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SPECIAL PREVIEW OF THE FIRST ELITE PRO WRESTLING INSIDER WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FOR ALL PWINSIDER.COM USERS

I thought this week’s edition of Smackdown was a fabulous show. From top to bottom, I enjoyed everything that they did. There was nothing on the show that I didn’t like. No “Minuses” at all. I wish every week could be as good as this one was. I like when “it’s all good”.

Plusses: I liked the angle that they did to open the show. In addition to Paul Heyman cutting a great promo, they did a fine job of explaining the Benoit situation. I liked that they decided to have another Rumble to create the title contender for No Way Out. I didn’t even mind the typical “put Vince over for his past accomplishments” bit because it fit into the angle. ... The Bashams vs. London and Kidman was a good match. … Rey and Noble had a strong bout too. And more importantly, they got a decent amount of time to work, which was nice to see. It was odd that they really got more minutes on TV than they did on a PPV, but I am not complaining. I liked the finish too, with Nidia finally realizing what a slug Noble was and costing him the match. ... The Rumble match was a lot of fun too. I usually love Rumbles and last night was no exception. I loved all the near hit spots that they did at the end.

Minuses: Zero. Zip. Nada.

A Mixture Of Both: Even though the storyline with Eddie and Chavo Guerrero was well done, in this day and age no one buys those kinds of injury angles anymore. The fans are just too smart to what goes on in the business. On the plus side though, at least they started the program between Chavo and Rey, and Eddie gets a title shot. It looks like they also furthered what appears to be a Kurt Angle heel turn.

Rhetorical And Unanswered Questions:

Did you see the sign that said, "Don't talk to the internet" that was held up on camera when Vince came out?

How does the stipulation of Benoit's Royal Rumble win supercede his "signed employment contract with Smackdown"?

Did you notice Heyman did the hometown cheap pop gimmick for Washington not once, but twice?

If the Rumble PPV was for a title match at Wrestlemania, why was the Smackdown Rumble for a title shot at No Way Out?

Shouldn't it have been for Mania too?

Wow, was that really Paul London and Kidman that I saw on Smackdown?

And, did they only get a chance because they had to put 15 guys in the Rumble and they were shorthanded?

Was anyone else surprised that Paul London wasn't the one who did the job in his match?

Isn't there something funny about a wrestling character saying that he had to keep something "completely legitimate"?

Can you blame Eddie for asking Dawn to blow on his ball?

Who did Jorge Paez's hair anyway?

Isn't it just amazing to watch Rey do some of the things he does?

Did Cole mean to say, "Nidia just screwed her boyfriend"?

And, can they really show her doing that on network TV?

Does anyone really care if Rue has any talent?

When they show Torrie Wilson, Sable and Chyna's Playboy pictorials, am I the only one who thinks about the old Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the other"?

Did anyone ever really think that Lesnar was "A Goldberg wannabe"?

Why didn't Jorge Paez help Eddie during his beatdown?

When Cole said that next week they would be at the home of LeBron James, was I the only one wondering why the NBA rookie superstar, with all his millions, lives at the Gund Arena instead of house?

Of all the people who could take Brock up on his challenge, we got Orlando Jordan?

Doesn't the Brock Lock look downright painful?

Boy, could Josh Matthews have asked a more obvious question than when he queried Vince as to whether it was the Undertaker who was coming after Kane?

Why wouldn't Angle be glad that there was one less guy to beat in the Rumble, with Eddie out?

Wasn't Angle a great choice to put as number one in the Rumble?

If you had to miss something in the Rumble due to commercial, wasn't Cat about the best choice for the spot?

When will one of the announcers start saying "you big dummy" after mentioning Lamont's name?

And, if that made no sense to you, don't you think it's time that you went and watched some Sanford and Son reruns?

Am I the only one who loves the "everyone gangs up on Big Show and then he pushes them all off" spot?

I've said this before, but doesn't it seem like Rikishi gets bigger every time we see him?

Why was Billy Gunn so afraid to take the Butt Drop from Rikishi when, after all, he is “an ass man”?

Have you ever seen a guy lose his heat faster than Hardcore Holly?

Did you notice that they had Cena take his bump to the floor horizontally so as to not take another shot on his knee?

Did anyone else pop when Tazz referred to Rikishi as "one big ass possum"?

Did you notice that just as Tazz said how Eddie and Kurt were doing mat wrestling, Eddie blasted Kurt with an elbow to the face?