Looking At A 'keep The Remote Handy' Edition Of Smackdown
Much like ECW this week, there was plenty of fast forward through on Smackdown if you'd already seen Wrestlemania and Raw. While the show did feature two "PPV quality" matchups in MVP vs. Matt Hardy and Kane vs. Undertaker, neither came across as feeling like a PPV match. It was a solid episode of Smackdown, but you definitely got the feeling WWE could have turned up the heat a lot more here and been able to hit the post-Wrestlemania ground running, as opposed to walking briskly.
Plusses:
The opening segment of Smackdown was simple, but effective. There was Edge talking about how he "let down" his fiancé and vowing to get the belt back from Undertaker, and as always, whenever Edge talks about his love for Vickie, the fans get angry with him. There was Chavo Guerrero making excuses and claiming Kane cheated in their "blink and you missed it" Wrestlemania match. And there was Vickie, setting up Taker vs. Edge and Chavo vs. Kane rematches for Backlash, and then doing the heel move of making the Brothers of Destruction face each other that night. By the books stuff, but it worked.
As far as the actual in-ring action goes, MVP vs. Matt Hardy was a lot of fun. They brawled, they tried to hurt each other, and they told a great story of Matt Hardy taking away MVP's legs (and thus, taking away the Playmaker and the running kick) before getting the clean win with the Twist Of Fate. I would expect we will finally get the U.S. Title showdown between the two at Backlash. The match, great. However, the was it was presented can be found in the next section.
Finlay and Hornswoggle return to Smackdown next week! That translates to "we're done with them on Raw". On the bright side, maybe we can get back to the fun Finlay matches without having Vince McMahon around with dumb storylines taking away from our enjoyment.
The climax to the Smackdown Diva competition actually accomplished a few things, as amazing as it seems. Cherry has now been established as a babyface (even getting her own music), and it certainly appears Deuce & Domino are being left behind. Michelle McCool wins, which was no surprise, but Victoria once again got to come out and show some personality on the mic, and then, with everyone thinking we're going to get Victoria-Michelle Part 32, the unnamed Nattie Neidhart makes her debut by beating the crap out of Michelle. Nice debut, and hopefully they will follow up on it next week. There's no reason Smackdown can't do a Michelle-Nattie feud, and also have a Victoria-Cherry rivalry and (I know, I am reaching here) have two interesting women's storylines on the brand.
Minuses:
MVP vs. Matt Hardy, the match we've waited months to see, was simply tossed onto Smackdown and almost treated like an afterthought. I can't help but feel WWE missed the boat here. Where was the promo from Matt Hardy about MVP ducking him forever, then injuring him? Where was MVP's promo about Matt costing him Money In The Bank at Wrestlemania? Where was the video recap of their history together? Or at least a clip of Matt's return at Wrestlemania? Cole and Coach read off the fact sheet, but as is usually the case with them, there was no emotion here. This match had history, stiff shots and big selling, and from a presentation standpoint might as well have been Festus vs. Zack Ryder. Here's hoping WWE gets back on track next week, since this is the feud that can carry the brand for the next several months alongside Taker-Edge.
An ugly heel from Russia with a Soviet Flag in the background? In 2008? Seriously? Talk about a debut out of nowhere, it's been months since the Vladimir Kozlov "sitting in the crowd bits" and they never did a vignette or anything telling us he was now an angry Ruskie from 1986. His drop down fireman's carry was hardly a scary finisher. I guess I could throw a joke in here about how it was the new "Bentley Bounce" (TNA fans get it). Now, if it were a drop down backbreaker, it would be awesome. Either way, in a world of Mark Henry's, Big Daddy V's and Undertaker's, Kozlov didn't come off as much of a monster.
Miz & Morrison defeat Moore & Yang without hardly breaking a sweat. So much for the days of Yang & Moore as serious contenders to the tag belts. Then Khali comes out, trashes all four men, and it looks like we can forget about the tag division on Smackdown being treated seriously anytime soon. It's a shame that all of Miz & Morrison's hard work gets tossed aside just to make them tackling dummies for the untalented Khali. With the tag division in tatters, Big Show comes out, and Khali wusses out... again. Yeah, they needed to beat up two tag teams in order to do that angle again!
A Mixture Of Both:
The 80's style inset promo by Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins didn't exactly pain them as the next coming of Edge on the mic. In fact, it reminded me of the cheesy promos they were doing as the Major Brothers. Not that it matters, since the match was pretty much Festus squashing Ryder, with Hawkins totally ineffective at ringside. Festus has apparently become a master of the headbutt, and with the exception of some forearms and a headbutt, Ryder got no offense. Festus didn't even need Jesse's help, knocking Hawkins off the apron and hitting the one man flapjack for the win. Festus, once again, was made to look strong, and apparently squashing Edge's goons will get him a match with Undertaker next week.
I really enjoyed the Shawn Michaels-Batista promo and am looking forward to their feud. I couldn't help but think how different the reaction to Michaels would have been if the fans hadn't seen Flair hugging him on Raw. They probably would have booed him more, but much like Shawn, Flair hugging HBK gave them "closure" on the situation. Batista's anger over not having his friend on the road anymore was great stuff, but I think the "Shawn Michaels doesn't do jobs" comment went way over the heads of the audience. That kind of "shoot comment" may be understood by diehard fans (like many of you reading this), but the average viewer probably didn't know what Batista meant, and there was no explanation of it for them. I think the audience was just lost at that point. Now, on the flip side, Batista bringing up the "Old Yeller" comments was a lot more effective to the general audience, and the fact that Batista left without throwing a punch left this angle wide open. It will be interesting to see what direction they go in with this storyline.
Undertaker vs. Kane in a scientific wrestling match? No, can't say I really want to see this. Then we get the punches flying, and some brawling happening, and things get better. Of course, Michael Cole and Jonathan Coachman call the match like they're hanging out at a cocktail party, but what do you expect? They've got the last laugh on all of us, since they know they suck, but they also know that as long as they are in the good graces of Kevin Dunn and Vince McMahon, they'll keep collecting a paycheck. They can even poke fun at how bad they are. Back to the match, after the big punch fest, they kick each other down, and the heels hit the ring. Kane and Undertaker overcome the odds though, and lay out Edge and Chavo before walking out triumphant. Yes, the closing visual is awesome, and the fans loved seeing Kane and Taker beat down their adversaries, but I can't help but think this was a bit counter productive. We already saw Undertaker and Kane emerge triumphant on Sunday over Edge and Chavo. Wouldn't it make more sense to have Edge and Chavo get some heat back, so maybe we'll be willing to spend money in a few weeks to see Backlash?
What To Make Sure And Watch If You DVR'd The Show: MVP vs. Matt Hardy, just because it is a really fun match. I'd check out the Michaels-Batista promo as well. Everything else, if you miss it, you're not missing much.
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