WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 review (DVD) ★★★

Featuring over eight hours of action and 22 complete matches, WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 is a journey through the last year of, to steal a slice of John Morrison's old persona, Friday night delights. This three-disc set runs from October 2009 through September 2010 and includes some of the most memorable moments and contests from all those months, from some incredible promos by Kane and CM Punk, to multi-man tag team collisions and World Heavyweight Championship challenges. But while this set is an accurate depiction of the finest juice squeezed from the SmackDown orange in 2009 and 2010 (not from concentrate), there really aren't that many matches that will make you go “wow”. I haven't rated a single contest on all three discs higher than three stars. Good matches are plentiful, but this set is devoid of greatness, which is a shame... but then there's always this year – and a little of last year – next year.

02/10/09: The Biggest Eight-Man Tag Team Match in SmackDown History ???
Whether or not this match was in fact the most star-studded or “biggest” of its kind of the then ten-year history of SmackDown is unclear, but there's no doubting that the team of D-Generation X, The Undertaker and WWE Champion John Cena facing off against Legacy, Randy Orton and World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, is an epic main event on paper. This match, booked on the final TV show before the first Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, which was also the Decade of SmackDown celebration, was by no means epic in quality, but it was still a solid way to end the episode and cap off the festivities with a bang. Especially a bang in the form of a fan favourite victory. It was also a match done well in terms of managing all eight Superstars: they each got their spots in and built a strong final road to Hell in a Cell, where all the match's participants were going head-to-head in three separate bouts inside the colossal cage.

20/11/09 – Best 2 out of 3 Falls Intercontinental Championship Match: John Morrison (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler ??
I only wish that this match could have taken place on pay-per-view and given the time it so desperately deserved. This episode of SmackDown took place 48 hours away from Survivor Series where both men were competing in traditional elimination matches, but I think it really would have been so much better for them to be replaced and instead duke it out one-on-one over the gold. For the stipulation, the contest was short and to the point, yet rushed and undeveloped. They could have had a better match had it been just a standard outing, a rematch from the prior edition of SmackDown from the UK which saw Morrison retain via a draw through a double count out, and saved the Best 2 out of 3 Falls finale for Survivor Series. I consider it a sorely missed opportunity.

04/12/09 – #1 Contendership Triple Threat Match: Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Natalya ??
Two stars isn't much of a rating, but for a Divas match in recent times, it's quite a step up. This Triple Threat Match to decide who would face Michelle McCool for the Women's Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs was fast and furious, although not given much time, and included three of the top female athletes in the last decade of female wrestling. It's just unfortunate that the entire match was overshadowed by the utterly dumb “Piggie James” storyline.

25/12/09 – World Heavyweight Championship: The Undertaker (c) vs. Rey Mysterio ???
Friday Night SmackDown was saying Merry Christmas in a big way on Christmas Day with a blockbuster main event match-up featuring the somewhat unlikely pairing of The Undertaker and everybody's favourite luchador, Rey Mysterio. Although with a finish ruined by the interference of an enraged Batista, things were nicely set up for the road to the Royal Rumble, where we'd see a terrific rematch which I reviewed way back when in my event write-up.

10/01/10 – #1 Contendership Steel Cage Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Batista ???
The aforementioned road to the 23rd annual Royal Rumble was paved further in this match which determined who would face The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in the SmackDown main event at that exact pay-per-view. Of course, as also mentioned above, this was Rey Mysterio, who pulled an exciting victory over his former kayfabe best friend, Batista. I enjoyed their rivalry and was very much a fan of the Animal's heel turn, which instigated this feud. One particularly cool moment from this caged contest was Mysterio's sudden realisation that his 619 and signature springboard moves were completely useless thanks to the steel walls, which were implemented to not only serve as the battleground for this feud-ending match, but to keep The Undertaker out.

26/02/10 – Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifier: John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler ???

26/02/10: Edge vs. The Miz ???

19/03/10: The Undertaker vs. Drew McIntyre ?
I've no idea why this match has been included in this set as it's only three or four minutes of McIntyre, then Intercontinental Champion, jobbing out to the Deadman a couple of weeks away from WrestleMania. The time it took for both men to slowly saunter down to the ring during their entrances was perhaps longer than their match itself. The only emphatic part of this chapter of the DVD is seeing Shawn Michaels hit Sweet Chin Music on The Undertaker at the top of the stage to further simmer along their feud to boiling point.

26/03/10: 10-Man SmackDown vs. RAW Tag Team Match ???
Just a couple of days away from the Showcase of the Immortals, Friday Night SmackDown kicked off with an interbrand tag team match featuring the 10 participants of the biggest Money in the Bank Ladder Match in WrestleMania history. With the symbolic Money in the Bank briefcase suspended above the ring, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin and Dolph Ziggler, representing SmackDown, battled RAW's elite team comprised of Christian, Montel Vontavious Porter, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, in what was quite possibly the biggest tag team match in SmackDown history at the time (eat that, first match on the DVD). It was almost as good, too, turning out a great final stop on the road to WrestleMania's most high octane and dangerous match.

