10.02 a.m 5.12.2009
Now we move on to the last, but not the least of the shows in WWE, Smackdown.
Smackdown was the first wrestling show that I truly follow since my childhood and made me open my eyes about the world of wrestling and how exciting it was and still is. I can’t believe that this year marks the 10th year running of the show. This year, by far this show is the best of the three that WWE have. Great wrestling matches, combined by intense rivalries and also interesting clash of persona had truly shape it as the best wrestling show not just in the WWE, but perhaps all of the wrestling world today. However, heading towards the New Year I have several doubts about the ability of this show to maintain its performance.
Let’s face it, the loss of Jeff Hardy, Edge earlier this year and the Undertaker holding on to the World Heavyweight Championship title had truly hurt the main event scene of Smackdown really badly. Jeff Hardy left a big hole to fill in the babyface department and apart from Rey Mysterio, there are no other guys that can carry that true blue babyface role effectively among the main event players. I think that the Undertaker is on borrowed time. His mobility in the ring is severely lacking after his latest return from injury and he needs multiple men type of matches to hide this weakness. It is interesting to see how he fares against Batista in the upcoming TLC PPV. Fingers-crossed, it will be a good match considering how good they really were when they were feuding back in 2007. Also, the fear of the same wrestler locking it up week aftere week could lead to the main event scene to be stagnant.
The midcards of Smackdown have been solid throughout this year. But, again the same problem as the main eventers; things are getting stagnant yet again. Also, the young and new superstars do not have the full support from the WWE Creative. The proof of this statement can be seen at the switch of team members of Smackdown prior to the Bragging Rights PPV. Out of all of them, I can only see John Morisson as the next breakout guy from Smackdown next year. In my book, he is one of my top three superstars of the year. He consistently delivered in the ring, having great feuds with a lot of superstars in Smackdown, and has the total package to make that step up. I also predict that he will make a big impact earlier next year because he is ready to do that. Drew McIntyre reminds me a lot of a young Triple H back in the day. No wonder he is highly regarded by Mr Mcmahon, Shawn Michaels and Triple H himself. He needs at least one more year of experience and great consistence showing to really become a force to be wrecking with in the future. To make things interesting on Smackdown, they need to inject new ideas to the mix. Maybe face or heel turn among the superstars could make the midcards look better heading towards the New Year.
The Women’s Division of Smackdown, though have more in terms of physical appearance, they do lacking in terms of in-ring performances. Sure, Michelle McCool is a deserved WWE Women’s champion, but she needs better competition. Perhaps having the Glamazon, Beth Pheonix in the title mix could make it very interesting. I wish that they can bring back Maria as soon as possible so that I can finally see my two favorite Divas right now, Maryse and Maria. Though I still consider Trish as the greatest Diva that WWE ever had.
All in all, the WWE need to freshen up Smackdown right now because it is in a slump. Again, as I said before, they need to inject something to kick start the show again. Edge returning could help but that is still far away from materializing. Elevating guys like R-Truth or Matt Hardy to the main event status could help also. Quick shout outs to the best commentary team right now, Todd Grisham and Matt Striker. I wish that they would be the one calling the Royal Rumble next year because that would be great, unlike that buffoon on Raw.
Well, that is all I can say about the WWE right now. In the next installment, I will discuss an in-depth look about my favorite 60 minutes of sport entertainment, the Royal Rumble of this past decade as we head towards the 2010 Royal Rumble.
Au Revoir..
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