By Chris Jacks on September 27th, 2008
Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this weeks blog I will be discussing CM Punk’s derailed push, my thoughts on Edge’s return and possible storylines for him and more. Please read and feel free to leave me some feedback via the comment board.
First off I am back at University as of this Monday which means I will be much more interactive with my use of the comment board as I will have much more free time especially in the mornings before lessons. It also means no more 55 hour a week warehouse shifts which is good news for me as this summer has certainly been an exhausting one as that combined with my DJing has been very tiring.
So CM Punk’s time in the main event is well and truly over it seems. I think this is a shame especially considering how over he was with the fans. Now it seems he is forming a tag team and going after The Priceless Dream and their tag titles. This is a big step down for Punk especially with the tag titles and the champions so devalued after being squashed for a few weeks by Cena and others. My one hope here is that WWE does the right thing and moves Colt Cabanna (a.k.a Scotty Goldman) over from Smackdown and allow him to use his proper name and tag with Punk against the second generation stars. This would be an alliance that makes sense to fans and Punk and Cabanna working together would be something I would really enjoy seeing once again. Hopefully come Wrestlemania time next year Punk will have proved (once again) that he is worth a main event slot and others such as JBL need to realise it is time for them to step aside and give the spotlight to some of the up and coming stars of the future.
Now, in a few weeks time (no one knows the exact date) one of my favourite superstars will be returning from “hell” to once again wreak havoc on Smackdown. None other than everyone’s favourite Rated R Superstar: Edge. The only problem I can see for Edge is during his absence a number of young heels most notably Shelton Benjamin and The Brian Kendrick have really stepped up and become big deals in the upper mid card scene on Smackdown. Many people seem in favour of Edge coming back as a baby face but I think this would be a HUGE mistake from WWE creative. Edge is a natural heel and the feuds he could have with the likes of Jeff Hardy and R-Truth are very exciting and potentially some of the best matches so far this year. Personally I would like to see Edge come back and somehow screw Triple H out of the title at Cyber Sunday (probably to Kozlov) and then have a long burning feud with The Game seeing as how Triple H was in effect the person who ended up causing Edge all of his suffering. This would also free up the title scene allowing guys like Kozlov, Jeff, Kendrick and Shelton to have a chance to shine in the main event whilst still keeping Smackdown’s two top stars in the spotlight. I could see a long feud between the two being as good if not better than the current Jericho vs Michaels run over on RAW and until now that has not involved any title so in my opinion this would be the best move for Edge.
So as this has been a pretty quiet week on the news front it is on to this week’s Smackdown.
We open with a video recap of Kozlov taking out both Jeff Hardy and Triple H in recent weeks. Tonight Kozlov battles Khali and I cannot wait for that one!
We see Vickie backstage with a very scared looking Chavo talking about what the Undertaker did to him last week. Chavo says that tonight the Undertaker is coming for Vickie which gets a big pop from the crowd.
Back at ringside and Triple H makes his way to the ring for his tag match. Jeff Hardy is out next to a huge response as always. The championship rivals were teaming up to face MVP and The Brian Kendrick. The crowd are chanting loudly for Hardy as the match gets underway with MVP and Jeff starting things out. Some quick tags between Jeff and Triple H as they work over MVP’s arm. MVP is able to kick Jeff aside allowing Kendrick to fly in but Jeff beats him down until Kendrick takes a time out. Kendrick and MVP have a squabble which leads to MVP trying to use Kendrick as a battering ram only for Jeff to avoid him and Kendrick sent into the ring post. Triple H is tagged in and clothelines MVP out of the ring and is quickly followed by the flying body of Kendrick great spot! As we return from commercial the heels are working over Triple H in the corner Kendrick attempts to grind Triple H down with his submission techniques until he misses a flying cross body which allows the Game to tag in Hardy who goes to work on Kendrick nailing a number of hard hitting manoeuvres including his unique face buster combo. It was looking good for Jeff until Ezekiel pulls Jeff from the top rope allowing the heels to isolate and work Jeff over. Some very impressive high speed flying kicks from Kendrick. MVP grinds Jeff down with some tough submission holds whilst the crowd go crazy for Hardy and Triple H awaits the hot tag. Intelligent move from MVP who drops Jeff and then nails a cheap shot on Triple H preventing the tag from taking place. Wow what an opening match! Hardy is finally able to make the hot tag to Triple H who goes to work on MVP, nailing huge spinebusters on both MVP and Kendrick but as he goes for the pedigree on MVP is hit with a big drop kick by Kendrick who is then ejected from the ring by Hardy as Triple H finally hits the pedigree on MVP for the pinfall and victory. After the match Jeff brings the title belt to the Game and raises his arm in victory. A mutual sign of respect between these two rivals. Great opening match with a very hot crowd.
