First up is the big news that has broken in the last 48 hours that Nick Hogan has been sentenced to 8 months in prison for the car accident that permanently injured his friend. Not only that but he also has been banned from driving for 3 years, 5 years probation and 5 years community service. Now many people have been saying to me they feel sorry for Nick due to the fact that driving was his passion in life but in my opinion he only has himself to blame, if I had critically injured my friend whilst driving I would never want to drive again. I feel for the Hogan family as this will probably tear them apart even further but hopefully upon his release Nick will turn over a new leaf and start to do justice to the family name rather than tarnish it.

I was shocked to read that Gregory Helms was assaulted in a bar last week. As if this poor guy has not had enough to deal with in the last year with the passing of his mother and his terrible injury, to have to contend with something like this is ridiculous. I hope the moron that thought it was amusing to pick a fight with a wrestler gets a least a couple of months in prison and then lets see how hard he thinks he is! On a side note a wish Helms a speedy and healthy return to the ring. He has certainly been missed and in my opinion could put on a stellar program with Matt Hardy for the US title.

I was saddened to hear of Torrie Wilson’s WWE release. Torrie has always been one of the divas I had most respect for. She was always outgoing and had so much time for the fans and I think she will be missed. It is always unfortunate when injury ends a promising career and I think in Torrie’s case she probably could not face the idea of being with the company and not being able to do the thing she loved most: being involved in the ring. I hope she find success in whatever career path she chooses to pursue from here on and hope that she may come back and make the odd cameo appearance from time to time.

Jeff Hardy’s suspension is over this weekend so he could be back on TV as soon as Monday; However I feel they may delay his return until after Judgement Day. This is great news from my point of view being one of the biggest Jeff Hardy fans ever and I truly hope Jeff seizes this opportunity on what is his last chance with WWE. Whilst many people think Jeff will be relegated to mid card for life I have a different idea for him. I think he should still be in the main event picture and maybe even given a title run. That way if he does mess up Vince can turn round and say to all his wellness policy doubters “well you know what I fired my champion so this proves I must be serious” and I do not think anyone could argue with that. Jeff will still be over as anything with the fans and I can just imagine the pop he will get on his return. I would love to see Jeff return at Judgement Day and somehow screw Orton out of the title. Perhaps by slamming the cage door in his head or something and the next night on RAW Jeff comes out and challenges Triple H. That would make my day although it is probably just wishful thinking at this stage. Whatever happens I hope Jeff works hard and stays clean and hopefully will reap the rewards of this.

One of my readers: Anthony, made a very interesting suggestion on the comment board last week and I feel that it was worth mentioning in this weeks blog. He suggested that Orton move over to Smackdown and feud with the Undertaker for the title. I think this is a fantastic idea that could really help freshen up the main event picture. I know Orton and Undertaker feuded for some time before but Orton has come on and developed so much since then and I think the quality of matches these two put on could be off the charts. The only thing I would say though is that Edge should go the other way to RAW as Edge and Orton are by far and away the top two heels in WWE right now. I think a program between Edge and Triple H over the title would really work and also it would give him a chance to break away from Vickie and remind everyone that he can cut it on his own. Also the rumour is CM Punk will be moved to RAW and we all know what a strong show these two could put on with each other. So yes I think switching Orton and Edge would be a very smart move by creative. The other way of course would be to switch the two face champions Triple H and Undertaker but I feel moving the heels would be more effective.

So now onto this weeks show.

We open with a recap of Vickie stripping the title from Undertaker last Friday. I wonder how he is going to get revenge this week. As the show opens Vickie comes to the entrance ramp accompanied by Edge. Vickie states that the Undertaker will one of the competitors in a match at Judgement day for the Heavyweight Title. She then announces tonight there will be a championship chase to determine the other competitor for the title. Of all the names announced CM Punk got the biggest pop which was interesting. Wow some convoluted booking here, anyone would think this was TNA! So a number of wrestlers compete in qualifying matches to take part in a Battle Royale and the winner of this will face Undertaker at Judgement Day. They should have just done a King of the Ring style tournament in my opinion, I detest Battle Royale’s especially seeing as how Khali won the title during the last one.

So the first Battle Royale qualifying match is between US Champion Matt Hardy and Mr Money in the Bank: CM Punk. I do not understand how this one came about why would you put two top contenders against each other in a qualifying match. Surely it would have been better to have Punk against someone like Chavo. The crowd certainly seemed a bit confused as to who they should rally behind. This was however a quality match, both of these guys work well together with Punk doing a very good job of selling the injured arm. Surprisingly as the match developed parts of the crowd started booing Punk and shows why Punk either needs to be turned heel or stop being put against top face wrestlers like Matt or Chris Jericho. Punk is not over enough yet to pull of a face versus face feud. Great spot where Matt countered the GTS into a Twist Of Fate and then Punk countered that. However Matt Hardy stole the pin after Punk attempted a role up. So the strange booking of the MITB winner continues. Can anyone remember the last time a MITB winner was jobbing every week? It really is a joke. However the poor booking of Punk did not take away from what was a very good match.

The next qualifying match featured MVP facing Finlay accompanied by Hornswoggle. This really could be the chance for MVP to step up to the main even level by winning this competition. Would certainly be a chance to see of he can work at main event level. This match had a very solid opening with plenty of grappling and mat work. This match I think really showed just how solid MVP is, if you think in the last couple of months he has worked matches against 3 very different wrestlers: Batista, Matt Hardy and Finlay and each time has put on different yet solid match ups. Here MVP showed a very intelligent side targeting and injuring the arm of Finlay and dominating the middle of the match and the Finlay fought back and targeted MVP’s leg. Absolutely solid and enjoyable wrestling that luckily was not ruined by any lame Hornswoggle slapstick comedy. Great ending where both men’s shoulders on the ground and that is defiantly a fair result for this very even match up. After seeing this match I would be happy to see these two feud, Superb match.

Next up in a break from the championship chase Kelly Kelly was facing Natalya. Great moment with Mick Foley ripping Mike Adamle. What happened to the Smackdown women’s feud? Oh well. This was an excellent chance for Natalya to show once again what an awesome female wrestler she is. Natalya is the future of the women’s division. No question! Natalya picked up the win with the Sharpshooter. Very, very impressive!

It was announced that both Finlay and MVP would advance to the Battle Royale. It Is MVP’s time! Next up John Morrison was taking on Batista. What I would give to see Morrison in the main event picture. Oh and if Miz and Morrison loose those tag titles at Judgement Day, I am going to be pissed! No way should Punk and Kane be tag champs. They need to be contested over by proper tag teams in the tag division on Smackdown. Anyway rant over. This was a solid match Morrison hitting plenty of high kicks and a very impressive drop kick sending Batista flying from the ring. I was very pleased to see Morrison given a fair chance early on here as I was worried this was going to be a total squash for Batista. I think this gave a good indication that Morrison could certainly compete in the main event picture and would not look out of place. As the match progressed Morrison continued to show off his amazing athletic abilities and dominate Batista. Amazing counter by Batista catching Morrison after he sprang from the rope with his signature kick and then Batista hit the Batista bomb for the surprise victory. Great match and superb performance by Morrison, I really would have liked to see him go over Batista here but regardless this was a great match.

How many times are we going to see this video from last weeks events tonight! Seriously!

Following this Big Show was taking on Tommy Dreamer in the championship challenge. I think we all know who is winning this one. I used to write ECW blogs on my Myspace and back then I called Tommy Dreamer the Great American Jobber, nothing has changed! This was a total squash for the Big Show, winning in a matter of minutes. Shame this was short as I have no doubt these two could have put on a good match but I guess Big Show needs to be kept looking dominating to face Mark Henry.

Next up Chavo being accompanied by Bam Neely was taking on Kane in the Championship Chase. Now these two put on a solid match at Backlash and this was another solid encounter between the two of them. I would like to see both of these two feud with some different people now though as I really think this feud has run out of steam, there is only so many times I want to see Chavo targeting Kane’s leg only for Kane to battle back for the victory and the pin. So Kane advances into the Battle Royale. Good match but hopefully we will not see this one again for awhile.

Oh joy, the weekly Kozlov squash. Why when this is Championship Chase week is this match taking place. Anyway as always Kozlov hits a bunch of power moves and wins with no effort at all. Seen it all before, very boring. Give him a real opponent already! Comical error by Michael Cole when he accidentally said “there is nothing exciting about Kozlov” Damn right Cole!

Next up was main even time and the over the top Battle Royale featuring Big Show vs MVP vs Finlay vs Batista vs Kane vs Matt Hardy. Now you can never expect too much from this kind of match however all of these competitors are solid top tier workers so this match should be ok. I was just excited at the thought of MVP making the transition from mid carder to main eventer. However this did not prove the case as Batista ended up in with victory in what was an entertaining match but seriously why did MVP eliminate himself? That was plain crazy booking. I know it was probably to demonstrate his over confidence with his kick but still, not good. Having the title vacated like this is the perfect opportunity for someone new to step up into the main event and MVP is truly ready for this opportunity. Batista worked a good match here and I certainly would not mind seeing a program between him and Big Show at some stage.

So just when we thought Batista would be facing Undertaker for the title at Judgement Day Vickie announces that Edge has been cleared to wrestle and he spears Batista off the ring apron and books himself another title opportunity. Now whilst we know these two will put on a great match I really think that just like the Chavo against Kane feud that this one has run its course. My problem is that I cannot see Edge beating Undertaker at Judgement Day and if this was the planned match why strip Undertaker of the title in the first place. I would much rather have seen MVP step up and take on Undertaker. Very strange booking going on here and I have to say I am disappointed even though I am the biggest Edge fan going. Great segment at the end though with Edge eyeing up the title belt only for it to be struck by lightning and burst into flames.

So we got a very mixed show this week. Some great matches: Finlay vs MVP, Batista vs Morrison and Chavo vs Kane, A chance to see Natalya in action again which was impressive and Mick Foley was very good on commentary once more. The bad things for me in the show was the Kozlov squash as it is really starting to irritate me every week now and the frustrating booking of having Edge winning the tournament to face Undertaker when it should have been MVP, also the bizarre booking of Mr Money In The Bank: CM Punk continues to frustrate me. However the good outweighed the bad and the Championship Chase was a refreshing change to the weekly show format which makes the Kozlov squash match even more irritating as this time should have been given to the Tommy Dreamer against Big Show match. My match of the week is an easy one to call: Finlay vs MVP in the qualifying round was an absolute master class in wrestling ability and hopefully it will not be the last time we see these two face off against one another.

