Velocity -- Scotty 2 Hotty & Shannon Moore d. Trevor Rhodes & I swear they said Garrison Cade, but that's not what I remember him looking like! (Maybe he just looks much better with long hair???): Suprisingly good match, with Scotty selling like a maniac, & the heels showing very good ring presence.
-- Booker T w/ Sharmell d. Billy Kidman: Booker's back to enjoying life, which is always fun. I still maintain that Kidman somehow is more interesting live than he comes across on TV. Nothing earth-shattering, but a perfectly fine little match.
-- Orlando Jordan d. Nunzio: Nunzio working his ass off & Orlando trying to keep up. (And me missing half the match with latecomers having seating issues.)
-- Rene Dupree d. Patrick Rizer (or Glazer, or something -- same guy who had Masters last night): Holy shit, not only does Dupree have the cheezy new heel mustache, he's dyed his hair jet black! (What would Fifi say??) Patrick seems to have some decent basic skills & reasonable presence. He seemed to get a little rung on the Dupree chokeslam though, & they may have had to wrap just a little early.
-- Chris Benoit d. I-know-this-guy-but-?can't-put-a-name-to-him (senility sucks): This is definitely an experienced guy -- he took the rolling suplexes just fine. Quick tap to the crossface.
SmackDown Randy Orton out to talk about killing legends, along with video footage of his suprise RKO on Taker last week -- on a loop. As Randy enjoys the video, he doesn't notice the fog rising from the ring. Taker appears with his own video of the Tombstone on Randy at WM. Randy bails unceremoniously (with pratfall), & Taker observes "Death waits for no one."
MNM out for Joey Mercury vs. Heidenreich. I'm astonished at how over Heidenreich is. Heidy's channelling more of Hulk Hogan all the time -- it was very nearly a Hulk-Up moment, as well as a "You" point at Melina. Match going along pretty decently when Michelle runs in to jump Melina. They do a decent catfight, providing the distraction for Nitro to kick Heidenreich in the head. Mercury gets the easy pin.
Rey Mysterio video promo -- all done in closeup, very intense. "Brought up a side of me that I never thought existed." Very good stuff.
Backstage, Melina is annoyed about Michelle as the boys cluelessly celebrate their win. "She's not even a B-list diva!" (Tell it, sister!) Melina challenges Michelle to a match next week. (Oooo-kay -- we'll see...)
JBL corners Teddy Long just outside his office. JBL should be the champion. Teddy talks him down a bit, but won't let him into the office. Indeed he does have the next draft pick stashed away in there.
Chavo vs. Paul London for the Cruiserweight Championship. Crowd was dead for Chavo, & somewhat more interested in Paul, who was doing all the interesting stuff in the match. Just as Paul is about to go for the definitive top-rope leap, they're interrupted by ... "The Mexicools". Juvi, Super Crazy & Psicosis in matching coverall outfits come rolling out on some sort of John Deere cart. They have a Mexican flag attached to a rake. (Draw your own conclusions.) They dispatch Chavo instantly, then take turns leaping onto Paul. They then cut a promo, which felt to me very Clique-wannabe. They're clearly intended to be heels, but they were getting a full-on mixed reaction -- dunno about the wisdom of debuting a Mexican heel faction in Tucson.
JBL out to talk. He seems quite happy & hits the "It's morning again in America" line. He feels that he should be "The Champion of SmackDown". Booker's out to opine that the 2 of them should have a match to determine the champion. Benoit out to toss in his 2 cents. And (all together, now) "It's the Big Show..." (Is there one of these multi-way talk-offs at *every* SD I go to???) And finally here's Teddy to settle things down. There were actually some pretty cute moments through this, & largely around JBL not having this all go quite the way he'd planned.
Teddy is carrying a large pouch, which obviously should contain a championship belt; however, he never actually opens it, oddly. Makes a 5-way match for next week with the 4 of them plus the Undertaker. The winner will be "The new SmackDown Champion". Just as Teddy is getting things under control, out come Hassan & Daivari. (Apparently they actually are one person, if they were drafted together!) He's already bitching that he just arrived & that he's being discriminated against, etc. So now it's a 6-man match next week. Finally, the faces take turns tossing Hassan around, & Big Show full presses Daivari before tossing him outside. As a warm welcome, Teddy makes Hassan vs. Big Show for RIGHT NOW.
