OH MY GOD!!!

Jack Swagger's Promo made me cry laughing too. The part when he was talking about his SAT score... I couldn't breathe.

Please, please, please let this be the future of the Two Time Two Time All American American Jack Thwagga!

Yeah, Smackdown had the right call to push their new acquisitions from the beginning, easily putting Kingston, Big Show and Christian as the future top faces of SD. Show naturally lacks charisma and I persists that it is quite awkward to see him act like a babyface. Moving on, Jericho really had nothing to lose by getting defeated by Kofi but the knockout punch from Show could have not been included.

My real argument is about...Edge!

Ok, you were right but that dosn't enchants me really. I agree that he is a marvellous heel and that is his true place. But this was not the right time.
Firstly, the huge top heels crowd on RAW like Jericho, Miz, Sheamus and DiBiase Jr.
Edge is a great heel but seeing Cena and Orton [who still wrestles with heels manners] as only faces just lead to a heels supremacy. Edge should have remain a face a bit longer. If a reunion with Christian was not according to WWE plans, they could just have reunite Orton and Edge.
Imagine...one of the greatest tag team ever that was one of the most diabolical team make their comeback...RatedRKO. The two now as faces could have be the new DX on RAW.
Also...the Spear chant was getting so much heat. With the crowd now booing louder Sheamus & Miz, the 'Ask Him' chant to Jericho, the 'mixed-ovation' to John Cena, the RKO 'chant' to Orton and the would-be chant 'We Want the Game' , the Spear chant will have been the cherry on the cake if Edge remains at 3 months longer as babyface.
I'm sure that RAW ratings will have been to the roof in that case.
Ha, Let's Wait and Watch!
Thanks, Kev

I loved the Vignettes that the lesser lights did as well as the Swagger ones. I think WWE may have remembered how to get wrestlers over again .... YAY

As normal I agree with your blog. Thank you for taking the time to do this for us.

Now all Rhodes needs is a real song since Teddy seems to have gotten New Day in the break up.

Love Matt striker. For me, the line of the night was " somewhere a Brainbuster is smiling"

It’s not like Kingston is Heath Slater or JTG..................

Jericho is the only one who does the job to rising star. Heck, he even job to Muhamad Hassan remember?

You don't see Cena or HHH job to JTG right?

Hey Kev,

I have to agree with you about Smackdown; it was a great show. However, I have to disagree with you on the Edge - Christian confrontation. For me, it just fell flat. The two seemed really out of sync and unsure of what they were going to say. I expected much more from these two, especially considering their past. I'm surprised you thought so highly of it. I guess we'll see what comes of it.

I, too, enjoyed Swagger recounting his accomplishments, and it's nice to see MVP getting a push. I wish more would happen with Matt Hardy, instead of being a vehicle to put McIntyre over.

I was a bit surprised by Rhodes winning over Morrison, though. It's still hard for me to see Cody as legitimate. I guess I just don't think he's earned it yet.

I find matt striker really annoying. Is it just me? I find he overtalks things.

future nonsensical Rush references I want Striker to make:

"glittering prizes and endless compromises, shatter the illusion of integrity"

"some will sell theirs dreams for small desires, or lose the race to rats"

"and the men who hold high places must be the ones who start to mold a new reality"

"spinning, whirling, still descending. like a spiral sea, unending"

"put aside the alienation, get on with the fascination"

"Are we the last ones left alive? Are we the only human beings to survive?"

RESPONSE FROM KE: Well done.

The fans didn't seem to be into the whole Edge-Christian reunion/showdown. Frankly, I thought both Edge and Christian were going through the motions. A wasted opportunity.

I agree with you on everything except MVP.

His schtick is just played out. And he's not a very good technical wrestler, and his finisher, the playmaker, is a joke. Looks like the least painful move ever.

Also, Ballin' remind me too much of the 5 nuckle shuffle, and BOTH are terrible. An opponent always lying on the ground for 2 hours while MVP/Cena walks up to drop a fist/elbow on them. Really, why doesn't anyone ever counter that move?

The worse thing in wrestling are moves that either never miss or get countered, OR move that always miss. Jericho's lionsault as of late has been an always miss move.

Until this recent booking deal, Swagger's backwards splash thing was the same way.

Or better example, Big Show's backwards splash CAN'T hit or he's kill the person. So why does he keep attempting it?

