Smackdown Spoilers for 2/21/14

[Tromatagon]

It got moved a few weeks ago I think.  Give or take.

[Go2Sleep]

How long ago did they move it? Anyone think they were worried about the reaction Bryan would get at 'home' or that the title match would be booed out of the building 2 months in a row? Or both!?!

 

I doubt that was it if they moved it to jersey (site of last year's post-Mania Raw). It's a smarky northeast crowd that'll give them the same problems. Of course, I don't think there are many places they can go anymore that won't go nuts for Bryan and/or shit on Batista.

[The Natural]

Just finished watching Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro, think I actually enjoyed it more than their match on the same show from the 7th of Feburary this year. It's nearly all Cesaro on offense with Bryan last ditch attempt at the win with the knee that's put down everyone. Cesaro's beat and Kane knows it so he causes the DQ.

[MGFanJay]

Enjoyable show, but easily the least-important feeling SD in a month or so. D-Young was BRUTAL on commentary. I've never wanted a heel to kick a face's ass so much. Can't go wrong with checking out the main event and the first half hour of Total Nonstop Bryan.

 

http://jayreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2014/02/sd-2-21-14.html

 

Screens -

 

http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/pinkicbdij8die3xiexw5xuegeoo2rur

[Peck]

Dolph had a nice sorta-shooty interview on the app where he basically says if he's not going to get pushed he wants Cesaro to get pushed.

 

http://www.wwe.com/videos/dolph-ziggler-speaks-on-the-wwe-app-wwe-app-exclusive-feb-21-2014-26183133

[piranesi]

Jesus, that's the saddest thing I've ever read.

 

Dolph is now that guy that another guy can be easily winning a match with while at the same time barking and making faces at the guy he's actually feuding with.

[Curt McGirt]

Another great start and finish. Bryan matches push multiple angles, with more crazy limbwork from Cesaro (how long has it been since anyone took a shoulderbreaker?), then Christian and Sheamus had a great match before the fizzle at the end with the White Noise being somehow a sudden death move. Great Wyatts match again of course. Sad that Goldy and his brother got dropped to the pseudo-dark match on the PPV.

[Tromatagon]

Hey so whoever decided it was a good idea to let Darren Young do guest commentary should get a strongly worded letter in their personnel file. That was horrible, especially in contrast to Titus knocking it out of the park with his interview segments

[MGFanJay]

He wished him all the best. HE WISHED THE GUY, WHO TURNED HIS BACK ON HIM, ALL. THE. BEST. "I'm a Family Man" Ricky Steamboat would tell D-Young to grow a pair.

[StretchMediatedHypertrophy]

Dolph had a nice sorta-shooty interview on the app where he basically says if he's not going to get pushed he wants Cesaro to get pushed.

 

http://www.wwe.com/videos/dolph-ziggler-speaks-on-the-wwe-app-wwe-app-exclusive-feb-21-2014-26183133

 

The howl of pain when Dolph found out he was working Titus was definitely a semi-shoot. Titus is fun and all, but he's pretty clunky in ring. 

[offspring515]

Yeah JBL was just eating D Young alive.  When Darren appeared on Ellen's talk show he came off a bit dim.  I thought perhaps it was nerves since it was a major media appearance talking about coming out.  Now that I've seen him in other interviews and that travesty last night I'm thinking he's just not very bright.

[Curt McGirt]

It sucks, he seems like a good dude, definitely in my cool book for coming out, not bad in the ring. But if they don't pair him up with somebody else after this breakup plays off I see a permanent slot on Superstars in his future. 

[Curt McGirt]

Oh yeah. The Swagger/Big E backstage pull-apart was yet another step in a more old-school, violent direction from WWE. That stood up there with Titus getting jumped the other day. We really haven't seen much of that in the last couple years and it's refreshing. Of course, they decided to show it right in the middle of Bryan/Cesaro... *sigh*

[Greggulator]

I really liked Bryan/Swagger a lot. Jack targeting the shoulder using his strength and amateur acumen was great. And Bryan was awesome at selling his arm and stealing a decisive win with the knee. I also loved his look of "Awww, man" while Cesaro had the gloating smirk in the ring. I also loved Cesaro getting into.  the ring while Vicki was still making her announcement -- he knew what was coming.

