So, I decided to wait until Smackdown to write my column for this week, and I got a bit to talk about from both shows. Doesn’t it seem like Raw is getting way too much talent, while Smackdown is just losing more and more each week? Take a look at Raw’s acquired talent: Carlito (the new IC champion), Kurt Angle and John Cena. Two top names, and one up-and-comer. I don’t even want to begin getting into how well Carlito will do if and when he turns babyface, because I think he’ll be big. But, save that for when he’s got a shot at main-eventing. Now, let’s take a look at what Smackdown got: Chris Benoit, Muhammed Hassan (Daivari attached to the deal, I guess, although that is quite unfair) and Randy Orton. Benoit is obviously the best trade for now (since Orton is still not cleared to wrestle), but Benoit was pushed down hard on Raw. What makes you think it’ll be different on Smackdown? I say he’s getting a good little push now, but it won’t last. He’ll be back in the tag team title picture, more than likely.
The other two trades are a bit odd, to say the least. Randy Orton? Why? Is he cleared to wrestle for The Great American Bash? If not, then they should have waited. Even then, it’s still a little bit of a wasted trade. They need fresh talent now, not 2 to 3 months from now. This could just as easily been one of those unexplained things, where he goes to Smackdown for whatever reason. WWE is good at making things happen with minimal reasoning. I mean, wouldn’t you like to know what in the hell really happened to Katie Vick? Admit it, deep down you do. And Muhammed Hassan? What exactly is the deal here? He was doing well on Raw, and he probably would have done just as well. Heck, I saw a World Title match in his future. But, his biggest problem? He LOST on Monday night to John Cena. That killed his undefeated streak, and killed his credibility. Now, he’s just like everyone else with something to complain about, except every other whiner on WWE Raw or Smackdown doesn’t get greeted with “USA” chants everytime they try to talk. Too bad, since that would have came in handy when they moved to the USA Network, and Lawler decides to make a joke. “Yes, we are back on the USA Network!! JR, that must be why they’re chanting USA!”. That is if puppies in a shiny outfit don’t walk by to distract him (sorry King, just a little joke).
Over to Raw, you have the cream of the crop. Batista, Cena, Triple H, Edge (we’ll get to you in a minute, Mr. Punk’d), Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Kurt Angle, Carlito, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair. That’s off the top of my head. There may be one or two other names. Smackdown… umm… JBL… Chris Benoit… The Undertaker… Eddie Guerrero… umm… JBL! No wait, I said him already. See? I know there are recognizable names, but these guys aren’t major stars. And, the Mexicools? Different. Anything to see Psichosis’s mug on TV every week, I suppose.
My point is that Smackdown is heading into troubling waters this fall. Now, most people don’t give two craps about TV ratings, just as long as there favorite shows are on. When they’re gone, they immediately want to know why, and 99% of the time, the ratings just aren’t good enough. Take a look at Star Trek: Enterprise. The show was moved to Friday nights, and UPN hoped the show would attract an audience, or at least the core audience that watched it on Wednesdays. It didn’t happen, and Enterprise ended this season after four seasons, the last of those seasons being on Friday night, in a “Death Timeslot”. What makes anyone think Smackdown will do better? The core audience won’t even be home on Friday night, especially not to watch wrestling. UPN obviously wants to kill the show, but I didn’t think WWE wanted to, as well. Maybe there’s a bigger picture that we’re not seeing here, and I truly hope so, because even as bad as Smackdown gets, it’s still fun to watch. How else will we get our fix of Michael Cole and Tazz? In all honesty, I hope Smackdown goes to The USA Network, and I hope after that, Vince decides to air Smackdown live on Thursdays. Live is what Smackdown needs, we all know that. I honestly don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet. I can only assume UPN didn’t want to deal with any content that would unleash the hounds of hell (aka The FCC) on their ass, so they wanted the time to edit out anything mildly offensive. Just my thoughts, just my opinions.
Just Wipe Your Feet on the Matt: Come on now. Was that really necessary? I see things from both sides, and I know there are a LOT of people sick of hearing about Matt Hardy. I myself sympathize with the poor guy, and I think a lot of people do. It’s a real life situation that we all can relate to, and I think that’s a big reason why he’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s the story of the underdog. But, people are just plain sick of hearing about him, and I can’t blame them really. But, don’t hate Matt Hardy now. You must hate WWE, too. They’re pushing it harder now, and only to put the boots to Matt Hardy and his fans.
