"WWE Friday Night SmackDown" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

A new WWE Champion was crowned at Survivor Series (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=220421), but not one anyone expected. With Jeff Hardy not cleared for action after being attacked in his hotel, General Manager Vickie Guerrero booked her thought to be estranged husband Edge in the match and after showing up part-way through the contest, and taking advantage of a chair-whieding Jeff Hardy, re-earned his "ultimate opportunist" nickname to take the win and the Championship. Tune in tonight for all the Survivor Series and Thanksgiving leftovers.


http://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/wwe.jpghttp://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/smackdown.jpgWWE Friday Night SmackDown #485
Friday, November 28, 2008 @ 8 p.m. ET/7 CT on MyNetworkTV

CELEBRATING SUCCESS
The new WWE Champion Edge will be on SmackDown for the first time since his surprise return at Survivor Series. What will the Rated-R Superstar have to say about where he has been and what his plans are now that he is back on top?


Our own hobbyfan was in attendance at the taping, he "reported" about the show here (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=220572). There may be some at least minor spoilers so read at your own risk before the show.

[hobbyfan]

It's funny. The Bellas & Michelle all were dressed in green (or so it looked live), and yet seeing it on my TV, those green outfits are now blue (Smackdown color). In the immortal words of Greg "Hurricane" Helms, whassupwitdat?

[The Penguin]

It was mentioned in hobbyfan’s thread and it took me a while on Tuesday watching ECW to fully catch that the ref shirts had gone back to the black and white for all. I really did like the brand feel of the different ref shirts, I think that with the way the referees have been shifted around the last several months they decided it would be simpler to make them all “WWE referees” rather than separate RAW, SmackDown and ECW referees. I know I always found it a bit jarring to see a ref from RAW in an ECW or SmackDown shirt.

I’m excited to finally see Hurriance Helms return next week. I’ve been waiting far too long for this. I want to see for myself what this Gregory Helms-The Hurricane hybrid is like.

The opening segment was like Edge never left and I don’t consider that a good thing. Other than the beard, this doesn’t appear as though it will be any different.

I despise “Beat the Clock” when it is focused on only one of the guys in the ring, It’s extremely disrespectful to the other Superstar when the theme of the match is “Superstar #1, beat the other guy faster than your other contenders beat their guy.” The only way these work for me is when the challenge is between the two competitors, with the winner setting the pace, not just preventing Superstar #1 from “placing.” Brian Kendrick, Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin all deserve better than being roadblocks.

That didn’t stop Jeff-Kendrick from being fun to watch. I couldn’t help but notice that by the end Hardy’s face paint had worn off to an extent that it looked like he had “interacted” with a Smurf rather than wrestled a 12-minute match.

There was intensity all over the Divas tag match and aftermath. I was a bit shocked to see Maryse go for it like she did. The French Canadian hottie wasn’t messing around tonight! Michelle also got pretty intense when she seemed to be blaming the Bellas for the loss and then shoved Maria down. Ms. McCool may have had enough.

I loved how Kozlov’s eyes got so big when Scott Armstrong pointed out the ticking clock on the TitanTron. :p Matt trying to help his little brother added an interesting dynamic to this match as the ECW Champ was more than happy to not even win the match, just make sure that Kozlov didn’t do it within the time.

Morrison & Miz’s attempt to go back to the well didn’t serve them well in their action match result and they had a little bit too much fun at the end with Festus. You can’t mess around with a guy that big and be careless.

Well, Kennedy interviewing Triple H was better than that painful segment from RAW. Is the guy still injured or did someone decide this was a good way to promote the DVD?

I always get so nervous when WWE is using a clock after WrestleMania 2000’s Hardcore Battle Royal and the Judgment Day 2000 Rock-Triple H Iron Man match both of which had questionable results becaue of poor timing with the ticking clock, but it seems that this worked out exactly right. Mike Chioda’s hand slapped three the same second the buzzer went off. Edge doesn’t look like he’s going to have this any easier than Triple H had the last several months.


It's funny. The Bellas & Michelle all were dressed in green (or so it looked live), and yet seeing it on my TV, those green outfits are now blue (Smackdown color). In the immortal words of Greg "Hurricane" Helms, whassupwitdat?I'm sure it just has something do with lighting in the arena or at home or the TV color. They looked like they were blue to me as well.

[hobbyfan]

The opening segment was like Edge never left and I don’t consider that a good thing. Other than the beard, this doesn’t appear as though it will be any different.

It's like Hayes and his cast of morons hit the reset button and decided Edge would be the #1 guy on Smackdown again. All that means is that either Hunter or Jeff will take him down at Wrestlemania, and after this, Edge should never be near a title match for not one, but 2 years.


I despise “Beat the Clock” when it is focused on only one of the guys in the ring, It’s extremely disrespectful to the other Superstar when the theme of the match is “Superstar #1, beat the other guy faster than your other contenders beat their guy.” The only way these work for me is when the challenge is between the two competitors, with the winner setting the pace, not just preventing Superstar #1 from “placing.” Brian Kendrick, Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin all deserve better than being roadblocks.

