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Unknown
06-11-2004, 09:29 AM
IMO, this was the best SD since the draft lottery. Other than a few minor quirks here and there the show didn’t disappoint.



The Booker/Angle/Cena segment was ok. I am sick of Angle talking about how he can never wrestle again. He’s becoming a broken record like JBL and that’s not good. He could find something else to talk about seeing as he’s the SD GM. I didn’t like how Booker was portrayed in the segment. They basically had him do everything but get down and kiss Angle’s ass. I know he’s a heel and all but he should atleast have a mind of his own. Cena was ok in the segment but it is more than obvious how stale he is right now. We don’t want to see the Cena who sucks up to the crowd. When will the WWE figure out that? He is stale because he is being booked poorly. I think that he and the WWE should really make an attempt to fix his character because SD now more than ever needs the Cena from around Survivor Series back. I like the idea of the Triple Play Challenge. It looked to be something that interesting.



I may be in the minority here but I liked Kenzo’s debut. He portrayed his character to perfection and his Judo Slam finisher looks pretty sick. Hopefully he can work a competitive matchup because I like the character and see him as a future US champ. He seemed to fit in with Akio and Sakoda…maybe the powers that be will form an alliance with the three. Maybe then, Akio and Sakoda can get into the tag division.



The Eddie/Bradshaw segment with the limo was entertaining. I like that the comedic Eddie has returned. It was funny seeing him try to destroy JBL’s limo.



The Dudley Boys/Heyman segment was solid. I like the touch that Heyman adds to the Dudley’s. He always makes them try for something more rather than just settling. This will add the what will they do next excitement to their characters.



The Chavo Guerrero/Rey Mysterio matchup was a fun cruiser match, which didn’t feature enough high flying to be anything spectacular. Chavo Classic continues to be entertaining as hell week after week. My only problem is that this matchup didn’t receive any kind of hype at all. A backstage interview would of done. There were none all night anyways. When a match is hyped or given any kind of purpose people will care about it more. This match did nothing for either man. Rey should move on to the US title division. I don’t see what’s left for him to do in the Cruiserweight division.



The Eddie Guerrero in ring promo was pretty good. To me, this was the best they’ve handled the feud yet. Eddie got to play his comedic face role and didn’t have to for once give Bradshaw some extra credibility thereby hurting himself. My only problem with it is that Guerrero has to introduce something new into his character. Don't get me wrong, his antics are entertaining but they will get stale if he doesn't introduce something new. Also, they have to be careful not to overdo the comedic face bit. They need a balanced mix between the comedic Eddie and the firey Latino Heat Eddie.

The Triple Play Challenge was very entertaining and was handled very well. I liked the way they had Booker knock RVD off the top ropes. This leaves the door open for a feud between the two down the line most likely after the GAB. I like the fact that they had the challengers on the offense most of the match because it really put over how much they wanted a US title shot. On another sidenote, I hate the way Cena does the F-U now. When he used to go down to the floor with them it looked more devastating. It doesn’t look as devastating when they have him just drop the guy off of his shoulders. I like the idea of the Fatal Four Way. Another thing I have to give them the thumbs up on is when they had RVD kick Cena. It puts over that the belt is more important than the predetermined notion that faces should always get along. I just hope Cena retains the belt as none of the other three men need the belt right now. RVD and Booker should move onto bigger and better things while Dupree just needs to be established as a character better. The French thing will not get him anywhere.



The Heyman/Taker segment was interesting. Michael Cole’s comment about the Undertaker feeling like his walk to the ring was a long one to me was stupid. I don’t see how Taker would know the difference as he takes damn near 5 min just to do his entrance. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this angle. Hopefully it’s not just Taker aligning with Heyman to get Bearer back. Maybe it will be their way to goating Taker and having someone attacking him replacing him in the Heyman stable.



