I thought that I was going to puke when Cryme Tyme beat The Hart Dynasty. And unsurprisingly, the backstage segment was not funny. It is not right that Cryme Tyme got much more screen time than Morrison.

However, in regard to R-Truth, I mildly disagree with you, Kevin. I think that he is a solid midcarder, but I am unconvinced that he should get a much bigger push. When he makes his entrance, you indeed see some people who are really into it, but others just sit stone-faced. He needs to broaden his appeal.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Just a thought -- if R-Truth was winning more matches and was higher in the card, perhaps those sitting stone-faced would be more enthusiastic about him.

You're crazy.

WWE cut Cryme Tyme once then brought them back. I wish they would cut them again permanantly. Jesse needs to move on to. Eve in this storyline is hurting her more.
I didn't like Kane coming back to beat Mysterio. I think it hurt Rey more than it helped Kane.
I hope Maria turns heel soon, she needs a fresh start. Teaming her up with Ziggler will be good for her. I love Maria still. She is still cute and bubbly but it's time for a change.
Still no full heel turn for Punk. But a good job by Jeff Hardy in faking the eye injury to get back at Punk.
Morrison should be singing The Doors songs since he was given his name after looking like Jim Morrison of the Doors.
It was an ok show overall but not quite as good as the past few weeks.

Someone needs to start a petition to get that crap 'word up' off my telly. It's entertainment at it's worst.

I really disliked the Hart Dynasty-Cryme Tyme match outcome, too.

One thing I found ridiculous was that the commentators were talking as if Hardy had REALLY suffered some sort of bizarre injury when he did that exaggerated "I'm-in-sudden-pain" motion.

That aside, however...

While watching Smackdown is fun, isn't it a bad thing if they constantly pit the top guys against one another on free TV? They don't have many more top-guy combinations that we haven't seen, and it sort of lessens the impact of two top guys meeting at a PPV.

I understand that when they meet at a PPV, it's usually for the title, but let's take as an analogy - back in late 2000 and early 2001 - we'd never have seen someone like The Rock and Stone Cold in the same match on Raw or SD! for several weeks straight.

Now, comparing Punk/Hardy/Jericho/Edge to Rock/Austin might be a bit of a stretch, but they ARE pretty much the top guys in the business right now, much like Rock/Austin 8 or 9 years ago.

I thought of you as soon as I read the spoilers on Wednesday and saw Cryme Tyme going over the new Harts. Fortunately, I had plans all day Friday so I didn't have to watch it.

PS - you're right; Ricky Ortiz has a lot of compontents for a successful WWE career. As did Elijah Burke so Ortiiz is in that other "tweener" position between making an impact and being a memory.

Maaaaan, the Teddie-Morrison scene was awful, but at the same time it was damn funny. Teddie always makes me laugh and for some reason Morrison was making me do so even more.

Cringe worthy, but brilliant.

happy 4th everyone really sad about the Mcnair news thats 6 celebs in 2 weeks i cant remember when when so many famous people died in that short of a span R.I.P ED,Farrah,Micheal,Bill,Carl & Steve. back to wrestling now is it just me or does it seem that Smackdown itself seems more laid back in writing in style compared to Raw which seems more serious if you know what i mean if not it just seems like the writers and talent are just out their having fun while on RAW everything just seems rushed and force fed. I don't know why instead of bringing in new writers for Raw why don't they just bring in smackdown writers to help write raw ius it that hard to write 2 shows? I have to agree with you on the CT/THD match was really stunned with that match along with the Kane/Rey match. i really do think yuor on to something Edge & Jericho's promo sounded like Edge is slowly turning face.

I was surprised at how dead the crowd was for Finlay vs. Ortiz. While Finlay has recently gone heel, Ortiz had normally gotten decent crowd reactions prior to that.

I definitely agree on CM Punk though. His promo work has been great as world champion.

Why are our champs losing clean on tv?

Smackdown is absolutely been onfire! I was glad to see Cryme Tyme win. They always seem to be pushed to the background, I do agree with you on word up. So curious to see Jesse back in action, with some new persona. Always liked his ring skills. Lovin Jericho and Edge. Two of the most entertaining in and out of the ring. Great blog, as usual.

Kevin, could Edge make the face turn and possibly split the unified titles in half???? How interesting would it be for the tag team champs to be going at each other like contenders? Has that ever been done before? Once again, great blog!!!

hey kevin...i could not watch the entire episode of smackdown..! but i saw the punk hardy segment where punk said "just say no"!! could you tell me what was he referring to when he said it...

RESPONSE FROM KE: Hardy's two violations of WWE's drug policy. "Just say no" is an anti-drug slogan (just say no to drugs).

To the person that thinks Edge should or could make a heel turn.. NO WAY. That will never happen unless the WWE plans to bury his career. Guess we won't have to wonder about the tag titles being split either way, since he is now injured. :(

"Just a thought -- if R-Truth was winning more matches and was higher in the card, perhaps those sitting stone-faced would be more enthusiastic about him."

Okay, I accept that. It's a chicken-and-the-egg thing: do you have to be over in order to be pushed, or pushed in order to be over? Probably a combination of the two.

I concede that I can't have it both ways: I can't complain about MVP not going over HHH while simultaneously dismissing R-Truth's crowd reaction.

