That Was Then, Is This Too? 11.10.09: The SmackDown Six

Welcome to yet another installment of That Was Then, Is This Too?, the column that looks for parallel lines in all the right places. As usual, we have comments:

I just bought SvR 2010 for my Wii System last Tuesday night. It rocks! I also have the 2008 & 2009 versions of SvR. While those 2 games are okay, 2010 is a lot easier to play & control the characters. Heh, I’m already the US & World Heavyweight Champion with my character that I created! There are a couple of areas I have yet to explore but I highly recommend 2010 anyway!

Posted By: theoncomingstorm (Guest) on November 02, 2009 at 10:15 PM

SvR 2008 on my brother’s Wii permanently soured me on wrestling games on that system, and from what I understand the 2010 version is once again severely stripped compared to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions.

Good article.

The biggest feature of DOR I miss the most is the ability to interrupt maneuvers, and to also use them to hit your opponents. it added for a new layer of hilarity and also strategy.

Posted By: Travis (Guest) on November 02, 2009 at 10:25 PM

Yeah, the Momentum Shift moves really added a new layer of strategy. What I liked most about them is the way that pretty much every move could be a momentum shift, so you had crazy dives for the babyfaces and eye rakes and low blows for the heels.

Day of Reckoning’s create modes were fabulous, but the GamePlay was extremely frustrating. I do not want to do a half-hour “must win” career mode match because my CPU partner can’t stop the opponent from breaking up the pinfall.

You are incorrect.

Posted By: R-Truth (Guest) on November 03, 2009 at 04:35 PM

At first tag matches used to frustrate me too, but once you’ve mastered tag partner control (Z-button + D-pad) they become much easier. The truly frustrating part for me were the must-win fatal fourway matches, especially the cage match for the intercontinental championship in DoR 2.

What I don’t get is how TNA, ROH or some independant body doesn’t realize that No Mercy has such a ravenous fan base to this date and a beloved video game is one of the best ways to build a brand. If one of these parties simply recreated that engine or went through a developer / publisher that ownes it (I believe EA was the last to use it with their Def Jam series and I don’t think Aki even produces American games anymore), many wrestling fans that are only fans of the WWE would buy it and be constantly exposed to an alternative wreslting brand. I could litteraly talk about ideas for a new game based on No Mercy’s legacy for days…

Posted By: Darkdan (Registered) on November 03, 2009 at 05:02 PM

Unfortunately the biggest problem here is the cost to produce a game that can compete with the SvR series, which requires millions in advertising alone. The Backyard Wrestling series actually borrowed heavily from the Juggalo Championship Wrestling promotion.

I strongly urge anyone that fancies themself a “fantasy booker” or someone that thinks the create-a-story mode in SVR10 to look into EWR for the PC. Its free, adictive and has such a loyal fan base that constantly update it.

Fire Pro move depth + EWR industry depth + No Mercy Game Engine + SVR Graphics = world’s greatest wrestling game

Posted By: Darkdan (Registered) on November 05, 2009 at 01:17 PM

While I’ve tried EWR in the past, I think it’s way too much for the casual fan. It’s like the Football Manager series compared to Pro Evolution Soccer or Fifa games for football fans.

That leads us to banner! 2.0!

There are few parts of modern wrestling history that speak as much to the imagination as the Smackdown Six. For a stretch of about eight months six men consistantly put on incredible matches, both on PPV and on free TV and both in singles and tag team matches. This was probably the last great stretch Paul Heyman had as a booker, mostly because unlike his run in charge of the new ECW he didn’t spend his time getting undercut by Vince McMahon.

For the period from Backlash, when the 2009 draft went in effect, to August 28th, when Hardy lost a Loser Leaves WWE match to CM Punk, it seemed that we had a minor revival of the greatest period in SmackDown history on our hands. Chris Jericho, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk and John Morrison basically formed the entire top half of the SmackDown cards for this period of time, feuding over either the world heavyweight championship or intercontinental championship and dominating the year-end standings for 411’s Wrestler of the Week.

Chris Jericho had come over to SmackDown in the 2009 draft after spending most of 2008 making the most of an incredibly entertaining heel turn, feuding with Shawn Michaels and capturing the world heavyweight championship several times. He had come fresh off a feud with Ricky Steamboat, and went straight into a feud with Rey Mysterio over the intercontinental championship, winning the title at Extreme Rules but losing it again at The Bash in a match where Rey’s mask was also on the line.

Edge had spent 2008 as the top heel of SmackDown, feuding with The Undertaker and Jeff Hardy under the management of his “wife”, Vicky Guerrero. He managed to steal RAW’s world heavyweight championship by beating up Kofi Kingston and stealing his spot in the RAW elimination chamber match at No Way Out. He lost the title to John Cena at WrestleMania, but won it back in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash thanks to an assist by The Big Show, taking the title to SmackDown and holding it until Extreme Rules, where he lost it to Jeff Hardy.