This week’s edition of Smackdown scores a good 7/10

That is all for this weeks blog. I will be back again next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdown. Please leave me some feedback on the comment board and I will try and get back to you. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and please feel free to add me on myspace: www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Matt Hardy has saved us and proved once more he is better than MVP! Congratulations Matt on the title win!
Smackdown Power 10
1: The Undertaker
2: Batista
3: Edge (+2)
4: Matt Hardy
5: Team Morrison (-2)
6: MVP
7: The Big Show
8: Finlay (NE)
9: Victor Kozlov (-1)
10: Team Yang (-1)

It has been a pretty big week news wise in WWE. First off I would like to discuss the arrest for DUI of Santino Marella. Now whilst he was not over the legal limit this is not the sort of publicity that WWE wants and I can defiantly imagine Santino will face some form of punishment for this. Unless your name is Kurt Angle you are not going to get away with a DUI offense. This is a shame as Santino is in the midst of a tag team push and I was really looking forward to see The International Superstars spearhead the rejuvenation of the tag team division. Hopefully he punishment will be minimal and he will still get a chance to show off his hilarious mic skills every week.

Is it just me or was the ending of RAW incredibly frustrating this week. I can understand that WWE are putting Regal over as a power crazed maniac but cutting off a quality title rematch was frustrating to say the least. I was very worried that this was a quick way to get Orton out of the title picture but now the main event for Judgment Day has been announced I am pleased that this is not the case. I presume this power trip by Regal will lead to him being removed as GM of RAW and perhaps Coach or even Armando Estrada taking over.

I thought Backlash was a very solid Pay Per View. I enjoyed every match and would like to take the time to discuss each of them. I was pretty useless with my predictions. One day I will manage to get them all!

The US title match was a fantastic way to open the show. This was not the best match Matt and MVP have had with each other but it was very good and I really hope this feud now continues. I can understand why WWE did the title change as they wanted Matt looking strong on his proper PPV return. Still this feud has to end in a specialty match. The popular option seems to be TLC and I agree these two could really tear it up in that type of match. MVP showed he is more than capable in the MITB match at Wrestlemania and we all know how amazing Matt is in any match type involving a ladder. Please WWE keep this feud going!

The ECW title match was much better than I was expecting it to be. Chavo did a superb job in targeting Kane’s injured knee and gave us the impression he may be in with a chance of beating Kane. My one complaint is that Bam Neely could have got a bit more involved but as this was quite a short match I can appreciate his involvement had to be limited in order to show Chavo as a credible contender. Adamle was as always inept but I have reluctantly accepted him for the time being.

I actually enjoyed the Diva tag match. Especially the end where the girls all hit one of their signature moves. What it really showed though was the gap between the wrestlers and the eye candy. I am not sure why the WWE have nearly all the actual wrestler woman as heels. Katie Lea Burchill also looked quite good on RAW this Monday and I imagine she could put on a credible match, I like how potential programs between Michelle and Beth and Mickie and Victoria were teased during this match. I would love Victoria to become women’s champion again.

Big Show against Khali was not as bad as it could have been. I thought it was a passable match. Big Show did a good job selling Khali’s power offence and whilst the crowd were certainly not into this match I found it watch able. Much better than the many Khali against Kane encounters we have seen.

Batista against Shawn Michaels was a phenomenal match. I was gripped throughout and although I was surprised Jericho did not play a more prominent role as referee I was happy to see these two just go at it. The ending was superb with HBK teasing a potential heel turn whilst faking an injury. From RAW on Monday it seems this program is set to continue with Jericho becoming more of an active participant and this is something I think every Wrestling fan would like to see.

The Undertaker and Edge gave us another classic, even though I think we all knew Undertaker was retaining this match had enough of those edge of the seat moments that kept me gripped from start to finish and when Edge countered the Last Ride I was on my feet with excitement. I think this feud may be over for now but I certainly hope they pick up again at some point down the line. I could quite happily watch these two headline as many Pay Per Views as they want.

The WWE title match was a very good match. I was unhappy to see the title change hands as I really hoped Orton was going to continue his reign for a little longer. Having him overcome 4 top challengers would have really cemented him as a solid champion. However Triple H as champion is not the worst thing in the world and when it was down to HHH and Orton I was gripped. Hopefully they will work an extended program for a couple of months now and Orton will return to the psychotic hunter he was when he was chasing Cena for the belt last year.

So Backlash was a very solid Pay Per View, I would certainly recommend buying it on DVD. WWE continues its strong PPV run so far this year. I am already looking forward to Judgment day and am expecting a solid card especially with all these cliff hanger angles WWE seems to be giving us at the moment. One thing I would really like to see is a loser leaves ECW match between Tazz and Mike Adamle at One Night Stand! I like how wwe.com has at least acknowledged the fact we all hate Adamle.

One last thing before I move on to this week’s Smackdown and that is Mick Foley as our new Smackdown colour commentator. This was an excellent move by Vince, Coach works much better as an on screen character and his commentary was dreadful. Mick did a great job at Backlash and I am looking forward to seeing how he handles his first Smackdown show.

The show opens with Teddy Long announcing that tonight all 3 Smackdown titles are on the line! Wow what a great show we are in for!

Mick Foley is introduced as the new colour commentator of Smackdown to a massive pop from the crowd. After a few months of Coach this is the best move Vince has made is a long time. Foley has excellent knowledge of the business and from now on our Friday night listening should be much more entertaining.

First up is the WWE tag team title match with Team Morrison taking on Team Yang for the belts. This has been an excellent feud so far picking up right where they left off after their 15 minute iron man match on ECW a few months ago. These two teams really flow in the ring and work so well together and I knew this match was a potential show stealer. Very strong start with Yang countering the Miz’s early aggression and allowing Moore to be tagged in and hit some high spots. Superb athleticism from Yang hitting Morrison with a dropkick and dropping straight into a pin attempt. Mick Foley was superb on commentary throughout and brought so much more to the match than Coach could ever manage, his superior knowledge was allowed to shine and the comment about why do women find the Miz attractive was hilarious. Great double team maneuver from Team Morrison on Yang mid way through, these guys are so dominant and impressive in the ring, they could easily become one of the most dominant tag teams in recent history. I would love to see them in a match up against the Hardy Boyz even if it was only a one off. This was a superb match from start to finish, Team Morrison retaining after Morrison hit his finisher which is now called the Moonlight Drive for the winner. Very strong way to start the show!

Next up Colin Delaney was up against Kozlov for the weekly squash. There was always only going to be one winner here but at least Kozlov was involved in a proper story against a kind of credible opponent. Very impressive show of power from Kozlov absolutely destroying Delaney. I am really looking forward to seeing how Kozlov handles someone like Tommy Dreamer or Chuck Palumbo.

Next was the divas tag team match between Team Victoria and Team Michelle. I am pleased to see this rivalry being continued, All of these competitors are future women’s champions, even Cherry. I have seen some YouTube footage of her independent work and she is very talented and hopefully in time WWE will allow her to develop her character a bit more and show some of her abilities. I do not normally comment on how the women are looking but Victoria looked gorgeous! Very impressive start to the match from Natalya and Michelle. Michelle I think really showed in this match that she is more than capable becoming the next big time face player in the women’s division. Natalya once again looked very dominant against Cherry and thanks to some help from Victoria was able to get the pin on Michelle. Good solid women’s match.

Following this Mark Henry was taking on Nunzio in singles action, Nunzio however brought along some support in the shape of Big Show. Mark Henry won in a complete squash. Seems like my prediction for Big Show going after the title may have been a little to soon, it seems Big Show will now be working a program with Mark Henry which is ok, It certainly solidifies Big Show as a big time player if he defeats the big three giants of WWE before going after any titles.

Next up was the highly anticipated rematch for the US title between MVP and Matt Hardy. MVP had a serious game face on as he made his way to the ring and Matt Hardy got the biggest pop of his career I think! I do not think these two can have a bad match with each other so I knew this would be an impressive spectacle. MVP started the match very aggressively until Matt started to take control. This was yet another very even matchup between this two with the action very back and forth. The crowd were hot for this one from start to finish as well, I really think Matt Hardy now has the chance to show he is ready to become a major main event player on Smackdown. This was a very physical match up with plenty of holds and grappling and easily lived up to their match at Backlash. Matt Hardy retained his title after connecting with the Twist Of Fate out of nowhere. Superb match! I really hope this match is not the end of this feud, I cannot remember the last time there was such a well done rivalry for one of the lesser titles and this has certainly elevated the US title from something no one really cared about into a big deal. Now WWE need to do the same for the Intercontinental belt! But as I said earlier the best way to cap this feud would be a specialty match either a TLC match or a Ladder match at either Judgment Day or One Night Stand.

Following this great match Mick Foley was in ring to conduct an interview with Batista. This was a solid interview segment that teased the feud between Batista and Shawn Michaels may be far from over. I am interested to see how Jericho will be figuring in this angle from now on.

Next The Edgeheads were in tag team action against Jesse & Festus. Hawkins is looking pretty podgy these days and needs to get back in shape! This was a fast paced match with Zak Ryder and Jesse looking particularly impressive. Hopefully at some stage the Edgeheads will get into the Tag Title Match. They could certainly have a battle of the egos match up with Team Morrison. The Edgeheads picked up the surprise victory here with Festus doing a good job of selling the throat injury. Interesting finisher by Hawkins as well! Good quality tag match.

Following this Finlay was taking on a local jobber. This was an impressive display of ability and power from Finlay. Hornswoggle got involved to a massive pop from the kids in attendance. This was a good reminder of just what an impressive in ring performer Finlay can be, I certainly would not mind seeing a feud between Finlay and MVP at some point down the line.

Main event time next as The Undertaker was facing Khali for the World Heavyweight Title. So Khali loses to Big Show and gets a title match. Interesting! Although I figure this is just a way to have Khali “injured” at the hands of The Undertaker so he can take some time off to return to India. But wait out comes Vickie Guerrero and a slightly disturbed looking Edge. Vickie announces that tonight’s main event is off, not only that but Undertaker’s Gogoplata hold is now banned from being used in any match and to top it all off Vickie is stripping The Undertaker of the World Heavyweight Title! What the hell is going on??? Undertaker was clearly not very impressed and Vickie was forced to send Khali into the ring to retrieve the belt. Khali however fell victim to the Gogoplatta and was left a bleeding mess in the ring. Whilst that was happening however The Edgeheads made the run in and stole the belt. Wow! I did not see that coming! This got Vickie some major heel heat. Now whilst most people seem to be in uproar that the Undertaker has been stripped of the title I think this is a fascinating angle. It adds to the cliff hangers WWE have been leaving us on all week and I certainly cannot wait to see what direction Smackdown Creative will be taking with this angle next week. In my opinion Undertaker will be winning the title back at the first opportunity and this angle has been done to build Vickie as a truly wicked general manager and Undertaker will relentlessly pursue her and take her down and Teddy Long will end up back in control of Smackdown. Great stuff and great way to get the viewers interested again!

