Details On Hardy's TNA Contract
Jeff Hardy actually signed a contract with TNA over a week ago. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but TNA officials are asking for roughly...
Greetings WWE universe. First of all, I do apologize about the long delay between columns. A combination of Halloween parties, hectic work schedule, and computer problems left me with too little time to craft an article about Smackdown or ECW this week. In this article I will give a brief overview of how I felt about them and then dive headfirst into my review of Raw.
ECW last week was good overall, but I'm really starting to feel the strain of trying to get all of that talent into a single hour of programming. In short, the Abraham Washington show was pretty good, and Tiffany was as gorgeous as ever. Regal's tantrum was enjoyable, he gave himself fully over to the emotion. Shelton Benjamin vs. Sheamus was good, but I was surprised by the decision to give the nod to Sheamus. The booking team doesn't seem to like Shelton lately. Between coming off the short end of feuds with Sheamus, Zach Ryder, and Yoshi Tatsu, I wonder if the WWE is trying to demote the young man to a lower status. I hope not, I still believe in main event aspirations for the Gold Standard.
The main event was outstanding and I loved watching these two go at it. Christian is looking more and more like ECW's Christ Jericho. Every single person he works with looks even better afterwards. Excellent mat work and the beatdown at the end was a bit predictable but nice. I can't wait to see what Regal does next week to get his title shot. Finally, I enjoyed the new voice of ECW, Byron Sexton. I think he and Josh had good chemistry and though I do wish JR will feel better soon, I think the announcer situation is in safe hands.
Smackdown was good, but not great. It had some great points, and a few low ones. First off, I love seeing Todd Grisham and Matt Striker together again. There was a time when they called ECW together and won the Slammy for doing so. Both of them are great at what they do and they feed off of each other so well.
Instead of going through the whole show segment by segment, I will just hit the highlights for you guys. If I miss something, it probably didn't impress or disgust me. First off, I've always liked John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler, and Friday night was just another good example. Dolph getting the count-out win might be our first signs of a title change. I'm perfectly happy with this title on either man, so I'm all for a continued feud.
Also, I will mention very briefly Beth Phoenix's smash win. I haven't seen a dominant and fantastic looking Diva in years. This match just looked brutal. Kudos to both of them. The Batista and Rey scenario was very well done. I loved the usage of Eddie Guerrero in the promo, it was just enough without being offensive. I have gone on record saying that I don't like Batista, but man, I'm getting into it. I can't wait to see this thing come to a head. Also, holy crap. The beating Drew McIntyre gave Finley was brutal.
The halloween contest . . . just no. I love Cryme Time. Layla danced well . . . but other than that I wanted to gouge my eyes out. The lowest point of the whole night, and maybe the last month of WWE programming, was Mickie James doing ultra slow-mo kung fu while dressed as Elektra. As a comic fan in addition to being a wrestling fan . . . just don't.
The main event was ok, but the ending kind of dropped off. The miscue with the top rope Codebreaker wasn't as bad as I feared, but it wasn't great either.
On to Raw. I'll try to keep it brief, due to my covering three shows at once.
First of all, I'm a big Ozzy fan and thought he looked great in the ring. Sharon seemed to be having a lot of fun out there as well and soon the prince and princess of darkness were joined by a group of our superstars. First Miz, then Legacy, then Big Show, and finally DX come out to plead their cases. We get a round of matches made for the night and our first commercial of the evening.
The first match of the night is a matchup that I definitely approve of. The Miz and Evan Bourne put a lot of effort into this match and it ends with the Miz picking up the win. Does this mean his loss last week is erased? I lost track of that.
Next is Sheamus vs. Jamie Noble in one of the more brutal beatings I have seen in recent WWE programming. The powerbomb that Sheamus performed outside the ring just looked ugly. I assume, due to the fact that no one has said anything on the newsboards, that Jamie Noble is ok. However, at the time I just assumed he was legitimately hurt. That was intense.
Right before the Kofi/Orton showdown we get a brief promo by Kofi. Again, the man stepped up and showed how he could be a main eventer. The match itself was really good until Legacy came out to interfere. However, the Osbourns adapted and the match became a six-man tag with the addition of Mark Henry and MVP. This match was well fought and I enjoyed it, especially the ending. I love the crowd reaction to Mark Henry getting the win. He reall has come a long way since his first WWE run. He has definitely worked for it and deserves it so much.
The America's got Talent spoof was funny enough, but the best part was Chris Masters. That was the best reaction I have heard him get . . . ever. Do I smell a new gimmick?
The diva's battle royale was forgettable. Gail Kim was the first out (which is ridiculous in a match with both Bella twins), and we only had a single heel Diva in the match . . . and she won? Don't get me wrong, Alicia Fox is probably the most improved Diva of the year, but we need some more heel Diva's on Raw. Can Maryse please come back from injury and grab this division by the throat again?
The main event of the night was just chaos. There, I said it. The best thing I have to say about this match is that Jericho got the win. Raw ended with the tag champs standing over the three biggest faces on Raw. It was a bit of a let down from the strong start of the show, but didn't actively make me upset. Oh well.
Overall I think Smackdown had the best show this week, though Raw did better than they have been. I enjoyed seeing Ozzy and Sharon. Also the young crowd, led by Kofi, is making Raw look very interesting lately. Will it get better next week? Who knows? I'll see you later on with an ECW review and remember all of my germ-incubators . . .
