Instant Reaction - WWE Smackdown 3/2
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 6.5

Smackdown tonight was a sleepy, but overall solid show. I'm still concerned that the WrestleMania undercard is so underhyped at the moment (tonight's show barely focussed on hype), and only now are guys like Orton and Kane getting into feuds for the big show. That being said, there were three entertaining matches on the show (Show vs. Henry and the opening/closing matches), and the show never quite fell into boring territory. Sure, there were moments where it came close (the Divas match and GM segments come to mind), but, in the end, the show held my interest throughout the two hours.

Despite the quality of some of tonight's matches, there were still some issues, especially in regards to the Show vs. Henry match. Up until the end, the match was booked properly. But, why, oh why did WWE have Show kick out of the World's Strongest Slam? And, then have the announce team barely even mention how rare that happens? Mark Henry's treatment right now must be because of backstage politics. I can't think of any other reason (other than maybe his injury) as to why he's continuing to pile up losses. Rhodes, though, was entertaining on commentary, but his feud with Big Show is still lacking a true personal conflict.

Speaking of personal conflict, I have my qualms over the Sheamus-Bryan feud. And, by that, I mean that there is none. In fact, they've been kept pretty far apart, in general, other than an occasional run-in on Raw. While I appreciate the effort from both men, the feud means very little at the moment (as little as Natalya's farting gimmick). McIntyre's firing angle was expected, but I doubt (and hope) that it won't mean much in the long run and he can finally get his career back on track soon. Oh yeah, Santino and Heath Slater had a match. I didn't remember it, either.

Smackdown wasn't bad this week, but continued a trend of uneventful Friday shows that aren't bad as much as they feel a little dull and lifeless. Part of that has to do with a huge dearth of talent on the brand, but I'm hoping that Smackdown will bring some more intensity next week - and leave out the long Raw recaps.

Any questions or comments? Follow me on Twitter at BTuckertorch, or e-mail me at btuckertorch@aol.com.

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