I would like to take a moment to remember Nilton Fernandes, the RAW, Velocity, and Heat recapper for WrestlingObserver.com, who passed away on Wednesday. I really enjoyed his work, insomuch that I immediately read his RAW review after I wrote my RAW review on Tuesdays to see someone else's perspective of the show. He was a very intelligent and enlightening wrestling fan, and I'm very sad to see him leave this world on such short notice at the age of 22, the same age that I actually am. He will be missed greatly by myself and many of the others who have made sure to make his writings a regular reading online. May he rest in peace. Thank you Nilton for some great reading.

Read Nilton's final RAW review by Clicking Here.


Yeeeee haw, welcome to another lovely edition of Mr. Tito's Phat Daily Column. Today, it's time to lay the smackdown on Smackdown, giving OPINIONS and certainly not facts about the show. Funny, as much as I state that this column is of opinions, there are many who just can't get that through their head.

And I'm tired of that. I'm tired of all of the criticism that "Tito's so negative" about pro wrestling. Screw you! On Monday, did anybody look to see who had one of the most positive RAW reviews online that day? NO! Everyone just picked apart my column and aimed at my dislike for the Triple H vs. HBK feud, looking over the fact that I liked most of the WRESTLING on the show. Secondly, on the RAW review 2 weeks ago, what did people pick apart? Well, they were mad that I disliked the promos that were cut that evening, despite liking the WRESTLING that the show had! Hell, on Friday and throughout the weekend, my freakin' "Ask Tito" forum was so silent about the A+ that I just so happened to give Smackdown. And hey, I've been giving plenty of positive reviews for Smackdown, and at the same time, I'm very happy that Eric Bischoff is around.

I'm getting sick and tired of all of the finger pointing. In one instance, I'm being blamed for creating the negative attitudes about wrestling online. In another instance, I'm getting blamed at why certain angles or wrestlers don't get accepted online. I'm tired of it! Nobody looks at how loyal I am to the wrestling product, nor do they EVER, and I fucking mean EVER give the business some positive light, and I do it all the damn time.

But like the liberal media these days, only the negative is pointed out in my column. Hell, even if I say that I dislike promos on a show or if I say something is tasteless, such as the WWE setting up the Unamericans to rip America about 9/11, I get blasted for that. But noooooo... Hell, I even said that I didn't mind the recent work of Stephanie McMahon on one show review, and did anybody mention that, despite my apparent hatred for that? No, as I'm sure everyone is just waiting for the day I rant on her for doing something that I would dislike on Smackdown.

It's time that some critics start shutting the hell up. I've had it up to here (points really high) for almost 4 years now with people putting my opinions under a microscope every day, looking very hard for the negatives and not understanding sarcasm when it smacks them in the face. Maybe start understanding that it's my fucked up perspective on professional wrestling, as such with the title of this column being Mr. Tito's Phat Daily Column. If it was everyone in professional wrestling's opinion, it would be called "Society's Phat Daily Column", but it's not. They are MY opinions, and to pick them apart like everyone does is just ridiculous.

And damn it, I love professional wrestling, no matter what certain idiots continue to say. If something ever bothers me so much, then I walk away from it. I watch because I want to and I write about it because I want to, not to put the industry in a bad light like many claim that I do. The critics of my column are more negative than my column will ever be.

Enough. And Shawn Michaels has been a terrible personality since he returned as a member of the NWO. Want to know why? Because he was never around much since his back injury, since he blew every opportunity to come back to television. Did you read that? Oh wait, I'm being to negative with that!

On to the PDC so that I can get be negative all I want.

SMACKDOWN is TITO

Michael Cole hyping that UPN was going to have an N'Sync concert made me sick. Having commercials about it is one thing, but to have the WWE hype it on a show mostly viewed by males is another.

Smackdown started off with a rematch of Kurt Angle vs. John Cena. John Cena is in need of some kind of nickname other than "rookie". The crowd was very much into this, from what I heard on my TV, and it was another good bout between the two. Personally, I liked the first one better, but this was still a good opener. Lots of run ins ruined the ending, though, but it would set up a good six man match later on. I have no problem with DQ finishes if it sets up an even better match later on.

Next match was between Mark Henry vs. D'Von Dudley. A hard fought match with Bautista would have done more good for Mark Henry, if you are going to push him as a tough competitor in the mid card or upper midcard. I'm sorry, but my interest wasn't there for this match, which had Mark Henry eventually winning. An attack would occur afterward with Bautista on Henry, leading to our next match of the night, Rikishi vs. Deacon Bautista. With Rikishi, I just can't take watching him in the ring anymore. It's just my preference, as his face act and repetitive moves, in my opinion, are tiring to me. And of course, I'm upset with him going over Bautista, as I thought Smackdown was the show that was going to elevate the OVW talent to the next level, not a notch down? I can't wait for next week's Bautista/D'Von vs. Mark Henry/Rikishi. That was sarcasm, by the way...

