Not-So-Instant Feedback: Enough Bischoff, Enough Undertaker

TNA and Smackdown were both much better this week than they have been to start the year. For TNA, the improvement was slight, but they showed a step in the right direction. For SD, the improvement was drastic and was the first real return to the form they showed in the summertime when they were must-see TV. Still, I can't help but shake the feeling that the biggest improvements to both shows would have been addition by subtraction. On Impact, the difference would have been HUUUUUGE. On Smackdown, not as much, but it would have made the ending a lot better.

Take Eric Bischoff and Undertaker out of the equations and there's your improvement.

Tackling Smackdown first, it really was a strong show, stronger than the spoilers let on. I didn't mind the bait-and-switch with the Tag Title defense because we got two pretty good matches out of it with schmozz endings that worked. Mysterio/Michaels especially was good, even though they were both sloppy at some points. Jericho/R-Truth was also pretty good. I'd think of about five guys that I'd elevate to main event status before Truth, but hey, he's over. The match of the night might have been Morrison/Scrooge McPoyle though. I was impressed with Scrooge tonight, but only because he set the bar so low in previous weeks. Morrison, for all his deficiencies, gets it.

The biggest negative of the show was the ending. Yeah, I understand that they had to build heat for the impending Taker/Michaels and Taker/Mysterio matches, but I'm just sick and tired of seeing Taker show up every third show and just jizz all over everyone. The better ending, to me, would have been after Trips and Batista brawled out of the ring if Michaels and Mysterio got up and shook hands. They're faces. That's what they do after a hard fought match. *sigh*

However, if you want to talk about someone jizzing all over the show... what the fuck are they thinking in Orlando? You have a hot heel act as your World Champion, seriously, AJ Styles is the fucking man as the new Nature Boy. You have a hot heel act coming in in Ken Anderson. You have Kurt Angle, who's a proven draw. Samoa Joe, who has cred and is begging for a monster push to wipe the penis-on-the-face bullshit out of the memories of everyone. Fuck, I'll take Jeff Jarrett at this point, but Eric Bischoff? Is there any reason why he's gotta have heat with the entire roster?

Here's a guy who's never going to step into a wrestling ring. Here's a guy whose head is grayer than the average grandfather's, and he's the guy who gets all the face time? Again, where's the change coming from? Authority figures-as-the-top-heel have been played out to the point where the WWE is parodying it on RAW with various guest hosts (at least I think it's a parody... nah, on second thought, let's not give them the benefit of any doubt here). If you take Bischoff out of the equation and give his push to someone who deserves it, the show becomes 10x better.

Despite the fact that they have two No. 1 contenders already, I like the idea of the 8-Card Stud Tourney. Yeah, they just did a tourney where Lashley won, but regardless, the tourney leading into a top 10 ranking system appeals to me. I liked the two qualifying matches. Jarrett/Anderson was fun for what it was. Yeah, they still have a lot of work to do, but it looks as if the spoilers are being proven to be misrepresentative of the quality of the show, with the exception of the dreadful screwjob thing they did last week.

But I just can't get over Bischoff's overexposure. I need to see him like I need to see pics of Rosie O'Donnell and Queen Latifah scissoring. Things ain't gonna change until Bischoff takes a backseat, backstage role.