I give SD a 7.75 out of 10. The show wasn’t plagued by its usual problems. No Mordecai and Torrie Wilson made the show that much more watchable. It would have been nice to see Rico and Haas on the show. They are the tag team champions not that the WWE cares about that division. There needs to be something done to get Angle out of the GM role. IMO, he is hurting the show more than helping it in his role as GM. He just comes off as a bitter ex-superstar who feels that he should use his power to get revenge on everyone. A non wrestler needs to play this role now more than ever. Shane McMahon, it’s time for you to come back to TV. I can bet that he’d play the role better than Angle, which would give SD a boost in that department. I am intrigued by this show and can’t wait for next week’s episode. My only other problem with SD is that it doesn’t end with the strong main events that it used to. SD needs a strong main event to cap off the show. The Heyman/Taker thing could have been done a little earlier which could have left room for a main event with Eddie going against a top tier talent or even some sort of title being defended. That right now is one of the few things that is hurting SD. If they can return to the days of solid main events like the Angle/Big Show no DQ match then SD will be much better. Other than that, SD is just in need of top superstars. Big Show will be back in a month or so maybe that will help a bit. Hopefully after GAB, Booker and RVD are elevated to semi main event maybe with a strong feud going into or past Summerslam into the next SD brand PPV. Rhyno is desperately needed on this show. He isn’t doing anything on Raw right now and a run at Guerrero’s title can produce a great feud and will help SD out a lot. He could then even be the one to join Heyman’s stable and feud with the Undertaker where he’d hopefully go over. If SD introduces a few more midcarders (Jindrak and maybe Charlie Haas after his angle with Rico) and brings in some more main event level talent (Rhyno) or elevates guys who should be in the main event (RVD and Booker) then I think that it could become a better show once again.

Mac Daddy
06-11-2004, 01:40 PM
I agree, Smackdown this week was decent and along the same lines of Monday Night Raw. One thing I can point out from the start is that I was pleased to see that the “Tag Champs” Rico & Charlie Haas were not on Smackdown last night. But getting to the actual show …


I won’t go about the show segment by segment, but I’ll sum up all the storylines and whatnot.


Eddy Guerrero/John Bradshaw Layfield. I know a lot of people hate Vince for putting JBL in this main-event role, and yes, he needed more time to become main-event talent, but I am looking forward to their feud. I can tell that Justin is comfortable in his role and he plays it to perfection. At the beginning, I liked the JBL gimmick, but I thought it could benefit the show more if Bradshaw didn’t play him. But I find myself eating my words here. I love Bradshaw’s work and I’m looking forward to he and Eddie’s feud & match at the Great American Bash. I don’t care what anyone says, the feud is all right with me at this time. However, for the feud to continue beyond the Great American Bash would only hurt. There have been talk around the ‘Net that it might happen, but that would be a detriment to the brand. After GAB, I’m sure it would have run its course.


Kenzo Suzuki (sp?) I liked. I’m so happy that it wasn’t just a squash match, but I would have been much happier if he had a different opponent like Paul London or Shannon Moore. I mean I just hate Scotty 2 Hotty! I was only bearable with Rikishi, and they need to hook that tag arrangement back up. Simply put, S2H does nothing for me on his own. It is my hope that the WWE uses this opportunity wisely. I can see a stable with Kenzo, Sakoda, Akio, and that lady he had with him (that woman needs to get involved in his matches so how. She serves no purpose just standing there) forming.


John Cena & Kurt Angle. Here’s where I disagree with you Unknown. I think last night was shades of the old John Cena. I mean, he didn’t rap and kiss the fans ass last night. He defied Kurt Angle and told him he wouldn’t change anything about himself. That’s the kind of Cena I remember seeing months ago. That doesn’t mean we won’t see the same, sappy, ass-kissing Cena that we’ve recently on next week’s show. I just think Cena wasn’t given the opportunity to show the new water-downed version of himself on SD. Kurt as GM. He’s doing a fine job, IMO. I just can’t understand for the life of me the hypercritical ranting that has been going lately. From what I’m seeing, Kurt Angle is doing a fine job. As far as Shane McMahon: meh. I don’t see him doing a whole helluva lot better. I prefer Stephanie myself.


On target with the Rey/Chavo match. I enjoy all their match-ups. I like that the WWE may have a push in store for Rey Mysterio with all these victories on Smackdown. I’ve heard rumors of a Rey/Mark Jindrak feud at the Great American Bash, and I like the idea. I agree about Rey and the US title. I’ve fantasized about this a long time ago, and I acted on it in my sim, giving Rey a IC feud last year. It could work. At this point, Chavo Guerrero Jr. is needed in the cruiserweight division. But in the future, I see Chavo Guerrero as a US champ and WWE champion, and he could be just as successful as his uncle, Eddie Guerrero. I know the year 2004 has made the Guerrero family very proud (except for Chavo Classic winning the Cruiserweight title).


The Undertaker/Heyman storyline is something that interests me a lot. I can’t tell you how pleased I was to see Undertaker and Heyman used properly last night. Paul Heyman (great actor, BTW), will be on Smackdown a lot more (although he should be head writer as well) and Undertaker won’t be just squashing talent like Booker T. in pointless, stupid little arrangements. I would hope this things leads to a stable headed by Paul Heyman. But for some reason, I have my doubts.


