Which show did I like better this week? Was it Raw or Smackdown? It’s a tough one to call, since both shows had its good along with its bad. But I guess I have to give Raw the edge because of the way the show ended with Jeff Hardy’s 30 foot Swanton Bomb. And while Smackdown had nothing like that to end their show they at least had a very good main event along with an excellent non wrestling segment. So let me get right into Friday’s show by starting off with all the things that were wrong, and unfortunately there was plenty wrong with Smackdown.
Smackdown had a couple of very strong segments, but then the rest was fair to quite good. I said it last week and I’m saying it again, I’m so tired of The Undertaker wrestling Mark Henry, Viscera, or both men. And I’m also tired of Khali vs. Finlay. Week after week this is what Smackdown has been giving us. It’s like watching ECW and booking Chavo vs. CM Punk three weeks straight, and if that isn’t bad enough now we are getting a forth match against these same two guys for CM’s title next Tuesday. It’s like do we really need to see them go at it again so soon after the last three weeks. And wasn’t two matches in a row enough? Now going back to Finlay and Khali. WWE has the nerve to hype up yet another match for next week’s show with these two only this one is different, it’s a Belfast brawl. Yeah different my ass! These are the things that are just boring the hell out of me week after week. Plus we are now getting Vince McMahon on both shows, but on Smackdown this week we didn’t need him. There was no reason for him to make another on air appearance. I mean if he wasn’t on, I don’t think anyone would have questioned why Vince McMahon was a no show on Smackdown. But all wasn’t lost on Friday night. I have to give it to Batista vs. Henry. It was not a match that I wanted to see, but it turned out to be a pretty good match. And while I could have cared less about Taker vs. Big
Daddy V, it was a very nice change of pace to open the show with Undertaker’s in ring promo. I don’t know when the last time was that we got Taker saying more than “rest in peace?”
The tag team match with Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Deuce and Domino was one of the best matches of the night. It’s so cool to see Wang and Moore both being used consistently, especially Moore. I mean there were many times where I would forget that he was even back with the WWE. I also have to give Layla a lot of credit for doing a much better job in the ring. She’s no Trish Stratus but she managed to look much sharper than I remember seeing her. The majority of her moves just seemed to flow. I never expected to see any kind of improvement from her so this was a pleasant surprise. Layla along with Michelle McCool put on a decent match. Now were two show stealers Friday night. The first was the VIP Lounge with MVP and his guest Ric Flair.
The banter between these two guys was just excellent. This is what they need to do with Flair. Put him out there and have him interact with his opponent so that he can show how great he is on the mic. You just don’t put him in a match with William Regal let it go for a few minutes and expect us all to believe that Regal was really going to beat THE MAN. But maybe if Regal and Flair would have had a good trash talking in ring segment prior to their match something Regal said might have made us believe just a little bit that Flair was going down. The VIP Lounge was by far the top segment of the night and MVP was made to look even stronger as one of Smackdown’s top heels, and he definitely held his own against Flair on the mic. The other hot segment was the great main event with Edge and his new bud, Chavo vs. CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. What a relief to see CM on Smackdown in a main event looking like he matters. Everyone involved in this match did a super job, and while was going now where thanks to putting him against Punk three weeks in a row and doing nothing with his character except having him wrestle, this main event showcased just how good he really is in the ring and just what he can bring to the fans when you put him into such a major match. For a fair show this main event and the VIP Lounge made me very happy that I watched Smackdown. I feel that the MVP/Flair feud and the Edge/Mysterio feud both got nice build ups for their up coming Royal Rumble matches.
So we are now on the road to the Royal Rumble with tomorrow’s Raw being the last Raw until the big pay per view. Now Raw will be the first televised show going HD. Right now that means nothing to me, but for all you fans that have HD TV this should be a cool thing to watch. I am curious to see who Vince has going against Hunter. I am looking forward to more of the Hardy/Orton rivalry and I wonder if Mr. Kennedy…. Kennedy can win another one against the Heartbreak Kid. Oh and I can’t wait to see a match with Snitzky, GOTTCHA! I will be back on Tuesday with my Raw thoughts.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
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