Hey everyone and welcome to this weeks edition of Chris Review’s Smackdown. In this weeks blog I will be discussing my thoughts on Mike Adamle as the new RAW GM, try to fathom why most people really hate Batista, review some feedback and more. Please read and be sure to leave me some feedback via the comment board or drop me an email: a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off big congratulations to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon on the birth of their new baby daughter. Another Helmsley girl to rule WWE in years to come!

So the biggest news story that broke this week was the shock announcement of Mike Adamle as the new RAW general manager. Now many of my readers have emailed me their thoughts on this and from what I have read around the internet it seems most people are furious at this appointment. However I am going to shock you all and say I think it is a great choice! Lets face it as an announcer Adamle was terrible and this paves the way for the far superior Todd Grisham to take his place on ECW and make the show watchable again. Also as bad as he was an announcer Adamle is an absolutely hilarious on screen character and could well be the funniest general manager in history! I can think of a couple of examples where Adamle showed us just how funny he can be, once at a Pay Per View where he did a backstage skit with John Cena and also on the séance episode of the dirt sheet. Now if he brings this funny oafish character into the GM role I can imagine I will be enjoying it very much, especially if he makes some hilariously bad decisions and just winds everyone up every week! What I really hope does not happen is they make him a heel general manager as I think Adamle would be about as effective as Colin Delaney as a heel! This guy is made to make people laugh and that’s what I hope I get from him on RAW in the coming weeks!

Ok here is a hot topic from emails and the comment board last week and that is Batista. I cannot understand why so many of you really cannot stand the guy! He is great on the mic, has good in ring skills and works well as either a face or a heel, which is something not everyone can say, from the feedback I get it seems like some of you rate Khali higher than Batista which in my books is just crazy! Batista almost did the impossible and got an average match out of Khali in the Punjabi Prison encounter last year and honestly since his feud with the Undertaker I have been so into Batista as a wrestler. Yes ok before this he had a tendency to be very lazy and put on a number of bad matches but since then he has done nothing but impress me (apart from his 3 pay per view matches with Edge last year which were average at best) I can understand people’s frustration that he seems permanently involved in the title picture but no more so than someone like Triple H or Edge. Batista is OVER as over can be and does not draw any of the negative heat that someone like Cena tends to garner. I really think we will continue to see the more focussed Batista as time continues and hopefully he will never give us another lazy match and continue to put on stellar performances such as his match with CM Punk at the Great American Bash and his stretcher match with HBK from One Night Stand. Put aside his past and judge him on the present and I am sure you will be as impressed as I am.

I have had a lot of feedback to what I said about Khali and Triple H last week and thankfully it seems like everyone agrees with me that this match should not be one of the main events at any Pay Per View, let alone one of “the big four” Lets hope and pray that this is just a one off and Vince keeps Khali well away from any main event feud in the future. I swear if he wins that belt I will find it very hard to watch Smackdown whilst he is champion just as I did last time. It is time for Vince to give the fans what they want and put guys like MVP and Jeff against Triple H!

Now I do not normally talk TNA but here is something many of you may not know and that is I am a big fan of TNA but am increasingly frustrated at their ridiculous booking. I may write a whole column on that at some point, but yes I am a TNA fan and I cannot believe they are stupid enough to let Tomko walk away from the company. Tomko right now is in his prime and has developed into such an outstanding talent during his time in TNA (much of which I think should be credited to Christian and AJ Styles) Tomko is a huge talent and can walk back to WWE now a hundred times the wrestler he was when he left. The Lethal Lockdown match with Team Tomko against Team Cage was one of my wrestling highlights of the year so far and I am gutted I will not get to see the feud I always wanted in TNA – a face Tomko chasing Angle for the title. Oh well hopefully Vince will sign him up and he will be gracing the main events of WWE shows very soon!

Ok so last weeks Smackdown sucked big time and I just knew that unless we got two hours of solid Khali than this weeks show would be so much better. I always browse the wrestling community and read other people’s thoughts and opinions on shows and I was shocked that some people seemed totally ok with the lack of quality wrestling we got last week as well as the terrible result of the Battle Royale. Well lets just see how this weeks show delivers

The show opens with a recap of Vickie reinstating the Undertaker last week. Let’s hope that this is the first and only time we see the video on this weeks show! It was very well put together and once again showed just how good Edge is at selling emotion in the ring!

JR and Foley welcome us to ringside as Jeff Hardy makes his way out to one of the largest pops I have ever heard! It seems Jeff was just watching the opening match from ringside. MVP comes out to some serious heat, the interaction between Jeff and MVP was the best part of the show and has certainly helped MVP get over as a heel with the fans. MVP opens with a very strong verbal attack on Jeff telling him how much he screwed up last week. MVP seems to forget he was in the same Battle Royale and he did not win either! I guess this feud is on then and that is something all Smackdown viewers will enjoy! Jimmy Wang Yang is MVP’s opponent and he didn’t even get an entrance this week, I guess he is being punished for being suspended. Anyway MVP dominates this match early on showing what powerful weapons his legs can be. Yang fought back with some nice offense and hit a perfect drop kick to the head of MVP. Great counter from MVP catching Yang from the top rope and dropping him into a gut buster. Seconds later it was over with MVP hitting a very powerful boot to the head and knocking Yang Clean out for the win. After the match we saw a furious Jeff Hardy confront MVP and deliver his most intense promo to date and lay MVP out with a Twist Of Fate! Wow that was awesome and the crowd were so into Jeff! This feud will help overshadow the Khali Triple H disaster!