Next up Shelton Benjamin is making his way to ring side dressed in street clothes. Shelton continues to struggle on the mic although he is defiantly getting better. Shelton proceeds to talk himself up and run down R-Truth. This gets some heat from the crowd until Shelton is predictably interrupted by Truth to a BIG response from the fans. Wow Truth just gets more and more over every week. Shelton looks disgusted as Truth gets in his face and yells “Wassup!” much to the delight of the crowd. Shelton just drops his mic and just walks away as Truth raps with the crowd again. Apparently next week it is going to be Santino vs Shelton. Hmmm that should be interesting!
We have a divas tag match next with Maria and Brie Bella taking on Victoria and Natalya. Would Brie’s secret be revealed this week? Victoria looking lovely as ever starts with Maria and locks in a Full Nelson early on but Maria is able to counter out. Brie once again shows she is all about the wrestling but finds herself overpowered by first by Victoria and then Natalya. Brie slaps Natalya but finds herself hit by a big snap suplex as a result. Natalya continues to work over Brie tagging in Victoria who once again locks in a Full Nelson. Victoria sends Brie from the ring as she then scuttles under allowing sister Nicole to come in and hit a finisher on Victoria for the win. Big screw up at the end here as Maria was clearly supposed to be getting the pin but Nicole went for the pin instead and then stopped half way through and tagged in Maria. Whoops! That looked very botched indeed! Prior to this I was impressed with the ring work of Natalya and Victoria very much!
Next up is the match I have been waiting all week to see with Vladimir Kozlov taking on the Great Khali. This should be the time Kozlov really establishes himself as a big deal. Kozlov tries to take down Khali early on nailing some big head butts but Khali sends Kozlov flying from the ring. Then Kozlov then pulls Khali out of the ring and they brawl on the outside with Khali ending up bouncing off the ring post. However Triple H then makes his way to the ring causing Kozlov to back down as Triple H strips down to wrestle. Khali was clearly quite slow getting back to the ring but it ended with the heels ganging up on Triple H which caused Jeff Hardy to fly down to the ring to make the save only to find himself on the end of a big boot from Khali which led to Triple H to pull out the sledgehammer and open up on Khali. Kozlov indicated he wanted no part of Triple H when he was armed and backed down. This could have been the moment to solidify Kozlov instead I have to admit I was pretty disappointed with how it panned out and it leave me convinced that Kozlov will be involved in some way at No Mercy in the match between Hardy and Triple H.
Next we see some more backstage stuff with Vickie, The Big Show and Chavo with the footage from Unforgiven once again being shown. Vickie tells Chavo he is in action next and as Chavo is making his way to ringside we get another Helms vignette telling Chavo he should just go home since the Undertaker is after him. Chavo’s opponent was none other than Jimmy Wang Yang who had somewhat been missing in action in recent weeks. Chavo was acting very freaked out as Yang hit a number of high flying moves. We saw an absolutely phenomenal counter from Chavo early on who hit a drop kick taking out Yang in mid air. See this is why we need more cruiserweight type matches on the show! We saw some excellent wrestling here from both guys and it was such a shame the crowd were so dead for the majority of the match. Chavo avoided the Moonsault and went for the Three Amigos which Yang somehow countered but was then hit by Chavo with a rolling kick for the pinfall and victory. Very good match here and something I would defiantly like to see more of on Smackdown.
