WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 20th March 2009

After an ok episode of Raw it was time to see if Smackdown could deliver with their 500th episode as we now only have a fortnight to wait until the grand daddy of them all.

Good Points

Love Triangle

I’m loving this storyline on Smackdown at the moment it is playing out so well. This week we went back and forth between backstage segments involving Vickie, Edge and Big Show leading to our final segment which saw them all in the ring together. After Edge speared Big Show on the last show this week Edge accidentally speared Vickie after she had called for a truce.

Push for Taker

After being made to look a fool on Raw, Taker was rebuilt with a strong promo on HBK and a victory over JBL. HBK also got a very rare Smackdown outing winning his match against Kane. This match should be one of the undercard fights of the night.

MVP new US Champ

After months of having wasting away with his terrible losing streak angle finally MVP dug himself out of it and won the US Title. Ok the belt may not mean much these days but hopefully it is a sign of better things to come for him.

Bad Points

No Matt Hardy

This week nothing has really been done to push what should be a heated feud and match between Jeff and Matt Hardy. This week Jeff won a throwaway match and Matt was nowhere to be seen.

Triple H reduced to a bit part player

HHH kicked the show off with a great promo which you thought would be a sign of things to come for later in the night but instead they had him compete in the first match against Kozlov and then after that wasn’t seen again.

Overall

Usual Smackdown trying to concentrate too heavily on one storyline which you can get away with for a small PPV but not for Mania. The love triangle may be great but Wrestlemania needs a whole four hours of great matches and storylines.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 20th February 2009

After all the developments from Raw it was now Smackdown’s turn to build their feuds for Mania.

Good Points

Jeff and Matt get ready to get it on at Mania

After a little lull in the Matt screwing Jeff storyline this week Edge was used as the decoy to push the feud. All show had been building the main event between Edge and Jeff after Jeff teased Edge about beating him in three minutes. After a solid main event Matt came down and got the match thrown out after he delivered a Twist of Fate to his brother and left him lying. The way they used Edge in this storyline makes me think he will on his way to Raw in the draft.

HHH shows the Smackdown crew about intensity

His pre-recorded interview with JR only lasted one question and a couple of minutes but HHH showed intensity on a crazy level which made the storyline fee believable. These two could tear the house down at Mania. The thing now is that with the level of intensity HHH has set they now need to maintain it five or six weeks.

Booking for next week

I liked how they started hyping matches for next week’s show on this episode of Smackdown the build also involved some hilarious segments which were filmed at the valentines date with The Miz, Morrison and The Bella Twins.

Bad Points

Kozlov in the Undertaker mix

On Raw both JBL and HBK were touting themselves as opponents for The Undertaker at Mania but this week Vickie said it was going to be Kozlov who gets the nod. All I can say is that I hope isn’t going to be Undertaker vs. Kozlov as rumours have it as Kozlov should be no where near Mania or no where near doing a programme with Undertaker. I think he needs to go to ECW.

Not much wrestling

Like Raw not much wrestling again this week with the only thing decent besides the main event being the US title feud match. To have only four matches in two hours is unacceptable to me as a wrestling fan.

Overall

Unlike Raw this show featured on two storylines and built them well which I found more interesting to watch than Raw’s scattergun approach. The only thing with the whole Orton / Stephanie thing is the fact that HHH is champion has been overlooked.

WWE Raw Review - 16th February 2009

Afer a surprising and eventful No Way Out tonight was time to make sense of it all and see where we were going in the run up to Wrestlemania.

Good Points

Cena speaks

Finally Cena got some in ring mic time now that he isn’t the champion, go figure. Cena and Edge opened up the show with a great war of words which set the wheels in motion for their feud.

Great segment from Roddy

Jericho continued to build his Mania appearance and was then cut off by Piper who gave an emotional promo about the Hall of Famers to which Jericho retaliated by beating him down. WWE still look a bit uncertain on whether Rourke is going to be fighting at Mania but with or without him they are doing a great job of building the heat for Jericho.

Bad Points

Too much talking

It was like the WWE creative team wanted to set up the entire Mania card in one night. The little wrestling they had was poor and most of which had nothing to do with current feuds or build for Mania.

What’s the point of the Draft?

