1-6-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the January 6, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Booker T vs. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes for the Title. Cody gets the pin. This was a real good back and forth match.

Cody is talking to Dustin backstage and tells him that he accomplished more than the former Goldust ever did. Then he says that he is going to be a bigger success than Dusty. This was good segment.

Zack Ryder is in Teddy Long’s office talking about being the Assistant GM and Long reminds him that he is the assistant to the GM. Ryder says that since he is U.S. Champion he is too busy and recommends a replacement for Long’s assistant. Drew McIntyre comes in and Teddy questions the recommendation but Drew isn’t who Ryder had in mind and Santino Marella comes in. Santino tells Teddy that he was going to can for losing last week and they set up Santino vs. McIntyre. If Santino wins he will be Long’s assistant and Drew will be canned. If Drew wins, Long will consider not canning him. Aksana then comes as everyone exits. This was idiotic. Santino is not that funny and the Aksana bit is beyond stale.

They show clips from the 2008 Royal Rumble that John Cena won.

AJ is backstage with Alicia Fox and Daniel Bryan comes in. They talk about his World Title match with Big Show and Bryan was confident that he would retain the Title. The he asks AJ why she’s friends with Alicia. Daniel Bryan was good here at being cocky. They could be planting the seeds for a Daniel Bryan heel turn.

Hornswoggle vs. Heath Slater in an Over the Top Rope challenge. Hornswoggle wins. Slater attacks him afterwards and Justin Gabriel comes in to make the save.  This was a joke.

Ted DiBiase, Jr. vs. Hunico. Hunico gets the pin. This was a solid match.

Wade Barrett comes out to give an update on Randy Orton’s condition. He says that Orton has a herniated disk and his back and that he will have to miss the Royal Rumble, which will be in his home town, St. Louis. Then Barrett says that he will win the Rumble and then Sheamus comes out. They go back and forth on the mic and then Jinder Mahal comes out. Barrett walks out and Sheamus & Jinder are face to face. Jinder slaps him and then a brawl starts and Barrett comes back out and he & Jinder double team Sheamus. Sheamus has a short amount of offense but Barrett gets the upper hand and he walks out again. Then Jinder locks Sheamus in the Camel Clutch. This segment was ok. I thought Barrett cut a good promo but I don’t know why they have Sheamus telling these idiotic tales about his “relatives”.

They show a tale of the tape with Daniel Bryan & Big Show.

Santino Marella vs. Drew McIntyre. Santino gets the pin. This was meaningless. Why is Drew still a jobber?

Drew goes into Teddy Long’s office and asks for another chance. Teddy says that tonight was strike 2 and next week could be the third strike. Then Santino comes in and does his trombone bit. This was dumb.

WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. Primo & Epico. Primo & Epico win when Primo pins Bourne.

Big Show was being interviewed and says that Daniel Bryan is a good wrestler and then Bryan comes in and says that he is a very good wrestler. Then he says that if he was Big Shows size and the ring skill that he has he wouldn’t have without a World Title for 9 years. Then Show puts his hand on Bryan’s shoulder and tells not to make him hurt him. Bryan then tells Show to get his hand off his shoulder. Show says Bryan’s talking like a tough guy and the tension starts to show a bit more here. This was great stuff. Daniel Bryan cut another great heal promo. Big Show’s promo was good also.

They show a video and announce that Sheamus will face Jinder Mahal next week.

Tamina vs. Natalya. Tamina gets the pin. I’m not sure why Natalya is a jobber, but hopefully they will push Tamina. They should push both as well as Beth Phoenix. They should have Tamina be part of “Pin Up Strong” if they still have that going. Or maybe they’ll turn Natalya baby face.

They show the clips of the first Royal Rumble in 1988 that Hacksaw won. This was the same clip they showed on Raw.

Mark Henry comes out to do commentary for the World Title match.

Big Show vs. World Champion Daniel Bryan for the Title. Bryan wins by DQ to retain the Title when he rags on Henry & Henry pushes him. Then Bryan walks up the ramp kissing the Title to end the show. This was a good match too and the interaction with Bryan & Henry was good stuff also.

I thought that this was a good episode overall. The Booker T-Cody Rhodes & Big Show-Daniel Bryan matches were fun to watch. They’re doing a good job so far with the slow Daniel Bryan heel turn. There was other stuff on the show too. The Bourne & Kingston-Primo & Epico match was solid. I wasn’t really into the Sheamus-Barrett-Mahal stuff or the Hornswoggle-Heath Slater match. The stuff with Teddy Long, Santino & Drew McIntyre wasn’t that good either. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with Natalya. I would like to see her turn baby face and feud with Tamina and then go on to challenge Beth for the Divas Title. Daniel Bryan was really good on this show. He did a great of playing the cocky heal. On the whole I thought this was a good show.