THE WRESTLING BASE-COLUMNS

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Als Thoughts:

Another WWE pay‑per‑view is in the books with the conclusion of Smackdown_s first single brand extravaganza Vengeance. The United States Title tournament came to a close and the only World Championship worth it_s leather changed hands. But was it any good? This writer would have to say that while it had it_s moments it wasn_t as dynamic as it had promised to be. It opened with yet another passable yet supremely disappointing tussle between Chris Benoit and _former best friend_ (as Michael Cole informed us) Eddie Guerrero for recently resurrected U.S. strap. A serious of needless ref bumps just as it seemed _The Crippler_ and _Latino Heat_ were about to step it up a notch ruined the match. In fairness to the bookers, Guerrero and Benoit failed to leave cruise control for the whole bout and the spots with Eddie trying to frame Benoit were amusing. The finish came when Chris_ buddy Rhyno ran in and SHOCKINGLY (not) Gored _The Crippler_ leaving Eddie the easy task of coving for the victory and the Championship.

Next the PPV went from disappointing to a Billy Gunn match. Poor Jaime Knoble. After months of jobbing on Smackdown, he finally gets into a worthwhile feud and its against the feckless _Bad Ass_. After both Nidia and Torrie got into a bit of agro with Knoble, the finish came when Jaime pushed Gunn into Torrie (who was up on the apron) and rolled _The One_ up for the 1,2,3. Due to the stipulation of the match Ms. Wilson (or Kidman considering herself and Billy K tied the knot)slept with Jaime Knoble on Smackdown the following Thursday (which turn into something resembling a four way dance after Billy and Nidia _did a run in_ and will lead to either a who_s the baby_s father continuation of the feud or a Gunn‑Knoble alliance). While not exactly Rey Mysterio/Kurt Angle from SummerSlam _02 this was a half decent clash of styles and mercifully short match.

Up next came an APA match and was even more depressing than usual. It was an invitational Battle Royal‑type match in a bar set up where the Raw commentary area would usually be. The most depressing thing about the match was not Farooq/Ron Simmons and Bradshaw or the fact they had a match, no, it was the amount of talent which they slaughtered. Sean O Haire, Chris Kanyon, Brian Kendrick, Funaki and the FBI are all talented wrestlers (especially in comparison with the APA) and the writers cannot find them anything more constructive to do. The rules of this match were basically last man standing wins. But the commentators and ring announcers must have known something we didn_t: Bradshaw was declared the winner despite Farooq standing behind him. Well at least it was over.

Billy Kidman_s heel turn coming up next. Well that_s what most thought but it didn_t happen here in the match which pitted Kidman and Rey Mysterio against The World_ Greatest Tag Team (Haas and Benjamin). Despite having ample scope to do so and the fact it would rejuvenate the Cruiserweight division, the WWE failed to deliver yet again. The moment when it looked like it would happen, Kidman thrust Rey onto Haas (who was on the top rope) instead, and one awe‑inspiring movement Rey Rey utilised the Frankensteiner on his larger foe. The finish to another good‑but‑not‑great match came when Shelton pinned Mysterio after clotheslining the 6‑1‑9 practioneer from Charlie_s shoulders.

Sable and Miss McMahon up next. As in all of Steph_s matches against non‑workers, Tripper_s Misses seemed to be having a great time kicking the crap out of her not so talented opponent. The climax (if it can be called that) arrived when Albert literally ran over _Daddy_s little girl_ giving Sable the victory. Albert_s reward looks to be a SummerSlam match with the Undertaker who was up next and back to his old tricks.

Poor John Cena. He has more charisma than the majority of the roster, made a comedy gimmick work for him and is a far more consistent worker than the Dead Man. Yet he was slaughtered like a 1980's jobber (or a 2001 DDP) and even had to be picked back up by _Taker after a choke slam after roughly five minutes. After Cena got a little offense in, the wannabe rapper was pinned clean after a Last Ride.

Vinny Mac and his one legged nemesis Zach Gowen_s comedy bout was up next. Vince controlled most of the match until Gowen nailed him with a chair which caused Mr. McMahon to bleed very heavily. Not long after, Zach missed his impressive moonsault after which Vince ponced for a pinfall victory.

The main event of the evening followed this. Unlike Raw, Smackdown generally keep the best for last at the end of month supershows and this triple threat match between Kurt Angle, The Big Show and Brock Lesnar was no exception. While a superb stand alone match which surely kept much of the paying public happy, its seems like these three guys have been feuding forever. At least two of these wrestlers have contended Smackdown_s main event in six PPV_s since November. The fact Brock_s heel turn will prolong this streak just shows the lack of depth in the roster at the moment. Spot of the match and the night for that matter must go to Kurt Angle_s Angle Slam through the long suffering Spanish Announcers Table on Show. Angle then secured victory after giving both men the aforementioned slam and pinning Brock clean.