The Draft is next week but already we had Edge, Vickie Guerrero, HHH and Jamie Noble from Smackdown on the Raw show this week and throughout the year we have seen many stars show up on different brands. The Draft use to be major but now that anyone can turn up at any time on any show it has lost it’s appeal.

What was the point

After a heavily billed no holds barred match at No Way Out tonight Shane and Randy had coincidentally healed in order to main event Raw in a non sanctioned fight which set up a feud for Orton and HHH after Steph was on the receiving end of an RKO.

Overall

After the controversial booking of no Way Out WWE followed it up with a Raw that made matches that happened at No Way Out pointless and future shows like The Draft pointless. With the amount of weeks we have before Mania the WWE don’t need to rush what they are doing which they seem to be doing at the moment.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 16th January 2009

I have recently been reading news on ratings success for Smackdown but as of late I have found the show has been some what lacking at times but as always I go in to every show with optimism that it can prove me wrong.

Good Points

Good build for Triple H

The creative team are building Triple H’s feud with Vickie quite well as she keeps setting obstacles that he has to overcome before he gets to the rumble. This week MVP had to fight for him in a last man standing match against the Big Show and if MVP lost Triple H would lose his spot at the Rumble. Expect more hurdles for Trip H to jump over next week.

Jack Swagger on Smackdown

A lot of internet wrestling fans are saying this guy is one to watch. After winning the ECW title this week he followed up with a tag appearance on Smackdown. Was hard to judge him in the match but I look forward to seeing him at the Rumble.

Bad Points

Weak card

I counted only four matches on the show and neither featured a Smackdown champion. On top of this the three main stars HHH, Edge and Jeff Hardy did not compete. If Smackdown wants to compete with raw it has to have the guys wrestling on a regular basis.

Stupid Jeff Hardy storyline

After the hotel and the hit and run this week the show went of air with Jeff Hardy getting caught with some misfiring pyrotechnics during his ring entrance and having to be stretchered to the back. The Jeff storyline is like car crash but in the wrong way. Storylines which try to push that it is real and when it involves the so called suffering or personal problems of someone it always ends up badly.

Overall

A poor show with only one good thing going for it. I don’t know whether the viewers are watching the same programme as me if the ratings are actually going up.

WWE Smackdown Review - 5th December 2008

With Raw picking up since the in ring return of Cena and Orton it’s now time for Edge to pick things up on Smackdown following his in ring return at the last PPV.

Good Points

Huge Main Event

The Big Show / Undertaker feud is really going the distance and following their Casket Match they engaged in a cage match to headline Smackdown. To have such a big match on a weekly TV show is a rarity and really showed that the creative team are trying tp ush the boat out.

Edge and Vickie running the show

Was great to see these two baack as the evil couple ruling Smackdown unfairly. The only problem is with Edge booking himself in to easy matches the fans aren’t seeing the best of him and isn’t developing his worth whilst HHH and Jeff Hardy put in quality matches and develop their feud.

Bad Points

Khali kiss segments

The quicker Khali’s contract expires the better. I think WWE would be better off buying Khali out of his contract because his segments are terrible.

MVP under used

Since getting involved in the Scramble title match a few PPV’s ago MVP’s career has taken a nose dive with loss after loss and not having the VIP lounge segment any more to develop his character. They could use him to do so much more and could be a bigger player on Smackdown given the right push.

Overall

When Edge gets himself more involved in main events and quality matches then Smakcodnw will be hittting them out of the park. Good to see both Raw and Smackdown ending the yeaar on a high.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 12th September 2008

After Unforgiven I was looking forward to how Smackdown were going to fair in comparison to Raw’s offering this week. Who is next for HHH and what’s going to happen between Big Show and Taker.

Good Points

Triple H built strong

Triple H cut a good promo to kick off the show putting himself over as the only champ to walk in and walk out of Unforgiven with his belt. All through the show he had backstage segments with the guys he beat at Unforgiven which also helped to put his competition over which was great to see.

Push for Jeff Hardy

He interrupted Triple H to deliver his strongest mic work yet in a war of words with Jeff Hardy which I was glad centred around things in the ring and now his personal life. Jeff went on to win the Smackdown main event to get a shot at Triple H at the next PPV.

Tag division getting better.

Was great to see a tag match involving the champs even if it was a non title match but even better to see the new Colon family pairing of Carlito and Primo. When the brand split first happened Smackdown was renowned for its tag team wrestling so hopefully they can get back to it.

