Punk was the star of this episode of smackdown

The cynic in me says that Mr. McMahon was reminding us Smackdown fans/dissatisfied Raw viewers that he owns Smackdown, and he can turn it into Raw if he wants.

Aside from Mr. McMahon and Cryme Tyme, this was a very good episode, although not quite as good some others we have recently seen.

Morrison was in the television match of the week for the second straight time.

Don't get me wrong, whilst I love having general manager figures in all 3 of the shows, and this is if McMahon does fire Teddy Long, what is the point in them? We seem to get new ones all the time.

But this could be the beginning of the end for general managers. Maybe.

Like you, I also try to avoid spoilers like the plague. Watching the Morrison/Punk match was awesome, the ending was a complete surprise. I just wonder who is Morrison going to fued with next. A Morrison/Edge II match would have been nice at The Bash. I would have preferred that to Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler. Hopefully, he can feud with Jericho next, some mic time and a few good matches should propel him into the main event.

I have to agree that using Kim in the way they do is ridiculous. Her moves in the match were clean, crisp and exciting. Then they abruptly bury her with McCool and her Styles Clash. Kim, Mickie James and Natalya are the only divas I even want to watch wrestling, the rest are just eye candy.

I am so frustrated with my lack of My Network TV!!

About morrison, he is on twitter and does a GREAT job of connecting with fans there. I've never seen a star of any kind put so much effort into publicly responding to fan mail/questions. I think he is a great guy and I've gained a ton of respect for him. You've got people like matt hardy on there who just tries to get attention with cryptic messages and shout-outs to his boys, but he can't be bothered to write anything to anyone other than his clique of wrestlers. In the same token I lose a little respect for guys like that.

Morrison/Edge match I thought was the best of the show with the cage match a close second. I thought Vince was funny thru out the entire show yet I was a little surprised he was even on the show. Still trying to figure out why Gail Kim left TNA where she was the top Knockout to become just another has been Diva.

I thought this episode of SmackDown was good, but not great. Here's why:

1. With all the hype surrounding the "Rage in the Cage" match, I thought it ended up a little flat. I expected Punk to completely turn heel as a referee, but there was almost no confrontation between him and Hardy in the match. I thought the timing was perfect - he had just suckered Morrison earlier in the show, and then he would destroy Hardy after Hardy won the cage match or something - an allusion to Extreme Rules. Punk praising Hardy at the end was just bizarre more than anything else.

2. Cryme Tyme. 7 minutes of these guys on TV is just painful to watch.

Is it just me, or was it ironic that Shelton Benjamin called R-Truth an underachiever?

Hardy must be trying to emulate Crow Sting or something... I can see the similarities (silent guys and all), but while Sting's face paint makes him look scary, Hardy's face paint makes him look like a scary clown

Morrison over Punk sort of reminded me of when Jericho pinned HHH well before his championship push. It was later reversed because of the "fast count" by one of the Hebners, but I still though it did a great job of establishing Jericho as a top-card talent.

Smackdown is so much better than the other wrestling shows right now that it almost isn't fair.

I caught the Punk-Morrison match. Grisham made it sound like the upset of the century. I agree that it's Morrison's biggest victory in his career since Punk is the champ. But he & Punk fought over the ECW title with Punk as the face and Morrison as the heel. These are not unfamiliar opponents and they always deliver a great match.

BTW, doesn't Grisham sound a lot like Jonathan Coachman?

As for Edge, I see a face turn in his future. He's been a heel for more than five years now. It's time for a change. I could see a program with Morrison and Edge which concludes with Edge turning face and forming an allegiance with Morrison.

well kev apperently the reson why gail kim is not getting a push is because she did not go over with the fans
but yes i know it crazy that she is jobbing to someone who gets a push because vince feels obligated to because of her "friendship" with the undertaker
thats what i read

Kev, SD once again proved to be the best wrestling show on tv currently. My only complaint was that every time Vince came on, i wanted to punch him in the face. It amazes me how one mans presence can (almost) ruin a wrestling show.

Hey Kevin, I really enjoy reading your blogs. I've been thinking about what's going to happen to the babyface side of Smackdown's main eventers considering CM Punk's impending heel turn and Jeff Hardy's possible departure.

I'd really like to know your opinion on the matter....do you foresee Edge, or possibly Jericho, turning in the near future?

