Hey everyone and welcome to this weeks edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this blog I will be discussing my Backlash thoughts, a very strange ending to RAW, Why I hope MVP & Matt Hardy continue to feud, WWE cliffhangers and more. Please read and be sure to leave me some feedback via the comment board.

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)

Tags: Backlash, Cliff Hangers In WWE, Edge, Matt Hardy, MVP, Smackdown Power 10, The Undertaker, Victoria