Raw VS SmackDown!

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

Raw VS SmackDown!

16/04/04-17/04/04

By iB

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Forums Quote of the Week:

 

I'm scrapping this portion until the forums get some life about them. Oh, and ah, just so that you know, if you get cranky iB through a lot of this, it's because I had this entire thing done, and then, through the ups and downs of my cunt of a personal computer, suddenly, didn't. If it's not up to scratch and seems rushed, that's probably why.

 

Expect no mercy.

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This is the final Raw before Backlash! The build has been good so far, will the trend continue this evening?

 

SmackDown! hasn't been too good at all lately - will it pick up this week and actually give us an entertaining show?

 

All here and more.

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Nice vignette, getting me pumped for the show.

 

***

 

This is the final WWE Raw before Backlash - 16/04/04 here in OZ, and the 12/04/04 in the United States of America, where we are live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL - Your announcers are Jim "J.R." Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler

 

Tonight, we have ourselves a huge eight man tag team match before Backlash!

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Watch your back, Eric

 

Great way to start the show. A factor that I'm loving about Shelton Benjamin's push is that he is being allowed to talk, and he's good at it.

 

His partner's in tonight's main event were good for a pop here, and Mick Foley's in and out was pretty cool.

 

***

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Mick Foley is let speak

 

Obviously, the point of this promo was to re-introduce Cactus Jack for Backlash.

 

It was done very well - the crowd thought that they would be getting screwed (they knew deep down that they wouldn't), and then a bombshell was dropped, making things even better than they were before.

 

As well as buyrates, Cactus Jack coming back actually makes sense.

 

Nice angle development, nice feud development and a damn nice promo all up.

 

***3/4

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Scheduled for one fall: Kane VS Grand Master Sexay

 

Jerry Lawler: "I know that guy!"

 

It was nice to Grand Master back, but being squashed by Kane in his first match is hardly a return.

 

The match sucked, as squashes tend to. But Kane desperately needs a win, and there was really nowhere else for GMS to be on the card.

 

His return should've been put off until next week.

 

*

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Eugene!

 

Heel bitch Trish may be hot, but she's annoying as hell when giving promos.

 

Eugene's definitely getting face pops when he debuts in the ring, siding with the fans in their view of Trish Stratus.

 

**1/2

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Scheduled for one fall: Tajiri VS A ***** ninja from the Orient w/ Jonathan Coachman

 

I'm not looking forward to the Tajiri/Coach "match" at Backlash, but at least it's getting development.

 

Nice little match here, Al Snow's martial arts abilities meshing well with Tajiri's.

 

It put Coach back as the underdog, and a cheap sonuvabitch.

 

Pre-match promo: **

**3/4

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Naitch wants a match

 

WWE's Burn of the Night leads us into this next one.

 

I was expecting Shelton Benjamin to be pitted against either Ric Flair or Batista, and I'm glad that we got Flair. The match doesn't exactly need individual hype, because Benjamin's clashing with Evolution in past week's is enough for Flair to want a match with him.

 

Nice build straight away, and it continues into the Main Event.

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Triple H talks

 

The first of three pre-taped promos from all three competitor's in Backlash's main event.

 

Great stuff from Trips here, and without crowd noise, it's just him. In these sorts of promos, the truth and message is focused on, and you can feel what they're trying to put across.

 

I like these.

 

***3/4

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Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel

 

Would've been a nice opening had Jericho not used old material once again.

 

Still, he's getting the upper-hand on Trish (and Christian), and I expect it to carry on to and through WrestleMania (despite what we see tonight).

 

There was no real reason for Lita to be here other than to do a weak job of hyping her Backlash match. Anyway, let's go to it.

 

**3/4

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Scheduled for one fall: Trish Stratus VS Lita

 

Actually not bad, considering the competitors. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't good or anything, just passable.

 

That is all.

