(For posterity, the results of the FIRST ever Smackdown: The Blue Blazer d. Val Venis; The Big Show d. Test; D'Lo Brown d. Droz; X-Pac & Kane d. the New Age Outlaws; Ken Shamrock d. Bradshaw; Mankind d. The Big Bossman; Steve Austin & The Rock d. HHH and The Undertaker.)
Smackdown is 500 episodes old! Woohoo!
Well, according to the WWE, it is...but it's what...older, right? Something like 503, 504?
Anyhow, this was an awesome episode. Kudos to these guys for getting it right.
The show opens with a video recap of the Orton/HHH feud, following a HHH promo. Spoiler alert: Didja know he's married to Steph? It's probably the worst kept secret in pro wrestling. Orton should have known better when he put his hands on his wife, yadda yadda...but he ends with a pretty clichee line: You are the disease, and I am the cure. Okayyyy...Vladimir Kozlov then comes to the ring.
Match 1: HHH d. Kozlov via Pedigree. Kozlov is now a jobber, it seems. Wasn't he in line for a title reign at one time?
A video recap of the Edge Cena Show. Or is that the Edge Cena Show show? I dunno, I kinda like it. Apparently, they're having a face off later on tonight.
Match 2: MVP d. Shelton Benjamin via Paydirt for the US title. I loved this match! These guys really went at it, and I wanna see them do it again. I always love a title change on free TV, so I'm not disappointed they didn't do this at Mania.
WWE's did you know: This is Episode 500 of Smackdown. No it isn't.
Backstage: the Uber-GM, Vickie Guererro, yells at Edge for turning on Show. Edge fights back, saying that Show is poisoning her mind...and that he's soon gonna be history, or something like that.
Match 3: HBK d. Kane via Sweet Chin Music. Is it safe to suggest that the idea of running separate brands is history? Anyhow, decent match. I was kinda thinking we'd see some Undertaker during this match, seeing as though, y'know...his brother was facing his Mania opponent, but no dice.
Backstage: our Uber-GM pleads with the Big Show not to hurt Edge. Show says no, he's gonna pay for spearing him. He deserves everything he's gonna get.
Cue the mandatory panning shot of [insert city here], this time, Corpus Christi, Texas. I'd never been there, but it looks really nice. Anyone been?
JR and Tazz inform us that Hardy vs. Hardy will be an Extreme Rules match. I'm looking forward to it.
Match 4: Jeff Hardy d. The Brian Kendrick vis Swanton Bomb. Is it a bad thing that they didn't show Kendrick's entrance? Anyhow, there was a pretty sweet spot where Jeff nailed Kendrick with an overhead powerbomb. Ezekiel Jackson was pretty much useless here, outside of being nailed with a steel chair about six times.
The Von Erichs are heading into the WWE Hall of Fame. I wish Kerry was still with us. I remember marking out when he beat Mr. Perfect for the IC title at Summerslam '90.
A recap of Michaels taking out Undertaker at Raw shows, followed by the Undertaker claiming that HBK is the prey, he is the hunter, and he will feel the wrath of the Undertaker. Wow, cliche! He's interrupted by JBL's theme and limo.
Match 4: Undertaker d. JBL via Devil's Gate in a decent match. I wasn't expecting it to be as physical as it was...but I wasn't thinking that JBL would lose his first match as IC champion. JBL did NOT look weak here, so we're good. Still no news on how he's going to Make History At Wrestlemania, but there's still two weeks to go.
Did Ya Know...? The Big Show wears a size 70 jacket? I'd rather trivia than that than knowing how many people tuned into the last show, knowing that the WWE possibly sweetens up their numbers.
A confrontation between Edge and Big Show sees Edge call the Big Show "Shrek", Vickie say that she's in love with both men (ewww!), Edge saying that she is his wife, Big Show saying that she is his lover, yadda yadda. Edge and Show agree that they don't like each other, and have a handshake.
