Last Nights SD 7/1

[Unknown]

Last nights SD was ok but it was nowhere as good as last weeks suprisingly good show.

Highs

JBL promo - While I felt that it was too early for JBL to have the belt he delivered a very strong promo once again. His character is pretty good and he does what he can in the ring but the guy still can't seem to get enough heel heat. I would have been a fan of him losing at the GAB then going after John Cena and taking the US title off of him but hey that's just me. The one thing I do applaud him with is that he is making the most of his character and opportunity despite the way the creative team mishandled his push.

Booker T vs. RVD vs. Rene Dupree - I was expecting another match like GAB where it was rather dull and lacked heat. This match was very good though. Each and every man in the ring got over in a big way. I was scared for RVD with that chair spot and the German Suplex spot. I would have rather of seen RVD win it and face John Cena as that match would have came off very well but the Booker/Cena stuff should be good as Booker brought a good match out of Cena in their GAB match. I guess the weak link of the equation was Cena seeing as this match was much better than the one at the GAB

Eddie/JBL segment - Eddie is good as the hunter and played his role to perfection last night. I am looking forward to the cage match if only to see JBL finally defeat someone to get his title run over

Lows

Torrie vs. Sable - That match was a big waste of time. This slot could have easily been filled with a Noble/London match. Torrie and Sable should stay out of the ring...Nuff said

Luther Reigns/Charles Robinson/Haas segment - This is doing nothing for Haas. I know SD is full of heels but Haas is not a guy who will work as a face. Turn someone else face instead. They missed a golden opportunity to build him as a Bret Hart type heel.

Taker/Heyman segment - I would rather see Taker in a feud with someone in order to help SD seeing that it is in such a bad state. It was more than obvious what Taker was going to say. One more thing, the powers **** is getting annoying. If they want to use this deadman gimmick it's fine but going back to that crap? We already have to suspend so much disbelief watching SD as it is. They shouldn't add to it by bringing back something that insults our intelligence even more

In Between

Spike/JBL - The match was a pretty good big man/little man match but what does it do for JBL as champ? If they are serious about making Bradshaw a credible champ then they need to have him go over someone higher on the pecking order so to speak

Mysterio/Mordecai - I am happy that Rey won this match and hopefully it means that they are planning to repackage Mordecai or just put him on Velocity. If Rey is cruiser champ then he should be going against cruisers

This weeks SD gets a 5 out of 10. Nothing much to really say other than the WWE needs to give Heyman back his job so that we can have feuds like Angle/Benoit and Angle/Brock once again. SD is in such a bad way that I don't think it should kill Vince to give Heyman another shot as head writer.

[TheMainMan25]

I hate to say this, especially since I think you are one of the most intelligent people here, but you sound more and more embittered to me with each post. It was the whole "suspending belief" line that you said at the end. I think that the whole problem with Wrestling now is the commonplace characters and gimmicks that the wrestler's have adopted. I would rather watch a supernatural Taker then plain ol' Charlie Haas anyday. The thing that makes wrestling so much fun is the fact that the wrestling world doesn't operate like the real world does. It's like watching a live action movie. People destroy each other, but no one goes to jail. It's escapism at it's finest. I think that maybe you have lost sight of that fact and have now crossed over from a fan-to a critic.

Nothing against you personally, but as everyone who knows me knows, I talk straight with everyone.

[Mac Daddy]

I honestly tried to really get into it, but Smackdown blew chunks last night. Big, nasty chunks.

First of all, what the hell has happened to John Bradshaw Layfield? Why in the hell is the guy being a nice, political guy, kissing babies. He's a heel WWE Champion, that the fans hates, not some guy running for Congressman. JBL may have played the role well, but his being evil and getting heat was the only credible reason for giving him the belt so soon. Instead, he comes out and gets very little heel reaction and give a speech that only lasted like 9 minutes, but seemed to last forever. The WWE made a big mistake by giving JBL the belt so soon, a big mistake.

There was some good, namely the triple threat between Rene, Booker, and RVD, which was good probably because John Cena involved at all. Rene Dupree can be a little green and dull at times, but he faired well with Booker and RVD and like Orton usually does, this guy was bouncing all over the place. Rob Van Dam is being handed ****, but he's playing the cards he's been dealt well. His ring-work isn't as fresh as it once was, but I appreciated what RVD gave us last night. Booker T proved to me that he is ready to be in the main-event last night, but at least, he actually won and looks like a winner.