WWE is just whetting our appetites. We'll see Christian vs. Edge somewhere down the line in the next year.

Finally! Big Show gets some much deserved top face time. I think your right about not being as big as Cena or HHH in charisma, but he plays his role as a giant well enough, that in my opinion he is a great worker. We all know he just being used to put Swagger over, but I am liking this turn of events.
Here is to hoping that this isnt a push on the out like Batista, as Big Show could well retire soon as well

Hey Kevin,

That's nice and all, but what does Aubrey Huff have to say about it?

Hi Kev,

Do you think that there could be several masked member of the S.E.S ?

That was suggested on the WWE website...

RESPONSE FROM KE: It's possible, but I think it's just going to be Joey Mercury.

Hey Kev,

So Edge and Christina aren't storyline brothers anymore. Is this a new thing, or did I miss something in the past when it was acknowledged that they aren't actually brothers?

RESPONSE FROM KE: They went from brothers to "best friends from chldhood" a long time ago in the story line. It was never really explained -- just one of those things you're not supposed to think too much about.

Swagger was flat-out AMAZING here, he had the crowd in the palm of his hands and was getting serious heat. Honestly, is there anyone else in WWE generating that kind of heat aside from CM Punk? It just goes to show, win-loss records mean nothing as long as you get the right wins at the right times and know how to get a crowd to react.

And I don't think Jericho loses too frequently, he's in the unique position where he can lose and not suffer. When you're as good as Jericho is, losses don't matter because he can make up for it the following show with another tremendous performance in the ring and/or on the mic.

Loved this show though, showcasing Smackdown's new toys was the simple and logical way to go.

What's with WWE completely ignoring that Edge and Christian were "brothers" in previous WWE life. Now, they are just best friends since the age of six.

Very strange to see that happen, but I guess the mass majority of WWE fans now were not around when E&C were a top "brother" team.

Swagger should have held the mic closer to his mouth, I think.

Hi Kevin,
great post and critique of smackdown. I have to say you getting Bubba fired is still a shocker. Its the greatest gift you could ever give to wrestling! Your career will always have this as the crown jewel! Not matter what you do in wrestling from now on, it will never top getting rid of Bubba. I am officially apart of Eck's Army! Thank you!

swagger's heat on friday was reminiscent of rick rude's pre-match heat. an excellent job of booking, for a change.

I already commented on Jack Swagger (so awesome) but I had an observation about Edge and I'm curious about your thoughts.

During Edge's promo, just before Christian came out, when he was talking about the WWE universe being his family...

It's strange, I'm not sure how to describe this. I got the sense that Edge was putting a lot of effort into trying to appear somewhat disingenuous. I got the sense that Edge really did honestly feel the deep gratitude and love for his audience, and had a rare opportunity to say it out loud (his character rarely affords him the chance to be anything other than cocky).

And yet the words themselves sounded scripted enough to make the whole thing a little awkward - which was quickly explained when he launched into his whole "I manipulated them the whole time and loved every minute of it" shpeal.

I guess I have two questions for you.

Did you notice that at all? Thoughts?

And given that he did legitimately come back from an injury - and probably did so so quickly largely due to the truth in his "fake" farewell speech about loving the fans, do you think maybe it's a little pre-mature to make him heel again? He had a lot of legitimate, uh, what do you call heat for faces? Anyway, I kinda thought he'd be a great addition along with Cena as the superhero face and Orton as the psycho loner face...he'd be the wild unpredictable fun-loving mischievous face...

RESPONSE FROM KE: Edge is a better heel than he is a face, and I think the feeling was that he wasn't as over as a face as he should have been, which is why he was changed back so quickly.

The only top star that ever jobbed nearly as much as Jericho does now is the Rock. Both of them were/are bigger than wins and losses because they have dynamic characters and permanent heat.... But as an avid Jericholic i get p***ed watching him job 9 times out of 10.

Enjoyed Smackdown Friday night.

Confused on a couple of things though.

1st. Now that Shelton Benjamin has been released did MVP decide to finish jack Steal his finisher) his finishing move?

2nd. Since it has been revealed that Kofi Kingston is from Ghana, West Africa...why does he still come down to the Jamacian theme song?

The Edge/Christian segment was Shambolic, Aweful, Stupid had 0,that's ZER0, crowd reaction until the attempted spear, etc. What a "STUPID TNA" like way to turn Edge. BTW, they never gave him time to fully develop as a FACE. We've already seen him as a heel so who cares. Is Russo booking again in the WWE?

