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Torch Feedback
WWE Smackdown Reax #1: "Man, Big Show's injury got ugly! His eye looked like Hulk Hogan's at Wrestlemania IX."
Jun 9, 2008 - 10:32:00 AM


Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (1.0): Best: Nothing stood out Worst: Where do I start? Man, Big Show's injury got ugly! His eye looked like Hulk Hogan's at Wrestlemania IX. As for the rest, Smackdown was barely represented at One Night Stand (TLC and Batista were the lone representatives). Much like ECW, there was plenty that could have been done underneath to bolster what they did bring to the table, but instead brought a lot of filler. None of the matches not related to Edge-Taker did much except make some small plot movements. At first it sounds like a new title was going to be won and presented, but instead we get a title shot by way of a stupid "...on a pole" match. Actually I don't mind the idea of adding another women's title and both Raw and Smackdown have enough women for each show to justify this. And when things couldn't get worse, Khali shows up. He still can't wrestle, and neither can Deuce and Domino, leaving that match to stink to high heaven. The announcers talked early and often about Undertaker, and that's perfectly fine as his loss was a big deal. What did the rest of the roster feel about Undertaker leaving? Loss that Taker seems truly gone? Regret about maybe wanting to match up with Taker (a legend) but never getting a chance? Anger at either Edge for winning or Taker for losing? Batista would have been there to witness it and has had a major recent past with Undertaker, and claimed to at least respect the Deadman. This would have been the second major loss to Batista in the span of two months (first being Ric Flair), and apparently he doesn't care as he won his match at One Night Stand and now he's next for a title shot, which has sidetracked him before (see Backlash). The announcers had to fill in that the opponent he beat was Shawn Michaels (regardless of how Batista won, Shawn lost) because had Batista said it himself the crowd would not have been as kind to him. And yet again the trigger to turn Batista is not likely going to get pulled, and I've about had it with waiting. I'm assume the pause button got pressed due to Undertaker's departure and the need for a strong top face, but come on now. Is Batista all they have? I was hoping they do with MVP what's been done to Kennedy, as plenty of notices of his presence were mentioned, but no followup was attempted. What was Smackdown thinking? Or were they thinking at all?

Wayne Maye of Richmond, Va. - PSR II for Wachovia Bank. (1.0): Best Match: There was NO best match. Worst Match: Cousin Sal vs. Santino (I wouldn't even call that garbage a match). The opening segment with Edge, Batista, and Vickie was okay. This main event, just to show you the absolute lack of depth in the entire roster, did you see the stars selected to be Batista's partners? Guys who normally don't see much TV time, with the slight exception of Colin Delaney, are nothing but pawns for Vickie. Batista's smile and sarcastic clap made me laugh a little, as he kind of had this "you gotta be kidding me" attitude. The main event was not impressive @ all. Nuff said. Overall, this was one of the most boring Smackdown episodes I've seen in a long time. I can't mention one thing that was good about this show. I'm also not intrigued at Batista facing Edge YET again for the World Heavyweight title. Is this 2008 or 2007? Did they wrestle dozes of times last year, on Smackdown AND 3 PPVs? Can we please get something new, compelling, and fresh. As a loyal WWE fan for almost twenty years and counting, this is frustrating. Raw was easily the best show this week, mainly due to Cena vs. Hardy, ECW was okay, Impact was horrible as usual, but Smackdown was this week's worst wrestling program.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Smackdown Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Smackdown, click here.

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MORE "Torch Feedback" ARTICLES
Smackdown TV Reax #1: "Fresh match-ups, superstars, and storylines just create great TV"
Thursday Night TV Reax - SS/Impact: "X Division, we hardly knew ya after Abyss beat up the only two representatives who showed up"
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WWE Raw Reax #4: "I'm not sure how WWE could have made it any clearer that MVP isn't in Triple H's league"
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WWE The Bash PPV Reax #2: "For all this Miz-Cena buildup, the match was simply an unmitigated squash"
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TNA Impact Reax #1: "Nothing jumps out as something that will be (or is allowed to be) the Slammiversary PPV draw"
WWE Raw/ECW TV Reax: "Let's just pray that we can make it through this Trump storyline in one piece"
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ECW/Smackdown Reax #1: "The door was open to turn C.M. Punk heel, but something key was missing..."
WWE Superstars Reax #1: "Jericho deserves credit for his interactions lately with R-Truth, Dirk Ziggler, Morrison, Rey, etc."
TORCH READERS WRITE BACK: Why was Kozlov smiling on the ECW TV broadcast?
WWE Raw Reax #4: "I was excited for Miz-Cena - I like the way they're building this feud and I don't want it messed up"
WWE Raw Reax #3: "The burial of Orton and Legacy was sealed with an exclamation point"

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