Anyone else think that SmackDown is going to start improving?

[darkpower]

With the return of Batista this coming Tuesday/Friday, does anyone else see this as a positive for SmackDown? They're getting one of the main anchors that they lost when everyone was getting injured, and while there is still a ton to go, I can see this as the good that SD deperatly NEEDS right now.

Now, if the house show stuff from SD still show Angle in matches, we may still have a chance of seeing Angle return to SD, and if they don't fuck up this Edge thing and have him quit RAW and decide to move to SD instead of ECW, then, as much as we dog Edge, that could be good to have another person that could work the main event. Then all we need is to hope and pray that Benoit can come back. And with the WWE so high on Lashley right now (with as much as we think he's Wayne Brady on steroids, he's a good wrestler in my mind), he could become a main event wrestler before long.

But this is a GREAT start to what I think is a turnaround for SD.

Discuss.

[Skippord]

If Edge jumped Smackdown would become my favorite brand

[Corkscrewed]

I really don't think it will improve much. If by improving, you mean like a fire has been contained, then maybe. Otherwise, I don't see it getting better by much.

And even if it does, it'll inevitably fall apart again, as has been the case for a few years now (every time it looks like things are picking up and the writers have suddenly found brains, they go and mess things up by making illogical title changes, dropping angles, or stopping what they've been doing).

[darkpower]

He may have to if he wants to make a good impression when the WWE starts up on the new CW network. They could do something in order to make it seem like a big event that they are on the CW now.

[OverTaker]

If The Sprit Squad jumped Smackdown would become my favorite brand

Seriously though, Batista coming back, JBL commentating, Taker close to returing, yeah it's definately coming out of the redzone.

[Kane Knight]

They've been doing stuff to make me feel like they're improving over and over again. The prblem is, every time, they let me down.

[Dorkchop]

They've been doing stuff to make me feel like they're improving over and over again. The prblem is, every time, they let me down.

That's pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

[Kane Knight]

Yeah, there's always a ...But in Smackdown.

They bring back Kennedy, but he's involved in matches nobody cares about.
They hype Finlay, make him a solid midcarder, but think he needs to be comedied up.
They bring in Lashley, but decide he should talk.
They bring Orton back from suspension, but have him jump to Raw.
They have Rey destroyed, but keep him as champion.
They "devastate" the Undertaker, but make it at the hands of the great AFRHG AFJN V M ADRB HDLI!

It goes on and on.

[owenbrown]

Yeah, there's always a ...But in Smackdown.

They bring back Kennedy, but he's involved in matches nobody cares about.
They hype Finlay, make him a solid midcarder, but think he needs to be comedied up.
They bring in Lashley, but decide he should talk.
They bring Orton back from suspension, but have him jump to Raw.
They have Rey destroyed, but keep him as champion.
They "devastate" the Undertaker, but make it at the hands of the great AFRHG AFJN V M ADRB HDLI!

It goes on and on.

It all boils down to this.... they attempt to improve the shows... BUT they still have the same shitty writers. :shifty: :wtf:

[Afterlife]

The way I see it, the problem is not that SD hasn't got name power, but that they aren't utilizing the names they have. Orton is only 'a Name' because he used to hang with HHH and everyone oversells his facebuster. If they took Burchill, Hardy, Dean and Helms and actually treated them like talent, they'd have a kickass show. Kennedy's the same way, but at least he's getting the "Feed him jobbers until we get an idea" treatment.

What it actually boils down to, to steal the phrase, it that the company is in greater anticipation of the returning stars than the fans. Yes, it will be great to have Batista back...but while we wait, they are doing virtually nothing in making 'replacements'. Lashley is in a story with King Boring, and sure, he's gonna come out on top, but it's lame b/c Booker is, as peviously stated, worn-out boring. But with the exception of Lashley, nobody is being pushed. Henry can't be pushed any farther than he is. Neither can Dalip, since all he does is beat on defenseless fotter, Lesnar style.

The point: The show sucks b/c the writers are banking on the crutch of worker hiatus. As long as they tell themselves, "We've hit a low spot, but it'll pick up once so-and-so returns," the show will be dim. Relying on Hopeful Returns is a nasty thing, and it's the cause of the current lull.

[Fignuts]

I've come to the decision that I like the strawberry creme frappuchino better than all others.

[Afterlife]

I don't foillow.

[Kane Knight]

It all boils down to this.... they attempt to improve the shows... BUT they still have the same shitty writers. :shifty: :wtf:

And owners...