Cesaro reminds me a ton of Regal in this match with all his arm work. It's obviously different work but the dickishness of Cesaro is pure Master Regal. I love the "momentum swing" of when Zeb and Swagger got kicked out -- just like when a coach/player gets a T in basketball. The cutaway to Big E and Swagger going at it was terrific. I know most people think the APP pushing is overbearing. But using in that fashion is such an awesome way to incorporate storytelling and their marketing. Big E and Swagger's issue gets advanced AND they add some flavor to an undercard match that hasn't had much of a build. I'm not one of mocking the App pushing. They're a business. What do you expect?

Back to the match -- Cesaro did so many great things in this. I loved his little shove of Bryan so Daniel landed on his shoulder on the floor. Cesaro does SO many little things and does them so much better than anyone else. That's why he reminds me of Regal so much. Great, great, great stuff. Bryan and Cesaro have a PPV match in them that's going to be outstanding.

 

"There isn't much left to say, is there?" Man, Wyatts vs. Shield has been historically good. The presentation of the final interview was brilliant. It's just so unique and unlike anything else, with Bray preaching in his chair, Rowan holding the lantern and Harper looming in the background. If I'm the WWE, I'd actually be worried about Bray leaving... to Hollywood. The guy has it and has it in spades. The commercial break transition with him doing his back-bend was great. Harper's sell after that sunset flip powerbomb deal from Goldie (!) was friggin' great.

That match was just amazing. It's going to fall under-the-radar since it's part of the build. But between this and their match with Los Matadores on Main Event, The Wyatts have had two of my favorite matches of the year. Erik Rowan needs a ton more credit than he gets. The guy is fantastic. I also love how Bray is so opportunistic -- he comes in for limited doses, but when he does, he's going to just punish the hell out of everyone in the path.

I can't even imagine what Wyatts vs. Shield is going to look like.

[Greggulator]

And screw anyone hating on the Dance Off. That RULED. "My boopsy." Summer Rae's bump was really crazy, too.

I will be a happy man if they run the same exact match they did in NXT at WrestleMania. That was one of the best matches last year.

 

And D-Young was fine on commentary. He wasn't great but there have been so many guys worse than him over the years. He's a nice guy -- he wants to beat Titus to get revenge on him, but why does he want Titus to suffer afterwards? You do what you have to do and then move on with life. Makes sense to me.

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

After Young came out Titus took to Twitter and said something to the effect of it not mattering to him because he sees himself and Darren like brothers. Titus kids apparently calls Darren "Uncle Darren". So I can see why DY would not only want to win but make him suffer. They were more than tag team partner...they were brothers. DY is acting like someone who was and is still hurt by Titus' actions.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Not being a good talker and having a bad interview on a talk show isn't an IQ test.

[Go2Sleep]

Another great installment of SD this week. Not really anything in the way of important angles, but a lot of solid in-ring action.

 

Bryan/Swagger was a really good attitude-style match. It wasn't very long, but they packed a lot of stuff in during the short time frame. Bryan taking that Spanky bump into the post, the hammerlock belly to belly's, and the running knee out of nowhere made it feel pretty special. Bryan/Cesaro was a better technical match and Cesaro's arm work was tight, but I liked the different feel of the Swagger match.

 

The Big E/Swagger brawl was fine by me. I wouldn't want them to overuse the double trouble smackdown bubble, but it added a nice realistic touch to see two big things happening simultaneously.

 

The Wyatt 6-man was probably their best one to date. Goldust looked really good, and all members of the Wyatt family got to show a lot. Bray is really owning his gimmick.

 

Titus/Dolph was a total throwaway match but it wasn't even half bad. Titus looked like he was moving a bit smoother and Dolph was bumping like crazy. I don't see the fuss about Darren on commentary. It wasn't memorable in any way, but it wasn't push-stopping awful like it was made out to be. Cole did a good job leading him when JBL was trying to throw him off.

 

Christian/Sheamus is a total sleeper MOTYC level match. Not sure why they turned Christian full heel so quickly, but he's totally embracing the desperate side of his character and the crowds are naturally booing him, so I guess it works. Both guys really showed some excellent characterization in this match. Sheamus was a wrecking ball, always moving forward to attack. Christian was hanging on for dear life most of the match and showed a lot of urgency and aggression when he got the advantage. You could nitpick and say why was Sheamus doing a double Irish Curse with the bad arm, but for me, the story of a full-steam-ahead power brawler in his prime versus an overmatched but wily and desperate vet outweighed the bad even though that spot did kind of stick out. I also liked that the match ended on a signature spot instead of a finisher. People want more of that, right? Christian pushing Sheamus off the ropes after the match almost looked like it wasn't supposed to make air, but like the ending of Raw, had that really WCW-vibe where they'd leave on a chaotic cliff hanger. I liked it a lot personally.