It is announced that later tonight Jeff will be facing the Great Khali! Oh joy! Something tells me MVP will be seeking some payback. Ironically when Jeff came out before MVP’s match JR said he was not even scheduled to be at the arena tonight so it is interesting how he had a match booked with Khali! Whoops! After this we see Chavo pushing Vickie backstage and the look on Vickie’s face when she spotted Alicia was priceless!

Mr Kennedy was out next to another great crowd reaction and once again had the crowd loving him as always these days. His opponent was US champion Shelton Benjamin and I was very excited to see how these two work together. In my opinion Kennedy is way above the US title but at least we should get some awesome wrestling out of it. This match was heavily edited which I found quite frustrating but Kennedy dominated early on grinding Shelton down. Shelton battled back hitting a nice suplex and some strong strikes. These two had immediate chemistry in the ring and I hope this is a feud that goes on for the belt. Some very intelligent wrestling from Kennedy focussing on Shelton’s arm and shoulder throughout this match. Kennedy hit his superb swinging kick once again in this match but Shelton was able to counter and pull Kennedy onto the ring post and then start to dominate. The crowd rallied behind Kennedy all the way and this shows that his face turn has truly gotten over. Shelton started to get some measure of revenge by focussing on Kennedy’s arm having a hold locked on for several minutes which Kennedy pulled out an amazing counter into a half Boston crab. Wow what a match! Superb athleticism from Shelton hitting a beautiful cross body which Kennedy was able to kick out from! Minutes later it was over as Kennedy was able to connect with the mic check for the victory. This was an amazing PPV quality match! This feud MUST continue and lets hope we get a title match between the two at Summerslam! Eve interviewed Shelton immediately after the match and he tried to fob off his loss on an acute case of bronchitis! Wow in 25 minutes Smackdown has been better than the entire of last weeks show!

We see the Edgeheads backstage with Chavo discussing Edge and how they have not spoken to him. Afterwards they discuss how they are getting their own action figures. Goof balls! I felt it was teased during this segment that Alicia could potentially be Edge’s special guest later in the show!

Next up “The” Brian Kendrick makes his way to the ring accompanied by Ezekiel to some major heat. It appears the cocky heel gimmick is getting over pretty well for Kendrick. Kendrick cuts a pretty good promo before the match reminding me very much of a cocky Jericho. His opponent was one of my favourites Stevie Richards! Kendrick started off very aggressive landing a number of big time kicks on Stevie and then locking in a nice submission hold. Kendrick gave a very impressive wrestling display early on absolutely dominating Stevie but Stevie was able to avoid a charge and hit some impressive kicks of his own and a very impressive power bomb. Beautiful kick from Stevie sending Kendrick into the arms of Ezekiel, however Stevie took his eye of the ball and Kendrick was able to hit a flurry of fast moves and hit his finisher ironically now called The Kendrick for the victory. Ezekiel showed afterwards he is more than just an ugly face locking in a nice back breaker. Take note Bam Neeley that is how to be a good bodyguard! This was a fast paced enjoyable match that continued to build Kendrick as a big deal whilst still giving Stevie some credibility as well, good stuff!

Things take a downward turn from there as the Great Khali makes his way to the ring for his match against Jeff Hardy. Jeff gets a massive response once again. Lets see if Jeff can get a good match out of Khali! Jeff tried to take Khali down early on but his offence proved ineffective. The crowd were screaming for Hardy as Khali hit some simple strikes. I hated how Foley and JR had to talk up Khali as a big deal during this match about how great he is and I can imagine certainly for a former outstanding Wrestler like Foley how hard this must have been! Khali hits some basic slams on Jeff who does a great job of selling them as a big deal. Ok the commentary got so annoying I had to mute it. I seriously could not longer handle Khali being described as having the strength of twenty men. Jeff tried to fight back but Khali knocked him out of the ring and busted him open when he threw him into the ring steps. Khali locked in the nerve hold of doom as the crowd rallied behind Jeff and somehow managed to fight back and hit a whisper in the wind taking Khali of his feet and hitting a perfect Swanton as the crowd went nuts however MVP came down to the ringside causing Jeff to be distracted and attack him allowing Khali to regain control and hammer Jeff back into the ring. Then we saw the return of the vice grip of doom and Khali picked up the win. As Khali matches go this was average made watchable by Jeff’s presence. Hearing JR say Khali has strength of biblical proportions was sickening! I can understand why it was important for Khali to get a big win here but I wish it did not have to be against Jeff. Oh well at least Jeff still looks like a major player as he was well on the way to winning the match until MVP distracted him!

Next up we see another awesome promo video for the soon to debut Ron Killings! I am hyped to see him in WWE and cannot wait until his debut!