This was a very solid post pay per view edition of Smackdown. Every segment worked well, even the Kozlov match this week. I was pleased to see the women’s rivalry continue, Mick Foley had a fantastic Smackdown debut and the ending of the show was phenomenal. We had two superb title matches and it’s a tough call for which one gets my match of the week award but I am going to have to go with Matt Hardy vs MVP giving us yet another classic encounter, long may this feud continue!

This week’s post PPV edition of Smackdown scores a very good 9/10

That is all for this week’s blog. I will be back again next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdown. Please leave me some feedback on the comment board and I will try and get back to you. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and please feel free to add me on myspace: www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Matt Hardy has saved us and proved once more he is better than MVP! Congratulations Matt on the title win!

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Batista
3: Team Morrison (+2)
4: Matt Hardy (+3)
5: Edge (-2)
6: MVP (-2)
7: The Big Show (-1)
8: Victor Kozlov (+1)
9: Team Yang (-1)
10: The Edgeheads (NE)

It has been a busy week for wrestling news with several major stories coming to light over the last week so first off I am just going to address some of the main issues of the week.

I was very saddened to hear the shock news that Rob Van Dam’s wife Sonya has been diagnosed with cancer. Having just lost a close family member myself to this horrible disease I can relate to the pain the Van Dam family must currently be going through. My thoughts go out to Rob and Sonya at this sad time and I wish her a quick and full recovery.

I was shocked to hear of Michael Hayes’ suspension from Smackdown creative for directing a racial slur and Mark Henry and all I can think is what an idiot. Racism has no place in society and I hope he learns from this stupid mistake. Hayes has proved time and time again that he is one of the best creative workers in the business and I hope his absence does not affect the quality of the shows.

Mike Adamle gave me another evening of Extremly Challenging Wrestling. His play by play is so bad it is farcical. I read several comments saying he is no where near as bad as Coach, well whilst Coach is irritating beyond belief Adamle makes me not want to watch ECW and anything that can turn me off from a WWE show has got to be pretty awful. Get him out!

I also notice a lot of people have been slamming Adit’s TNA blogs saying he is overly critical. Give the guy a break, Adit has the hardest job of any blogger on Wrestling News World. Sometimes TNA produce such idiotic rubbish it would be very hard to find positive things to say about it, I mean seriously how can you have the best tag team on the roster: The Motor City Machineguns lose to two wrestlers that are not even a tag team? And what is the betting after this ridiculous Deuces Are Wild tournament is ended that Super Eric and Kaz get the titles back anyway? Absolute madness! TNA has some of the most athletic and talented professional wrestlers in the world on their roster but whilst the silly gimmick over kill booking continues that will be what fans and critics continue to pick up on rather than the superb in ring action that takes place on Impact. I find the Impactor to be a very well written and enjoyable piece and hope people understand that if TNA, or WWE for that matter give us a terrible show then we are going to criticize it.

So WWE pulled another shock on us and had William Regal win the King of The Ring Tournament. Obviously being English this was something I was very happy to see and I hope that Regal gets the push he is long overdue. He is a very solid and professional in ring performer and deserves a chance to show what he can do against some of the top guys in the company. The manner is which he won the tournament was somewhat disappointing and has certainly devalued him as a credible challenger somewhat but hopefully a few solid wins against some big names will help give Regal some momentum and I certainly hope to see him main event at least one PPV before the end of the year. I was gutted Kennedy did not appear but I am sensing a feud with either John Cena or Chris Jericho after Backlash for him.

So with all of that out of the way its on to this weeks show

The show opens with an excellent promo video for tonight’s main event, whoever put this video together deserves a pay rise. Superb stuff!

As the show opens the full Team Rated R are in the ring. Edge is wearing a cool new T-shirt. I will be buying that one. Vickie announces the title match later tonight is a no disqualification match. I am guessing we will be seeing some interference during this one then. Edge talks up his and Chavo’s chances at Backlash only to be interrupted by Mr Money In The Bank: CM Punk. Punk cuts a very good promo slating Edge and a match is made between Punk and Edge for later tonight. Punk is very good on the mic, reminds me of his ROH days. He defiantly needs to be given more mic time.

Next up we got the continuation of the great WWE tag team feud. This time with The Miz taking on Shannon Moore. Morrison and Yang had a superb match on Tuesday night and I was hoping this would be up to the same standard. John Morrison was providing commentary and he was hilarious as always. Great line from Morrison where he took a dig at Mike Adamle. This was a fast paced match with both guys looking very bright. Miz showed a very aggressive streak in this match and continues to improve every week. Shannon Moore picked up the win countering the Reality Check into a Backslide. I hope this means Team Yang are now official number one contenders and we get some high flying tag team action. Good stuff.

Following this the Smackdown diva feud continues. And finally we get to see Natalya Neidhart in action facing Cherry. Nattie looked very impressive, immediately showing she is a wrestler rather than eye candy, hitting some very impressive power moves. Just imagine the matches she could put on with the likes of Mickie, Melina or Beth, we may be on the way to getting a women’s division to rival TNA. I was pleased with how long this match was given and impressed with how competent Nattie looks in the ring. Nattie won with the Sharpshooter! Great stuff and great choice of finisher!

Another very well put together promo for Khali against Big Show. I think this storyline was somewhat damaged on Monday when Khali backed down from Big Show but hopefully the match at Backlash will come off ok. I just think in order for Khali to come across as a dominating force he should not just back down every week and they wisely left this out of the video promo.

Following this, Michael Cole was in the ring to conduct an interview with Matt Hardy. Matt got a huge response from the crowd which was good to see. Matt I think showed here that he is better than a lot of people give him credit for. MVP when he came out as always was golden on the mic. This feud has truly reignited and I cannot wait until Sunday. This match could potentially steal the show. This was a very good interview especially the end with MVP knocking Matt out with the belt. Great build up for Backlash.

Next up was the confrontation made earlier in the night between Edge and CM Punk. These two had a superb match a couple of months ago and I was hoping this would be every bit as good as that one. Very even match early on with neither man being able to gain the upper hand. Punk began to take control and looked very impressive but really was not getting much crowd response and I can understand after seeing Punk on Monday and again tonight why WWE are thinking of turning him heel. However would mean no lengthy feud with Edge which is something I would really like to see. Edge could be the opponent that Punk needs to take him to the next level and a feud against the best heel in the business could really help Punk get over more with the crowd. This was a solid match with lots of solid mat wrestling and submission moves. Good spot from Edge getting underneath Punk and suplexing him as he was standing on the top rope. Great combo of kicks from Punk similar to Kofi Kingston. Interesting counter from the GTS by Edge as well. Edge always seems to pull out the Edgeomatic against Punk and I always enjoy seeing the move and when was the last time you remember seeing Edge pull out an Edgecution. After some distraction from Zak Ryder Edge hit a spear and got the pin. This was an absolutely superb match with plenty of near falls and both guys hitting many of their signature moves. CM Punk looked great and I really hope these two feud soon. My one complaint though is that CM Punk the MITB winner has now lost two matches in the space of a week and for someone that is supposed to be on the way up into the main event picture this is not good. Punk looked very good against Edge and in all three of his KOTR matches, however the negative or non responsive crowd reaction lead me to think that Punk’s heel turn may come sooner rather than later or as discussed earlier after Backlash he is put in a long feud with Edge to help him get over more.

Oh joy another Kozlov squash match. He needs a proper opponent and soon. The crowd were dead and I was bored. Kozlov I think needs to go to ECW to feud with the likes of Dreamer, Mike Knox etc anything to just see him face someone other than a local jobber. I am sure Kofi had faced a proper opponent by this point in his career.

Excellent promo for the Undertaker and his gogoplata submission manoeuvre. Whoever finally breaks this hold will gain major momentum!

Very heel type promo from Batista as he thanked Vickie for his title opportunity. I will be very interested to see how he behaves towards Shawn Michaels and Y2J on Sunday but this defiantly could be the time Batista returns to his heel roots.

Main event time next as Batista takes on Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship and this time it is no disqualifications. These two have had so many great encounters over the last year and I just knew this was going to be a very special main event. I was expecting some heavy interference from Team Rated R in some form during this match. Very fast paced power based opening with both combatants knocking each other to the ground. Great counter and escape from Batista as Undertaker attempted to lock in that submission move. Undertaker dominated early on easily having the better of Batista hitting a big leg drop outside the ring and hitting Old School after countering Batista’s Superplex again. Very impressive spinebuster from Batista getting some serious height on the Undertaker and likewise a very impressive chokeslam from Undertaker. No mater how many times these two go at each other in the ring I will never get bored as long as they put on quality matches like this. Plenty of signature finishers into pin attempts kept me gripped from start to finish. However out came Shawn Michaels and delivered sweet chin music to Batista, allowing Undertaker to hit the Tombstone for the pin. Great call from Sharpshooter one of my readers who saw this coming. I myself had expected Team Rated R to attack the Undertaker. Undertaker is going to Backlash as champion!

This was a very promo heavy edition of Smackdown. There were only 5 actual matches here including the Kozlov squash but the other 4 were all excellent. I truly loved seeing Nattie Nedihart in her in ring debut, the WWE tag team belt feud is continuing nicely and Edge vs CM Punk was a great match and a very interesting Main Event. The Kozlov squash aside I enjoyed every part of Smackdown and the show did a great job of building the matches at Backlash and I now cannot wait until Sunday! My match of the week was Edge vs CM Punk and I really hope these two have a long running rivalry.

This weeks pre PPV edition of Smackdown scores a very good 9/10

That is all for this weeks blog. I will be back later along with Anthony with The Talent Exchange giving you our Backlash Predicitons and then ill be back again next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdown incorporating my PPV thoughts. Please leave me some feedback on the comment board and I will try and get back to you. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time Matt Hardy has come to save us!

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Batista
3: Edge
4: MVP
5: Team Morrison
6: The Big Show
7: Matt Hardy
8: Team Yang (NE)
9: Victor Kozlov (-1)
10: Team Yang

First off just want to say a big thank you to everyone who added me on Myspace, if you want to add me and discuss wrestling my address is www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever.

