ard.Swingman Jimmy Butler said Rondo has been a positive influence since

The ongoing rivalry between Bray Wyatt?and Randy Orton?has been one of the few weaker links on SmackDown Live over the last few weeks.?Theyve opened the show numerous times in this window, and occupied a significant amount of airtime in an effort to get people behind this conflict, to varying levels of success.Theres been teleportation, borderline kidnapping, the return of Luke Harper and the (at times) confusing involvement of Kane?--?but until Tuesday night, there wasnt much in the way of a reason for this conflict or a compelling direction for it to go. Rather than taking another step in the same direction this time around, however, Orton made a dramatic pivot at an unexpected moment and brought some much-needed intrigue to the conflict by RKOing Kane.It all started with yet another Kane vs. Wyatt no disqualification match, and despite the supernatural developments of the last few weeks, the return of Harper and even the presence of a casket, it was hard to ignore thoughts of just how seemingly incapable Wyatt has been against the devils favorite demon.The pair met for the first time at SummerSlam 2013 in a Ring of Fire match, which Wyatt won. But since then, the matches between him and Kane have had results that are unimaginably imbalanced. Including live events, in matches in which Kane and Wyatt have been on opposite sides, Wyatt is an abysmal 5-42 overall and 1-28 in singles confrontations.Its utterly unthinkable that the 29-year-old, who is being positioned as the next generations version of Kane or The Undertaker, has been so soundly and regularly beaten by a 49-year-old who should, in theory, have passed the torch to Wyatt in one of these many showdowns. Ortons actions, and the resulting victory could very well be the first domino to fall in that long overdue transition.The no-DQ stipulation was clearly going to draw Harper and Orton into the fray, especially considering the last two weeks of confrontations between the four. Harper seemingly teleported to the ring and swung the tide of the match, but, curiously at the time, Orton didnt immediately respond with an appearance of his own.Theres been a lot of teleporting lately, but as they use the materializing/vanishing power and establish its parameters more clearly, they have to get away from things like Kane just magically being able to use them too, give reasons why it doesnt use it more during matches or when it could help Wyatt against his foes and make it feel like more than just a deus ex machine for whatever thing you want to accomplish in a given week.By the time Orton finally did run in, Kane had started to swing things back in his favor. Harper rolled back into the ring, but backed down against Orton, which was troubling. As Kane and Orton positioned themselves to dispatch Wyatt, the RKO on Kane drew a dramatic and confused reaction from the Green Bay crowd. Orton rolled out of the ring, Wyatt got a rare victory over Kane and everyone was left scratching their heads.Orton soon gave his reason for the confounding decision. If you cant beat em ... joinem.In all honesty, the most likely outcome is a Stone Cold Steve Austin-esque approach, in which Orton would seemingly just attack anyone at his convenience and whim. In the meantime, though, as hard a time as Wyatt would have trusting Orton and vice versa, giving Orton that rare victory over Kane at least sets up a few weeks of somewhat unpredictable ways to move forward. For Orton, whos undoubtedly done the best work of his career as a heel, it could be just what the doctor ordered.Speaking of unexpected and intriguing turns, the true (if brief) opening to SmackDown Live saw James Ellsworth thanking Dean Ambrose for helping him to two wins over WWE world champion AJ Styles and changing his life. Ellsworth simply wanted to be ringside to return the favor, but Ambroses first instinct was to tell Ellsworth to stay behind backstage.That first interaction seemed to foreshadow something potentially ominous, like Ellsworth snapping after getting beat up by Styles and used by Ambrose. Instead, just as Ambrose made his way to the ring, another interaction with Ellsworth led to Ambrose relenting and allowing Ellsworth in his corner.Caring about Ellsworth got Ambrose in trouble early, as it distracted him and allowed Styles to nail a slingshot plancha heading into a commercial break. For much of the match, it appeared as if this would be the third time in a row that Ellsworth was Styles undoing, as Styles took the time to dropkick the diminutive man while he stood on the outside and lost the momentum to Ambrose. But when Ambrose dumped Styles back out, an incensed Ellsworth snapped and hit No Chin music. After a stunned moment from Ambrose and the referee, with each of them looking back-and-forth, there was no choice but to disqualify Ambrose and cost him the chance to be the No. 1 contender to the world championship.Could this lead to an Ambrose heel turn? Possibly. What will it mean for next week? It could give us the path towards having Styles and Ambrose in the five-on-five Survivor Series match instead of title match that night, it could lead to a harder edge to Ambroses character or it could simply be a bump in the road. The only thing thats clear is that, with so many questions lingering about each of these top conflicts on SmackDown, theres every reason in the world to want to tune in again next week to find out.The Miz continued to use?The Spirit Squad as his lackeys, and also carried on in wearing black clothes to mourn the death of the Intercontinental championship brought on by Dolph Zigglers win. Kenny and Mikey, still adorned in their signature green singlets and track pants, introduced Miz in the only way they knew how.As cheerful as that was, these are dark times 16 days of living in a world where the Miz is no longer your Intercontinental champion, said The Miz, who then went on to say that he was most sorry for all of the great champions before him who made that title the most prestigious one in the WWE.This predictably brought Ziggler out to the ring to offer Miz his title rematch on the spot, but when Miz declined and the trio moved towards a 3-on-1 beatdown, Heath Slater & Rhyno came to the rescue once again. In a matter of moments, Zigglers words got turned around and The Spirit Squad quickly found themselves with a SmackDown tag team title match. Rhyno snapping and