Smackdown Workrate Report 1/1/04
Dang this was a pretty fun Smackdown as it was in Laredo TX which is a border town, so the crowd was 99.99% Mexican. So it was basically a Lucha crowd. Including full on “Culero” chants at Tajiri and Big Show (which Tom explained to me as a term for people who smuggle drugs up their ass, so is a combination Asshole and Gay slur). Of course the only guys really over on the show were Rey Mysterio and Eddie. Of course those are the only guys over in .
What Worked
-Rey v. Tajiri was off the hook. This might be the best Tajiri singles I can remember, as it went 20, with lots of nifty opening matwork, lots of great near falls and some choice bodypart work. I especially liked the Rey limping 619 and the block of the Tarantula. I don’t know where they can go with the belt after this, as Rey is the second most over guy in the promotion, but they don’t really have any challengers. Time to split Paul London from Spanky and push him as the Americanized Mexican heel who can’t stand all the lettuce pickers in the audience, sort of like the aristocrat gimmick Chavo Sr. and Mondo ran in Mid South
-Cena and Beniot v. FBI was pretty fun. Cena actually looked like the better of the two guys in his tag team, as his punches looked great and his selling was fun. Johnny the Bull looks like a roided Donovan Morgan, and kind of wrestles like a Roided Donovan Morgan. Chuck Palumbo continues to be really freaking good as he is clearly better then Nunzio at this point.
-Holly v. Big Show was a perfectly fine Giant Silva v. Rayo. Show is significantly better then Silva although Holly couldn’t shine Rayo’s boots. When you added that together it worked out okay. Holly v. Lesner is a pretty piss poor main event though
What Didn’t Work
-I am trying to think of a Lucha match which would be as shitty as Rhyno v. Bradshaw to continue the theme. Tineblas v. Headhunter A? Gronda v. Pieroth? Antonio Pena v. Dencis?
-Where was the MEXICO! MEXICO! Chant during that Angle match. We really needed Mini-Violencia to come out and sing the Mexican National Anthem
-Los Guerreros v. Haas and Benjamin have had some amazing matches, but this wasn’t one of them. This was mostly angle and Laredo wasn’t a great place to run it. Guerreros should have been going over the gringos, save the breakup for a show in front of whities,