WWE Smackdown Review: 5 Things We Learned (May 31st)

2. Not All Great Matches Are Technical

Sheamus and Wade Barrett had a great match about halfway through the show that highlighted each man's power, physicality and brutality. It was fast-paced and well executed and it just goes to show you that not every great match has to feature dozens of submissions or high flying moves. Barrett and Sheamus have been facing each other for years which has allowed them to really build up a great chemistry in the ring. They both signed with WWE around 2006 and both of them made their main roster debut within a year of each other. While Sheamus has seen more success as a top star, they have both had decent runs with WWE. Sheamus has been booked better as a WWE and World champion, but the tides seem to be shifting in Barrett's favor. His Bad News Barrett gimmick has gained him new fans and it's is pretty clear with how much mic time he gets that the people in charge like what he is doing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG2PAasVsCc Having the two mid-card champions go head to head right before a pay-per-view is a good way to hype both of their matches, but seeing Barrett take a clean loss this close to the event is strange. Chances are good that he will retain against RVD on Sunday, so he will probably bounce right back without anyone even remembering this loss within a week. Both of these guys have opponents that will make it possible for them to steal the show at Payback, but that will be tough when you have The Shield vs. Evolution headlining the show. Seeing as there is no WWE World Heavyweight Championship match scheduled for the event for the first time in quite a while, these two champions have to step up, and this match from SmackDown definitely shows that they are up to the challenge.