"WWE Friday Night SmackDown" 7-24-09 Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Night of Champions is this Sunday! All of the WWE's Championships will be on the line in two days, but before that SmackDown will have a battle of champions tonight when CM Punk faces Rey Mysterio. Will Chris Jericho give any hints as to who his tag team partner will be tonight?

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #518
Friday, July 24, 2009 @ 8 p.m. ET/7 CT on MyNetworkTV

CHAMP VS. CHAMP
A mere 48 hours before every title is defended at Night of Champions, Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio goes one-on-one with World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk tonight on SmackDown. Which titleholder will prevail in this battle of champions?

[Jin Kazama]

Why didn't Jericho take the count-out win? That's a total "Jericho" move. Made no sense for him to make a serious attempt to get Jeff back in the ring.

[Condiment King]

Admittedly this Smackdown was a bit uneven but Raw and ECW wish they were this good on their best day. To sum up, Smackdown was the best show of the week for like the 10th week in a row or something ridiculous like that.

Jericho/Hardy was excellent. That was the sickest whisper in the wind I've ever seen. I liked the codebreaker to the outside spot though JR saying "Jericho can't win this way" did not make sense, yes. But the match was better for it anyway.

It's a shame that greatness like Jericho/Hardy was followed by a completely cardboard segment from Michelle McCool and Melina. What was Michelle getting ready for? She wasn't in any segment for the rest of the show! And Melina is so, so bad at talking. She might as well be reading a script. She was awful here. God, get some acting lessons, people. Watch some Maryse promos for tips on how to sound natural please. Geez this was bad.

Khali vs Mike Knox was there and Kane-Khali is still a feud I do not care about in the slightest.

Word Up was there.

Natalya vs Eve Torres was fine, mostly because of the greatness of Natalya.

Ziggler vs Finlay was alright.

CM Punk CHALLENGING the WWE Universe was the highlight of the show. Best promo by Punk since joining WWE. Awesome.

Truth vs Haas was pointless but at least Haas got on TV. Man I really wish Benjamin was still on Smackdown so Benjamin & Haas could be a tag team still.

Punk/Mysterio was great, and the ending was fantastic. I loved Punk staying out of the beatdown by Ziggler as well as him running in and giving Jeff the GTS. Punk was at his most obvious heel self tonight. What a great show.

[Hobbes829]

i don't remember how jr said "he can't win this way" but i think it may have been more like he didn't want to have such a great match end on a countout than a statement of fact.

They keep putting star against star. Perhaps they should put stars like punk and rey against mid carders like r-truth and haas so that they can get clean wins but help elevate those talents. When they fight guys like each other it's very rarely going to end

Disliked the dq finish with punk's match but liked the aftermath. Punk as always was awesome on the mic. Even jeff seems to really be upping his game on the mic.

Apparently the reason they are pushing morrison and ziggler so heavily is with the seemingly impending departure of jeff, as well as the absence of the undertaker. They are in need of more stars. Which begs the question, shouldn't they have been doing this the entire time?

Some like myself have criticized vince for the product in recent years (since 2001) because he was the boss, but having read articles by paul e. and cornette, they seem to imply that a lot of the changes have been since steph gained stroke (ie, the more corporate atmosphere as opposed to wrestling backgrounds, and the soap opera and comedy writers) and i'm beginning to think they are on the money.

[hobbyfan]

CM Punk, IMPO, may have just wrapped up Meltzer's "Best on Interviews" award for this year. His "challenge to the WWE Universe" was spot on. We live in a society whose younger generations have been conditioned to accept "bad as good" (i.e. bad behavior) and vice versa, such that they'll turn a blind eye to an idol's (i.e. Jeff Hardy's) personal indiscretions even after they become a matter of public record. Look at the reception that Michael Jackson got for his funeral recently, for example. Despite the turmoil he had the last 15+ years or so, people still turned out in droves to honor his memory. They wanted to remember the good times and the great music he created.

20 years ago, Punk might be hailed as a hero for speaking out, thinking "outside the box". Instead, today, he's portrayed as a blase villain for going against someone beloved and cherished by the masses, such as Hardy. If he went after, say, John Cena or Triple H on Raw? Same story, though neither man has the same kind of baggage that Hardy has.

Punk-Mysterio, of course, was the best match on the show, tainted though it was by the DQ finish. Of course, there was no way either man could lose by pinfall this close to the PPV, leaving their matches to remain open to any possible outcome.

I am stunned that Natalya lost in singles to Eve. I get that Eve got the fall back from last week, but the guys did absolutely nothing. Waste. Of. Time.