So the big news this week is that King of the Ring is back next week on RAW. So the question is who will be competing and what will the winner receive? I think there are a couple of dead certain participants: CM Punk, Mr Kennedy, Chris Jericho and Kofi Kingston. Of those four one name is screaming out as an obvious winner and that is Mr Kennedy. This could be the moment that Kennedy finally steps up and is pushed to the top level, he has the mic skills and attitude to pull of the who King gimmick if that is WWE intend to take it as they did with “King” Booker a few years ago. My choice however would be none other than everyone’s favourite Italian: Santino Marella. If you read the house show reports from the recent European tour one name stands out in every report and that is Santino. A couple of my friends attended the Liverpool show and said Santino was the best part of the night and got more heat than the rest of the roster put together. This guy is golden on the mic and has the wrestling skills to match and it is about time he was given a chance to show this. King Santino would be hilarious and guaranteed to make RAW more entertaining every week. My one concern is Santino will not even be participating due to his tag team push but I really hope creative put him in the mix and the reign of King Marella will begin.

The departure of Joey Styles from his ECW announcing job came as a huge shock. Mike Adamle proved to be diabolical this week on ECW and to me this is just another way of burying every last memory of the original ECW. Joey is one of the best announcers in the business and I was really hopeful he would be replacing Coach on Smackdown but after this week it is clear that is not going to happen. Hopefully Adamle will receive such a hostile and negative response from fans that Vince will rethink this dreadful decision but something tells me we are going to get lines such as “Your Jamaican Me Crazy!” for some time to come.

Mickie James and Beth Phoenix had the best WWE women’s match in recent memory on RAW this past Monday, I really hope these two have a long feud over the belt and whilst I would have liked to see Mickie win at a big PPV it seems there was more to this than meets the eye with Beth. I am sure the full story will come to light within the coming weeks, Of course if you are a Premium Subscriber you will have read the same story that I have and be aware of what happened. I just hope this doesn’t lead to Beth having to job to the likes of Maria over the coming weeks as that would be a complete mockery of the most dominant female in recent history in the WWE.

So now on to this weeks show

The show opens with Chris Jericho making his way to the ring for a special edition of the highlight reel. Y2J looks much better in his rock gear than a brown suit! Is it just me or is Chris Jericho becoming more and more of a heel every time he is on TV. I imagine now he has been made special referee at Backlash he will be screwing one or both of the guys involved. Batista got some heat from the UK crowd which was a surprise to me. This was a fantastic segment with Jericho really getting under Batista’s skin. It seems that WWE will be keeping both Batista and HBK face and instead having Jericho play the heel role. Batista gave Jericho a Batista bomb for his disrespect. Great way to start the show!

Why does WWE always show red buses when it is in England? Do all Americans think that’s how we get around? I hope not!

Next up Matt Hardy was providing special guest commentary for MVPs match against Tommy Dreamer. No inflatable tunnel for MVP in the UK then! Now last week MVP said he would be having a match against Matt this week. I am guessing that idea has been scrapped! Now Matt was good on commentary but compared to MVP last week he came across as somewhat dull. MVP put Coach in his place last week, this week Coach kept interrupting Matt and that was just irritating! The match between MVP and Dreamer was solid. MVP providing plenty of strong offensive and big kicks. Excellent spot by Dreamer where he countered the Playmaker into a DDT only to lose a couple of minutes later after MVP gave him a charging kick to the head. Good match nothing spectacular but good nevertheless. One thing is for sure this was a good way to build the match at Backlash and I am certainly looking forward to a potential VIP lounge segment next week.

Matt Striker cut a very good promo prior to his match with Hornswoggle. I totally agree with Striker when he said it was an insult to be facing Hornswoggle. The London crowd were certainly hot for Finlay and Hornswoggle. The childish antics continue this week with the use of tennis balls and water guns irritating Striker. The crowd were certainly in to this and found it very amusing. Hornswoggle picks up the win after Finlay clocked Striker with the shelailee. I find this sort of humour very irritating but this certainly seems to be WWE targeting the kids and they love it so I will tolerate it. I hope it does not continue week after week though. Ironically after the match Coach plugs the new WWE kid’s magazine featuring none other than: Hornswoggle.

Following this we had a recap of last weeks Punjabi peace offering between Khali and Big Show. Big Show also cut a good promo saying that at Backlash he will be finishing the job he has started on Khali.

Next up Chavo was facing Jamie Noble in singles action. This had all the potential to be a great match as these are two of the best Cruiserweights on the Roster. This match had a very strong opener with lots of solid mat wrestling. Both guys put on a great show and showed us why we need a Cruiserweight division on Smackdown. Great counter from Noble on the third of the three amigos into a DDT. Chavo picked up the win however with a frog splash. A short match but a very enjoyable one.

Next Big Show was taking on the Mark Henry in a battle of the giants. However after last week it seemed inevitable that Khali would be back for revenge against Big Show. The London crowd were loving the Big Show as well. This started off as a pretty even match up with neither athlete gaining the early advantage until Mark Henry managed to lock in the lamest move in wrestling: The Bear Hug. However Big Show escaped and delivered a thunderous choke slam to Henry. However out comes Khali and dismantles the injured Big Show. Very impressive show of strength from Khali when he Khali Bombed the Big Show. I am quite looking forward to this match at Backlash certainly has a clash of the Titans feel to it.

A superb promo for the Batista vs Undertaker match next up. These two had by far the best rivalry last year and I am certainly looking forward to the main event.

Next up Cherry was taking on Victoria in a divas match with Nattie and Michelle at ringside. This is the first time I can remember Cherry taking part in a proper match and I think she showed that all she will ever be is eye candy. Comic moment when Michael Cole said Victoria was better with her commentary than Coach: very true! Victoria wiped the floor with Cherry hitting some very impressive moves until Victoria was distracted by Michelle and Cherry got the roll up for a surprise win. Whilst it was clear from this match Cherry is no wrestler I am enjoying how creative actually seems to be building a proper women’s rivalry on Smackdown. Tag match between these four next week anyone?

Next up we had our weekly Kozlov squash. This time it was against a local jobber from England. Once again Kozlov had no music which is an interesting start for a new Superstar. The crowd were pretty dead for this match until the local guy hit some offensive. Kozlov once again looked impressive but give him a proper opponent please. He has been wrestling dark matches against proper wrestlers for months!

Next up a very good promo for the Edge vs Undertaker match at Backlash with footage of the Undertaker in action inter cut with Edge and Vickie’s love antics.

Main event time next and Team Rated R took their place at ringside having “purchased” tickets for the event. The London crowd blew the roof off for the Undertaker. I would have given anything to be there! Damn ticket touts! Anyway with the history of great matches that Undertaker and Batista have had I knew this match would really be something and I was not disappointed. Undertaker got some fast early offensive before Batista recovered. Very even match up with neither man really gaining the upper hand with both combatants hitting some impressive strikes. Very good spot from Batista where he countered Undertaker’s Old School attempt into a Superplex. Undertaker finally hit Old School on the third attempt drilling Batista into the mat and then leg dropping him on the outside of the ring. Great counter into a spear by Batista. Undertaker really brings out the best in Batista. Sometimes he can look very ordinary but every time he steps in the ring with the dead man they really turn it up a notch. The ending turned into a double count out with neither man seeming bothered about getting back in the ring and instead choosing to continue to fight outside the ring. Undertaker threw Edge into the ring and was about to chokeslam him when Chavo and his bodyguard hit the ring and Edge escaped. Great stuff! Vickie then came out and announced that next week it would be a rematch between Edge and Batista and this time it would be for the Heavyweight title. Wow! Cannot wait to see that one!

This was a good edition of Smackdown from my home country. Nothing truly spectacular besides an outstanding main event but nothing that was truly awful. The Hornswoggle comedy was once again irritating and the Kozlov squash was a snooze but other than that everything worked and we got some good build up for Backlash. The main event was without a doubt my match of the week.

This weeks edition of Smackdown scores a good 7/10

That is all for this weeks blog. I will be back again next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdown. Please leave me some feedback on the comment board and I will try and get back to you. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time Matt Hardy has come to save us!

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Batista
3: Edge
4: MVP (+1)
5: Team Morrison (-1)
6: The Big Show
7: Matt Hardy
8: Finlay & Hornswoggle (+1)
9: Victor Kozlov (-1)
10: Team Yang

The most noteworthy news story of the week is the announcement of the RAW main event for Backlash which is now a Fatal Four Way between John Cena, Orton, Triple H and JBL. I have no problem with this match just as long as Cena does not overcome the odds and claim victory. Whilst most are already assuming Triple H will be walking away with WWE championship gold I would not rule out the possibility that Orton will once again retain and there is one big reason for this that being JBL. I see JBL and Orton working together and taking out Cena and Triple H and then Orton turning on JBL. Either way JBL is in this match to get pinned pure and simple. That way if Triple H or Cena does win the match Orton will still look strong as he will not be the one pinned. However I really do get the feeling that Orton will retain and Triple H will get a do or die opportunity at Judgement Day for the title. However this match should be good and I am excited to see it.

WWE is in the UK this coming week, I was desperate to go however tickets for the TV tapings sold out instantly and surfaced on Ebay a few hours later for three or four times the original price. I hate ticket touts! I have been desperate to attend a WWE show for several years now and this happens every time. I refuse to pay a Wrestlemania ticket price for a standard RAW show even if it is in my home country. But I am very disappointed I could not attend and will be watching the shows with great intrest.

I recently purchased the new Shawn Michaels Heartbreak and Triumph DVD and fully recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in HBK. It contains a fascinating insight into his early career, some of his rivalries including Bret Hart and of course plenty of DX material. One of the best features is the entire Royal Rumble match where Shawn entered at number one and won the match. This is one of the best wrestling DVDs I have bought and if you live in the UK http://www.zavvi.co.uk/ are currently running a WWE sale where you can get the DVD for £21.99 including postage. Bargain!

On a slightly unrelated note I have recently completed my university photography project entitled Project Wrestling 2008. Basically I got to prat about and dress up as my favourite wrestlers and get my picture taken. The results are on my myspace: www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever so if you want to put a face to the name of the guy who writes all these blogs for you, feel free to add me and discuss Wrestling. I would also be interested in your feedback on the photos.

Now onto this weeks show

The show started with a bizarre Punjabi peace offering between The Great Khali and Big Show. Khali started reciting a Punjabi poem. Seems like Khali has a new manager. This was a comical segment especially with Big Show looking disgusted with Khali’s gifts of water, whiskey, chicken and of all things a goat! I presume this was for the benefit of Indian fans with Khali attempting to genuinely make peace with Big Show. Big Show then knocked Khali out clean with one punch. I am defiantly expecting to see a match between these two at Backlash, and it should be pretty watch able as Big Show never disappoints in the ring.

