[2000-06-08-WWF-Smackdown] Rikishi vs Val Venis

[soup23]

This match is all about the Trish vs RIkishi dynamic as we get clips of Trish getting the stinkface to start things off. Trish throws powder in Rikishi’s eyes around two minutes in and the referee doesn’t call for the DQ then for some reason. Val is still displaying this more vicious persona as he has the steps on the outside that rams right into Rikishi. He also shoves the referee into the front row. Rikishi is bleeding as the referees rush in to break things up. This was good feud escalation and worked as an angle/match. ¾*

[AstroBoy]

The match is whatever but the post-match angle is really great. Venis gets incredibly vicious and busts open Rikishi and the attack just continues with Trish barking orders the whole time. All this is incredibly effective in building up a suddenly serious and focused mid-card feud and then Rikishi comes back and the crowd goes nuts for him bringing the fight back. He caps it with the memorable Superfly splash off the stage. Man they packed a lot of good stuff into this one segment.

[GSR]

An irate Trish Stratus is pacing around the dressing room, still in disbelief that Rikishi put his ass in her face (“what if I got stuck?”). Val Venis is doing push ups, warming up for the match and Trish tells him that she was humiliated in front of millions of people and this man has to pay. He promises to make Rikishi pay and make him realise that he made the biggest mistake of his life, all she has to do is hold up her end of the bargain.

 

Venis jumps Rikishi the moment he steps through the ropes, tearing his ceremonial robe off him. An early pinfall attempt after a couple of clotheslines but Rikishi kicks out of the cover. The big man reverses a whip to the turnbuckles and hits a Samoan drop. Running lariat in the corner, he then whips Val to the opposite one and ‘backs dat ass up’. He slumps to the floor and is in the perfect position for the ‘stink face’. Before he’s able to do to him what he’d previously done to Trish though, she’s in the ring and throws powder in his face for the DQ. Val attacks the blinded Rikishi, showing a new found aggression, busting him open after slamming the ring steps into his head. As referee Teddy Long tries to get him to stop Val launches him into the front row of the crowd! He clobbers Rikishi twice with the ring bell, puts a foot on his chest and raises his arms. Job done and obviously with half a mind on collecting off Trish he heads off back towards the dressing room, however he hasn’t even made it to the top of the stage and Rikishi is up and stalking him. Val can’t believe what he’s seeing, returns to finish what he had started, but this time Rikishi is ready. He blocks Val’s punches and drops him with one of his own. It all culminates with the bloodied Rikishi superkicking Val off the stage to the floor and then doing a ‘Superfly splash’ down on to him.

 

The match was nothing and this was all about the post-match. I kinda wish that they had split that into two though; had Val leaving Rikishi laying here and then Rikishi get his revenge on Raw or next week’s Smackdown. It was a new Val Venis, a bad ass Val Venis, one who’s not afraid to bust someone open or ‘by any means necessary’ to get the job done. The whole Val Venis gimmick/look in itself is a bit passé and they had the perfect opportunity after this attack to update it, give him a hair cut, some new threads, maybe even ditch the Val Venis name and go to Sean Morley or whatever. As it was, to me, with Rikishi getting back to his feet so soon and then leaving Val lying, he came across as someone who can’t get the job done. There was some good stuff in here but I wish they hadn’t run through it all in such a short space of time.