Bad Points

Crazy booking

First we had a match with Festus and Kenny Dykstra which I think went to a no contest when Jesse and Festus taped him to a board, bubble wrapped him and took him to the back which was just weird. Then we had out of nowhere Kozlov attacking Jeff Hardy after he won the main event. The ending should have been Jeff’s moment and if they were going to do something with Kozlov they should have built it gradually not just all of sudden slingshot him to the top.

No Undertaker

After having Undertaker on the last few Smackdown’s it was a shame to see him not on the show. Big Show and Vickie did their best to put over the feud by delivering a couple of in ring proms but Samckdown needs to keep him on the show every week if it is going to continue to develop.

Overall

A solid episode which did the right thing and focusing on the title feud. All we need now is Undertaker back and some not so crazy booking and the show should be back up to where it was before Unforgiven.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 5th September 2008

With ir being the last Smackdown before Unforgiven and with some exciting storylines happening on Smackdown I was quite interested to see how tonight’s show was going to unfold.

Good Points

Structure

For one the champion HHH kicked off the show with an in ring promo about the main event this Sunday and the show ended with him in the main event. I think this is the first show that HHH has started and ended since he moved to Smackdown. I know HHH doesn’t need a push but your champion should always be the one you put the most time in to. Added to this there were a lot more promos and interviews on the show which was a good thing.

More great work by The Undertaker

Before the show started we saw a video package highlighting The Undertaker / Vickie storyline. Then early on in the show we had another awesome Undertaker promo which although not as good as last weeks was still the best promo of the night.

Good build for the Championship Scramble

We had a great push for The Brian Kendrik as he lead the beating on HHH in the first segment and then secured a big win over Jeff Hardy later in the show. Jeff Hardy although losing to Kendrik got a push of his own as he made the save for HHH early on and then at the end turned on him and left him lying in the ring after his main event and as the cameras stopped rolling.

Bad Points

Match Quality

There were some really good matches on Smackdown this week but the show was let down by the inclusion of a throwaway match that being Ryan Braddock vs. Super Crazy and by having two Diva matches. I’d prefer to see less matches than have these spoil to flow of the show.

Vickie Guerrero

Many people love Vickie but I think her promos need work as she is a great character but on the whole her promos go on far too long. When you’re in a programme with The Undertaker your promos need to be spot on which hers weren’t.

Overall

The bad points were only nit picks so again another great Smackdown, really liking what they are doing at the moment, roll on Unforgiven.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 29th August 2008

With the Undertaking stealing the show last week and with him being more involved with storylines on Smackdown than ever before I was looking forward to see what this weeks offering had in store.

Good Points

Use of The Undertaker

The Undertaker showed again why he is the biggest star on the roster as he stole the show. He kicked the show off delivering an awesome in ring promo telling Vickie that he was coming for her soul and that he wasn’t the forgiving kind. The show then ended with him making his presence felt in Vickie’s office as the show went to a close. They are building the Vickie / Undertaker storyline well as there was a real sense of suspense as Vickie panicked backstage about what was going to happen.

Finally HHH wrestle in a proper match and in the main event

Was great to see HHH headlining Samckdown in a champion vs champion match as he took on Shelton Benjamin. The match wasn’t a squash and served a purpose for Khali to come down after the match to try and beat on HHH.

Big Show serves notice

The Big Show is doing a great job and really getting over with the fans. After being overlooked for the championship scramble match he is now interrupting matches and destroying everyone in them. This week he decided to beat on everyone in the tag title match. What makes these segments are the funny / serious promos he delivers afterwards.

Bad Points

Too many guys on the periphery

Last week we saw the debut of Scotty Goldman who was nowhere to be seen this week, we also saw Mike Knox from ECW get involved with Finlay and again wasn’t on this week’s show. If this wasn’t enough we had two new debutants this week R-Truth and Brie Bella who both picked up impressive victories. The only thing is that I don’t know if I will see them next week.

Overall

Awesome show so many other good points I didn’t have chance to go in to like Kendrik’s backstage promo and the quality of wrestling matches. This could have possibly been the best Smackdown show in recent history, if Smackdown delivered like this every week it would be the number one brand.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 18th July 2008

With only a few days to go to the Great American Bash and with one of the most mouthwatering matches that being HHH vs. Edge coming from the Smackdown roster I was looking forward to see how it was all going to pan out before the PPV.

