Smackdown was a hell of a show last night. have to say that the wrestling was pretty damn solid and there really wasn’t much that I didn’t like. I figured out when I read the spoilers why the guys that were drafted from Raw to Smackdown were not on the show, and why the guys and women that were drafted to Raw from Smackdown were. I will admit at first I didn’t get it but then I realized that all three brands were going over seas and the Raw roster I think left after the show Monday night. I’m guessing because the fans were promised a certain card pre draft, that Vince didn’t want to make major changes. That’s my reasoning why Smackdown had Maryse, Hunter, Show, MVP still on Friday’s show. And if you remember Orton showed up on Smackdown before Wrestlemania so that wasn’t a big surprise. And Orton along with Batista, Rhodes and Di Biase are all a part of the Smackdown card on this overseas trip so that’s why they were on Smackdown last night. So to sum it, and I’m laughing because I think this all got a little complicated. The over seas trip kind of kept things the same. Enough of my explanation I want to get right to the hot show that we got last night.
Wasn’t it weird that Edge and even John Cena didn’t make it on Smackdown? Well they were with the Raw crew, so enough said. But seriously it seemed odd watching the show without Smackdown. But I will have to say that Big Show and Jeff Hardy put on quite an opening match. I have to give the Big Show major props because he really hung in there with Hardy. This was a really fast paced match, yep I said fast paced and I liked it very much. The ending with Matt Hardy getting in Jeff’s head and costing Jeff the win came off very well. Big Show blocked Jeff’s Whisper in the Wind and punched Hardy for the win. This whole Hardy vs. Hardy angle is coming off so much better than it was before Wrestlemania. Everything that took place here came off very well. Well it’s been a while but Khali and the Kiss Kam returned last night. The only surprise for me was that they picked a hot looking girl. I was waiting for someone in my age group to get the nod. Of course this was all brought back to set up Monday’s big segment with Khali and the new love of his life, Santina. While this isn’t something that I am dying to see, I have a feeling that we might get some very funny “Santina” humor. At least I hope so.
This next match that I thought came off extremely well was Maryse vs. Gail Kim. This has to be one of the best diva matches that I have seen in awhile. Unfortunately it was too short for me. Also I wish they would start letting Kim do some mic work. Give this woman a chance to do some promos. I would like WWE to put so much more focus on Gail Kim. But anyway let me get back to the match. I am so pleased with Maryse’s wrestling and as I said this was one very good match. And I have to say not having Michelle McCool involved was a major plus. Another match that I thought was cool was John Morrison vs. R. Truth. Supposedly R. Truth is just another guy that’s not high on Vince’s list, but I thought he came through last night and maybe if they put him in matches against guys that are agile like him, Truth can change Vince’s mind. Morrison as so many of you know is very high on my list, so any one on one action with Morrison in there definitely pleases me.
The Hardy’s storyline has really picked up post Mania . And the Orton/Triple H storyline has taken a nosedive since Wrestlemania. Now I didn’t mind last night’s segment with Orton and Hunter. But I didn’t love it either. Everything that was said has been said over and over again. And I think this segment would have had a lot more meaning if Orton would have come out to the ring and at least got in Triple H’s face. The segment wasn’t bad but it could have been SO much better. It’s cool to see that Taker and Shelton Benjamin have such strong chemistry with each other. It seems like any match that these two have put on has been really good, and last night was definitely no exception. Shelton really puts that EXTRA effort in when he goes against Taker and this was one of the top matches of the night.
You know I have no doubt in my mind that Dolph Ziggler can wrestle, because he definitely can. It’s that gimmick, or lack of gimmick that is hurting the hell out of him. When I found out he was drafted to Smackdown I could have cared less, and when I saw him last night and realized he was facing MVP I was not happy. But again he looks good in the ring, but it’s hard to care about a guy that acts cocky and introduces himself every time he’s on a show. That’s real creative isn’t it? So the match was good, and I think both guys complemented each other very nicely, but I just wish I could get more into Ziggler. And finally the main event was excellent. I thought Batista looked very good out there in his first real one on one match. And it was a thrill to see Ted DiBiase in the ring without Orton and Cody Rhodes. He showed me a lot and I have to say the more this went on the more I got into it. I only hope that Triple H vs. Orton comes off as good as this one did. I’ll be honest with you after their Wrestlemania match, I’m a little concerned about what we are going to get.
It’s nice to be able to say that Smackdown and Raw both were very good shows. Hey I’m not even going to leave out ECW. Listen if you guys want to see a HOT match, please check out John Morrison vs. Evan Bourne. This was a classic. Morrison and Bourne came off like seasoned veterans. They put on such an awesome MUST see match. Also the triple threat elimination match with Tommy Dreamer vs. Finlay vs. Christian was another good match. No, not as good as the opener, but still a very good match. The only downfall was we are back to the beginning with Kozlov. He squashed a jobber in seconds and now he’s looking for competition. Here we go again, didn’t Vince learn anything when it comes to Kozlov? He just doesn’t have it. So along with Raw and Smackdown you can add ECW to the list of good WWE programming for the week Okay I want to mention that the new WWE Superstars show on WGN America has been getting great reviews. Well here in my area we get it on Sunday mornings at 11:00 am. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to watching the show tomorrow. I just wish we got it on Thursday nights, but at least we get it. I will return on Tuesday with my thought on Raw from London, England. That crowd is usually on fire. So Raw might be a SWEET show.
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