Seeking buys, Triple H and Undertaker sell big on Smackdown
By doing a great job of selling for their adversaries Friday night on Smackdown, Triple H and The Undertaker did a great job of selling Sunday’s Cyber Sunday pay-per-view.
During a very good main event between the two WWE superstars, The Big Show interfered and took out both of them, and then Vladimir Kozlov came in to get in some additional shots on Triple H.
With Triple H and The Undertaker engaging in a hard-hitting match and then getting beaten down afterward, the message was sent that both will be at less than 100 percent at Cyber Sunday.
It’s rare that Triple H and The Undertaker ever go into a big match as underdogs, but Kozlov – who is one of the candidates to challenge Triple H for the WWE title Sunday – and Big Show, who will face The Undertaker in a gimmick match Sunday – could not have been booked any stronger heading into the pay-per-view.
Triple H was especially good Friday night in a role that he doesn’t often play – a babyface in peril. He hit Big Show with a chair, but it had little effect and Triple H ended up getting choke-slammed. Kozlov then continued the assault on “The Game” after Big Show left.
WWE has done an excellent job of getting Kozlov over as a legitimate threat to the title. Never bet against Jeff Hardy in what is essentially a popularity contest – which Hardy himself pointed out last night – but I really hope Kozlov is involved in the WWE title match Sunday, whether it’s one-on-one or in the triple threat.
As an aside, I think a Triple H-Undertaker program would be a big draw. The two veterans are the only major stars from the Attitude Era still in WWE, and while they have wrestled each other in the past (including at WrestleMania X-7), they haven’t faced each other often enough for it to be redundant.
Other thoughts on Friday night’s show:
The MVP losing streak gimmick is starting to really irritate me. Jobbing to Triple H, Jeff Hardy and R-Truth is one thing, but losing to Kung Fu Naki is another entirely. …
Speaking of the wrestler formerly known as Funaki, did I really hear Jim Ross mention Funaki and Ricky Steamboat in the same sentence? Funaki’s new karate gimmick is every bit as ridiculous as TNA’s “Stone Cold” Shark Boy and Super Eric. …
I never thought I would hear the fans chanting The Great Khali’s name – I mean without the word “sucks.” As I have said before, I find the kissing Khali entertaining, although Friday night’s segment went a little long. …
Festus dressed up as a mariachi was funny enough, but it was hilarious when the bell rang and he maniacally chased the mariachi band up the ramp. Somebody needed to teach that bulbous mariachi how to sell, though. …
Wake me up when the Chavo Guerrero-Bam Neely feud is over.
Comments
"As an aside, I think a Triple H-Undertaker program would be a big draw. The two veterans are the only major stars from the Attitude Era still in WWE..."
What, you're not impressed with D-Lo Brown? I'm kidding. The Trips-Taker match was awesome. I haven't seen a match that good on TV since the Cena-HBK match from London in 2007. Both ring generals showed exactly how to work a match. Hopefully the entire locker room was taking notes.
Keep up the good work, Kev.
Posted by: Curtain Jerker | October 25, 2008 11:56 PM
I agree that Triple H and Undertaker could still do big business. Perhaps Smackdown will go into Wrestlemania with Hardy vs. Edge on top with Trips/Taker as their 2nd tier match. This could be the start of Trips' turning heel and lead to a few month program between the two.
Thanks for the continuing insights.
TP
Posted by: TP | October 26, 2008 12:11 AM
On MVP - you told me earlier that it was because he was rude to the guy doing the drug test.... OK, I get it, you shouldn't do that, but it seems he is being sentanced for assaulting Vince or something. They are killing off a guy with huge potential by giving him a life sentance when he should have got a slap on the wrist.... Ok, maybe not the wrist... the face... but enough already!!! He's already jobbed to R truth and that could have been a great upper mid card pay per view feud if they'd bothered to make a story in there.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 26, 2008 3:39 AM
It was glaringly obvious again on SD that if it was up to WWE, this would be a Kozlov-Triple H match at Cyber Sunday. They end the opening promo with HHH staring down Kozlov on the ramp and end the show with Kozlov attacking Triple H. If they wanted a triple threat, the natural booking move would've been to have Hardy come to the ring at show's end to clear the ring, but despite the fans chanting his name, no Hardy in sight.
And as much as I like the idea of the Khali kiss cam to make his character more fun, this installment was not real enjoyable. After doing an obvious and unneccessary homophobic joke, they once again brought in a fat woman to be kissed, then say that while it would be easy to kiss the pretty girl they brought in first, only a true man could kiss "the other one". Even though he softened the statement a bit after that, it came across to me as needlessly mean.
Posted by: Glen | October 26, 2008 11:30 AM
Kev, what did you think of The Brian Kendrick going back to beating Super Crazy just one month after winning (and losing) the WWE title? Personally, I'm a little annoyed that he and MVP are either beating jobbers or losing. They are probably the two best talkers on Smackdown right now, and neither appears to have any direction. Meanwhile, Vladimir Kozlov, who doesn't excite me at all, is getting pushed. Why?
Posted by: James | October 26, 2008 1:56 PM
Michelle McCool's acting in the backstage segment with Maria didn't impress me.
I can give HHH credit where it is due: it was a very good match.
Posted by: Christopher | October 26, 2008 10:20 PM
I can understand WWE's reasoning for having The Big Show interfere in the HHH - Undertaker match then having Koslov come in and jump HHH but it was until that point the best match I have seen on Smackdown in years. I wish that they had just let the match continue as a straight up match. The energy was great and they were really selling it.
Posted by: MDP | October 28, 2008 4:18 PM