16/04/10: World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match: Jack Swagger (c) vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho ???

14/05/10: Women's Championship Handicap Match: Beth Phoenix (c) vs. LayCool ?
Originally scheduled as non-title Divas action between Phoenix and Rosa Mendes, Vickie Guerrero came out and used her power as “Official Consultant to SmackDown” to evoke Michelle McCool's contractual rematch clause. Except she made it, for the first time ever, a handicap title match, Tornado rules, and in the Glamazon's hometown of Buffalo, New York at that. Skip this. The only highlight is seeing Phoenix hit a Samoan Drop on both Layla and McCool at the same time. Other than that the Glamazon gets pinned after butting heads with Michelle? Very weak finish, especially for a match that crowned a new champion. The first ever British born Women's Champion for that matter.

14/05/10: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk ???
This bout took place just nine days away from Over the Limit (which turned out to be one of the worst PPV events of the year), where the two would compete in a match in which the stipulation ruled that if Punk was to lose, he would be shaved bald, whereas if Mysterio was to be defeated, he'd have to join the Straight Edge Society. It was certainly an odd booking decision to have these two go at it one-on-one as a main event on free TV in such close proximity to the pay-per-view, but on the flipside, you know that good things are about to happen when Punk and Mysterio face each other. These two put on another stellar performance, which was one of a number of singles matches they'd had in 2010. They competed against one another at WrestleMania, then at Extreme Rules (in what I consider to be the best bout in their rivalry) and, as already mentioned, Over the Limit.

04/06/10: Battle Royal ?
This over-the-top-rope Battle Royal was designed to crown the next challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship at Fatal 4 Way. Featuring the entire SmackDown roster, including those who had already competed on the night, a grand total of 16 Superstars filled the ring and attempted to throw each of their opponents out of it (and crashing to the floor), for their title opportunity on pay-per-view against the champ at the time, Jack Swagger, The Big Show and CM Punk. Battle Royals are hard to rate as they're always the same up until only a couple of competitors are left in the ring, as was this one. It was also easy to predict the last men standing – Kane and Rey Mysterio – as they fought among a variety of midcarders. Mr. 619 gained the win with a Frankensteiner counter out of a Chokeslam to send the Big Red Monster reeling to the outside, which is just about the same way Mysterio has won every Battle Royal he's ever competed in, including the Royal Rumble.

25/06/10: Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy ???
 
02/07/10: Rey Mysterio & The Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes & Jack Swagger ??

30/07/10: Christian vs. Drew McIntyre ???
This is a great example of the ultra-talented SmackDown midcarders being given the TV time to properly develop matches and put on some thoroughly enjoyable performances. Like the Matt Hardy contest earlier on this third disc, Drew McIntyre once again worked well with a similarly matched opponent. Christian and the Sinister Scotsman have a lot of chemistry in the squared circle.

30/07/10 – No Disqualification Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger ??
Well, when you vow like Jack Swagger did to throw your foe into the Gulf of Mexico when the arena you're wrestling in is situated beside a large body of water, you know someone's getting slammed into the drink. Mysterio and the All-American American had a half-decent brawl around the arena and outside it, culminating in Rey countering a Gorilla Press by sending Swagger into the water with a flying headscissors. It looked pretty silly though since Swagger essentially swan dived into the Gulf, but the semi-botch was soon forgotten about when Kane appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to toss Mysterio into the water by his throat. This chapter is more about the moment than the match.

06/08/10 – Intercontinental Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler ??

20/08/10: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio ??
And so a star was born. This match isn't exactly fantastic, but what it does offer is the in-ring debut of an awesome heel, and that's why it deserves to be a part of this set. I can't believe it was towards the end of August that Alberto Del Rio first performed in a WWE ring, as it seems so much longer than that. But nevertheless, equipped with his beautiful spinning armbar, the descendent of Mexican royalty made a huge impact by making Rey Mysterio submit on his very first night, and subsequently gained a huge amount of heat with the WWE Universe in an instant. Cracking stuff.

10/09/10: Drew McIntyre vs. Kaval ??
This was a match considered somewhat important at the time of the DVD's production as it was his SmackDown debut after winning the second season of NXT, but unfortunately by the time of it hitting stores, Kaval had been granted his release as he was frustrated that the creative team had nothing for him. It's a real shame as he's a great talent and a thrill to watch, always putting on exciting, innovative bouts.

10/09/10: CM Punk vs. The Undertaker ???
We conclude the set almost how it began, with a CM Punk vs. The Undertaker match-up nearly a year later towards the close of 2010. Nine days from the battle with his brother Kane over the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions under No Holds Barred 'rules', the Deadman didn't seem like his old self when competing against the Straight Edge Superstar, even though he secured the win thanks to the Hell's Gate. Kane even made his presence known after his older brother's win by taking a trick out of the Phenom's book and playing some spooky mind games in anticipation of their title match.

EXTRAS None.