AndrewTS

Huh? RVD tried the crossface? I really don't remember that, but I'm having a fun time imagining it right now. Heh. I could be wrong--but Summerslam 2K2?

Since the Stunner has been brought up, I'd like to say that McMahon's version was actually pretty good--groin kick, one handed Stunner. Not the same, but cool in its own right. Worst Stunner? Ed Leslie's. The Disciple stole the move and Hogan called it the "Apocalypse." It was absolutely terrible-looking.

Taker telling guys like Orlando Jordan about paying dues. Gowen on Confidential claiming he's "not a freak to be exploited." The opening on the Vengeance tape has a Desire-esque video that has Stephanie in it. Chyna when she bullshitted us about all the hard work she did to get into Playboy.

Hogan's alleged "chokeslam," "Diamond Cutter" and "Spinning Toe Hold." The first he used at WMX-8 and the latter two he used in feuds with DDP (did one on the title belt during an nWo beatdown) and Bret Hart (in a match with him).

That's the Yukes way. Got to give THQ credit. They have outstanding PR guys. Every year it's more BS and more broken promises. Indeed--has anyone even seen screen shots of Warrior in the game?

Remember WWE's policy of not hiring fans for any non-wrestling jobs? That's why this is happening. "Bas was in this lil known punk group from Holland known as "The Liver Shots". They had a top 40 in the UK called "Jesus Christ what a Palm Strike", it was pretty catchy." I can't find it on Kazaa anywhere!

Because I didn't see it until I saw the tape again this morning. Ah, okay. Damn Cole and Tazz for not pointing it out. I thought that was a little wink to the long-time fans by Eddy, which I feel was mucho cool. Since Tito does Spanish commentary still, I think, he probably got a kick out of it--but it would have been far better if somebody on air addressed it. If Eddy does it more often they'd BETTER pick up on it.

I liked it, though it never made sense--like, are there supposedly machines out there built just for suplexing people? While it made more sense, the WWE version of the name for "Tazz"--"Human Wrecking Machine"--sucked much more to me. So was Tazz going to get in the ring and swing his balls at you? Of course, the bone-headed way they handled Taz(z) could be a topic all on its own, but I see your point.

Naw, as I said, even the "bad" wrestlers seem to have their shit together on Smackdown. Agreed, I was thinking how cool that would have been when he was setting it up. Anyone know? Ditto, watched it all 3 times and taped it for posterity. Having wrestlers I actually give a shit about getting star treatment makes me very, very happy. Nunzio vs. Rey was very good as well, and makes me wonder why the hell they're doing jack shit with FBI or at least Nunzio, who can wrestle and cut some good promos. I thought they were going to be sent down to OVW? Or did they and they just make them come in to appear on SD for a backstage segment or so? Remember when F.B.I. had heat for a bit, putting together their list of greatest whacks--until Taker completely castrated them? What the fuck was the point of that? Indeed--awesome stuff even for a TV match. I didn't mind it being short as long as we have a chance of actually going into a feud. Can you tell I was REALLY digging SD this week? I was thinking "GREATEST SD SINCE THE LAST ONE IN SAN DIEGO!" when I heard that. Please, Vince, we don't miss you. Stay away every week, please! BTW, A-Train - Benoit was actually decent and built upon past matches they had together. A-Train was getting the hang of trying to avoid/counter the Crossface and kinda was screwed out of a chance to come back since he was under the ropes. Anyway, A-Train wrestling Benoit isn't as good as Benoit wrestling a lot of other guys--but I'd rather take an A-Train match over basically any Raw match not involving Jericho. Hmm...Jericho/A-Train...that actually sounds kinda interesting. Oh, and kudos to the writers for keeping Sable from talking or doing anything to piss me off due to her shitty acting and ability to piss me off with her mere presence. I barely noticed she was there. And Brock reminds us of how shitty his mic skills are. As for the Eddy-Cena match--how could you not point out that Eddy used the Flying Jalepeno, homes? Heheh, loved the part of the opening segment when Cole pointed out "it's hard to ambush a man who lies, cheats, and steals for a living!" I was surprised that they'd seemingly turn Eddy face out of nowhere, but I guess it was started since he pinned Rhyno, a heel. Treating Eddy like a star in his hometown was a classy touch, and I can't think of a better way to start the turn (which was a silly idea to begin with). And like you mentioned before during the segment announcing the number one contendership match, Cena said in the opening segment it was all about the U.S. title He wants the title, damnit, and he's willing to try to piss off Eddy in a hostile environment to do it, plus strip down his ride to boot. Gives us a great feud with two great mic workers, and gives Cena a chance to wrestle Eddy and improve himself as well. Unless you're a whiner complaining that Eddy or Cena should be holding gold RIGHT NOW there are no losers here. I thought so too, but you didn't notice that on the back it says "Two words for our enemies" on the back--or something like that. You only get to see it for a second or so while Angle was on his way to the ring for the in-ring promo, so not surprised you missed it. Agreed--fuck Keith, I loved this show.

"Oh, and Heyman sucks on commentary. If you had to listen to him for another three weeks, you'd remember why you were all cheering your asses off for Lawler at Survivor Series 2001." Sooo "oh fuck, he's back?!" = "cheering your asses off?"

Shelton vs. A-Train--wow...wonder if Shelton is able to do a fairly respectable job Benoiting for that match. I'd doubt that Matt Hardy match, unless he's already been cleared to wrestle. I doubt it, though, with the concussion.

