As per usual, I’m trying to put these thoughts down before reading too much about the PPV and having my initial thoughts screwed up by reading too much coverage.
ECW Championship: Matt Hardy (c) vs. Mark Henry: This was a perfectly acceptable match but not really exciting in either direction. It was likely that the title was going to stay on Hardy… the question was more if he’d get a clean win or a DQ win and keep the belt. Here’s something to note about the ECW show. Who the heck is the next World Title contender once this feud is over? I renew my objection to what is ostensibly a world title continually being defended in the curtain jerker but oh well.
Backstage with HHH and Jeff Hardy: Jeff came across really lame in this. You can’t tell me he can do better than sounding like a little kid standing up to a bully? Or is it that the entire Smackdown roster just doesn’t come across as believable when they’re yelling at a guy you know is just going to beat every one of them.
WWE Women’s Championship: Beth Phoenix (c, w/Santino Marella) vs. Candice Michelle: Meh. That’s really all I got. I’m not interested in Beth in any more than Santino’s sidekick and I’m not interested in Candice as any more than the GoDaddy Girl.
Mask Match: Kane vs. Rey Mysterio: I didn’t understand the rapid build to this with the Mask stipulation being the first step on what should be a long road. Maybe it’s just creative really doesn’t care about the drama that should go behind a Mexican wrestler losing his mask…. again? Pretty good small guy vs. big guy match with a DQ to keep the feud going for a while. The whole mask thing really needs some kind of stipulation on Kane’s end… retirement or something? I don’t know.
#1 Contender Match: JBL vs. Batista: JBL’s post-match promo was 1,000x better than the match, which could have been just as easily served up on Raw. I find this new stretch where Batista is just quietly going over guys cleanly to be kind of odd. I also am wondering at who, exactly, this stretch of burying JBL serves? Is he retiring or what? Regardless, JBL’s post-match promo thanking the taxpayers for the bailout so he can stay rich was excellent and somewhat liberal for what I’d expect out of Vince McMahon, but funny nonetheless.
The Big Show vs. The Undertaker: I’m going on the record again saying I loathe the Big Right as Big Show’s finisher. It’s lame — especially considering he doesn’t really prevent himself from using his fists in the rest of the match. There was nothing wrong with a guy taller than everyone in the company using a chokeslam as a finisher. In fact, ONLY guys taller than everyone else in the company should be using chokeslams as their finisher because it looks ridiculous otherwise. There was nothing here other than the Undertaker putting the Big Show over surprisingly clean. Must be time for another six-month break.
WWE Championship – HHH (c) vs. Jeff Hardy: You know, I’ve cynically made jokes about the HHH Pins Everyone Tour on Smackdown… but this just took it to a whole new level. After a really good match, Jeff hits his version of the Twist of Fate, then hits the Swanton, pins, and HHH no-sells the double finisher, rolls Jeff over and pins him. Then, after being unarguably buried by HHH, is forced to stand up, give the respect handshake, and congratulate Hunter. It’s… stunning, really. We were trying to figure out what else Hunter is going to do this year. It’s possible he’s going to fight the entire Smackdown roster in a Survivor Series elimination match and beat them all — followed by winning the Royal Rumble, ending the Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak, beat Jericho later in the night to unify the titles, then begin appearing on both shows and defending the brand’s particular title in a flashback to the territory days. How many times can he make the trip between “guy burying everyone on the roster” and “awesome worker”? Whatever, I’ve decided I’m on board with this new trip to see how he can humiliate Smackdown workers in new and interesting ways.
World Championship Ladder Match – Chris Jericho (c) vs. Shawn Michaels: No surprise here. Jericho retains in a great ladder match with a finish I hadn’t seen before. This certainly didn’t seem like an “end the feud” match so I can presume that this still has a chance to draw out for another few months. Possibly with Shawn losing a “no more title shots” match in the next couple months only to win the Rumble and challenge Jericho. I’m on board.
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In old WWE PPV style, really crappy undercard but two excellent matches at the top of the card that saved the show.
