Review for WWE Smackdown Live House Show 4/11/2012

Now I won't go into the problems I had getting to the venue... which where plentiful... but I will say that this show was great, but also made it glaringly obvious about how much Smackdown suffers from lack of the megastars that Raw has.

Ask anyone to name two WWE superstars and they will say: Cena and Punk. Neither were here and so we had to rely on the talent of Smackdown and at times it was lacking.

However, as with most house shows, because they are not hampered by commercial breaks or time, the matches that were presented were (for the most part) given the time they deserved.

Sin Cara vs El Local
I believe El Local was Ricardo Rodriguez in a mask. This was an ok match, nothing special, but certainly not awful. A spotfest to open the show and certainly fun.

The Usos vs. Prime Time Players
A great tag match and that is something I don't get to say very often. Almost proof that if you give a match time it can mean something and be great.

Kaityln vs Natalya
Fine in general. Typical Divas match.WWE are still pushing for Kaitlyn, but until she improves in the ring she will not reach the heights of any of the others. Certainly not a bad match. it seemed that most of the people in the crowd took this match as their cue to go to the bathroom or get a drink refill.

Randy Orton vs Alberto Del Rio
I'm ashamed to admit that this was my bathroom break. I don't care for either and missing this match (or the majority) was fine. The plus side was the queues were shorter. I do have to say the ending was great and I do love the RKO, but I hate both of them and have no desire to watch them.

Wade Barrett and William Regal vs Johnny Curtis and Ted Dibiase

Your typical for the Brits match. I felt a Barrett vs Regal match would have been better as at least it would keep us guessing as to who would win. We all knew the home country boys were winning. It was an ok match, lots of stalling, but not awful.

Kofi Kingston vs The Miz
Again. If you give these two the time they can have a great match and this was one of them. I have mixed feelings about both, but the match was a great mid-card Intercontinental style bout.

Sheamus vs. Big Show
This match was good. The opening with Sheamus coming out with the London Irish Rugby team was pointless... no one knew who they were and I doubt even Sheamus knew... It was predictable that this would end with a DQ and the finish was a bit disappointing, but these two do work very well together and Show is proving that Hell in a Cell was not a one off.

Overall the show was great. The arena was a little dead at times, the crowd obviously waiting for someone lik a Punk or Cena. Instead, the stars who were there... even the ones who are established main eventers (eg. Orton, Show, Sheamus, Miz) still felt like the B show players and most of the matches would not have looked out of place on an episode of Superstars.

However, for those who want to experience WWE, I do recommend a House Show as you will see more wrestling for a start and also the show has a more intimate feel, like what you are seeing is unique and just for you.