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-If you would've told me a year ago that Finlay would be headlining main events, I'd've laughed in your face. But he's surprisingly convincing, especially with the lil' Bastard. Nice main event, and fitting the Batista won.
-The announcing tonight was very entertaining and wasn't it great to see "King Booka" break character and "shoot" on Michael Cole.
-I'm willing to bet Chavo wins next week so Rey can go have his surgery and come back at around Rumble time as a Raw (or hopefully ECW) character.
-Jimmy Wang Yang. Say what you want about the gimmick but the man is ELECTRIC in the ring and the crowd pops pretty good for him. And that was probably one THE best moonsault I have ever seen. He's giving Christopher Daniels a run for his money for the "BME"
Overall it was an above average show and it's about time.
Matt North
Riverside, IL
**********
Smackdown started off with a well-done match between Kennedy and Benoit. I don’t think Kennedy should go to Raw, for the obvious reason: The Raw roster is loaded enough. But then again, Creative feels that their best talents should be on the higher-rated show, so I fear it may happen. Also, why is Benoit only worthy of the US title? I think this is his second US title reign since losing the world title. It’s as if he has Chris Jericho Syndrome: one stint on top and that’s it.
By the way, it was classic hearing Cole say to JBL that he like talking about himself more then analyzing matches. Also, I didn’t like JBL’s suggestion that Long be arrested for what he did to Kennedy. That’s very tacky.
Vito vs. Regal. Good workers, passable undercard feud. But it’s getting nowhere.
I didn’t order No Mercy, so I didn’t get to see MVP’s first match. Now, I will agree: he sucks. Yep, all that hype for squat. And I’m sure Kane enjoyed his Smackdown debut.
Mysterio vs. Noble was good, but I could only bear to listen to the Rey/Chavo/Vicki promo. Unlike Rey, Eddie had BALLS? That’s just pitiful. I hope this “I Quit†match next week makes up for this ongoing putrid angle.
So I assume Maryse is the new welcome back girl for Smackdown? Hope she’s studying her English hard.
The six-man tag was fine for what it was. And I think, if he’s being pushed as a face, that Yang should probably seek a feud against Helms. That could make for a few, if not several, great CRUISERWEIGHT matches.
As for the main event, it’s main purpose was to keep Smackdown interesting, since they’re currently in a “no PPV for awhile†mode. However, I have pessimistic views about next week’s title match. I’m certain that Finlay and/or Lashley will be there to ruin the match. Then again, it may be the setup to a higher stakes match at Survivor Series.
Since no PPV happens for awhile, Smackdown was average. While there were a few good bouts on the show, there were also continuing crap storylines. By the way, two straight weeks without that stupid Miz (for those like me who didn’t see the PPV)! Can we make it three?
Overall Grade: B-
Ken Kibby
Benicia, CA
**********
I liked Smackdown this week and felt it was better than ECW, although ECW was hurt by the whole strip poker fiasco. Smackdown does seem to be getting taken more seriously by WWE now however. On to my thoughts...
I liked the opener between Benoit and Kennedy but I'm not sure about the finish. While I like the fact that Benoit won, I feel he should be challenging for the World Title instead of the US title. I'm also confused about why the commentators are talking about how JBL spends time putting himself over. Are they planning on ditching JBL? I hope so.
Regal vs Vito was another solid match and Regal looks really good right now. I'm surprised the WWE aren't rewarding Regal with a push instead of having him put over transvestites. And why did Michael Cole get upset at JBL calling Vito a transvestite? That is what you call someone who wears a dress. Then again, Michael Cole has had trouble lately calling things properly, hasn't he?
I was pleasantly surprised to see Kane come out to face MVP but I felt it had a pretty tame climax with MVP running away.
Noble vs Rey was a great match and Mysterio looked on top form. I felt the post-match war of words between Chavo and Rey was a bit forced and it didn't really sound like these two guys hated each other's guts. I also found Vicki's line about Eddie Guerrero having balls unlike Rey to be in poor taste but then again I feel that way about the whole feud. It appears to be on the verge of ending though as I guess Chavo is going to quit next week.
I liked the six man tag match a lot and it made me reflect on how wasted a lot of these guys are. Kendrick, London and Yang could be tearing it up if the cruiserweight division if it was treated with respect. I thought Jimmy Wayne Yang looked really good and his moonsault on Sylvan was perfect.
The main event triple threat match was good and I felt Finlay held things together really well. I think the right man won as Batista is the most over babyface on the brand. King Booker was great on commentary and JBL could learn a lot from him. It's funny because Booker tends to put over guys in the ring when he's not supposed to so he's like the opposite of Bradshaw. The announced main event match for next week should be really good.
Overall I thought Smackdown was very good. It had quality matches, it hyped up next week's show and with Benoit and Kane back the brand seems rejuvenated.
I give it a 4/5.