Good Points

Brilliant Build for Edge and HHH

There wasn’t much of it but the last 15 minutes or so were brilliant. It was like late 90s WWF all over again. Great to see HHH playing the heel everyone loves. It was well executed and left us wondering what was going to happen at Great American Bash.

Continuation of storylines

One thing I like is continuity so I was glad to see Big Show this week get put against four opponents because of what he did to Edge last week. They should be doing more with Big Show but what he is involved in is good.

The Wedding Reception

It gave the show a good theme and kept continuity running through the show to keep fans tuned in to see what was going to happen next. I like it when they do things like this once in a while just as long as it doesn’t become common place.

Bad Points

No Depth

The only quality math of the night was Mr. Kennedy vs. Umaga and that as a halway point match. The main event of Matt vs. Jeff could have been great but it was ruined by pointless interferences. When Smackdown does do some more creative stuff they can’t afford to let the wrestling side down as that is the side of the show that they are renowned for.

More HHH

What we saw of him was great but we need him on TV more. It would have made sense for him to have a title defence early in the show and for Edge’s crew to attack setting up the ending they did.

Overall

Pretty good, besides the last fifteen minutes nothing outstanding. Smackdown aren’t really offering a lot to this PPV.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 11th July 2008

With an interesting main storyline surrounding Edge and Vickie Guerrero I was wondering if the creative team could this week put some interesting storylines around it to make it a fuller show.

Good Points

Another great day at the office for Edge

Edge held Smackdown together again this week with great in ring and backstage segments. They have crafted the storyline brilliantly with Vickie wanting revenge by putting Edge against the Big Show but then feeling remorse after she goes through with it.

New feud for Smackdown

It’s great to see two of Smackdown’s recently acquired stars Kennedy and Umaga starting a feud on the show. Both need something big to push them back near main event so hopefully this can help them back near the main event.

Bad Points

Poor use of HHH

This week HHH had no mic time and was used in a middle of the show match against Chavo. Ok Edge might hav a hot storyline at the moment but that doesn’t mean you sell the champion and established star down to five minutes and no mic time.

No Jeff Hardy

This week Smackdown gave time to Shelton, Hornswoggle, Chavo, Domino, Jesse & festus and Hawkins & Ryder yet there was no Jeff Hardy. Jeff is a crowd favourite and smackdown need him on the show every week.

Kozlov is a waste of time

This week Kozlov got to get another win against Stevie Richards who I had completely forgot was still employed by the WWE after not seeing him for years. Kozlov is a waste of five minuteso f TV time which could be used a lot better.

Overall

Until they put some interesting storylines around the Edge / Vickie Guerrero storyline Smackdown is always going to be lite and weak.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 4th July 2008

Following on from one of the most eventful Raw’s in sometime Smackdown had a lot to live up to this week. How was Edge going to react to losing his title and who would HHH be facing at the next PPV? All these questions needed to be answered.

Good Points

Edge gets a lot of TV time

The fallout from Raw was the main theme of Smackdown. Edge was involved in many segments starting with Vickie Guerrero announcing that he would be next to face HHH at Great American Bash. Then we had Edge beating on Jesse and Festus, followed by him falling out with Hawkins, Ryder and Vickie Guerrero. The show ended with Edge breaking off his upcoming wedding to Vickie.

Push for MVP

Was great to see the show kicking off with VIP Lounge and with MVP interviewing HHH. MVP hasn’t had much to do as of late so would be good to see him around the main event scene.

Bad Points

Poor main event

The four way between Kennedy, Shelton, Chavo and Matt Hardy was a terrible main event for Smackdown considering their new acquired talent. It was that bad that it wasn’t the last segment of the show. The match had no build up and no reason to be happening. The match quality tonight as shocking with Funaki, Hawkins & Ryder and Jesse & Festus all being involved in matches.

Not enough HHH

After the first fifteen minutes HHH might as well of had the night off. If they are serious about turning Smackdown in to a major brand they have to use HHH as much as they can.

