Raw VS SmackDown!

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

Raw VS SmackDown!

23/04/04-24/04/04

By iB

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It's the post-show Raw! The ratings will be there, but will the show's quality?

 

And will SmackDown! suck again this week?

 

All here and more.

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This is WWE Raw for the 23/04/04 here, and the 19/04/04 up under - LIVE from the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada - In Edmonton last night, and Alberta tonight - Your announcers Jim "J.R." Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler

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We're straight into it this week.

 

Scheduled for one fall: Chris Jericho VS Christian w/ Trish Stratus

 

This feud didn't need another blow-off - it had been blown off at Backlash, and an underhyped Raw match doesn't do it any good.

 

What saved it was the fact that it was entertaining - classic Jericho and Christian style, fast-paced, and the Calgary crowd loved it.

 

As for Travis "Tyson" Tomko's debut... well, that was a factor that played in having this match in the first place. I can't see anything good about him being used here. And the fact that he botched a kick on his debut isn't too great either, but do you think that Vince gives a shit?

 

***1/4

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The Champ's token post-PPV promo

 

This wasn't exactly boring, but the fact is, it was cliched right through. I mean, as much as I love Benoit, he repeated himself a lot, and all that he spoke about was pretty much how he's the Champ and how he fought to get here.

 

Unfortunately, the promo from The Dungeon didn't happen, which would have an excellent replacement to this one.

 

The Shawn Michaels appearance (now with 10% more heat!) and material is a great way to kick off the build to Bad Blood, and for once, the show that misses a month PPV-wise might actually give us a decent a title feud.

 

Ok, now... another Benoit/Michaels match on Raw? That's a fucking stupid idea, because we're getting shafted with Bad Blood no matter what now, or so it seems. The (great) Benoit/Michaels match won't be anywhere near as anticipated as it would've been, and they're probably just looking to put Triple H in the PPV main event yet again. The only thing that could save this is the match not even starting or something like that in two weeks, which would come close to ruining the series of matches between these two, but would be better than us not getting our Bad Blood main event.

 

A World Tag Team Championship shot? Those belts can be used terrifically (is that a word?) to further what's happening in the main event slot.

 

I liked the fact that Benoit got promo time, but it's quality will probably only entice Vince to not give him anymore and, God forbid, take the belt from around his waist quicker. Shawn Michaels' part and the pre-/feud build saved it.

 

***

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Scheduled for one fall: Victoria VS Molly Holly

 

It wasn't anything special, but served to hype the fact that Molly wants the Womens Championship so much, and maybe, just maybe, the feud will be something special (a Womens Championship feud for two months being good?)

 

Obviously Lita has the No. 1 Contender's shot, but Molly should (I mean "probably will") be worked into this one somehow, but with Lita in the match, that automatically ups, or starts the suck factor - and with a Triple-Threat match (I'm assuming that that's what's happening) could either be a disaster as it can be with three talented people in the match, or there are just more people to carry Lita.

 

*3/4

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Evolution arrive

 

Honestly, do we have to see them arrive every fucking time they pull up? Yes, we know that they're suave, slick sumbitches, but we don't have to see it every week. Well, if Batista were dressed even close to how he was at WrestleMania, I'd be in for it.

 

Please, God, PLEASE do not give us another Triple-Threat match - it would suck without a doubt. And not just that, people don't want another one. PLEASE.

 

**1/2

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Kane is still in need of some therapy (and a victory)

 

Could this mean that his disappointing feud with the Undertaker is being pulled out of the dumps? Or am I the only that STILL remembers that by what Kane said, it's not over? Should I just quit?

 

At least he addressed that he's been weak lately. That he definitely fucking has. But does this promo only matter for what happens later tonight, or is Kane actually going to be booked correctly?

 

Obviously WWE were shooting for a flashy promo with some nice effects. It worked, and had some great effects.

 

**3/4

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Regal wants out

 

Ok, is Eugene ever going to actually wrestle? You know my scenario, he's gotten over as harmless, gets in the ring, the fans worry, and he's an absolute fucking wrestling machine. That would HAVE to happen. Wouldn't it?

 

Well, it'd make sense, something that WWE try to steer clear of (a generic cheap shot, but true).

 

The Kane portion worked in well with the Regal portion, although that probably means jackshit. I thought just maybe Regal wouldn't find Eugene, he would be booked against Kane, and Eugene would come to the rescue. Should he go over on Kane, showing just how damn good he is, or does Kane need that win?

