Day: Thursday, September 12
Event: WWE SmackDown! — Billy and Chuck’s Commitment Ceremony
Participants: Billy, Chuck, Rico, Stephanie McMahon, The Godfather, Eric Bischoff/Justice of the Peace, Jamal, Rosie
Result: 20 Minutes of Entertainment which the WWE has been lacking of lately
Well, well, well. As you can see above, this column will be about the Commitment Ceremony that took place (not) this past Thursday on SmackDown!. In my opinion, the WWE pulled a very fast one on everyone. They came up with a geat build-up towards the event on Thursday and had everybody expecting something very lame, or something incredibly bad. I have to say that I was fooled. I don’t know about you, but I was totally fooled!
You see, instead of leaving their audience scratching their head and thinking if things can go any worse storyline-wise and entertainment-wise, the WWE changed everything around and left the audience amazed, shocked, in awe, and most imporantly entertained. Well, I know I was all of those things and I had a great time watching SmackDown!. I also talked to several of my friends after the show and they all loved every second of it.
Everything about Billy and Chuck’s wedding was perfect. EVERYTHING! From the beginning to the end, it was all great.
The singers — the WWE has hired many people before for a one-time appearance, whether it’s acting, or singing, or whatso, but I personally thought that those ladies sang beautiful. Great way to kick things off. They did very well in their short interaction with Rico as well.
Rico — Rico himself deserves all the credit in the world! He was basically everywhere. From his backstage segment with Stephanie McMahon, to his in-ring presence, he proved he can be a leader. He showed no feared and in my opinion did a beautiful job in the beginning of the segment where he introduced us all to that “special occasion.” Throughout the wedding, Rico carried the process and did fantastically in my opinion. He took it upon himself on SmackDown! and it was about time that he moves on from the “stylist” gimmick and switches to RAW, where hopefully more wrestling is planned for him. He’s proven recently that he has plenty to offer in the ring, and has quite a persona, a very good combination in this business.
Eric Bischoff — Damn. Unbelievable. I’ve seen a lot of Eric Bischoff’s past role, even the ones in WCW and I remember him playing along incredibly well in tons of segments. Well, in my opinion, on Thursday night, Eric Bischoff had his best segment ever since enterting the WWE (that’s for sure) and argueably the best acting job he’s ever done in his whole career. I purposely put him right here at the top because his performance was the key to the whole wedding and its finish. The mask he had was very well done as well, so big ups to he make-up personnel backstage. The way Eric played, from the annoying voice, to the dull facial reactions that a real person would have done, to his hand shaking, to even his dancing at the beginning, Eric did not reveal himself and provided for the best part of the wedding. Once again — UNBELIEVABLE!
Billy and Chuck — Billy and Chuck had all eyes of them. That was the biggest role Chuck has ever had to carry and work on in his WWE career. I think at the end it was quite notable that he was sweating big time. It shouldn’t be forgotten that these two men had tons of pressure put on them. The WWE got the media’s attention in more ways than one and everything was focused around Billy and Chuck. They managed to carry on in their public appearances on TV shows, radio, etc., and on SmackDown! they got through the hardest part of it all — in front of a live audience which is booing you just because everybody around is homophobic (kind of scary knowing it’s 2002). Not only did Billy and Chuck manage to ignore it, but their “We are not gay” bit came out perfectly at the very right time, as well. The interaction with Rico at the end was also good. Billy and Chuck had us fooled all along, and their acting was great!
The Godfather — If I was on the writing team over at the WWE, I would have never been able to think of a better time for The Godfather to return to TV than the wedding. It was just so appropriate and right for him to show up. He helped brighten the story even more, and get the fans really into it. He once again proved that he can cut very well-done promos, and in my opinion, he was the reason for getting Billy and Chuck over as faces, by reminding everyone about their past.