Continuity cops should note that Melina was the one who basically sent Michelle to the minors 4 years ago during their last feud, so Michelle is now getting the receipts, with the roles reversed. Silly skit, though, showing the fun side of Melina for once.

Jericho loses to Jeff, then tries recruitiing Kane & Khali---separately, of course---for Sunday. No, those two giants will be meeting each other at Summerslam. That's why Kane is "cowering down" to Khali now. He's biding his time. That's one feud that they're planning ahead for.

The latest word on Jeff is that he's planning on taking a hiatus after Summerslam, which means he may yet sign a new deal. Punk will have Mysterio & Morrison in the pipeline for the title, and if I'm right, he may have to worry about Jericho down the road, too.

When Maria was a blonde, they played up her being a total ditz. She's been a redhead how long? She can't keep a guy, and is so oblivious to the fact that Ziggy cares more about himself than her, and he's using her to further his career. I haven't seen a dizzy redhead since the last time I watched a "I Love Lucy" rerun.

Mike Knox, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Your barber is calling.

[Hobbes829]

I think that people are willing to forgive a lot. The problem with how Hardy is playing this is that he doesn't fell like what he did was a big deal. He's not neccessarily owning up to a mistake which i think is a problem. I think Punk is playing it very well. It's not neccessarily what he is saying so much as how he's saying it. He has a slight hint of condescension in his voice which is spot on.

Again, why would Punk be facing Jericho any time soon? Jericho's a heel and not done with his run. Does everything that extends past a year feel stale to you? Or do you just not like heels?

It's lines like "She can't keep a guy, and is so oblivious to the fact that Ziggy cares more about himself than her" and "continuity cops" that make your writing akward. Either talk about it as a show, the reality or indicate which is which.

[peterg14]

Punk was just gold last night, one thing that bothers me sort of is that he's preaching about being drug free and living a clean lifestyle, but he looks like a scruffy homeless man. I think a suit is in order, or some change of clothes.

Ziggler continues to impress me, if he beats Rey and possibly becomes Jericho's partner, he has a bright future ahead of him. The time in OVW, well FCW, did him well.

And on the other side of the coin, they're seriously going to have to do something to make Morrison connect with the crowd. Admittedly he wasn't on this show, but this might be one of the last Smackdown's with Hardy on it, so they need to get a move on for the crowd to consider him Hardy's heir apperant besides having him randomly do good things one week after beating R-Truth.

[Wade Kruse]

I always thought it was funny that the big straight-edge guy kinda looks like a crackhead.

I love Punk. He rocks, plus I'm straght-edge too so he's like, my representitive in wrestling. I'm ordering the ppv, something I don't do very often anymore, based on how much I'm loving the Punk/Hardy feud.

[hobbyfan]

I think that people are willing to forgive a lot. The problem with how Hardy is playing this is that he doesn't fell like what he did was a big deal. He's not neccessarily owning up to a mistake which i think is a problem. I think Punk is playing it very well. It's not neccessarily what he is saying so much as how he's saying it. He has a slight hint of condescension in his voice which is spot on.

Again, why would Punk be facing Jericho any time soon? Jericho's a heel and not done with his run. Does everything that extends past a year feel stale to you? Or do you just not like heels?

It's lines like "She can't keep a guy, and is so oblivious to the fact that Ziggy cares more about himself than her" and "continuity cops" that make your writing akward. Either talk about it as a show, the reality or indicate which is which.

Jericho was the one who weaseled his way into the championship scramble last year after Legacy ambushed Punk backstage, leaving him unable to defend his title. There's still some unfinished business between them, IMPO, and that will come into play if in fact they team up tonight, which I do believe will happen, although they're saying now that Jericho has claimed his partner is "evil". And if Punk doesn't fit the profile, who does? Kane? They may be teasing to swerve people.

When I use a term like "continuity cops", Hobbes, it means I'm trying to keep with the storyline "reality". Consider that Maria was formerly linked on-air with Santino Marella, and we all know how that ended. This has nothing to do with her off-air love life. Stop being so cynical, chill, and live it up for a change.


Ok, how about the fact that in just three weeks, they decided to acknowledge that "Delicious" (instead of being known as Pretty Ricky) is R-Truth's alter ego? Considering how "Bruno" has nose-dived so quickly, I am more convinced than ever that the gimmick was designed to cash in on "Bruno". "Delicious" is less offensive than anything Sacha Cohen has come up with (and he has three characters that are pretty much the same).

