-- WWE Smackdown Reax 6/8

John D. of Liverpool, England (7.0): Best: Ricardo Rodriguez dressed as Sheamus, Ryback, Sheamus vs. Kane, Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre. Worst: Hornswoggle as Jim Ross and Antonio Cesaro's gimmick. At this rate, Ricardo Rodriguez is going to outshine Alberto Del Rio. Sin Cara and Drew McIntyre was a good match. But, this lighting effect is annoying and McIntyre is very under-rated; poor Drew. Ryback is continuing to grow on the crowd. Can you imagine the eventual pop when it is announced he will fight Big Show, Kane, and Mark Henry, etc.? What a turn-around for the former Skip Sheffield. On the down parts of Smackdown, this Swiss rugby player gimmick for Antonio Cesaro is not catching on. Complete with crap entrance music and the annoying Arksana, this is one gimmick I can do without. The man's wrestling is fine, though, I have no problems with that. Also, Hornswoggle dressed as JR? Why did WWE have him waste ten minutes of my life imitating a man the fans care about and love? If I were in the crowd, I would have booed the hell out of this segment. Finally, Sheamus vs. Kane was a decent big-man match, but it should have been saved for a PPV. With the roster thinning faster than Undertaker's hairline, WWE will have to bring in the likes of Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Leo Kruger in order to provide more star power.

Steve of Pompano Beach, Fla., raconteur & bon vivant: Best: Christian vs. Ziggler, no Laurinaitis. Worst: Ryback and Cesaro matches, Sandow segment. Ah, a fond remembrance of Smackdown pre-Big Johnny. The show benefited quite a bit from his absence by way of solid performances from Del Rio, Kane, and Sheamus in their respective matches. And, that match put on by Christian and Dolph Ziggler? If either man gets his own DVD, this match should be on it. It's matches like these that show why Dolph deserves to be the next break-through star... I was going to channel-surf when I saw Brodus Clay come out all-smiles and such following his beat down by Big Show, but his aggressive beatdown of Derrick Bateman kept me watching... Sin Cara's match was a pleasant surprise, as well, thanks in no small part to Drew McIntyre, who made Sin Cara look good, and made himself look impressive in the process. It's a pity that Drew languishes in the lower mid-card nowadays while guys like Ry-berg, Yawntonio, and Dean Damien "The Genius Model" Sandow get pushed down everyone's throat. Sorry, WWE, but a bad Goldberg rip-off, an '80s jobber-looking mook with thigh bands, and a cartwheeling thesaurus do nothing for this viewer... And, neither did seeing Hornswoggle pestering Michael Cole while simultaneously insulting Jim Ross, for the record. Why Vince has such a passion for getting in digs on this generation's best commentator, I have no idea. I doubt Jim Crockett would've had Dusty Rhodes insult someone with an illness like Bells Palsy, or make people watch Ric Flair thrash Gordon Solie in a "match" before dousing him in condiments. It's hard to dislike Cole after that garbage he went through on Raw, even moreso when it gets referenced throughout the night by Booker T and Josh Mathews, who were acting like two of the hyenas from The Lion King. When it comes to crap like that, not even great matches, A.J.'s cute-like-a-Skitty self or RicRod's impersonations can shake me of the sense of annoyance I get when people who aren't pro wrestling fans get one look at stuff like Monday's redonkulousness and end up thinking of those of us who watch this are a bunch of knuckledraggers. The thought of three hours of that every Monday night makes me cringe.

***

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a Smackdown Reax feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on SD, click here or email pwtorch@gmail.com.

[Torch photo credit Mike Lano (c) PWTorch.com]

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