 

*3/4

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Heat for the heels

 

The focus was obviously on the Chris Jericho/Christian feud here (*sigh*... and Trish Stratus). Jericho had the upper hand emotionally before, and now it goes to the heels, getting heat on themselves before Backlash.

 

***

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Oh, haha, Eugene strikes again!

 

Even if you hadn't noticed what was going on in the background, you'd've known that something was up.

 

A continuation of before, Eugene getting over by siding with majority of the fans. I like the part that Regal plays here, and I have high hopes for Nick Dinsmore.

 

This sets up for later tonight, and possibly Backlash.

 

***

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Johnny Nitro attempts to Edge and himself over in one dose

 

Yeah, the similarities between Hennigan and WCW... do you think they mean anything? *Scratches head*

 

What I liked about this promo was that we got to see a new Edge. The facial hair, leather jacket, tangled hair, and pissed-off voice.

 

Aswell, Edge's cast was made note of. Just so that you all know, it is a real injury, and I can definitely see it playing a part in his match at Backlash.

 

Nitro will continued to be booed, and while I don't think that Spearing a 220lb man will frighten a 320lb man, it worked.

 

***

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Scheduled for one fall: Sylvain Grenier w/ Rob Conway VS The Hurricane w/ Rosey

 

Wow, when was the last time that you saw the Hurricane going one-on-one on Raw?

 

Not a bad little match, but Grenier is still no better in the ring. This could be trying to strengthen Raw's tag team division, or lack thereof, and if so, it could be the start of something nice for what they've got.

 

I'll admit to feeling sorry for Eugene when Grenier tore the head of his Easter Bunny. He thought that they were his friends! He thought they were! They made him cry! You sick sons of bitches! You sick bastards!

 

Yeah, anyway, not bad for what it had, and the Hurricane desperately needs a win.

 

**3/4

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Shawn Michaels talks

 

The most memorable of the three.

 

Addressed here was how great the WrestleMania main event was, and how it could be topped. Shawn Michaels is the only of the three here that can really change the way he delivers a promo - Triple H isuh businessuh, and Chris Benoit is like a soldier. The Heartbreak Kid did a great job here.

 

"I'm the showstopper. That's what I do," in his Texas drawl.

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Miscellaneous bits

 

Hey, they did find material for the SmackDown! Rebound. Yeah, they're hyping Van Dam/Booker alright...

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Mick Foley gets another video package

 

If you haven't seen the show and/or the video, don't let the title fool you. This ain't no Desire video.

 

This continued in putting over the brutal Mick Foley. Not the loveable, helluva guy. The Mick Foley that inflicts pain, and... maybe deep down... even loves it.

 

Orton's having second thoughts alright. Yeah, I probably would be too.

 

Video: ***3/4

Orton looked frightened: ****

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Chris Benoit talks

 

Chris Benoit is like a soldier, and that can either work or it can't. It doesn't for comedy skits other than to show him out of his natural environment. It works here, however, because this is a serious situation.

 

Another promo in which we feel what he is telling us - whether the man has charisma, he had me entertained.

 

***3/4

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Eight man tag team match scheduled for one fall: Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Mick Foley and Shelton Benjamin VS Evolution (the lot of 'em!)

 

I was looking forward to this match, considering most of it's competitors. I was expecting a fairly fast-paced, entertaining main event.

 

I got one.

 

The guys on each team worked well together, and had something against at least one person on the other team. Foley, Orton. Benjamin, Flair. Michaels and Benoit, Triple H. Yeah, and Batista was in the match too.

 

Fast-paced for the most part, but constantly entertaining. The all-in brawls worked well, and the feuds were specifically hyped, Benjamin wanting to get at Flair, same deal for Orton and Foley, and Michaels, Benoit and Triple H were all about business, especially when we saw Michaels and Benoit in the ring, and Triple H, was the one on the apron - that look would've worked better if he was Champ.

 

Triple H "What!?"

 

This wasn't a scientific masterpiece, and I wasn't expecting one, but the crowd were hot for it, and so was I.