That didn’t stop Jeff-Kendrick from being fun to watch. I couldn’t help but notice that by the end Hardy’s face paint had worn off to an extent that it looked like he had “interacted” with a Smurf rather than wrestled a 12-minute match.

If there was actually any real thought given to booking these matches, then I'd say, yeah, let's open it up and see if we can't shake things up. Kendrick, though, seeing it live, looked like he might've needed a cold shower to wake him up. He acted like he was in a daze when playing to the crowd with his goofy dancing. Somehow, I can't picture Jeff Hardy with Smurfette. Can someone check and see if the paint fumes have affected his brain cells again?;) :p


Morrison & Miz’s attempt to go back to the well didn’t serve them well in their action match result and they had a little bit too much fun at the end with Festus. You can’t mess around with a guy that big and be careless.

Maybe next time, Uncreative will do the right thing and have Team Dirt Sheet actually do the J-O-B?


Well, Kennedy interviewing Triple H was better than that painful segment from RAW. Is the guy still injured or did someone decide this was a good way to promote the DVD?

He's not entirely 100%, but it's a good idea to 1) get him back on TV and 2) pimp the movie at the same time.

[The Penguin]

He's not entirely 100%, but it's a good idea to 1) get him back on TV and 2) pimp the movie at the same time.But they're executing both so badly!! Is this really the best they can do?! Much more of this and it will affect my feelings on Kennedy.

[Wonderwall]

I like how they no sold a man going to hell and back, thought that was kinda funny. SD! was alright last night, didn't really seem all that special. It started out great with the Trips/Hardy/ Kozlov confronting Edge. That's when the show peaked unfortunately.

[Hobbes829]

Hobbyfan, what is it with you that you seem to heels aren't actually deserving of a title. It isn't real. Edge and Hardy at WM25 is a money match up. Edge is the perfect man to pass the torch to hardy. If i were booking i would also build up mvp to be the man that hardy drops the title to once his reign is over. The beat the clock made sense as time limits make for good drama and it got kozlov out of the picture without burying him. I think he has talent, but he's not ready yet. he either needs to learn to talk or get a manager.

Also, what's your deal with miz and morrisson not doing jobs. I can almost guarentee that it isn't due to politics as i'm pretty sure that they don't have the political clout to refuse.

[hobbyfan]

Hobbyfan, what is it with you that you seem to heels aren't actually deserving of a title. It isn't real. Edge and Hardy at WM25 is a money match up. Edge is the perfect man to pass the torch to hardy. If i were booking i would also build up mvp to be the man that hardy drops the title to once his reign is over. The beat the clock made sense as time limits make for good drama and it got kozlov out of the picture without burying him. I think he has talent, but he's not ready yet. he either needs to learn to talk or get a manager.

Also, what's your deal with miz and morrisson not doing jobs. I can almost guarentee that it isn't due to politics as i'm pretty sure that they don't have the political clout to refuse.

1. Edge is stale as a main event heel. Why the creative team can't see a need to reverse field and void the result of the match, I don't know. If Vicki puts Edge in at the start of the match to replace Hardy, then there's no discussion about the end result. I point to Jericho winning at Unforgiven as a very recent example of how this should've been done right. With all the hype surrounding John Cena in the Raw team main event, Edge sneaks in to try to steal some thunder. Vince and the creative team blew it big time this time.

2. Mizizzle is the one I have a problem with. Let's consider the following:

A. John Morrison, nee Hennegan, went through the Tough Enough program a full 2 years before Mike Mizanin did. In fact, Morrison got the full treatment, IIRC. Miz went through the Smackdown-centric Million Dollar TE (Sept.-Dec. 2004), and finished 2nd as opposed to Morrison winning (w/Matt Cappotelli) in January '03. Miz has celebrity status, as he came over from MTV (Real World and its sister shows). We all know Vince likes to give the celebs the rub over "regular" wrestlers. (see K-Fed over John Cena, January '07; ironically, Morrison, then known as Johnny Nitro, aided K-Fed that night) Never mind that Miz has spent the last 4 years perfecting himself as a wrestler to try to reinvent himself. He still has the Empty-V rep to fall back on. His chick magnet gimmick? Fuhgeddaboutit!!!! He'd have to pay somebody to act attracted to him with that Mohawk 'do. He & Santino Marella should see a barber and decide if they really want those 'hawks, IMPO.;) :p

At least Miz has gotten over the insults JBL threw his way about that "Red Rooster starter set"......!

[Hobbes829]

The miz is a better all around performer. i believe he went to a wrestling school before he went on tough enough. secondly, john morrisson is trying too hard to be a gimmick. The miz plays a great annoying fratboy because he probably is that guy in real life. I'm sure that the miz gets chicks, and that's what gets heat because people don't like annoying fratboys that get girls.