I agree with you Unknown about the main-event situation. I loved Smackdown months ago when we had people like Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Big Show, and Rey Mysterio main-eventing the show week after week. But with the lack of main-eventers, for the past couple of months, Smackdown has been ending with storyline segments (i.e. Kurt being assaulted by Show; Undertaker/Heyman) instead of solid wrestling matches, which I would much rather see.


This week Smackdown was a long the same lines of Raw (which doesn’t say that much for Raw with the quality of the show in recent memory) and I can only see the show getting better and better.

Unknown
06-11-2004, 04:50 PM
I do agree with you to an extent on Cena. I liked that he deifed Angle but that's what a face does. Defies the heels. After Kurt told him to cut the crap with the "Yo, yo, yo" bit I enjoyed Cena. I think that's the best he's been in a while but still not up there with his character eight months ago. They need to continue to use him like that week in and week out. Have him do a rap in a special location on the person he's feuding with like he used to do back in the day against guys like Taker (graveyard skit) and A-Train. Also, make sure he doesn't suck up to the crowd at all. This means not taking credit for things like the troops getting GAB for free, wearing throwbacks of their town (cheap way t get a pop he doesn't need), and trying to get them hyped up. Lastly, get back that in ring style he had a few months back. Matches like Cena/Taker, Cena/Benoit, Cena/Angle, and Cena/Big Show were just as much Cena carrying the matchups as it was his opponents. The five knuckle shuffle and pumping the shoes up before the FU should be done sparingly as it just gives him cheap pops and makes him seem as if he cares more about getting the attention of the fans rather than winning a match. Speaking of the FU, bring back the FU where Cena used to fall with the guy and slam him as it makes the move look more devastating than just dropping them. Last night was a step in the right direction but there is still more to be done. Little by little they can fix his character if they really try to.

Also, I only wanted Rico and Haas on the show so that the WWE can begin to plant the seeds for a split. Charlie Haas is needed in the US title division as the posterboy heel of the division. Rico can play a face in that division too. The two feuding after a tag title loss and Charlie Haas going over will make this angle seem as if it served a purpose somewhat.

This angle with Chavo Classic will hopefully cause an uproar of cruisers to do anything possible to get the belt off of him. They can easily have a battle royal going into the GAB with the winner later in the night challenging Chavo Classic for the belt and it being no interference (so that Chavo Jr doesn't cheat). This will bring the cruisers back onto a PPV to produce an excellent matchup while at the same time the weeks leading up to the PPV a few will be built up to take the belt so that we just don't have a gimmickless guy holding the belt. It's time for the cruisers to shine on SD especially in a time when the show has so little superstars.

My only other quirk about the show which is a minor one is that there was no tag wrestling. It was understandable with the Triple Play challenge and all but for the next few weeks the WWE needs to get Akio and Sakoda, The Bashams, Billy Gunn and Holly (give them a gimmick already they can help the division) and the FBI back on the show with some kind of angle in order to build SD's tag division.

Mac Daddy
06-11-2004, 04:55 PM
Also, I only wanted Rico and Haas on the show so that the WWE can begin to plant the seeds for a split. Charlie Haas is needed in the US title division as the posterboy heel of the division. Rico can play a face in that division too. The two feuding after a tag title loss and Charlie Haas going over will make this angle seem as if it served a purpose somewhat.



I'd be the happiest man alive if the team of Rico and Charlie Haas never appeared on Smackdown again. Maybe they could lose the titles on Velocity and break up altogether there. Why? Because Rico & Charlie Haas are overrated and just plain suck!


I am so sick with Rico's being gay. It was funny up until 30 minutes after it began. You mean to tell me you enjoy watching the same, stupid gay stunts Rico pulls in every match? That's why I don't like Eugene. I don't care that he was doing Junk Yard Dog routines and I don't care that Rico is trying to be funny. The fact is, on a 2-hour show, I want to see as much wrestling as I can, and Rico & Eugene's (lol, how did I get on Eugene?) antics only take away from the actual wrestling, when its not needed.

Orton Rko
06-11-2004, 05:15 PM
I only watched the ending with Heyman and Taker I thought it might of been one of the best story lines that smackdown has had in a while.And I agree about Rico being gay is boring but I thought it got boring when they had Rico with Billy and Chuck.

