Raw VS SmackDown!

[Guest I Got Banned for Sucking]

Raw VS SmackDown!

21/05/04-22/05/04

By iB ([email protected])

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It's that time of the week again.

 

This week on WWE Raw, it's an Over-the-top rope Battle Royale to determine the No. 1 contender for Chris Benoit's World Heavyweight Championship at Bad Blood, as well as what should be another promising show.

 

As for the 'Early 90s Russo era WWE' that is the new SmackDown!, we're fresh off of Judgment Day. What will Eddy Guerrero and John Bradshaw DiBiase have to say about their Championship match? What about the rest of the card?

 

It's here. And more.

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This is WWE Raw for the 21/05/04 in Australia and the 17/05/04 in the US of A, LIVE from the Sports Arena in San Diego, CA - Your announcers are Jim "J.R." Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler

 

Tonight, we'll see that Over-the-top rope Battle Royale, Chris Benoit and Edge put their World Tag Team Championship on line, as well as Trish Stratus and taking on Lita, which is right now.

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Scheduled for one fall: Trish Stratus VS Lita

 

Actually not as bad a match as was expected. The wrestling portion wasn't so bad, even if Lita's kip-ups are disgusting, and there was some nice psychology here - heel Trish works on Lita's surgically-repaired neck, while Lita just takes it to Trish early on for that little prank last week.

 

I don't know why, but the match seemed to have a different aura to it. It may have been just me.

 

Nice angle development here aswell, with Kane on the 'tron. Of course Trish takes advantage with the roll-up, but the focus was on the Kane/Matt Hardy/Lita angle.

 

Nice little post-match Kane part - it makes you wonder what he wants an answer for, even if it's pretty obvious as to what it is. So you'd think.

 

2/10

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Randy Orton is here

 

It was painfully obvious that the promo was just killing time until Shelton Benjamin came on out. I mean, at least it makes sense after last week's IC title defense, but it was still painfully obvious.

 

Edge is still possibly in the picture, but their big one-on-one match was last week, so now we can focus on Shelton Benjamin and his shot.

 

Ok, I'm just hoping that this feud isn't another Booker T/Triple H, where all that the heel can do is use the face's descent for heat. But seeing as this is Randy Orton, and he said "you people", that's probably what will happen, unfortunately.

 

Not a bad segment, with a nice little scuffle, but if this feud isn't fresh and original, and not stupid, using racial slurs for hype, it's going to degrade the match. Speaking of which... who else saw that sign?

 

2.5/10

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(Insert technical fuck-up)

 

Evolution are confident, and William Regal and Eric Bischoff discuss Eugene

 

For the former, just your standard stuff - and if Triple H were to win here, this would be a rare occasion in which it wouldn't completely suck. But it wouldn't make sense. You know, if it wasn't another Triple-Threat match...

 

1/10

 

I'm liking these backstage segments with Eugene. It's classic Regal and, well, normal Bischoff. They continue to get Eugene over as a face, ensuring huge pops whenever he does something.

 

You just know that something's in store for later.

 

Nice stuff.

 

4/10

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Our friendly announcers

 

I liked this in that the Shawn Michaels/Triple H situation is kept being hyped while HBK is suspended. Raw have got nearly a month still until Bad Blood, and I hope that this one doesn't get fucked up.

 

3/10

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Squash Scheduled for one fall: Kane VS Val Venis

 

Ok, Val isn't a small guy - so why was this such a squash?

 

Well, a squash is a squash and makes for nice Kane/Matt hype for post-match. And at least there was a reason for the match, and it wasn't such an obvious squash.

 

DUD

 

I loved the brawl here, and am continuing to love Matt's push, moreso if it doesn't end abruptly. Kane was still seen as somewhat of a monster by choking Matt out with that chair.

 

I'm concerned about this feud's development speed when Kane is pretty much already in the title picture. The fact that it's not rushed and made to look stupid is a plus, but yeah, the possibility of something with Benoit and Matt is there.

 

4/10

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Way to get The Hurricane on the show these days.

