Hold me back; I’m so excited about Smackdown that I’m having a hard time sitting here calmly. This was not only the best WWE show of the week, but this was the best WWE show from top to bottom in a LONG LONG time. I haven’t got one thing to say bad about the show. The pace of Friday’s show was just perfect. There was nothing that dragged and Smackdown gave us some great matches, plus great starts to up coming feuds. This show was as close to flawless as you can get. And that Madison Square Garden crowd just made this show even more fun to watch. They are always a boisterous group. Okay let me get right to my thoughts and as I said they are all nothing but positive thoughts.
Chris Jericho got things started with his fantastic promo about taking over the show. Smackdown is now his show and no one can do a thing about it. Jericho was totally on his game and then Edge came out and he was a little put off with the addition of Jericho to Smackdown. Edge was awesome Friday night, and the thing that hit me immediately was that the Edge that carried Smackdown prior to his last match with Taker that kept him off TV for a while IS BACK! Edge got his “edge” back and watching these two interact was an absolute pleasure. And while each guy was ripping the other, the MITB winner, CM Punk made his way out and he really got a nice reaction from the crowd. Punk handled himself well with these two veterans and all in all this was one explosive opening. This is the kind of segment that makes me SO happy to be a WWE fan. Okay so during all of this, Punk informed Edge that they had a match and then it got a little confusing to me. While Edge was fine with it because it was a non title match, Edge quickly changed his mind when Punk said that he would give Edge the GTS and once Edge was sleeping he would cash in his MITB contract to become the new World champion. Yeah a little odd but hell the whole segment absolutely rocked.
The first match of the night was John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin. Okay, this match was a little over two minutes, which took away from what could have been he match of the night. That’s how good it was. It’s too bad we didn’t get a lot more of this match, but just the little that we got was a done so well. I love the solo push for Morrison and I really hope that this guy is on his way to a very major push with the company. There was a little backstage segment with Jericho, Khali and Teddy Long. First Jericho started with Long, He complained about being interrupted by Edge and Punk, he told Long it should have been his moment. And he went on and on until Khali came in. Khali started talking Punjabi while looking at Jericho, and Jericho though he was talking about how much he respects Jericho. Singh then told Jericho that Khali actually he said to quit your whining and get over yourself. Jericho had this weird grin when he thought t Khali was talking about respecting him. It just went with Jericho’s cocky persona. Raw might have been Jericho at one time, but Friday Smackdown was for sure Jericho!
The fatal 4-way with Jericho vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Jeff Hardy was EXCELLENT. I thought it would be good but I never thought it would be this good. This match was so fast paced and all four guys really looked strong. First Kane and then Jericho were eliminated which then left Mysterio and Jeff Hardy. And these two did a super job against each other. You know the chances of ever seeing a feud with Mysterio against Jeff Hardy is slim to none, but man what they gave us Friday night was just fantastic. Jeff Hardy did get the win against Rey and he now moves on to face Edge at Judgment Day for the World title. You won’t hear any complaints from me about this pay per view title match. Another fun backstage segment was when Maria was alone in Long’s office and first Jericho walked in and demanded to know where Long was. And then Edge came in and did the same thing. She told each one that Long wasn’t there. But the best part of all of this was when Edge asked Maria how could he put him in a match with Punk later on, because he could get hurt? He then came off like a spoiled brat when he said, “I’m going to call my wife.” This was such a good segment. You had two of Smackdown’s best heels in one scene coming off like two BIG BABIES whining.
So we get Cryme Tyme, YO YO YO, and they bring out Layla and Eve for a dance off. Listen normally I would say, this was something I could do without. But honestly I didn’t mind this at all. Both women looked good and the fans really seemed to go for all of it. And why wouldn’t they? You had two hot babes out there. Eve won, but really I think when it comes to dance moves, Layla topped Eve, but it doesn’t matter because this was not a long segment and it was okay, it really was. You know I’m probably crazy to say this, but I like MVP with Sherri Shepherd. While I’m not a View fan, I have always enjoyed Sherri on Everybody Loves Raymond and another comedy show I used to watch. I think it’s kind of cool that they have her with MVP; honestly I’m not sure why she’s with him but for now I like it. And I also thought MVP vs. Dolph Ziggler came off very well. I’m a little surprised I’m saying this, but in the short time that they put Ziggler against MVP, I have seen Ziggler in a new light. The gimmick might stink but I think he’s starting to show some possibility even with the, Hello I’m Dolph Ziggler crap. I think there is definitely hope for Dolph, and believe me I didn’t feel that way a while ago.
We got one last backstage segment with Chris Jericho and this one was a really good one. Jericho found Long backstage and told him that he’s a two-bit hack, and that it’s a miracle that Smackdown has become as successful as it has with a person like Long in charge. Jericho went on to say that if they don’t treat him with respect he should quit. And then John Morrison came out. He left the locker room and greeted Long and Jericho. Jericho asked Morrison what he was looking at, and Morrison responded with “I thought I was looking at a loser, but it turns out that I’m looking at a quitter.” And then all hell broke loose. Jericho slapped Morrison in the face and Morrison went after Jericho and knocked him into a door and the brawling started. They each had to be pulled apart. And while this was going on CM Punk showed up with his MITB case and whistled as he walked by all the action. Every segment that was done backstage was perfect. Each one just added so much to the show and to the up coming storylines.
And the main event was one of my favorites of the night. I thought Edge and Punk worked off each other so well. I really found myself just enjoying everything that was going on here. And as I said at the beginning it got even more confusing when Punk did the GTS and when over to cash in his MITB case and surprise, Umaga attacked Punk and the bell rang ending all of this. And as Punk was down Edge grabbed the brief case, but Jeff Hardy ran out and hit his Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb on Edge to end the show. So I’m guessing that because the bell rang Punk still has the MITB contract. This was another hot match and a great way to build up the Edge and Hardy feud and Punk got a nice rub for the night as well.
Before I go there’s not doubt in my mind that Smackdown was a five star show, but I just want to say that I am really into the Evan Bourne/Paul Burchill feud on ECW. I’m so happy to see Paul Burchill finally getting a chance to get into a storyline and Bourne is just a pleasure to watch. Also Tyson Kidd has shown me a lot, and I think ECW is going to really shine with Kidd, Bourne and Christian as champion. ECW is becoming a show that I really don’t want to miss. Okay I will return with my thoughts on Raw either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Here’s hoping for a wild and crazy show, or at least a show as good as Friday’s Smackdown.
Email lindarobin3@hotmail.com