Next up it was tag team title time as Hawkins and Ryder defended their title against the Colons. Primo and Hawkins started things off with Primo hitting a beautiful flying head scissors. We saw some unique double team moves from the Colon’s early on until Ryder was tagged in and went to work on the elder Puerto Rican. Some very good tag wrestling from both Ryder and Hawkins here that shows what good champions they could have been had they been given more opponents and more TV time. Ryder worked over Carlito’s arm and was able to tag in Hawkins who sent Carlito flying from the ring as we went to commercial break. Back from the break Carltio is still being worked over in the ring but he send Hawkins into Ryder and makes the hot tag to Primo who literally decimates Ryder with a series of impressive high flying moves. After Ryder does not notice the blind pin from Primo, Carlito is able to come in and hit the backstabber for the pinfall and victory. Very good tag match here and good to see new Champions as lets face it Hawkins and Ryder’s reign has been pretty lacklustre. Hopefully this will be the start of good new things to come on Smackdown in the tag team department.
Next up Big Show, Vickie and Chavo are making their way to the ring to smoke out the Undertaker. Vickie gets on the mic to a huge deal of heat from the crowd as always. She calls out The Undertaker. We see yet another video recap of the events from Unforgiven. Vickie and Big Show continue to taunt the Undertaker until the gong rings and the lights go out. When the lights come back on we see Chavo gone and the Undertaker destroying Chavo in Vickie’s office. The lights go out and when they come back on The Undertaker is once more standing behind Vickie. With an evil look in his eye the Deadman delivers a thunderous tombstone to the GM for the biggest pop of the night. You don’t mess with the Undertaker just as Big Show is sure to learn at No Mercy!
This was a good edition of Smackdown but not a great one. Some bad camera work and the botched ending to the divas tag match really hurt it and the Kozlov vs Khali match was ruined although creatively it made sense considering Triple H was out for revenge after last week. I just wish they had let Kozlov go over Khali cleanly first to help establish himself. However the tag title match, Chavo vs Yang and the opening tag match were all very good and it was impressive to see just how over with the crowd R-Truth is once again. Just as last week I really could note care less about the Vickie/Big Show/Undertaker storyline and hopefully after No Mercy this one will be finished with. It just seems to similar to the whole Edge/Vickie/Undertaker thing from a few months back. Match of the week has to be the Tag Team title match as Primo I think stole this one for me with his high flying exploits.
This weeks Smackdown scores a good: 7/10
Next week is Smackdown’s debut on MyNetwork TV and we have some all star matches lined up including a Triple Threat tri branded battle of the champions main event. However it concerns me that all of this is just a week before No Mercy as I cannot imagine we will get a whole lot of build during next week’s show. Lets hope I am wrong on this.
Anyhow that’s all for this week. Please feel free to drop an email to: a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com or add me on myspace: www.myspace.com/agreement_called_forever and I will see you all on the comment board during the week.
Until next time The Rated R Era is resting in peace!
My top ten matches so far this year in WWE:
1. Edge vs Undertaker - Summerslam – 17th August 2008
2. Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels – Unforgiven – 7th September 2008
3. Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 24 – 30th March 2008
4. Edge vs Undertaker – One Night Stand - 1st June 2008
5. Triple H vs John Cena – Night Of Champions – 29th June 2008
6. Edge vs Undertaker – Wrestlemania 24 - 30th March 2008
7. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho – Great American Bash – 20th July 2008
8. Jeff Hardy vs Shawn Michaels – RAW - 11th February 2008
9. Jeff Hardy vs MVP – Summerslam - 17th August 2008
10. Batista vs John Cena – Summerslam - 17th August 2008
Smackdown Power 10
1: Triple H
2: Jeff Hardy
3: Shelton Benjamin (+1)
4: Brian Kendrick (-1)
5: Vladimir Kozlov (+1)
6: MVP (-1)
7: The Colons (+3)
8: R-Truth (-1)
9: The Undertaker
10: The Big Show (-2)
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: CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, MVP, MyNetworkTV, No Mercy, Smackdown Power 10, The Big Show, The Undertaker, Triple H, Vladimir Kozlov
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September 27th, 2008 at 10:27 am
1st Comment
September 27th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I kick myself for missing this Smakedown looked good but I blame myself since I was up all night Thrus into Friday untill about 9am playing world of warcraft on the computer lol so was dead tired and fell a sleep about 5pm after doing some work around the house. since over where I live in colorado Smakedown comes on at 7pm.
