“SMACKDOWN ON THE ROAD TO WRESTLEMANIA”
Its been a few weeks since I have done a review of Smackdown mainly because I have just not been able to watch the show all the way through as it just didn’t keep my interest but I have to admit that this week, for the first time in a while, I really enjoyed the show.
There were some things that just didn’t appeal to me but on the whole I loved it and my favourite match of the night was the opener between Kurt Angle and Marty Jannetty. Now, I have never seen Marty Jannetty in action before (The Rockers were before my time as a Wrestling fan) but after Raw this week and then this awesome one on one match against Kurt Angle on Smackdown, I really hope he gets to stick around for a while.
He and Kurt had one hell of a hard fought battle and I have to admit that it’s been a while since I have seen Kurt in a match that I have enjoyed this much. The two were so evenly matched throughout and Jannetty did a great job in countering out of the Ankle Lock a few times before Kurt finally locked it in and he had to tap out. I loved this one from start to finish and I thought that both guys did an amazing job. If this match was anything to go by then Kurt Angle will have one hell of a fight on his hands at Wrestlemania in trying to get Shawn Michaels to tap out. This was a great preview for what’s to come at Wrestlemania and I cannot wait to see HBK finally go one on one with Angle. Their match should be on to remember that’s for sure.
I love seeing Eric Bishoff and Theodore Long in segments together and really enjoyed their interaction at the contract signing between Randy Orton and Undertaker this week. There certainly seems to be some healthy competition between the two GM’s and their respective brands which means only good things for the fans.
I really enjoyed the contract signing, Randy Orton was his usual cocky self and if the reaction of the fans was anything to go by he will certainly be playing the heel going into Wrestlemania in his match against the “Phenom“. It is amazing at just how “over” the Undertaker is with fans especially considering that he hardy utters a word these days but the thunderous ovation he gets every time he enters the Arena just sends goose bumps down my spine. This was an emotional charged segment and I thought it was hilarious to see Orton running scared at the end after saying that he “refuses to be scared” by The Deadman - yeah, sure looked that way. Seeing Orton slap Taker across the face and that seeing all the weird effects that hit the Arena was amazing and really gave you a feel of what’s to come at Wrestlemania. In all honesty, I personally hope that this is one Legend that Randy Orton doesn’t get the better of, not at Wrestlemania anyway.
Undertakers legacy at Wrestlemania, to me, should continue and I would personally hate for Orton to end that winning streak. As much as I like Orton this is one battle in which I will be firmly behind the Undertaker, besides, if Randy can’t get the job done on April 3rd, it might mean that we get to see a feud between Orton and Taker develop after Wrestlemania. I have no problem in Orton beating the Deadman, I just its not at Wrestlemania.
One match that I have absolutely no interest in is the Sumo Match between Big Show and Akebono. Are the WWE telling us that they don’t have enough wrestlers on Smackdown to put on the card at Wrestlemania that they have to pay a Sumo Wrestler (who a lot of people have never even heard of) to take on their giant?. It must be a real kick in the teeth for those Smackdown Superstars who have to sit idly by in the locker room while this one goes down. It’s a bit of a come down for Big Show too considering he was in the title hunt not so long ago and now he is taking part in a gimmick match!. Hopefully, this match (if you can call it that) will be short and sweet because I can‘t see fans staying interest in watching these two giants lumbering around the ring for too long before they get bored.
I enjoyed the match between Booker T and Luther Reigns and it was nice to see Booker’s new wife Sharmell at ringside. The smile on Booker’s face said to all. Unfortunately, the character of Heidenreich, to me, is just getting too weird and I really have lost the plot where he is concerned. I have given up trying to figure out exactly where the Creative Team are trying to go with him. Every time he starts to read a poem I just fast forward. Unfortunately, I think the character has runs his course now and the Creative Team are flogging a dead horse. They need to go back to the drawing board with Heidenreich in my humble opinion.
As always, I loved the Cruiserweight match between Paul London and Billy Kidman and it was good to see Kidman back in action after so long. I thought both guys were amazing in this one, although, as it always seems to be the case with the Cruiserweights, their time was limited on Smackdown which I think is a crying shame.
Chavo Guerrero is really stirring up trouble between his uncle Eddie and Rey Mysterio and I am finding this Storyline very intriguing. Chavo is pushing all the right buttons with the Tag Team Champions and its like he is winding them both up, standing back and waiting for the fall out. I am sure that when the relations between Eddie and Rey become so strained that they take out their frustrations on one another in the ring, that Chavo will be seen in the background smiling!. We had a taster of that this week at the end of the Main even Tag Team match, Rey, even though he was the legal man, took advantage of Eddie’s “work” and took the pin to win the match for his team. Eddie’s face said it all, he was not at all happy at Rey Mysterio stealing the spotlight from him again. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
In all honesty, up until this week, I have not been caught up in all the excitement of the feud between John Cena and JBL leading into their Heavyweight Title Match at Wrestlemania. I admit that I am not a fan of Cena but I do know that he is very popular with a lot of the fans and that‘s what counts. I personally don’t find him that entertaining in matches right now but now that Theodore Long has added the Stipulation that Cena cannot lay a hand on JBL, unless in a match, otherwise he will lose his shot at the title on April 3rd, things just got very interesting.
JBL was hilarious trying to goad Cena into hitting him this week, unfortunately, he obviously didn’t think too hard about his timing. It probably wasn’t that wise by the Champion to get in Cena’s face directly before their match, a match in which once the bell was rung, JBL would become fair game for Cena. With only two more Smackdown’s to go until Wrestlemania you can guarantee that JBL will be trying every trick in the book to antagonise Cena into hitting him. The Champion does not want to face John Cena especially with the title on the line but I have a feeling that while Cena will be able to restrain himself long enough to get his shot at the title and at JBL, by the time that April 3rd rolls around JBL would have gotten under Cena’s skin so much that their match will be a very intense and hard hitting battle. With this new added Stipulation, the feud for the Heavyweight Title between Cena and JBL just kicked up a gear and I am sure that the next two weeks will be very interesting indeed.
For the first time in a while, I cannot wait to see what happens on next weeks Smackdown.
Take Care
Di