 

I'm just hoping that WWE don't fuck up an already controversial gimmick.

 

**1/2

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Randy Orton: Battered, beaten and not beaten

 

Was I the only one that thought that after last night's battle, Orton might've been turning?

 

Ok, it was a standard 'respect, but still heel' promo.

 

Where was Foley, by the way? I'm sure that his contract hasn't expired just yet, and even if it had, an extension for this wouldn't have been out of line - is he just another one to disappear, or will he be here next week? I guess there really wasn't anything for him this week.

 

And while I seem to be jumping all over the place, it looks like a feud with Orton for Edge is before Triple H, if that hasn't been nixed. It's tough to tip who'll come out on top - I can't see Orton's push finishing any time soon, and Edge can't afford to lose at the moment.

 

Good promo to see what Orton would have to say after his match, and if he would actually put Foley over, and he did.

 

And uh, I hope that Edge knows that he's not coming off as intimidating.

 

**3/4

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Scheduled for one fall: Lance Cade VS Yoshihiro Tajiri

 

Hey, Cade isn't the only one who's not "just another" hoss.

 

While I'm all for pushing new guys, as well as Tajiri being yanked from the cruiserweight division, now he's being forced to job. And what, that's the only reason he was drafted?

 

Not a squash, which is some hope Tajiri, and while Garrison Cade has a chance at getting over, it seems that Tajiri does not.

 

**3/4

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Miscellaneous bits

 

Nothing good for the SmackDown! Rebound this week either.

 

Eugene's got a gun

 

Eugene is in the ring for the first time - not wrestling, of course

 

Not much of a point here, except to continue Eugene's pattern.

 

Mildly amusing.

 

*3/4

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Benoit and Edge prepare

 

Not bad, seeing the two Canadian faces interact with eachother, and you just know that you're in for quite a main event.

 

**3/4

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Intergender tag team match scheduled for one fall: Matt Hardy and Gail Kim VS Lita and Val Venis

 

So Val is used as an extra now?

 

Ok, the thing here was, Kane didn't get beaten-down by Matt Hardy, because if he had, WWE would have to go with the lame excuse of him being "weak at that point".

 

And does this turn mean a face push for Matt? I loved the way that he turned, excuse the pun, and am looking forward to seeing him hopefully booked correctly, continuing to make the Raw the superior brand at this point.

 

As long as he's not in these sorts of matches every week with Lita.

 

DUD

 

Well, I guess the segment was the match.

 

**3/4

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Hirohito hype

 

Dammit, why are we always left out when it comes to this kind of thing? Where was our Hirohito hype video? All the new debuts lately/upcoming - Travis Tomko, Mordecai, Hirohito, it's hard to keep up.

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World Tag Team Championship contest scheduled for one fall: Ric Flair and Batista (Champions) VS Chris Benoit and Edge

 

Tonight, we continue the trend of entertaining Raw main events. Well, even when the show was bad, we pretty much always got a decent main event.

 

Batista and Flair are rarely not at the top of the Raw card anyway, and they can still keep the match entertaining (I'm talking about Batista here), and even if Batista does slow it down a bit sometimes, his power wrestling, as J.R. describes it (pretty much always meaning that that wrestler sucks) puts the faces in peril well, and he's improving.

 

Classic Flair style, and a fast pace from Edge and Benoit, namely Benoit, and all of his talent to go with it.

 

New World Tag Team Champions! Well, it's about time that the belts changed hands. While they have had nothing to do with the actual tag team division for a long time now (at least when they did, it wasn't for long, and was just for WrestleMania XX), and this gives the faces the gold, and freshens up the title picture.

 

***3/4

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Overall, the trend of entertaining Raw main events continued, and hopefully the trend of a shitty post-PPV show is finished forever. Well, at least on Raw.

 

Sufficient build for the title picture, whatever is in store for Bad Blood. I'm hoping that it's Benoit/Michaels, just like everyone else, but Triple H looms. Whatever happens in two weeks, WWE, please don't fuck this up.

 

Orton/Edge seems to be a goer, and, as I wonder where Shelton Benjamin was this week (Stacy Keibler is LOST IN OHIO~!, for those of you who don't know), I also wonder what happened to what looked to be an IC Championship shot. Will Edge/Orton be for the IC? Will we get a midcard Triple-Threat in Orton/Michaels/Benjamin? Pure speculation here.

