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...
Hello and greetings WWE universe. Welcome to my combined Smackdown/ECW article. After some thought I've decided to combine the two shows into one article. One hour doesn't really give me enough to write a full article. So let's start with the forgotten and abused show of the WWE Universe, ECW.
We started off with a bang. Our champion Christian made his way to the ring and made an announcement that we have all seen coming for a while. So the next epic battle between Regal and Christian. They picked the perfect venue for the upcoming match, Regal's home country in England. I love when the WWE goes over thepond, the crowds in England have so much energy.
We opened with a match between Goldust and Regal. It was nothing special but both men are hardworkers and put on a great show. I also liked the backstage segment with Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes. Sure it was silly, but Zack Ryder isn't the most serious superstar. Besides, Rosa is gorgeous. Moments later Shelton Benjamin restored some of his respect by taking down Ryder one on one. Good match, both men can really go. We got another tease of the upcoming Zack Ryder/Rosa possible pairing and then a commercial break.
After that was a promo with the Hurricane, Katie Lea, and Paul Burchill. Another match was set up for the increasingly impressive ECW from England, mask versus ECW career. I have no idea what I expect from this matchup. If the Hurricane wins, which I believe is what I want, he gets re-established as a singles star but the Burchill's are gone. If the Burchills win, they stay but the Hurricane loses the best part of his gimmick. I have no idea, but I am excited.
Next we are treated to Vance Archer, the former Lance Hoyt of TNA fame. I always liked the Rock and Rave connection and he took up where he left off by destroying a local wrestler. He looked good and I am looking forward to seeing what they are going to do with him.
The main event of the night was pretty good, the good guys got the win but the bad guys got the vengeance afterwards. This did a great job building up the next week's show. Overall I enjoyed the show and cannot wait for next week.
On to Smackdown. We opened with a terrific promo by the Undertaker. I loved the bit about fighting Kane. Some of the best matches in the Undertaker's history have been against his "brother" and I did find myself wishing that Kane had won the match last week. Jericho came out to interrupt and two of the best promo men in the business played off of each other well. It ended with a brief scuffle and we went to our first commercial.
Up next was a well showcased and performed six man tag featuring six of the best young wrestlers on the Smackdown roster. All six men did great and the win was perfectly awarded. Ziggler looks like and even bigger threat to the Intercontiental Title of John Morrison. I would love the Tag Team Titles to be on either the Hart Dynasty or Cryme Time to see these teams fight over it for quite a while.
We then go to a backstage interview with Rey Mysterio. Overall it was a good interview, but I had trouble following it. Rey definitely tried but it all seemed a bit forced to me. I have no idea what was really wrong with it, but I just didn't get it. Afterwards Beth Phoenix destroyed another local girl. I don't know why, but when the Glamazon does this it looks so much more impressive than when male wrestlers do it.
We go from one beat down into another. Drew McIntyre proved AGAIN that he is going places in this company with a violent assault on Jimmy Wang Yang. Once again I am impressed by what he can do.
Next up was the match of the night, in my opinion. Rey Mysterio did what he does best, wrestling against a bigger man and pulling off the win. Mike Knox made it look good. Really good. My favorite shot of the night was his cross body on the outside. It just looked so, real. In a business where there are a multitude of big men, Mike Knox wrestles with so much hunger. He wants to do well and he does. He may never be as successful as the Big Show or the Undertaker, but for my money there isn't a better big man on the WWE roster right now.
After the commercial break we go straight into another match, putting R-Truth against CM Punk. The underlying storyline with Scott Armstrong and CM Punk surfaced again and we saw a fast count to give R-Truth the win. I've never been fully comfortable with referee versus wrestler storylines, but this one is turning out ok. I wonder about the future of the fued and whether we will see a serious physical encounter in the future between the two (not the beatdown of last week).
We go to the back with Mickie James, Michelle McCool, and Layla. This segment came off flat. All three were trying to be threatening, but I wasn't impressed. A Survivor Series style match with Smackdown's divas is not what the doctor ordered. Finally, we get to the much anticipated main event. And . . . I can't believe how disappointed I was. This match was just terrible. The two never seemed comfortable and the end of the match came off very weak. It says a lot when Drew McIntyre's beating of Finley last week looked more brutal than Batista's on Matt Hardy. Overall, this was probably the worst main event I've seen on Smackdown in a looooong time.
And that wraps it up for the week. I'll see each of you after Raw with my review, however before I go, I do want to invite each of you to contact me with any suggestions, criticisms, insults, praises, love letters, or any other form of communication that you would like to send. If you would like, email me at keithit@yahoo.com.
Anyways, we are off to Jolly Old England for another great week of sports entertainment. I'll see you across the pond and remember my respectable chaps and ladies . . .