A fun Smackdown once again, but Edge's injury sure changes a lot! Too bad he's out of action at this moment, when he has this great team with Jericho...
And glad that the WWE eventually made some kind of tribute to Michael Jackdson, we made our own MIJ / WWE crossover on our sit, maybe some of you will have a look and a laugh: http://www.lescahiersducatch.com/site/?q=node/106

dont know is anybody else noticed but the best and most hilarious moment of the night for me was when edge gave an up and down look at josh matthews at the end of his interview with jericho. just the look on both edge and matthews' faces were one of those little things that makes edge one of the best performers of all time in my list.

here's the link, the moment occurs at 6:20
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x105rv_mater07_smackdown-3709/video/x9rgel_smackdown-3709-part-59_sport?hmz=746162

To the poster on this blog who criticized top talent competing on on free TV, please leave and never come back.

I don't know what to say about the Michael Jackson bit. If it weren't for the lyrics, I would have thought Theodore Long was rejuvenating the Eugene gimmick for himself. Morrison actually looked ok until the second to last song he was trying to sing, but the name that song is "Bad" so it all worked out for the best. Not to mention, Morrison's looks also saved him too. Teddy, on the other hand, had me hoping McMahon would step into the promo at some point, mock how ridiculous he looked, before throwing him back on probation.

Anyways, Melina doesn't play, does she? lmao! Did you see the way she did that cruel looking finisher of hers on Layla (with the bloodcurdling shriek) and while frozen in the move, glared at McCool. Dang! I feel sorry for Layla having to withstand that. Both McCool and Melina have unique, but extremely harsh looking finishers. I think they match up well together and are good competition for each other.

What was the point of the comments made by Ortiz before his match with Finlay and how did they spark heat from the crowd? If he was trying to be funny or offensive, he was unsuccesful. Perhaps because it seemed as if he was trying to be a wise guy, they booed him. He reminds me of big version of Carlito. wild hair, wise guy, etc. I'm not seeing anything original with him. He may have potential but he doesn't stand out to me.

Wtf! I thought Bret Hart was on his way out to the ring. I don't watch ECW. Anyways, Cryme Time needs to be released. The only one who can do what they're trying to do is R-Truth and R-Truth can do it without coming across as arrogant, like he thinks he's cooler than everyone else. On the other hand, Jesse looks great though.

The way the Big Red Monster ran away through the crowd, had me laughing my butt off. While funny, it was sad because Kane's gimmick is so ruined it's not even funny. Undertaker should be ashamed to be his brother. It's ok for a gimmick like Kane's to back up ever so slowly and leave by the rampway, but to leapfrog over the barricade and hightail it through the audience makes him look like a joke. Kev, I think Jericho is your favorite and Kane indirectly made him look bad, so you should have no problem with me hating on Kane! lol! Kane vs. Khali! Talk about a slow, stiff-moving bore of a match.

Ziggler's doing exceptionally: vocal in the ring, exuberant, full of life, lot's of personality. About his promo with Maria though, is WWE leaving PG?

Jim Ross was having a good time on commentary in the tag match. Even though he sounded ridiculous, he was a riot the way he was defending Punk in not making the tag and giving credence to Jeff Hardy faking an eye injury when it's intended in script to be obvious bogus.

I'm extraordinarily proud of Punk. Despite the lame storylines and match results (to which he has no control over) making him look like a wimpy heel, he's still very dominant in the ring and doesn't let his opponents get away with much without being quick to bite back. To me, they have been making a wimpy heel out of an amazing talent and I hate seeing CM Punk having to look like that because his in-ring talent should entitle him to better.

Gwen,

Chris Candido and Lance Storm were tag champs in ECW back in the late 90s and they were at odds with each other. The story was interesting at first, but it became bad when cohesive teams couldn't beat the champs who were practically fighting each other during their matches. They couldn't just allow their opponents to win because Paul Heyman threatened to fire them (I think) if they didn't put in a solid effort. The story over-stayed its welcome in my opinion.

TNA also does the "tag team partners that can't get along" routine very often to the point where the idea is very much un-welcomed.

Hopefully the WWE (and TNA for that matter) stay clear of that storyline, but I can see your interest if you haven't seen it before. (I think Austin and HBK did this, but I wasn't watching WWE at that time, just WCW and ECW somewhat).

I think the Harts will be moving onto singles matches by the end of the year, but still remain a unit.

"To the poster on this blog who criticized top talent competing on on free TV, please leave and never come back."

Condescend with me for a while. Is my opinion so wrong that there is no way to approach it rationally and without being rude?

I said that top stars facing each other continuously on free TV lessens the impact of them meeting at the PPV. It won't be anything special after a while.

Your turn now - try not to tell me to get lost yet.

You have a problem with Kane beating Rey Mysterio? Lest we forget, Kevin, that Kane jobbed to Mysterio twice last fall (Cyber Sunday, Raw) and was eliminated by Rey in the Elimination Chamber at this year's No Way Out. Kane should have jobbed to Mysterio once and that's it. I think we can all live with Kane beating Rey, no matter what belt Rey holds or what match he just fought. Rey has been on a roll this year as a performer and has been pushed exceptionally well since No Way Out. Kane hasn't been on a roll or been booked well since 1998. I like your blog, Kev, but give me a break.