The SmarK Rant for WWE Backlash 2023 – 05.06.23
Live from San Juan, Puerto Rico
Your hosts are Michael Cole & Corey Graves
The drone shot coming into the arena is REALLY cool and the kind of thing they should do more of. I also really like the different setup without the obnoxious Titantron and LED boards at the entrance.
Backlash 2023
Date: May 6, 2023
Location: Coliseo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
We are off the mainland with this show as WWE heads to Puerto Rico for its first major show in over eighteen years. The card is more than a little different this time as we have a double main event, featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes and Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest in a street fight. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown
Date: May 5, 2023
Location: Coliseo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole
We are in Puerto Rico for the first time ever as Backlash will be held in the same venue tomorrow night. In addition, this is the final night for the old Smackdown roster as the Draft takes effect starting on Monday. We should be in for a big show tonight though, with what will likely be a red hot crowd. Let’s get to it.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, live from Albany, New York. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a crowd of 17,000 fans. Despite more than a month of hype, the show drew a disappointing 1.80 buyrate (an estimated 260,000 buys), which was a sizeable drop from the 2.40 buyrate (440,000 buys) of the previous year’s Royal Rumble.
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
We’ll be getting back to rebooking next week as I’ve put some time into doing another arc, which I hope you’ll enjoy. In the meantime though I saw that WWE was hocking a Best of Cody Rhodes DVD over here in the UK for the paltry price of £10, featuring matches from his debut in 2007 all the way up to his torn pec match in the Cell.
Seeing as I’ve quite enjoyed Cody’s antics since his initial debut in WWE, I thought I’d pick the DVD up and give it a reviewing. I reviewed Disc 1 last week (which you can find in the archives) so let’s finish it up with Disc 2 this week.
Link for the DVD is below if you’re interested
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WWE-American-Nightmare-Best-Rhodes/dp/B0BRT5ZPR9
The SmarK Rant for WWF Rebellion 99 – 10.02.99
Continuing our journey through the UK-exclusive PPVs on the Network, and hopefully this one is better than the first one. Once again, no idea what’s on this show, we’re going in totally blind.
Monday Night Raw
Date: May 1, 2023
Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves
It’s a double shot this week as we have the second night of the Draft, plus the go home Raw for Backlash. On the first hand, there were already some big moves in the Draft and it’s going to be even bigger this week. On the second hand, Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar are both here. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown
Date: April 28, 2023
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
It’s a huge week as we have the first night of the 2023 Draft. Half of the roster will be picked tonight with the other half going on Raw, which should make for quite the double shot. In addition, the Usos are getting their rematch against Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
We’ll be getting back to rebooking in a couple of weeks as I’ve put some time into doing another arc, which I hope you’ll enjoy. In the meantime though I saw that WWE was hocking a Best of Cody Rhodes DVD over here in the UK for the paltry price of £10, featuring matches from his debut in 2007 all the way up to his torn pec match in the Cell.
Seeing as I’ve quite enjoyed Cody’s antics since his initial debut in WWE, I thought I’d pick the DVD up and give it a reviewing. There’s two discs, so we’ll split this over two weeks.
I was thinking this would make a nice tie in to Cody winning the belt at Mania 39, but then WWE decided to WCWify that all up. Oh well.
Link for the DVD is below if you’re interested
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WWE-American-Nightmare-Best-Rhodes/dp/B0BRT5ZPR9
Monday Night Raw
Date: April 24, 2023
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves
We’re less than two weeks away from Backlash but more importantly (maybe) we are only a few days away from the Draft. That means things could be all over the place this week, as Smackdown didn’t exactly feel like the most important show. Bad Bunny is back too and that probably means a match needs to be set up. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown
Date: April 21, 2023
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole
We’re getting closer to Backlash and now some more of the card needs to be set up. That can be easier said than done as WWE does like to take its time to set up some of its shows. The good thing is that a lot of the show is all but officially announced so we could see something added this week. Let’s get to it.
Monday Night Raw
Date: April 17, 2023
Location: Simmons Bank Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves
We are just a few weeks away from Backlash and you can probably guess the show’s big matches from here. There is a good chance that at least one of them will be announced this week, as Brock Lesnar is scheduled to be here to address what he did to Cody Rhodes two weeks ago. Let’s get to it.
Monday Night Raw
Date: April 21, 2008
Location: BiLo Center, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
It’s a special three hour show as the King Of The Ring is back. The tournament was announced last week and now we get the whole thing wrapped up in one night. Other than that, it is the go home show for Backlash and that means it is time for the final push towards the four way match for the Raw World Title. Let’s get to it.
The SmarK Rant for WWE Smackdown – 04.14.23
Eh, Rampage has been boring the pants off me lately, so let’s change it up for a bit.
Live from whatever city “the campus of the University of Nebraska” is in.
Your hosts are Michael Cole & Wade Barrett
Smackdown
Date: April 14, 2023
Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
The Draft is coming up and that is going to change quite a few things around…well everywhere really. The good thing is we still have enough time before it gets into the lame duck period. Backlash is coming up in less than a month and it is time to start getting things ready for the show. Let’s get to it.
Monday Night Raw
Date: April 10, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick
So this show just got a lot more interesting, as we had quite the out of nowhere show last week. That would have been the Vince McMahon version of Raw, but then Smackdown felt much more normal. You can call this one the rubber show I guess, but hopefully last week was just an anomaly. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown
Date: April 18, 2008
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Attendance: 17,422
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman
We’ll finish up the England excursion here with the blue guys. These shows can be a cross between a bunch of stuff mainly for the live fans and a show that actually matters so we could be in for either here. Backlash is almost here though and Edge vs. Undertaker II is down for the main event so let’s get to it.
ECW On Sci Fi
Date: April 15, 2008
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Attendance: 17,422
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz, Mike Adamle
We’re over in England this week as the European tour is on. In this case, we have a special main event as the Brothers of Destruction are here. That alone should be enough to carry the show, as there is little to care about other than one or two stars. Maybe they have something else to help it out, because the show needs it. Let’s get to it.
Smackdown
Date: April 7, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
We’re done with Wrestlemania and based on Raw, may be done with a way of life in WWE. The question now becomes if Raw was a one off or if it is the new normal. Triple H is apparently here for some kind of announcement and that could go in a variety of directions. Let’s get to it.
Monday Night Raw
Date: April 3, 2023
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves
It’s the night after Wrestlemania and while WWE will hype it up a lot, there have only been so many big moments/surprises on this show in recent years. Maybe they will surprise us this year, but I’m not sure who is out there to bring in for the right kind of surprises. Let’s get to it.