Overall

Not a patch on Raw if it hadn’t been for the Edge developments then it would have been the worst Smackdown in history. The Edge development was great but they need to have a couple of good storylines underneath the main to make it a good show.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 6th June 2008

After the Smackdown main event stole the show at One Night Stand it was about time that Smackdown started winning the war of the brands. As Raw is currently experiencing its worst ratings in some time can Smackdown pick up the slack and show thm how it’s done.

Good Points

Lots of non wrestling segments

Finally the Samckdown team have got the balance right between matches and non wrestling segments. The show felt like an entertainment show and not a wrestling show which is what Smackdown needs to be. If they can continue with this balance they are on to a winner.

Two long term storylines put in place

Batista is the new challenger for Edge as after Edge set him what he thought was an impossible task which was to beat The Familia in an eight man tag team match but with Edge and Vickie picking Batista’s partners. Batista and his team of Funaki, Nunzio and Colin Delaney got the win and provided an entertaining main event. On a weekly TV show your job isn’t to put on five star matches but to entertain which I think this match did. The other long term storyline is the planned wedding between Edge and Vickie which got announced at the top of the show, the wedding is going to happen on smackdown.

Women’s division on Smackdown finally gets some direction

After years of just being there for decoration and pointless matches they finally have their own Smackdown only women’s championship entitle the Divas Championship. There is now a good group of female wrestlers on Smackdown and it’s great to see them getting a championship. Natalya won the Golden Dream match to win a place in the first title match, we still wait to see who her opponent will be.

Bad Points

Kozlov

Having Kozlov win squash matches for over two months is not entertaining. They have to do something with him soon and actually integrate him in to a proper storyline.

The Jimmy Kimmel experience

Having a match on Samckdown with on of the cast called Cousin Sal against Raw wrestler Santino Marella made no sense. If they were going to have a match with one of Jimmy’s crew they should have saved it for a filler on a PPV.

Overall

Superb, best Smackdown I have seen in some time. The show was well paced and had lots going on. Smackdown went from being the wrestling show to the entertainment show which it needed to do. Top marks.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 30th May 2008

After an entertaining Raw I was hoping this week Smackdown could provide a bit of entertainment. Normally the episodes of Smackdown that are just before the PPV’s are the most exciting ones so I’m normally not disappointed.

Good Points

Great build up for TLC

The build up for the match between Undertaker and Edge was brilliant. With the show kicking off with a great Edge promo on how it was going to be the last time the fans saw the Undertaker on Smackdown which was followed by a great end segment. The end segment saw the family put Undertaker in a coffin just for the lights to go out and for The Undertaker to appear right next to Edge at the top of the ladder.

Building for the future

Was a good move by the writers to start building for after One Night Stand with Batista stating his intentions of going after the heavyweight title after he beats Michaels on Sunday. His match with Hawkins and Ryder was instantly forgettable but at least it saw Batista getting involved with Vickie Guerrero and some of the family.

Jamie Noble

Was involved in some funny backstage segments with MVP and Vickie Guerrero that guy should be given better storylines.

Bad Points

Too Many matches

Normally on an episode of Raw we get five matches tonight on Smackdown we had seven matches. In a two hour show seven matches is far too many it is better to invest time in a smaller number of guys and give them more out of ring time than having seven matches.

Guys in need of something to do

Now I may not be the biggest fan of Chuck Palumbo but WWE need to give him a decent storyline which involve a PPV match and see what happens if they don’t he is just wasting TV time. Other guys that need better things to do are Finlay, Jamie Noble, Big Show, Chavo Guerrero and MVP who isn’t even on the PPV.

Overall

A nice edition of smackdown which managed to keep me entertained and get in the mood for One Night Stand.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 23rd May 2008

Smackdown

After an ok Raw this week I can’t say I was expecting much from the Smackdown crew. With only two Smackdown’s before One Night Stand though they needed to pull their fingers out.

Good Points

Solid Opening

With the first show after a Pay Per View I always feel that it is best to start with a segment which sets the wheels in motion for the next main event and this was they did. Edge and Vickie Guerrero came to the top of the ramp to announce that Edge would be facing The Undertaker at ONS in a TLC match which is great idea as the World heavyweight title has never been contested for in this manner and Edge has a good history in these matches.

Nice ending

They ended the show well with Chavo going up against the Undertaker. This was seen as punishment for Chavo but the family and his bodyguard came down to the ring to make it an interesting main event which made The Undertaker look strong as he still managed to pick up the win.

