2009 Discussion

Discuss 2009 in Smackdown

John Morrison vs. Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 9/4/2009

Pretty sure everyone has seen this, and everyone knows what type of match it is, and everyone has already formed their opinion on it, so I'm not going to bother going into too much detail. The match is definitely great, and it's a top-notch example of two guys working a go-go-go style of match, which is becoming pretty rare for WWE TV. It sort of reminds me of a singles version of the NM02 tag, with tons of fun and a great pace and great counters and no major back story, just two guys who badly want to be champ, and that's enough of a story for me. Again, fantastic timing, and everything looked really good, and they used all their time well. I probably won't vote for this, but not because it isn't great. More because I don't really feel motivated to find a spot for it on my list, and my bottom quarter will likely be filled with matches that I really want to have there. And I'd rather include a match like Bourne/Morrison, which had a more clear-cut heel/face dynamic. Morrison has control for a brief period here, but it's not really interesting or anything, and the meat of the match consists of lots of great counters and convincing near-falls and big-time drama and a hot crowd and JR marking out and all that.

Probably in the ***3/4-**** range.

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy - Cage Match/Loser Leaves Town - Smackdown 8/28/2009
They come out still selling damage from the TLC, which is awesome because only a few days have passed. Punk has his arm all taped up from the chair shot; Jeff clutches his ribs.

Punk jumps Jeff during his entrance and catapults him into the cage, which I liked quite a bit. Showed that Punk had a strategy and planned to get the match over with quickly, which made sense because he was hurt. So yeah, Punk tries to climb early, and Jeff stops him a few times, and then we get desperation from Punk, which was really good. Tons of great drama in a really compact match, and even with all the rumors of Jeff leaving which made it fairly certain he'd lose, they still managed to get a few convincing near-falls for Jeff.

Also, pretty dynamite superplex from the top of the cage, which again went to Jeff's injured area. Both guys sold well throughout the match, playing off the damage from the TLC match. And the match gets bonus points for having one of the best finishes to a feud I've seen: Punk pokes Jeff in the eye before escaping the cage, calling back to the eye injury that really kicked the feud into gear at the Bash.

Not sure which match I prefer-- I used to think the Cage was way better, but I really dug the TLC this time around-- but I'd say both are in the ***3/4-**** range.

John Morrison vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE Smackdown 7/31/09)
-This could of been a disaster, but I thought it was really damn good. Better than anything on Night of Champions, and in the top 10 for the year. First few minutes were fine, but it really picked up when Morrison popped Jeff in the head with a kick and did an asai moonsault to the outside, leading into the first commercial. It was mostly a back and forth match after that, with both guys finding openings through playing off each other's tendencies - looking like smart wrestlers in the process. Morrison spent some time working Jeff's head and neck to set up for the Flying Chuck Kick and Moonlight Drive. The former had some pretty good build by the end, and created a big near fall. The latter was protected, which I liked. Jeff also worked John's neck to set up the Twist of Fate, which he succeeded with, but not before Morrison was able to kick out of the Senton in the biggest near fall, and peak of the match. Some really excellent drama at the end - if I didn't already know the result, I would of probably bought that a title change could happen. If this doesn't make John Morrison a main eventer in the people's eyes, then I don't know what will. ***3/4

Morrison vs. Mysterio - SD (04/09/2009)

Great TV match, no question about it. Nearly 20 minutes of fast paced action from 2 incredible athletes, battling it out for the Intercontinental Championship. Loving what they are doing with the belt, every match for it seems way more important than it did at the start of the year.

While it is a great match, its not the TV MOTY IMO (Christian/Swagger II still holds strong). Other than it being 2 guys hitting everything they could think of to get the win, there wasn't a lot to it. No rivalry/feud, both guys are faces so they couldn't even play the basic heel vs face deal (and nobody took on the role of heel in the match either), and no story to the match other than both guys wanted to win (which admittedly was fine for this match). Its incredibly fun, its well executed, its given Morrison a reason to finally be on PPV, and its helped out the IC title even more.

Won't make my list, but I wanted to pimp it because it IS a great match and could very well be on other people's lists.