Stephanie McMahon — Stephanie’s role was pretty much at the end. She stook quietly throughout the whole thing and did what she’s usually very good at — facial reactions/expressions. When the Justice of the Peace revealed himself to be Eric Bischoff, Stephanie’s face was priceless. She managed to make the segment important and put herself into it, yet not take all the attention away, which is admirable for her (are you reading Triple H?). The bump she took wasn’t that bad, but all the credit there goes to Jamal. Stephanie did her part and was simply put there for the bigger picture. Another thing nobody would have expected.
Jamal and Rosie — Ever since debuting in the WWE, Jamal and Rosie are yet to compete in an official match. The “3-minute rule” was just getting boring and looked pointless, but after SmackDown! on Thursday it looks like it was all worth it. The WWE managed to link it all and make it look as if all these 3-minute segments were leading up to this, where Jamal and Rosie finally get their hands on someone of a huge impotance such as Stephanie. Their attack on the SmackDown! GM was cruical for the SmackDown!/RAW storyline and their connection to Eric Bischoff. If the WWE is do the right thing now, I think there won’t be more perfect time than now to finally see Jamal and/or Rosie in a match. Time will tell.
Michael Cole and Tazz — I was affraid to say this until now, but I am no longer affraid to do so — Michael Cole and Tazz are the best commentating duo the WWE has at the moment. I am sorry. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler will probably remain one of the best commentating teams for all times, but if we have to be real, Cole and Tazz put so much more effort in their job and so much more passion and reality that they make the show much better. Their reactions during the wedding weren’t so noticable, but helped nonetheless. From Tazz’s jokes to Cole’s new approach, I truly like the work these two do every week. Unlike Lawler’s out-of-date phrases and Ross’s old associations to “government mules”, “stomping mud holes” on someone’s chest, or “scalded dogs”, Cole and Tazz do not rely on their own interaction as much but rely on what’s happening in front of them. They don’t have to say “Watch RAW, the biggest show ever!” (J.R. and King) and base it on nothing, but always point out “Watch SmackDown!, the only show that has the best cruiserweight action anywhere!” or something of that line. The Kurt Angle/Rey Mysterio match of this week (what a great bout that was!) is an example of what I mean on commentating. Just listen to Tazz and Cole and you’ll see what I mean.
Overall Thoughts…
The WWE accomplished more than they have done since SummerSlam only in 20 minutes on SmackDown!. One little segment proved that if everything is done right, entertainment still exists and the fans will be happy and keep tuning in. I am completely honest here in saying that the WWE fooled everyone, but you know what? Honestly, it feels incredibly good to be fooled. That’s the beauty of the entertainment part of this business. Just when things go so bad and you start to get really bored and question every single storyline to the core, the WWE pulls a fast one on everyone. From the media coverage to all the hype up, the Billy and Chuck ceremony on SmackDown! was 20 minutes of pure entertainment and positives only.
Here’s the summary of how many things the WWE managed to do just in 20 minutes — Rico moved to RAW; Billy and Chuck turned face; Eric Bischoff showed up on SmackDown! with Jamal and Rosie which is only RAW hype up; The Godfather made his return to WWE Televesion; WWE deliveres a surprise storyline, but most impotantly…
The biggest picture that came out of SmackDown! was the locker room getting behind Stephanie and attacking the RAW people w/ Rico. Edge, Rey Mysterio, and Cena ran right after then, whereas most of the heels — Angle, D-Von, Eddie, Chavo, etc., alongside Hurricane and Moore stayed in the ring to check on their General Manager. Basically, this means things are heating up between RAW and SmackDown! and having such interactions from time to time proves for some great TV where the WWE stands.
I did not like the angle at first, but I loved it on Thursday. I am not affraid at all to write this column because I am indeed honest and I just let you know how I felt. I was entertained and happy after a great season premiere (though until now they kept airing these promos saying this sport doesn’t have seasons) which saw a lot of great action, and the most entertaining segment we’ve had in recent time. My name is Eddie and you are more than welcome to hit me with an e-mail. Thank you very much for reading!
Eddie
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