Side WCW Note: WCW Thunder only had a 2.5 in the ratings Wednesday Night, which puts to rest claims that Nitro was a MAJOR success. 2.5 for Thunder is around the normal number, so the reuniting "band" just didn't get the viewers it intended. At least they have one more try, this Monday, with the Wargames 2000 going on.
But this whole situation Triple H-Stephanie-Kurt Angle-Chyna-Eddie Guerrero was very well written. That "stale" label that I give the WWF could really be erased lately, after the WWF's impressive writing as of late. It's great for a few reasons. It's making Kurt Angle just totally evil. Here is your Olympic hero, trying to hit on a married woman and to make her leave Triple H. Then you have Triple H, who doesn't know how to control himself when that Olympic hero wants a piece of his wife's ass. Now you have Chyna, an old fling(actually, I think they are going out in real life again), jumping into the storyline, and making it interesting in a few ways. One, Stephanie could start leaving Triple H because of Chyna, or two, we have a Chyna and Stephanie feud on hand. Finally, Eddie Guerrero is in an awesome opportunity to elevate himself and his character up the WWF ladder.
This whole situation, from the start to the finish where Chyna gave Stephanie a DDT made this show one of the best Smackdowns EVER. Possibly, the best WWF show of 2000...or at least up there. Of course, you must have an undercard to make this show all around great....and it actually did.
I was really surprised at how the crowd was behind Road Dogg. Of course, he did play the crowd at the beginning as a face, and he was facing Bull Buchanan. Ummm....
Good God, Edge, Christian, Matt Hardy, and Jeff Hardy were all still bruised and battered Tuesday Night, when taping this show, from the Summerslam match, and they still put on a show. The women did an excellent job, as Lita and Jackie were excellent complements to their teams. Just spectacular.
Hell, even the Al Snow vs. Perry Saturn match had some heat. Then again, both guys worked their asses off in that ring to force everyone to react in that crowd. Oddly enough, Al Snow is your NEW European Champion. Maybe it's to put a stamp on Al Snow, as he's RUMORED to be wanting to leave the WWF. Ha, I bet Perry Saturn will be the next to be wanting to leave the WWF. That means the only place he can return, where he hasn't burned a bridge, is ECW.
Chris Benoit and the Undertaker fought a good match, as Benoit can make anybody look good, even an aging Undertaker. It was for the #1 contendership, but since Kane has a nice claim to it after last Monday Night's great match with the Rock, he came down to pound everyone. Rock came down to save the Undertaker...which makes me wonder, are we going to see a 4 Way now with Benoit at Unforgiven??
Good match with Chris Jericho and Tazz. Again with Tazz, I can remember a time where Tazz was ahead on the ladder during the ECW days. Now, Tazz is WAY behind Jericho. I'm interested to know who Tazz's next opponent will be after the whole Jerry the King Lawler and Jim Ross feud is over. I am getting tired of the worked cheapshots at Jim Ross's condition.
Even the stuff with Kaientai was good, as the Acolytes had their backs against the Dudley Boyz. That sets up another feud between the Acolytes and the Dudleys, with a big difference: the Dudleys are a different team now than they were when the came in. The Dudley Boyz were paying their dues during this first feud, and they were still considered a joke by WWF fans with Buh Buh stuttering. Now, the Dudleys are the most over team in the WWF, and the Acolytes....they are the same thing as before!
Gee, I can see easily how Steven Richards hurt his knee. I'm sure the WWF is thrilled with that one. I have a feeling that Val Venis Mr. Wrestling #4(© Wrestlepalooza Audio Show) will be joining the Right To Censor shortly. What else can you do with his already washed up career?
This show was just golden for the WWF, and I'm glad to see them pull one off like they did tonight. If I were to grade shows other than RAW, Nitro, or ECW on TNN, I'd probably give this one an A+. However, I don't so that I can limit e-mails like the following: "How can you give RAW a B+ you FUCKING WCW MARK!!!!!" That's why only 3 shows are graded everyweek.
The XFL recently introduced the team franchises, as they heavily introduced them last night. However, there is a problem with the NY/NJ Hitmen already. Remember the Hitmen, the hockey farm league team of the Calgary Flames? It's not like Bret Hart used to wear jerseys of the team or anything, nor did he name them. With that being said, it's rumored that the Calgary Flames might fight the WWF over the use of the Hitmen name. How ironic on how Bret's named team is in conflict with Vince's XFL franchise.
I can't believe this Survivor crap going on. So Sue cuts a great promo that probably helped Rich to win a cool $1 Million. BIG FUCKING DEAL. Just because she can go off in real life, as I'm still doubting Survivor as real, doesn't mean she can go off in front of thousands, live, in an arena. Sometimes it's rather hard to act stuff like that, as she put her heart into that promo on that one lady. The WWF is said to be offering top dollar for her, and they want her to either show up soon, or at least at Survivor Series. The reason I won't mention WCW or ECW is the fact that she was on CBS, owned and operated by Viacom, which now has WWF programming(well, technically, not yet with the USA appeal).
4. Kane- I don't know to give this spot to the WWF or not, as they made Kane look like a monster again with the match versus the Rock. He kicked out of both the first Rock Bottom, and the Undertaker chokeslam.
3. The Rock- Yes, the World Champ makes the list, only wrestling once this week. Well, yes, because he's been wrestling much better as of late. Before, we were treated with the Samoan Drop, the DDT, the right hand, people's elbow, and the Rock Bottom. He must be working hard somewhere, because that listing of moves is probably up to 10 by now! Holy cow(smell the sarcasm)! Good match with Kane on Monday. Plus, he did retain the title at Summerslam, you know.
2. Chris Jericho- Jericho wrestled well in both Smackdown AND RAW this past Monday, helping to make the opener very hot. He fought Tazz to a good match too on Smackdown, and he cut a great promo on Tazz before the match. I guess his feud with Benoit is now over? Great match at Summerslam, of course!
1. Kurt Angle- Although he only wrestled on Smackdown, and that's still after taking a tough shot to the head at Summerslam, he's getting this spot for his awesome acting this week. Damn he was slick in convincing many so that he could get his way with Stephanie. Very entertaining stuff.
@That's all for today's column. I'll be back tomorrow with more PDC, as it should be ECW Day...unless my moving tomorrow morning somehow interferes with that. Doh! So until then, or whenever, just chill....till the next episode! Check out some great Backyard Wrestling at the Backyard BBQ!
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Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.