone in the ring, Sheamus came out the squashed Henry. This was a good but not great segment. Christian getting another rematch next week in a steel cage match will hopefully bring an end to this long feud.

Segment rating: 3/5

Match 1: Christian vs. Daniel Bryan

Singles Match

An ecstatic Christian after beating Daniel Bryan

Christian took on the ‘American Dragon’ Daniel Bryan. Plenty of reversals by Christian and fast paced offence from Bryan. I thought Bryan would walk out victorious after he got Christian in the la-belle lock. But Christian put his foot on the ropes to break the hold. The two men put on a great match which was eventually won by Christian after hitting the kill-switch on Daniel Bryan. Like Michael Cole says, these two men put on a clinic.

Winner: Christian

Match Rating: 4/5

The local wrestler

Match 2: Wade Barrett vs. ?????? (local wrestler)

This match never began. Wade Barrett came out and was surprised to see an unknown guy standing across the ring as his opponent. Even before the match could begin, Barrett insulted that guy and said that he couldn’t be involved in matches with rookies since he’s already wrestled pros like Cena. I like Barrett’s characterisation during this promo. Barrett has always been exceptional in the ring since his NXT days. Only his promo skills lacked fervor. He seems to have improved on it. There’s no stopping Barrett if he masters those skills.

Match 3: Sin Cara vs. Heath Slater

Singles Match

Sin Cara Vs Heath Slater

Sin Cara and Heath Slater locked horns in this singles match which was held under the yellow lighting which has been a tradition in all Sin Cara matches. As usual, Sin Cara was spectacular in the ring with his lightning fast moves and high flying antics. He hit the reverse moonsault to get the pinfall victory over Slater via pinfall. Sin Cara seems to be back to his element after a hiatus.

Winner: Sin Cara

Match Rating: 4/5

Match 4: Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase

Singles Match

Randy Orton hits the RKO on Ted DiBiase

Ted DiBiase came out with Cody Rhodes who has been a sort of mentor to him over the past few months. You shouldn’t expect Ted to defeat the champion Randy Orton. But during this match Ted showed some talent which might still help him to reach the heights that he was destined to reach when his was in legacy along with Rhodes and Orton. Orton was the winner of this match after hitting the RKO. Cody attacked Ted after the match with cross rhodes which put an end to their relationship over the last few months. I certainly feel that Rhodes’ push is being hampered by his pairing with Ted and I welcome the idea of separating them again. But Ted lacks the skills to hog the limelight while on his own. Let’s wait and see what Ted moves on to.

Winner: Randy Orton

Match Rating: 3/5

Match 5: Kelly Kelly vs. Tamina

Divas Singles Match

Kelly hits her finisher on Tamina

For those who don’t know about Tamina, she is the daughter of former WWE wreslter Jimmy ‘ Superfly ‘ Snuka. She rose to popularity in the WWE ranks during her stint with Santino Marella. But she lost fizz after that and became a foot note. This week she’s back in action against the divas champion Kelly Kelly. A below par match between these two divas who were just decent in the ring, not great. Kelly Kelly was the eventual winner which wasn’t surprising either.

Winner: Kelly Kelly

Match Rating: 2/5

Match 6: Ezekiel Jackson vs. The Great Khali

Singles Match

The Great Khali chops Jinder by mistake

The clash of the two behemoths in Smackdown turned out to be a lukewarm affair. Khali went for his vice grip submission which was countered by Jackson. Khali went for the chop near the ropes. But he accidentally chopped Jinder Mahal who was at ringside. Jinder wasn’t impressed by this. This distraction for Khali helped Ezekiel to gain composure and then he caught Khali in the torture rack which forced him to submit. The match was slow paced and lacked intensity. Jinder Mahal and Khali are likely to initiate their feud from hereon and hopefully, it might turn out to be interesting.

Winner: Ezekiel Jackson

Match Rating: 3/5

Henry attacking Sheamus after the match

Match 7: Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Singles match

This match was a SummerSlam rematch which ended in a count-out victory for Mark Henry. Mark Henry was furious because of Sheamus’ attack on him earlier on in the show. Initially both men brawled in the ring. The match wasn’t upto the standards that these two had set in summerslam. Similar to that match, this match also ended in a count-out. But this time it was Mark Henry who was counted out and hence, Sheamus was declared as the winner. But after this, Mark Henry got more furious and attacked Sheamus. The match wasn’t good but the ending made sense. Both men would eventually meet again at Night of Champions or Vengeance and hopefully we’ll get a definite result.

Winner: Sheamus

Match Rating: 3/5

The Bottom Line:

The six matches in the show weren’t really upto the mark. There wasn’t any build up to night of champions either. All that this week’s show managed to do was to hype for next week’s live smackdown on 30/8/11. Christian’s return to Smackdown and his match with Daniel Bryan were the only highlights of the show.

Smackdown Rating: 3/5

Make sure that you catch up with my next week’s Smackdown (30/8) review here on Sportskeeda.com