10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 1999
9. Nobody Needed Another Tuxedo Match
Case in point.
Did anyone really need to see an incensed Howard Finkel storm out on the 2 September episode and challenge a bewildered Tony Chimel to a 'Tuxedo Match'? Apparently so - someone behind the scenes (Vince Russo, let's be honest) believed that this garbage would help fans tune in.
Above, you'll see a grinning Chris Jericho taking it all in backstage. His reactions would swing between kayfabe merriment and borderline cringing throughout. No wonder. Howard and Tony were flopping around like a couple of dead fish and eating up almost 10 minutes of air time.
This was a follow up to Finkel's dire mess with Harvey Wippleman from January 1995. Whomever (Vince Russo) looked at that and thought it needed a reprise deserves a clip round the ear. SmackDown was supposed to appeal to a new audience on broadcast TV, and they thought this would do the trick.