Things are pretty squashy, till Matt Morgan wanders out to join in on commentary. BigShow is momentarily distracted, but gets back to the business of squashing, including a nice delayed vertical suplex. Meanwhile, Matt is having some sort of momentary disagreement with Tazz, but they seem to resolve that. BigShow shushes the audience so that everyone can hear the slap on Hassan, then tosses Daivari most of the way across the ring. (Squishy, squishy.) Matt decides it's finally time to runin with a chair, but SHow sees him & punches the chair back into Matt's face. Hassan gets the chair & hits Show with a *big* chairshot, mostly dropping him. Hassan wins with the cheap pin after the chairshot.
Full video recap of the entire Rey/Eddie situation. Eddie gives a very strong backstage promo: "I don't think [Rey] knows what I'm capable of."
Interesting match between Rey & Eddie. They were doing a lot of size each other up, a big burst of very cool lucha-ish goodness, then back to staring & jockeying. They had a lot of time for this, & it was really quite good -- I'm interested to see how it plays on TV. Rey just wouldn't cooperate & stay down, & Eddie just wouldn't cooperate & stay in place for the 619 -- til the very end. Rey wins with the 619 / West Coast Pop into a leg drop. Rey leaves happy, & Eddie remains in the ring quivering in dismay & disbelief.
I presume TV ends on that note. Eddie then gets a mic. "I used to think I represented each & evry one of you. Now I realise that I only need to represent myself. All you are is just a bunch of wetbacks." And he's out to some massive heel heat. (Now *that's* an interesting riff on the classical "send them home happy", eh?)
Originally posted by emma"The Mexicools". Juvi, Super Crazy & Psicosis in matching coverall outfits come rolling out on some sort of John Deere cart. They have a Mexican flag attached to a rake.
I like the faction.
I can live with the name.
John Deere-like cart, coverall outfits and a rake ??? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"This just got a hell of a lot better." - Stifler, American Pie
Honestly though, this show sounds great to me. Interesting talking segments (with all top SD guys and Hassan, RKO vs. RIP) and decent matches and a "surprise" entrance. Cap it off with a Rey vs. Eddie match and I'm actually gonna tape this one.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Downgraded from High; April 4, 2005) Batista & John Cena represent instant upgrades over their predecessors as world champions. However, there's still a general state of backlash around Cena and a specific state over the way he won (however misguided it may be), and the usual tag/cruiserweight complaints persist. The rematches should be interesting, however...
"Rene Dupree d. Patrick Rizer (or Glazer, or something -- same guy who had Masters last night): Holy shit, not only does Dupree have the cheezy new heel mustache, he's dyed his hair jet black! (What would Fifi say??) Patrick seems to have some decent basic skills & reasonable presence. He seemed to get a little rung on the Dupree chokeslam though, & they may have had to wrap just a little early."
I caught Dupree on Velocity last week, and he's so clearly a top talent stuck treading water. He's got the character down as much as JBL has his, and his new look is guaranteed to get heel heat. The Dupree Driver has been replaced by the French Tickler (now a Cobra Clutch), and that dance still draws a big reaction from the crowd.
The Mexicools sound like those most star-crossed of gimmicks: the LWO and the Godwins.
Now, if there are three belts -- the WWE, World and SD titles -- does that suggest they'll unify the RAW straps? Or is this truly a hold-over measure until Batista/Triple H arrives with the WWE title? The only way I can see this latter working is for the champ to come over as a heel and deny the top contenders their battle royale for a title.
(edited by Matt Tracker on 22.6.05 0738) "To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Sounds like a pretty decent show. Hopefully with Hassan coming over, Daivari will get a chance to shine in the cruiserweight division.
I'm sorta frightened to see who Heidenreich will pick as a partner to combat MNM. I have a disturbing feeling that Snitsky will come over and pushed as a face.
