Hey everyone and welcome to this weeks edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this weeks blog I will be giving you my Wrestlemania thoughts, discussing this week’s show, Matt Hardy’s stellar return, the temporary end of The Rated R Era and more. Please read and leave some feedback for me via the comment board.

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

Tags: John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Nattie Neidhart, Smackdown Power 10, The Undertaker, Wrestlemania