Next up Maria made her hotly anticipated (not by me) Smackdown debut against my favourite diva in WWE: Victoria. Oh dear I can see where this one is going already! Victoria instantly hit some big moves on Maria and continued her mocking style! Victoria showed here why she is one of the best female wrestlers and I cannot fathom why Maria is so over considering her considerable lack of in ring talent. At least she is better than Marsye! Maria picked up the win with a diving clothesline. Disgusting result and a complete insult to real women’s wrestling! Still Maria is way over so I can see why WWE are capitalising on this, doesn’t make me happy about it though!

We see Edge and Alicia canoodling backstage with Edge looking around to make sure he was not spotted. The king of sleaze has truly returned!

Next up we had the Big Show in singles action against Domino. I smelt a squash and hoped this was a way of continuing the Big Show vs Umaga feud that began last week. The distance Domino flew when Big Show threw him out of the ring in this match was impressive. This was utter domination from Big Show who won in a matter of moves hitting a big chokeslam for the win. After the match Umaga stormed down to ringside and proceeded to size up the Big Show. Please give us a match between these two at Summerslam Vince! It could well be the best big man fight ever between the two best big men ever in WWE!

We see Chavo talking to Vickie about the Cutting Edge and they realised that they are just going to have to watch it just like everyone else. Edge makes his way to ringside for some major abuse from the crowd. Edge talks about how is trying to find some inner peace. The crowd begin to chant for the Undertaker as Edge stares on in dismay. This was a crazy demented Edge talking as he cut a fantastic opening promo and then announced Mick Foley as his special guest for tonight. Edge shows an amazing video from the attitude era of Foley’s famous Hell In A Cell match with the Undertaker. Edge sucks up to Foley and attempts to persuade him that The Undertaker has left a permanent pain and suffering and he should help Edge in his match at Summerslam. Foley said that whilst he always been Edge’s strongest supporter most of the fans think he sucks thanks to his cowardly tactics. Foley cut a fantastic promo and made Edge look like he was going to cry. Edge told Edge he needed to find himself again as basically the dominant powerful heel of old and I couldn’t agree more. Foley proceeded to tell Edge that if he brings the cowardly Edge to Summerslam he will be torn apart. Edge said he understands and attacks Foley leading to a scuffle on the outside of the ring where Edge spears Foley into the steps. Foley staggers into the ring and hits a mandible claw only to suffer a low blow and be put through a table after Edge climbed a ladder and leapt off with a chair. Absolutely fantastic, gripping interview segment from two of the best mic guys and wrestlers in WWE history! This did so much to build Edge as a stand alone heel and certainly helps build his credibility for the match at Summerslam, I really hope this strong trend continues over the coming weeks!

Wow what a show! You could be forgiven for thinking that it was an entirely different company to last week! Ok there were two parts that I really hated so lets get them out of the way first, I hated Victoria jobbing to Maria but as I said I can understand why this was done and I was sickened by all of the commentary talking up Khali as such a big deal like having “the strength of twenty men” “power of biblical proportions” etc what a load of crap! However his match with Jeff came off better than most of his matches because Jeff is such a talent! I really enjoyed how the feuds between MVP and Jeff Hardy and also Big Show and Umaga were continued through the show, the Cutting Edge was just outstanding. Match wise I was very impressed by Kendrick against Stevie Richards but without a doubt Kennedy and Shelton stole the show in one of the best TV matches so far this year and without a doubt that is my match of the week! Obviously no Triple H due to his being with Stephanie but that is understandable.

This weeks Smackdown scores a very good: 8.5/10

Well that is all for this week. Join me next week for more Chris Reviews Smackdown where hopefully we will continue to get more great programming from WWE. As always feel free to email me at: a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com or get in touch on myspace: www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever

Until next time The Rated R Era is on temporary hold!

My top ten matches so far this year in WWE:

1. Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 24 – 30th March 2008
2. Edge vs Undertaker – One Night Stand - 1st June 2008
3. Triple H vs John Cena – Night Of Champions – 29th June 2008
4. Edge vs Undertaker – Wrestlemania 24 - 30th March 2008
5. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho – Great American Bash – 20th July 2008
6. Jeff Hardy vs Shawn Michaels – RAW - 11th February 2008
7. RAW Elimination Chamber – No Way Out – 17th February 2008
8. MVP vs CM Punk – Smackdown - 13th June 2008
9. Mr Kennedy vs Shelton Benjamin – Smackdown – 1st August 2008
10. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho – Judgment Day - 18th May 2008

Smackdown Power 10

1: Triple H
2: The Great Khali
3: Shelton Benjamin
4: Edge
5: Mr Kennedy (NE)
6: MVP (+4)
7: Jeff Hardy (+1)
8: Vladimir Kozlov (-2)
9: Brian Kendrick
10: The Big Show (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at: http://newagewrestling.niceboard.com all you have to do is register and then you can watch your pick of some of the greatest matches in the history of pro wrestling as well as all of today’s great shows.

Tags: Batista, Brian Kendrick, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, Mike Adamle, Mr Kennedy, Shelton Benjamin, SmackDown, Smackdown Power 10, Stevie Richards, SummerSlam, The Great Khali