First let me start out with a big Happy Father’s Day, and second get ready because this is going to be another Smackdown column that I am going to just praise like hell. It’s one of those shows where even the worst segments didn’t hurt the show and didn’t bother me. I just wish that Vince would really take notice of what they offer on Smackdown and instead of bringing in Donald Trump just follow Smackdown’s lead. Okay I am ready to gush over Friday’s excellent show. I hope you are ready to gush with me.
I want to tell you why Smackdown’s opening segment really excited me. It kind of started with Jeff Hardy being interviewed by Josh Matthews. Hardy has really grown since he became a main eventer. I look forward to watching him week after week not only in the ring, but on this mic as well. Yes I said the mic. While he may not be THE strongest on the mic, he has come a long way from the kid that we got years ago. Matthews was talking about how Jeff couldn’t catch a break thanks to Punk, and the very laid back Hardy responded about how he doesn’t live in the past and that he would get the title back at the Bash. This brought out Punk and this is the guy that really got things going for me. Last week I said that Chris Jericho has become the Shawn Michaels of Smackdown, and now it’s Punk’s turn. Ever since CM got traded to Smackdown and won the World Title championship he has really shown me so much, and I think Punk topped himself once he entered the ring and answered to Jeff Hardy. I was just blown away by his work on the mic and how he explained why he did what he did to Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules. I saw a Punk again with so much confidence and I love it that he is not coming off like a total face. I still believe this guy is going to turn heel and right now I see Punk as a tweener.
Just like Monday night, Punk reiterated that he took advantage of his MITB contract. He said there was nothing in that contract that said you can’t cash in on Jeff Hardy. I loved when Punk said that he was offended because there were people that said he stole the match on Monday’s Raw. His answer to that was that he never stole a thing in his life. Mind you during most of this there were plenty of fans booing Punk, which just added to what he had to say. Punk has become extremely solid in and out of the ring, and when he talks and explains the way things are I find myself buying into all of it, and I think that’s what makes a character so good. So a very cool opening segment with Hardy and Punk, and as I said the Roanoke, VA crowd with their loyalty to Jeff Hardy was just icing on the cake during this segment. The first match of the night was way too short, but such a good match. It was Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho. This could have been easily the match of the night, but I want to say it was only 5 minutes long. But those five minutes were excellent. And not only was the match awesome but it was time for Rey to get even wth Jericho for taking Rey out weeks ago posing as a Mysterio fan with a mask This surprise attack by Rey was just as good. Just as Hardy got Jericho with a DDT and was about to hit him with a Swanton Bomb, Jericho got out of the ring. Hardy tried to take out Jericho, but Chris moved and threw Hardy into the rail. Now here comes the Rey part. As Jericho turned Mysterio ran out from the audience and did a hurricanranna on Jericho and then went right back to his seat. It was funny because Rey was sitting next to two guys dressed exactly like him, with the mask and the tee shirt. Well of course Jericho wasn’t laughing because he never made it back to the ring and was counted out. Between this match and the opening I know I could tell that Smackdown was going to be one hot show and I was right. Punk, Hardy, Jericho, and Mysterio again showed why Smackdown is still the A show for WWE and what makes this even more important is that it has been the A show consistently now since the April draft.
Okay so we got another Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler match. And I’m happy to say this was kept short, but again I like that Ziggler always seems to come out on top. It’s the little things that he pops with which makes me care about watching these two. No matter how dominant Khali is, Ziggler always finds a way to come off still looking tough and like a guy heading into a future push. Ziggler did an “Eddie Guerrero.” He brought a chair into the ring when the ref wasn’t looking, and just as he tossed it at Khali, the Great Khali slammed it with his hand. Dolph fell down and when the ref turned around he saw Khali holding the chair and called a DQ. These are the kinds of antics that keep from making Ziggler look weak. Now I would love to see Ziggler move on and up.