Oh dear God, John Cena was so childish and repetitive last night. He came out and "translated" Kenzo Sukuki's (sp) speech and made it "funny". After Cena left the ring, Kenzo's valet translated what Cena had to say and Kenzo looked mad. I don't like this because either two things will happen next week: 1. Booker T will lose and Kenzo'll feud with Cena over the title; 2. Kenzo will cost Cena the title and feud with him. 2. sounds a lot better because Kenzo hasn't proved himself and doesn't deserve to be in the U.S. title picture.

WWE scouts need to pull their heads out of their asses! I'm now wondering if Tyson Tomko and Luther Reigns are related to the McMahons or something. There's absolutely no excuse for the WWE picking up big rookies who suck. You would think they learned their lesson from Nathan Jones. But I don't know, maybe Luther will come into his own and get decent. I am a little intrigued by this Charlie Haas/Luther situation. Smackdown is suffering big time from lack of talent, and they're trying to make the best of it I guess. I doubt this babyface routine will be Mr. Haas' claim to fame, but I think he'll be fairly good at it. Just please put Miss Jackie by his side. Hell, maybe Jackie and Haas need to become an item. This guy needs a personality.

I don't know what to say about Undertaker. Unknown, I agree that the gimmick is way too retro for 2004. But are you absolutely sure you want to see him revert back to Bikertaker? I'm indifferent about Taker, but I know I'm not pleased with their direction. Whether he was Bikertaker or Deadman, they should have stuck by the alliance with Heyman. Now Undertaker's feuding with Heyman? I'm not interested.

JBL/Eddie. In two weeks, they'll be a steel cage match between Bradshaw and Eddy. I predict it'll be another decent blood bath, but Undertaker will cost Eddy the title setting up a triple threat at Summerslam.

Smackdown is suffering because of two things right now: Paul Heyman isn't in charge and there is a need for talent. What caused this was Kurt Angle and Big Show being injured, and Brock Lesnar leaving. I want to see Angle and Show back, but as far Lesnar, **** him! This may be a little off-topic, but it's my wish that Brock Lesnar is never allowed to return to the WWE. I respected his decision to play pro football, but he didn't have to trash the WWE and say he regretted working for Vince. That's the kind of stuff you don't go on the record and say. It shows that Brock is a big, wet ***** and ingrate. Lesnar would have never had a chance to make in NFL had he not worked for Vince after college. I lost all respect for Brock Lesnar after I heard about this, and even though his leave was a maybe blow to the show, I hope he never returns. Douche.


I'd probably give Smackdown a 4.5. For the most part, it was just dull and boring. I tell you what though, the minute I can find something else I would be interested in on Thursday, I'm changing the channel. Pretty soon I'm going to let go and stop torturing myself.

[Gravedigger]

Yeah, I agree about John Cena's promo. It was HORRIBLE. I just hope that what he said wasn't scripted and WWE makes him stop freestyling and instead memorize words and spout them out in front of everyone.

I was watching the show (minus the first 30 mins) with my sister and her boyfriend. They rarely watch wrestling, but they watched it last night. They weren't really impressed with any of the show and the boyfriend said that Cena is a douche and his character sucks and has for a while. They were impressed with Undertaker but only because they didn't know he went back to the Deadman gimmick.

One thing they didn't understand was how they "buried" Paul Bearer without actually killing him. Which is something I don't understand either how they faked it. I asked before on here but no one answered me.

[Superman33]

Cena's promo last night was a little bit funny, but a lot of bit chessy. It went on way too long.

I also noticed last night that Undertaker talked with a deeper voice, like the old days.

[Gravedigger]

I also noticed last night that Undertaker talked with a deeper voice, like the old days.
lol, I almost expected him to say "cowpoke" and "get on little doggie" with that hat he's wearing.

[badbilly3d]

I don't mind JBL as champ, all things considered. I don't think anyone on the SD! roster as champ would help ratings much. I think even having Taker or Angle as champ wouldn't drive ratings much because there just isn't a "must-see" feud out there that people look forward to every week.

The sooner they get the US title off Cena, the better. I like the idea of Booker having a long run with the title if they aren't gonna give him a chance to challenge for the WWE title. IMO the US title is about the best title picture on either show right now.

