WWE presented SmackDown this past Thursday night, two days after the show was taped in New Orleans, LA. This week I felt that the SmackDown crew put up a better-than-usual show, however, some gaps and segments in the program were obvious. The ratings are in and SmackDown scored a final rating of 3.5, which is pretty much the average it has been doing this season.
The Undertaker proved this week that he still has a lot of gas left in the tank. ‘Taker went old school in his title match against Kurt Angle and it was one of my favorite matches of the year so far. The Undertaker used to have a very different style of wrestling over his illustrious career, and submission holds and mat-wrestling have been a part of it in the past. Not the best wrestler there is, ‘Taker has worked well when in the ring with guys who can carry him through a match, no matter what style it is. His wrestling matched up great with Undertaker’s, who still used his recent brawl wrestling, but added a huge amount of mat-based moves and submissions and in my opinion was able to hang in there with Kurt. Of course, he’s no Chris Benoit, or Brock Lesnar, but at his age and with his skills, the Dead Man stepped it up on SmackDown. Big props to him for that.
The interviews before the bout were also a nice touch. WWE has lately done a great job of setting things up for their Thursday show. The Iron Man match is a good example, as they’re hyping it up two weeks ahead of time, much like they did Jericho/Michaels on RAW.
Speaking of which, I am really looking forward to the bout in two weeks time. I wonder how WWE will approach it, as there have to be commercial breaks here and there, so I don’t know if the one-hour idea is good. On the other hand, SmackDown is a taped show, therefore it gives them the advantage to edit things out as needed. I think overall, it’ll work out. If you haven’t caught it by now, WWE is headed in a Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show match probably at their No Mercy PPV. Until then, I expect all three to get their shot at Angle, with Show being the last card in Vince’s hand before making the four way.
I didn’t like what they are doing with Brock Lesnar. It’s just not the right thing to do. They’re trying to make him look like a cold-hearted, sadistic monster, but after making him bitch last week, it’s hard to get over. They should also get it through their heads that having Brock assault people smaller in size than him doesn’t prove anything. When he originally entered WWF with Paul Heyman, he was a threat to everyone and would mess around with the “big boys.” That’s being a monster. We’ll see where this new character is headed in the weeks to come.
I absolutely love the John Cena/Eddie Guerrero storyline. Not only are these two a good match, but they work great with each other inside the ring, and are entertaining while not going at it. Next week they’re headed for a Parking Lot Brawl and I can’t wait for that bout as well. It depends what WWE wants to get out of them, but I think it’ll be best to extend that feud until No Mercy. The tough spot here is determining who’ll come out on top. In either way, that’s one great storyline for SmackDown.
I have nothing against the APA, but they shouldn’t be fighting the World’s Greatest Tag Team. Benjamin and Haas have become too good of a team already in my eyes. I believe WWE should bring up the team of Palumbo and Stamboli of the FBI to feud with them. I can’t believe they let them go to Velocity, as well as OVW without giving them a further push on TV. I’ve had the opportunity to watch some of their tag matches on Velocity and absolutely enjoyed them. Plus, they’re younger than the APA, not that they’ll be the best match for Benjamin and Haas but I don’t see anyone else on SmackDown taking that spot. It’s either the FBI or the Bashams that need to step up.
As far as the APA goes, they should be used in more skits and gimmicked situations, like the return of their agency on Thursday. I hope that goes somewhere because both Bradshaw and Faarooq are good at comedy.
How great was Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri? Wow. About a year ago I remember telling everybody in this report how Rey Mysterio is probably one of the best cruiserweights in the world, and how I was psyched to see him debut. I also stated several times that he’s famous for working great with Tajiri. WWE even had the two fight on two occasions in the past (once back then, and once earlier this year), but never really did that good of a feud with them. I think now is the perfect opportunity. They brought the house down on SmackDown and were amazing. Tajiri’s turn was also done very well. I absolutely loved it.
Thumbs up to WWE for making the Bikini Contest a “taped summary” instead of airing the thing. That was a smart move as they didn’t waste precious time. Or maybe precious McMahon time? Hey my favorite weekly SmackDown superstar — Dawn Marie — is back. Now I hope my other one — Bill DeMott — returns, as well!
Overall, good edition of SmackDown. I thought the show was great, and I’m looking forward to the program next week (Guerrero vs. Cena), as well as in their big show in two weeks. I’ll have more on that next week. Until then, I’m out! Have a good one.
Thanks for reading. See ya.
Eddie