I kind of liked Melina vs. Alicia Fox. I thought Fox did a better job against Melina on Friday night. Okay I didn’t kind of like it I liked it. What I didn’t like was once the match was over and Melina won, Michelle McCool attacked Melina in the ring, which was okay. It was McCool’s very amateurish mic work that I really hated. She said she was going to destroy Melina, and she would be the first woman to win both women’s titles. Any progression that McCool might have made kind of disappeared with her promo. This was just so bad and I hope she doesn’t walk out the women’s champ next week at the Bash. Well now we are in for not only one very STRONG promo from Edge but as far as I’m concerned a pay per view quality match between Edge and John Morrison. Edge is another of Smackdown’s bright spots and he was fantastic bitching and complaining about being screwed out of his title match and about Jeff Hardy. It’s so great to have Edge out there without Vickie. He’s right back to being one of the best heels in the company. Edge’s promo brought out my up and comer, John Morrison. Edge said that Morrison was another one that was trying to be like him. He insulted Morrison’s look by asking if he was Siegfried or Roy? Edge came up with some good stuff here. Morrison responded with some great comebacks as well. He made fun of Edge and his Canadian accent. He asked Edge what was he complaining about, was it his silly boots, his bobble head, or his bug eyes?” And then Morrison said he would give him something to complain about after Morrison kicked his face. Ah another reason why Smackdown is so good, because you get segments just like this one.
And as I just said their match was off the charts fantastic. This one went on longer than 15 minutes. I was so happy for Morrison. Having him work with Edge in my opinion is a major move. I am hoping that it shows Vince that Morrison is the future and that this match is the beginning of an Edge/Morrison feud. Both men gave their all here and I am telling you if you didn’t catch this match of the night, really try too. That’s how excellent it was. Hey did you guys know that I’m not a Ricky Ortiz fan? Oh I think you know that since I say it every time he’s on TV. I did not care for the match with Ortiz, Haas and Benjamin vs. R. Truth and Cryme Tyme. Smackdown was doing this for a while and now Raw is. They just throw a match out there with no rhyme or reason and that’s just what this was. I was hoping to see R. Truth get a nice push, but now I worry that we are going to get stuck with Truth feuding with Ortiz, my God I hope I’m wrong there. And I am wondering what the hell is going on with Shelton’s solo push? Don’t get wrong, Haas and Benjamin are a great tag team, but watching Benjamin on his own has really appealed to me and it’s not against Haas, but I am starting to think that Mr. Benjamin’s push is no longer happening. I guess we will have to wait and see how the next few weeks go.
The main event was great. You had Jericho doing a terrific job on the mic along side JR and Todd Grisham. He was “critiquing” the match with Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. And of course with Jericho’s cocky demeanor this was fun to listen too. Punk and Mysterio ranked right up their with the match of the night, in fact I would have to say that this match and Edge vs. Morrison tie for the Smackdown match of the night. I love when these two work together and I think this match was better than the one that had a while ago on Raw. You know Smackdown started so well and it ended even better. The action here was fantastic and along with Jericho’s smart-ass remarks you couldn’t ask for a better main event. Well Punk won the same way that he’s been winning since he became World Champion. He took advantage of Jericho interfering. After Punk attempted a GTS, Rey countered and ended up out of the ring. Punk was keeping the ref busy and while the refs back was turn Jericho got up and threw Mysterio head first in to the ring post. Right before the 10 count Mysterio got back in the ring and Punk did another GTS for the win. After the win Hardy ran out complaining to the ref about Jericho’s interference. And Jeff did a hell of a job showing how pissed he was. Of course the ref is signaling that he didn’t see a thing, and while the arguing is going on, Punk the champ rolled out of the ring holding up the belt.
My God so many great things happened on Smackdown. The two main feuds with Hardy vs. Punk and Mysterio vs. Jericho played out so well. And those are two reasons why I won’t pass on the Bash next week. Then we got a super match between Edge and Morrison, and the main stars came through on the mic. How can I not praise the show? Okay so it’s a commercial free Raw tomorrow night with Raw’s new owner Donald Trump, and the Last Man Standing match with Triple H vs. Randy Orton. I don’t have the same feeling about the show like I have with Smackdown, which could be a good thing. Maybe I will get a nice surprise and the last Raw before Sunday’s Bash will come through. Look for me on Tuesday or Wednesday for my thoughts on Trump’s Raw.
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