giving them the match cashed in nicely on the offhand comments Rhyno made over the last few weeks about hating male cheerleaders.There was no shock title change in store, and it seems as if the Spirit Squad is going to screw up too many times at key moments to have a relationship with the Miz that lasts very much longer.The questions on commentary alluding to Slater losing his job should he lose were just silly -- the condition that hed get a contract if he won the tournament and the titles was one thing, but there was no mention that he had to stay champion to stay employed. It was an off week for the commentators as a whole, but most especially when JBL and, momentarily, Mauro Ranallo, talked over Wyatts entrance for no apparent reason, to tell us a bunch of things weve heard before. If you want to get Wyatt over like an Undertaker, some reverence for one of the best entrances in the WWE would go a long way.Hits and missesAlexa Bliss gets better on the microphone each week, and she played the heel to near-perfection in her encounter with the returning Becky Lynch. The goal before any title match is to put the outcome in as much doubt as possible, and by laying Lynch out and painting her yellow (both figuratively with her words and literally with a spray can), Bliss did exactly what she came out the curtain to do.The Survivor Series teams started to come together with a match between The Hype Bros and The Ascension. Mojo Rawley, the former Green Bay Packers defensive end, got a chance to perform in front of a friendly crowd and, along with Zack Ryder, the pair became the first two to lock up spots for Toronto. While theres still a chance that GMs could dangle a carrot for anyone who could potentially be a sole survivor (or reward superstars after the fact), its looking like were inevitably going toward no real stakes to these Survivor Series matches outside of brand pride -- the same kind of problem thats made this event feel unworthy of its mantle as one of the big four pay-per-views.On the other hand, giving stakes to a match that wouldnt otherwise have them is a nice touch -- and exactly the kind of thing that an event like Survivor Series should do. In the absence of stakes in the Survivor Series matches themselves, having all-or-nothing matches like Natalya vs. Nikki Bella for the captaincy of Team SmackDown, or qualifying matches like Hype Bros vs. Ascension, is a nice consolation prize.It was also nice to see Nikki implement John Cenas?STF, (the brutal-looking version he used on Ambrose, rather than his rather partisan-looking standard approach) to earn the victory. If Nikkis tweet post-match is any indication, however, it might not have been her beau giving her pointers to hitting that move. Yet another blindside attack on Nikki seemed to garner an actual reaction for Carmella for once, so it seems like somethings going right in that rivalry for her too. This conflict needs to lead to something soon, though, before it turns the corner and becomes simply too repetitive. Nike Air Max Flair Nz . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Air Max 95 Mens Nz .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.airmaxnzwholeale.com/cheap-air-max-1-nz.html . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Nike Air Max 270 Flynit Nz . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Air Max 200 Cheap . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson hopes to build off his season debut. His counterpart on Tuesday gets a chance to make amends after yet another disciplinary issue.Jackson posted 18 points and four assists in 23 minutes after missing the teams first 21 games with left knee tendinitis. That didnt prevent the Pistons from seeing their three-game winning streak snapped, as they were defeated 98-92 by the Orlando Magic in Detroit on Sunday.Jackson also committed three turnovers, missed a couple of layups and got beaten off the dribble a few times. Hell be in the starting lineup once again when Detroit plays the Chicago Bulls at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Tuesday night. Jackson averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 assists last season against the Bulls as the Pistons won the season series, 3-1.Its going to take some time to get acclimated with my teammates again, but (the knee) felt good, Jackson said. I just wished we came out with a win. I felt like I was behind others in game shape and little aspects like that. I think in defensive coverage and rotations, I was a little rusty, and then just finding guys a little bit quicker. But offensively, I felt pretty good.Jackson will be matched up against Rajon Rondo, who did not play in the Bulls 112-110 home loss to Portland on Monday night. Rondo was suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team, reportedly for a verbal altercation with assistant coach Jim Boylan.Rondo, who served his seventh suspension since 2012, apologized for his actions and coach Fred Hoiberg said there are no hard feeelings.ddddddddddddRajon, as weve all said, has been great, Hoiberg told the Chicago Tribune. A great teammate. Ive enjoyed the relationship that weve developed, and ... its not going to change moving forward.Swingman Jimmy Butler said Rondo has been a positive influence since he was signed last offseason.These things happen; and, when things happen, you handle it the way youre supposed to handle it, Butler told the Tribune. I think we all love Rondo. I know I do. Hes been a great mentor to me; hes made me a much better basketball player.Butler, who scored 28 points against the Trail Blazers, averaged 27.5 points against Detroit last season. This is the first of four meetings between the Central Division rivals.The Bulls (11-9) need to tighten up their defense after a poor performance. They allowed Portland to shoot 48.4 percent, offsetting a 34-point outing by Dwyane Wade.Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is concerned about his teams inconsistent defense, which he feels has led to a mediocre start. Detroit is sitting at .500 with an 11-11 record.If were going to be an every-other-night type team that brings a defensive effort every other night, then we are going to be up and down, Van Gundy said. We cant rely on going out and shooting 50 percent from 3-point range. We shot 37 percent (Sunday). That is certainly good enough. If we can keep doing that, we will be fine. But we didnt bring anything to the table defensively. ' ' '