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2/22 WWE Smackdown Reax #1: "I was very nervous watching Rey Mysterio wrestle through his injury." Feb 26, 2008 - 7:38:59 AM
Adam Crawley of Christiansburg, Va. (6.0): Best match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Jimmy Wang Yang. Worst match: Big Daddy V vs. Shannon Moore. This was an okay show, but even the good matches were missing something. Benjamin-Yang had good spots, but just like the MITB qualifying matches on Raw, there was no suspense as to who was getting the win. In the Batista vs. MVP match, they were required to sell the effects of the Chamber, but it took away from what those two are capable of doing in the ring. The triple-spinebuster was a fun spot, though. I didn't like either of the squash matches. Big Daddy V doesn't need any squashes at this point, and Chuck Palumbo isn't interesting enough on his own. He needs someone like Jamie Noble to make him interesting. The Kane-Khali finish was a fun twist, and the match as a whole was surprisingly palatable. I was very nervous watching Rey Mysterio wrestle through his injury. I don't see how anything good could have come out of that, unless you were trying to get either Vickie or Big Show over by ending his career.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (8.0): Best: Opening segment; Shelton vs. Yang; MVP vs. Batista. Worst: V vs. Moore; Khali vs. Kane While none of the three shows had a huge WOW outgo show, Smackdown had the best one. Edge got things off to a nice start by setting up his match with Undertaker as well as drop the first seeds of what would happen to Rey Mysterio later. While it was predictable that Shelton would head to the Money In The Bank match, Yang gave him a tough time (more evolution of Shelton's opponents to show his talents) before losing. Until tonight, Shannon Moore was treated as an equal and partner to Jimmy Wang Yang. He was treated to every bit the jobber introduction tonight, as if these past several weeks with Yang never existed. Granted, it was meant as a heat-returning squash for Big Daddy V, but it was received with a good amount of silence. I think the crowd was well aware that Shannon got thrown to the curb and the wolves. Why? Deuce & Domino still suck as a tag team, but Cherry showed up the way she should have in the first place. The cute hair and poodle skirt should have been reserved for the face version; she was dressed as a Pink Lady from Grease, much more appropriate for the heel version. MVP-Batista told a very good story of two guys wracked by injury from the Elimination Chamber and working on the most vulnerable parts (MVP's back, Batista's neck). MVP has really evolved since his debut. My sign to him at NWO read "MVP Better Than No One"; he's proven a lot of people wrong. Chuck Palumbo started with squash matches to settle him in as a face; here we are doing it again with his as a vicious/psycho heel. Rey Mysterio put on a gutsy effort before leaving to heal. I expected him to lose on home turf, but in a way that put forth the bravery. But the win made sense for the Big Show assault after and give Vickie revenge heat. They added something new to the Undertaker streak video, the WrestleManias that the wons took place. they would have to do something unreal for me to not like this video.
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