But I do agree I am dissapointed Cm Punks Rien is over and see him going after the Tag Belts a step down. normally going ofter the Tag belts or IC belt is a step up from the bottom as you climb the ladder to be world champ not coming down. if WWE Officals had no faith in CM Punk to begin with even tho he was over with the fans. My Question is why have him win Money in the bank to begin with seems to be a waste of time for him to win it if they had no faith in him.
I all so agree that I hope the Undertaker/Vicki storyline ends soon wiether it is Big Show or Edge this story line is betting boring. if you think TNA is boring with all the gimick matches and interferiance this feud is just as bad you can’t get a clear win with out interferance mostly Edge and company it’s getting ridiculus. I can just see the up coming pay-per-view with more interferance I’m getting sick of it. I feel it is time to remove Vicki from the GM position.
September 27th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I thought this week’s Smackdown was pretty good. Perhaps it was not on par with the last few weeks, but on a whole it was still a lot better than Raw, which people on the comments boards have been calling the C show and I have to agree. Raw showcases absolutely no wrestling at all, and throw matches together for PPV’s for the sake of it. Ala Batista vs JBL.
Anyway back to Smackdown. I thought the opening match was superb and was impressed with everyone in the contest, especially The Kendrick who has to be a favourite for most improved star, if there is such a thing. Some good high flying, tough submissions and impact moves in here made the match excellent. I could see the ending though, and that was a little disappointing seeing MVP get pinned again, the guy must have strong heat backstage.
I thought Kozlov was so predictable it was crazy. I was really hoping, like you Chris, that they put him over clearly against The Great Dally. Still think it’s too early to give him a title match though, even at the next PPV would be wrong ’cause I dont see HHH putting him over, which will ruin his good build.
Happy to see new tag champs, primo was impressive. Really could not care about TAKER/Show. I agree Edge should return as a heel, standalone this time and back to the Rated R Superstar, and I am really looking forward to the return of a somewhat forgotten man Umaga, who I’d love to see come up against Kozlov.
7/10 show
September 27th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I think I accidentally deleted a comment made be HK-47, if I did, I apologize. We have had high volumes of spam lately on our Blog Spot and I’ve been trying to clear them out before they make it to the website.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Great blog as usual man.
The tag matxh was excellent. Kendrick just keeps getting better and better and I’m glad it was MVP and not Brian who was pinned.
R-Truth gets crazy crowd reaction. Hoping for a Cyber Sunday clash between him and Shelton.
Brie is both very pretty and a great wrestler. It looks like their ready to reveal her secret soon as they showed her sister come out as Brie went in. I maybe shouldve used a different sentence then that.
Didnt watch Kozlov vs. Khali. HHH interjecting is fine with me even though some people might hate it.
I love the new champions. Primo’s wrestling is so unique and I’m happy Carlito is back. Should be the best since MNM2
Undertaker tombstoning Vickie annoyed me because nowshe’s going to be in the wheelchair again. I cant wait until Edge comes back.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Anyone else think it looked odd seeing Taker somewhere other then the ring? I’m just use to seeing him only doing things in or around the ring and not backstage. Good show though
September 27th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Sorry to comment twice but line of the night goes to Carlito: “Wait let me hit him a couple of times”
If you didnt hear it go back to the match and the part when he’s got Ryder in the corner before he get pushed into the ringpost.
