Looking At The Final Wwe Push For Backlash And More On Smackdown
LOOKING AT THE FINAL WWE PUSH FOR BACKLASH AND MORE ON SMACKDOWN
by Buck Woodward @ 2008-04-26 12:20:14
For the final show leading into Backlash, WWE did a good job of providing a final push for Batista vs. Shawn Michaels and MVP vs. Matt Hardy. Edge vs. Undertaker got plenty of plugs throughout the program as well. I was surprised Khali vs. Big Show didn't get more attention, but I'll never complain about not seeing Khali on my screen. There was some filler on the show as well, but it was a pretty balanced program, with two very good matches and one promo segment that I really enjoyed.
Onto my thoughts on the show.
Plusses:
I liked the opening video package, as it put over that Edge has been taking it easy for the last few weeks, while Undertaker has had to battle Kane, Festus and Batista twice. The whole idea that Vickie Guerrero was weakening Undertaker for Edge got over well, and it continued in the opening promo, where Vickie made Undertaker-Batista a no-DQ match. It's a simple storyline that makes Undertaker an underdog, even though he is the reigning champion and won the last time they wrestled.
At first Matt Hardy and Michael Cole seemed to be doing their best impersonation of a 1980's style WWF promo, with the basic "I am 100%, I will win" bit going on. Then MVP made his expected interruption, and the segment started to build. MVP ranting about Hardy being jealous, Hardy proclaiming his confidence. Then instead of the usual "sucker punch", they had MVP hold up the belt as a distraction and kick Hardy's leg before blasting him with the title belt. MVP walks off, Hardy gets to his feet and we are all set for Sunday. A simple but effective piece of business, and I really hope this match gets a nice hunk of ring time tomorrow, as they should steal the show.
Despite the convoluted way the match came about, CM Punk and Edge had a solid bout. Punk worked on Edge's arm early, then Edge came back with punches and kicks to put Punk down, before he reinstated his attack on the arm. We had the big bump to the floor by Punk to bring us to break, and when we got back they started to build towards the fantastic final third of the match. Punk kicks out of the reverse DDT, then avoids the spear and hits the GTS, only for Edge to fall from the ring. Punk struggles to get Edge back in, but Edgehead #1 comes out for the distraction. Punk gets hit with the spear, and Edge gets the win. I would have liked to seen more interference here to make Punk look stronger at the end, but it was still a good bout.
After their disappointing match last week, I was a lot happier with what Batista and Undertaker gave us this week. A nice back and forth exchange at the start, Batista going for the spear, Undertaker teasing the gogoplata. After the break, they started pulling out the big spots, with Taker hitting the ring apron legdrop and the Old School forearm, Batista delivering the spinebuster. Undertaker avoided the Batista Bomb, then Batista avoided the chokeslam. It was all about the big spots and heavy shots here, a great gameplan given their respective styles. Taker gets a two count with a chokeslam after kicking away a spear attempt, but Batista finally hits his spear for two of his own. After Batista kicked out of Undertaker's impressive Last Ride powerbomb, the No DQ stip came into play with the ring steps coming in. Batista blocks the attempted tombstone and gives him a spinebuster on them. Thus, purpose one of the match, Undertaker being hurt going into Backlash, has been accomplished. Then Shawn Michaels enters, superkicking Batista and giving a crotch chop before leaving. Thus, we get the message that Michaels has had it with Batista, and has no problem costing him the World Title in order to make sure their Backlash match is on. A tombstone piledriver later, the match is over. So, we've ended the show with some added heat for Batista-Michaels and Undertaker having another grueling match leading into his title defense on Sunday. The only thing that seemed a bit bizarre is that La Familia didn't attack Undertaker during or after the bout (it was a no DQ match) to make sure he was totally destroyed going into Backlash.
Sign of the Night:
Y
2x
Jeff?
Minuses:
For two guys who usually come across good on the mic, the Punk-Edge promos seemed really forced and went on too long. Of course, the lack of logic in the segment may have had something to do with it. No one in the ring has a title belt, so why was Punk bothering with them in the first place? I would think Punk's priority would be getting a rematch with William Regal after losing in the King Of The Ring tournament, or maybe focusing on an actual champion. Then, Vickie gives Punk and match with Edge, after establishing moments before that Edge was resting easy while Undertaker had to face Batista. Why would Vickie do this? Why would Edge be okay with it? Later on, the announcers tried to play it off like Punk and frustrated them into making the match, but that isn't how it came across at all. With Vickie being such a heel, wouldn't it have made more sense if Punk was put in a match with Bam Neely and the Edgeheads? This was a pretty weak way to set up Edge vs. Punk later in the show.
Once again, WWE throws Cherry in the ring with no real explanation. Is Michelle McCool training her? Why doesn't she have wrestling gear? With it being Natalya Neidhart's debut, she had to go over, so the match was essentially Cherry getting beat up, except for the brief period where she got angry and threw some shots. They really should have gone right to the Michelle/Cherry vs. Victoria/Natalya tag matches we know are coming up. That way Cherry could have been brought along as the "reluctant wrestler" rather than tossing her in the ring to be beat up with no explanation. I did like Natalya doing the Sharpshooter though.
Vladimir Kozlov squashes the forgotten Beatle... I mean, Marty Garner. This was pointless. On a go-home show before a PPV, wasting time on a squash match with no PPV implications is a waste. This should have been a Big Show or Great Khali squash match as a final push towards their PPV bout. Instead, that match gets a video package and we're given another dull Kozlov squash.
So, we now have a video feature on "that submission maneuver" that Undertaker used at Wrestlemania to win the World Title, but we still don't have a name for it? This has gotten past the point of being ridiculous.
A Mixture Of Both:
Shannon Moore and the Miz had their usual good match, highlighted by Moore's big flip bump off the turnbuckles. Of course, with WWE restarting this feud for the umpteenth time, I have to wonder how many people will even care. Every time this rivalry heats up, WWE decides to feed them to a monster instead, and it's back to the beginning. I guess we can enjoy it for now, even if the commentary for the bout seemed to consist primarily of plugs for WWE Magazine.
I liked Batista's intensity in his backstage promo with Vickie Guerrero, noting that while he knew what Vickie was up to, it was going to backfire when he won the World Title and then beat Edge on Backlash. I am always a fan of treating the World Title as the most important thing on a show, but it was strange to see Batista so easily dismiss his issue with Shawn Michaels in favor of the belt. Some sort of acknowledgement, like "then I'll deal with Shawn Michaels" would have been nice.
What To Make Sure And Watch If You DVR'd The Show:
MVP-Hardy, Punk-Edge and Undertaker-Batista all made this a pretty enjoyable show this week.
PWInsider.com
