First let me apologize for not having a Smackdown column out over the weekend. I forgot that Sunday was Easter, which meant I would not be home for most of the day. That’s why I planned on posting a column on Saturday. But Friday night right before Smackdown I had some computer problems. After talking to an Apple Tech for 30 minutes it turned out that my external hard drive was no good. So on Saturday I had to go buy a new one. And now you see why there was no column. But tonight I have no excuses. And I really want to talk about the draft show last night. I think I am in the minority, but I liked the show. Here let me explain.
My main focus of last night’s show was the draft. I knew there would be matches, but all I was really interested in was who was going where. I guess I got more than I bargained for because we got some very solid matches on the show as well. I’m very excited to talk about those matches, and there was one match that I absolutely loved, and that match was my match of the night. So as far as I’m concerned Raw came off like a winner. Was the draft flawless? Of course not but for the most part I was absolutely fine with the way things turned out. Now let me tell you about the matches that came off so well. The first match that won me over was Rey Mysterio vs. Evan Bourne. This had the makings of being the match of the night, but the only problem was that it was only around three minutes long. I love it when these two guys got against each other. And I could really see a heel Bourne vs. Rey Mysterio in the very near future. I think it would be a real crowd-pleasing feud.
I totally enjoyed Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz. The Miz has come such a long way since he became John Morrison’s tag team partner. I used to cringe every time he opened his mouth or just showed up, but I definitely don’t feel that way anymore. And I have really gotten into Kofi Kingston matches lately as well. So t these two performed very well last night. And of course most of you know I’m not big on Battle Royale’s but I did like the one we got last night with Big Show, MVP, Cryme Tyme and Mike Knox from the Raw team vs. Finlay, Tyson Kid, Paul Burchill, Mark Henry, and Ricky Ortiz from the ECW team vs. Carlito, Primo, R-Truth, Chavo Guerrero, and Edge from Smackdown. This was short but fun to watch because I knew Edge and Big Show would be the last two guys in here. And just like last year, Edge got the victory and a pick for Smackdown.
Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin was a good match, but unfortunately the crowd seemed very uninterested in this one. Could it be because Vince has done nothing to make Christian’s return HUGE? I am somewhat shocked in how little his return seems to mean to Vince. I’m more than shocked I am disappointed. He’s such a solid wrestler and he’s so good on the mic that it is just weird to me that he’s going nowhere and I do mean nowhere. But back to the match, I thought both men really came through. Another hot match was my Chicago favorite CM Punk vs. Matt Hardy. You know it’s kind of sad that they are now on separate brands, because I think we got a very good preview of what we could get if these two were to have a feud. This was my second favorite match of the night. I also liked the main event. I didn’t expect too because honestly I wasn’t that into the opening segment with Triple H, Batista and Shane arguing about who gets Randy Orton. I mean it just didn’t seem to have the intensity that it should have had. Everyone was too mild mannered. But you now what? I really didn’t like the Vickie Guerrero appearance. That got to me more than anything. It was awfully weird having her come out and decide on a match when Shane McMahon was standing in the ring like a moron and just letting Vickie call the shots. Here are three guys that each wanted to go after Orton, but Vickie comes up with a handicap match. I just couldn’t get why Shane would allow this to happen. Oh that’s right, she’s the Raw GM, which in my opinion was a horrible mistake to make. I am slowly losing it for Vickie’s character. It’s like now when she appears you get that “oh not again” feeling. So it was just a blah opening for me.
But the main event itself was good. What I didn’t get was that last week these three faces got a along very well, but last night the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. That all seemed to change rather fast. The match turned out good and it was another one of my favorites. But the best of the night was John Cena vs. Jack Swagger. I LOVED this match. This was just outstanding and nothing on the show came close to topping it. I think part of the reason why this was so good was because we have never seen these two face each other before. What a nice change of pace for a change. This was just a terrific match and Swagger showed me a lot, and Cena looked very good as well. So these were the best of the night. The other matches I didn’t think were worth mentioning.
As far as the draft goes I think things went pretty well. In fact I’m fine with most of the moves, but I will say the thought of Big Show on Raw with Vickie is something that I am not looking forward too. I think that was the real downer for me because the rest I was pleased with. For instance I’m thrilled that CM Punk and Chris Jericho moved to Smackdown, it gives Smackdown a new look and it gives these guys some new blood to work against. I am also happy to have MVP on Raw and Matt Hardy as well. Triple H going to Raw was expected but I’m happy it happened because it’s nice to have him back on Monday nights. And Rey Mysterio going back to Smackdown was no surprise either, I think that was pretty much of a given. Moving Maryse to Raw was a cool thing to do, but instead of Melina going to Smackdown I would have preferred to have Mickie James make that move. This poor girl has been with the Raw roster long enough. If anyone needs new opponents it’s Mickie. And while having John Morrison moved to Raw would have been my preference, I’m totally cool with the Miz now on that roster. I say let’s give this guy a chance. Kane on Smackdown really doesn’t mean much to me, and Kozlov to ECW definitely means very little to me. I think John Cena should have been moved to Smackdown, because I feel that show could have used one more major name, but all in all I liked the way things turned out.
So I would say that the three hours of Raw flew bye. I thought it was a fun show to watch and as I’m typing this up I’m watching a very good match with Evan Bourne vs. John Morrison on ECW and reading the spoilers for Smackdown. I am one busy chick. I just wanted to add that I got my tickets for Judgment Day. My son is brave enough to go again and this time we are hoping that his girlfriend will be there as well. Okay I will be back I promise over the weekend with my Smackdown thoughts.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