Unknown
06-11-2004, 05:21 PM
I do agree but I just got used to it. I hated the Rico/Haas team from the beginning and I still do. Charlie Haas looked like he was well on his way to a US title run with matches against RVD but the WWE ruined that. They made Charlie Haas look as if he is a boring character in this angle with no personality which ruined his heel persona that he had during his WGTT and Team Angle days. This is the same thing that ruined Lance Storm's career. Only if this angle ends in Haas going solo (not aligning with Miss Jackie as rumored unless she changes her character too) and being a Bret Hart/Benoit heel type character. As for Rico, I see him feuding with Haas which would bring some seriousness into his character as he will be out for revenge against him. He could then begin to drop the gay antics over time as they become less effective in his matches. Maybe have him go on a long losing streak causing him to realize that they don't work and to refocus on the in ring work aspect of his character more. I just hope that they have them drop the tag belts very soon (to the Bashams, FBI, or Akio and Sakoda all after strengthening their gimmicks as each of them has a pretty good gimmick that just needs to be put over more through mic work and in ring competition) have the two feud then let Haas move onto bigger and better things.

Mac Daddy
06-11-2004, 05:53 PM
FBI,


Speaking of the Full-Blooded Italians, the WWE totally screwed up a good thing they had going. It was terribly foolish to send Chuck Palumbo to Raw fo absolutely no reason. Nunzio and Johnny Stamboli as a tag team is a bad idea. To me it seems Stamboli would be carrying the team. It'd be much better if they moved Palumbo back to Smackdown and put he and Stamboli back together as a tag team unit, with Nunzio as their manager. After being built it and re-establishing themselves, they could seriously contend for the Tag titles, which is something they never did.

Peoples King
06-11-2004, 06:24 PM
Well I havent seen the show yet but from the great discussion Mac Dad & Unknown are having it looks like a show stopper. Anyway just picking up on a point that Mac Dad said about Suziki's wife/valet. The thing about Kenzo is that his English is very poor but his wife is first generation American and so she is his mouth piece. When Kenzo needs to talk she will be doing the talking for him. Im a little bit iffy about this because she just maybe shocking on the mic but hopefully she is solid thus making Kenzo that bit more solid. Also I believe I silent Suziki gives him more mystique.

unpossibl1
06-11-2004, 06:36 PM
John Cena is getting the classic Stone Cold face push. Angle hates him, tries to stack the odds against him, yet somehow Cena comes through in the end. He is a loose cannon, someone who in unpredictable and worries the "cororate" Kurt Angle. I am waiting to see Cena 3:16 signs...

Yeah, it is kinda ironic that one of the better shows in a while was done sans Haas and Rico. The tag division is in a sorry state right now.

Anyone else think it's odd that the GAB is just two weeks after Bad Blood? That means that fans have to fork over the money for 2 pay per views in the same month. That starts to really hurt the pocketbook.

Peoples King
06-11-2004, 06:55 PM
That is a good point Trev but the funny thing about the split is that it has broken up the WWE's fan base. Only 30% of WWE fans watch both shows. Raw and Smackdown are after establishing their own select group of fans. So the PPV thing wont hurt too many pockets. :)

Mac Daddy
06-11-2004, 06:55 PM
Anyone else think it's odd that the GAB is just two weeks after Bad Blood? That means that fans have to fork over the money for 2 pay per views in the same month. That starts to really hurt the pocketbook.


And the fact that both aren't overly tremendous and could be a lot better doesn't help either. Money may grow on trees there in Greenwich, but I yet to see so much as a penny on a Live Oak here.

Weaf
06-11-2004, 07:03 PM
I predict that TGAB will do worse than Judgement Day. Most fans who normally order PPV's will order Bad Blood as it's got a better card, a lot of people won't pay for another one. Plus who seriously wants to pay to watch JBL in another main-event match? I'm not going to turn this into a JBL bashing thread but sometimes I think the WWE wants to loose money. It's all well and good building for the future but they need more star quality over at Smackdown, what's the point of building for the future if nobody is going to be watching?

Unknown
06-11-2004, 07:20 PM
Speaking of the Full-Blooded Italians, the WWE totally screwed up a good thing they had going. It was terribly foolish to send Chuck Palumbo to Raw fo absolutely no reason. Nunzio and Johnny Stamboli as a tag team is a bad idea. To me it seems Stamboli would be carrying the team. It'd be much better if they moved Palumbo back to Smackdown and put he and Stamboli back together as a tag team unit, with Nunzio as their manager. After being built it and re-establishing themselves, they could seriously contend for the Tag titles, which is something they never did.That's exactly what I said in my "Reshuffling the deck...how I'd fix SD" thread. Stamboli and Palumbo made a good tag team who had a sick finisher in the Kiss of Death. They could bring him back over still. He hasn't appeared on Raw and its not like the WWE thinks their fans have any kind of long term memory so just get a storyline working to get him back over to SD. They could reak havoc over the tag division while Guido (I wish they'd stop calling him Nunzio) reaked havoc over the cruiser division.

