But of course, I'm such a negative fan for ripping RAW to pieces. Heaven forbid I get any praise for liking ONE out of TWO shows, and the one I like gets higher ratings than the one I dislike (Smackdown gets around a 3.2 every week on a NETWORK rating. RAW gets around a 3.7 on a CABLE rating. If Smackdown was rated like a cable station, you're talking around a 4.1 or 4.2 rating, to prove my point). Sorry, I like GOOD WRESTLING instead of the poor wrestling RAW has. I mean seriously, do you honestly think that the Women's division is entertaining? Do you think that the tag team feud between La Resistance and the Dudleys even holds a candle to any of the Smackdown tag title feuds? And the main eventers... geesh! At least the champion goes into an event with a chance he'll lose, and if he does lose, you know that his challenger will be back for more. Triple H needs to be damn near crippled and needing time off to get married just to think about dropping the world title, a title he shouldn't have won back in the first place.
Anyway... I saw the WWE Best of Cage Matches listings, and I was amazed at some of the best ones being left out. Ric Flair vs. Harley Race wasn't included, and that's a damn shame. Flair vs. Garvin or Flair vs. Rhodes isn't a 1/3 of what Race vs. Flair was. Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard was quite a war, though, and I'm glad the WWE had the nuts to put that on the NWA video. There was also a FANTASTIC cage tag team match between Money Inc. vs. The Steiners off of the WWF Summerslam Spectacular show, maybe in 1992? 1993? It was a glorious tag cage match, with a fun finish with Rick Steiner holding one of Money Inc. on his shoulders while Scott Steiner climbed over the cage. I take it the WWE isn't considering Hell in the Cell matches as cage matches?
It makes me wonder why the WWE doesn't dip into the video tape library more often? I mean seriously, a Cage Match DVD? Plus, the WWE does own the AWA and ECW video tape library. It's the perfect time to open up a 24/7 wrestling channel by the WWE, but heaven forbid we do anything for the fans. Oh no!
And then there's this fight between Rodney Mack and the Hurricane. The story, as I'm sure it's distorted, is that Mack and the Hurricane were discussing their tag match for a houseshow tag match (Mack/Henry vs. Hurricane/SHIT). They were laying out details, when the Hurricane disagreed with Mack's suggestions for the match, given that he's a veteran or at least has more experience in the ring. The disagreement turned into an argument, and it then came to blows, and given that Mack is a lot larger and tougher than Hurricane, the Hurricane was sent to the hospital. So who started it? Who threw the first punch? Who should be punished?
Neither. A road agent should have been more alert to the situation. Now granted, it's somewhat cool to give wrestlers creative freedom, but if a problem comes up, take it up with the road agent in charge. Or, if the argument seemed to get out of hand, insomuch that someone was going to the hospital, who was there to stop it? The fact that Hurricane was sent to the hospital shows that the brawl got out of hand before it was broken up, if it was broken up. Order needs to be restored at WWE events. That, or tension backstage must be eliminated. It seems that many wrestlers are somewhat frustrated due to lack of pushes lately, or undeserved guys getting pushed (an argument is made about Rodney Mack, who is still pretty green). I do, however, bet that the Hurricane gets busted for this incident since I guarantee Vince sees more potential in Mack than he does the Hurricane, a WCW product.
Nothing much else to discuss, so on to Smackdown..
We start off Smackdown with Rey Mysterio/Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri/Rhyno. Next week on Smackdown, we get Mysterio vs. Tajiri. Just awesome, brother. The Cruiserweight could finally be receiving the props it deserves. The match was pretty short, but better than anything on the RAW roster, with the exception of a match involving Chris Jericho. The match was an ad for Tajiri vs. Mysterio, next week.
Yummy... Torrie Wilson comes out in a white outfit with a bunch of parts to it. Oh yeah, she's tagging up with Nidia to take on Linda Myles Shaniqua. My UPN doesn't come in very well, at least audio-wise, and it buzzes when something is edited in. It buzzed like a motherfucker when the boos started for Shaniqua. It's somewhat good to see Nidia getting a chance at wrestling, as I'm sure she can work circles around Linda Myles right now (which she should). DEVASTATING powerbomb by Shaniqua! It was well executed and her height made it look even more sick! It wouldn't hurt to ship these ladies over to RAW for that division in need of new faces.
Backstage, Vince, Sable, and Big Show invade Stephanie's office. They want her to quit, to which it appears she'll be fired or quit sometime in October to get married and have a honeymoon with Triple H, which will be the official end of the WWE.
Backstage, the Guerreros talk about their title shot. Man, I smell a swerve here with Chavo turning heel. I actually hope because their feuds are classic!
Great rap by John Cena, taking shots at Ben/J'Lo, Ted Turner, and Saddam Hussein's children. This guy just needs a good rub from a main eventer, and he could be set.