Out comes Cena: He wants nothing to do with her heart, her hands, or her handles (ha! THat's a fat joke! PG13 humour!) Cena claims that all he wants is the title, not Vickie's infection (no, affection, get it? Another PG13 joke, right?) Cena says that Edge and SHow have forgotten that this is Mania, where people come to win titles, cement their legacies and become legends. Show and Edge begin to shove each other, but Vickie gets knocked down. As Show tends to her, Edge gets ready for a spear, but Show dodges it and Edge nails Vickie. Show then nails Edge with a chokeslam and walks out with Vickie in his arms. Awwwwwwwwwwwww....
And...its the end.
This was probably one of the best Smackdown show I'd seen in years. Keep it up, WWE!
TV.com calls this episode 501. Looking at their numbers, I would assume that WWE is not counting the first special which aired on April 24, 1999, 4 months before the first season proper began. I don't know if there are other Smackdown specials.
If we assume that Smackdown has aired every week since the first full season started (August 26, 1999) to now, Timeanddate.com says it's been 499 weeks since then, which would be correct.
For the record, the Smackdown I posted at the top of the list was from the SPECIAL...the original of the series saw, among other things, Test proposing to Stephanie.
I think there have been...two? three? "specials" which aired on Tuesdays (all during the UPN era), but they've never been included in the count.
The two I remember were both in November sweeps. 2002 had Eddie vs. Benoit vs. Edge to set up the tag threeway at Survivor Series. 2005 was the Eddie death exploitation with Rey praying to Eddie, Rey vs. Big Show, and Orton blowing up the lowrider.
Pretty much everything about MVP's face turn and rebound from his losing streak has been underwhelming, and the title win was more of the same. It was a decent match and everything, but it was dealt as a total afterthought on the evening. It didn't help that the Playmaker is probably the worst finisher in the company.
Kirk, crackers are a family food. Happy families. Maybe single people eat crackers, we don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know. It's a market we can do without.
Originally posted by Big Bad It didn't help that the Playmaker is probably the worst finisher in the company.
Yeah, that and the fact that neither Tazz nor JR seem to know what to call it.
Forfeit the game, before somebody else takes you outta the game, and puts your name to shame Cover up your face, you can't run the race The pace is too fast, you just won't last - "Points Of Authority" - Linkin Park
Originally posted by Big BadPretty much everything about MVP's face turn and rebound from his losing streak has been underwhelming, and the title win was more of the same. It was a decent match and everything, but it was dealt as a total afterthought on the evening.
Sadly, I agree. Add that to the underwhelming return of Christian, and I really don't see anyone to get excited about winning MITB.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Originally posted by Big BadPretty much everything about MVP's face turn and rebound from his losing streak has been underwhelming, and the title win was more of the same. It was a decent match and everything, but it was dealt as a total afterthought on the evening.
Sadly, I agree. Add that to the underwhelming return of Christian, and I really don't see anyone to get excited about winning MITB.
I would be really excited about Christian, because it took Matt Hardy two years of hard work and incommensurate pops after he came back to earn his way out of them not thinking he was a star, and I don't want Christian to have to wait that long. At this point I have no idea who's going to win, but taking the U.S. title off of Shelton so he can have the MITB is about the only possible tipoff I see. That would be kind of boring. "Gold is the most valuable element on the periodic table. And what does gold get carried in? Briefcases."
Did Hunter have to use the phrase "in real life" in talking about his marriage? They couldn't have gotten the same point across by saying something like they split up years ago but were 'secretly' back together behind the scenes. Saying "in real life" implies that what we're watching is "fake."
Originally posted by Spiraling_ShapeDid Hunter have to use the phrase "in real life" in talking about his marriage? They couldn't have gotten the same point across by saying something like they split up years ago but were 'secretly' back together behind the scenes. Saying "in real life" implies that what we're watching is "fake."