 

****

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Overall, an excellent show pre-PPV, more so than last week.

 

Strong build for the main event, the individual promos being the stand-out. Everything was touched upon, Foley/Orton and Benjamin/Flair were done well, and those are the three that I'm looking forward to.

 

Jericho/Christian & Trish was good for what it was worth, nothing much in the way of the Womens Championship match-up, and even Tajiri/Coach got it's just desserts.

 

If I wasn't going to order Backlash before, I would now.

 

****1/4

 

Full thoughts - opinions and predictions at the bottom.

 

And now...

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Pretty average vignette.

 

**

 

This is WWE SmackDown! for the 17/04/04 down here, and the 15/04/04 up there, taped 13/04/04 from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN - Your announcers are Michael Cole and Tazz

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Eddy starts us off

 

And he started us off well. He was getting a real chance to speak on the current situation with John Bradshaw DiBiase.

 

Nice interference with a Randy Orton to Mick Foley-esque video package.

 

***1/2

 

Kurt Angle and JBD are here, of course, and they will introduce another element. The Big Show is helping to keep the feud fresh, and... more on him later.

 

Not bad - but we still don't care about the feud itself any more than we have lately, which wouldn't be hard, considering last week's show.

 

**3/4

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The Big Show gives us his 2c on the situation

 

JBD being afraid of Show does next to nothing for the gimmick that they're trying to get over.

 

Indeed, Show being involved in the equasion keeps the feud fresh and makes for acceptable filler this evening.

 

Not a bad promo, and Show putting his career on the line becomes more interesting than we would've thought.

 

**3/4

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Non-title contest scheduled for one fall: Champion VS Champion (which essentially means nothing): U.S. Champion John Cena VS Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr. w/ Chavo Guerrero Sr.

 

Considering the two involved, I would've expected more. Quite a bit more, actually.

 

The match wasn't bad or anything, but it didn't have the entertainment factor of even Cena's usual "squashes", but sure as hell had the pattern, making it one. Upper-hand, loses it briefly, comes back, trademark moves, knocks third party off apron or wherever they happen to be, maybe another trademark move, F-U, 1-2-3.

 

Nothing by way of build for what looks to be a feud with Dupree, unless WWE subtlely placed the next segment, well, next.

 

**1/2

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Rene and FiFi wine and dine

 

And if they did, then it was too subtle. It's a Frenchman and his dog at a high-class restaurant, possibly watching SmackDown! on a television.

 

Boring, too. The inter-arena thing didn't work.

 

*3/4

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At least a decent part of the Eddy/Show feud from six months ago was shown, and not something involving Show and the bathroom, even if it would've got Orlando Jordan on the show.

 

**

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Charlie Haas stretches...

 

This segment didn't try to give us Haas as a strong, (insert list of achievements here, ala Benjamin). It definitely conveyed him as showing animosity towards his former tag team partner who's making himself a household name on Raw. Thanks Vince.

 

Thankfully enough, I heard wrong, and Jamie Noble wasn't his tag team partner against, well, Rico. That would've been great for the cruiserweight division.

 

Noble's and Nunzio's parts here continued to make a fool of Haas, and we knew from that that Rico's gimmick was going to be milked for everything it was worth.

 

**

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Scheduled for one fall: Charlie Haas VS Rico w/ Jackie Gayda

 

And it was. And then some.

 

Honestly, if they're going to continue to do this with Rico, then his abilities are going to have to take the backseat, which isn't how things work.

 

The fact that Charlie Haas was made violently ill, add on a countout victory to Rico because of it is just stupid. Even though it's slowly getting Rico over with the crowd beating and making a fool of what used to be a good heel, Haas now just looks like that - a fool. A laughing stock.

 

Rico's getting over, but not well. And the future doesn't look too bright for Haas, either.

 

The wrestling in the match was minimal compared to the gimmick-fucking.

 

**

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The Big Show and JBD converse

 

It still does nothing for Bradshaw to be intimidated by Show, even if anyone would be.

