We all know that my Friday columns are about Smackdown. But, after watching last night’s show not only do I feel like I will never get back the two hours I lost, but I’m not going to put any more time into about talking about a show that was so boring and so ridiculous. One thing I would love to know is what the hell happened to Batista? Did he read stay home because he read the script in advance? Okay so I’m declaring today is SUNDAY. And since I will not be home on Sunday this will be my Sunday column. There are a lot of juicy rumors going around so I would like to cover them, plus two former WWE cruiserweights are coming back and a top WWE star isn’t leaving the company. So it’s on to the latest rumors and news, and trust me this is going to be a lot more interesting than talking about Smackdown.
Is it me? Or are both shows in a tailspin? For a long time Raw has really been a decent show to watch. It consistently had good matches, good feuds and it was entertaining. But since the draft I’m seeing a decline in both Raw and Smackdown. Let me start with Smackdown first. I guess Smackdown is really suffering from John Cena and Kurt Angle going to Raw. But I really thought with Christian drafted over to Smackdown he would have become the top heel. I figured with Christian and Randy Orton on the show, JBL would lose some much needed on air time and these two young guys would now get to shine. As far as Randy goes, we all now that it was a matter of time until he came back fully recovered from his shoulder surgery. In fact at least we got a few seconds of him last night on Smackdown.
However, the man that I thought would rule Smackdown has become nothing more than a mid carder. And that’s Christian. I think most of us agree that this guy’s real breakthrough happened the night he interacted with Vince McMahon on Raw. The night when Captain Charisma got right into Vince’s face and just flowed with his humor and mic work. After that show Christian each week shined not only on the mic but in the ring. His trashing of Cena was great; it was so great that the fans each week just got more hyped waiting to hear more from Christian. Raw was now starting to be Christian’s show and with all the talent on that show he just added so much to Monday nights. So when he was traded I guess many of us along with Christian, expected to see him as one of Smackdown’s top talent. But for those of us that watch Smackdown we all know that hasn’t happened. JBL is still the top heel, and after last night unfortunately he is going against Batista at Summer Slam. And believe me that’s a rematch I could live without. Anyway the latest rumor is that Christian is not happy at all. He is not causing any problems backstage but many backstage can see that he’s upset, and basically angered by his demotion on Smackdown.
Now this rumor has been all over the Internet, but I had heard it on a hotline from a major site, and believe me when I listened to this I was upset and sick about what’s going on. Again it’s a rumor not a fact, but if it’s to be believed I ask myself what is Vince thinking? Christian had the fans support, in fact except when Christian and Edge teamed up years ago with their kazoos and five second poses I don’t think Christian ever got the reaction that he was receiving. Many of you would email me not that pleased with Tyson Tomko being Christian’s problem solver, but that whole gimmick worked for me. The more exciting and fun Christian got the more Tomko fit perfectly with him. I think that Tomko should have gone over to Smackdown with Christian, and that the momentum for this man should have continued. Wouldn’t most of you rather see a Christian vs. Batista match instead of JBL and Batista? I’m even angrier about this situation after watching last night’s show; Christian’s importance just seems to be sinking fast. Smackdown is lacking major STAR POWER and you put Christian at the top and trust me the fans will flock to see him and their reaction to him will perk up the shows. I can only hope that things change for Christian, because not only is he suffering, but so are the majority of the fans as well as Smackdown.
Now let’s get to another major rumor and again if this is true oh I’m livid. Now I didn’t see The Great American Bash, and trust me I’m grateful I missed it, but supposedly the Batista match with JBL was horrible. Now what makes this even worse is that Vince is taking that out only on Batista. JBL seems to be free of any blame. The rumor goes on to say that it was Triple H’s three matches with Batista that made Dave look like a champion. It seems like many are saying that Hunter carried Batista in each match. Well true or not, how come JBL isn’t looked at as a man that should have carried Batista on Sunday? After all this man is a veteran how come he couldn’t do half of what Hunter did for Dave? And again the rumors are that many backstage see how green Batista is and that it took Vince this long to realize the same thing. Well again I didn’t see the match, but you put Batista in with Benoit, Christian, Eddie or even Booker T, and I’ll bet you get a match worth watching. I am sick of Bradshaw being in the title race, having the show sometimes revolve around him. Don’t get me wrong, his mic work has been excellent he’s done a lot for his character, but it’s time to give Christian that break. Or maybe turn Benoit heel and get him in that title picture. And how about Guerrero vs. Batista once this Rey/Eddie angle is done? It bothers me that Dave was off last night, and really not even talked about. I am concerned now that Batista will lose that title at Summer Slam and it will go right back on JBL. That is something I do not want to see. I never thought I would say this, so sit down because I don’t want you to faint, but get Brock back here, set him up with Batista and maybe Smackdown will be fun and entertaining to watch again.
Well I can’t leave out Raw. And this is a killer. God how I hope this isn’t true. Yes I was able to pick out a few good things on this week’s Raw. But only a few, because the hot dog eating contest with the diva’s, and the midget match with Vis and the Heart throbs wasn’t exactly great entertainment. As much as I thought Cena did a nice job with his concert, it’s not exactly the reason I watch Raw. I don’t know I’m still looking for some top matches and enough wrestling to keep me interested. Yet I read yesterday, and yes it’s a rumor that Stephanie loved the offbeat entertainment. And that Stephanie wants to move as far away as possible from its roots. Dear God, what does this all mean? Could it mean that we are going to get less top rated matches, and more non wrestling segments maybe like these Diva’s making peanut butter sandwiches, or maybe having a concert each week with a different wrestler? I hope this is all BS because Raw as I said earlier is losing its steam. And at this rate Raw is going to be as painful to watch as Smackdown as been. Also to go with all of this, Vince and Stephanie have hired a bunch of new writers and these new writers supposedly haven’t a clue about wrestling, and it seems to me that too much emphasis is put on this new “creative” team and the wrestling has gotten lost in the shuffle. I totally blame the so called creative team for not feeling any intensity in the Chris Jericho/John Cena feud. Where are the brawls? Where are the heated words, the anger? There is none of that. Also as much as I loved Shawn’s promo on Monday night, again it’s lacking HEAT. I watch both feuds, and I don’t have that “I can’t wait until next week” feeling. Nothing is progressing. Since I started back in 1998 I think this is one of the weakest build ups for Summer Slam. Hopefully with three weeks left it will improve, but as of now I’m very disappointed.
Okay so there you have it Sunday’s column on Friday. Now I’m very happy that WWE.com put up on their site that Y2J signed an extension on Monday night. The thought of him no re signing really worried me. And Jamie Noble and Spanky are supposedly on their way back. It’s not known when we will see them on TV but they are coming back, so that’s good news. I will be back on Tuesday with my Raw thoughts. Gee I hope I don’t have to make Tuesday another Sunday. And one more thing, if you got to http://www.dory-funk.com/, not only can you check out Bang TV, but there’s an interview with Carlito’s dad and brother, Carlos and Eddie Colon, so check it out. Have a great weekend.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
