SmackDown Thoughts Actual news analysis in this EDITION. 17.2.2003 by Big D

Well, if the news is true, the WWWhatever may have put the final nail in its coffin. There were postings on the major news sites over the last few days that HHHHHHH and Stephanie may, in fact, be engaged. This is absolutely what did not need to happen, especially if all the stories about booking and locker room powers are true. That these two have been in the forefront during an extended time period that has been by and far unsuccessful from a booking standpoint is troubling, and it sure as hell seems that with the latest development, things are not on pace to change, at least for the extended foreseeable future.

And of course, I'd like to extend my condolences to the friends and family of Curt Hennig. He was one of my favorites, it's just too bad that they had to turn him into a jobber on his last brief tenure.

Now, with all that gloom and doom taken care of, let's see what SmackDown had to serve up this week!

Michael Cole: "SmackDown has come to the streets of Bakersfield, California"

Boy, those sound like mean streets. But then again, I've never been there. But then again, Benjamin Javitz from the "Short Circuit" movies hailed from there, so maybe he's right.

The Good:
Haas vs. Edge: Man, I'd buy this stuff any day of the week, although this one was kind of lacking.

Rikishi vs. Nunzio: Only for the fact that Rikishi got his ass kicked. Of course, he'll have to win his heat back in a week or two.

Eddie vs. Shelton Benjamin: No problems here with the wrestling end. Although the wrestling is just fabulous all the time, it just seems like they're marking time some weeks. I need a savage (but not LAME) beatdown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy V1: I love these guys, but I think they're falling into a catch-22 with Hardy. I think they should push him as a heavyweight, especially since he's getting over. But instead, they decide to push him as a cruiser, and when was the last time a cruiser got over on a heavyweight?

A-Train vs. Benoit: Only for the simple fact that Albert does the job. More on this later.

Cena vs. Lesnar: Cena's antics are periodically hilarious, which is something to be said for a guy who was portrayed pretty much as a goober earlier on.

The Bad:
Kanyon returns: I'm not against it for that reason, rather that he makes his big reappearance and promptly gets pummeled by UT. Why not have UT be the recipient? I mean, what they're doing is NOT the way to build up a strong opponent.

Torrie vs. Dawn Marie: Of course, they just keep terrorizing me with this feud. The match was bad (and of course passe by this point), and the pinfall thing was stupid, and it just went nowhere. Don't get me wrong, I like the beautiful women, but this is ridiculous.

The Ugly:
Hogan/Rock video: WAY TOO LONG. And besides, I don't think they've added enough new fans over the last year to warrant that much development. They really need both guys out there for a face-to-face.

Stephanie: I may be bitter for reasons I mentioned before, but I don't care about specifics. I was kinda pissed that they were actually going to show some long-term continuity with the Angle/Steph bit (that's never really been resolved), and they throw it away AGAIN.

The Overall Analysis:
The good definitely outweighed the bad this week, but the booking is still questionable on some aspects. And any week they want to knock off the Dawn/Torrie stuff, I'll be happy. After all, if I wanted to see women's wrestling (which I don't), the women's division is on Raw, not SmackDown. I don't need or want to see it on both shows.