 

World Tag Team Championship contest scheduled for one fall: Chris Benoit & Edge (Champions) VS Batista and Randy Orton

 

Man, I love seeing Benoit.

 

Damn good match here - match of the night. There's a match like this almost every week on Raw, a tag team match that works in with the title picture. All of the men involved work well with another, and even if one may not, the others can mask that into a great, high-energy tag team match.

 

Fast-paced to start, and not exactly slow in the middle. Seeing Benoit get the hot tag is always awesome, because you know that business is about to pick up, and he cleans house.

 

Very good ending, as was the fact-paced stuff that led up to it. I must say that I'm surprised about Orton and Batista not going over. Sure, Orton has his IC title, but Benoit has the World Heavyweight Championship while it looks like Edge will be going one-on-one with Flair at Bad Blood, because PPV filler can be strung out that long, successful or not.

 

6.5/10

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Eugene prepares

 

Another interesting Eugene segment. The 'Rain Man' gimmick isn't being as played-out as I'd expected, but it's still a good addition, cliched or not. Well, this is pro wrestling.

 

There's a nice video package to get everyone on Eugene's side for the following promo.

 

3/10

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Eugene's promo

 

As much as I dislike Jonathan Coachman's gimmick, he's good to get people over. And this segment shows that he's still nothing more than Bischoff's clapmonkey.

 

Those heel tactics were there with Coachman. I'll admit to feeling sorry for Eugene while the Coach was trying to hurt his feelings, which means that Nick Dinsmore is talented both in the ring and as a promo guy.

 

Hey, it's The Rock! Great to see him. We pretty much always see him whenever Raw are in California. Excellent pops, excellent Eugene reaction.

 

As stupid as "popcorn fart" sounds, a great promo from The Rock, as expected. When he's not out there busting his ass every night, he'll take what he can get when he's doing a one night only. Full of energy, engrossing, and Eugene was used very well. That Triple H thing was hilarious. It looks like Lance Cade's big push has slowed down a bit.

 

It got Eugene over even more, his gimmick is being done well and he's not being shoved down our throats, it was great to see The Rock aswell as him giving Eugene the rub.

 

One of the greatest promos on Raw in a while.

 

7.5/10

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SmackDown! Rebound

 

It was on it's own this week, so it gets it's own heading. Ironically, in both bold and italics.

 

The same as it has been - a below average video package for a below average show. Doesn't it just remind you of the school principal praising the A student while making an example out of the failure?

 

1/10

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Over-the-top rope Battle Royale for the No. 1 contenders spot for Chris Benoit's Championship: Rhyno VS Sylvain Grenier VS Rob Conway VS Steven Richards VS the newly-returning Maven, replacing the newly-fired Grand Master Sexay VS Johnny Nitro (he's finally in the ring) VS Lance Cade VS Shelton Benjamin VS Rosey VS The Hurricane VS Christian VS Val Venis VS Batista VS Kane VS Matt Hardy VS Ric Flair VS Triple H VS Randy Orton VS Edge VS Chris Jericho

 

As far as these types of matches go, pretty standard. Guys were eliminated too quickly, which took away from the match as a whole.

 

I do like how these kinds of matches, though, can build angles, such as Kane/Matt Hardy. That does add to the match's intensity, and helps to not just make it a bunch of guys going at eachother for the No. 1 contender's spot with no real psychology.

 

The ending had the typical guys left. Speaking of which, it would've been good for Jericho to have had an earlier entrance spot, while being eliminated by Kane near the end. Seeing as the Kane/Benoit match is hard to tip at this point, if Kane were to go over, it would make for a Jericho/Kane program. Because seeing as Raw are getting Vengeance now, it could have made for Jericho/Kane there, Jericho goes over, and we neatly get Jericho/Benoit at SummerSlam.

 

Great build for Michaels/Triple H aswell. Even if it still doesn't make sense for Michaels to somehow get into the building, that match is all set while Kane gets the win, which is the smartest thing to do at this point. And who knows, maybe something with Michaels and Kane will happen down the track, if HBK can get his foot that high.

