Smackdown

So Smackdown tonight gave very much the same vibe as RAW did - following up from the Royal Rumble, they had Edge and Chris Jericho finally confront one another, and Edge antagonize the Undertaker as he did Sheamus last week (and MAN is it good to see Edge back); they also filled us in on John Cena coming in after Raw went off the air to help Bret Hart, and getting himself attacked by Batista. So excellent followup on all the stuff that was happening.

Much like Raw, all the wrestling-based situations had purpose as they were Elimination Chamber qualifiers; and all the 'entertainment'-side performances were good too; I enjoy Beth Phoenix's character as being not a heel because she's 'evil' - she even genuinely gave Mickie James some respect for standing up for herself - but because she thinks/knows she's better than everyone else. A face turn, to create for real the situation contrived tonight of her/Mickie versus bullies Michelle McCool and Leyla could be interesting - also interesting is Vicki Guerrero's siding with the heels, when she herself should be able to sympathize with being made fun of for one's weight. Oh well ...

Cryme Tyme also did well with their Word up segment featuring Jerry Lawler, and as always, again, Jericho and Edge, and CM Punk and his Straight Edge Society are always fabulously entertaining ... heck, Even Batista got in on this action, creating an intriguing question in 'Why did he give up a shot at the World Title?' in terms of giving up his EC qualifying match - just better have a good answer, lest he look like a tool down the road for giving up a title match. A very, very solid show. I enjoyed tonight for sure. As it's the road to Wrestlemania at this point, where the lines between brands become blurred for the next couple months, we will definitely be making a point of watching both shows more regularly here at ITVR, so be sure and stay tuned. Perhaps we'll even slot in some TNA time as well, given their upcoming return trip to Monday nights. Have a good weekend all!

(NOTE: No, no I haven't forgotten about ITVR - unfortunately the last two days have been insane and we have a busy weekend ahead too - ITVR won't be happening this week but at least I've stayed on top of the wrestling news, sharing Jack Brisco's death, the Royal Rumble and Raw results, and now SD - be sure and tune in next week on Thursday night for the next edition of In This Very Ring).