[Hobbes829]

Jericho was the one who weaseled his way into the championship scramble last year after Legacy ambushed Punk backstage, leaving him unable to defend his title. There's still some unfinished business between them, IMPO, and that will come into play if in fact they team up tonight, which I do believe will happen, although they're saying now that Jericho has claimed his partner is "evil". And if Punk doesn't fit the profile, who does? Kane? They may be teasing to swerve people.

When I use a term like "continuity cops", Hobbes, it means I'm trying to keep with the storyline "reality". Consider that Maria was formerly linked on-air with Santino Marella, and we all know how that ended. This has nothing to do with her off-air love life. Stop being so cynical, chill, and live it up for a change.

of course you wouldn't get the point. I understand what you meant by "continuity cop" my point is that you switch between the real world and the fake world of wwe within the same article and it makes your writing seem akward and juvenile.

Smackdown is in need of heels, so i don't see jericho switching any time soon.

[hobbyfan]

Smackdown is in need of heels, so i don't see jericho switching any time soon.

Did I imply a turn? No.

[Hobbes829]

Did I imply a turn? No.

doing a heel vs. heel as anything more than just a match would be counterproductive.

[The Penguin]

Below are my comments for SmackDown, I will remind everyone that spoilers for shows that take place after this one (i.e. Night of Champions) do not belong here. I'm not sure if I will, but I hope to see Night of Champions tomorrow and spoilers for that event do not belong here. Please use the talkback. Thanks.


With this being the last show before Punk-Jeff on Sunday. I wanted to address something that I hadn't gotten around to regarding this feud. The way Scott Armstrong was constantly referred to as "the referee" in the weeks following The Bash seem to confirm the internet posting (sorry no link) that commentators are no longer to refer to referees by their names. There is no way in that whole event that Armstrong would never have been referred to by name.

"I think it's time for your walls to coming crumbling down… thank you Richmond!" Was Jeff Hardy wrapping up a comedy rotine? That's what his closer sounded like.

Jericho later going around trying to find the biggest tag team partner he could find implies that his search is not going well, but perhaps his search on Friday was for Legacy's benefit and not his own.

Michelle McCool's arrogance angers me in a way other than being appreciative of a good heel so high drama or not, I enjoyed Melina stopping by to do the traditional make-up chair spot. "I also do hair."

I'm always up for a John Morrison video and continue to be happy with the attention the only Tough Enough winner left on the roster is getting even if agreement is not 100%.

I was starting to wonder what happened to Mike Knox and then he showed up as Khali and Kane continue to not fight each other. As I said in my Superstars comments, I actually find it intriguing how Kane seems to want no part of The Great Khali.

Cryme Tyme didn't completely hate on Jesse this week, but I think that's just because he upset the Harts. The Freebirds comment was a nice wink.

Ziggler-Finlay was pretty well done as Dolph made good use of bringing Maria to ringside with him. The old Finlay, the pre-Hornswoggle Finlay, would have hit Maria with his shillelagh.

Punk's promo was indeed fantastic. Like Kurt Angle only less goofy or Mr. Backlund only less crazy, the heel who wants you to be better than you are because he is always plays.

Eve beating Natalya certainly is not what one would expect, but these two trios aren't showing any signs of slowing down.

Just like with Evan Bourne vs. Jamie Noble on Thursday, R-Truth was "in action" going into commercial rather than facing Charlie Haas. It just makes it even worse for guys like Charlie when they don't merit more of a mention than a "local competitor" going into their match.

The main event did a great job building SmackDown's top two matches with Ziggler interfering and then Jeff making the safe for Rey-Rey. CM Punk first helping Ziggler with Rey and then hitting Jeff with the GTS says a lot about how far Punk has come since he used the case to beat Jeff at Extreme Rules and even since The Bash when he kicked Scott Armstrong and in doing so, saved his title. "There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Apparently the reason they are pushing morrison and ziggler so heavily is with the seemingly impending departure of jeff, as well as the absence of the undertaker. They are in need of more stars. Which begs the question, shouldn't they have been doing this the entire time

I think often times, rightly or wrongly, WWE allows stars to rise when they are filling a card spot. Voids created by retirements, releases or injuries create opportunities closer to the top. WWE seems to finally realize they are in such a place again and hopefully it will be good for everyone.

[Hobbes829]

during the monday night wars i dont blame wwe. They did their best to push new talent during that time period but wcw would often times make better offers. Now, there's no excuse. WWE should always try to showcase and make new stars.