[The Penguin]

A. John Morrison, nee Hennegan, went through the Tough Enough program a full 2 years before Mike Mizanin did. In fact, Morrison got the full treatment, IIRC. Miz went through the Smackdown-centric Million Dollar TE (Sept.-Dec. 2004), and finished 2nd as opposed to Morrison winning (w/Matt Cappotelli) in January '03. Miz has celebrity status, as he came over from MTV (Real World and its sister shows). We all know Vince likes to give the celebs the rub over "regular" wrestlers. (see K-Fed over John Cena, January '07; ironically, Morrison, then known as Johnny Nitro, aided K-Fed that night) Never mind that Miz has spent the last 4 years perfecting himself as a wrestler to try to reinvent himself. He still has the Empty-V rep to fall back on. His chick magnet gimmick? Fuhgeddaboutit!!!! He'd have to pay somebody to act attracted to him with that Mohawk 'do. He & Santino Marella should see a barber and decide if they really want those 'hawks, IMPO.;) :p WWE has used Miz's MTV status barely if at all since he debuted as a regular part of the roster. Comparing him winning a match to K-Fed or some other celebrity cameo is insulting to him and has no basis in actual fact. It's your interpretation and it is a poor one.

[hobbyfan]

The miz is a better all around performer. i believe he went to a wrestling school before he went on tough enough. secondly, john morrisson is trying too hard to be a gimmick. The miz plays a great annoying fratboy because he probably is that guy in real life. I'm sure that the miz gets chicks, and that's what gets heat because people don't like annoying fratboys that get girls.

Morrison, trying too hard? I beg to differ. He comes across rather naturally on the mic. Miz is a fanboy, not fratboy. What fraternity would want him? Delta Phi Camera?;) :p

[Hobbes829]

are we watching the same program? he's trying to hard to be jim morrison instead of himself with the volume turned up. The miz is who he really is with the volume up. John is nowhere near being natural on the mic.

[hobbyfan]

are we watching the same program? he's trying to hard to be jim morrison instead of himself with the volume turned up. The miz is who he really is with the volume up. John is nowhere near being natural on the mic.

Yeah, we be watching the same program. Our opinions just don't match. I get the whole Morrison gimmick, being a Doors fan myself, and I think it works just fine.

[Hobbes829]

Jake the snake roberts has a review of smackdown on his myspace page up. Really interesting stuff. I agree with a lot of it, except i don't think he quite understood the beat the clock concept. I also don't completely agree with his vicki guerrero assessment. I do like edge and vicki as a couple, but do think that "edge is the love of my life" is cheap heat. I think that they should play it like, eddie was the love of my life but i have to move on. Of course, she moves on by being with a d-bag like edge which would be heat. Anyone not blind or deaf can tell that eddie was the love of her life, and there was not replacing that. If you're attempting reality based story lines, then you should acknowledge that fact. Hell, just the mere fact that she's kept eddie's last name is proof of that, even in the story line she's vicki guerrero.

I like beat the clock challenges as i like anything with a time limit, it just adds to the drama. Unfortunately, other than matt, shelton and kendrick had no clear motivation to run out the clock instead of just going for the win.

Getting Kozlov out fo the main event spot is the right move. He's too green.

[hobbyfan]

Jake the snake roberts has a review of smackdown on his myspace page up. Really interesting stuff. I agree with a lot of it, except i don't think he quite understood the beat the clock concept. I also don't completely agree with his vicki guerrero assessment. I do like edge and vicki as a couple, but do think that "edge is the love of my life" is cheap heat. I think that they should play it like, eddie was the love of my life but i have to move on. Of course, she moves on by being with a d-bag like edge which would be heat. Anyone not blind or deaf can tell that eddie was the love of her life, and there was not replacing that. If you're attempting reality based story lines, then you should acknowledge that fact. Hell, just the mere fact that she's kept eddie's last name is proof of that, even in the story line she's vicki guerrero.

I like beat the clock challenges as i like anything with a time limit, it just adds to the drama. Unfortunately, other than matt, shelton and kendrick had no clear motivation to run out the clock instead of just going for the win.

Getting Kozlov out fo the main event spot is the right move. He's too green.

1. Vince has taken enough heat for exploiting Eddie Guerrero's passing 3 years ago (see: Rey Mysterio, 2006). He's afraid of getting more if he allows your idea to be used. A better idea would be for Edge to be revealed as a selfish puppet master who used Vicki to get what he wants.

2. As I proposed elsewhere in this thread, it would've made more sense to open it up, and that would "motivate" Benjamin and especially Kendrick. What if Kendrick scored the upset? What if Benjamin, who has beaten HHH decisively in the past, did it again? What if the creative team actually thought this through?;) :p

3. Based on what I saw at the taping, Kozlov may actually get a consolation prize out of this:

Kozlov attacks Matt on the next Smackdown, setting up a probable program for the ECW title

[Hobbes829]

The fact that vicki has already said that "edge is the love of her life" on screen, would contradict your point that vince is afraid of getting more heat.

[hobbyfan]

The fact that vicki has already said that "edge is the love of her life" on screen, would contradict your point that vince is afraid of getting more heat.

But that, as you yourself said, is cheap heat. Besides, considering how often she's used the line, it's part of the reason her & Edge are stale as a gimmicked couple.