Smackdown gets TWO thumbs up from me. The show was so good it was like Smackdown from a few years ago. There were so many on the roster that helped make this an almost perfect show. When you read this you will see that except for one horrible thing everything else just flowed. I’m going to get the crap segment and then it’s all positive.
How dare they interrupt one of the best matches of the night. I’m talking about the cruiserweight match with Shannon Moore, Paul London and Funaki vs. Chavo Guerrero, Akio and Spike Dudley. These guys were not only given enough time to showcase how good they are, but Vince and his staff and the nerve to send out the new diva’s while the match was going on. I was livid. If Vince thinks that these women are going to help fans decide to order No Way Out, he’s so wrong it’s not funny. I’m watching this match and I’m looking at some of the best in that ring and all of a sudden a parade of diva’s with signs come out to disrupt what’s going on in the ring and strut their stuff to promote their little thing that they have booked for Sunday. I also read from a fan that was at the taping live said the women did not get that huge cheer that we all heard, it was piped in. I am totally disgusted and I just don’t understand why Vince has a hard time of accepting the Cruiserweights and there division. Thankfully this crap didn’t wreck the show, but it definitely wrecked a very good match.
That’s my major beef otherwise all was good. The opening match with Mr. Electricity Rey Mysterio vs. Doug Basham came off well. The match was short but extremely upbeat and the fans definitely seemed to be enjoying it. And now with RVD out for a while it’s Rey and Eddie Guerrero taking on the Bashams at No Way Out for the tag team titles. I smell a heel turn from Eddie on Sunday. But this was one good match, and a nice way to start things off. Smackdown did a nice job all night pushing the Batista/JBL limo incident. The show first opened with Raw’s ending showing Triple H “saving” Batista’s life as the limo was coming at him. And then after the first match JBL along with Orlando Jordan had a little discussion with Theodore Long and naturally JBL denied that he was the one in that limo. JBL seemed a little rattled knowing that Batista was on his way to Smackdown. The buildup for Batista’s appearance definitely was strong. We saw a few highlights of the No Way Out press conference and the bright spot was that a six man elimination match with Shannon Moore, Spike, Akio, Paul London, Chavo and Funaki was added. This will be for the Cruiserweight title. Also as I mentioned on Tuesday, Batista will also be at No Way Out. Kurt Angle did a very short but effective promo on Booker and Cena. Since he would be facing one of these guys on Sunday he did a rap for Cena and ended this with Booker’s Can You Dig That Sucka. Coming from Kurt it came off funny and I liked it. I didn’t care for the Kurt Angle Invitational that was just a few seconds of fill, it did nothing for me.
I think that even though we were supposed to wonder if Cena or Booker would win, WWE kind of gave us a clue after Angle left the ring after his Invitational and ran into Cena. They had a stare down and that kind of said it all. Cena and Booker were next and this was another match that was really good. It took a little time to get going but the match definitely improved and I was extremely happy by the job both men did. At least this one wasn’t rushed, and with Cena winning, and in Sunday’s match against Kurt Angle this is the match that I believe the fans will go crazy for. I was pleased with Big Show’s interview with Josh Matthews concerning his title match in the barbed wire cage match. Show made it clear that getting his hands on Bradshaw and winning the title made this match worth being in no matter at what cost. And as far as Batista being there? Show didn’t seem to give a damn stating that Dave couldn’t get in that cage and JBL wouldn’t be able to get out. A nice calm interview by Big Show, I like that he didn’t over do it. Now see I’m excited about what is coming next.
I can’t tell you how HAPPY and THRILLED I am that Heidenreich and Taker are done, finished, kaput. When I saw him starting up with Booker it was like a weight had been lifted from Smackdown. Booker and Heidenreich might not be the strongest feud but at least Booker is there every week and just maybe John Heidenreich will be made to wrestle on a weekly basis which would be a welcomed site for me. And now even better. While Nunzio got pulverized by Luther Reigns, I found myself liking this match. Normally I hate when big guys kill the smaller ones
But in two weeks Luther as really come far. He made this match entertaining as did Nunzio. Now things improved even more when Luther beat Nunzio and he got on the mic and started trash talking Taker. Two strong promo’s in two weeks by this man. Not only can he talk but when he speaks he’s relaxed and very very natural. Also how nice it was to see Taker two weeks in a row. And his match against Mark Jindrak was good it really was. It was like someone told Taker guess what? You don’t have to be weighed down with Heidenreich anymore. I’m telling you the match was good and I think it’s great that it’s Taker vs. Reigns at No Way Out. I feel this one will be a decent match. My favorite apple eating heel Carlito was in rare form badgering Teddy Long in his dressing room. It seems like Carlito is very sure that Long’s days are numbered as the GM for Smackdown. Cool even warned Long that when Long is out Teddy better watch his back. It will be nice when Carlito is heeled and wrestling again so he can be part of a big feud. Kurt Angle and John Cena had a super backstage segment. Cena came off so well by putting Angle in his place, by straightening him out on just how HUNGRY he is to be in that Wrestlemania main event. This really made Cena look focused and serious and it was a nice change of pace from his silly raps of late.
Well I waited for Batista to show up and it didn’t happen until the very end. But when he did make his appearance the wait was well worth it. JBL and his cabinet hit the ring and JBL mentioned that he was a wrestling God. And then on the screen there’s Dave in this gorgeous sports car with the top down, and Batista takes his time checking out JBL’s Limo and then all hell breaks lose. Dave destroys every window on that limo and JBL and his staff are just frozen in disbelief. I have to say Dave came off very self confident, he had a great look and he added a lot for only being on for a short time. He managed to leave right before the Bashams got to him and that’s when Big Show came out and attacked JBL, and after a few seconds the rest of JBL’s guys came in to aid their boss. That brought out Batista and the crowd went NUTS. Dave cleared the ring, only JBL got out before Dave could get him. And the show ended with Batista and Big Show just staring at each other and then at JBL.
Smackdown did a lot of things right. One, it hyped up No Way Out very well. Two, even though John Cena and Kurt Angle had one show to heat things up, they did a terrific job in making the fans interested in their number one contenders match Sunday. And three, WWE made Dave Batista look like one of THE top guys in the company. They made him the focus of both shows and now he’s a big part of Now Way Out, I am floored yet happy to see what they are giving him to do. Last night it was a pleasure for me to watch the show and before I forget I have never seen Pulp Fiction in its entirety, but I thought the ad with Eddie and Booker was good. Booker stole the show in this one. And as I have been saying in the last few weeks I can’t wait to see what’s next. One more thing, a few of you have asked me why I stopped talking about TNA. I want to explain my reason. About three weeks ago I put the show on at midnight, I was so excited to watch it, but I missed the beginning what I did catch was enough for me to stop watching. It was Jeff Jarrett cutting a promo on Kevin Nash. I swear that Jeff was reading the entire thing word for word, it was painful watching him. After that I just felt like I was watching the end of WCW and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’m not saying I’m totally done with TNA but honestly I’m in no hurry to try it again. Things went downhill for me when Nash and Hall joined because it seemed to give Jarrett even more on air time. So that’s why my TNA days for now are off. Also I feel bad Kazarian left, but I guess WWE is going to try him out in a developmental deal. I hope it works out for him because this guy is a joy to watch in the ring. Okay I’ll be back on Sunday with my No Way Out picks, start sending me yours. I’ve gotten a few and I’m ready for more.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
