Eck,

You are a journalist who covers wrestling. Its kind of silly to get pi--ed off when people try and inform you that there is a new world champion regardless of whether the show has aired or not. It was a pretty damn big news topic.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I try to watch the shows as a fan with no preconceived notions going in. It's more fun that way.

-"There was not even a slight hint of dissension between them in the weeks leading up to this. It looks as if Shad will be getting a singles push. …"

You didn't know Kev, but in the 26 man battle royale at WM one of them eliminated the other and that's what started the tensions between them.

Ican understand your feeling kev, I dont spoilers either.
On a side note I just wish Jericho wasnt always a transitional champion, but it seems he likes putting over new talent. So from Jerichoholic to another heres to hopping he atleast one great feud with Swagger

Kane really seems to bother you.

I didn't think the WWE could devalue the title belts any further, yet they've managed it.

Swagger has done nothing for many months, yet is suddenly world champion, and takes the belt in a sham.

It's not about Swagger, it's about WWE shameful prostitution of it's once great and distinguished world title belts.

Sorry to hear you had SD spoiled, I too enjoy watching without knowing what's going on and avoid wrestling sites when I'm behind on the programming.

No Mysterio or Undertaker this week. Is this WWE's plan going forward? How do you see the annual WWE draft affecting SD, which is, incidentally, my favourite WWE show? I presume you will want to do a blog on this, I hope it's something I can read soon.

Kev, I was also spoiled by a friend about the Swagger title win, but I still enjoyed it. Surprised by it, for sure. I thought Swagger would def be built up for a few months first, all while trying to steal a victory and continually cancelling the impromptu matches. Other than that, I thought the matches on SD were pretty weak. Glad to read that Khali is taking some time off which means he won't be taking up TV time. His speech was cut off when I dvr'ed the show. Also, not looking fwd to a McIntyre-Hardy feud. I think Matt Hardy's in ring performances have taken a serious downturn in the last year. What is up with his sudden weight gain or loss of physique?

Kevin- Don't you think his voice hurts his chances of getting over really big? I just cant imagine serious heat on a guy who sounds like a nasally elementary school kid with a lisp. I'm not making fun of a speech impediment in fact i had to work on the letter s as a kid myself. Couldn't he be well served with a charismatic manager or some other similar thing? Hopefully he can get the push he athletically deserves but i just hope he improves in his promos one way or the other.

-Pete in Towson

Interesting note about Friday's cashing in of the MITB contract: Edge has been involved directly or indirectly every time MITB has been cashed in.

WM21 MITB: Edge successfully cashes in against Cena
WM22 MITB: Edge spears Cena while RVD is cashing in his briefcase which leads to RVD's title victory (not to mention that Edge was the one who took the belt off RVD a few weeks later)
WM23 MITB: Edge (after taking the briefcase off Kennedy) successfully cashes in against the Undertaker
WM24 MITB: CM Punk successfully cashes in against Edge
WM25 MITB: CM Punk successfully cashes in against Jeff Hardy immediately after he won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge moments earlier (a bit if a stretch I know)
WM26 MITB: Swagger successfully cashes in against Jericho immediately following a beatdown by Edge

The ultimate opportunist plays all sides of MITB

Wait a minute, Jack Swagger brings HOME the gold? Are you implying that the World Heavyweight Championship once lived in limbo?

smackdown.. eh..
wrestling started to die in 2001.
and to quote JR "my god almighty" it has taken hits since then.
i think the wwe executives are very woried about the future.
lucky they only have to make a product for the memories of 8 year olds.

I agree, I want to see Jack flash that big kool-aid smile and do the push ups with the championship belt on! I don't like the instant change in demeanor.

What a shame. Yes, WWE needs to get new talent in the main events but the recent mega pushes of Sthwagger and Shaemus are without merit. Neither have even put on one above average match and neither have been involved in story lines that weren't more than tv filler before their title reigns. I'd much rather have the belts on Miz or Morrison.

The total destruction of the tag division is now obvious. I'm not a huge Cryme Tyme fan but at least they were a team.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I disagree about Swagger. He had some excellent matches against Christian and a couple good ones against Cena that I remember.

Just to let you know, when Swagger won on Tuesdays taping, that me and Diva Daughter went to, the first thing I thought was, that is something I cannot post on ECK, out of pure respect. As annoying as the mis-timed chant "WHAT" And...unless you were at WM26, you didnt see the Battle Royal, just as you didn't see the Undertaker-Punk match, that followed the Swagger standing over Edge, and Jericho.
I was in total disbelief when Swagger cashed in MIB, but Kevin didnt get to feel that feeling.

Kevin, Sorry about the spoiler thing. How was M.C.W.? Will you post any results?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I didn't make it to the show. Family situation (nothing serious).