 

Even the Womens Championship seems to be getting treated properly (I won't speak too soon), and Matt Hardy is being pushed. Hopefully.

 

As for Jericho/Christian... well, a fourth match? People know that Jericho was shafted, so hopefully not. I don't know about Tyson Tomko, but I want Jericho in that title picture.

 

Satisfying show, nice development, and a minority of down points.

 

***3/4

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Please, let this show be passable this week, even though as I write this, I've obviously seen it already.

 

Well, a less than enjoyable video package to start. I shouldn't be expecting good pre-show packages.

 

*1/2

 

This is WWE SmackDown! for the 24/04/04 here, and the 22/04/04 up above, taped 20/04/04, where we are north of the border from a venue that I'm not sure of in Kelowna, BC - Your announcers are Michael Cole & Tazz

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Cole & Tazz try to convince us

 

Am I the only one that thinks that after falling 25 feet onto cement where this is blood pouring from your head and noone comes to your aid immediately and you still being alive is unbelievable?

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Scheduled for one fall: Rob Van Dam VS Booker T

 

I enjoyed the match, but it seemed just a bit thrown together, full of Van Dam spots, but the psychology was there, from last week especially.

 

Unfortunately, I can't see this one coming off as a Judgment Day match, which is a damn shame.

 

Enjoyable, but wasn't taken seriously, and seemed like it needed to be gotten out of the way quickly to focus on Booker/Undertaker, whatever the hell is planned there.

 

Nice ending to keep Van Dam strong.

 

**1/4

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Paul Heyman - one night only

 

If I hadn't heard about the show previously, I would've gone apeshit when Paul E. showed up, mainly because when you see him, it means a good show.

 

Unfortunately, he's not here for long enough to get the back on track, and one night certainly isn't going to do it, but he gave a decent return promo, and that leads us to another one.

 

**1/4

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The Dudley Boyz crack Van Dam, and I don't care

 

For starters, a heel turn from Bubba and D'Von is too little, too late taking the tag team division into consideration.

 

Secondly, Paul Heyman is there for one night - what's the point?

 

For a turn, if you could in fact call it that, the segment wasn't anything special, not surprisingly. Noone cares about the tag team division, and not about the Dudleyz right now, and I think that's why the segment was so lackluster, and the fact that there's nothing to work with.

 

At least it gets Van Dam over as more of a face, and the Dudley Boyz? Do you give a shit?

 

**

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WWE Tag Team Championship match scheduled for one fall: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty (Champions) VS Rico and Charlie Haas

 

Ok, going into this, I wasn't expecting much, and I didn't get much.

 

The main interest points were seeing how Rico and Haas would work together, if Rico's gimmick was toned-down (at least, his enforcing it) and watching Rico and Haas themselves work.

 

Well, Rico and Haas both worked well individually, because they didn't exactly have any tag team psychology or were in the ring at the same time and the "flamboyant" gimmick wasn't toned-down any, but at least there wasn't any violent illness.

 

The Rico/Haas victory is also too little, too late for the SmackDown!'s tag team division, but at least my idea is being enforced as far as tag teams go, and the division might be able to get itself out of the funk that it's in at the moment. Or maybe I'm just a drowning man clutching a straw.

 

**1/4

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You show the Big Show tipping Torrie's car over, but not the man himself.

 

The main event is made

 

Ok, the entire deal of Bradshaw being the no. 1 contender for the WWE Championship and the possibility of yet another failed uppercard push were both given in one short segment.

 

He is the N-u-m-b-e-r o-n-e c-o-n-t-e-n-d-e-r - meaning that he is the f-i-r-s-t p-e-r-s-o-n to get a shot. That was such a big deal before, but it seems to mean nothing now.

 

And thirdly, has anybody ever considered what this will do for the actual El Gran Luchadore, being the Champion of Mexico?

 

Also... why the fuck are we getting such a main event? It was definitely failed anticipation, because noone gives a shit about which Dudley gets a shot tonight, and since when does a Dudley get a WWE Championship shot?

 

Three disappointments make for a shitty segment.

 

3/4*

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Scheduled for one fall: John Bradshaw DiBiase VS El Gran Luchadore

 

This did NOTHING for Bradshaw and NOTHING for El Gran Luchadore. A Bradshaw squash is a horrible to even attempt to get him over, and, as I said above, what about the real El Gran Luchadore?