Next up WWE tag team champions Team Morrison were taking on Team Yang in a rematch from the match last week that got disrupted by Khali. We got a short highlight of the hilarious Dirt Sheet from WWE.com, if you have not seen it watch it! Morrison is hilarious as always. Morrison showed some great cocky heel characteristics early on in this match taunting his two opponents and ended up taking a beating from Yang for his troubles. This was a proper tag team match that was given much more time than the match last week and allowed all four guys to show off their considerable talents. Team Yang especially got in some very impressive high flying offensive and Team Morrison utilising some very unique double team manoeuvres. The Miz improves every week in the ring and I am now starting to believe his has a long future ahead of him in WWE whereas to begin with I thought he would not last a year. These teams need to have a speciality match like a ladder match or tornado tag match for the titles. They gel so well in the ring together and crowd are always so into their matches. Miz picked up the win after getting the blind tag to Morrison with a perfectly executed neck breaker.

Next up we got to see Edge and Vickie in a spa, Yuk! Enough said!

Following this stomach churning moment Finlay made a much welcome return to Smackdown complete with Hornswoggle in tow. I am glad to see Finlay back, he adds a different dimension to the face talent on Smackdown and is a very unique talent. It was also great to see his opponent Matt Striker back in the ring as opposed to being on Big V manager duty. Apparently Big V has been told to lose some weight and get in shape so hopefully Striker will have a chance to show he is far more than just an effective mouth piece. This was a good solid wrestling match with both guys looking very impressive in the ring, I personally found comedy interludes from Hornswoggle quite irritating and distracting from the match but the live crowd certainly seemed into it. I guess now Flair has sadly retired Finlay is the new dirtiest player in the game using Hornswoggle as a distraction so he can clock his opponent with his weapon.

Next up Nattie Neidhart was introduced by Victoria and a short video of her father was screened. This is brilliant, after weeks of silly contest we finally get a proper women’s match on Smackdown featuring two great female wrestlers. This was much better than the vast majority of divas matches seen in WWE. All three of these ladies need to be in the proper women’s division. I say in the draft move Beth, Mickie and Melina to Smackdown and have the division on here and send the eye candy over to RAW. Victoria picked up a welcome victory, short but sweet!

Next up we got a very well put together promo video for Batista and Shawn Michaels. Whilst Batista got quite a mixed reaction on Monday’s Raw, here in front of the Smackdown fans he got his usual ovation and HBK received the mixed reaction. It is going to be interesting to see if creative decide to turn either of these guys heel or just keep with the face vs face feud. This match could potentially steal the show at Backlash and I am very excited to see it. This was an excellent segment with both guys teasing a potential heel turn. The comments by Batista about Shawn’s career were great, and relevant especially after recently watching the new DVD. I really hope they continue this strong build up for backlash. Great stuff!

Vladimir Kozlov had his second match next against another local jobber. This time he got no music and from the spoiler report I read earlier in the week it sounded like there was some sort of technical mix up for this match. Anyway just as last week this match was a total squash, with the local jobber unable to hurt the giant Kozlov. He looked impressive once again but once again I am not making any judgements until he faces a credible opponent.

Next up more mushy rubbish from Edge and Vickie. Yuk! Why is Teddy Long acting like Edge and Vickie’s personal waiter? I am looking forward to this silly storyline coming to an end and Edge returning to what his does best: wrestle!

Following this MVP joined the commentary team for the match between Matt Hardy and Chuck Palumbo. MVP was so funny, immediately putting Coach in his place. Next week MVP challenged Matt to a match in England. Makes me wish I was going even more, damn ticket touts! The match itself between Palumbo and Matt Hardy started off very well with Palumbo getting in some very solid offensive. This was a very good match made so much better with MVP on commentary, Palumbo brought a lot to this match showing off some very impressive power moves showing that he could certainly compete at a higher level. If and when Matt wins that title I certainly see Palumbo potentially being one of Matt’s first title defences. Lots of counters and near falls made this a fascinating match especially the final counter by Matt into a Twist of Fate. Great match and great continuation of the Matt and MVP feud.

A pretty good backstage promo from Jesse and Festus followed, comical line from Jesse saying he had never seen Festus like this followed by a shot of Festus looking just the same as he always does.

As I predicted the Big Show and Khali is officially on for Backlash but for me its all about HBK vs Batista.

Main event time as Undertaker made his way to the ring to take on Festus in one on one action. With such different styles in the ring I was really hoping that these two would work well together. After Undertaker’s entrance we had another sickly Edge and Vickie vignette although this one was amusing when Teddy Long flipped out and stormed out. Undertaker immediately applied some heavy offensive moves to Festus stopping him from utilising his usual power moves early on. However Festus gained control shortly afterwards with his own unique power moves. This was a very even match up which was very back and forth and I was pleased to see this as I was very worried Festus would be fed to the Undertaker and squashed, smart booking by creative keeping Festus looking strong and keeping up the fan interest in his character. So many near falls and counters made this a quality match up. Undertaker winning eventually with his unique chokehold, Festus however did not tap and instead the replacement referee just called for the bell. Great main event!

So we got a really solid show this week. Once again the Kozlov squash match did nothing for me and the annoying Hornswoggle comedy ruined a solid match up between Finaly and Matt Striker, however the kids seem really into Hornswoggle so I see this happening every week. We got 3 excellent matches: The Tag Match, Hardy vs Palumbo and The Main Event. The women’s match was also fairly good and the HBK/Batista segment was electric. My match of the week is tough to call but it has to go to the main event between Undertaker and Festus.

This weeks edition of Smackdown scores a very good 9/10

That is all for this weeks blog. I will be back again next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdown from the UK. Please leave me some feedback on the comment board and I will try and get back to you. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time Matt Hardy has come to save us!

Smackdown Power 10 (note I have removed Kane from the rankings as he is now an official ECW wrestler and holds an ECW title but have added Team Morrison as they hold Smackdown titles despite being ECW wrestlers)

1: The Undertaker
2: Batista (+2)
3: Edge
4: Team Morrison (NE)
5: MVP
6: The Big Show
7: Matt Hardy (+1)
8: Victor Kozlov (+1)
9: Finlay (NE)
10: Team Yang (NE)

First off I just want to say Wrestlemania 24 was an amazing event. It delivered on every level and I loved every single minute of it. My party turned into a bit of a disaster as the curse of Virgin Media (UK cable company) struck again and we lost the feed for the second year in a row! Luckily some of our other friends were also holding a Wrestlemania party so we managed to dash round just in time to catch MITB.

Prediction wise I did ok getting 5 of my choices correct. Generally the less predictions I get correct the more I will enjoy the event as it become less predictable and more exciting, the exception being a match like MITB which is going to be quality whatever happens, just so happens this year I got the winner right!

The Finlay vs JBL match was an excellent way to open the show. Due to my loss of feed I missed this match but have since watched it online and it was pretty brutal and enjoyable. Looks like this program is set to continue as JBL picked up the win much to mine and everyone else’s surprise, major props to Sharpshooter who correctly predicted this one via the comment board on last weeks blog.

I was very surprised that MITB was the second match on the card but it truly kept the momentum of the show going. This was a phenomenal match with some insane spots. How is Shelton Benjamin still able to walk? Crazy stuff! Also the spot where Morrison did the Moonsault with a ladder was insane! This was in my opinion the best MITB so far. And best of all it featured the return of one Matt Hardy who as I predicted came out and did an insane Twist of Fate from a ladder on MVP to continue their feud. I am glad CM Punk won the match and I will be interested to see where they take his character from here. I would personally enjoy seeing Punk chasing the WWE title on RAW but it seems set for a long battle between Orton, Cena and Triple H so perhaps have Punk going after The Undertaker instead. Now that would be a feud!

The Batista vs Umaga match was impressive as I expected it would be. Very impressed with how Batista managed to save the Batista Bomb at the end of the match. I predicted this one completely wrong but thoroughly enjoyed it. I really hope Umaga makes his way to Smackdown to continue this feud although it looks like we may be getting a Batista vs Shawn Michaels program now and believe me I am totally fine with that!

The ECW title match was a little disappointing, I would have at least liked to see creative give Chavo a chance against Kane although this does give Kane a very dominant start as champion. I am guessing WWE creative have hope we have all forgotten the amount of times Kane has lost to Khali! Once again I got the impression this was Vince spitting in the face of ECW but with everything else he has done to the brand is it really that much of a surprise?

The career ending match of Ric Flair was breathtaking to watch. Absolutely brilliant pure wrestling throughout and an early contender for match of the year if not match of the decade. Both guys worked so hard and Michaels had some insane spots such as Moonsaulting through the announcer’s table, that looked painful! Flair wrestled such an impressive match and I truly believe he could just go on and on. It pains me to realise that we may never get a chance to see Ric Flair in a Wrestling match again, however this match combined with the touching send off on Monday’s RAW helps ensure that Flair received one of the most legendary send offs in Wrestling history. Thank you Ric! You will be missed.

The Bunnymania match was saved by Santino and some good booking by WWE. When Santino came out taking a starring role in Melina’s entrance I do not think I have ever laughed so much, comedy stuff! I also enjoyed how WWE booked Beth over Maria as it kept their women’s champion looking strong and hopefully now this playboy business is over for another year we can go back to actual Women’s wrestling. I would be really up for seeing Victoria come back to RAW and challenging Beth for that Women’s title. Snoop Dogg was pretty funny as well when he took out Santino, would it have been too much to ask him to learn his lines though?

The Triple Threat Match for the WWE title was superb. I was so into this match from start to finish. There were some points I was screaming for Orton not to tap out to Cena. It was exhilarating stuff and all three guys worked so hard and showed why they are the top three superstars in the company without a shadow of a doubt. I was very happy to see Orton retain, its cements him as a proper champion have now beaten both Triple H at No Mercy and Wrestlemania and also pinning John Cena at Wrestlemania. Great match and great result, in addition it ended Cena’s “streak” at Wrestlemania. The fact that Cena did not win meant I enjoyed his presence in this match and I believe he brought a lot to the table as did Triple H. However there is no doubt we are now in the Orton Era and long may it continue!

The Big Show vs Mayweather match was so much better than I was expecting. I am so thrilled that WWE did not let Mayweather beat Big Show cleanly and instead needed help from his posse, a chair and some brass knuckles. This was a very enjoyable match although I felt it should have been slightly lower down the card, Flair/HBK and the Triple Threat certainly should have been after it at any rate. I am very much looking forward to seeing Big Show take on some proper wrestlers now although from the last week of television it looks like its going to be Khali so I may have to wait for this wish to be fulfilled a little longer!