Any bets on who wins the Smackdown championship next week? I'm placing my money on Benoit, who will get attacked by one of the 2 draft picks next week (Jericho?).
So they've thrown the three luchas they'd never be able to book correctly into one faction that they won't be able to book correctly. Guess we don't have to worry about seeing any great matches between the three of them anytime soon.
Originally posted by Texas Kelly in the RAW thread-- Looking forward to seeing Hassan debut on Smackdown later this week.
I'm so hot, I'm on FIRE!
In that vein... Eugene is SO getting drafted to Smackdown next week. (Or traded, or whatever. One way or another, he's coming over.)
Seriously, though, I hope to god that one of the belts gets traded/drafted back to Smackdown and that six-man becomes a #1 contenders' match...
I was glad I got him right too.
I've noticed a pattern. Everyone drafted was on their old show before they got drafted, meaning they were on WWE TV on consecutive Mondays and Thrusdays.
Also, they pretty much concluded whatever story they had at the moment (Hassan getting his "streak" broken, Cartltio & Cena tagging against each other, Benoit being the face of ECW, Angle getting beat by Booker T & wife).
So, guessing from these spoilers, I think either Heidenreich or Matt Morgan will be next.
"You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?" --Toby, West Wing
Originally posted by ZeruelI was glad I got him right too.
I've noticed a pattern. Everyone drafted was on their old show before they got drafted, meaning they were on WWE TV on consecutive Mondays and Thrusdays.
Also, they pretty much concluded whatever story they had at the moment (Hassan getting his "streak" broken, Cartltio & Cena tagging against each other, Benoit being the face of ECW, Angle getting beat by Booker T & wife).
So, guessing from these spoilers, I think either Heidenreich or Matt Morgan will be next.
Er, from that logic Heidenreich has to get his win back from MNM. Morgan and Show still have their issue going on, they need a blow-off match. Hence, it's Eddie or Rey.
(edited by whatever on 22.6.05 1100) "Lita holds a Stone Cold Steve Austin home pregnancy test. What will the Bottom Line say? “Hell Yeah” or “Eh-EH”?" - Raw Satire, 6/15/04 (Apparantly ours said "Hell Yeah", 03/08/05)
Crazy/Psicosis were pretty over as a face team last week on Velocity, so why make them part of a heel faction? MNM don't have any challengers, so let MNM work against Crazy/Psicosis rather than having to carry Heidenreich and play second fiddle to Melina vs. the divas. Maybe make Crazy/Psicosis buddies w/ Rey, and Juvy can buddy up w/ Eddie & Chavo. Plus, if they really want to make Crazy & Psicosis heels, have them turn on Rey (after feuding w/ MNM, maybe blame Rey for them not winning the belts) to side w/ Eddie, then have Rey run the gauntlet to get to Eddie. That'd keep Eddie/Rey going, and produce some good/great matches.
Hopefully this isn't the blow-off to Eddie/Rey, as it should really be done on PPV rather than free TV.
Hence, it's Eddie or Rey.
Lord, I hope not. Look at Raw right now. You have: HHH, HBK, Angle, Batista, Jericho, Cena, Christian, Masters, Viscera, Carlito, Benjamin, Edge, Kane all getting significant TV time. Figure on 2 of those guys moving to SD, and you still have a lot of guys fighting for air time. I'd rather keep both Eddie & Rey on SD where they're guaranteed to get a good share of time on TV, as well as not having to play JTTS to the top Raw guys.
A new Smackdown title? So now you've basically taken the continuity of the WWE title and made it even more confusing. Why couldn't they have stated from the get-go that while champions can be drafted, championships cannot? Then they could've have Cena arrive, note that he was a champion who was in his mind unfairly stripped, and you have an instant money feud with HHH. Now, instead, you're going to have three world titles (THREE!) until the situation gets resolved on RAW, and at least a month of Cena looking like he has an alternate version of the IC title around his waist. I thought Teddy Long said they were going to wait until the draft lottery was over to announce what was to be done about the title?