I know we all think there’s the possibility that Matt will go back to WWE, and kick the living hell out of Edge in the coming weeks, but there’s just as many people who think it’s WWE and it’s Vince McMahon sticking it hard to Matt Hardy and to his fans, new and old. I say new and old because, let’s be realistic here. If he had these many fans before, Matt Hardy would never have been released from WWE. The bandwagon is getting bigger and more crowded, but like I said, people can relate to Matt right now, and they want him to overcome all these obstacles.
As far as I am concerned, yes, the little prank was clever. Even though I feel bad for the Matt fans who have no idea where he is, and why he wasn’t there on Monday night when his music played. See, I want to believe that Matt is back with WWE, and will be back on the show after a few other teases about him (even though it doesn’t go along at all with the continuity of the show, concerning Kane). But, WWE did the same thing three years ago (exactly three, actually) when Stone Cold Steve Austin walked out on them. Remember when they told everyone he was gone, then in the middle of the show, his music hit and the crowd went nuts? Then “Latino Heat” kicked in, and out came the hateable Eddie Guerrero (sporting a mullet back then). I like Eddie now, but boy, I hated him back then. Anyway, the WWE did that to get one last dig in to Austin, and I fear it’s the same thing with Matt. Matt has a long, difficult road ahead of him if he doesn’t go back to WWE, because with NWA looking more and more unstable every day (TNA Impact on their website? Not a good sign at all.), it would mean a much less prominent part of professional wrestling. But, if he’d rather wrestle as himself than just be a big star on WWE on television, then I guess he’ll do okay. We’ll see where this all goes in the coming weeks, I guess.
Surely Not a Weak Week - I’m starting to get a bit nervous about the week ahead of me. Ahead of us. All of us. We have WWE Vengeance on Sunday, then the final week of the draft lottery on Raw and Smackdown, and we all know it’s not going to go out with a fizzle. They’ll probably be big shows, and I fear we’re going to lose someone like Batista to Smackdown. Personally, I want the WWE champion (Cena, Jericho or Christian) to go back to Smackdown, but I don’t see Cena getting traded back (if he wins Sunday), nor do I see both Batista and Cena on the same show, whether or not they’re both champions by the end of Sunday.
That basically brings us to the Hell in a Cell. I truly fear that “The End” of Batista and Triple H will result in Hunter winning on Sunday night, and I don’t want that. No one really does. I will be the first to tell any of you that Triple H is one of my favorite guys on the show. Backstage… that’s something I don’t know much of, except for all the rumors we know about. I hear the complaints about Triple H, and I have them occasionally, but these are still people none of us know personally, and we especially don’t know much about what goes on behind the scenes, so I don’t necessarily have the right to hate him for having too much creative control.
That doesn’t mean I can’t hate him for beating Batista this Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed.
That’s Not Nice! Don’t Beat a Meanie! - By now, we know about the incident between JBL and the Blue Meanie. And, I do have a stance on this that I’ll gladly take: Vince needs to punish JBL. Why does JBL constantly get away with stuff like this? Keep in mind I’m not at all commenting on the rumor that JBL is pretty close to Vince, likely for his own personal gain. Again, don’t know that. But, I do know that he gave a few hard punches to Blue Meanie, and I saw it with my own eyes. Did Meanie start it? No one is really saying that he did, but these are ECW guys. They’re going to defend their own, and insult the enemy, obviously. But, we don’t have any WWE guys stepping forward. They were in the ring too. Doesn’t anyone have the real story? I guess not, but we’ll see more about this as it progresses.
Well, I got nothing else to say for now. The heat can do that to a person, you know. I know I’ve said it the last few times, but that second ever Fan Participation column is coming up soon. I’ll be waiting until after the draft for that. Check back next week for my final thoughts on the draft, and a look to the future for the WWE. This draft is seriously shaking things up for both shows, but it’s not all good, obviously. Smackdown needs something big. Here’s hoping one person can do it, and hope it’s not Batista (even though that’s probably the only person capable of it). See you later on The X-Factor. Buh-bye.
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