 

Boy, things are looking good.

 

3.5/10

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Another excellent show. Yes, I will talk about the build, which we got for what looks like will involve Christian and Matt Hardy through Trish and Lita (please, not an Intergender match - and a Mixed tag team match at a PPV would be nothing short of lame), Michaels/Triple H, the title picture, and the IC title, but nothing for the Womens Championship. The possibility is also there for something stupid such as Eugene and what might be William Regal VS Lance Cade and the Coach, when Eugene VS Cade would do just fine with right developments.

 

Raw is definitely on the right track at the moment, with some fun speculation for the title picture, as well as an undercard for Bad Blood that, which at the moment isn't looking too bad at all.

 

Pretty damn good all around here.

 

6/10

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I'm afraid that this will be somewhat rushed due to time restraints.

 

This is WWE SmackDown! for the 22/05/04 here, and the 20/05/04 there, taped 18/05/04 from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV - Your announcers are Michael Cole & Tazz

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Main event backlash

 

Nothing special here, sadly - not even anything as far as post-brawl goes.

 

I will admit, there was some great crowd interaction with the Champ, the match's ending and things were covered well, but it just lacked any real substance. The bloody hat was a nice touch, and at least there were no stupid racial slurs.

 

I'm still not seeing much special about Kurt Angle, still sadly. But if the intention is indeed for a rematch at The Great American Bash, then the animosity was kept up well, as well as an acceptable main event being made.

 

2/10

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Non-title contest scheduled for one fall: WWE Tag Team Champions Rico and Charlie Haas w/ Jackie Gayda VS the new FBI in Nunzio and Johnny Stamboli

 

Acceptable filler. Rico's gimmick was being exploited in what is now the 'early '90s Russo era WWF', but at least match-wise, the wrestling is taken seriously.

 

Nice start, introducing us to everyone. Pretty fast-paced middle, and a great ending - the best ending that Rico and Haas have had as a team as yet. But is the German Suplex Pin really Haas' new finisher? Well, at least someone's holding the bridge for a change.

 

Things look as though they could be picking up, tag team division wise, but it's still far from great.

 

2.5/10

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The Chavos

 

Hmmm... A Triple-Threat match for the Cruiserweight Championship? Innovative here. I like that Spike is being used, even if he's not getting that belt for a long time, if at all.

 

The problem with these segments is that Chavo Sr. loses credibility working in them with Chavo Jr. because of his abrasiveness. But, intensity was built due to the possibility of Chavo Sr. going over, if not expected to happen.

 

2.5/10

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Rene Dupree

 

Seriously, these unhyped post-PPV title matches have to stop.

 

No rating.

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Scheduled for one fall: Billy Kidman VS Jimmy "Akio" Yang

 

Sure, the fact that WWE are trying to get such a, well, 'early '90s Russo era WWF' gimmick over is good and all, but it's painfully obvious what's happening here.

 

Vince, why the fuck do you have to repeatedly fuck your cruiserweights up the ass? It's bad enough that there's no division, but you take away what could have been an entertaining match (well, let's face it - it never would have happened) just to get another hoss over.

 

DUD

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JBD gets a check-up

 

Well, it's usually interesting to see the wrestler interacting with the staff member. As well as when he's discussing his feud with another wrestler with them.

 

2/10

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U.S. Championship contest scheduled for one fall: John Cena (Champion) VS Rene Dupree w/ FiFi~!

 

As far as quality goes, pretty much the same as their PPV encounter. Construction-wise, just a strung-out patterned Cena match.

 

Pretty fast-paced throughout, though still lackluster. These two are capable of so much more.

 

The ending warrants a rematch, which is happening - but not well.

 

2.5/10

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Flashback

 

Yeah, they warn you, but don't show the blood on Eddy do they? At least, no here.

 

No rating.

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Triple-Threat match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Champion) w/ and VS Chavo Guerrero Sr. VS Spike Dudley

 

As far as a cruiserweight match goes, sadly still, nothing. A match full of nice little spots is not a cruiserweight match, and as the match as a whole goes, it was just a fast-paced bunch of spots set-up pre-match by Spike himself.

