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Shane McKinley of Danville, California (8.5) Best Match: Main Event. Worst Match: Tag Team Champions Getting Pinned. A very entertaining show that I thought was a good example of a "solid show," where nearly every segment worked. Usually Smackdown is well-written and the whole show is very good. Like the team of Ross and Foley announcing, and thought that they were excellent tonight. Ross dropped some "1900 body-scissors knowledge" during the Kozlov's fight and I was impressed. A great wrestling announcer not only educates, but makes quips that make the show more realistic (When Foley and Ross were talking about A-Rod and his divorce). A bad wrestling announcer just throws tired cliches lines around. Mr. Kennedy and MVP could have a stellar feud. Thought that the MVP of the night was Vickie Guerrero, in that you could root for her. She showed her authority well. Having her fall back in love with Edge was both sickening and great TV. They are protecting the tag team champions, but it is still going to be a hard sell. I would probably give it another month or so before this Finlay-Hornswoggle vs. Miz-Morrison feud should end. The match that impressed me was the Ryder-Hawkins vs. Jesse and Festus. The match itself wasn't much, but the "10 count out" logic made the match seem more realistic. Just a simple use of good booking. WWE usually does a really good job in building up superstars. All together, this show was very fun to watch and Smackdown trumps anything Raw (on the whole) is showing lately. Proof that you don't need crazy gimmick matches to be effective.
Dan Strauss of Goodhue, Minn. (7.0): Praise the Lord, Vicki can walk!! Our prayers have been answered, tell your friends, call your congressman, rejoice!!! Anyway...Didn't Miz/Morrison just take on WWE's Irish talent on Tuesday night? Didn't we just have a draft? I wasn't fond of the ending of the show because of the sappy puppy faces, but this storyline has been so well written. They went from in love and having a wedding to calling it completely off. That had folks all over the internet wondering who would turn face, where they would go, and now they're back on again. That's good writing if they can get everyone to believe it. WWE needs to find something meaningful for Big Show. He's good on the mic, he's one of the most recognizable athletes they have, he can wrestle as well as take a ton of bumps, and he gets real good pops from the live crowds. Unfortunately they haven't done anything significant with him since Wrestlemania. The big guy looks like he enjoys what he's doing so give him something better to do.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Hardy vs. Benjamin. Worst: Kozlov has music. TNA was way over the top with trying to rationalize and justify itself as a "wrestling" show, and was overloaded with crappy overbooking, overchoreographed matches, and tons of soap opera overshadowing the their major title match. While wrestling in general could use a little less soap opera, at least I enjoyed this chapter of "As The Edge Turns." This one still did overshadow legacy of the main title match, but at least this story does incorporate the title in a way that makes better sense the what TNA has ever done. Foley wisely and contantly questioned Edge's mindset in regards to the match. The only flaw tonight was why Triple H would do VIckie's bidding to teach Chavo a lesson when just the week before Triple H and Vickie were clearly not on the same page. A simple "it's the business" would have sufficed but nothing plausible was given. Hardy-Benjamin was the best match of the night, although it wasn't saying all that much. A quick little citing of Benjamin's performance was all that was needed to explain why Shelton and Matt were matching up. I was a little bothered by what feels like rubbing it in Shelton's face that he hasn't moved upward, I'd like to hope that change is a-brewing in that regard, but not holding my breath. And man, they overloaded the mentions of Michael Hayes. For someone recently in big trouble, this almost seems like a reward. I also got that same rubbing it in feelig with Kennedy, bringing up that he is the only one who did not cash in his MITB win. Not all of that was his fault. Kennedy-MVP was looking like a good feud tease until Umaga showed up. Unless MVP is responsible for that it made no sense. Festus' bell issue was further played with, but why are Hawkins and Ryder feuding with them in the first place? Kozlov's got music now, and I'm not liking it. They kept the darkened theatre save for the spotlight, but having music diffuses his character. And since getting rid of he inverted DDT, his finishers are much more diverse; he's finishing off opponents with his head and/or shoulders. Also, Richards gets a nearfall, and illustration that a gradual progression of challenges continues. The final moments of the main event are clearly in line to turn Vickie (and so far the EdgeHeads as well) face. But it's going to take plenty for the crowd to believe it when it does happen, as not much of the crowd was shown during the whole show and everything sounded sweetened.
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