WWE Smackdown has been in trouble since Edge announced his retirement and WWE creative decided to fleece the brand in the draft. The blue brand took one step closer to dying, in my opinion, Friday night when Christian turned heel, unless some major reinforcements are brought in.
For those who missed it, Christian was made the special guest referee for the title match between World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Sheamus. The finish saw Sheamus accidentally shoulderblock Christian, then hit the Brogue kick on Orton. Christian counted to two, then pulled up selling an injured arm. He punched a frustrated Sheamus, sending him into an RKO for Orton to retain. After raising Orton's hand in victory, Christian eventually clocked the Viper with the World title, stood over him and walked out with the belt to a chorus of boos.
Christian seemed somewhat justified in his actions, as all good heels should be, and I've got no problem with turning Captain Charisma heel. Just not on Smackdown when Orton is the only legitimate babyface on the roster, and even that's questionable since he's more of a tweener character.
Behind Orton are Kane (noticeably absent from Friday's show, and a tweener character himself), Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara. There's Ezekiel Jackson, but as much as I like him long-term, he isn't established enough and is still pretty green to be considered a draw.
Don't get me wrong, I've found the Christian-Orton angle extremely compelling and am interested in how it continues to play out. But the Smackdown ratings are the worst they've been in years, possibly ever. And without a legitimate No. 2 babyface fans will start to tune out, and quickly. In fact, they already have, even in the key 18-34 demographic, which Internet fans will claim is Orton's target fanbase.
With the summer months upon us, it's only going to get worse. Smackdown has a bad spot on Friday nights, and there will be even fewer people watching as they start going on long vacations and spending Friday nights out instead of inside watching television. Worse still, WWE is canceling Smackdown brand house shows because they just aren't drawing.
Perhaps, there's a solution. And it's the same one the WWE takes every summer over the past few years with the blue brand. It's time to bring back the Undertaker. We haven't seen Undertaker since he was carried out of WrestleMania, and Triple H's promo the next night seemed to indicate that neither would be back until next year's spectacular.
Of course, desperate times call for desperate measures and that means it's time to ressurect the Undertaker. If he's still nursing injuries, perhaps he and his storyline brother Kane can reform the Brothers of Destruction. Yes, there's that little loose end of Kane's attack on Taker last summer, but WWE has taken bigger liberties in creative logic in the past.
Not to mention, if the two claimed the tag team championships, it would be a serious boost to that division. And Kane needs a new partner with the Big Show feuding with Alberto Del Rio on Raw and seemingly no angle for the Big Red Monster right now.
The other option is to finally admit defeat with the brand extension. It might not be long before the Smackdown brand is gone anyway, if ratings continue to decline and house shows don't draw. Having guys like John Cena, the Miz and Rey Mysterio from Raw -- proven draws -- on the blue brand might help from a TV perspective, though it won't do much for helping house shows.
Either way, something needs to happen soon, and taking yet another babyface from Smackdown's aresenal by turning him heel isn't the way to do it. Other thoughts on Friday's Smackdown. The actual match between Sheamus and Orton was pretty good, although we've seen many times before over the past year on Raw. The two have good chemistry though. ...
It wasn't as good as Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase, which might've been the best TV match I've seen all week. Cody Rhodes at ringside actually made it seem like DiBiase might actually win, alas that wasn't in the cards. Hopefully, DiBiase is opening some eyes. The guy can work, he just needs time on TV. ...
Rhodes attacked Bryan, whom he cut a promo on earlier in the show, after the match, then Sin Cara made the save. Looks like we're going to see a Priceless reunion to face Bryan and Sin Cara in the not so distant future. ...
Christian and Mark Henry also had a good match to open the show. I really thought Henry was going to be pushed hard to the top of the show when he was drafted and turned heel, but he's really just been a bit player in furthering the Orton-Christian feud. ...
Ezekiel Jackson beat Wade Barrett in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship, this time by countout, making him 2-0 against the former Corre member. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater came to ringside near the finish, keeping Jackson from bringing Barrett back into the ring. My guess is he gets one more shot at the IC gold in a no DQ match at Capitol Punishment. ...
Barrett organized Gabriel and Slater for a 3-on-1 attack in the post-match, but Barrett left them out to dry and take a beating from Jackson while he headed to the back. Neither Gabriel or Slater sold like they were wondering what happened to Barrett, but this will clearly be a storyline going forward. I think Gabriel and Slater might be leaving the Corre -- essentially ending it -- and turn face, which would add at least a few warm bodies to the babyface side. ...
Jinder Mahal had his in-ring debut and made short work of Yoshi Tatsu in a squash. The Great Khali accompanied Mahal and put Tatsu in the vice grip post-match. Seeing Khali as a supporting character is probably a better role for him going forward. ...
Kaitlyn and AJ Lee are 0-2 as a tag team, though they got in a few more offensive maneuvers than they did last week losing to Tamina and Alicia Fox. The heels were accompanied by Rosa Mendes, and the babyfaces once again by Natalya. So, six-Diva tag match next week anyone? ...
Good to see NXT Season 4 winner Johnny Curtis on TV. Of course, him "crying over spilled milk" and pouring milk on his head was a little out there. Maybe he and R-Truth should make a tag team after all.