|
|
|
Pro's from the Palace (#129) - The Palace goes Smackdown! (PPV Pix) |
» Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
» On Friday, October 6, 2006 at 11:17 PM EST
I've been able to catch Smackdown the last few weeks on TV, and I thought I'd dedicate a column to the Blue and White, complete with picks for No Mercy this coming sunday night.
First and foremost, I have to feel for Bobby Lashley. He wasn't WWE's first choice for the No Mercy main event world title shot, and then, on No Mercy week, he is taken out of the limelight as the #1 contender for the World title, and placed in a Fatal Four Way match for the gold, because WWE is fearful Lashley vs. Booker won't sell PPV buys. Lashley is still a new name in the business, you half-bred horse mongers, you all made this bed by stacking Raw with main event names, and you booked yourselves in to this corner. The Fatal Four Way has the possibility to be very entertaining, but still, it appears that they try and give Bobby Lashley all the chances in the world to succeed from an entertainment perspective, with the US title, teaming with Batista, etc., and then at the last minute, they pull the plug. Wouldn't surprise me if the Colorado Springs native is getting a little torked off with the WWE brass.
Speaking of being torked off, I read somewhere that Batista is begging to be transferred back to Raw, and that he doesn't like working on Smackdown. Now, anyone who reads my columns regularly knows I am not a Batista fan, in any sense of the word, so they probably are going to know how I am going to respond here. Dave,
Shut up.
You have done ZERO since returning, and you are making demands to be returned to a show where you would have no place in the mix. Raw has its own problems, and its own nuiances to work out, but you, dear sir, can be the main event for Smackdown for years to come if you put your heart in to it, but quite bluntly, through the TV, it doesn't look to me like you give a rat's ass about the product you put out. If that's the case, it's really sad.
Mr. Kennedy's promo for the match sunday with Undertaker this week was very well done. Kennedy reminds me of a young Ric Flair. He can talk someone in to a submission in 5 seconds flat, and he can wrestle with the best of them. I am a huge Kennedy mark, and I suspect he would continue to bring big results to the WWE table. I also suspect Undertaker will put Kennedy over, and that, just continues to solidify in my opinion, the legend of the Phenom of the WWE. But, I digress.
On again, off again, can we figure out if Ashley Massaro is going to "manage" the WWE Tag Team Champs in their match with Stevens and James? Personally, I think it's a terrific match pairing Ashley with London & Kendrick. 3 free spirits like that can be a train wreck that not many people are going to be able to turn away from, and I hope we see more of it in the future. Michelle McCool is hot as a pistol, too, but damn, can we put a muzzle on that woman, that voice... jeez.
Whatever happened to the push out of the blocks with your debut on the brand? Jimmy "Wang" Yang has lost twice in 2 weeks to Sylvan Grenier, the so called ambassador from Quebec. Yang may be pocketing more money than he made when he worked for Ring of Honor, but I have to ask you, is your pride worth the cash you're depositing when you sound like you do in these promos Yang is doing, and then you go out for two weeks in a row and lose to Sylvan? Someone better tell Jimmy Wang Yang to watch out for the preverbial hook. I think it may be fast approaching.
Speaking of the hook, another ROH stalwart is probably on the short list for budgetary cutting. Jamie Noble, with Kash being released, has got nowhere to go, no partner to team with, and I think, not much to look forward to on the Smackdown horizon. This coming from a former ROH World champion. I hope it was worth it to take the money, Jamie.
Elijah Burke continues to impress me, but I still don't understand his pairing with Sylvester Terkay. There is also absolutely nobody on the roster that can match up with Terkay, so I have no idea where they are going to go with Terkay's character, storyline wise. Burke could match up well with guys like the King, Matt Hardy, or Helms for the cruiserweight strap, but the only guy that I thought had a chance against a beast like Terkay just got signed with the competition down in Orlando, Florida.
Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero continues to make me feel very uneasy. I will be happy when its over. Weird seeing Hardy and Mysterio team up. I remember seeing Mysterio and Hardy fight at Wrestlemania for the cruiserweight title. Matt has to be seething with jealousy that Jeff has a singles title this quickly in to his return to WWE, and that he has languished in mid matches on Smackdown.
JBL made some terrific quips during the show tonight. On Tatanka losing to Miz, "he should retire", pointing to Tatanka. on Hardy with the ladies, "Most of Matt's girlfriends will end up with Edge.." JBL could lower the intensity one notch, and he would be very enjoyable behind the microphone. He is learning, and he is improving. I thought it would be a nightmare, but perhaps I am wrong.