RESPONSE FROM KE: At some point down the line, Edge will turn. I don't see Jericho going babyface again for a long time.

When Punk vs MOrrison started, I started to figure out different ways to keep Punk Strong as champion and make Morrison look strong in defeat (as I had assume that he would loss).
It was tough call, because Morrison already had a long loss record against top stars, and a 'star in the making' can't be taken serious if suffers a loss every single time he faces a topstar, with the only consolation that 'he was so close...'
The surprising result, however, was great, because Punk keep his transition to heel alive, and the cheap shot makes Morrison a more likeable face.

Its almost absurd how much better Smackdown is than Raw, not only in terms of the roster, but the package as a whole. Yet somehow Raw continually gets the higher ratings. Why do you think that is? Is it solely based on the network, or do people honestly think Orton vs. Triple H for the 100th time is more entertaining?

RESPONSE FROM KE: It's a combination of MyNetwork TV being a weak network and Friday being a bad TV night in general.

I was caught completely off guard by Morrison's win. I figured there was no way he would win just before the PPV. Aren't Morrison and Edge scheduled for a match at The Bash, or am I thinking wrong. I thought a week or two ago it was booked.

I also thought Shelton Benjamin cut one of his best promos yet. It seems like the young guys on Smackdown are getting stronger and stronger in every respect, so the future is starting to look brighter.

excuse me Kevin.. does anybody know why WWE hasn't release a statement about Michael Jackson death?' i feel it's disrespectful. since the world is mourning the death of Michael Jackson. i think it would be nice if a couple of wrestlers pay there respects towards him, because you know they probably grew up listening to his music. like the rest of the world

yes i know Michael Jackson, doesn't have anything to do with wrestling, but ESPN has recently post article of sports athletes paying there respects towards Michael. so shouldn't the WWE do the same thing. anyway i do agree with your very well written article morrison is the future of WWE. his time will come :)

The only annoying thing about morrison's matches, is the commentator's refusal to mention his ECW, intercontinental, and tag team title reigns. As if he just steped on the scene.

I have been reading your blog for over a year now. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy it. Thank you and keep up the good work.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Thank you!

One word Kevin: Screwjob. Hardy's leaving. Everyone agrees with that. After he said he didn't wanted Hardy to win, this HAS to be the aftermath.

This is really bad news... Then again, this would mean a lot of heel turns - Teddy Long, CM Punk, Mr. McMahon (and quite possibly the whole family)... Hmm... maybe it isn't so bad after all.

Oh maybe Vicke Guerrero would return in a swerve of events. ...Nah.

Then again, since Mr. McMahon in SD is a surprise, I'm all in for him to get seriously involved in the B show. Scratch that - it'll turn into A+ once he's in. Just hope the storylines don't get stale from now on...

And BTW, Rey's losing the mask tomorrow. 'Nuff said.

Who's booking Smackdown! these days? It was smart to have Punk lose clean before a full-blown heel turn because it will make more sense why he suddenly cheats to win after going so long without cheating. Not that every "heel" has to cheat in every match, but I imagine that's the direction they're heading with Punk now.

Is it just me, or have the potential 'break-through' supestars seem to be getting more mich time and cutting pre-match promos about their opponents recently - John Morrison, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler (he's always had mich time) and now Shelton Benjamin?

Hey, i'm not complaining! I like the idea of fresh faces in the main event.

I'm surprised they didn't put a Morrison/Edge match on the card...

It wouldn't be a main event or anything - more of an awesome push for Morrison (like Miz is getting with Cena) - Edge and Morrison could've certainly cut a couple decent promos over the week to build up interest.

Speaking of - I'm perplexed about the Miz/Cena match...

If Cena wins (which is obviously very likely) then it basically snuffs out the "push" that Miz has been getting.

If Big Show comes out and interferes - then it means that Miz will probably continue his whole "Cena has yet to beat me" schtick. I don't see how that can go on any longer.

If Miz wins (shocking thought) then it would definitely be pulling the trigger on a push for him but to what end? What POSSIBLE angles and storylines could they have planned for Miz?

The one thing that sort of makes sense after that would be for him to start an angle with MVP - but then why not just have him start feuding with MVP from the beginning?

*sigh*

Oh well, I just hope Big Show isn't involved...

Shouldn't a tag team cage match be contested in a tornado tag format?

