WWE Smackdown Review - May 9th, 2014

WWE Smackdown Review - May 9th, 2014

1) Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose - United States Championship
Ambrose and Sheamus start the match off on the mat with a brief technical exchange. I was hoping the whole match would be like that because Ambrose is very talented in that area, but I was interested to see how Sheamus would fare. None the less, the match turned into a physical brawl as the battle spilled to the outside where Ambrose suplexed Sheamus on the floor, but Sheamus returned the favor by running and slamming Ambrose to the floor. This was a really good match that met my expectations. I was expecting it to be very good and it was just that. Sheamus retained without making Ambrose look weak as the match was very competitive. The prestige of the US Title begins to build.

Match rating - 7.5/10

2) Wade Barrett & Cesaro vs. Big E & Rob Van Dam
On paper this looks like it would be a really good match, but they weren't given enough time to create what could have been a phenomenal bout. Van Dam and Big E's entrance didn't even get shown on TV. It's like WWE just crammed this segment in. Didn't like how it came across as just a jobber segment as there are four top mid carders here who deserved much more time than they got here. Hopefully we'll see a rematch on Raw sometime in the future.

3) Alexander Rusev vs. Kofi Kingston
The misuse of Kofi continues as he once again is placed in a position where he has to be a punching bag for a debuting big guy. I've never liked the idea of debuting a monster athlete by having him compete in repeated matches against guys considerably smaller than him. WWE did it with Ryback then shoved him into the main event scene and he failed. Hopefully WWE doesn't do the same Rusev and hopefully they start giving him some credible opponents. They've done nothing to make me care about Rusev which is why I barely even paid any attenton to this match. Just another squash.

4) Fandango & Layla vs. Santino & Emma
Ugh.. more filler? That was my thought when this match came onto TV. More importantly, we've been seeing this Fandango/Santino match for months. Literally. WWE has ruined Emma since debuting her on the main roster. The Divas Division is more talented than it's been in years, but it seems that WWE just doesn't want to put ANY effort into it. All it would take is a little bit of effort to create a strong and entertaining division. Layla is talented and Emma is outstanding. Waste of talent here. Let's hope this is the last time we see this match as we've already seen it probably ten times, if not more.

5) Los Matadores & El Torito vs. Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, & Hornswoggle
The filler continues. I've found parts of this feud funny, but some of it has annoyed me. Tonight was one of the nights that it got on my nerves. Probably because there were two throwaway/filler matches before it. McIntyre deserves much better. Hell, even Slater is entertaining. This feud of sorts has gone stale. Time to move on. It was entertaining while it was going on, don't wear it out.

6) Batista vs. Seth Rollins
After nearly an hour of filler, the action gets good again. Batista controlled the majority of the match with rest holds and power moves. Rollins got control for a bit and put on a show with a bunch of high flying offense. The end came when Rollins kicked Batista in the head sending him to the floor. Instead of waiting to see if Batista would recover, Rollins took to the air and paid for it as Batista moved and bounced him off the announce table. Batista sneaks back into the ring as the ref counts Rollins out. Batista wins via countout. Good way to end it. Looks like we may get more from Rollins and Batista in the future since this one didn't have a definitive finish.

7) The Wyatt Family vs. John Cena & The Usos
Six man tag matches have become a staple in WWE over the past two years. They are always exciting and this was no exception. While it wasn't as good as previous six man tag bouts held in the past, it was still a great main event. Lots of exciting action from The Usos and the ending sequence was wonderful.

Match rating - 7.75/10
Overall thoughts: Going into tonight's show, I was very excited. There were lots of good matches on the card, but it didn't turn out to be as good as I hoped. The opening bout between Ambrose and Sheamus was great. The tag match featuring Barrett, Cesaro, RVD, & Big E didn't get enough time. The next 30-45 minutes was nothing but filler matches and segments. They could have atleast given the top four midcarders more time. The show picked back up as Rollins and Batista put on an entertaining match and the six man tag main event was alot of fun. If the middle portion of the show didn't contain so much filler, this could have been a great show. If you missed tonight's show, check out Ambrose vs. Sheamus and the Wyatts vs. Cena & The Usos. They were the only things that really stood out here.