 

Ok, Chavo Guerrero Sr. - WWE Cruiserweight Champion. Ok, Chavo Sr. is also not a cruiserweight. True, he can actually wrestle... but he's no Cruiserweight. The ending didn't make a lot of sense due to the new Champion's pre-match plotting to get that belt, but it was a neat ending, nevertheless.

 

And it seems to me as though we'll be getting Chavo VS Chavo at The Great American Bash.

 

2.5/10

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Miscellaneous bits

 

Once again, another quality Raw Rebound for another quality Raw.

 

3/10

 

Booker T, interviewed by "SmackDown!, Numbah 1 Announah!" Funaki

 

Pretty standard promo, and it looks like The Great American Bash will be just a rematch PPV. In other words, it will suck.

 

Hey, I'm all for Funaki getting himself a match on here. At least he showed some guts in this promo aswell.

 

2.5/10

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Scheduled for one fall: Booker T VS Sho Funaki

 

While it wouldn't've made a great deal of sense, I would've loved for Funaki to score a win. He should be in the cruiserweight division. Not Jacqueline and Chavo Guerrero Sr. Funaki. A cruiserweight. Why do I bother?

 

The fact that it wasn't a squash is a plus - it was a decently-constructed match, but it pretty much just had Booker T saying "Funaki, you're just delaying the inevitable. No matter how much you delay, I'm still making my way to beating you." And he did.

 

2.5/10

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More miscellaneous bits

 

Ok, um... For starters, giving out what could be one of SmackDown!'s only PPV draws for free is just stupid... And... What makes it a Lumberjack Match?

 

No rating.

 

Eddy Guerrero's injuries further

 

The only forseeable purpose for these little backstage things between JBD and Eddy here are for this evening's main event. Sure, they could help in the long run for the inevitable rematch, but they don't make much sense at all.

 

2/10

 

Kenzo Suzuki

 

Is he debuting next week or what? These vignettes make him come off as downright scary...

 

1.5/10

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3-on-2 Handicap tag team match scheduled for one fall: Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio VS John Bradshaw DiBiase and the Dudley Boyz

 

Things were nicely done to start off - the psychology was Eddy being laid-out backstage, thus unable to compete in the match. So it was the faces in peril against the three heels which are together... why?

 

Usually when you stick guys like this in a main event tag team match, it's a fast-paced, entertaining match, if not a technical masterpiece. Raw pull it off each week, as do SmackDown! here.

 

Eddy's late music was excellent, and so were those pops. And that goes for the start of the show. We're further led to believe a rematch between Eddy and JBD (ok, obviously it's going to happen) by the Champ's injuries getting the better of him and JBD getting the easy pin - that combined with the paramedics get more heat on the heel contender.

 

Not a bad match as a whole, as well as some decent development, however bad it may be for. And at least Van Dam and Rey on their own got to work as a tag team again, and I hope that they stay as permanents. And on that note, what's with the token faces just thrown in with the main event? Was what seemed like clever booking a while back a fluke?

 

5/10

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Overall, another shitty show. Now that I think about, The Great American Bash doesn't seem like that much of a rematch PPV. Chavo VS Chavo would be new, Undertaker VS Booker seems unrealistic, what with Mordecai and all. Bob Holly and Billy Gunn are nowhere to be seen, Cena and Dupree are getting their match next week, so the only rematch it looks to be is Eddy/JBD. But hey, this is the new SmackDown!, so throw-together PPV matches wouldn't seem stupid to the writers and bookers on this show.

 

Lackluster wrestling as a whole, lack of development for bad angles, cruiserweights still being screwed as non-cruiserweights hog their spotlight... What the fuck is this? Bush Week?

 

1.5/10

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Of course Raw get the win. Good matches, good development, a good show. SmackDown! are just the opposite.

 

This week's winner of Raw VS SmackDown! - Raw, defeating SmackDown! by a score of 4.5!

 

'Til next time,

Beau

 

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