You are here
Guest Columns

Alex Chan

Main

BLAH

MY NIGHT AT SMACKDOWN!

Hello, everybody. I just attended the Smackdown taping here on Tuesday in the Tacoma Dome. It was the first Smackdown or Raw in my life, as the only wrestling event I had ever attended was a house show. I must say that I gained a lot more respect for pro recappers like CRZ and Scott Keith, because it is a bitch to remember everything, man. Even when I watch it at night on Thursday evening, I still probably couldn't put in a quality recap like those guys could. Nonetheless, I'll give you the 411 on the show that I attended and the environment around this wrestling event.

Like I said before, this was the 1st Smackdown that I've ever attended. Even though it will go down as a poor show on television, I had the best time of my life. Attending an event like this was equivalent to going to a baseball game in Wrigley field. Wrestling live is like a thrill ride that never stops. Unlike other sports, the WWF live will always be loud, crude, and intense. I had awesome tickets, as I was sitting in the fourth row back in the center. The sound system was kind of poor, because I had trouble hearing the interviews and skits backstage. The indoor fireworks live are the most insane and innovative idea ever. I absolutely loved it. Unlike basketball and baseball games, this is the only sport where middle fingers, beer, swearing, and everything us men dream about can occur. Anyways, the environment of a wrestling event live will keep wrestling going on strong for years to come. Vince certainly knows how to put on a show. Now, here comes my view of the show.

  • X-Pac: This guy got the biggest heel reaction of the night. The fans just abhor this guy. The girls think he is disgusting. The men just hate the way he acts. I don't know what this guys is doing on heat wrestling Kaintai. He should be IC champ instead of Albert. He should be pushed to that level, because I see some Shawn Michaels in him. This guy draws way too much heat not to be pushed.

  • Edge: Now that the Rock is on an exodus away from the ring, somebody had to carry the torch as the funny guy who makes fun of others. Edge's comment to Albert about his music was the funniest moment of the night. Personally, I love the X-Factor's music, but Edge cracked the Tacoma Dome up with his humor. However, I don't think Edge has the tools to be a main event face because I like X-Pac better. This could be the brewing of a great feud between Edge and X-Pac, similar to Bret and Shawn. I don't know why Edge jobbed cleanly to Albert. I thought for sure that Christian would at least come down to the ring. I think you get the point that I am high on the X-Factor.

  • WCW guys: There was a WCW tag team match on Heat and a welterweight title match on Smackdown. I can tell you that the crowd just didn't give them a chance. Tacoma fans might have just ruined WCW with their reactions. Boring chants broke out in a second, along with WCW sucks chant. There are no WCW fans in the arena. I hope Vince realized that he is going the wrong way with this angle. While he is being tied up by Torrie Wilson, he should know that putting WCW guys together wrestling in the ring is a mistake. The reason why WCW failed in the 1st place is not because of Bischoff, Russo, or Turner. It's because the wrestlers failed to put on entertaining matches. Shawn O'Haire is talented but when you put that tag team match together, with no heat or introduction, fans will turn on it. I've never been a huge fan of Kidman or Sugar Shane, and they looked like rookies no-selling. Booker T. and DDP faced each other in the main event, as everybody scurried to the exits. These WCW guys make wrestling look very unnatural, and make a plethora of mistakes. Just watch Booker's lame axe kick on DDP. "Booker T. is my bitch" was a common sign, and he is supposed to be the top face.

    Mass Confusion: What in the hell was up with DDP and WCW beating up Shane and Booker. Man, was I confused. Is Vince heel or face? Is Austin or Angle heel or face? I don't know, because the crowd didn't know who to cheer for. This invasion angle needs to have WCW guys wrestling WWF guys. The WWF boys can carry the WCW guys to a good match, and then have WWF defections. Then this angle might stand a chance.

    Overall, my friend who was with me gave this show a D+. Austin never showed up in the ring, Angle was in the ring for a brief minute, as the Taker entered and exited. I am much more forgiving because I like to take the environment in consideration. The fans were hot for some action, I loved Booker T's entrance, and I had a whale of a time. I hope to come again once the WWF invades Tacoma again.

    Alex Chan
    The Great One

    freelance

    Mail the Author

    Comment about this article on the EZBoard

  • BLAH

    Main

    Design copyright © 1999-2001 Christopher Robin Zimmerman & KZiM Communications
    Guest column text copyright © 2001 by the individual author and used with permission