On the other hand--I thought the gimmick was lame but Buchanan wasn't bad for a hoss. At least he had some decent mobility and the cool kicks going for him. And yeah, the Austin mocking the Nature Boy name was during his feud with Flair--he left just after he was supposed to be Flair's personal assistant which was the night he was supposed to job to THE NEXT BIG THING Brock Lesnar. So, we come full-circle. I was worried about Latino Heat at first, since it was named after that weekend show, but it isn't hurting him now, of course. Speaking of names taken from wrestling shows--remember the week or so that Scott Steiner was "White Thunder" back in WCW? That was a crappy nickname... Although he also tried "Superstar" briefly as part of his shameless attempt to completely rip off Graham.

Since when? They're been making it so that you can't skip some of the shit at the start of DVDs lately. At least you can fast forward the tape.

I was watching the Cena-Eddy match from SD and was reminded of back when Cena first started using the gimmick. Cole tried to push calling him "C-Note." It wouldn't have been too bad if he was doing a pop-star/boyband gimmick because it would have fit--but a rapper? There there was his tag partner: one week it was B-2, then Double B, then B-Squared, then the next "Bling Bling." They weren't too bad by themselves, but the way the name changed weekly was lame.

That's the rumor--and I'm guessing it would stem from from Sable or something. I'm hoping it was scrapped since nothing came of it this week, but they could just be waiting to set it up--i.e. Vince screwing Taker next week.

"I can honestly say after this week's RAW that if I wasn't doing recapping for TSM, I would have just stopped watching for good. But I still hold out hope among hope that the perseverance will pay off, and that I'll be glad I stuck around because I'll get to see the full turnaround as it happens." Call me when it happens--I've lost my patience. And Taker in the main event is happening right now anyway, but since he's getting the title shot next week and not at a PPV there's hope. Yet, I feel afraid we might get that rumored Vince-Taker program which I dread deeply.

Well, I'll admit that for once he's being booked very strong, but his interviews sometimes really irk me, since he comes off as such a goofball. 6 months is practically an eternity--few WWE teams last that long, even. Well, one thing that sticks in my mind is when Benoit wrestled them both in one night. Haas mainly went for a psychological match, working the shoulder with various holds. He wasn't experienced enough to keep the match flowing fast enough that the fans wouldn't get bored--since too many holds tend to kill crowds. However, in my opinion it was a superior match to the one Benjamin had with Benoit. Benjamin's was shorter and more fast-paced, but seemed to have little direction and looked kinda rushed. I think Benjamin's came after, and the lack of focus on the shoulder seemed rather bizaare since it was a ready-made story to be added on in the match, against an opponent able to work with it offensively as well (unless I'm wrong and it was in the opposite order).

They sacrificed TV time to put over Eddy HUGE, and they've been pushing A-Train anyway so it isn't shocking he has a match. Cena vs. Eddy is good TV, I don't give a shit if they aren't fighting over the WWE Title if they give me angles like this. Besides, the next PPV is Raw-only, so they have to have some placeholder angles until No Mercy, since they simply don't know how to build angles two months in advance well. SD wasn't as good as usual, but it was still good. Half the matches were really good, and even the sucky half of the show was still better than the best Raw gives us nowadays. No McMahons were on the show except for Stephanie coming out to announce the main event of the show. Matt Hardy is injured due to a concussion, that's why he wasn't on Summerslam and why he wasn't on Smackdown this week. So quit the bitching, and save it for the next Raw.

That'd be great--maybe they'll split up eventually, but it would be nice to see them stay together a long time. I'm glad to see that not everything favors Benjamin completely--hell, some went even so far as to say Haas sucks. Some nights Benjamin impresses me, then some nights Haas does even more. I'm shocked at how good they are for two guys who came out of OVW. I'd even go as far as to say that as far as in-ring skill, they're far better than Angle was when he debuted. I kind of think of them as a modern-style tag team version of Bret Hart. Despite much of the silliness around them, they have a no-nonsense, legit air about them. Bret Hart's mic skills sucked at the start, but eventually he got pretty good on the stick. I can picture them doing much the same schtick, with the "World's Greatest" tag team moniker and their NCAA champion credentials backing them up (question--is it Haas and Benjamin both, or just Benjamin with that distinction?). Even if something should cause them to break up, one of them might fill the same role Bret Hart filled back in the day. As much as Anglesault would love for Angle to do it--it IS NOT HAPPENING! Angle sucks as a serious face and he himself would rather do the semi-dorky goofball character than be serious. However, I could see one of them eventually making it work for them.

Yeah, how dare they discuss wrestling on a wrestling message board! I'd love to participate in the discussion, but I didn't see Summerslam. *grumble*

Bravesfan: Are you sure? I thought.... Top Heels: Vince Brock Eddie G. Big Show A-Train Rhyno Cena Top Faces: Kurt Angle Stephanie McMahon Taker Benoit

I'm assuming they have a good reason for that... Maybe next week we'll find out what it is.

Too hosscentric to compare to the greatness of other shows this month, but still a rockin' show. I'd think whenever you watch Raw you really appreciate SD a lot more.

I've got it taped--and even though I already have said CD minus a few of the bonus matches, I want the bonus matches I missed, plus I wouldn't mind having an extra copy just in case. I taped all of SD minus commercials, BTW. Once I put the Cena/Eddy goodness on my "best of Smackdown" tape I'll be glad to send it to you.

Oooh..."Two Words for Our Enemies" on the back of Kurt's shirt.