Rey Mysterio had spent 2008 on the RAW brand without ever accomplishing much. His main feud during his time on the red brand was with Kane, and the two didn’t exactly set the world on fire. At the start of 2009 he moved on to feud with long time rival JBL, capturing the Intercontinental championship at Wrestlemania in just over 20 seconds. He would trade the championship with Chris Jericho during an incredibly entertaining feud that lasted throughout the summer of 2009 before losing it to John Morrison following a wellness violation.

Jeff Hardy came into SmackDown following a year of highs and lows. He had missed WrestleMania 24 following a wellness violation, but still managed to end the year as the WWE champion. He spent most of the first half of 2009 feuding with big brother Matt, but the entire feud was pretty much a dud and ended when Matt was drafted to RAW. Hardy once again focused on becoming world champion, defeating Edge at Extreme Rules but losing the title immediately afterwards when CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot. The two would feud for a few more weeks until Jeff left the company.

CM Punk had had an incredible 2008 on paper, beating Kevin Nash’s record at completing the WWE triple crown. He successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot against Edge, captured the world tag team championship with Kofi Kingston and defeated William Regal for the intercontinental championship after becoming the number one contender for that title following an eight man tournament. He won Money in the Bank again at Wrestlemania 25 and successfully used the title shot to become champion at Extreme Rules, spending the rest of the summer feuding with Jeff Hardy and reviving the old straight-edge heel character that had made him popular on the independent scene in the process.

John Morrison had spent most of 2008 teaming with The Miz, in a pairing that was unofficially known as Team Tough Enough or MNM II. They became only the third team in WWE history to hold both the world tag team championship and the WWE tag team championship when they defeated CM Punk and Kofi Kingston at a house show. In the process they also produced an incredibly entertaining series of talk shows and web shows, but when Morrison was drafted to SmackDown, The Miz was quick to turn on him, hitting him with the Reality Check and turning Morrison face in the process.

Unfortunately the period of the 2009 SmackDown Six seems pretty much over at this point, with Edge injured, Jeff Hardy out of the company and Chris Jericho spending most of his time on the other brands as one half of the tag team champions. John Morrison is still riding high as the intercontinental champion, but CM Punk seems to have pretty much faded from the main event scene without much else to do and Rey Mysterio is busy feuding with his old friend Batista, who recently returned from injury. Still, it was nice when it lasted, but does it measure up to the original SmackDown Six?

That Was Then…

The SmackDown Six took shape in March of 2002, when, following the InVasion, the entire roster was drafted between SmackDown and RAW to deal with the fact that WWE had more talent than they knew what to do with. The solution was the brand split: divide the roster between SmackDown and RAW, with each show having their own distinct roster, championships, story lines and general manager.

The championships caused quite a bit of trouble here. Initially, both the Undisputed Championship and the World Tag Team Championship were to be defended on both shows, but after Brock Lesnar won the Undisputed championship and jumped to SmackDown, his manager Paul Heyman declared that he would only defend his title against SmackDown wrestlers. In response, the World Heavyweight Championship was reinstated on RAW, and the Undisputed championship was rebranded as the WWE championship. The tag team titles meanwhile were made exclusive to RAW, so the WWE tag team championship was created for SmackDown. The first WWE Tag Team champions would be crowned through an eight team tournament, with the finals taking place on the No Mercy PPV. The final four consisted of Billy and Chuck, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, Edge and Rey Mysterio and Los Guerreros. The last three teams would make up what would become known as the SmackDown Six.

Kurt Angle was deeply involved with the ECWCW Invasion, first as the company’s top babyface but later turning heel and joining The Alliance. He remained heel after The Alliance was disbanded, feuding with Triple H and Kane. He would then move on to a feud with young upstart Edge, which ended up lasting considerably longer than anyone expected. In the process, Edge taught the crowd to chant “You Suck” to the tune of Angle’s entrance theme, and actually managed to take the Olympic gold medalist’s hair in a hair vs. hair match.

Chris Benoit had spent most of 2001 sidelined with a serious neck injury, and was drafted to SmackDown while still officially injured. He made his in-ring return on RAW however, briefly feuding with Steve Austin and capturing the intercontinental championship before finally jumping to SmackDown. He lost the Intercontinental championship to Rob Van Dam before teaming up with Kurt Angle. The team had a very interesting dynamic, as despite their technical prowess neither man could stand one another. They had feuded extensively in early 2001, including a classic match at WrestleMania X-seven, and would feud again in 2003.

When he was drafted to SmackDown, Edge was one of the fastest rising babyfaces in the company. After the incredibly successful team of Edge and Christian broke up during the Invasion, he unified the Intercontinental championship with the WCW United States championship. After beating Booker T at WrestleMania 18, he would go on to feud with Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero before teaming with Rey Mysterio, briefly holding the WWE tag team championship. Although the duo lost the titles after only fifteen days, Edge would go on to recapture the title with Hulk Hogan as his new partner.

