SmackDown! Shows Its Strengths
Posted by TWV Guest Columnists
on 10/21/2006
Want to get your column on this site? Just click here and follow the instructions. No experience is needed!
Guest Column By Russell Broomhall
What do Judgment Day, The Great American Bash, and No Mercy 2006 all have in common? All three were SmackDown! only Pay Per Views yes, but they were also three Pay Per Views which, for my money, turned out in practice to be a lot better than they looked on paper.
Looking at No Mercy, to start with, when was the last time that the segments in between matches on a SmackDown! Pay Per View were not only funny, but also contributed to the all round enjoyment of the show? Remember the terrible Tim White attempted suicide and Vito dressed as Santa segments at Armageddon, which actually dragged the whole show down? Well, despite the complaints about having to witness William Regal's privates on TV, which WWE has apologized for on its website (it's frustrating that we catch a glimpse of that but not Michelle McCool falling out of her top), the Brit was on top form for his backstage segments all night, especially in his interactions with Vito. He truly is the king of comedy.
The Miz also provided great laughs in his birthday celebration. Originally thrilled to have Diva search 2006 winner Leyla perform a dance on and around him, his joy soon turned to disgust when upon becoming blindfolded, he was set upon by a fat ugly male stripper who looked remarkably similar to the one who gyrated in front of Vince McMahon on a recent edition of RAW. Kept short, this segment served its purpose of entertaining the audience, even if it achieved very little.
Whenever we are 'treated' to bonus unadvertised matches on Pay Per View, very rarely are the paying fans glad that such matches are added. So imagine everyone's surprise when, under orders from Teddy Long, William Regal entered the ring for this match just before the main event. Since he had been interacting with Vito all night backstage, the smart money was that Regal would be facing the dress wearing muscle man in what would no doubt have been a bearable comedy bout at best. So imagine the shock when the strands of 'Whatever' rang out in the arena and the “Canadian Crippler" Chris Benoit made his long awaited return after a five month sabbatical. Yes, that's right:
Chris Benoit is back. Even better, his opponent was William Regal, whom he has had numerous classic battles with in the past. While this match wasn't on the level of their scorcher at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show in May 2000, this was about as good a match as one could expect in the ten minutes or so it was allocated. Super stiff, the Crippler showed that he hasn't missed a beat in his absence and Regal showed how good he is when matched against the right opponent.
The return of the Crippler was the tip of the iceberg on a top notch hour of Pay Per View action. Ken Kennedy and The Undertaker had a very good twenty minute plus match which was only ruined by the horrible finish whereby the Undertaker was disqualified for hitting Kennedy with the US Title right in front of referee Charles Robinson, who had told him seconds earlier that he would be disqualified if he went through with such actions. A candidate for worst finish of the year, this booking was a real shame as it ruined a very good match. That the WWE would have the Undertaker put the useless Great Khali over so convincingly at Judgment Day and not have him do the same for rising star Kennedy (who has been wrestling and defeating major stars since July now) is beyond comprehension. Let's hope that when the two meet again, your winner by pinfall will be Mistah Keeennnnnneeedddyyy. Kennedy.
Say what you want about the truly rancid backdrop to the feud between Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, but their matches so far have been every bit as good as, if not better than, the matches that the two have had against each other in the past. Their Falls Count Anywhere match at No Mercy was no exception. Adhering to the stipulation, Chavo and Rey fought around the arena attempting pinfalls whenever and wherever they got the chance. Although this match was high on brutality, they kept the use of foreign objects to a minimum, which served to distinguish this match from a normal hardcore/no holds barred match and highlighted that the stipulation was actually Falls Count Anywhere. This subtle distinction has often been blurred in matches of this type in the past. Hopefully Rey's victory will end this feud once and for all and eleven months after his death, WWE will stop using references to Eddie Guerrero on TV to further feuds and angles between superstars.
I said earlier that the return of Chris Benoit was the tip of the iceberg of an excellent hour of Pay Per View TV because sadly the main event felt like a bit of a letdown following on from the three bouts that had preceded it. For the second straight SmackDown! Pay Per View, the main event match had to be altered just days before the event. This time the reason wasn't elevated enzymes, but perhaps more simply WWE realized that the Lashley push had come just a little bit too soon. However popular Lashley maybe, he isn't yet ready to be the World Heavyweight Champion of a struggling brand. However, a clean one on one loss to King Booker on Pay Per View could have potential long term ramifications for his credibility as a future World Champion. It is also possible that people were unwilling to pay to see Booker face Lashley one more time when we have seen the two collide what seems like twenty times on TV this year. If and when Lashley does become World Champion, he should defeat an opponent he hasn't already faced several times before.
To ease the matter, WWE inserted Finlay and Batista into the title picture and made the match a Fatal Four Way. The match was solid though a little disjointed at times and I wouldn't say I enjoyed it as much as when a Fatal Four Way last headlined a SmackDown! Pay Per View (Armageddon 2004). The finish reinforced why the match was changed. Booker retained his title when he pinned Finlay after he had been Batista Bombed, but before 'The Animal' could make the cover, he was speared by Lashley, which allowed King Booker to cover the Irishman and claim victory. Not the most satisfying ending to a Pay Per View ever, but one that was the only real option open to ensure that Booker's feuds with Lashley and Batista remain open.
No Mercy was a very good Pay Per View. It was not as good as Unforgiven, although it is somewhat difficult to compare the two as the RAW Pay Per View was afforded two of the best stipulation matches the WWE has (remember the rule though: the less these so called 'gimmick' matches are used, the more meaningful they become when they are used). There were also some downsides to the Pay Per View, noticeably the debut of MVP. Michael Cole was able to explain to everyone at home that MVP was fighting a total no name jobber on a live PPV event because he had outsmarted Teddy Long in his lengthy and boring contract negotiations. This was a poor excuse anyway, but one which maybe followed up on in future editions of SmackDown! However, the live audience in Raleigh, North Carolina (who were fairly quiet during the opening match between two Carolinian's Matt Hardy and Gregory Helms) had no idea why a squash match was being featured on Pay Per View and filled the arena with so many boring chants that even the announcers had to pass reference on it. It was also good to see that judging by his ring attire, MVP was a huge Flash Funk fan back in the day. Also the appearance of KC James & Idol Stevens (but not Michelle McCool) was unwanted. It seems impossible, but WWE's tag team division on both Raw and SmackDown! just keeps getting worse. Had James & Stevens won, they would have become easily the worst Tag Team Champions in WWE history (yes, even worse than Rico & Rikishi). Thankfully, Kendrick & London won; however, it is obvious they have no opponents left to face. Why doesn't WWE do the sensible thing and have the Tag Team Titles exclusive to SmackDown! since they are wasted on the star studded RAW, and send the Spirit Squad over to Friday night to tangle with London & Kendrick.
These few faults aside (and I have yet to see a faultless Pay Per View), No Mercy was a highly enjoyable and entertaining event. Sunday night, I thought the event may be a waste of time and my £15, but by the time I had watched the event on Monday night, no such thoughts were in my head.
Send feedback to
barn16@yahoo.co.uk.
Want to get your column on this site? Just click here and follow the instructions. No experience is needed!
Copyright © 2005; TheWrestlingVoice.com & Douglas Nunnally.
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer & Privacy Statement
