MidnightExpress

Another solid show to establish SMASH or should that be $MA$H? Both the dark match and opener look like fun matches on paper and bode well for a future with a good working undercard (continuing the WCW or ECW vibes). Hero picking up the win seems like the smart choice as I believe he has a bigger upside and Kaz/McGuiness was 50/50. I'm glad to hear the early establishment of the tag tournament and belts plus the NBT interaction was well done - I'm interested to see where they go. I'm not as down on Orton as some other readers appear to be and think his win was the right call - are London and Kendrick destined to team in the future (and could you imagine their matches with the MCMG?) Henry getting another quick squash is building him well too. If Henry and Lesnar face off in the future will the ghost of Gorilla Monsoon appear to talk about immovable objects and irresistible forces. MCMG progressing has me excited for the rest of the tournament and keen to fantasy book how the rest of the brackets might run. The booking of Incredible and Spike was reminiscent of ECW and not just in the personnel. I'm not sure what kind of ceiling Spike has realistically but JI can certainly carry some of the load for you and I am intrigued by potential dynamic of Cliq lackey with HBK and him. Finally a good end to the show and with surprising finish. Of all the competitors I think Shannon would have been my last guess to pick up the win given the relative star power in the match. I'll be interested to find out if this was a one off feel good moment or if he is going to be positioned as some mind of Whipwreck / Spike esque underdog. The NBT members don't seem to be able to catch a break early doors in SMASH too, so I am keeping my eye out there. I've a feeling that could turn around sooner rather than later with the tag tourney in mind but I look forward to finding out either way.

Buy In Two fun matches. I probably have more of a soft spot for Nigel than Alex Shelley (relating to him being part of probably the best match I've ever seen live) so I hope they both have stuff planned even if it's in the distant future. I'm glad the Rave / Hero team have a name as it feels like there is a future for them and establishing teams early doors will pay off in the future if belts are introduced. Main Card Starting a PPV with a promo gives it a very ECW feel to me (and specifically N2R 99) not that it's a bad thing and was probably important to set the scene on your first PPV event. Jerry Springer makes for a fun GM although I get Russo vibes as I believe the story goes that his booking in the late 90s was inspired by the Springer show. Insanity Project picking up the win is good to see and Daffney definitely fits in the valet / manager position. Henry looking strong also feels like the right decision and I look forward to seeing what his role will be in the future. Don is a great foil for Lesnar (in the absence of Heyman) and I could totally see him cutting that promo. The match was a bit more competitive than I expected but as the MCMG might be your most recognised and over team it was probably a good decision on your behalf. Moore winning was probably the biggest shock of the night so I am intrigued to see how it plays out. Palumbo getting some heat back for his trio works and maybe sets up a tag of some kind on an upcoming show? Tajiri was a pleasant surprise and I was on the button with the ECW alumni shout. My spidey sense wondered if he was going to turn and side with Yang and Kaz. Who knows what the future brings? The D'Von and Credible match was a lot of fun and gave me 99-01 vibes with the ref bump etc. Spike getting involved was fun too. I wonder how Credible will react? Glad to see HBK won and the match sounded a lot of fun. I feel like your big job might be building up credible opposition for him. While you have a couple of potential main event level opponents (Hardy, Lesnar, Henry) I am confident you will elevate others in the future. Overall thoughts I enjoyed the show on the whole and would definitely be encouraged to tune in to the next show or event as a fan. Styles and Heenan have unlimited potential and are already great. You have set a good tone with the first TV and PPV that gives SMASH a unique tone so far (albeit with elements of other companies influence in there)