The main event between Undertaker and Edge was truly special and without a doubt a 5 star main event! So many counters, near falls and great spots had me glued to the edge of my seat for the duration of the match. True it marked the end of the Rated R Era for now but what a way to end it in style. I was marking out big time when Edge hit that final spear, for a second thinking he could be winning until Undertaker locked in that submission move of his. I really hope Undertaker gets a long title run that is not disrupted by injury, he sure as hell has earned it, this was my favourite Undertaker match since his legendary clash with Triple H at Wrestlemania 17. It really was that good!

So with my Wrestlemania thoughts out of the way its on to this weeks show

The show opens with Team Rated R making their way to the ring minus their titles which they lost at Wrestlemania. Interesting to see Edge wearing the new Chavo T-shirt! Edge began by apologising to everyone including Vickie for losing to The Undertaker, Chavo proceeds to say how he let the family down. This was a great promo from the heels with both of them getting plenty of stick from the crowd. Chavo has come on a lot during his run with the ECW title. Vickie booked both title rematches for Backlash. Lets hope Chavo actually gets a move in on Kane this time! Kind of mystifying how Vickie can now book an ECW title match, I thought that was Estrada’s job. Ah well the wonders of being a Guerrero!

The first match of the night saw MVP taking on the returning Matt Hardy. Wow it really seems just like this feud is picking up where it left off. Matt did a great job against Orton on RAW on Monday and I am so pleased to see him back on Smackdown. Anyone who reads my blogs on a regular basis will know how much I have been looking forward to this moment. This started off as a total brawl with Matt getting in much of the early offensive. These two have lost none of their in ring chemistry and I am really looking forward to a potential Backlash encounter between these two. Hopefully next week we will be seeing Matt Hardy as a guest in the VIP lounge once again. This was a very good match which was given plenty of time and with Matt showing no signs of any ring rust, guess those extra few weeks off made the world of difference for him. Very impressive how Matt targeted MVP’s knee in revenge for the injuries MVP inflicted on Matt all those months ago. Matt picking up the win via a Twist Of Fate. Wow what a match and certainly reinforcing just how much we have missed Matt Hardy on Smackdown! Matt has come back to save us!

Next up Zak Ryder of the Edgeheads or The Rated R Entourage as they call themselves was taking on Festus in singles action. I really hope this develops into a feud to determine the Number One contenders for the tag belts. Festus did a lot early on in this match to demonstrate his position as one of the top power house wrestlers on Smackdown, he is certainly the most unorthodox! Zak Ryder, who continues to impress me, certainly gave Festus more of a challenge than others have done, this match however was all about the impressive Festus and I continue to enjoy his character developing week by week on Smackdown.

Next up we got to see Ric Flair’s farewell address from RAW on Monday. This was one of the most emotional moments I have ever seen in Wrestling. If I can get hold of this video it is so going up on my Myspace. Have to admit it brought a tear to my eye once again.

Next up HBK made his way out to the ring and gave a very emotional speech about how he feels about retiring Ric Flair and how he now feels he has closure. However Batista interrupts Shawn to a huge pop. I really like they way creative are teasing a potential feud between these two. There is a rumour going around that HBK could be on his way to Smackdown and that for me would be one of the greatest draft picks of all time. Nice comment from Batista saying “Oh that’s right the Showstopper doesn’t do jobs” This was a very believable promo from Batista, probably one of the best he has done. If these two feuded I will be glued to the TV. Roll on the next WWE draft and bring HBK to Smackdown!

Vladimir Kozlov finally made his debut after working dark matches for the last few weeks. However after the last segment I honestly do not think anyone really cared too much for this match, it was a total squash and the crowd were dead throughout. I have heard some good things about Kozlov though, I can imagine he could put on some good matches against the likes of Kane or Umaga. He looked powerful but I will reserve judgement until he is given a real opponent.

Awesome John Morrison is on Smackdown again. Coolest entrance in WWE ever! This week our WWE tag team champions were taking on Team Yang once again. I really hope these two teams would properly resume their excellent feud. A ladder match between these two teams would be something to see. This was very quick match with Morrison picking up the quick victory, things ended up with The Great Khali coming out and destroying everyone. Disgusting! How can Smackdown creative allow this idiot so easily destroy 4 great athletes? However The Big Show came out to save the day and stood toe to toe with Khali and forced him to back down. If these two had a feud or even a match I would be rooting for Big Show all the way and it least it would keep Khali from squashing the roster.

Next up came the finale of the diva contest and Teddy Long was in the ring with some motorbike people. Cherry has her own theme music now, perhaps a sign she will be getting a larger role from now on. Michelle got her usual positive reaction. I could see her on RAW feuding with Beth. That was a nice bike Michelle won. I hope she gets to keep it! Victoria once again made this segment. Next up NATTIE NEIDHART DEBUED and absolutely kicked ass! Now that’s what I’m talking about: A proper women’s wrestler! Smackdown is starting to get a proper women’s division and I would just really like to see all of the proper female wrestlers on one brand in order to get some decent feuds and matches going. Then perhaps WWE could start to rival TNA’s excellent Knockout division.

Main event time next as the Brothers of Destruction squared off against one another. I was disappointed to see Undertaker has gone back to his hat and coat. The Wrestlemania Ministry style jacket he wore on Sunday was awesome and I was hoping he would be keeping it from now on. I knew this would be a good match, Kane and Undertaker work so well together whether that is as opponents or allies and I was not disappointed here. This was a very even match with both champions looking very strong. Whilst in previous encounters Undertaker has certainly dominated this time the brothers just seemed to counter each other out and instead wrestled a good technical match to begin with and developed into a slug fest as things developed. Great moment when both champions sat up at exactly the same time. Team Rated R charged into the ring and commenced a beat down but Undertaker and Kane fought back and performed tandem chokeslams and tombstones. What a fantastic moment. I will be happy to watch these two as champions and long may they reign. And we got the awesome Brothers of Destruction ring exit and this time once again they are both champions. Great stuff!

This was an excellent post pay per view edition of Smackdown, normally post per view shows can lag somewhat but that was not the case here at all. I did not enjoy seeing Khali decimate four of the best athletes on the roster and the Kozlov debut was a non event in my books. However the rest of the show was excellent, the tandem moves in the main event were a joy to watch and it was great to see Nattie Neidhart finally debut. Match of the week though without a doubt was Matt Hardy vs MVP. Great stuff!

This weeks edition of Smackdown scores a good 8/10

That is all for this weeks edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. I will be back next week with Chris Reviews Smackdown. Please leave me some feedback on the comment board and I will try and get back to you. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time Matt Hardy has come to save us!

Smackdown Power 10
1: The Undertaker (+1)
2: Kane (+3)
3: Edge (-2)
4: Batista (-1)
5: MVP (-1)
6: The Big Show
7: Jesse and Festus
8: Matt Hardy (NE)
9: Victor Kozlov (NE)
10: The Edgeheads

I think one news story which needs some attention is WWE stars appearing at TNA tapings. Now I remember a few months back Tommy Dreamer did exactly the same thing but its one thing to go to a house show but quite another to be shown on live TV, quite what Robbie McAllister was thinking I do not know but I think his days in WWE may well be numbered. It will be interesting to see if Shannon Moore and Chavo Guerrero are also punished even though they were only backstage. I will also be very interested to see if any TNA stars are in attendance at Wrestlemania and if so if WWE will show them on TV as well.

I am totally hyped for Wrestlemania, it is going to be an amazing event. I will be posting my predictions blog later today. I will be interested to hear your thoughts and see how your predictions compare to mine. I am going to a big Wrestlemania house party and its going to be a lot of fun.

Now onto this weeks show

The show opens with a Wrestlemania Battle Royale preview with Kane making his way to the ring to his usual pop. Chavo was a special guest on commentary. Khali made his way out next followed by Chuck Palumbo. As expected Mark Henry was the final competitor here. I was also expecting to see Big Daddy V as well but he has been MIA for the last couple of weeks now. This was a true battle of the giants. Palumbo was eliminated very quickly by Kane who used Palumbo’s rage against him. Henry and Khali teamed up on Kane and destroyed him, I still expect to see Kane winning the Battle Royale though. Mark Henry then once again gave and impressive show of strength throwing Khali out of the ring and then took out Chavo despite his attempts at a frog splash. This was a quick but enjoyable opening match. It was interesting to note the positive fan reaction that Mark Henry got when he took out both Khali and Chavo. If Kane does not come out as winner then Mark Henry might as a way to turn him face and have him feud with Big Daddy V over the ECW title. I would much rather see Kane as ECW champion though.

Next up we learned that Eve was the next diva eliminated from the contest, as expected so it is Cherry and Michelle McCool in the final. I wonder if they get to keep the motorbike they win?

Following this was a MITB preview match featuring CM Punk facing John Morrison. These two put on some of the best matches of the year during their feud last summer so I knew we would be having another superb encounter here. This was a solid match. Punk and Morrison have such chemistry in the ring together, their styles whilst different just mesh so well and I truly believe in a few years time that these guys will be two of the top players in WWE. I was glad to see this match was given a decent amount of time to run, Morrison hit some very unique moves in a way he has not been given much of a chance to do lately and Punk likewise had some great spots especially his power throws. The hurricanrana off the top rope by Punk was phenomenal. Punk picked up the win countering Morrison’s finisher into the GTS. What a match and what a great way to build the MITB match at Wrestlemania. With so many talented athletic individuals this match should steal the show!

Next up we got a very well put together video segment for the Mayweather vs Big Show match at Wrestlemania. WWE really do excel at these promo videos. I have to admit I am quite looking forward to this match as long as it does not drag on too long. I certainly see the Orlando crowd rallying behind Big Show.

Following this we had another Battle Royale preview. The Miz, Cade and Murdoch teaming up to face Jesse & Festus and Kofi Kingston. Why was Trevor Murdoch wearing a PVC coat? It looked ridiculous! I really enjoy watching Kofi Kingston. He is a big potential star. What interested me about this match was the chance to see Cade and Murdoch go against Jesse and Festus. I had a feeling these teams would work well together and they certainly did. If there is an upcoming draft I would not mind seeing Cade and Murdoch added to the Smackdown roster. This was an excellent match. Festuts continued to build his psychopathic character, The Miz looked bright once again and continues to impress me and Kofi Kingston was brilliant as always. What a great show we are having so far. So much positive and quality build up for Wrestlemania!

Next Batista was out to face Snitsky. I think Batista has extra pyro because it sounded loud tonight! The crowd went nuts for Batista as always. I do not enjoy watching Snitsky on RAW and like seeing him even less on Smackdown. This however was a complete squash, ironically like most of Snitsky’s early matches. Batista dispatched him in about 20 seconds. Hopefully Vince has finally cottoned onto the fact that no one likes Snitsky and he will now be stuck in a jobber role. The Batista bomb onto the steel chair was impressive and I am seriously looking forward to seeing Batista face Umaga on Sunday.