Another good episode of Smackdown and I agree with you Kev about Gail Kim, she might be earning more money, but I dont see a long WWE future for her, she should have stayed at TNA. It was great to see John Morrison beat CM Punk and I hope you are right about him getting a major push.

Although the Morrison win was cool, I think WWE creative should have given Punk a longer string of clean wins before having him lose clean to Morrison. Some fans may now begin to look past the Hardy/Punk fued.

Good show.

BTW, got a Punk t-shirt for Father's Day. Coolest gift I ever got!

Smackdown is on a role as predicted based on the fresh talent accumulated after the last draft.

Yeah, Friday is a bad TV night. I'd much rather watch Smackdown now than Raw but often miss it due to other things. Before the draft, I really did not care.

I'm a Punk fan and looking forward to a Punk heel turn. I think it will help develop his character.

I don't like it when WWE plays selective history like they are in promoting Morrison. He has been around a few years already and has a good # of feathers in his cap including championships and a WWE career initiating feud with Punk in ECW that are not promoted plus he wrestles consistently well. It just reminds the viewer how manipulative WWE is.

There is a lot of equal talent on Smackdown, so that makes it less shameful even for those receiving pushes to lose occasionally. Someone has to win and lose or else the matches become meaningless.

Before anything, I have to agree with you. Vince McMahon had me absolutely rolling on the floor laughing. I mean, Teddy Long has been needing to be made fun of for thee longest time. McMahon put a stop to the "ain't" business and then his mocking him was funny as hell.

The match between Punk and Morrison will go down as one of my all-time favorite Punk matches. I like that Punk showed off some of his clever technical wrestling skills. He seemed to make use of that more so than his usual striking style which I'm also fond of, but enjoy when he switches it up.

The thing with Morrison is he must elevate to top babyface because WWE doesn't have much of a choice rather the fans like it or not; Hardy is leaving soon and the vast majority of the WWE Universe has either pushed for, or treated CM Punk as a heel which now seems to be materializing. And the problem with all this is that you're absolutely right; Morrison is not fully cut out to be a top babyface quite yet, but with so few babyfaces on SD, he's going to have to be. Why the WWE fans have stubbornly pushed CM Punk, this very successful rising star, to become full-blown heel (when there are already top heels, Edge and Jericho on SD) despite the lack of top babyfaces, is beyond me.

Some have argued that they're helplessly going along with storyline because of CM Punk's actions at Extreme Rules. Err... doesn't anyone remember the big trademark of Stone Cold Steve Austin that made him so big? Don't trust anybody; go after anybody and everybody. Some of the best babyfaces ever didn't give a crap about anyone except entertaining the fans and getting to the top. Makes things more unpredictable and more exciting rather than face being limited to only going after heels. Besides, Punk explained himself week after week, so that should have made all this heel treatment null and void.

I don't even think it was CM Punk's actions at Extreme Rules that instigated this heel heat he's been receiving. Ever since WrestleMania when Punk won the Money in the Bank for a second time, I've noticed fans giving him tidbits of heel heat and that certainly wasn't an intended heel move just to win that match. (We all found out pretty quickly that Benjamin didn't really have it except for that night as I was saying at the time)

My advice on how to fix this whole situation with Punk would be to make him a superstar like HBK where he's the type of tweener who has his moments but for the most part is on good terms with the fans. HBK's tweener role leans far more towards being a babyface more so than a heel and I think Punk's tweener status should lean that way as well where he can be cheered a lot, but occasionally do those things that get him some heat. That's why I like HBK a lot.

Other thoughts:
Err... don't even get me started on Jeff Hardy and deciding to go for his finisher and the cover as soon as he saw that CM Punk had been knocked out as guest referee all so he could gripe about it to him. Also good promo by Shelton Benjamin but everyone is griping about him not winning the match. I thought everyone was saying his big problem was him needing to improve in his promo, so now their griping about his match outcomes. Err! WWE Universe has me confused! :(

Edit: I forgot The Undertaker which could definitely help but looking at things right now, seems like Taker could be overly relied upon and overworked this fall if Morrison doesn't elevate to a top lovable enough babyface in a hurry.

Another very strong episode of SD.Morisson-Punk match was great and the result was certainly unexpected.As for the cage match,why did Hardy lose when he is heading into a WHC match at The Bash PPV?Also,isn't a cage match a no DQ match?Then why did the wrestlers have to be tagged in?

