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Itâs coming, wrestling fans. Itâs so close. Can you smell it?
No, Iâm not talking about WrestleMania. I speak of that little surprise Sean OâMac has been cookinâ up for you fans out there!
Keep watching. The wait is getting shorter.
A quick shout out to those of you who have written in and anxiously await the next edition of Pullinâ No Punches, my apologies. The next issue is coming, but Sean OâMac has had his hands full recently. Some of you out there know how happy I was to move into my new home recently. A nice place, two stories, Jacuzzi tub, good times. That is, until 6.5 inches of rain has its way and the new home gets flooded. Let me tell you, thatâs awesome.
But I digress – on to Smackdown!
The Road to WrestleMania is getting shorter, and one always expects the crescendo to build in the weekly shows. Tonight, however, didnât seem to be starting out that way. Rather, it seemed to be âNight of the Living Squash Matches.â
Granted, watching Batista destroy Deuce and Domino can be good times. Big Show taking down three jobbers was a given. (I mean, seriously. Did any of you out there even think that one of these guys would get the upper hand?)
Then Edge, despite some flurries of offense from Funaki, also ate his foe for dinner tonight. It was a great touch, however, watching Edge mock The Undertaker by finishing the match with a Tombstone pile driver and the signature âevil poseâ pin. Definitely upped the ante a bit tonight, and more was yet to come!
Hey, WWE writers. Ever think youâll let Funaki win a match again? Maybe we should start a Save Funaki campaign, get the fans chanting at the shows ⦠well, itâs a thought anyways.
So moving on from the squashing, we get to watch the Divas arm wrestle each other. Michelle McCool won the mini-tournament, then brawled with Victoria afterwards. Nothing like a cat fight to liven up the show.
But alas, finally we get to something good. Can you believe this one? MVPâs VIP Lounge hosts Chris Jericho, two masters of the microphones going at it. This one was fun to watch, for certain, and itâs great to see that we can actually get some great segments like this now and then. It has seemed at times that mic skills are a dying art, but these two can certainly re-establish my faith. The whole thing culminates with the announcement that next week on Smackdown, it will be champion vs. champion when the two go at it. Now, that should be fun to watch.
Finally, we get to a real match as Kane took on Chuck Palumbo. The duo gave about what you would expect from two brawlers, a decent power-game match, until The Great Khali came out and ruined everything. Luckily, he also got what he deserved when Mark Henry, who recently seemed to have become âThe Worldâs Strongest Jobber,â finally had a chance to come out and show some of that old dominance again. Itâs about time, folks. The man made short work of Khali, dished out some more punishment to Palumbo and Kane, and stood tall in the end. Itâs nice to see âThe Worldâs Strongest Manâ actually looking like it again.
We did get the benefit of a title match as WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison defended against Jesse and Festus, and pair that has recently seemed to have the champsâ number. It wasnât to be tonight, as the champs pulled off the win. But the good thing is that it was actually a decent match. Iâve been down on Morrison and Miz in the past, I confess. But I do see improvement in this team and, despite a few minor flaws such as a completely missed kick, all four competitors did a good job tonight. Iâm just waiting for someone to ring the bell mid-match and put Festus out of commission.
The evening concluded with Undertaker taking on Chavo Guerrero with Edge and the Edgeheads at ringside. Taker took it to the ECW Champion as Taker does, but a few distractions opened the door for some offense from Chavo now and then. The champ eventually fell victim to the Dead Manâs version of the gogoplat, although it seemed to go on a bit awkwardly this time. Takerâs victory was short-lived, however, when Edge and crew attacked and took the Phenom down with numbers, steel chairs and even a Con-chair-to. So, once again, a show ends with Edge getting the upper hand on Undertaker. So, thereâs no way Edge is winning next Sunday, right?
A relatively short Take tonight, fans, but how much can you say about three squash matches anyways?
Don’t like my take? Let’s hear yours! Send me your e-mails to [email protected]… the best and worst of the bunch may be featured in editions of Sean OâMacâs Pullinâ No Punches. Remember, short ones are good, long ones may be cut, and keep the name of the column in mind when you come looking for answers!
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