OK, now it's become ridiculous.
World heavyweight champion Jack Swagger lost clean yet again, this time to John Morrison on Friday night's Smackdown. Unlike Swagger's other recent defeats, I don't see how anyone can rationalize this one. With all due respect to Morrison, he is not Randy Orton or The Undertaker.
When I saw that Swagger and Morrison were facing each other for the second time in three weeks, I figured it was to give Swagger a win over a quality opponent in a good match heading into Sunday's Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The match certainly delivered, but, unfortunately, it ended with Swagger doing a job on TV for the fourth time since winning the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI last month.
As I have said before, I have no idea what WWE is trying to accomplish by booking its new world heavyweight champion to look like a mid-carder. If the idea is to make everyone think Swagger will be easy pickings for Orton at Extreme Rules to set up a swerve in which Swagger somehow retains the title, I don't think it's going to work. The way I see it is that WWE has not only buried Swagger, but they also have put Orton in a no-win situation. If Orton doesn't beat Swagger, it makes him look weak; and if he does win the title from Swagger, it just means that he beat a paper champion.
Other thoughts on Friday's show:
Swagger's promo in the opening segment was decent. …
It was nice to see CM Punk beat Rey Mysterio for a change, as he scored the winning pinfall during a tag team match pitting Punk and Luke Gallows against Mysterio and Kane. I liked the post-match angle in which Mysterio maneuvered Punk into the barber's chair outside the ring and prepared to shave more of his hair when Serena put herself between Mysterio and Punk. I'm very curious to see what happens in the Punk-Mysterio match at Extreme Rules. …
So I guess Mysterio and Kane are pals now. I think it should have been mentioned in commentary, at least in passing, that the two have had their issues in the past. …
The verbal and physical exchange between Edge and Chris Jericho (along with Wade Barrett) inside the steel cage was good. This is another match that I'm really looking forward to seeing at the pay-per-view. Jericho escaping from the cage to get away from Edge and then locking the door behind him with Barrett still trapped inside was a nice touch. …
I realize that a lot of people are still lukewarm on Drew McIntyre, but I think he eventually is going to be a money player. WWE did a good job of getting him over as a sadistic heel during the tag match in which he teamed with Dolph Ziggler against Matt Hardy and R-Truth. McIntyre stomped on Hardy's head on the ring steps, which resulted in the referee eventually stopping the match because Hardy was unable to continue. I liked the angle, although I think the announcers went just a bit overboard about how heinous McIntyre's actions were. How was what McIntyre did any worse than a lot of things we've see over the years, including one guy who attacks people with sledgehammers? …
Simply Flawless' post-match beatdown on Beth Phoenix after they defeated her and Mickie James was well done, but it got surprisingly little heat. By the way, why was there an ironing board under the ring? …
Layla pinning James to win the match and then tossing James over the top rope like she was nothing was a foreshadowing of James' fate in WWE. …
The same could be said for Mike Knox in his match with JTG. The underrated big man was pinned in less than two minutes. If I was Knox, I would have demanded by release on the spot after that humiliation. …
I think Shad Gaspard's new heel character has potential, but I need to see more of him before I form a stronger opinion.