<p>SMASH World Championship - Fatal Four Way</p><p> Shawn Michaels vs Matt Hardy vs Sean O'Haire vs Billy Kidman</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Shawn Michaels</strong> - I hesitated wondering if it was too obvious a choice but I've just got to imagine that you want as many eyes on the product as possible early doors and he is probably your best bet for that.</p><p> </p><p> D-Von Dudley vs Justin Credible</p><p> </p><p> <strong>D-Von</strong> - I think D-Von, with the probable help of Spike and or maybe even another mystery Dudley arrival. Potential future challenger for the title?</p><p> </p><p> Mystery Partner Match:</p><p> D'Lo Brown and ??? vs Kaz Hayashi and Jimmy Yang</p><p> </p><p> <strong>D'Lo and ???</strong> - I think this is a safe bet for outcome but the question is who the ??? is. Assuming they are not someone we can see already like Mark Henry (N.O.D ties), then I think we could presume its likely to be a face character. If they are going to tag in the future I think they would possibly need slightly better mic skills or a good gimmick to give something to the team. Then knowing yourself I think you're probably going with either ECW or WCW alumni so after inputting all that in to my brain I've come to the guess of Al Snow.</p><p> Probably because Al Snow and D'Lo rhyme and I like the idea of Al shaking and swaying the mannequin Head like D'Lo used to on his entrance.</p><p> </p><p> Brock Lesnar vs Chris Sabin</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Brock</strong> - Someone better get Sly Stallone and Sandra Bullock out here dressed like in Demolition Man because were gonna get a report of a 1-8-7 Murder. Death. Kill.</p><p> </p><p> Shannon Moore vs Mark Jindrak</p><p> </p><p> <strong> Jindrak </strong> - The Palumbo/O'Haire/Jindrak trio will want some starting momentum.</p><p> </p><p> Mark Henry vs Johnny Stamboli</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Henry</strong> - I'm hoping for a bit of a build to make a step up in competition for Brock in a few month's time</p><p> </p><p> Insanity Project vs Nova and Kazarian</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Insanity Project</strong> - They may need a leader type (eg Raven) or possibly a manager (eg Sinister Minister) but I still think they should pick up the win as a recognised team. Plus I think Nova / Kaz are destined to be staples of a workhorse undercard (for a possible future secondary title) in the future rather than a team.</p>

Another two very authentic looking ECW shows. BTE Road Dogg was a fun one night surprise although I'm glad Corino picked up the win. I'm not a fan of Axl Rotten but works well enough in advancing the PTP vs Dreamer fued. I was super shocked Mikey won the belt and to be honest im hoping its not a long term thing because he is like 6 years beyond the shock underdog here but it was certainly a big talkiing point. A great 3 way to round off the show. AR Hot Commodity & Co are looking to be a fun little stable, Im hoping they may have some other teams to face off against in the near future. Glad to see Axl take the fall in the 6 man but I'm interested to see where the Dreamer PTP feud goes from there. Kash and Nova with another fun match, I'd like to see Kash mix it up with Crazy/Psicosis etc for some stellar contests. The Sandman interference made for a more compelling main event for me and I look forward to seeing what Bam Bam has in his mind for revenge. Ps. Another ECW alumni I thought of that I would like to see - 2 Cold (unless he is under contract in Japan at this point).

Another solid show and as usual some thoughts; Although I've made it clear I'm not really a Bam Bam fan in general I do think he makes for a better champ than Sandman. I can't see plucky underdog Mikey working for too long 6 years after it first succeeded. Especially coming a couple of years after his work with the Sinister Minister (which was enjoyable). Taka winning despite his aforementioned short term contract is an interesting choice, hopefully you can convince him to come back. As for the alumni I would be interesting in seeing - it would include Sabu, Candido, Tanaka or maybe even someone like Johnny Smith.

So my thoughts on the two shows, I liked both shows and they both felt like a step in the right direction now that some of your ideas are coming in to fruition. I'm not too keen on Brian Lee but a fan of Simon and Swinger so I will sed how that plays out. Ps. I presume you are blissfully ignorant to the WWE team called the Prime Time Players from a few years ago? Losing Guido is a shame and I'm not even sure Tracy Smothers could save the fBi from here. On my excitement scale with regards to your ECW alumni, TAKA would rate a lot higher than Bam Bam (who I only really appreciated in the Triple Threat) but I recognise Bigelow has more star power and a bigger legacy with the company even if just for the Taz ramp collapse and Spike crowd launch. Speaking of ECW alumni, I've got 4 or 5 names I'm wondering / hoping could appear at some point. I was never too big on Hot Commodity but I think they will make for a more interesting champ duo than Doring and Roadkill. I miss a 911/Sid style character to come out and waste a few chumps. And finally, I've been humming Natural Born Killaz for about an hour since reading about New Jack.