Did anyone happen to understand anything JTG said?

I thought that the confrontation between Edge and Christian was good. It left things open for an eventual feud between the two and solidified the heel turn for Edge. One other thought is that it gives Chistian a nice entrance into Smackdown as one of the top faces. Although Christian is good, I'm not sure that he is really over with the fans like Edge is. The confrontation with Edge gives him a bit more credibility. If that makes sense?

now that legacy is split up shouldn't cody rhodes have a different enterence.

it was funny in the Swagger promos, to me...."I'm Jack SSwagger", as if to emphasize the no lisp. But immediatly followed by "the WWE, heavyweight thampion". truly classic

A year from now, fans can watch WrestleMania 26 and say, "why did they ever make Edge/Jericho for the championship?" I was saying that the night after No Way Out.

Edge's failed run as a babyface is WWE's fault. There were plenty of ways for the turn to succeed: putting him against a truly hated heel instead of a jobber-to-jobbers, or teaming him with Christian to face Jerishow at WM26, then move forward with Edge/Jericho would have been another.

Edge as a heel is stale. He might as well have been drafted to TNA. Terrible. F.

I enjoy Matt Striker very much on commentary....but I hate when he says 'the WorldS Heavyweight champion" with the added 's' on world.

He is a former teacher so maybe he's grammaticly correct, but its still annoyinng

Kevin -

Did you ever attend a live show at either of the two Mecca's for professional wrestling: Madison Square Garden or Maple Leaf Gardens? In your opinion, what's the best place to see a live show (all things considered)? And what has been your favorite arena?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I was at MSG for WM XX. Never been to Maple Leaf Gardens. The Baltimore Arena is my favorite, but I am obviously biased.

SmackDown was awesome last week. Jack Swagger's promo was great, and the heel heat was about as intense as it would be for Vickie Guerrero.

Here's hoping that Christian is used in a decent storyline. WWE seems to have forgotten till now just how good he is on the mic.

I agree with Mr. Sarcasm. I had grown tired of Edge as a heel, and I was looking forward to a long run with him as a babyface on Smackdown. Now, we once again have Edge, the heel! (yawn), and on back on Raw, no less. What is he going to do there? Feud with babyface John Cena yet again?

I understand Jericho's jobbing for Kofi, but to me, Kofi has not yet got the wrestling "chops" to get a clean win over Jericho and make it look like he really earned it. I still think he needs some more ring time.

Quite honestly, I think MVP getting a clean win over Jericho would have worked for me better.

Otherwise, my only other complaint about Smackdown is Teddy calling people "player". I don't know if I am just from the wrong side of the 49th, but I find it irritating.

At any rate, given the present line up, I'll still be looking forward to watching Smackdown.

Firstly thank goodness Edge is heel again. Him being a face was lets face it, a failed experiment. I actually got the feeling that he wasn't enjoying it himself which may explain the speed in which WWE fixed this decision. Whoever made the decision I take may hat off to them, as I'd much prefer the oppertunistic and slightly unstable coward to the face that was slowly losing the crowds interest. In my own opinion if a program didnt go well with Jericho, (because lets face it he could get anyone over) the writings on the wall.
At least that "Spear" chant should be dead and buried now as well

Good to see Edge and Christian in the same ring again evern if was just a one night tease. Hopefully the WWE keep this up over the coming months (possibly having them bump into each other at pay per views) and build to a match in the future. Edge V Christian will draw and both want to work with each other again. Theirs no doubt in my mind that Edge would get Christian over and move him on the next level as a face. I'd love to see it at the next Wrestlemania

Why cant Chimel announce "Rated-R Superstar" without his voice cracking like 12 year old boy going through puberty? Its hilarious and rediculous at the same time.

Surely Edge vs Christian is one for WrestleMania? At least the seeds are planted for a feud at some point on Smackdown, if they weren't already there. Maybe WWE is being smart and establishing Christian as a legit main-eventer before have in challenge Edge for the title.

I'm betting on Swagger beating Big Show at Over The Limit. Speaking of which Kev, any idea if this is just a "fresh" name or is there a gimmick or format to the PPV?

I think you officially just lost the title of biggest Mickie James mark:

http://thestamfordtimes.com/story/485940

I guess Hornswoggle is carrying on the DX Army. Hope he gets some new recruits.