One and Only Smackdown! Thread; April 10th, 2003

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Was that Robia La Morte in that Taco Bell commercial??

[Guest dpac]

go Cena go

[Guest RepoMan]

Is there anything in wrestling not made of steel besides the brass knucks?

[Guest tpww7]

The Ropes.

[Guest RepoMan]

Well, anything made of metal.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Idiot Taker just blatantly used his hurt elbow without selling it.

[Guest El Satanico]

Cena doing his HBK impersonation?

 

Getting his ass kicked most of the match and make the big comeback

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Cena with the psychology tonight!

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

FBI~!

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Cena wins!!!!!

[Guest El Satanico]

Would've been nice if it was a slightly cleaner win without the massive run in. However, It still made Cena look like he can hang with the big guys and isn't just some punk, so good enough.

[Guest Kid Kablam]

The Ropes.

actually those are referred to as steel cables many times.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

The Ropes.

actually those are referred to as steel cables many times.

Maybe in other feds where they are steel cables.......but the WWE still uses ropes.

 

Would I have to turn in my Smark Card if I said that I'm starting to enjoy the WWE so far this year? I know there's still booking problems, but so far nothing has offended me in 2003. All the PPV's so far have been good and there's some refreshing new characters/gimmicks.

 

FBI and Cena have really caught my attention so far.

[Guest El Satanico]

Would I have to turn in my Smark Card if I said that I'm starting to enjoy the WWE so far this year? I know there's still booking problems, but so far nothing has offended me in 2003.

Only if you're including Raw in that.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

RAW........not pleasing me as much as Smackdown, but even then Rock has made it much better than before.

 

I'm just glad we have no gay weddings, necrophilia, or Al Wilson...........oh wait I forgot about the Sable/Torrie thing.....I guess I spoke too soon.

[Guest Will Scarlet]

WWE has not been that bad this year. Then again, maybe I am just used to the crap they put out, so I can enjoy the good stuff and just ignore the bad. Thankfully, I have not watched Smackdown since Sable returned.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Smackdown still has some good matches and for the most part the matches have a purpose unlike RAW where most of the matches are pointless.

 

It's sad that Rock is leaving because he's been a welcome change from the crap

[Guest RedJed]

Damn that was a good show! Glad I didn't read the spoilers because alot of stuff caught me by surprise and I think not knowing what was happening ahead of time REALLY made this show way better than it would have been for me otherwise. I'm going to crack down and make a habit of this, since without Heyman booking anymore the show isn't as solid of booking to me (i.e. there is very little character development in the last month of shows), but tonight seemed good, no backstage shit except the FBI-Jones thing and they just plain gave time for matches.

 

Man I loved the Pipers Pit segment, that was some good shit, hell even the Vince-Piper exchanges had me rolling. This reminded me when Heyman did the interview with Vince and it seemed all shoot. I just love how they incorporate the past into things, who would have thunk Vince would have allowed public bashing of the WBF and XFL? And then when Rikishi came out, I almost lost it, just because of the public Piper bashing of the whole stinkface thing. And then it went totally wild and we got Snuka revisited, and O Haire finally gets airtime! Very well done all around. I'm excited to see where the Piper-OHaire thing leads.

 

Both tourney matches were good, the only complaint I have is that I wish Cena would have been allowed to finish Taker off himself after the beatdown with a DVD. Benoit-Rhyno was tremendous for a TV match, as was the non-title tag match and the opener with Lesnar-Hardy. Only downer was Jones and Demott and that got fast forwarded.

[Guest Austin3164life]

Cena wins! Yes! Didn't see it but I'm glad that Cena won.

 

This might sound weird, but does Cena remind anyone in here of Heel Austin-esque circa mid-1996, just plowing through the upper-midcard with a badass heel gimmick that's creative, and solid psychological ring skill?

[Guest RedJed]

Cena wins! Yes! Didn't see it but I'm glad that Cena won.

 

This might sound weird, but does Cena remind anyone in here of Heel Austin-esque circa mid-1996, just plowing through the upper-midcard with a badass heel gimmick that's creative, and solid psychological ring skill?

Too early for me to say that. I think he needs to be developed a lil more, much like Austin was. Give him 6 plus months more in this role and if he's this good then (hopefully better) then I will be convinced. He has to work a lil more on the workrate though.......the whole psychology thing you are talking about is not solid enough yet for me to say its actually good.