Overall a competent Pay‑Per‑View although WWE should be doing better and elevating new stars. (Thanks again _Taker)

While all programming still feels the same, the WWE has, at least, had one major storyline work for them lately: the de‑masking of Kane. New depth has been added to the character who had become all too happy over the past year and a half. He is now a tormented soul again and will, I predict, be a World Title contender once he slaughters a great deal of poor unfortunate lower‑midcarders and an inevitable feud with RVD comes to a climax. I believe _The Big Red Machine_ would be the perfect candidate to relieve the eventual winner of the elimination chamber of his Championship. One has to wonder though, is the chamber a good idea? I know Goldberg has been a disappointment (even Linda McMahon had to admit it) but a World Title reign could have lit a fire under one of the most intense performers in the history of the business. I_m not saying a Goldberg victory will not happen, I just think this reeks of a Triple H victory and one which is designed to hide his flaws in the ring but will fail like all the other cover up attempts. Just below _Da Man_ and _The Game_ come the other four men: Chris Jericho, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. One is Barely mobile (Nash), one can_t work a full schedule (Michaels) and another is far too inexperienced, not to mention Tripper_s lackey (Orton). All of which mens only one of the four new competitors has a genuine chance of winning and that is Jericho. While three singles matches of this magnitude could not be placed on _a joint production of both Raw and Smackdown_ a win Randy over Michaels one on one would be a great boost for his career. One question for Nash: if you are defeated in the hair vs hair match on Raw this coming week and the NWO reform for the 419^th time what will you stand around and look pretty while others are taking with no hair to stroke. On a serious note, as RVD pointed out in an interview recently, how will Raw benefit in the long‑term from two non‑workers such as Shane McMahon and Eric Bischoff wrestling on the second biggest PPV of the year? Booker T dropping the secondary Title of Raw to Christian at a house show was a curios move on the WWE_s part. While the masses probably would have been indifferent to another T‑Christian IC Title match, Title changes should be held for special occasions only. Maybe Booker_s injuries were too severe for him to wrestle on live TV. Nobody cares about the La Resistance‑Dudley Boyz feud so I_m not going to bore anyone with my opinions on that.

On the other side, as mentioned earlier, new stars are required. With Brock signing a pact with the devil himself (or Vince McMahon to you and me), Angle will continue to feud with the _The Pain_ beyond their SummerSlam confrontation. While I am looking forward to what will no doubt be a an improvement on their Wrestlemania clash earlier this year, I would also like to see standout performers such as Chris Benoit, Rhyno, John Cena and Eddie Guerrero getting their slice of lucrative main events. Elsewhere, the Cruiserweight division seems to be an afterthought at the moment. With no title match at Vengeance and no speak of one for SummerSlam, one would think the Federation had given up on the Light‑Heavy athletes. Another thing, Vince is reportedly unhappy with Ultimo Dragon_s in‑ring style. Does McMahon even watch tapes of performers before hiring them??? Apparently not. The Tag‑Team ranks on Smackdown is quickly becoming as bad as its Raw counterpart. The World_s Greatest Tag‑Team are quickly becoming Smackdown_s only tag‑team. The Basham Brothers look like they might be contenders somewhere down the road but are far too green at the moment to be bestowed upon with such an honour (although that didn_t stop the Raw writers giving their Championships to La Resistance). The belts reach their zenith during the Benoit/Angle, Edge/Mysterio and Los Gurreros triangular feud. Speaking of the Guerreros, the Eddie/Tajiri feud looks like it could conjure up a few classic battles hopefully commencing at SummerSlam. Same goes for Benoit and Rhyno.

As far as the brand split is concerned I believe it can remain and be successful provided the writers introduce some changes. I feel Austin could become a head of a faction on Raw handing sole control over to Bischoff. He could easily assist in the elevation of new talent if he is in more segments with them. Also Steph does very little in her role and she could _quit_ (we can all live in hope) in protest that her father makes all the decisions leaving all control to Vinny Mac. Now before anyone starts salivating at the prospect of a McMahon and Bischoff feud, I would propose throwing Paul Heyman in the mix to help _Easy E_ on the Raw brand. This would also set up inter‑brand dream matches such as Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels and Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg. Done within the next three months, I feel, with correct build up, these two matches could help sky rocket Wrestlemania XX_s buy rate. So comes to an end another column. Any thoughts on my infallible ideas e‑mail me direct at ludadrugimporium@hotmail.com or e‑mail the address at the end of the site. Until next when I lead you son of a bitches to nirvana, the promised land: courtesy of Shane Douglas_ speech at Barely Legal _97.

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