Rating: ***1/2

Smackdown 2009 - Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison
This is for the title so is somewhat a landmark match in Morrison's career. It's a babyface bomb throwing battle between two guys that know each other well and are known for their athleticism/unorthodox offence. It screams freshness and definitely brings something new to the table. The match is mostly both guys trying to ground each other with headlocks in between the highspots or exciting exchanges. Some could argue that it had a lot of time killing but it was necessary to give the match some substance and actually make the spots stand out. It also made sense in regards to both guys damaging their opponents heads in prepartion for their finishers/signature spots. Mat wrestling and groundwork isn't really either guys' strength, but they kept it simple and it worked well enough since they kept it continuous and not just all over the place. They stuck around the head and neck areas to keep the action focused and working towards a clear goal. Main theme early on seems to be Morrison having Jeff's number, as he gets some reversals in and usually ends up winning the key exchanges.

Soon enough it's centred around both guys being very evenly matches up with each other and there's some cool struggles for control. Even though some spots come across as contrived and the action lacks timing/fluency at times, this one certainly has a unique feel to it that makes it standout. Both guys take some big bumps and make each other look good. Jeff ends up having to put more and more on the line as he realises that he's in danger of losing his title. Morrison's Starship Pain looks incredible here. The climax is dramatic with the fresh, urgent Morrison edging closer to overcoming Hardy who is still badly hurting from his big match at NOC. Jeff's struggling to hold on but he's slowing down and in serious trouble. The story of the night had been Morrison's ability to scout his opponent but ironically in the end it is Hardy who capitalises on a smart reversal near the end to hang on to his title. Several believable nearfalls down the stretch capped off a very good contest that contained a lot of cool moments and sequences that stood out from the crowd. A breath of fresh air.

***1/4 - ***1/2


Smackdown 2009 - Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison
In many ways this is similar to the former, only the sequences are more complex/difficult, the action has a greater sense of fluency and everything's a little bit sharper. It has a touch less importance but that factor's almost negligible so all in all this is a stronger contest than Jeff/Morrison. Once again they establish how creative, unpredictable and athletic both men are - with plenty of exchanges that only these two could pull off within the WWE. I like how they play up Morrison's versatility on defence with his innovative counters, as well as his sharp offence. It makes him a smarter worker. Rey, more than most guys, can only look as good offence-wise as his opponents ability lets him. That's in now way an insult, but there's a lot of stuff he busts out here that could bomb out big time with a lesser worker being on the receiving end. So here we see Rey going to the limit and looking amazing, which is always great to see.

Morrison has the slight strength and technical edge, while Rey has a marginal speed and unpredictablity advantage. The story here doesn't have to be advanced because they simply have to play off both guy's styles to create excellent action that the audience can buy. The sequences are sustained and complex enough that they stay true to the themes of one-ups-man-ship and both guys trying to outdo each other with a similar approach. It other words, a lack of depth, feud or hate doesn't affect a match with a style like this at all. The match is packed with so many sick moments that it would be pointless to even start highlighting and specific ones. Just go watch for yourselves, I'm sure about 10 random people could watch this match and find their own favourite exchange. I'm having trouble remembering a face vs face battle that made both guys look so great. The struggles for control and subtle transitions of momentum were applied really well here. They worked a kind of match that suited both guys strengths and gave us something much more satisfying than what you'd be seeing on Raw around this time.

***3/4

John Cena v Big Show (Smackdown!, 2/20/09)
- This is REAL good. I suppose it depends on how much you get out of Cena fighting from the bottom for roughly 20 minutes, and since I can dig that no problem, it's obvious I'd like it. Cena's selling, from facial expressions to bumping, is tremendous here. At the start he makes sure you know that Show's punches are something NOBODY wants any part of, and his look of near bewilderment when his own punches have little to no effect tells you he's in for an uphill battle. Show more or less tosses him around and treats him like some musclehead failed rapper for the majority, all with a smile on his face and a kick in his step. You really get the sense he's having a lot of fun making the WWE poster boy his bitch, even jawing with the ref' from time to time. There's one great moment where it looks like Cena might have finally found a way into things, only for Show to stop him dead by launching him all the way across the ring with ONE hand as a counter to the bulldog. The big right hand before the finish looks great in slow-mo, btw. Cena sells it like he's just been clubbed in the teeth with a 3 wood, too. Wouldn't put this on the level of the Undertaker Last Man Standing match from 10/08 as far as matches where the babyface goes WAAAAAY above and beyond to make Show look like an unstoppable force, but it's mighty close. That's definitely not to say Show was carried or some nonsense, though; he rocked big time in both. Might be something for the dregs... probably isn't though, realistically. ***1/2