 

I mean, sure, it's Mexico, and you have to consider the fanbase down there, but that's still no excuse.

 

Paul London didn't get the opportunity to even carry JBD at all, and even him getting on the show doesn't substitute.

 

1/2*

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Welcome, to the Cafe, de Rene

 

Well, another letdown.

 

First of all, is this trying to rip off the Highlight Reel and fill in the void from the short-lived Piper's Pit on SmackDown! (on SmackDown!)?

 

And Torrie Wilson as a guest? Why is she not traumatized about seeing a man plunge 25 feet to what was thought to be his death?

 

They are getting the heat on Rene, no doubt, but it seems as if they're doing it any way possible. All of these Big Show references with no show of the man himself (more on that later), some horrible Torrie Wilson "acting", a huge oversell of a slap and Rene about to hit a woman. For God's sake, does every heel have to contradictory?

 

Whether or not this continues next week or it was just an entire segment built around a Cena run-in remains to be seen.

 

**

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Cena's still popping the crowd when return for a...

 

2-on-1 Handicap match scheduled for one fall: John Cena VS Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Chavo Guerrero Sr.

 

Great, the cruiserweight champion himself now being made look weak.

 

I mean, sure, at least Cena/Dupree is being built for (around pure dislike), but champions being used in another champion's feud where the heel is more than likely going for a belt that it would make no sense for him to want is, well, not making sense.

 

The match itself followed the basic Cena pattern each week until the Dupree run-in, which isn't exactly a bad thing, because that type of match isn't bad, short and sweet, but it's meaning is what gets it.

 

**3/4

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Miscellaneous bits

 

Hey, it's the Raw Rewi... er... Rebound. Not bad, either, but if they want such a tight knit brand split (for each brand), give the highlight reels separate names - come to think of it, they shouldn't be there in the first place.

 

**1/4

 

Rico and Haas' post-match promo

 

A classic odd couple scenario. Nice promo, but it's painfully obvious that these two will never be able to work together, at least not for a long time, and eventually split, unless Vince decides to keep on keepin' on and go for a gay angle.

 

Please, God, no.

 

I'm trying to have faith, both in that not happening and the tag team division.

 

**1/2

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WWE Championship contest scheduled for one fall: Eddy Guerrero (Champion) VS D'Von Dudley w/ Bubba Ray and Paul E. Heyman

 

What's with Eddy just showing up for the main event lately?

 

Not much of a main event at all. The fact that someone else suddenly was given the no. 1 contender's shot, especially when they have zero business in this position is just idiotic.

 

As far as which Dudley was chosen, it was obviously going to be D'Von, because, well, Bubba is always the one in focus.

 

I'd love to be able to say more about this one, but I can't say anything that hasn't already been said.

 

But yeah, a fairly boring main event based around a hard sell for Eddy/JBD at the end, the match and the weak build both being lackluster and/or meaningless.

 

*1/4

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Another disappointing show this weak. Pretty damn disappointing as a matter of fact. I went at least three consecutive segments without being able to say anything good. Three!

 

The tag team and cruiserweight divisions are once again still in a black hole, there was next to NO build for Eddy/JBD, and the match that could save the PPV in Cena/Dupree (could) was given weak hype, and not the required time. At least, time not well-spent.

 

Very disappointing show, with the negatives far outweighing the positives, and even the positives nothing to write home about.

 

And that's how they were using Paul E.?!

 

*3/4

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The outcome

 

Raw once again comes out on top, with better future planning with a few little gems surfacing, and better wrestling. Promo-wise, there's no real need for anything groundbreaking at the moment.

 

While SmackDown! doesn't have the electricity of a live show, that's no excuse, because it was damn well better throughout the entirety of 2003, being the only reason to watch WWE, because if it was like it is now then and Raw was like it was then, we'd have ourselves a disaster.

 

This week's winner of Raw VS SmackDown!, that being for the weekend of the 23/04/04-24/04/04 - why, WWE Raw, of course, defeating SmackDown! by *3/4!

 

I never thought that I'd be able to say "of course" when giving Raw a victory.

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'Til next time,

Beau

 

The feedback goes here, and the archives are over here.

 

Immediate official DVD collection at both DVD Aficionado and Guzzlefish. It's here!