Los Guerreros vs. World's Greatest Tag Team is the next match. Wow, they let Haas and Benjamin wrestle on Smackdown again. Man, these guys had some fantastic tag matches this year. Haas and Benjamin are the most polished OVW wrestlers, period, even moreso than Brock Lesnar. These guys are WRESTLERS, not sports entertainers or guys who still appear to be green. Commercial... Lots of commercial interruptions tonight, brother. The announcers keep milking that the Guerreros are working great as a team and that Chavo hasn't missed a beat. I smell the swerve! Great flashy moves between each team. Great tag team chemistry that the RAW roster WISHES they had in their matches. Chavo dropkicked the chair into Benjamin's knee to sell the reasoning for Benjamin getting time off for surgery. Guerreros worked on Haas and eventually won the match. I was wrong about the swerve, at least for now... New tag champs! Great tag team match!
They showed a "Keys to Victory" graphic, along with "Tale of the Tape" graphic as well. They are really pushing this match to be a serious deal... which it is.
In the back, all of the faces and heels are betting on the Kurt vs. Brock match in their own prospective areas. Very cool.
Our main event was the Ironman match between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. I like how they are making sure to say "this is the 3rd time they have ever wrestled", making it kind of a special match. Add to that the hype that this is only the 3rd Ironman match, ever, in the WWE. Brock's spiked haircut makes him look like Ivan Drago from Rocky IV. Maybe he'll say "I'll break you"? Slow start, and Lesnar gets angry at not getting an advantage on Angle. So what does he do? Attacks Kurt Angle with a chair to lose fall one. So dirty.. Kurt Angle 1, Brock Lesnar 0. Brock Lesnar then pounds on Angle and wins fall #2 with the F5. Very nice strategy. Brock Lesnar 1, Kurt Angle 1. Brock Lesnar continues to pound on Angle, and wins the 3rd fall by making Angle submit to the anklelock! Brock Lesnar 2, Kurt Angle 1. During the break, Lesnar tried to win using Angle's Angleslam, but failed. Great stuff with Kurt Angle getting a second wind with the German suplexes. Brock Lesnar cheaply throws Angle on the outside, and pounds him. He hit an F5 on Angle on the outside (!!), and Lesnar wins the next fall via countout. Brock Lesnar 3, Kurt Angle 1. Kurt Angle fought his way back, hit an Angle slam, and gets the pin. Kurt Angle 2, Brock Lesnar 3.
Nice counters with the Angleslam and F5, and the anklelock is applied. Lesnar gets out of it, and eventually, the ref is bumped and is unable to count a fall for Kurt Angle. Lesnar low blows Angle, and then gets the title belt and does the repetitive title to the face finish. Brock Lesnar 4, Kurt Angle 4. Angle gets more aggressive now, attacking Lesnar on the outside. Kurt Angle with the MISSLE DROPKICK! DEVASTATING! They go back and forth now, and Lesnar gets frustrated. He picks up the stairs, only for Angle to kick them in his face. During the break, Brock Lesnar beats Angle with a Superplex. Didn't I just go and say that the move should be represented as a finisher instead of a regluar move last week? Brock Lesnar 5, Kurt Angle 2. Angle must win 4 falls in under 15 minutes just to retain the title! On the outside, Kurt Angle reverses the F5 on the post. Angle is heavily working on the knee, but out of no where, Lesnar hits the F5! Lesnar, the dumbass he is, tries to go off the top rope. However, Angle catches him with a top rope belly to belly. Kurt Angle 3, Brock Lesnar 5 with 9:40 to go. Lots of German suplexes, back and forth. Nice reversal on one of the German suplexes into the anklelock. The referee wouldn't break the hold when Lesnar hit the ropes, and Lesnar tapped when Angle pulled away. Kurt Angle 4, Brock Lesnar 5. Cole says UPN has given the WWE extra time if it goes into "overtime", if possible. Angle goes right after Brock Lesnar with another anklelock, but Lesnar breaks it. Kurt Angle tries a bow-and-arrow submission hold, but it fails to get Angle anything. Kurt Angle has the anklelock on Brock Lesnar on the outside. Lesnar is running away from Kurt Angle to avoid the fall. German suplexes, FINAL MINUTE. Angle tries for a 5th German, but Lesnar distracts the referee and low blows Angle. Angle, however, slaps on the anklelock but wraps his legs around Lesnar's leg (the MCAT submission, eh Dirty Harry?). Brock Lesnar didn't submit in time, and he's the NEW World Champion. Excellent match. Match of the Year Candidate? It was a great TV match, but there are a handful of WWE matches better this year.
LAST WORD: Damn, that was Smackdown of the year. FANTASTIC stuff, with the Ironman Match being good and the midcard was good. I'll give this show a very rare [ A+ ] (A Plus), and I'd like to see someone get something negative out of that. Nobody on the RAW roster could put on a decent match like Angle and Lesnar just did. I do question why Angle's title reign was cut short, especially since Lesnar is somewhat injured right now. Oh well, Smackdown rules my world and I'm a proud fan of it.
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@That's all for today's column. Just chill till the next episode....