by Dr. Tom

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WWE SMACKDOWN! 3/6/03

Well, it looks like I won’t have a lot of wrestling to write about for the first hour or so, as the local UPN station has decided to carry President Bush’s speech. I’d call it a “promo,” but I imagine he has some rather serious things to say on several fronts, and there’s no reason to demean that by trying to tie in silly wrestling terms. Since this is probably going to eat up the first half and maybe more, I’ll just give the results of the matches, a few comments, and wrap things up. For those interested, I’ll recap President Bush’s speech and comment on it after the Smackdown results, since I felt I had to write about something that was happening on the TV tonight.

For any among you who have pined for just the results, this is your lucky week.

Compiled from several on-site “spoiler” reports.

Rey Mysterio d. Tajiri and Jaime Noble to become the #1 Contender for the Cruiserweight title, with the match to be held at WrestleMania.

Los Guerreros d. Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli, and were beaten down by the FBI afterwards.

Kurt Angle tried to use his “personal relationship” with Stephanie McMahon to get Paul Heyman out of the cage match tonight. Steph wasn’t buying it, and even added a stipulation: if Brock wins, he gets Angle next week for the title.

Matt Hardy d. Billy Kidman to retain the Cruiserweight title.

Nidia was at the Playboy mansion, basically to pimp the Girls Gone Wild PPV.

The Undertaker worked out with Nathan Jones, apparently sparring with him to give him some basic training.

Undertaker d. A-Train by DQ after The Big Slow interfered, and Nathan Jones ran in to make it an official schmoz.

Rhyno and Chris Benoit d. Team Angle in a non-title tag team match.

Stephanie evicted A-Train and Big Slow from the building so they couldn’t interfere in the main event.

Ice Ice Cena did some more rapping about Brock Lesnar.

Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan blabbered on for a while about exciting things like who created Hulkamania, the steroid trials, watching paint dry, etc. This was to set up their “fight” at Mania, with Hogan’s career ostensibly being on the line.

Brock Lesnar d. Paul Heyman in a cage match. Team Angle interfered to start the match, but were quickly dispatched. Kurt Angle also took several bumps in this one.

Obviously, the biggest news concerning Smackdown this week was the unfortunate neck injury aggravated by Kurt Angle. He’s going to need spinal fusion surgery and will miss about a year, which knocks him out of any plans for Mania. It looks like he’ll be dropping the strap to Brock next week, which he should be able to do since a free TV match isn’t as long or demanding as a PPV main event. This is a terrible break for Smackdown, WWE, and the fans, since Angle is a bona fide top-tier guy who always keeps great heat on himself. Get well, Kurt. The months will seem like years until you return.

Overall, this looked like it was probably a decent show. Those of you who got to watch it should have seen some good matches and effective vignettes. I can’t rate this one since I didn’t see it, but everything I’ve read about it indicates that it was above average.

If you want to avoid reading about President Bush’s speech, STOP HERE and SKIP to THE END.

The President stepped to the microphone for his first press conference in four months. He opened by saying that the mastermind of September 11th, Khalid Shiekh Muhammed, was captured in Pakistan. He moved on to tomorrow’s presentation by chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, and said there is only one important question that needs to be answered: has Iraq fully and unconditionally disarmed?

Bush basically answered his own question, saying Saddam still has weapons of mass destruction, and is still producing missiles. Basically, Iraq shows no signs of being a country that cares about disarming. The President said he has ever intention of disarming Saddam if he refuses to do it himself, and there will be other nations involved. Still, no one really wants a war, including Bush, and he hopes this last stage of diplomacy is successful.

Several times during the speech and following Q&A session, President Bush reiterated what he feels is his most important duty: protecting the American people. If the destruction of September 11th could be carried out with just four planes, imagine what WMD could do. Bush has no intentions of finding out. Dangerous dictators who defy the world are a threat to us all, and America accepts its responsibilities as a leader here, and its calling to protect innocent lives.

In summary, Bush reiterated his desire for peace and diplomacy to win out, but said Saddam must disarm or face the consequences. UN Resolution 1441 passed unanimously last year, and several of the countries who have expressed reservations recently were eager to sign that resolution last year. Bush stressed Saddam’s ties to terrorism in general and Al’Qaeda in particular, and said there was a huge risk involved in not doing anything.

Highlights from the Q&A:

Diplomacy is still being tried, but it’s in its last stage.

Regarding North Korea, Asian countries have a huge stake in North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. If they want more aid from the US and its allies, arming themselves with nukes isn’t the way to go about it. Kim Jong Il broke an agreement negotiated in good faith by Bill Clinton. Bush favors a diplomatic solution here, also.

There are ninety countries involved in the war on terror, including many who are not our traditional allies. Bush feels the credibility of the UN and its Security Council is at stake here, and will be decided in how they decide to handle this situation.

There is no personal fixation with Saddam: Bush’s concern is the oath he took to protect America and its citizens, and Saddam is a huge threat.

Support has not eroded. Resolution 1441 looked doomed from the start, and ended up passing by a unanimous 15-0 vote.

If war is the result, there will be a regime change in Iraq. Killing Saddam is not necessary, but he will be removed from power, and it will be for the good of Iraq.

The US will not be defiant of the UN if the US pursues a war without UN approval. Bush said he will do what he needs to do to protect his country, and doesn’t really care what the UN thinks about it. Their support is not needed in the event of a war.

Turkey has Bush’s support for entry into the EU even if they decide to not allow US troops to pass through en route to Iraq. Bush said Turkey is an ally regardless, and there are contingency plans in place to facilitate troop movement.

Only Saddam Hussein can truly choose war or peace.

My Thoughts: It was a good speech, and Bush did well in the Q&A session also. His public speaking has improved tremendously since he took office, even the extemporaneous style required when answering reporters’ questions. I would love to see a peaceful solution to this whole mess, but if it comes to war, then that’s what we’ll do. However, I think North Korea and (Saudi) Arabia are at least as threatening as Iraq, and perhaps even moreso. We know Kim Jong Il has The Nuke, while we’re trying to make sure Saddam doesn’t get it. I’m not so much concerned about winning the war with Iraq as I am winning the peace. Replacing a regime won’t be easy, especially in an area where popular sentiment already runs against us.

Remember: The only condition necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Next week, I hope to be back to a more regular report. Feedback on any of this is, of course, welcome, but I don’t really want to get into protracted political arguments with people via email.

Dr. Tom
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Read my past works at the TSM Archives!

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