After his contract wasn’t picked up in the WCW buyout, Rey Mysterio spent most of 2001 slumming on the independent scene, with his most notable matches being against CM Punk for the IWA-MS heavyweight championship. He didn’t appear on SmackDown until 2002, following weeks of vignettes hyping his arrival. He almost immediately moved on to feud with Kurt Angle, losing by submission at Summerslam. He would then go on to team up with Edge.

Eddie Guerrero had also spent most of 2001 on the sidelines. He was forced to sit out the Invasion in a rehab facility to deal with his addiction to pain killers, and when he was arrested for drunk driving in November of 2001 he ended up being released from the company. Like Rey Mysterio he was involved with CM Punk and the IWA-MS heavyweight champion, and he also appeared on the inaugural Ring of Honor show. After returning to WWE in 2002 he briefly teamed up with Chris Benoit before moving on to form Los Guerreros with his cousin Chavo.

Although Chavo Guerrero did have his contract bought out in the WCW purchase, he played only a minor role in the Invasion angle and wasn’t even part of the roster when the 2002 draft took place, in stead working as one of the trainers on WWE’s Tough Enough reality show. He didn’t return until the summer of 2002, briefly feuding with the debuting Rey Mysterio before moving on to form a highly popular tag team with his uncle Eddie.

Throughout 2002 and the first half of 2003, these six men would put on some of the best singles and tag matches in modern WWE history, with the tag team finals at No Mercy standing out as one of the best. In a company where tag team wrestling was, and still is, virtually dead, the teams of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit and Edge and Rey Mysterio waged an all-out war for over twenty minutes. The match had everything you could want in a tag match: a great story, psychology, work rate and creativity, and it won Match of the Year in many year end award lists, including the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

…Is This Too?

So does the 2009 SmackDown Six measure up to the 2002-03 edition? Unfortunately I have to say no here, if only because of the relatively short duration of the 2009 edition. Still, all six men were involved in some great singles matches during the summer of 2009, and I think that it’s safe to say that that’s enough for them to be remembered five or ten years down the line.

One thing they do have in common however, is that their great matches were framed with great booking. Michael Hayes is often underestimated in this regard, but he did manage to actually book The Great Kahli as world heavyweight championship in a way that played to Kahli’s strengths and caught the attention of the casual fan, which in the end WWE cares far more about than whatever the internet pundits might have to say about it. The summer of 2009 saw several incredibly entertaining feuds, mainly between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk and Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio. Still, no matter how good Michael Hayes’ booking has been for the past few years, I still think I prefer Paul Heyman’s work in 2002.

Of course the main difference between the 2002-03 and 2009 Smackdown Six is the almost complete absence of the tag division. Paul Heyman gave the WWE tag team titles the best possible start by booking three teams bursting at the seems with talent and all possessing their own kind of charisma, but in 2009 the tag team scene was pretty much dead.

I have to wonder whether or not these six men could have recreated the magic. They certainly tried with the team of Chris Jericho and Edge, and Edge’s injury is probably one of the most disappointing moments of the year. Out of the remaining four men, my other two picks for tag teams would probably have been Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy and John Morrison and CM Punk, although the latter would probably be the most troublesome to book within the context of Punk’s awesome heel turn.

While the 2009 SmackDown Six doesn’t measure up to their illustrious predecessors, especially where tag team wrestling is concerned, I still think that the blue brand has been on an incredible hot streak over the past few months. Obviously things aren’t as great now as they were a few months ago, but I still hold high hopes for the months leading up to Wrestlemania, and I sincerely hope that in five or ten years the current SmackDown Six will be remembered as fondly as the original version.

MUST-READ 411 STORIES:
How WWE Is Booking Around Bryan Injury	Roundtable Discussion: S.H.I.E.L.D. S. 1	Sexy Girl’s Busty New Selfie

(function() {
var params =
{
id: “7a26260d-4489-454c-92f3-208a14eeaa91”,
d: “NDExbWFuaWEuY29t”,
wid: “10064”,
cb: (new Date()).getTime()
};

var qs=”;
for(var key in params){qs+=key+”=”+params[key]+”&”}
qs=qs.substring(0,qs.length-1);
var s = document.createElement(“script”);
s.type= ‘text/javascript’;
s.src = “http://api.content.ad/Scripts/widget.aspx?” + qs;
s.async = true;
document.getElementById(“contentad10064”).appendChild(s);
})();

/* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * */
var disqus_shortname = ‘411mania’; // required: replace example with your forum shortname

var disqus_identifier = ‘article_121551’;

/* * * DON’T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * */
(function() {
var dsq = document.createElement(‘script’); dsq.type = ‘text/javascript’; dsq.async = true;
dsq.src = ‘http://’ + disqus_shortname + ‘.disqus.com/embed.js’;
(document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0] || document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(dsq);
})();
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
comments powered by Disqus