Finlay also delivered a solid line to the King with his "I love to fight" mantra. Finlay may be a heel, but I love him. He is the type of guy who will walk up to you, look you square in the eye, pop you with a right cross to the temple, turn around and walk away without even uttering a sound. Guys like that, no nonsense ass kickers are a rare breed, and a joy to watch. Another example, Samoa Joe. His brawl with Jarrett and his eventual regaining, quote unquote, of the NWA world title on Impact! last week, a perfect example of the bull mastodon style of fighting I love.
Booker is a terrific champion. He is also an excellent heel. But the ACCENT HAS TO GO. I can't believe someone like Regal hasn't ripped someone a new one for the ridiculously lame accent Booker is portraying. It has to make any Brit consider causing harey carey trying to stomach it with your collective ears.
Where was my daily dose of "HOO-RAH" this week? Nowhere to be found, thank God.
Apparently, WWE has re-signed Boogeyman. I have a word word answer to that statement.
Why?
Ok, let's get to it, pick time.
Wow, looking at this card, WWE may need to re-consider making this a pay per view card, because it is bordering on abyssmal.
The Debut of Montel Vontavious Porter (M.V.P.)
JBL said it right here, too. Time for this kid to put up the talent to mark his words, punk. This kid had better deliver some major league moves for the amount of push he has gotten before he has even put on a pair of trunks for WWE. He has managed to make the adjustment, entertainment wise. I hope the kid can fight.
WWE Tag Team Championship
PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK vs. IDOL STEVENS & K.C. JAMES
With the Pit Bulls out of the tag team consideration due to Kash's removal from WWE, this is by far and away the closest team to taking the titles from London & Kendrick. Can they succeed? Sure they can. Will they? It will depend a lot on Ashley, if she accompanies the champs, they could retain, and set up further matches down the line. James & Stevens are indeed your uncrowned WWE tag team titlists, in my opinion, but they may not be JUST RIGHT for the title position, yet.
WINNERS: London & Kendrick
MATT HARDY vs. GREGORY HELMS
This one will be good. With the time frame available due to PPV, they could potentially steal the show. Give the win to Hardy on this one so they could continue this feud and put the title up and hopefully put a new face on the cruiserweight division. Don't get me wrong, Helms belongs with the record for the longest reign, yadda yadda yadda, but there really isn't much in the way of a challenger, and Matt has to be itching for a title opportunity, especially after what has gone down with his brother on the red and white. Michael Cole said on Smackdown that during the No Mercy press conference, Josh "Im a Doofus" Mathews called out Helms by his alter ego, the Hurricane. How dumb can you possibly be? I hope Helms punched him in the nostril hairs. ANYWAY...
WINNER: Gregory Helms
Falls Count Anywhere
REY MYSTERIO vs, CHAVO GUERRERO
On paper alone, a classic. Falls Count Anywhere, makes it more of a classic. Storyline, it makes me sick. End this now, gentlemen. Mysterio, go get your surgery done, and let Chavo do other things. This has to end, and it has to end now.
WINNER: Chavo Guerrero
THE UNDERTAKER vs. MR. KENNEDY
This one puzzles me. It's not for the gold, or is it? This has to be one of the times where Taker puts over the future of the business, because I don't see Taker walking around as champion, he's not on television enough to do that. I guess I can understand the sequence of events that led up to this match, but its still kind of confusing to me. Nevertheless, Undertaker putting over Kennedy in this spot continues to solidify for me at least, the no-doubt enshrinement in to the WWE legend and hall of fame class for the Phenom. He is that damn good, in every single sense of the word. I can't believe I'm gonna pick against the Undertaker, but I am.
WINNER: Mr. Kennedy
Two champions on PPV AND both of them aren't defending their titles in their matches. Does that make ANY SENSE to you, ladies and gentlemen?
Me neither.
World Heavyweight Championship
KING BOOKER vs. BOBBY LASHLEY vs. FINLAY vs. BATISTA
One on One, I would have picked Lashley to beat Booker and win the World title. Now, I am not sure. I think maybe that the court will heal itself briefly, and allow Booker to squeeze away with the gold in tact. The one person that needs to be grateful, and step up big time in this match is Batista, because if he doesn't show he belongs in matches like this, I would not be surprised if his push disappears faster than fast.
One way, or another, I want this four-way feud to continue. It has all the dynamics to make things look real good for Smackdown in the coming weeks. I hope its as good as I think it will be.
WINNER: King Booker
I'll be back beginning of next week with reviews from the 3 hour Raw, and fall out from No Mercy. Hope to hear from you guys. Drop me a line by either one of these two options....
Click here to check my myspace.com page.
Click here to drop an email.
Beaucoup cenabling! Take care everybody.
Back To WrestleView.com
|
|
|