I don't think that is the real John Morrison on Twitter. I wish we knew who the real wrestlers were.

i really like morrison but i think hes alot better as a heel

CM Punk and Morrison stole the show, and that's a hard feat when the program was so good. I'm not even into cage matches, but the main event was cool as well, with special thanks to Mysterio putting in some great spots.

Kim left TNA because they wouldn't give her a suitable raise. The blame could go either way, but in the end Kim chose to work for a company with nothing to offer actual female wrestlers.

Well anyway, SmackDown is the show to beat. (TNA could compete if they had a second show dedicated to wrestling; ROH needs to stop having 2-3 awful jobber matches every week and give their under-card matches more than five minutes).

I've always been a big Morrison fan, but I'm reserving judgement as to him breaking through. He's definitely a young HBK to me, but I've been wrong before.

I still remember agreeing with your WWE Champs of the future post with MVP and then there was the Raw after the draft where things looked great and then.......he went to a prom with someone NO ONE cares about, lost his 2nd tier belt to someone I think is way overrated and wasn't on this PPV.

At least they are going full speed with Punk finally, so not all hope is lost.

was plesantly surprise at the outcome of Punk/morrison especially that he didn't wi n with his finisher. U really have to sop gettin angry about gail losing in about 3 mo's hopefully that belt will be around her waist.

R-Truth seems to be getting a push.

Christian, along with Swagger, is basicly carrying ECW and making it must see TV. He should be on one of the "Big Two" shows by next years draft.

So this being said don't give up hope on Gail Kim just yet. I think anyone comming from TNA is gonna have to pay some dues.

I agree that since the rest of the planet is grieving the death of Michael Jackson, perhaps the WWE stars could have shared their memories about the King of Pop. As far as MVP goes, he was Sherri Shepard's date last night at the BET Michael Jackson tribute award show. I'm so utterly sick of HHH. He needs to move over-enough is enough! He's been on top for the past 10 years-enough already! Gail Kim definitely needs to go back TNA; the women's division is not good. Smackdown is better right now, but I did not like Vince's behavior toward Teddy Long. I also didn't like Shelton's promo. He should have something better to talk about. In case he didn't know, the habitual "be," though obsolete today in Standard American English, is not necessarily incorrect English. It's old English, used by the likes of Shakespeare. Using that old English is the same as Christians who use words with the "eth" ending rather than the contemporary "s" ending (ie. proceedeth instead of proceeds). Or such as when they say things like "shall" instead of "will." More importantly, Shelton would NEVER correct a person like HBK's use of incorrect English, like when he drops some of his verbs from his sentences. Interesting that he chose to pick on R-Truth. Okay, that's my rant.

drolsitsrihc,

What was standard for Shakespeare, who spoke Early Modern English, is not necessarily standard today.

To use "be" as a copula IS incorrect English. The correct conjugation is "I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, you are, they are."

Also, the modal verb "shall" is not a fancy pants substitute for "will." When using formal speech, "shall," is the modal used for the first person singular: "I shall," as opposed to "you will," or "he will."

There is a convention, albeit old and seldom used, in which "shall" and "will" are switched when the speaker expresses intensity or determination: "I will not put up with this," and "he shall not do that again."

While I agree that Gail Kim is not being handled correctly, I have to take issue with your criticism of Melina. I admit to being a total mark for her, but still, I can't see how she doesn't command more respect. She's the most inventive, athletic, and (at least IMO) charismatic woman in the history of the business, and here's the kicker - she actually understands what working is all about, unlike the vast majority of Divas, Knockouts, or whatever demeaning nickname is thrust upon these women.

The one legitimate criticism against her is that she doesn't always land her moves smoothly, but 1. how many women wrestlers do? and 2. that's largely because she is so inventive in the ring. She can occasionally be sloppy, sure, but look at what she's trying to pull off! Perhaps it's Morrison's influence; wherever it comes from, Melina doesn't settle for a typical Diva moveset. Instead, she busts her ass to bring us something new and exciting every time she steps in the ring. And compared to her contemporaries who can barely manage a body slam without botching it, her rate of landing her moves is actually pretty damn good.

Grammar discussions on a wrestling blog? I just marked out a little.

Cheers to insomnia!

*cheers* for Tonetare!

Excellent points on Punk and Hardy.