 

But this little gem did a subtle job - it showed separation of Show from others, which is and/or will be important later.

 

***

 

Oh, and uh, where's our Mordechai video?

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Non-title contest scheduled for one fall: WWE Champion Eddy Guerrero VS The Big Show

 

While it was by no means great, this one didn't live up to their blow-off at No Mercy six months ago, as if it would've.

 

An interesting point here is that Show actually used a wrestling hold, targeting Eddy's arm for some reason, something that Tazz didn't hesistate to point out.

 

The most entertaining? Eddy's sunset flip (a big fall) and trying to get the big man down, but being thrown up into the rafters for his troubles.

 

I'll admit to feeling sorrow when the big guy was being sang to. Did he feel that he didn't deserve it because of his faceish pursuits earlier? I don't know. But what I do know is that a leave in a WWE storyline means nothing.

 

And for his sake, I hope that Show gets those knees scoped soon.

 

**1/4

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Are you talkin' to me?

 

Flame me if you must, but this was the start of three gripping segments with Show and Torrie Wilson.

 

Did this one mean a lot on it's own? No. Do the others? No. But they're entertaining for what they are, and might or might not be leading to something good.

 

What's sad is that the lowest-rated of the three scored higher than the previous match.

 

***

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Scheduled for one fall: Mark Jindrak w/ Theodore R. Long VS Spike Dudley

 

Some say yes, some no, but do you think that Mark Jindrak could be the next Brock Lesnar?

 

Of course there are variables. Such as Jindrak's previous WWE alliance with Lance Cade, him not entering the company with a bang, him not having an intimidating real name and him not being "Vince's creation".

 

On the match, Jindrak didn't show the greenness usually attributed to guys trying to get over via squash matches and usually failing, i.e. Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan, Batista, his previous experience paying off here.

 

But it was still a squash, and let's see what happens with him. Not much hope for Spike, though.

 

*3/4

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Miscellaneous bits

 

Where was our promo for 'The Experience'? Not that we'd get it anyway... But we're getting Mordecai... I'm babbling.

 

While watching this week's Raw Rebound, I thought that something was missing, but everything worth seeing was touched upon. I still think that it should be called Raw Rewind, though.

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Let's turn a car upside down

 

Seriously, I loved this. The Big Show is getting emotional and Torrie is getting the brunt of it, whether she laughed at him or not.

 

There was genuine emotion showed, and Show's strength was a perk.

 

In what may seem minor to some, the different shot of Show and Torrie running away screaming were effective and realistic, respectively, even if falling down is a bit cliched.

 

***1/2

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And of course that requires a 'Tazz: "I j... I don't know"' announce recoil.

 

"Nonetheless ladies and gentleman, back to business..."

 

Scheduled for one fall: Rob Van Dam VS Booker T

 

What pisses me off is that with all that this one's gotten, both on Raw and throughout SmackDown!, it's a TV main event. Judgment Day is already looking to be rather horrible, why not have strung this one out and put it on PPV?

 

It can't be done now, because we've had it here already, but it could've worked. Yeah, it was worthy of the main event spot, and Cole, when we were coming back for the match's conclusion, we'd barely gotten started.

 

Typical Van Dam work, spot-machinery, and his seriousness showed. The message was put across well with Booker, too, because he wanted to make an impact, and he triumphed over his former tag team partner.

 

Not bad, but should've been on PPV.

 

***

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Vertigo

 

You thought that the show was over, huh? Nice effect. I thought that we'd been shafted.

 

A segment where the General Manager has to tend to something urgently, let alone him breaking out in a run gets attention. Definitely.

 

Now... while this was the most gripping segment of the three, I'm going to jump the gun and say that this (Sunday) morning, I was lying in bed, and a horrible thought hit me. Is Booker T really the new General Manager? Not that, but he'd go over well siding with Show, who is definitely back to his old status, showing no remorse after "killing" Kurt Angle, give Show his job back (surprise, surprise) and make the Judgment Day main event a... a... a Triple-Threat match?