Bad Points

Everything in the middle

If something goes right on Smackdown it is usually the beginning and the end but if they want the fans to keep watching until the end they need to sort out the middle. In this day and age and on an entertainment TV station just trying to do a wrestling show doesn’t work you need backstage segments, strong storylines and to give characters time on the mic everything which Smackdown is light on.

Links with ECW

It seems that on the whole Smackdown does more work to link with ECW. The problem is now they are not just bring ECW wrestlers on to the show but thy are now carrying ECW storylines across to ECW. For those fans that don’t watch ECW it just becomes confusing.

Weak storyline of the week award

Goes to Smackdown this week. Teddy Long was a guest on the VIP Lounge and after being berated by MVP Batista came to leap to his defence to set up a match between MVP and batista for later in the show. Now MVP and Batista hav no major history together, Batista and Teddy Long have no real history and Batista is in the midst of a programme with Shawn Michaels. Great logic WWE creative team.

Overall

As expected not really much going on this week. They’ve got the wrestlers to entertain but until they get better writers and a better grip on what the brand should b then Smackdown will always be referred to as throw away TV.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 18th April 2008

It was time for the second TV show in a week from the UK as Smackdown like raw came to us from the O2 Arena in London. After a terrible show last week I wasn’t expecting much from this one.

Good Points

Use of Chris Jericho

Ok he may have been mishandled since his return and he may have been bumped in to a non wrestling role as special guest referee for the HBK / Batista match but he is running with it. He is getting good TV time with his Highlight Reel becoming a semi regular segment of Raw and Smackdown. Twice in the space of one week Jericho was left laying as he has now been on the receiving end of both HBK and Batista’s finishers.

Big win for Hornswoggle

Hornswoggle has to go down as the most successful midget in WWE history. After being pushed in to major storylines the fans have really taken to him and this week he registered a big win against Matt Striker.

Using all the big guys in one match.

As you know I’m not a fan of Khali or Mark Henry but the way in which WWE are using those two and Big Show all in the same segment of Smackdown is good to see as it’s not wasting other precious segments and to his credit Big Show is making his feud with Khali a little bit interesting.

Bad Points

No Edge again

For the third week running Edge didn’t have any in ring action which is crazy. After seeing him perform on a house show this week I know he isn’t injured and with backlash just round the corner he needs to be in the ring. This week his involvement was saved to a crazy ending segment.

No Natalya

After two weeks of involvement for the latest WWE Diva Natalya Neidhart she was nowhere to be seen this week. This seems to be the WWE pattern this year with new guys is to use them for a couple of weeks in throw away segment and then not use them for a few weeks.

Crazy ending segment

With a strong main event booked as Batista vs. Undertaker I was really looking forward to seeing these two guys go at it again. They had a nice little match when at the end all hell broke lose with Edge and his team of cronies interfering in the match to make it a no contest. Undertaker and Batista cleaned house to leave a good ending to Smackdown as Edge and his cronies scampered back up the aisle. Instead thy ruined this moment with Vickie Guerrero coming out to announce that next week ordering a title rematch with the winner facing Edge at Backlash. Ending the show on an announcement leaves the audience flat instead of excited which they should be. Add to this it was the most stupid announcement anyway as we already knew Edge was going to be facing the champ at Backlash.

Overall

Again another week goes by of terrible TV. I think I enjoyed the Smackdown House Show I saw more than this.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 11th April 2008

After delivering in spades last week with a great show I was wondering if Smackdown could keep that momentum going until Backlash. I knew Smackdown had to an off day soon as shows on the whole have been a lot better lately but was hoping this wouldn’t be the one.

Good Points

Batista / HBK feud

Finally the writing team are moving the feud away from them arguing over Ric Flair and no we are moving on to their own reasons to dislike each other. We also finally almost got to a physical confrontation between after Batista ducked out of Sweet Chin Music and HBK slipped out of the Batista Bomb.

Natalya Neidhart

Natalya got her first formal introduction on Smackdown after last week appearing as a mystery Diva. Yes all you long time wrestling fans will know her as daughter of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart a star of the 80s and 90s in the then WWF. Natalya or Nattie as some may know her as gave a great promo and teaming with Victoria has a great feud going with Michelle McCool.