And I'm sorry, but it's glaring mistakes like Hassan and Daivari both being drafted that bugs me. Just one week ago, Carlito's promo against Booker T noted specifically that he and his wife could NOT be drafted together, so one could end up on RAW without the other, despite the fact that Sharmell is Booker T's wife/diva manager. One week later and Hassan & Daivari are counted as one single draft pick. I know stuff like this happens in wrestling all the time, but to completely toss out a ten to fifteen minute segment that was done the week previous makes me wonder if WWE thinks anybody watches Smackdown on a regular basis.
Originally posted by rvjgd411 spoilers calls the lucas El Lucha Luxury or 3L
I've seen them called both in various spoilers that have been posted. What's the deal? And how do people even know what the stable is called if they just came down during the London/Chavo match? Was it on the Titantron or something?
Originally posted by Deputy MarshallA new Smackdown title? So now you've basically taken the continuity of the WWE title and made it even more confusing.
How so? Cena's got the same title Brock Lesnar took to Smackdown in 2002; the same title Jericho unified with the WCW title in 2001; the same title held by Austin, Rock, Michaels, Hogan, Backlund, and Sammartino. He's just on a different show.
Confusing is why Batista's belt isn't the old WCW world championship, but Orlando's belt is the old WCW US title. Confusing is that MNM's WWE tag titles aren't the same WWE tag titles Christian and Lance Storm held in 2002. Confusing is Jericho and Chyna being co-Intercontinental champions. This? This is a piece of cake.
Originally posted by Deputy MarshallI thought Teddy Long said they were going to wait until the draft lottery was over to announce what was to be done about the title?
Yeah, that seemed odd to me too. Maybe after the draft they'll see which show has more than one world champion, and have a unification match. (There'd be no point in unifying anything right now, since the winner could get drafted and screw it all up again.) Although if that's the plan, it seems pointless to crown an interim champion on the June 30 Smackdown, which will be the last night of the draft.
Then again, it's possible the reports about the show have omitted details. Next week's Smackdown is the last chance for the show to draft either the WWE or World Hvt. champion. Maybe Long only plans to create a new title if they don't get a champion from Raw. Or maybe the plan is to go ahead with three world championships, and make one an interleague title defended on both shows.
I do find it suspicious, however, that the spoiler reports all say that Long always kept the new Smackdown belt in a bag where no one could see it. That suggests to me one of three possibilities:
1) WWE only came up with this a few days ago and hasn't had time to commission a new belt.
2) Something will happen to make the new title unnecessary (like a champion coming over from Raw), so the new title is the bookers trying to bluff the fans.
3) They're building up to the big reveal of the belt's design, suggesting it's something we'll recognize, like when Bischoff unvieled the Raw title.
The third option intrigues me, because a few weeks ago I came up with a cockamamie theory that Smackdown would revive the ECW title and use that through the summer, until either ECW got its own show or Smackdown got a real world title back.
Originally posted by Jim Smith2) Something will happen to make the new title unnecessary (like a champion coming over from Raw), so the new title is the bookers trying to bluff the fans.
That's what I was thinking when I read it too. It makes sense that Teddy wouldn't be happy going week after week watching his title on another show, and maybe is getting antsy waiting for the draft to end.
As far as Daivari coming over to Smackdown, I haven't seen any spoilers that are specific to it, but couldn't it be because Daivari is Hassan's "property" and not under a WWE contract? That's certainly the feeling I got with that one-show angle they did a while back with Daivari begging Hassan to continue treating him like crap.
Originally posted by rvjgd411 spoilers calls the lucas El Lucha Luxury or 3L.
I've seen them called both in various spoilers that have been posted. What's the deal? And how do people even know what the stable is called if they just came down during the London/Chavo match? Was it on the Titantron or something?
Consider the source. Thanks for asking for clarification ... (... Typed the highly reliable W who provided a highly detailed description of the event. :-;) In fact, there was an entrance video with the graphic "The Mexicools". And the phrase was announced as part of the promo that they cut.
((Optionally see Site Bashing (The W) for whining about the quality of some of the alternative source's spoilers.))