Also I agree with you Weaf. Maybe GAB will be another wakeup call (as if JD wasn't a big enough one). JBL's character can be built up as well as possible but the fans won't take him seriously as a main eventer. They have no reason to. Bring him back down to the US title division after GAB. Have him there so that his rise to the main event will be believable. As for SD's lack of talent, if logic prevailed up in Stanford (did I just associate the WWE with logic) they would bring Rhyno back over to SD. IMO, after the Big Show comes back, he along with Rhyno will be enough for the main event of SD as long as Booker, RVD, and Cena are booked well enough to be elevated to the main event also. If Kurt can wrestle again (hopefully this time he'll take it easy in the ring) it will do wonders for SD. The WWE would then have to elevate guys into the US title division to make the show looked more balanced. That along with rebuilding the tag and cruiser divisions will save SD. Last night was a step in the right direction. All they need to do is use their roster properly and book strong feuds.

iamthatdamgood123
06-11-2004, 09:14 PM
Speaking of the Full-Blooded Italians, the WWE totally screwed up a good thing they had going. It was terribly foolish to send Chuck Palumbo to Raw fo absolutely no reason. Nunzio and Johnny Stamboli as a tag team is a bad idea. To me it seems Stamboli would be carrying the team. It'd be much better if they moved Palumbo back to Smackdown and put he and Stamboli back together as a tag team unit, with Nunzio as their manager. After being built it and re-establishing themselves, they could seriously contend for the Tag titles, which is something they never did.

Are you saying Stamboli is better than Nunzio? Because, Nunzio is one of the best cruiserweights, hell one of the best athletes on the Smackdown roster. They need to do something provacative with him. I actually didn't even watch the second half of Smackdown, because it didn't do anything for me in the first half. The Angle/Cena/Booker storyline is alright, the Taker/Dudleyz/Heyman/Bearer stroyline is fair. The only storyline that entertains me is the Haas/Rico storyline, at least they try something with it. On Raw, the whole show is far superior. Right now, the main problem with Smackdown is booking, and that's why it can't keep the attention of viewers. It's not entertaining, and rarely does it have solid wrestling anymore.

Unknown
06-12-2004, 03:06 PM
I agree to an extent. SD does have solid wrestling but the problem is that fans of SD are used to long matches that tell a story. It seems that the WWE is deciding to flip flop with the shows giving Raw the long matches and SD the short matches that only help in progressing an angle. SD has the superstars to produce quality wrestling (especially the cruisers) but the WWE seems to be too concerned with nostaliga (reviving the Deadman Taker) and booking cliff hangers to make people tune in the next week that they are tarnishing the image of SD more than they already have. SD was better this week but I question what would have happened if the triple play challenge segment didn't take up over 20 minutes of the show. As for the Rico/Haas thing, I disagree. At first the angle was entertaining but right now it is beyond stale. The gay antics aren't even entertaining. Charlie Haas is being hurt in this storyline because the WWE is portraying him as a character with no personality. After this angle is over, he is in serious need of a Bret Hart/Benoit ruthless heel character to get his edge back. That would seriously boost the SD US title division and will repair most of the damage this angle is doing to him. They should have put Billy Kidman in this angle instead. He would have fit the role perfectly and it would have given Charlie Haas time to build up his character feuding with other midcard level talent before a feud against Cena over the US title. Right now the last thing SD needs is a makeshift tag team who will end up breaking up as soon as they lose the titles holding the belts. That will give people the idea that the tag division is only a tool to develop single's feuds.

Mac Daddy
06-14-2004, 02:42 PM
Are you saying Stamboli is better than Nunzio? Because, Nunzio is one of the best cruiserweights, hell one of the best athletes on the Smackdown roster.


That may be so, but the Tag Team division doesn't consist of crusierweights, and against heavyweights, Nunzio is weak and would have be carried in a team, by Johnny Stamboli of all people. If that isn't the case, I still feel that Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli would be a better tag unit than The Bull and Nunzio together. Besides, Palumbo serves no purpose whatsoever on Raw.