Smackdown - June 15, 2007, Philadelphia, PA
Report by Erich West, rajah.com reader
"Warning! Tonight's special edition of Smackdown contains content depicting Mr McMahon's fatality, and may be considerated inappropriate. Parental discretion is advised."
With that admonition, Friday Night Smackdown begins. This is the first Smackdown following the draft lottery on June 11 and in the credits we see three of the four draftees, Ric Flair, Torrie Wilson and the Great Khali, but no Chris Masters. An odd phenomenon that is further called into question as Chris Masters is probably the person with the most potential to improve Smackdown. But neither he, nor Torrie Wilson, nor Khali, appear on the televised version of the show. A disappointment, particularly with the fanfare accorded the draftees on RAW four day earlier and many people at home expecting to see their debuts in their new home on Smackdown.
This episode of Smackdown was truly the "McMahon Appreciation Day" that was supposed to occur on RAW on June 11, at least from the perspective of the announcers and the various "comments." The endless tribute to McMahon was not only tiresome, it took considerable time from the action for viewers at home. I didn't clock the time, but I daresay if the amount of time devoted to eulogizing Mr McMahon and showing clips from RAW and dedications was measured against actual wrestling time, it'd be a 50/50 split. No wonder we didn't have time for Masters, Wilson and Khali.
We cut to the superstars "paying their respects" to McMahon in a moment of silence (that never occurred as the fans booed the entire proceeding) including a bell tolling. I give the superstars credit for not breaking up during all of this - many of them closed their eyes and I'm sure it was easier to get through this that way. JBL is concerned with the fans' reaction, of course, labelling them "embarrassing to wrestling." In truth, there is an embarrassment to wrestling happening here. But it isn't the fans. It's the show thus far. But, we are told, by Ed Kaufman, EVP and General Counsel for WWE, who makes a brief statment and wisely declines any questions about McMahon's death, that "the show must go on."
The first match was Deuce and Domino (the Tag Team Champions) vs Brian Kendrick and Paul London. Kendrick and London have abandoned the carnival masks and look more serious without them. Finally, we get some action on the show as Kendrick and London start off by dominating Deuce and Domino with quick tags in and out. It's a pretty good tour-de-force for the smaller tag team as they keep the champs down and out for most of this match, and only falling toward the end as Kendrick and Domino are ejected from the ring, and Deuce hits London with a mean boot to the face, knocking him senseless long enough to get the pin. Winners: Tag Team Champs, Deuce and Domino.
We take a break from the action at this point for eulogizing Mr McMahon, which continues on throughout the show, between matches. William Regal, Teddy Long, Jillian Hall, Kristal, among others, spend a great deal of time talking about Mr McMahon's alleged qualities and their experiences with him. It's all very uninteresting, and with several of the Smackdown matches being dark matches, that is, not aired, it seems like we could see less of this and more wrestling. Edge was the final commentator, asking the question "who becomes the foundation that holds the possible sinking ship afloat?" I was asking that question before the disappearance of Mr McMahon.
The second match was Matt Hardy vs William Regal. Hardy was, as usual, the fan favorite, and to get the fans all worked up, Regal is permitted to put Hardy through a tough time. Toward the end, when Regal goes for a DDT, Hardy counters and takes the frustrated Regal down with a sudden Twist of Fate, getting the pin in a good back and forth encounter. Winner: Matt Hardy.
Third match was a Fatal Four Way match for the opportunity to wrestle Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero for the Cruiserweight Belt at the Vengeance PPV. The competitors were Daivari vs Jamie Noble vs Shannon Moore (having thankfully lost the spiked hair) vs Jimmy Wang Yang. Wang Yang wins with a nearly botched moonsault off the top ropes onto Daivari, the man who should be winning this event. Funny how the WWE always has different opinions that me..... Winner: Jimmy Wang Yang who goes on to challenge Chavo Guerrero at Vengeance. Chavo exchanges words with Wang Yang, getting the crowd worked up. Hey, it's another PPV to sell....
We move on to Edge vs Ric Flair, the main event. Flair, recently from RAW, comes in to great applause. Apparently, his popularity hasn't dwindled much in four decades, although he's certainly had his ups and downs. Flair is allowed a great deal of showboating, clearly to show off the importance of his debut on Smackdown. Edge, usually shown to great advantage, is forced to take a back seat here, not only in terms of showboating, but in actual wrestling. He gets in a good deal of offense, but the match is clearly a showcase for Flair to do his endless chops (WHOOOO!) and pratfalls. Not the greatest of matches for Edge, the champion, mind you. After a commercial break - why do they do this? - we return to find Edge, finally with the upper hand, but not for long as Flair regains control and is about to lock on the Figure Four when MVP storms the ring. Flair chops him down (what else?) and takes MVP out. Edge spears Flair and begins punching him on the mat as MVP returns to join in the beating. The crowd spikes as Batista runs to the ring, clotheslines Edge and punches MVP, sending him over the top ropes. All hell is breaking loose when Edge spears Batista then makes a hasty exit, leaving Flair and Batista on the mat, Batista cradling his midsection. We close with Edge holding his belt high overhead, his standard maniacal look mirroring my face at home as I watch the entire Smackdown proceedings at home.
And that's it for the new start of Smackdown. Impressive? Not. Is there any possibility that we can see more of the dozens of stars that are on the Smackdown roster? Is the McMahon enterprise a wrestling program or is this Dallas? This won't even make good reruns.
