JoeDirt

I don't know if there's one of these or not (probably not) and if anyone cares but me (probably not), but the playoffs start tonight, baby!

Wait a second... I thought that guy was Sakoda in the Kyo-Dai, which would mean that he was already on the main roster. If Suzuki isn't Sakoda, then who is Sakoda? Sakoda is Keiji Sakoda, he used to wrestle in UPW.

Why did the WWF use fat chicks as ring card girls on RAW in 1993? Was it just some running joke?

And I assume Bucci will be in the cruiser division on Smackdown anyways. Wonder what role they'll use Dinsmore in.

Right, I doubt he'd use the Kryptonite Krunch since it's a head-dropping kinda dangerous move. Flatliner sounds like what he'll use, since Kanyon is gone.

Weird to think about...if Savage had gone over HTM for the title, they probably still would have done the Hulk/Andre double DQ...meaning that Dibiase in the final match would have beaten some babyface... Steamboat? Probably not. Bam Bam Bigelow? Maybe!

I haven't followed anything Zenk has written...what controversial stuff has he said?

Our of curiousity, can someone tell me what all these guys use as a finisher?

How last-minute was the whole Wrestlemania IX thing?

Those are great picks. I LOVE the SS97 promo too. And the OTE98 one has the great Austin/Vince feud recap. "An apology...WHICH I DIDN'T MEAN, by the way."

Well yeah... Jindrak = charisma black hole

And get about a .001 buyrate. Quite possibly. I hope Smackdown can build new stars, instead of just appearing like it's a show with a bunch of midcarders. I guess we'll see what happens, and if guys like Dupree and Jindrak can get over...

Keller on Booker's promo: "That was one of Booker's best promos. He had focus, he was given something to talk about, and he delivered the message believably. I like the potential of how they're positioning this, too. It's easy to criticize the angle as demeaning the Smackdown brand, but as much as Vince McMahon has a softspot for Raw because of its longer history, he obviously isn't booking this angle as a way to hurt Smackdown. He's positioning Booker this way to further establish the split between the two brands and establish Booker as a heel. The angle actually should foster loyalty to the Smackdown brand without hurting Raw's popularity. WWE, though, has to walk a fine line here because they don't want to foster such passionate either/or loyalty to one brand over the other that fans intentionally skip supporting one brand out of loyalty to the other. That's a challenge they still have yet to clearly address. So while the Booker angle is dangerous, it's an angle to get Booker over as a heel, not to make Smackdown seem like something not worth fans' time. This gives Smackdown babyfaces something to prove. Those who have wanted to see Booker get a main event level push, he's getting it now. He's the top choice right now to fill the shoes of Brock Lesnar."

I don't think FBI would get a tag title shot, since they get one on Velocity this week... Scarily enough, it looks like we're going to get Booker/Holly instead of Booker/Taker. But there's still a long way to build to either. And what the hell is RVD going to do? I don't have any idea. Cena/Dupre? That could be an ugly match...

Here's what Wade Keller said about Jibbel: "-Bradshaw came out with his new gimmick dressed up in a suit and a cowboy hat. He explained that he was going to use the change in G.M. to try to get Faarooq his job back, but instead he decided it would be better to focus on his career. He said he is now to be known as John "Bradshaw" Layfield. He talked about how he has succeeded in ways the fans never will because unlike him, they're too afraid of failure to even try. He said his portfolio has outperformed the market seven of the last seven years. He talked about his Fox News commentator position, his financial advice book, and his pending book on how to strengthen America (that should be good considering his thoughtful advice after 9-11 was to "turn the Middle East into a parking lot," as if killing millions of innocent civilians while the terrorists hid in their isolated caves would help keep America safe). He gave perhaps his best promo ever, but went on and on a bit too long. Quite a bit too long. But it was a good heel promo otherwise. He said he had been sidetracked by wanting to have a good time and drink beer, but now he was going to get serious about his wrestling career." And about the end of the show: "WINNER: Guerrero via DQ at 16:30. STAR RATING: *** -- A decent three star match, but it didn't feel great if that's the best Smackdown has to offer now. I was surprised they gave away a match they should have built anticipation for instead. Throwing it on TV right away actually cheapened the impact it could have had. It just felt like a 2002 mid-card match shoved into the main event due to a lack of options, which is what Smackdown should be avoiding right now."

YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME?!! If the WWE actually goes through this, FUCK THEM! I'm not attending this fucking PPV. Come on, everyone loves Bradshaw.

Yeah...come on now everyone, jump on the Jibbel (JBL - Bradshaw) bandwagon!

I missed it, but how did they introduce him? Still as Bradshaw?

About 6 inches and 50 pounds.

And don't forget Papa Shango and Virgil.

Oh, come on! Don't worry about match stars...go back to being a mark, it's more fun that way! DAMN THAT SELL OUT BRADSHAW! HE MUST PAY!

So are they going anywhere with the Teddy Long and Too Cool stuff?

At the very least it's NEW people getting a push...I'm enjoying Smackdown more than RAW right now, I have to say. And this show didn't even have Rey wrestle.

It kinda looks like it...though I'd rather see Booker beat Holly on PPV than get squashed by Taker.

I agree with all about the quality of the promo. However, something tells me this smark love will disappear once he wrestles again and we all get a good reminder of why we don't like him. Or maybe he'll carry himself differently now with the new gimmick? We'll just have to wait and see. I think Smarks will bitch since he's not really a WRESTLER...but he might be able to play a heel well and just beat the crap out of the face, getting him heat. I don't know what length of matches he can do, but I guess we'll see.