 

I'm not going to speculate. This was a gripping segment, and I am interested in seeing what does happen next week.

 

***3/4

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Overall, decent, but, apart from those three "gripping" segments, namely the final, nothing to write home about.

 

Charlie Haas and Rico not being used well, no/t good development for Cena/Dupree, presuming it happens. The cruiserweight and tag team divisions are in shambles, and noone gives a shit about the PPV main event.

 

Not good news.

 

**3/4

 

Meaning...

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This week's winner of Raw VS SmackDown!: WWE Raw, defeating SmackDown! by a *1/2!

 

Raw is organised for Backlash, using the blow-off of WrestleMania XX to it's advantage, and generally getting the better end of the draft lottery. Just a more entertaining show as a whole.

 

Definitely looking forward to Backlash tomorrow.

 

SmackDown! ? Well, see above.

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iB's WWE Backlash opinions and predictions:

 

Scheduled for one fall: Triple-Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Benoit (Champion) VS Shawn Michaels VS Triple H

 

The build, while not being great, has been sufficient.

 

It'll be long, and being in Canada, Alberta, no less, Edmonton, no less, there'll be a few surprises, maybe more than first thought.

 

Long, and I think that it'll live up to it's WrestleMania original - with Benoit retaining, of course.

 

iB's prediction: Chris Benoit

 

Scheduled for one fall: For the WWE Intercontinental Championship: No Holds Barred match with Evolution banned from ringside (hmmm...): Cactus Jack VS Randy Orton

 

I can't wait to see Cactus again (they couldn't possibly fuck that up again, could they?), and I predict a bloodbath.

 

A few surprises here too, I'd say. It'll be long, it'll be arduous, Mick won't let us down entertainment-wise, but don't expect him to actually win the damn thing.

 

iB's prediction: Randy Orton

 

Scheduled for one fall: Ric Flair VS Shelton Benjamin

 

Should be a keeper, but hard to tip. Will Flair stay on top, or will Benjamin win, hardfought or with a distraction from someone like Chris Benoit (which would be bad for the main event, even if they've already seen the guy at the airport), still keeping Flair up there?

 

Indeed, should be a keeper, and I'll say Benjamin'll come out on top.

 

iB's prediction: Shelton Benjamin

 

Womens Championship match scheduled for one fall: Victoria (Champion) VS Lita

 

Lita winning the Battle Royale is about it for this one, development-wise.

 

I'm most worried for Victoria's health and safety - will she hurt herself in attempting to carry Lita to a half-decent match?

 

Oh, and both being faces could play a part in there too.

 

iB's prediction: Victoria

 

2-on-1 Handicap match scheduled for one fall: Christian and Trish Stratus VS Chris Jericho

 

If Christian keeps to his word, we might have ourselves a decent match. Let's just hope that Trish is more the supporter on the outside (is reminded of WrestleMania X8).

 

Jericho was screwed at WrestleMania - now is his time to take back what is his (in Canada), and continue on to the World Heavyweight Championship picture again!

 

iB's prediction: Chris Jericho

 

Scheduled for one fall: Tajiri VS Jonathan Coachman

 

I don't give a shit. Unless Al Snow gets involved, it'll suck. It might still, too.

 

What I won't is four or five minutes of haha-fucking-ha comedic genius. Tajiri' facial expressions can indeed contribute.

 

Hey, oh...

 

iB's prediction: Tajiri, whatever.

 

I'm looking forward to the show as a whole. The next time that I hope to see you will be my Backlash Diatribe, up probably on Wednesday, the same day as this goes up.

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I think that that covers it all. I don't want to speak too soon, but wow, after SmackDown! fully deleting itself fives times on me (plus the entire thing to start), this is finished. Not at 7:00 PM, but at 11:20 PM. It's done.

 

'Til Backlash,

Beau

 

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