Big Show

Big Show is doing the best he can with a terrible opponent in Khali. As long as they keep their proper wrestling matches o a minimum and concentrate on segments like the opening segment of Smackdown where the Big Show interrupted a Punjabi Peace Offering seremony as delivered a knock out punch to Khali which was a nice way to link in Big Show’s previous feud with Mayweather.

Bad Points

Push for Festus

You know Smackdown has problems when we have Festus in the main event. The WWE are really getting behind a big push for him at the moment. Now I’m all for slingshotting talent and seeing what happens but I don’t agree with this move for Festus who has yet to be involved any big tag feuds with his tag partner Jesse let alone singles feuds. I will give WWE credit though for making him look strong in the main event and I know the WWE likes to push big guys so this probably isn’t the last we have hard of Festus.

Use of Edge

If having Festus in the main event wasn’t bad enough this week the only involvement Edge had in the show was two pre-recorded segments of Edge and Vickie at a hotel getting massages and enjoying a hotel room. If you are only going to use Edge in pre-recorded segments you need to build it in to many segments as an on going them for the night.

Vladimir Kozlov

It’s the second week of Vladimir’s push on Smackdown an I am already bored, beating no name wrestlers in squash matches may have worked in the 80s but it has no place in the modern era. With no mic time o out of ring segments how are we suppose to get on board with this storyline.

Overall

A waste of two hours of television. From top to the bottom there was little of interest and the good points I talked about earlier were only good points in comparison to the terrible nature of the show. The creative team need to buck their ideas up if they are going to get the viewing ratings up.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 28th March 2008

Smackdown was the WWE’s last chance to push Wrestlemania to try and get a few more buys for the PPV this Sunday. So I went in expecting the best Smackdown we had seen in some time. I knew that all the major develops would have happened on Raw this week if they were going to happen but I still thought they would pull out all the stops to continue the Wrestlemania buzz.

Good Points

Wrestlemania theme

To get people excited for Wrestlemania a lot of the matches tonight had a Wrestlemania theme with an over the top rope elimination match between some of the competitors who are taking part in the Battle Royal this weekend, an inter-promotional match for Batista and having the Money in the Bank briefcase above the ring for matches featuring wrestlers who were going to star in that match.

Some solid matches

It was up to the stars of ‘Money in the Bank’ to provide the wrestling quality this week for Smackdown as the matches which featured CM Punk vs. John Morrison and Chris Jericho vs. MVP being the highlights of the show.

Undertaker funeral segment

The end segment of Smackdown was a great classic old school Undertaker moment as Edge held a mock funeral for Undertaker’s streak at Wrestlemania which he thinks he is going to end this weekend only for the Undertaker to pop out of the coffin and attack Edge and his clan forcing Vickie Guerrero to expos herself as a fraud by getting up off her wheelchair and making a run for it as the Undertaker cleaned house.

Bad Points

Not enough Raw stars

In the week running up to a PPV where there is a joint brand show and inter-promotional matches happening it is important that Raw stars are on Smackdown and that Smackdown stars are on Raw. The show needed Umaga, Big Show, Floyd Mayweather and others to best develop the buzz before Mania.

Too much wrestling

Regardless of whether the WWE want Smackdown to be the wrestling show or not in the last Smackdown before Mania wrestling isn’t important it’s building the feuds and the hype for Wrestlemania which they didn’t do and if it hadn’t been for their Wrestlmania theme there would have been no build. The best way to develop feuds on TV is through mic time and backstage segments.

Jesse and Festus – Why, why, why?

Again back on Smackdown taking up time when they have no major role in Wrestlemania. The character of Festus has no place in the modern era and unlike the character of Eugene the man playing this character can’t pull this type of character off. If you are to use characters like this you have to use them on Raw as the style of show is more suitable for it.

Another poor Divas segment

It’s turning in to a weekly occurrence on Smackown that you can guarantee there will be some stupid pointless and inappropriate moments with the Divas. This week it was a wet and wild match which was cringeworthy at best and featured Divas who haven’t really got a part to play in Wrestlemania.

Overall

The last episode of Raw and Smackdown have if anything quelled my excitement for Wrestlemania and am now wishing it happened last weekend. Instead of getting us hyped and using the last two shows correctly they have just been treading water.