R.I.P. Luna Vachon 1962-2010
To start with this week, I feel it's important to mention the unfortunate passing of Gertrude 'Luna' Vachon. Perhaps best known as the manager of Bam Bam Bigelow in the early 90s and Goldust in the latter part of the decade. By all accounts a lovely woman to know, even though she scared the crap out of me as a child! I grew up watching her, and she was one of the better female managers of the time and will definitely be missed...
For the next week at least, I sadly won't be able to cover Raw or NXT, but hopefully Leigh will be able to post some thoughts. Not a bad Smackdown this week, some good, and as always, some bad! Some quick thoughts:
Smackdown Quick Thoughts
- Is it me or did Todd Grisham sound really forced and awkward while talking about Kane's 'fratricidal tendencies' during the opening bout? Either he was fed that line and fumbled his way through it, or he could relate to it too much and was trying to downplay it? Anyone know if Grisham's got any siblings, and if so, have they been seen alive lately? It's always the quiet ones that snap!
- I swear I could watch Kane (or indeed, any big guy) physically demolish Rey Mysterio all day. Anyone remember Big Show strapping Rey to a stretcher than hitting the ring post with him repeatedly? Those were good times... Incidentally, it's nice to see Rey actually being the underdog for once. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're not an underdog if you win nearly every match you're in, which was what Rey was doing until recently. I'd like Rey a Hell of alot more if he wasn't routinely beating guys twice his size.
- Reportedly someone goofed up on Del Rio's WWE bio the other day and included a personal message to his editor asking 'if this is okay, because I know Del Rio is going to be a big deal, fairly quickly'. I'm paraphrasing but that was the gist. Based on his elaborate entrance and getting a pinfall victory over a former World Champ in his first match, I'm inclined to agree. The guy seems like the total package.
II'm kind of a big deal, but then, you already know that.
- Speaking of Del Rio, does his entrance remind you of anyone at all? Mexican Heritage? Cocky? Driving a flashy car to the ring? Hell, I half expected the car to bounce! Still, being reminded of Eddie Guerrero is never a bad thing...
- I know it was cheesy, but I loved this exchange between Grisham and Striker during JTG's entrance:
Todd: You like his grill?
Striker: (Dismissively) I haven't seen his car.
It reminded me of Monsoon and Heenan on commentary, I miss that kind of banter.
- I'm having trouble taking JTG seriously. Not just because he's a certified jobber at this point, but because the guy got scammed out of gig tickets. And not just any gig tickets, Lady GaGa tickets! How does he live with himself?
- 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes gets more awesome every week. Thanks to him, I'm one step closer to 'dashing'. On the other hand, I miss my leg hair...
- Man, you know, I like Ziggler, but every week he reminds me more and more of the Honkey Tonk Man in how his title run is being booked. Then again, I loved the Honkey Tonk Man as a child. But then I also liked Dink the Clown as a kid, so maybe I shouldn't be allowed an opinion on the subject?
- Okay, I'm getting tired of screwy finishes in this program now. I like both Kofi and Dolph and think they're capable of some good matches together, but they need to move this along already, so they can both find new opponents!
- Ahhh, a recap of last week's awesome promo by Kane. If you haven't seen the full version of this, look it up. It was easily Kane's best promo in years, if not ever. Say what you want about WWE's rather loose grasp of continuity, but they did a masterful job of weaving Kane's whole 10+ year history with Undertaker into a cohesive story!
- I had high hopes for the new, more intense Jack Swagger. But it seems like he's stuck in midcard Hell with MVP, Smackdown's biggest underachiever. I hope Swagger doesn't earn the same label anytime soon, because the guy's got it all: good build, great mic skills, solid ringwork and a pretty awesome theme...
-Ahhh, Serena's last appearance on WWE television, reportedly for not living her gimmick outside the ring. I found this kind of ridiculous, considering WWE calls its employees 'independent contractors', yet still tries to control every aspect of their lives. It's not like we live in the age of kayfabe anymore where heels can't be seen travelling with faces etc... Plus, I liked Serena! Is it weird that she actually looked pretty good bald?
Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch the rest of Smackdown, but hopefully next week I'll be able to watch the whole show! Until next time, remember:
Straight Edge means that even this guy is better than you! Yeah, seriously, Festus!
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