5/1 WWE Smackdown Reax

Alex O'Keefe of Orlando, Fla. (10.0): Best: C.M. Punk-Chris Jericho, Fatal Four-way for #1 Contendership. Worst: Match Shortness. Damn, what a show. It reminded me a bit of SD after Edge originally cashed in his MITB briefcase - freshness on the scene and it just seemed to be the place to be. The show opened with Chris Jericho looking to re-find his footing as the best heel in the business. Although I was a bit disappointed that the advertised Scramble match for the #1 contendership was altered, it provided us two nice positives: John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin and The Great Khali not featured in the ring. I am a big fan of a wrestler earning a shot at a world championship instead of being randomly selected. The Fatal Four-Way was a great match. Had it been longer, it easily could have made PPV. There was a breach of logic upon Kane's elimination, though it could be reasoned that Jericho wanted his deserved respect by pinning every man in the match. Jericho also DQ'ing himself right after that action was questionable although that too could be argued by Jericho simply not knowing the full rules of the match since there is No DQ in most multiple-man matches. Punk vs. Edge was a respectable match though they had less chemistry than I would've imagine as it seemed at points they had separate ideas in mind and just got confused. C.M. Punk looks to be getting the run he should've gotten last year. He just feels cutting edge and fresh - his look, his voice, his style are different than what WWE's ever seen before. Punk teasing that he would cash in the briefcase was exciting, although the three-day tape delay will truly ruin the surprise if he does choose cash it in on Smackdown. Umaga was looking pretty good as he continues to trim down and become more agile. Umaga-Punk? I'm in. Punk's worked with similar styles, such as Samoa Joe, to produce some truly awesome matches before. It was an overall great edition of Smackdown, thus far the best this year. WWE put something forward they rarely do: freshness and more importantly, effort. If WWE continues to do that, Smackdown will once again be the place to be.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (6.5) Best: opening segment; Dolph vs. MVP. Worst: Morrison vs. Shelton (and it shouldn't have been). What in the world is happening to Jericho? So far, the draft looks to have done nothing for him that the end of Michaels-Jericho hadn't started killing. His tete-a-tete with Edge was well done to set up the territorial tension between the two. From the moment Punk stepped up, Jericho turned whiney, repetitive, and non-confrontational. Yes, it was to transition from Edge-Jericho to Edge-Punk, but it's the transition in Jericho that needs to be paid attention to. The four-way elimination certainly didn't help. Jericho's DQ would have made much better sense if the match had been the Scramble that looked to be originally booked a week or two ago. I'm hoping there will be more to Benjamin-Morrison because the match was inexcusably too short. But Morrison may already be moving on to Jericho, which would be good for matches but bad for Morrison and Benjamin. Sherri Shepherd is a case of celebrity crossover done right. The set up with MVP has been done back and forth with The View. Sherri herself added the right amount of excitement and enthusiasm, and dare I say that MVP and Sherri make a cute couple. I'll be tuning into "The View" to catch the follow-up. While both Eve and Layla were good with their dance-off, I'm hoping this won't become a regular occurrence. Any match between them will be brutal to watch right now. The importance of the Money In The Bank took a major hit with the main event. Why would Punk want to cash in the case after he himself fought the champ? How could he possibly know that he would win the match (or lose but still get in a GTS)? And how could Ross and Grisham possibly know what does and doesn't constitute an official "cashing in" when they sounded like they made up the "no bell means no cashing in" at the end? On top of all of that, Umaga gives Punk a "welcome to midcard" ambush. In the follow-up, Umaga needs a manager to explain Umaga singling out Punk for an attack, though I'm not expecting one. There were a lot of good intentions and effort, but too much fell flat to really rate this one well.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE 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 SD, click here.

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