That had to be the best Smackdown this year! Loved all the multiple storylines.

Kev remember Swagger even did the job on Monday in the tag mactch along with the other items you mentioned. However, I'm glad he is the champ now. But in Jericho's defense he is better than just a transitional champ. He could actually increase Smackdown's creditability by becoming its long term champ (ala ric flair in the NWA).

While exciting, this was a goat rope of a Smackdown -- from the undeserved & unpushed underdog winning a world title to a tag team turning on one another for the sake of a 'twist' to a former champion retiring without any notice. I can't help but wonder if your tone would have been more critical if this was an episode of Impact?

I'm sorry for yelling at you Kevin. Its been a pretty frustrating week in wrestling between finding out JR is done announcing, HBK is done wrestling, the Mr. McMahon character is probably done, and the Edge-Y2J feud had to be intruded on by Jack Swagger.

We're still Wolfpac for life.

RESPONSE FROM KE: No problem, my man. You raised a fair point.

I was wondering, how young is Swagger? With this win, where is he on the youngest world champion list?

RESPONSE FROM KE: He's 28. Orton won it at 24; Lesnar at 25; Rock at 26. Those are three at come to mind who were younger, but there may be others.

Hey Rob Watkins, you want to know who bothers Kev.. and it's not Kane.. it's Tommy Dreamer. He had a hatred for Dreamer, every week it seemed he had negitive things to say about him.

Sorry Kev, love your column, respect your opinions, read it after every show. Your hatred for Dreamer just irked me though. Other than that.. love the column!

RESPONSE FROM KE: I hate no one. LIke any fan, I just enjoy watching some performers more than others. I had no problem with Dreamer in the original ECW.

Speaking of that Kevin, do you have any thoughts on the end of the Mr. McMahon character report in the latest WON?

I guess it does kind of explain why the VInce-Bret match was so strange. Vince wanted Mr. McMahon to go out with a beat down.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Vince has talked for years about going away as a character. He said it to me in an interview I did with him in 2003. Considering he's now 64, perhaps he means it this time, although I'm a little skeptical. I love Vince as a performer, but I'm not sure what more they could do with him at this point that hasn't already been done.

The best part was when she said that Punk had “beautiful eyes,” and then the camera zoomed in an evil-looking Punk with huge bags under his eyes. …

I've always wondered about those bags. Insomnia can be a real pain!

I found Smackdown pretty poor, and I was bored most of the time. Perhaps it was because it was after the rollercoaster of WM and Raw, but I'm not certain.

Why could the intrusion on the Edge-Y2J angle not have been Christian? Better on the mic, better in the ring than swagger, and looks like a champion.

Would also make sense given the history he has with both men. Swagger is talented, but is not a world champion. Like the Sheamus win, this makes no sense, when there are better guys waiting on title shots such as Christian and CM Punk.

Jack Swagger is like a cross between Dr. Death Steve Williams and Kurt Angle. He has a lot of strength and great technique. I'm glad he won the title even though he could have used more of a build up leading into his win.

Yeah, I liked the arrogant Swagger from ECW more than this serious version, so hopefully he will bring that aspect of his persona back to some extent.

I personally like his promos and don't think he speaks poorly. People seem overly sensitive about things when Swagger actually can be fairly witty if they actually pay attention to his words.

Hopefully Swagger defends against Benjamin at some point later on. Swagger did gloat to Benjamin and ask if he should be called the gold standard.

Vince being done as an on screen persona probably means that The Hart Dynasty isn't gonna get elevated any further from a feud with him. Shame.

Swagger isn't ready to be world champ but new blood wearing the belt was much needed. This will also get Edge over more as a face. WWE is dangling the carrot in front of the fans right now before putting the belt on the Rated R Superstar. This is kind of similar to Sheamus winning the title. Orton was a heel then gets a title shot against Sheamus at the Royal Rumble and voila the fans love him now because they don't think Sheamus is worthy of the title.

It does suck that Chris Jericho will never be more than a transitional champon.

An inauspicious start for Swagger as champ. First he beats a weakened Jericho, then delivers a subdued entrance walk and flat promo which only serve to frame him as someone with no charisma or enthusiasm, perhaps set up to be ridiculed by fans.

The WWE ran the nerdy gimmick with Angle a few years ago but he had enough humor and spunk in his character to make it interesting.

It might have been better for the company to work more with him on his gimmick, character and interview skills and then to bring him in as a strong heel or face once he's up to it.

Solid show on Friday. I have no problem with Swagger winning the MITB and then wiining the title. I'm just surprised it happened so quickly. I don't see him holding the belt for long, though.

Cryme Tyme was getting stale. I felt they should have either been split up or turned heel. Never was a fan, but they were one of the few teams left.

Why does Matt Striker constantly refer to Matt Hardy as the heart and soul of Smackdown? If anyone on the roster fits that description, it would be Undertaker.