Vince: Jim, your Ken Kennedy idea was brilliant! People eat him up!

Writer: Thank you, sir.

Vince: There's just one thing he needs...

Writer: Yes, sir?

Vince: A sex change! And a poodle! Oh, and see if you can get a burning American flag tattooed on his face!

[korinkahn]

Does Batista have any legit wrestling ability? or are we just going to see "Big Man" matches, test of strenght with Lashley bear hugging Batista/Mark Henery-b/c that gets old real fast. Plus even when the Taker comes back a match can only be as good as the two artist in the ring. I just do not see SD turning around Rey, Booker T-no one but JBL can talk on that show plus they let the Miz in the ring with a Mic:nono:

[Y2Jeremy]

I really don't think it will improve much. If by improving, you mean like a fire has been contained, then maybe. Otherwise, I don't see it getting better by much.

And even if it does, it'll inevitably fall apart again, as has been the case for a few years now (every time it looks like things are picking up and the writers have suddenly found brains, they go and mess things up by making illogical title changes, dropping angles, or stopping what they've been doing).

I'm glad someone else sees this inevitable pattern. Damn it.

And I lost alot of faith when the first time the Miz opened his mouth and "hoo-rah" came out.

[owenbrown]

And owners...

Vince: Jim, your Ken Kennedy idea was brilliant! People eat him up!

Writer: Thank you, sir.

Vince: There's just one thing he needs...

Writer: Yes, sir?

Vince: A sex change! And a poodle! Oh, and see if you can get a burning American flag tattooed on his face!

Yeah, a certain owner (who shall remain nameless :shifty: ) has kinda(and I use the term "kinda" very loosely) lost touch with ALL reality. :shifty:

[St. Jimmy]

If they want to improve Smackdown, Bats is the man to use. Do things in this order: Have Bats in a program where he completly DESTROYS Henry. Make Henry look like a complete bitch. Booker wins the title over Rey. Bats and Booker WHC fued for about 1-1/2 months. Bats walks away with the title.

But honestly who am I kidding. Smackdown is completely doomed. Bats isn't even THAT watchable.

[Stickman]

To answer the question:

no.

[Kane Knight]

Smackdown really is becoming a Negro League. I mean, aside from Ken Kennedy, who is there that's white? A couple of faggy acrobatic clowns who fight dudes who ride lawnmowers? White Stereotype. A commentator who got fired because he couldn'd do the job better than a wetback? White Stereotype. An annoying fitness Guru? White guy who's only there to get the shit kicked out of him. Finlay? Drunken guy who likes to abuse a midget. Crazy motherfucking white boys.

That leaves...Ummm...Helms.

[Corkscrewed]

lol

That's so wrong. :lol



Anyway, I still advocate the Batista comes back "helping" Rey thing, continue the friendship, then he swerves Rey and beats him for the title a month or two later, claiming that he thought Rey could carry on the the title with class and credibility, but instead he made it into a joke. And now it's time for a "real champ" to step up.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I still think SmackDown! is the better show overall. I mean, SmackDown! actually has a tag team division (which the amazing SD! commentators are putting over as being overly talented). They actually have matches tell stories. Not just in the ring, but outside it. What I mean by that is, from one week's matches I can have educated guesses of the next week's. RAW just seems thrown together.

The Great Khali and Mark Henry leave a lot to be desired as main eventers, but Henry isn't too bad. There, I said it. The guy's not exactly great in the ring, but promo-wise, and just in general the way he has been built-up on Smackers, he has looked pretty devastating. I doubt we will see much of Khali or Henry post-Summerslam, though.

Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero are probably going to feud. That is worth the watch. Finlay and William Regal in a solid mid-card feud? Glorious. Sure, some stuff ruins it, like the Little Bastard, but there is a lot of good. King Booker has found his niche as a heel. He's no longer boring, and he will probably be World Champion heading into Summerslam.

All they need to do is work out how they are going to move their talent away from their cheesy gimmicks once they have riden them for a while. Paul Burchill and Vito come to mind. Both are talented performers, but they're not going to take that final step as a pirate or cross-dresser.

[Afterlife]

Well, as for Burchill, they always made it clear that he didn't think he was a pirate; he just dressed that way to honor his heritage. His can be dropped at any time, and from what I've heard, he won't have the attire when he makes his return.

Vito, on the other hand....at this point, if he stopped with the dresses and kept the leary personality, I think he'd be fine. His ring psychology's not bad, but if he toned down the over the top "flirting" into just a "can you guess what I'm thing?" kinda level, he'd be solid.