I kinda like having Brock Lesnar doing more talking now. It's not like he can't talk or anything, as he's been good in the backstage segments from the past few shows. Keep it up... Tonight, he confronted Hogan, in which he would put his Summerslam title shot on the line against the Hulkster. Good stuff, afterward, with Heyman being upset with Lesnar's actions, repeating history that Hogan always came back from adversity.

CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT! Torrie Wilson and Nidia were seen backstage fighting, with Jamie Noble trying to hold Torrie back so that Nidia could get some shots in, only to get blindsided by Billy Kidman. Hey, Kidman has to protect his fiance... well, Torrie is still "dating" Maven in the storylines, but I'm very sure that both Kidman and Torrie have begged to one day work together on camera. Did I ever say that Kidman is a lucky guy?

Next, it was Billy and Chuck vs. Hurricane and Shannon Moore. I actually caught their Velocity match flipping through the channels last Saturday night. Good tag action, as was this match. Shannon Moore looks a little bigger, in muscle, since his 3 Count Days. Too bad he just isn't a few inches taller, though. I really enjoyed the finish to this match, which had Billy and Chuck going for their new on the shoulders - off the top finisher (like the Doomsday Device, only a modified clothesline), only for Shannon Moore to roll Palumbo up. That looked very good on camera.

Chris Benoit/Eddie Guerrero/Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio/John Cena/Edge was a very good six man match all around, with some good psychology and some good in and out action. All 6 are good performers, in my opinion, and the heel side is loaded with wrestlers who can nearly make anyone look decent. Crazy finish, too, with lots of finishers or spots hit, and then Rey-Rey got the surprise victory over Kurt Angle. After the production meetings on Tuesday, someone probably went up to Kurt Angle and said "we're having you get pinned cleanly in a six man match tonight by a Cruiserweight", and he was probably like "ok, I'm cool with that". Angle is the man, and next week, Mysterio vs. Angle would be insanely entertaining.

The intergender match between Torrie Wilson/Billy Kidman vs. Nidia/Jamie Noble wasn't much of a match, as it was short and Torrie's limited offense didn't take it anywhere. She's NOT a good trained performer. It's funny, because they hardly did anything in that ring with Nidia, a trained wrestler. Of course, she's still training to this day, and it's good of the WWE to hold her back for now. Nidia is coming across as very good for her television character now, proving how deserving she was by winning at Tough Enough One. Nothing was really mentioned as to why Torrie and Nidia were fighting, at least I didn't hear, though. Oh well, Torrie won the Golden Thong award for the "Divas Undressed" special, and Nidia was in that competition. Maybe Torrie was lookin' at her man? Ha!

Uh oh, Stacy Keibler is under the influence of Eric Bischoff, as seen with her intercepting some papers that were supposed to go to Stephanie. What were they? Don't know. But I love how slimey Bischoff is, and given the dissention between Stacy and Stephanie, it's understandable that Stacy would "do things" for the man.

The main event was Brock Lesnar versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan. As hard as it is to work with the older Hogan (24 years older, to be exact), I thought it was a pretty watchable match. Hogan is insanely over with live crowds, so it was perfect to have Lesnar work with him and gain some needed heat. Odd to see an 80's style wrestler wrestling a modern day power wrestler, but it turned out good, in my opinion. I wasn't much for the Heyman interferences, but oh well. F5 then a bearhug, of all things, was given, and Hogan passed out from the pain. It's making Lesnar a monster, so I'll allow it. Lesnar pounded Hogan afterward, even whiping Hogan's blood on his chest. No Rocky to save the day, either, as he won't be there every week with his hectic schedule.

LAST WORD: Well what do you know? Another good Smackdown. I thought MOST of the wrestling was good, with the intergender, Bautista vs. Rikishi, and Henry vs. D'Von matches not really getting my attention. But the rest of the show was good, backstage and interviews included.

A-

(A minus). Brock Lesnar's heel status is rising with his work on Smackdown, thankfully, and the talent roster on this show looks great with the additions of Benoit and Guerrero. This is indeed the show to watch, in comparison to RAW. Now, I can't wait to see the negatives pulled out of this column tomorrow. I'll probably get bashed for ripping Mark Henry, D'Von, or Rikishi this week instead of noticing that I liked the show as a whole.

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