"The guy was buried for much of the past year, jobbing to Evan Bourne and participating in comedy angles with Santino Marella."

__________________________________

True, but that is exactly why the Money-In-The-Bank concept has been strengthened. How many people had picked Swagger to win the title shot, let alone a title? The next time a MITB match takes place, the fans will be more likely to buy any participant as a potential winner and future titlist, not just two or three front-runners.

Speaking of that Kevin, do you have any thoughts on the end of the Mr. McMahon character report in the latest WON?

I guess it does kind of explain why the VInce-Bret match was so strange. Vince wanted Mr. McMahon to go out with a beat down.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Vince has talked for years about going away as a character. He said it to me in an interview I did with him in 2003. Considering he's now 64, perhaps he means it this time, although I'm a little skeptical. I love Vince as a performer, but I'm not sure what more they could do with him at this point that hasn't already been done.
-----------------------------

It's not like they haven't tried before, lest we forget the limo explosion angle that had to be rescinded after the real death of Chris Benoit.

Kev i am just hoping that Swagger gets the same chance that Shaemus was given if that is the case and he is booked similar to him then WWE will have redeemed themselves by having a person who people look to as a real champion with the belt

do u think jericho may have been legitimately injured at wm26 when he got speared off the table? maybe thats why he dropped the belt so soon and why there seems to be a triple threat looming. i cant imagine why else they would stop all the momentum he and edge had.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Honestly, that was my first thought when I found out that he dropped the title. Then I saw he was the only pro not to wrestle in the eight-man tag on NXT. However, he did take two a spear from Edge and two gut-wrench powerbombs from Swagger, so I don't think that's the case.

It was a horrible idea to mix in Swagger into a feud between the two best mic-workers in the business today, a feud which had the potential to be clearly "THE" feud of the year 2010. I have to admit, as an avid peep, it was a bit heartbreaking to see Swagger standing tall with the title above the lying Jericho, but honestly, all my bias aside, the only way, to improve this promising storyline between Edge and Y2J was to let Christian interfere in it, because of his matching charisma and of course his history with the two of them. I think WWE drop the ball big time on this one.
Obviously, they want to see if Swagger can hold his own with the big guys, but his performance Friday night was very, very far from impressive (below average, in my opinion)! That was especially clear during his promo at the end of the show, when the Las Vegas crowd, which was very hot for the whole night, became very silent and emotionless. It's still early to make any predictions, but if he doesn't step up, he will be very soon thrown back into the midcard mix, with Evan Bourne and Santino Marella.

And people, please stop it with the spoilers! I remember when they were posted in 2-3 comments during last week, and Kev, you're not the only one who was pi**ed about that, because the surprise was of course totally ruined.
Kevin, how about not posting at all those comments with spoilers or editing the spoiler-part completely out, because as soon somebody has mentioned Jack Swagger and a big surprise on Smackdown, I knew what it was about?!

Who says Edge/Jericho can't still feud?

It makes more sense for business that the belt leaves the feud. Wrestlemania 27 doesn't have to be pushed for 9 months, perfect time to put the belt on an undeserving guy(if anytime is). If you never take the belt off the same five guys, it makes it hard to push anyone else into that spot when WWE will have to.

As a wrestling fan for 30 years, the most important wrestlers are "guys who don't need the belt". Jericho doesn't need it. They took the belt off Taker SO HE COULD MAIN EVENT WRESTLEMANIA! Million Dollar Man's my all-time favorite, he never held it, but he arguably was the most important heel in WWF during his time.

As a huge Jericho fan, I love that he's booked this way. His mic time is no different than when he's champ, I like the fact he's actually making "fresh faces" look good out there and actually defeat him, JUST LIKE "BILLIONAIRE TED" would do.

Kev, love your thoughts on the business and love that you don't ruin the shows! Keep up the good work!

Chris jericho has been called up for mandatory jury duty. Will not be workin for up to 6 weeks. Hence the title drop.

RESPONSE FROM KE: That was an April Fool's Joke.

Simple really, if you wouldn't put the belt on him in the main event at Wrestlemania then don't put the belts on em at all. . .Jericho should have remaied champion and Swagger should have been made to be a valid contender to Cena. But no first time Swagger Vs Cena happens he taps clean in the middle of the ring, really built up a thirst for future battles didn't it. . .

wwe.com is advertising a new ppv called Money in the Bank, which makes me think there will be a second Money in the Bank match. Swagger cashed his in early, so Vince may want another out. I like the idea, but do you think itll make the MITB match less important to have two in a year, Kevin? Or will it just raise buys for that new ppv?

RESPONSE FROM KE: As soon as I heard that WWE was doing a Money in the Bank PPV I thought it was going to take away from the Mania match. We'll see.