The roster deficiency is showing with the repeated bouts already but thats not a million miles away from what ECW was like near the end. What will be interesting to see is how you can incorporate non ECW talent in the future in a way that would please an ECW crowd post 2000 (also, I wonder if you will get a spill over of former WCW fans looking for a product but who presumably would be in despair at the booking of the Invasion angle).

Its good to see a lot of my ECW favourites and with a good authentic feel. It will be interesting to see which absent or former ECW stars could be attracted to what would be the second biggest north American company at this point.

<p><strong>Full Card:</strong></p><p> </p><p> WCW World Heavyweight Championship</p><p> <strong>Jeff Jarrett</strong>Jeff Jarrett vs Diamond Dallas Page</p><p> </p><p> I dont see a title change this early on although I see you building up some stronger heels on the undercard as potential challengers once DDP gets title down the line.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Shane Douglas</strong> vs 'The Natural' Dustin Rhodes</p><p> </p><p> I see shenanigans and a fun Franchise promo come Nitro</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Raven</strong> vs Terry Funk</p><p> </p><p> What about me? What about my predictions.</p><p> </p><p> Tag Team Tournament Final</p><p> WCW World Tag Team Championship</p><p> Boogie Knights vs <strong>Hennig and Windham</strong></p><p> </p><p> The Perfect end to the tag tournament?</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Kronik</strong> vs The Harris Twins</p><p> </p><p> The Harris Twins make better goons than they do wrestlers so this may be the merciful option.</p><p> </p><p> Jake 'The Snake' Roberts vs <strong>Crowbar</strong></p><p> </p><p> This was a bit of a pickem. I could see it going either way but here is my feeling.</p><p> </p><p> Jamie Knoble and Evan Karagias vs <strong>Jung Dragons</strong></p><p> </p><p> I'll go with the better experienced team.</p>

There are quite a few of the PPV bouts that I'm looking forward to namely the title match, Jake Roberts (can he still go?) and the tag tournament final. Nice to see Styles debut too. It will also be interesting to see if there are any surprises or debuts come PPV time (or if the viewers will get to see the finale before the PPV time cuts off).

Is it strange to come to the place where the Streetz have no name? Nobody laughing at this joke, not even you two? The Martyr main event involvement shocked me and I'm still intrigued by where the Mad Dogg Mortimer story is going.

Another enjoyable show and yearly update to boot. Streets' little faction is really taking shape and look to be a focal point going forward. I'm missing Mad Dogs mad ramblings, hopefully he hasn't suffered a career ending injury. Besides, it doesn't sound like you could afford and replacements even if he has.

Wow my predictions were terrible but still a fun event. I wonder if Martyr has selfish reasons for helping out Seth Whitehead?

OWC Heavyweight Championship - Street Fight Seth Whitehead vs Bullseye Comments: I think Seth retains by the skin of his teeth but the feud is far from over Two on One Handicap match Oniji Hanari and Amok vs Martyr Comments: I predict some tension between clowns but the number shame still prevails Robin DaLay vs ??? Comments: Is it his dad? Does his dad still work? Or a brother perhaps Phobia vs Hurakan Comments: Toss of a coin OWC Womens Championship Asami Okubo vs Emiko Miyoshi vs Betty Dugal vs Mickie Sixx Comments: I like the sound of Miyoshi and not just because it rhymes with Joshi OWC Bloodlust Championship - Tables match Urban Fox vs Trainwreck Comments: What does the fox say? Ow owo ow ow ow ow Oww that hurt. Silas Odswald vs DISCO Kikuchi Comments: Bourbon is not a performance enhancer