[James Steele]

The Miz made me stop considering watching SmackDown! until he gets off of it.

[Batsu]

I'm kind of with Alienoid on this one.

SmackDown, for all the CRAP (the leprechaun, Boogeyman when he was there, Vito the crossdresser, etc)...does tend to have actual matches and sensical ones at that. Now, I'm not 100% sold on the booking. Their champ, Rey Mysterio, has been booked like SHIT. Hopefully King Booker gets the title (as he SHOULD have had for months), and after Batista is done with Mark Henry, that feud sets up.

Undertaker's doing the right thing by taking time off TV and showing up for special appearances. In his current "Deadman" gimmick, it's best in small doses, and he can really increase his drawing power that way. (In retrospect, the evolution of that Badass Undertaker really would have worked in modern day pro-wrestling if only he didn't get on the mic and say something that sounded horribly out of touch).

With no Angle, no Benoit, no Orton, et al, they could still be doing a lot worse.

Did Paul Burchill get demoted off WWE TV or something? If so, I hope he returns in his old non-Jack Sparrow ripoff gimmick.

I really believe that a lot of the people showing on SmackDown now (yes, even Lashley, aka Lesnar Mark II) have enough talent within them, that elaborate gimmicks aren't needed. More sensible booking and less ...."sports-entertainment CRAP" could make that show once again, what it was a few years ago. Even without Cena, Orton, HHH, et al. JBL as a heel announcer is gold. While I liked Tazz and Cole, JBL hasn't taken long to win me over. His comments during the Vito match were hilarious.

On the other hand, Kane Knight is spot on with the way SD's Creative has let us down.

Something doesn't seem right about MISTERRRRRRRRR KENNEDY.
and Finlay, who is GOLD in the ring, and on the mic, and has a nice intro music (classic "WWE" voice-tagger intro)....they do go overboard with the "Irish" stereotypes. It's not 1986 anymore. And the Leprechaun needs to go.

And while women's wrestling is an afterthought in most US pro wrestling, really... did they have to repackage Michelle McCool as a fake-assed Stacy Keibler (in her Miss Hancock character)? That's kind of a slap in the face to Stacy, who definitely played her role over the years (whether it be eye candy, or that tall, awkward women's wrestler, or that girl who got RKO-ed by Randy Orton).

Otherwise... there are times where I'd rather be watching SD over Raw, especially when Vince McMahon is on screen, ordering the Spirit Squad to dismantle DX for the umpteenth time, or during an Umaga match (except when Armando Alejandro Estrada is talking).

[owenbrown]

Whatever happened to just WRESTLING someone anymore instead of having some stupid gimmick such as a pirate or male cheerleaders or crossdressers and such?! That belt on Smackdown! says World Heavyweight WRESTLING Champion not SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Champion.

[Afterlife]

Whatever happened to just WRESTLING someone anymore instead of having some stupid gimmick such as a pirate or male cheerleaders or crossdressers and such?! That belt on Smackdown! says World Heavyweight WRESTLING Champion not SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Champion.

Silly person.

I can't watch boxing. It's just two guys punching each other in the face. I don't know who they are or what they're like, so I have no reason to give a damn about either of them. I have no emotional attatchment to which side wins the fight.

However, you give me a bland guy in wrestling tights versus a guy dressed as a pirate, and you know what? I'm rooting for the guy who looks like fun. You show me two no-name, low-card guys duking it out and I'm bored; but put on in a dress, and you definitely have my attention.

Point is, chief, you need the draw. The atention getters, the eye-catchers. Not everyone needs a gimmick, I'll give you that. But gimmicks, by definition, are quirks or devices that nobody else has. Steve Austin, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley....these guys all had gimmicks. Nowadays, their characters don't need them. They work without strange attraction b/c they are over with the audience and their popularity no longer requires it.

This is not a team sport. It's a business run on individuals. The crowd needs a reason to pay attention to you before they get behind you. You get the attention with the gimmick, you wow them with your skill, you impress them with your personality, you rise to the top and drop the gimmick. Not that difficult of a ladder to follow.

[JohnnyA]

Am I the only person who thinks Finlay and the leprechaun is fuckin' money? I love Finlay's work, and he's exactly what he is. A pissed off Irishman who enjoys kicking ass. (Plus I love the way he sells :p) King Booker + Finlay and Regal is a great combination. All underrated guys in my opinion.

I'll be a man and admit that, yes, I am a Finlay mark. :/