Next up was a superb video package of the Undertaker’s Wrestlemania accomplishments and how Edge will be bringing that to an end, this was another brilliant promo video. Still remain unconvinced how many people seriously believe Edge will retain his title.

Next up was the diva wet and wild water fight. Less said about this the better. It was amusing though, especially Victoria with her snorkel and arm bands. I can tolerate segments like this as long as they are kept short. I think Victoria has been golden the last few weeks though, she has given these segments the humour they needed and after this contest is finished I hope to see Victoria get a chance to seriously wrestle and show off her considerable talent.

Following this was the highly anticipated champion vs champion match between MVP and Chris Jericho. Their VIP lounge segment was so amusing last week. I love seeing Chris Jericho on Smackdown. He brings so much to the show and I really hope that he moves over this way soon. Smackdown has a lack of top face wrestlers and whilst Jericho sometimes does not get the chance to shine on RAW, on Smackdown he could be the top dog. There are so many potential opponents for him, imagine a long feud between Y2J and MVP or Jericho facing Edge. Please Vince, you know it makes sense! Give us Jericho! The match itself was every bit as enjoyable as I was hoping it would be. These two instantly clicked and worked very well together, this was a very even match up with both guys getting plenty of near falls and impressive spots. This would be such a feud to watch if it was given chance to. I cannot believe how impressive MVP looks in the ring these days. I remember the early days against Kane and thinking he was going no where but now he is one of the brightest stars in WWE and long may he remain. I particularily enjoyed the finish to this match with MVP attempting to get disqualified and then Chris Jericho using the code breaker onto the US title. Great stuff! This MITB match has been built better than any I can remember before. I still have not decided my winner. I think everybody taking part apart from maybe Carlito and Shelton are in with a shout. Seriously exciting stuff!

Next up was Edge and company dressed in full mourning clothing to bury the Undertaker’s undefeated streak. Although it was fairly obvious where this segment was going with the coffin already in the ring it was still a brilliant promo. Vickie seemed to have dyed her red hair black especially for this segment. Edge was so amusing coming off deadly serious about burying the streak. If the Rated R Era truly is coming to an end on Sunday then I hope Edge still has a huge role to play on the show. The promo for Edge was hilarious. It was so well put together and the voice over was comical. This was the perfect way to bring this feud to a climax and I have been so pleased with the way Smackdown creative have handled it after my initial concerns. The Undertaker choke slamming Edge into the coffin was brilliant. One thing that bothered me how did Vickie get up and run, I thought she was crippled? This is going to be one hell of match at Wrestlemania.

This was a superb edition of Smackdown, everything worked so well and I was captivated from start to finish. The best build up for Wrestlemania yet and it has got me even more excited about the show. My match of the week would have to be the CM Punk vs John Morrison MITB preview match although special mention to Chris Jericho vs MVP as that was excellent as well.

This weeks edition of Smackdown scores a perfect 10/10

That is all for this weeks edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. I will be back later with my Wrestlemania predictions and next week with Chris Reviews Smackdown incorporating my Wrestlemania thoughts! Sunday is going to be a great night and I cannot wait. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time The Rated R Era is still going strong!
Smackdown Power 10
1: Edge
2: The Undertaker
3: Batista (+1)
4: MVP (-1)
5: Kane
6: The Big Show
7: Jesse and Festus (+ 1)
8: Chuck Palumbo (-1)
9: Mark Henry (+1)
10: The Edgeheads (-1)

First off I would just like to say it’s a shame to see Aaron leave the blog team here at Wrestling News World. I always enjoyed reading Aaron’s blogs and enjoyed working with him on our Talent Exchange PPV predictions blog. Hopefully whoever takes over will be open to doing something like that again because I think that went down very well.

I feel very sorry for Jeff Hardy losing his house to a terrible fire. It has not been a good couple of weeks for Jeff and I really hope he can bounce back and resume his place at the top of WWE although something tells me it will be awhile before WWE are willing to give Jeff the chance to shine once again. However if Jeff comes back and has to job to the likes of Snitsky then I will be boycotting RAW! Matt Hardy wrote some touching words on the subject on his myspace blog and I fully advise checking it out.

Now onto another Hardy, the longer it goes without Matt Hardy being on Smackdown the more he is missed. It is public knowledge he is working house shows so why is he not on TV yet? The only conclusion I can draw from this is that WWE will be springing a “surprise” on us at Wrestlemania and having Matt enter MITB as the eighth member. Whilst this will be great to see and Matt will get a great response, I cannot see him winning the MITB so I cannot really understand why they are putting his return off. Smackdown is really lacking in the face department right now with the absence of Rey and with Finlay working a program on RAW. I cannot see him turning up next week so it indeed looks like Wrestlemania will see the return of Matt and this cannot come soon enough! Another long program with MVP would be great viewing and something I have been itching to see ever since Matt went down injured.

So now onto this weeks show

The show opens with Batista making his way to the ring to his usual fantastic response. He was facing Deuce and Domino in a handicap match. I must admit I do feel a bit sorry for Deuce and Domino, they have gone from impressive tag champions to weekly jobbers. This was a similar match to Umaga vs Londrick on RAW, that being a chance for Batista to show his dominance and power and he did a very impressive job of this, absolutely annihilating the former champions. This was a good quick match that helped build Batista leading up to Wrestlemania. It’s a shame to see good wrestlers squashed like this but its defiantly something I have come to accept watching WWE programming and at least Deuce and Domino are not doing anything else at the minute.

Next up Cherry cut her first promo ever, I think! In my opinion Cherry could be a dark horse to win this contest as the fans seem really in to her. Especially when she came out and got a pretty good response. I think it is defiantly between Cherry and Michelle at any rate. Now I have been pretty critical of this diva contest the last few weeks stating that I would much rather see Victoria and the rest wrestling rather than prancing around however the overwhelming response I have had seems to be people are enjoying watching this contest so WWE are clearly doing something right! So from now on I will just call this contest like I see it and no longer be critical, you all know I dislike it and I do not need to reinforce that point every week. I have to admit Victoria was hilarious during this segment, the fact she could whip any of these girls in a real arm wrestling contest is irrelevant. However Victoria got eliminated which sucks as she was the only interesting thing about this contest.

Next up we got a long Mayweather promo talking himself up and saying how great he is. Yawn! I really hope Big Show destroys him. Speaking of destruction by the Big Show this week he is facing three local jobbers. We got a recap of the very stiff punch from RAW on Monday on Jericho. This was total dominance by Big Show easily dispatching his three opponents. This was once again some really good build up for the big Wrestlemania match. I do not think anyone can seriously see Mayweather beating Big Show after all of these powerful displays from the worlds largest athlete.

Next up our world heavy weight champion: Edge was in action taking on the “dreaded” Funaki. I am enjoying the Team Rated R entrance with all 3 guys climbing up on the ropes. The contempt Edge showed for Funaki was hilarious. Funaki got a surprising amount of offence early in this match, I was expecting a quick squash but was glad we had the opportunity to see Edge show off his considerable in ring ability. The ending with Edge mocking the Undertaker was superb as was the perfect tombstone piledriver he executed on Funaki. Great Stuff! Afterwards Edge got on the mic and the amount of heat he drew from the crowd was crazy! This was a far more focussed and brutal Edge this week and defiantly something we needed to see.

Next up was the VIP lounge with MVP and his special guest Chris Jericho. MVP did a fantastic job talking himself up on the mic. Every time I see these segments they are just golden. MVP is so strong on the mic and seeing him interact with Y2J was great. How much would a feud between these two tear down the house! These two have the mic skills and in ring ability to give us a feud of the year no doubt! MVP mocking Chris and his lines was so funny. This whole segment was one of the most amusing things I have seen. Jericho is the man! I hope he wins MITB. Jericho as WWE champion is something we need to see! What a strong segment!

Next up we had my favourite for the 24 man battle royale: Kane facing Chuck Palumbo once again. I really hoped this match would be better than the one these two had a few weeks ago and I was not disappointed. These are two big guys that I like seeing in action and they work well together and have plenty of chemistry. A lengthy Palumbo against Kane feud is something I would like to see. Anything rather than Kane vs Khali again! This was a strong showing from both guys but in particular Kane reinforcing the fact he is favourite for the match at Wrestlemania. Kane as ECW champion is something I would like to see and it certainly could not happen to a more deserving wrestler. The ending to this match was pretty enjoyable with Khali and Mark Henry coming out turning this in to a true battle of the monsters. How did Mark Henry pick up Khali!? Impressive stuff!

Next up was the highly anticipated match for the WWE tag team titles between Jesse and Festus against Team Morrison. Good to see John Morrison on Smackdown for two weeks in a row. Long may this continue! I would love to see John Morrison win MITB but I am not sure WWE think he is ready for this just yet. This match started very brightly, once again with Festus showing his unstable character and dominating Morrison. Festus has such a unique style. I do not think I have ever seen a head butt to the spine before! Great spot with Morrison leaping off the rope and kicking Jesse in the head. What an athlete! This was a proper tag team match and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Team Morrison work so well together and have come on as a team so much over the last few months. Jesse also showing what an impressive talent he is. Defiantly a potential star of the future. The crowd were going crazy when Jesse got the hot tag to Festus who literally threw Team Morrison all over the ring. This was a great match and I was surprised to see Miz being the one getting the pin fall seeing as how Morrison is in MITB. However still a great match and I look forward to seeing this feud continue between these two.

We got a recap of Cena and Orton against the RAW roster which I have to admit was hugely enjoyable to watch. One of the best moments in recent RAW history. Triple H will be leaving Wrestlemania as WWE champion I guarantee it!

Next up main event time as Undertaker made his way to the ring to take on ECW champion Chavo with Team Rated R at ringside. I had a pretty good inkling that Chavo would not be on his own for this one and that most certainly proved to be correct. This was total dominance for the Undertaker, hitting some big moves on Chavo. Sheer strength from The Undertaker picking up Chavo when he had him locked in an arm bar! Great spot catching Chavo mid frog splash and choke slamming him. I thought the Edgeheads were about to get double choke slammed once again but Edge saved the day with a spear which was then followed by an absolutely brutal beat down on the Undertaker by Team Rated R. This is certainly much more brutal vicious side to Edge than we have seen in recent weeks and this was a fantastic build up to the highly anticipated match at Wrestlemania. Now I know a lot of people do not believe Edge has any chance of retaining his title at Wrestlemania but the way in which this feud has changed direction these last few weeks with Edge gaining momentum has been great to watch and a good move by Smackdown creative as to start with Undertaker seemed almost indestructible. One on one though I think Edge is going to struggle!

