Smackdown

I caught Smackdown last night for the first time in a long time - WHAT an entertaining show! Ari (the hubby) and I had like an hour-long discussion after it about character development and I think between SD and myself I managed to convince him no, wrestling isn't, nor does it have to be, nor should it simply be, comic book character superheroes. Realistic, real-world, interesting adult characters with grownup issues can be developed given good and proper use of in-ring and mic time.

To-wit: Edge. The whole story arc with Vicki Guerrero this week was amazingly real; two people who care about each other (as sick as it might be), got mad at each other, were both wrong and didn't quite know how to back down ... situation escalates until one is about to get seriously hurt (in this case literally); the other calls off the beatdown, apologizes, and we have one big happy all over again. Anyone who has been in a more volatile time in a relationship knows how that can go, and while we don't like these two characters, we can relate to them - which is important, and which is something an Umaga or a Khali will never have, however hard they might work on their skill sets.

There wasn't a whole lot of other storyline developed this week; angle-wise it was about the bustup of La Familia, and the playing both sides of Chavo Guerrero, the loyalty of Ryder and Hawkins to Vicki, etc. etc. etc. But the wrestling was very good; Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin stole the show; Edge vs. Big Show was definitely watchable; while Triple H vs. Chavo was a glorified squash, Chavo did get some offense in and it was hardly a failure as a match. Basically a strong show with an important and entertaining storyline woven through some excellent in-ring action. Raw: take notes. Smackdown is coming for your "A-show" crown.