September 27th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
chris, i was at that NAW website you’re promoting, but i couldn’t figure out where were the shows. i figured NAW TV but there were only generic TV shows there (family guy, ER, etc). i would appriciate it if you guide me to Wrestling TV.
September 27th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
It’s NAW 24/7 Guy.
September 27th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
also kozlov really needs a manager. james mitchell anyone? just imagine it…
September 27th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Carlito and Primo were excellent. Happy they are tag champs. Hopefully this means the division will improve.
Brie is the better looking twin in my opinion.
I didn’t mind the Kozlov/Khali interference. It worked for me.
The opening match was excellent. I enjoyed this week’s show very much. Smackdown doesn’t really disappoint.
By the way Chris, I think you mean to type “definitely” not “defiantly”. Just the teacher in me.
September 27th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
ty Anthony, i agree that MVP should’ve been pinned as Kendrick have been showing diverse styles as of late and really just shows how much can a person improve (or show his skills) when given the right stage for it. i still think that London deserves just as big of a push as Kendrick, but it seems as if he is bound to be future endeavored. let’s hope ROH picks him up as he can really show his stuff there. kozlov is impressive, but i can’t help but think something is missing with his work in the ring. can’t really point it out, maybe it’s just his jobbers killing that bores me, and his finishers. i mean c’mon, headbutt? really? his slowly done back DDT isn’t a whole lot better as i think he need something that uses his size like a running powerslam or something of that kind. his body motions he used to explain he won’t get in the ring cause of the sledge hammer were amusing to say the least. i really can’t wait for the R-Truth-Shelton Benjamin match. it’s a shame MVP is in the dog house, hope he get’s out soon so he can resume to drive-by kicking his way to main event status. the colons are awesome! although Primo kinda botches the rana (i say that as a rana user myself) and should stop using that particular move, i like his flow in the ring and think he and carlito could make a great team. i actually like big show better as a face, he cant cut a good heel promo.
September 27th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
what i believe is this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bTREzJL83A
September 27th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
miss the 90’s
September 27th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Just incase anyone was curious about the Bella twins I found a nice little site.
http://bellatwins.org/
September 27th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I enjoyed last night’s show it was a good one for it’s last night on the CW. As far as Kolsloff getting a push towards the WWE Title I can see a HHH/Kolsolff feud for Cyber Sunday leading into Survivor Series, but I don’t see him beating The Game for the championship it’s too soon I would hate to see him get the “Brock Lesnar push” in which it only took Brock Lesnar 5 mnths to run though the competition to win the title.
If creative builds up the Shelton/R-Truth program just right we can be looking at a good feud between these 2 for the United States Title. And I love how the fans get right behind R-Truth.
The Undertaker/Big Show feud should wrap up quickly i hope b/c I’m sick of the Vicki/Taker feud it’s been going on all year it needs to end. Personally I would love to see a Taker/Kolsoff feud or a Taker/Umaga match for Mania’ 25.
September 27th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
no bullshit someone should see this video i didn’t know all of this about austin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMzjveKMvJ4&feature=related
September 27th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I knew I forgot something… yeah that’s right idk why creative on the Smackdown side put the tag belts on ryder & hawkins to begin with they suck badly I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys got released somewhere down the line.
September 28th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Yea The Undertaker/Vicki feud has been going on all year, I was hopeing it would end at Summer Slam once he was done feuding with Edge, but they just added Big Show to the mix. they should have found someone else to have Big Show feud with like maybe Kozlov since Kozlov been asking for better compition, Undertaker’s Feud with Big Show much like with Kane has been done so much over the years it is getting boring they need to do something else with Undertaker. I’d like to see Undertaker/Umaga or Undertaker/Kozlov.
September 28th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Not that I am against Kozlov in anyway but how does squashing no names such as Funaki and local jobbers put him in contention for a WWE shot?