This was a very good edition of Smackdown, Not quite perfect like last weeks but very very good. Some excellent build up for Wrestlemania and next week we have MVP vs Chris Jericho which will be something to see. My match of the week would have to be the WWE tag title match although my favourite part of the show was the VIP lounge: “Good thing your parents didn’t name you Zachary Ignacious Taylor” Priceless!

This weeks edition of Smackdown scores 9/10

That is all for this weeks edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. I will be back next week and hopefully reporting on a another great show especially as it is the final one before Wrestlemania. Please let Undertaker cut a promo! As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time The Rated R Era is still going strong!
Smackdown Power 10
1: Edge
2: The Undertaker
3: MVP
4: Batista (+1)
5: Kane (-1)
6: The Big Show
7: Chuck Palumbo
8: Jesse and Festus
9: The Edgeheads
10: Mark Henry (NE)

First off I would just like to apologize for my absence from the comment board for the last week. It was my final week at University before spring break so I had deadlines galore to complete including 4 essays! I hate being a student sometimes! I have now left feedback on all of the comments I received last week so if your interested in what I have to say check out last weeks comment board for my thoughts.

First off the big news topic of the week, which is obviously Jeff Hardy’s 60 day suspension from WWE. I was absolutely gutted when I heard this news, Other than Edge Jeff Hardy is my favourite wrestler and as a fan I am going to miss seeing him every week on RAW and without him in MITB I am not looking forward to the match nearly as much as I was before. I cannot comprehend what would posses Jeff to take any substance which would violate the wellness policy especially considering the monumental push he has been on recently. I was fully expecting Jeff Hardy to leave Wrestlemania as Mr. Money In The Bank and claim the WWE title later in the year. It is very disappointing and also very confusing as to why he would do something so stupid. I really hope when he returns Jeff gets himself together and gets another chance although now I fear it will be a long time before we see Jeff Hardy anywhere near the main event again. You could argue that Kennedy and Orton have come back strong from their suspensions but I am not sure in the current climate that WWE will take the chance again with Jeff and this is a shame.

Stevie Richards latest match on ECW was a complete farce losing to Khali in a matter of seconds. What was the point in all of the build up for his return if he is just going to get squashed every week. Afterwards Mike Knox came out and it looks like these two will be having a small feud on ECW. Whilst that is all well and good ECW creative have really dropped the ball by having him loose to Khali like this. I would love to see Stevie in a feud with Elijah Burke. That would be a good feud and they could put on some great matches. Anything other than lame losses like this.

With MVP qualifying for MITB it is clear we are not going to get a US title match at Wrestlemania and instead the feud between MVP and Matt will continue in MITB, assuming Matt Hardy is the final participant which I fully expect him to be. I read that this is because WWE creative felt they could not book the match properly in a month. This is madness in my opinion! With all of the history between Matt and MVP it would have just been picking up their feud where it left off and whilst both guys will certainly bring a lot to MITB I would much rather see them in a one on one match. The ECW title match is being made on the day of Wrestlemaina so I think a month would have been more than enough build up for Matt and MVP.

So now with the news discussed it is on to this weeks show

Opening the show Maria came out a big home town pop. First off we got the Smackdown divas contest this week. Yawn. I think I gave my opinion on this last week pretty clearly and only hope this segment would be kept short. This week the divas would be competing in an obstacle course. What an insult to a talented wrestler like Victoria to be competing in trash like this. She could be tearing it up on RAW with Beth Phoenix. Most amusing thing about this segment was it did not matter what times the divas scored as the only way they could get voted off was by the public. Pointless! Michelle won the course and her prize… absolutely nothing! This segment was longer than most tag matches are given on Smackdown.

HBK is on Smackdown tonight!!! Wow! I never thought I would see that happen. Flair and HBK cut a good quick promo continuing to do a good job building their Wrestlemania match.

Next up we got the RAW rebound, at least they are getting the pointless sections over quickly this week, I love how Big Show is now the face in this match. They should have gone with that from the start rather than trying to put across the cocky Mayweather as the face. That was never going to work because people just despise the guy! I wish they showed more of the brawl on Monday. That was comical! As if the posse would have stood a chance against the wrestlers!

Following this we had Big Show’s tour of destruction continuing. This week the victims were Team Yang. Big Show got a massive pop which was good to see and I really hope the Orlando crowd go nuts for him at Wrestlemaina. Despite the fact I hate to see good guys get squashed once again this was an impressive show of dominance by the Big Show, throwing Team Yang around like they are rag dolls. Hopefully Team Yang will be back next week in a good match. This however served its purpose well. I can see Big Show against Deuce and Domino next week for sure.

Next up was the next Money In The Bank qualifying match between The Miz and John Morrison. I find it amusing that WWE are saying this was the final qualifying match even though we all know that now because of Jeff’s suspension there is another spot available which will almost certainly be filled by Matt Hardy. We got to see the coolest entrance in WWE thanks to John Morrison. I knew this would be a superb match and I was not disappointed. I am not a big fan of The Miz but he has improved greatly since he began teaming with Morrison and their Dirt Sheet on WWE is hilarious. This was a phrnominal match. Morrison showcasing exactly why he is one of the big names for the future with some incredibly athletic moves. Miz as well putting on a strong showing. This match was also given the time it deserved with Morrison picking up the win with his unique finisher and qualifying for MITB. Awesome stuff!

Next up we got highlights of the Finlay section from RAW on Monday. I really enjoyed this part of RAW with Finlay going absolutely savage on Mr. Kennedy and destroying him with the shillelagh. Its going to a be a brutal encounter between Finlay and JBL at Wrestlemania. Finlay then gave a very emotional interview continuing to build the match.

Following this was the US title rematch between MVP and Batista and this time the match was No Holds Barred. I was really expecting some sort of interference from Umaga or Matt Hardy during this match. After such a strong mini feud that Batista and MVP have had a knew this was going to be a fantastic match. The crowd went nuts for Batista. I enjoyed how MVP started the match as the aggressor keeping things different from encounters we have seen before between these two. Great spot with MVP flipping Batista over his head in mid air. This feud has really highlighted what a top talent MVP is. Next year I certainly expect to see him in the title mix at Wrestlemania. We had the return of MVP’s necklace as a weapon. I was so pleased this match was given plenty of time to run with so many near falls and counters. Batista taking control after MVP missed with a chair shot until a low blow by MVP and a vicious kick to the head laid Batista out. The look on Batista’s face at that point was priceless, he actually looked out of it. In my opinion this was the best match yet between these guys and a shame it is probably the last we will see of them facing each other for awhile. Certainly a title feud between the two at some stage would be something I would like to see. As expected Umaga interfered and gave Batista the Samoan Spike allowing MVP to get the pin and retain. What a match! The main event would have to do a lot to live up to this one!

Next up was a continuation of two feuds in one tag match Between Kane and Jamie Noble teaming against Chuck Palumbo and Khali. These two feuds have been good especially the Noble against Palumbo feud and I had high hopes for this match. I fully expect Kane to win the ECW Battle Royale at Wrestlemania and go on to face Chavo for the title. I cannot see any other top faces being involved except maybe Stevie Richards but on recent showings I would have to say Kane is favourite for the win here. This was a good match, especially with Kane and Palumbo going at it towards the start. Khali picked up the win whilst Kane was distracted. Enjoyable short match.

Next up was Main Event time and I was hyped. Not only did we have HBK on Smackdown for the first time I can remember, but also Flair and Edge. Chavo was added to Team Rated R making it 4 against 2. With all of these other people added I can see why now this match is not career threatening for Flair. I just feel for the legend that he is Flair should have been given more opponents that threatened his career over the last couple of months. I would have liked to see Flair at least face Edge, Batista and John Cena but sadly not to be. This started off as an all out brawl with Edge and Chavo teaming on Flair and The Edgeheads teaming on HBK. This then swapped as Chavo flipped HBK into the cage and Edge speared Flair. Edge looked very impressive during the match as did Flair. HBK spending much of the early of the match tied in the ropes. Flair got busted open pretty badly during this match once again proving he is one of the best bleeders in the business with his hair dyed red by the blood. Shades of Undertaker against Flair at Wrestlemania a few years ago. Great spot with Edge spearing Michaels in the corner whilst he was held down by Chavo. What impressed me most during this match was what an effective heel stable Team Rated R really are, not only do they work very well together as a team its all of the mocking and disrespect that are making them one of the best heel stable of all time. Another superb spot with HBK kicking Chavo in mid frog splash and another when Flair somehow took Edge and the Edgeheads out in one move! It was great to see HBK on Smackdown especially when he pretty much took out everyone at once and then sidestepped Edge so he speared Chavo. There were so many great spots in this match I could just go on and on. Suffice to say it was phenomenal with all 6 guys putting on an amazing show. The Undertaker inevitably came out to get involved once again with a double choke slam on the Edgeheads. Edge picking up the surprise win after he ran away from the Undertaker and escaped the cage. At Wrestlemania though there will be no more running for The Rated R Superstar. What a main event!!!

So apart from the boring opening with the divas contest this was a superb show. Some great build up for Wrestlemania taking place and every actual wrestling match was good. So much better than last weeks show, Smackdown this week was amazing featuring two really superb matches, the US title match and the main event. The boring diva segment at the start has no impact as this week’s Smackdown is by far the best I have seen since starting my blogs.

This weeks show scores a perfect 10/10

That is all for this weeks edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. I will be back next week and hopefully reporting on a another stellar show. I am looking forward to Orton and Cena vs the RAW roster on Monday. That is going to be a great show. As always I can be contacted on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com and www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time The Rated R Era is still going strong!
Smackdown Power 10
1: Edge
2: The Undertaker
3: MVP (+1)
4: Kane (-1)
5: Batista
6: The Big Show (+2)
7: Chuck Palumbo
8: Jesse and Festus (-2)
9: The Edgeheads
10: The Great Khali (NE)

It has been a fairly quiet week on the wrestling news front. Something I think worth mentioning is Mae Young’s induction into the Hall of Fame. This is long overdue and could not happen to a more deserving lady. My vote for who would induct her would be either Trish or Sunny. The Hall Of Fame is shaping up to be a great event this year and I really hope we get some sort of coverage of it here in the UK.

I have read there is A LOT of backstage heat on Batista mainly due to his arrogance. Whilst this does not surprise me can anyone really blame the man for being arrogant? He has been in the title picture on Smackdown for the best part of 3 years excluding his injury. For a guy to come in and be pu