They don't know what to do with this feud. They've thrown everything at it except Chyna -- IED, lawyers, the RR title shot, a cross-brand title angle, the McMahon massacre, the Steph/Hunter marriage, a house invasion, dueling hammers, an arrest, a cage match. It's a mess.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Originally posted by Matt TrackerThey don't know what to do with this feud. They've thrown everything at it except Chyna -- IED, lawyers, the RR title shot, a cross-brand title angle, the McMahon massacre, the Steph/Hunter marriage, a house invasion, dueling hammers, an arrest, a cage match. It's a mess.
And that might go double for the other title match...where they are literally throwing Vicki around at this point.
The angle's not a mess at all. It's Hunter wanting revenge for Orton attacking his wife. The other stuff is week-by-week seasoning. Christ, you guys must've been REALLY put off by the original Austin/McMahon feud. MVP is my pick for the suitcase. Mark Henry ain't getting anywhere near it. Christian, maybe, but after his first month back I don't see it. I wouldn't have an issue with Shelton winning, however.
(edited by oldschoolhero on 23.3.09 0119) "And here...we...go."
Originally posted by oldschoolheroThe angle's not a mess at all. It's Hunter wanting revenge for Orton attacking his wife. The other stuff is week-by-week seasoning. Christ, you guys must've been REALLY put off by the original Austin/McMahon feud.
I think they are copying that template with gimmick-piling in order to approximate that angle's heat. And I suspect they are in order to make Orton interesting despite his ring style and mic skills.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
The same mic skills and ring work that crowds are booing and cheering the shit out of each week?
It astonishes me that after all this time, after all Orton's good-to-great matches, after all the heat and or pops he's elicited over the past 18 months, the small cadre of we-hate-Orton fanatics insists on claiming that the guy is not good. You don't like him. We get it. The vast majority of the wrestling world seems to rate him just fine.
Originally posted by oldschoolheroThe same mic skills and ring work that crowds are booing and cheering the shit out of each week?
It astonishes me that after all this time, after all Orton's good-to-great matches, after all the heat and or pops he's elicited over the past 18 months, the small cadre of we-hate-Orton fanatics insists on claiming that the guy is not good. You don't like him. We get it. The vast majority of the wrestling world seems to rate him just fine.
So this thread is only for positive feedback?
I only "insist on claiming" that Orton does not entertain me anymore. I liked him, advocated him even, but the last two times I've seen him live -- same arena, one year apart -- he was bad. What I see of him on TV is weak, and I blame the last few months of writing.
It's similar to what happened with Jericho when he was the two-belt champ defending against Hunter at WM. That angle should have been simple -- the returning Hunter wants to prove he's still got it. But, by the end of it, we were watching a plot about a dog injury.
Same thing here. The angle could be very effective if it were simple: Hunter took Orton's belt by breaking his collarbone, and Orton wants revenge. Instead, we have a mess, a cumbersome stack of plots.
Orton has been placed as the biploar weasel when he was getting over as the cocky heel. And he was hot. There is no denying that. Then he was given a bad gang of lackies to boss around, and that gimmick was written badly. You could also argue those performers couldn't carry their gimmick. Manu and Snuka are gone. Rhodes and Dibiase are lackluster midcarders.
Since then, the angle has ballooned, and again I argue they busted out the nuclear option of the Steph/Hunter marriage to give this angle a spark they feared it lacked. And I don't think it worked. It became a flimsy McGuffin instead of the alpha/omega storyline.
I think truly Orton has taken steps backward because he's put in a position to simply bolster the face who gets to act more, be more aggressive, and wear the belt. Orton's aggression is now a mental illness with legal protection. That killed his hook. And because his illness hurt Steph, he's pissed off Hunter, and Orton is running scared and citing the no-touch clause. He's now no better than any other heel character, and I think the performer is losing cache in all aspects because of it. His ringwork is slow and simple. This used to be different. His finisher used to be a top-rope bodyblock.
My main point is that the ANGLE is bad, and instead of helping the one person it should (Orton), it's reducing him. It's a mistake, and it's not entertaining.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
I may be interested in going to the Nov 11 AM show. Maybe. I would like to know why they're running wrestling tapings in the AM & weekday afternoons though.