That is the one thing I hate when WWE is trying to establish a new superstar. They squash no names and then they are in a major title picture.
I honestly like Kozlov and wish that they would just give him a few more months before any of this happens. I always thought that Kozlov should be the type where he just doesn’t belong on one brand. If he showed his dominance on RAW or even ECW and took out guys like Tommy Dreamer or Bob Holly then it would look more convincing. Just showed up whenever and did whatever, then I could really get into this character.
September 28th, 2008 at 11:32 am
i really think Hawkins and Ryder need to be repackaged b/c i think they can be something if done correctly. The whole Edge cronies thing didn’t work out so well. I feel if they had been solely with Edge and Edge really had them under his wing things would have been different but Edge had the whole Vickie and La Familia stuff. the WWE desperately needs tag teams so hopefully they start to show something now that they are title chasers
September 28th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
umm… he faced guys EXACLY like dreamer and holly, they ARE jobbers.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
yeah but dreamer and holly have a little more credibility then yang and funaki
September 28th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
bob is hbk with a different nick. has to be.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
guys, guys, guys, the way Kozlov’s character was built is fine the way it is. He’s supposed to look like a monster, hence the guys that were put in front of him to destroy. Do not forget he also went against Festus and Festus is not placed in the same category as Funaki. Festus went toe to toe with the Deadman some time back remember? Anyway, Kozlov’s gripe is that he hasn’t been giving adequate competition so he goes after the top dogs. That’s it. Management gave him what he deems as lackluster opponents so he picks his own opponents who happen to be the top 2 stars on the show (it can also be symbolic of new guys stepping up to be big time players). I think it’s been done pretty good because the monster came in out of nowhere to lay out the champ and #1 contender.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Had he had faced guys with credibility then wanting more competition would be better suited. From the current standpoint, it is understandable what he is doing.
However, wasn’t he off TV for a few weeks? I could be wrong but I remember for a short while that he wasn’t even around.
It would be better for storyline purposes had he defeated guys like Tommy Dreamer or someone who has an established history and then been like “Is that the best you have?”
September 28th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
just like guy said though, dreamer and bob holly are used like jobbers or a step just above jobberville. Dreamer is relegated to being the savior of the new guys. Holly had a less than special tag team run recently and is currently in the doghouse. But both men held titles in the past. So has Funaki. Wang Yang is a talented wrestler, watch his stuff outside of WWE. So Kozlov didn’t face Dreamer or someone like that, big whoop, the man still dominated whoever was put in front of him and acquired that “monster” status
September 29th, 2008 at 6:55 am
He also defeated stevens, who he jobbed to a month earlier, thus defeating someone with credibility. i was excited about the Khali match because i wanted to see how well can he carry a match where he is not just throwing out all of his offense, cause that’s not hard to do. but to work a match with Khali when he is not controlling it in it’s intirety, and that the match tells a story, (as good as it can get with Khali) that’s impressive. But since the match was cut short i was disappointed since i don’t know yet how good Kozlov really is. (i also did not get a chance to see the kozlov-festus match since i was in Greece that week. (btw, Greece is awesome! *clap, clap, clap-clap-clap* Greece is awesome! *clap, clap, clap-clap-clap*
September 29th, 2008 at 10:42 am
im sorry for what i did in the past i understand ur feelings and i apoligise to everybody i upset “i can be better, i will be better”
September 29th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
U just copied & pasted that from the ECW blog comment you’ve made, but as long as you stop the flaming i’m willing to give you a second chance, you’re walking on very thin ice, though IMO.
September 29th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
I was interested in seeing how well Kozlov would do against Kahli true Kahli is not a great wrestler losey is more the word for him but still it wouldn’t be a cake walk for Kozlov. I’m just sorry I missed it and WWE.com had the video but it looked to be edited just to show Triple H coming out..would be nice to see it on youtube one day.
September 30th, 2008 at 4:11 am
it wasn’t really a match, but rather a set-up for triple H to come out. the match never ended.