FNF: Tha Future Looks Bright

Sorry for the delay, the ongoing feud between me and my internet connection hasn't ended yet!

Three days in and the E's foray into HD is beginning to irritate me. I like the new set, but I'm going to have to look at it three days a week? I just hope they can get a different set put together for the Rumble. Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing. It's well known throughout Tha O Show that I'm not a big Rey Mysterio fan, but this week he did what he needed to.

On "SmackDown!" this week the E decided to start things off with Rey Mysterio. That was fine, because the audience that they are targeting ate it right up.

People either love Rey, or really hate Edge, so they have an easy choice of who to root for this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Like Dan has said several times about Hardy/Orton and JBL/Jericho, I believe this feud is being built correctly as well.

The question I had coming into this, and going into the Rumble is, "How is, or will CM Punk fit into the World Championship match at the Rumble?"

With Mysterio starting off the show against The Edgeheads I had a feeling that the WWE would blow it's load on that and have a huge beat down of Rey at the end of the shows first segment. Thankfully I was wrong, as it just showed Edge watching the match on a monitor.

I also didn't think it was a bad thing of having Mysterio go over on Zack Hawkins and Dick Ryder in the fashion that he did. These two are Edge's boys, they're learning from him and all that, so why not have them end their matches in the same fashion he does?

It speaks to a point that Cody Deaner brought up some time ago, why are people afraid to be heels? Edge isn't, and God bless him for it. Edge isn't scared to look bad, or not get his shit in, and it actually makes him look better. Living in the south I'm not around that many people who don't drink WWE-aid. Cheer for the face. Boo the shit out of the bad guy. After Armageddon though, I got phone calls, e-mails and people at school coming up to me and telling me how cool what Edge did was. Nobody converted to Edgeheadism, but this gimmick is turning some heads.

The less educated side of the wrestling fan scope, and I mean smartened up, not college degrees, are buying this gimmick with Edge, Vicky, Chavo and the Edgeheads, and that's what truly matters. I love the gimmick, and I love the way from this point forward Edge's opponents will have to face those two.

It makes Edge's reign as a Champion more believable, and when he still has to cheat to win it saves face for the faces. Like I said in the ECW article, the only way this could go wrong is if they turn it into a new N.W.O and decide it'll be a vehicle to get any and every young superstar over.

Edge is the man that "SmackDown!" is going to be built around for a very long time, and not only does he more than deserve, "SmackDown!" more than needs it. "SmackDown!" looks bad right now, and that's not a shock, but with murmurings of yet another Draft this year, it means to me that all the shows can be EQUALLY shuffled, and not just a raping of "SmackDown!".

With Bobby Lashley out of the picture and Triple H never wanting to leave "Raw" to me that says that not only will Edge remain the top guy on "SmackDown!" but he'll also be the anchor to that ship with all their other problems.

Edge is going into his tenth year in the WWE, but his injuries have made the time seem to be less than that. At this point though, with Edge's spot they need to use him for one match a month, or more if it is completely necessary. Quit giving shit away for free on TV, and use Edge on TV for a build, and under no circumstances should there be a payoff on free TV.

With Edge's ability in every facet of the game, he can do virtually everything without doing anything. Promo's, vignettes, in-ring segments, backstage interviews, and various run-ins are all you need from him. Build towards the PPV, not away from it.

Bam-Bam's boy Jesse is beginning to grow on me. His backstage segment this week was great. Not only could he and Festus end up being a really solid team for a long time to come, but the eventual split could be nothing but great for Jesse. It's been discussed ad nauseum that it's usually one member of a former tag team to go on to stardom, and in this instance it will be Jesse. Slap a mask on Festus when this gimmick runs his course and maybe you can do something, but to me, at this point, the future looks promising for Jesse. That is the face of a future superstar.

Deuce and Domino finally got a mention as being former tag team champions in spot where it mattered. The team of Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang, which I'm going to call Punk-try, is apparently going to hold Tag Team gold before it's over with, and if they're going to keep going over on these guys, they need all the verbal put over they can. I did in this match like seeing Domino expand his normally bland arsenal.

The first springboard appeared to be botched, but his cover up and turning it into that elbow drop was pretty good. He also, to me, sold really well for Yang, and made the loss look legit.

Dan-e-o heeled on HD in the "Raw Report" this week and I disagreed with him, but on "SmackDown!" I didn't think it was all that great. Maybe it's because its network TV, and CW, at least here doesn't look that great anyway even on DirecTV. There were several glitches in the broadcast and I made some calls and it wasn't just my house. I understand that this is basically their first go at it, and that's expected, but "SmackDown!" didn't benefit from HD as much as "Raw" did.

The Jamie Noble and Chuck Palumbo double turn wasn't that bad. I know Palumbo is the last thing in the world most of us, me included, want to see getting valuable TV time, but if it's going to put over Jamie Noble, I'll deal with it. The backstage segment between Noble and Palumbo was great.

It didn't seem to be recited from a script, and Noble actually showed some emotion. Chuck Palumbo saying "I hate your guts," could have been the ten millionth time I've heard that, but whatever. Palumbo in the ring coupled with the Miz, now that makes my head hurt.

