LIVE Smackdown thoughts

10:05 - A really great match between Orton and Christian, and I can't help but wonder what's in store for Christian next. If nothing else, I think we should all be happy that this feud had Christian headlining Smackdown since WrestleMania and had him winning the World title on two occasions. Not to mention, he's back to being a heel, where his character is far more comfortable. And we got six really great matches.

Overall, WWE did a good job of incorporating the Raw Superstars without having them take over the show. Bravo.

9:58 - Love the continuity of Christian faking the move that originally lost him the championship.

9:56 - Remember how I said the steel cage inherently defies logic? When Christian is climbing up the cage and Orton sprints across the ring to stop him, why doesn't he just walk the same distance (or less) to the door? He can clearly exit the door quicker than Christian can climb the cage. The ONLY explanation is that Orton is the face, and would rather unleash punishment than end the match. But still....

9:55 - Christian.....the first guy smart enough to realize that if you take your feet off the ropes, Orton can't DDT you.

9:47 - So in Booker's eyes John Cena has limited skills but Randy Orton is extraordinary? Sigh. Just sigh.

9:43 - Love the way they're booking Christian in the early goings of this match. They rarely have anybody do the logical thing to win a cage match -- Christian is doing that now.

9:38 - Is it me or did Christian's music play a little early? I say it all the time, but I HATE that Christian (and to a lesser extent, Orton too) has abandoned the multi-colored tights in place of the basic black with the different colored accents. I also wish Christian would bring back his super awesome hooded entrance gear.

9:31 - Why is Triple H coming out of prison in all of his movies?

In all seriousness, that actually doesn't look like a terrible movie.

9:24 - If I were Sheamus, I'd be thinking about how quick I was to rescue John Cena last night when HE was getting double teamed....

9:21 - So is the Great Khali a full blown heel or is he still a reluctant heel? Because if he's a full blown heel, he REALLY needs to abandon the bright red pants that say "Punjabi Playboy." Not very intimidating.

9:13 - That was an effective and passionate promo, and I'll be honest -- I have no idea what the end game is. My gut tells me that we'll be seeing Punk/Nash at Night of Champions, but why tease the "big match" for the sake of promoting the "preliminary match"? The end game SHOULD be Punk/Triple H, but it should be at an event far bigger than Night of Champions.

If Nash really is unable to wrestle, and this was a last resort, I think the smarter move would have been to insert Punk in the title match. It seems rushed, and a waste, to have Punk/Triple H now.

9:05 - I have to say, I liked Triple H's portion of the promo. It ran the risk of getting a little too "corporate" -- do we need to know the inner workings of bands charging people to use their theme music? -- but it came together quite nicely.

9:01 - Why is the General Manager of Smackdown overseeing a contract signing between a Raw Superstar (somebody he has no authority over) and the COO (somebody who outranks him)?

8:57 - Is it me, or is that a nicer than usual table for the contract signing?

8:53 - Well, looks like I owe everyone an apology. Looks like the contract signing will close out the first hour.

8:49 - I love Kelly Kelly, but this seems as good a time as any to duck out for some family time. If AJ were in the ring, maybe I would've stuck it out.

8:42 - My guess is that the Punk/Triple H contract signing ends the show. So with Cena opening the show, and Punk/Triple H closing it, this is what you're in store for with the "re-merged" brands.

8:39 - I've enjoyed the Orton/Christian feud, but I'm not sure I'd refer to it as "balanced."

8:32 - Daniel Bryan's repeated losses have been defend-able. Again, he's been facing champions and top challengers -- guys who SHOULD be winning (my argument, though, is that they should have avoided booking him for those matches in the first place) -- or against guys who "need the victory" more than him (Wade Barrett). But what was the excuse here? Sin Cara isn't even in a feud -- why is he being put over your Money in the Bank winner? Further, the post-match booking (Sin Cara's attack) would have made more sense had Sin Cara lost.

8:26 - I personally preferred the white/gold attire that Sin Cara wore at Money in the Bank. I didn't see Raw last night, but apparently they're acknowledging the lineage of Mistico, when the former Mistico isn't even portraying him anymore. That's curious. This is sure to be a good match, but I'm anxious to see if they'll actually allow Bryan to get the victory. Unlike the past few weeks where he's faced the champion or top challenger, this is somebody at his level -- and somebody who doesn't need the win.

8:17 - This match, while inoffensive, really shows how far Wade Barrett has fallen in the past six months or so. Don't get me wrong, Cena should have won, but the fact that it was so decisive is such a stark contrast to their matches last year.

8:10 - Is Tony Chimmel getting a push or something?

8:07 - WWE needs to hire somebody whose sole job is to check up on wrestlers' Visa issues.

8:04 - Wow, did Booker T just say that John Cena has "limited skills"? Ouch, that's rough.

8:00 - Yes, that's right -- my TV and Internet are back! Since I couldn't do my LIVE Raw thoughts last night (indeed, I didn't even see the show!) I thought I would give Smackdown the stream of conscious treatment. However, I do have family over, so I might have to run in and out. But I'm going to watch the show and update as much as possible!