No Mercy Thoughts

Color me impressed.

This was really the first time in a while that I was even remotely interested in anything SmackDown wise. And that's just on paper. In practice, the PPV exceeded my expectations.

Eddie Guerrero Vs. Luther Reigns
Weird choice for an opener, considering you had the six-person match that had 'PPV opener' written all over it. Still, Reigns wasn't nearly as bad as I figured he'd be in his first big match. And no matter how many times Eddie pulls out the 'fake the ref, then cheat' finish, it's always a classic.

Spike Dudley Vs. Nunzio
Not bad at all. Glad they gave this the time to develop. Surprising that Johnny The Bull wasn't more aggressive until the very end. But nice cruiserweight match.

Paul London Vs. Billy Kidman
Easily match of the night. I like that they're finally going to give Kidman a decent heel push, and it doesn't even necessarily that they have to keep him in the cruiserweight division to do it. Great action and you can't help but like the beatdown afterwards.

RVD and Rey Rey Vs. Suzuki and Dupree
Ehhh. Not bad, but nothing terrific, either. Predictable; I'll give it that much.

Big Show Vs. Kurt Angle
Terrific match; one of Show's best ever. The new look kind of makes him look like an extremely tall Bastion Booger, but whatever. Angle showed signs of his usual brilliance, and Show was in the zone.

John Cena Vs. Booker T
I actually was falling asleep during this one - not because it was overly boring - but I was just kind of tired. By the time I'd grabbed a Pepsi to recaffienate myself, the match was over. Hard to judge that one, on that basis.

Rico, Charlie and Jackie Vs. Dudley Boyz and Dawn Marie
I actually missed Rico's antics. Though I didn't know it until tonight. The kiss spot was utterly and nonetheless hilarious. Match itself wasn't bad at all, though again, I would have used this as the opener, not the second-to-last match.

Undertaker Vs. JBL
Ok, I admit it: Bradshaw is FINALLY growing on me. As soon as Heidenreich didn't appear backstage, I knew what the finish was going to be. Still, that didn't detract from this match at all. Both guys worked their asses off for a change, and it made for a nice little brawl. Sure, the aftermatch was cheesy as hell, but nothing wrong with it if it makes sense. I can see the following feuds from here: Bradshaw Vs. Big Show, Undertaker Vs. Heidenreich, Cena Vs. Angle and Guerrero Vs. maybe Booker T. Which makes for much better prospects on SmackDown then, well, most of 2004.

I enjoyed the show much better than I thought I would.