 

I think on a side note here that he shouldnt go over Benoit.........have them work a hard match and he comes close to winning but doesn't take it. That will help building his character's edge and credibility......have them go balls out basically circa Austin v. Vader or a Foley from his heel run in 97 when they had those "toughman" type matches on Raw. But I don't think Cena should have the match with Brock yet, wait for that until Judgment Day at the earliest. Benoit deserves a title shot after the situation from Mania, and he deserves it NOW.

[Guest AndrewTS]

Cena wins! Yes! Didn't see it but I'm glad that Cena won.

 

This might sound weird, but does Cena remind anyone in here of Heel Austin-esque circa mid-1996

No.

 

just plowing through the upper-midcard

 

He's been pushed fora mere two weeks, although he had a month or more of build up with promos--which don't count. He beat Rikishi (not even a midcarder) and pinned Taker after Taker makes him look like a bitch and takes tons of interference to job. He isn't "plowing" through anybody.

 

with a badass heel gimmick that's creative

 

Creative? If you forget the 300 other rapper gimmicks that have all bombed, yeah. Although they've actually made this one somewhat serious, and Cena actually fits the role.

 

and solid psychological ring skill?

 

BWAHAHAHA!! He's not terrible in the ring, but he's extremely vanilla to me.

[Guest El Satanico]

I think on a side note here that he shouldnt go over Benoit.........have them work a hard match and he comes close to winning but doesn't take it. That will help building his character's edge and credibility......have them go balls out basically circa Austin v. Vader or a Foley from his heel run in 97 when they had those "toughman" type matches on Raw. But I don't think Cena should have the match with Brock yet, wait for that until Judgment Day at the earliest. Benoit deserves a title shot after the situation from Mania, and he deserves it NOW.

All along I've been on the side that says Cena should win the tournament to cement himself in the eyes of the fans. I never really stopped to think that losing a tough match to Benoit could make him just as credible. Losing the title shot at this point may even help him get over better. Him getting everything he's said he'd get now may actually hurt his character in the long run.

 

Also if WWe push him too hard and fast he could get over as a face.

[Guest RedJed]

I look at it this way......if they throw him in a match with Lesnar this fast, the ascension of the push is too fast that it will burn out and the attempt will end up a failure for now, and it will make it harder to keep it going past the Lesnar match (which Cena cant win, no way, no how)........I don't think he's at the point where the fans will even buy him in a match with Lesnar or even in a main event on a ppv also. Again, things need to be built up much longer before this happens. Its funny because we hardly get any kind of a push for anyone in the company, and now when there is someone, they have a chance to even fuck this up if they do it too fast. Its kind of like getting with a hot chick (a newbie getting a push to the top) but busting your nut way too fast (Cena sent in a main event title match with Lesnar just weeks after finally returning on TV) which in turn turns her off (the fans) from giving a shit about you beyond that one shot at glory (Cenas premature title shot) because she knows you don't deserve another chance (which could be the probability that if WWE gives Cena the shot too soon and loses). LOL maybe a weird analogy but whatever.

 

Now you could say if he loses a hard fought battle to Lesnar at Backlash that it might keep the momentum on the feud, but it still goes back to how fast this all occured, and that it might backfire on WWE in the fans eyes in that the match may fall flat s far as a reaction and then who knows what could happen from there (trainwreck). Cena honestly beyond us few don't have a very strong following yet and honestly, rightfully so. Neither did Austin when he first was "Stone Cold." It took month upon month to build on the character and then finally the time came when he stepped in there with Bret and that worked first and foremost because the fans took him as a threat. Cena is NOT a threat at this point AT ALL. Keep in mind Cena is not the greatest worker yet and Lesnar would have to carry him, I think. Not good.

 

The too fast push also, like said, can lead to a face run prematurely. This even happened with Brock himself. WWE is in dire need of strong heels, so its best to not play with fire, so to speak, in this case.

 

In short, a longer chase for Cena to Lesnar would build their feud up much much stronger so it could be taken seriously in the first place. I will even take that a step further and say Benoit should beat Lesnar at Backlash for the belt, possibly with a tad bit of interference from Cena, but not to the point where Benoit simply won because of Cena finishing him off though (to give the Benoit win credibility). You then have Lesnar-Cena as simply a hot feud that is main event level but doesn't have to be for the title, and wont be, possibly until later on in the year if/when Lesnar wins it back from Benoit.

[Guest notJames]

How is it that SD! can put on an above-decent program, yet ruin it completely with a 20-minute geriatric gabfest and a totally dissatisfying main event, where the guy they're supposedly pushing to the top is made to look like a complete chump by the locker room hypocrite? Steel chain, ref bump, copious outside interference, overly-harped-on elbow injury… yep, UT, you really know how to play the Game.

 

Feh.