If I hear another announcer put over how "great" John Morrison looks during his entrance I'm going to wonder if Pat Patterson isn't the one writing those lines. Is it a cool entrance? Sure, but shouldn't it be reserved for big matches, or monthly Pay-per-views? John Morrison isn't a bad worker, but the Miz doesn't seem to have improved one bit in the last five months. Thank God Layla was on the side of the ring that took my attention away from that. Layla and Michelle McCool are almost too much to handle. Two of the hottest the WWE has to offer.

Sorry Dante, but I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Michelle McCool isn't too skinny, she's damn near perfect. If you put more meat on her, she wouldn't look right. Now back to it, what the hell was Chuck Palumbo doing? It sounded like he was trying to scarf down some lasagna during his beat down of Jamie Noble. That was the most retarded sounding shit since Mick Foley's, "Ah-sah," or whatever the hell it was he said. Another thing I loved was the EMT's no-selling the beat down of Noble while helping Michelle. Do I smell consistency?

When Palumbo delivered that kick to Noble's stomach I have no clue what happened with the camera, did the dude fall down, or was that planned spot, it just looked odd. Chuck Palumbo "snapping" was overdone in the end. The beat down, minus the weird dog in heat noises was actually a nice touch.

The shaking and the on the verge of an epileptic seizure has always to me been too much. Have a tremor, or shake parts of your body, but there is absolutely no need for an entire body shake. You don't look scary or intimidating. You look like you need medical assistance.

MVP’s in ring segment was pretty good. I did want to note that as far as MVP saying that if he beat Flair it would be on the headlines of newspapers across the country, he may not be that far from telling the truth. There was a headline in the sports section of the Charlotte Observer last month about Flair and all the things he was going to have to do. It was actually pretty entertaining.

It also put over a lot of the younger guys that he may end up having to face. When I told you I was living smack dab in the middle of Marksville you thought I was joking. I did want to question one thing, how the hell do you chip puts? You chip shots to set up for a putt. Come on MVP.

On that note, allow me discuss the “Belfast Brawl.” Actually I’m going to completely ignore that TNA rip-off and suggest one of my own. The Alcatraz Match! You put however many guys you want in the match, but the catch is, it isn’t a match. You lock them in cells and give them a file. Here’s what you do though, you don’t lock the cells. You make them think that the cells are locked so the smart ones will just open them and walk out and the other guys will keep filing.

The kicker is, once they get out they have to escape the island. Once they make it across they have to grab the belt and then take it back to the prison and lock themselves in a cell with it to become the new champion, or winner of the match. When it happens, I want my royalties.

At first I wanted to ignore the fact that Batista was on TV. Then I couldn’t. Donnie, this is for you. If you ever say that Jeff Hardy sounds scripted, think about Bati-sta. That shit that Batista delivered on “SmackDown!” was worse than 75% of the guys who deliver their first promo in wrestling school.

What in the hell was he thinking? What the hell was WWE thinking? They have to know that he’s bad. Jeff Hardy is just now getting the mic time. Batista has had it, and has done nothing with it. No improvement and maybe even a little backpedaling. He really needs to just go away and not come back.

With the upcoming draft, I have to think that CM Punk will go to “SmackDown!” and he and Edge will be the marquee feud for that brand for a while. If the E gives that feud a chance to grow and reach its potential, it can make Cena and Edge from 2006 look like a joke. CM Punk is far and away better than Cena in every department, and he and Edge going head to head could be nothing short of spectacular. I won’t get ahead of myself though. I’ll stick with what happened tonight. CM Punk and Edge were scheduled to go head to head tonight.

What to me was interesting was that Punk came out with Mysterio in his corner and Edge only came out with Hawkins and Ryder. Why not bring Chavo out at the beginning of the match and give it that factor as well? It’s not really saving an element of surprise to have him come out later, it’s actually only fitting. Not bringing him out period, now that’s surprising.

I don’t really think Rey’s mic was working at the announce table, unless he’s suffering from a very bad case of Lashleyitus. What I do like is the La Familia gimmick they’re running with. I still think it’s going to develop into a more N.W.O thing, but right now they aren’t rushing it, and for that I applaud them.

In the ring, Edge and Punk worked really well together, with both of them selling the others moves before making themselves look good. In the end both of them looked really good for it and it turned out to be a quality “SmackDown!” match. I liked the Punk roll-through off of Edge’s electric chair attempt.

The Electric Chair is a move that Edge uses somewhat regularly, and once the set up happened it was what was fully expected. It goes right back to not getting your shit in and trying to better the match. Punk slipping on the top rope was a blown spot, but I don’t think it took anything away from the match, it actually added an element of unpredictability. The ability to recover from those things makes both guys top-tier workers.

The set up for the second rope GTS was awesome, and made the ending sequence one of the better ending sequences in a long while. There were times in that match where both guys made you want to think the other was going to win it, and that in itself makes the match better. I wouldn’t call it a 5 star match or anything, but I think it’s the best match on free TV in a while. I still don’t agree with giving a lot away, but in this case it’s allowing a slow burn for what may be an upcoming feud between Edge and Punk. I will say though, that Punk is excellent as a heel, and the E needs to give him that chance sooner than later.

Tha quick results in case you missed it:
*Rey Mysterio def. The Edgeheads via DQ
*Jimmy Wang Yang def. Domino
*Palumbo/Noble/McCool vs. Miz/Morrison/Layla ended in a no contest
*Finlay vs. Khali in a Belfast Brawl ended abruptly
*Undertaker def. Big Daddy V
*World Champion Edge def. CM Punk

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