Daniels asked me to fill in for him with this running diary/show review hybrid of your – and my – favorite Friday Night WWE brand. Let’s get to it…
1. I know this might sound crazy, but I think Deuce and Domino have improved… The Redneck Rejects are awesome, but I don’t think they “carried†the former WWE Tag Champs, per se. There were a few awkward spots, but overall I used to hate the former Untouchables, but really, really enjoyed this tag match. Here’s an idea: how about moving all tag teams to Smackdown and making that division a primary focus of the brand?
2. Edge wants to bring Vickie to CANADA for their honeymoon. AND he can tell Curt and Zack apart. He’s a much better man than I.
3. I actually really like Jamie Noble’s work lately, in the Palumbo/McCool feud. He bumped like champ in this match, threw some innovative offense into the mix, and I was convinced he was gonna tap Chucky P via ARMBAR~! I wonder if either of these two guys will wrestle anyone else this year…
4. I was overall bored with at least the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the Khali/Porter vs. Batista/Kane match, but it did heat up at the end. I will say this though; Khali’s CHOP OF DOOM is an awesome move and Batista should have never recovered from it as quickly as he did at the end of that match. I guess he had to, and he had to get the pin too, since Dave’s now “representing Smackdown†vs. Umaga at Mania.
5. I will say this: Poor MVP. The guy is U.S. Champion, but seriously, when’s the last time he won a match? On the pro side he was put into the first-hour main event with three former World Champs. But unless they put him in Money in the Bank (no way he’s getting that match with Matt Hardy if they haven’t even begun to build it with 30 days to go until Mania), where’s he go from here? The logical thing to do is have Hardy take the U.S. strap off of him so he can move up to a feud with Batista, but I’m not confident they’ll do it.
6. Another one who’s improved is The Miz. And what’s this? Two solid tag matches on one show (with real “teams†– not counting the first main event)? Miz and Morrison have already feuded with Yang & Moore, Jesse & Festus and Delaney & Dreamer this year, and my money’s on them losing the titles to the latter next week (setting up a quick transition to the Edgeheads so Team Edguerrero can own all the gold on the combined SD/ECW brands).
7. This is a comment from a Raw recap video, but since Finlay and Hornswoggle are technically Smackdown wrestlers… I just wanted to say that I’m liking JBL’s role as muckraker in the “Vince’s son†storyline much better than I liked his feud with one of my favorite wrestlers EEEEVVVERRR, Chris Jericho. JBL works best as a bully, which is why his feud with Mysterio was so great, and I’m hoping we get to see Bradshaw & Vince or Shane vs. Finlay and Hornswoggle at Mania. Yes, I just admitted to hoping for a “Mania midget match.â€
8. Smackdown is almost over and something’s… missing. It’s a solid show, the wrestling is fine, the angles logical and inoffensive. In fact, the wrestling’s more than fine. An arm bar and gogoplata introduced as potentially viable finishers? Long matches with relatively clean finishes? WWE.com may be including TNA stories in its “industry news†section, but hopefully that’s all the company will be… taking from its closest competitor.
9. Zach Ryder in a singles match for the Smackdown main event, eh? He actually had a chance to beat Undertaker… after the low blow mid-match. Wait, here’s a question: has a low blow ever logically ended a wrestling match? Does it ever make sense for one to? Listen, I’ve been kicked in the balls, and it HURTS. Loss of breath, shock, intense pain. But none of this has ANYTHING to do with my shoulders being pinned to the mat.
10. I guess I should talk about the Big Show/Floyd Mayweather angle. (1) I love it. (2) There’s no way Floyd’s getting $20 million. (3) Show looks spry for goodness sakes! (4) This is going to draw some PPV buys, moreso than the Donald Trump angle did, I believe. And let’s not forget that last year’s Mania was WWE’s most successful to date.
…Tom will be back for “10 Thoughts on Raw†next week. In the meantime, don’t miss Phillip’s Smackdown Crackdown and Troy’s Smackdown Report, and make sure to always have more fun than the guy standing next to you.