Cena's promo was the WORST! I was hoping when Suzuki started his "promo" that Funaki would come out and say INDEEEEEEED and become Suzuki's translator/lackey. I turned the channel part way through Cena's little speech. I was embarrassed for him.

I, for one, agree with what Unknown says about suspending disbelief. It just gets harder and harder with some of the ridiculous angles they have.

[Cripplerlock]

Spike/JBL - The match was a pretty good big man/little man match but what does it do for JBL as champ?


Absolutely nothing! That was an easy one. It is not a good sign when you have to put Spike Dudley in a main event match.

[Cripplerlock]

I agree with everyone that Cena's Promo was the worst I have seen. He was really struggling with that one and it was not like Kenzo was much help. I will make a brief comment on the deadman gimmick. That gimmick is the exception to the rule so to speak. Even though this is 2004 and the deadman gimmick and all the supernatural stunts that go with it still work. That is one of the most successful gimmick of all time and most people whether they be brainwashed marks, smarks, or just intelligent fans are willing to let the WWE get away with some of the supernatural undertaker stuff even though it is not really. Part of being fan is not to get so wrapped up in what is real and what is not. However, that be said I can see where Unknown is coming from on the insulting our intelligence part. The creative team often acts like everyone one watching does not have a clue what is going on. Suspending belief is one thing, but that does not excuse on the crappy angles and bookings these guys have come up with. just because a storyline is fake does not mean it should not make some sense or have no sense of direction (ie pregnancy angle/Kanes wrestling career).

[Unknown]

I hate to say this, especially since I think you are one of the most intelligent people here, but you sound more and more embittered to me with each post. It was the whole "suspending belief" line that you said at the end. I think that the whole problem with Wrestling now is the commonplace characters and gimmicks that the wrestler's have adopted. I would rather watch a supernatural Taker then plain ol' Charlie Haas anyday. The thing that makes wrestling so much fun is the fact that the wrestling world doesn't operate like the real world does. It's like watching a live action movie. People destroy each other, but no one goes to jail. It's escapism at it's finest. I think that maybe you have lost sight of that fact and have now crossed over from a fan-to a critic.

Nothing against you personally, but as everyone who knows me knows, I talk straight with everyone.Nah I take no offense to that. I just have become a fan of more of the reality stuff that the WWE has begun to push over the past few years. I can completely understand where you're coming from.


I don't know what to say about Undertaker. Unknown, I agree that the gimmick is way too retro for 2004. But are you absolutely sure you want to see him revert back to Bikertaker? I'm indifferent about Taker, but I know I'm not pleased with their direction. Whether he was Bikertaker or Deadman, they should have stuck by the alliance with Heyman. Now Undertaker's feuding with Heyman? I'm not interested.I have mixed feelings on this. I just see the biker Taker as someone SD needs especially if they want to elevate anyone on the show. This is exactly what I was trying to express in other threads where people seemed to think that I just hate Taker or something. Credit goes to pwtorch.com's Jason Powell from his SD hitlist.


Undertaker: Well, it looks like they called off the plans for Undertaker to turn heel. The word backstage is that he wasn't happy about throwing in the towel on his babyface run, so I wouldn't be too surprised if he remains a babyface. Then again, do babyface characters nearly kill their mentors? I'm not sure what to make of this angle, but I do know one thing for sure. It's boring. The Dead Man character is a flop. The fans might get excited about his ring entrance, but the Dead Man just isn't as effective as the American Bad Ass biker character he played last year. The big problem with the Dead Man character is that WWE only knows one way to push it. Taker mows through opponent after opponent in glorified squash matches. The Badass character made it possible for Taker to sell, cut money promos, and occasionally put other wrestlers over. I couldn't have put it better. The Badass character just makes feuds so much more interesting. With the Deadman character Taker hardly speaks and it is expected that he will roll over his opponents. I was one of the biggest Deadman fans but I think it is better for them to try and evolve instead of regress if you know what I'm saying. Those are my only reasons for disliking the Deadman character today.

SD as a whole is suffering because of booking. There are more than enough cruisers and other guys rotting away on Velocity along with talented guys needed on SD just being used for dark matches, Heat, and the occasional Raw appearance (Rhyno but you guys knew I would say that...:chuckles: ). SD is being pushed as a comic relief show IMO and if they'd push it as a serious show that they pushed Raw as a month and a half ago then SD would be so much better off.