10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2008
7. Vladimir Kozlov’s Squashes Were Actually Good
In order, Kozlov beat Matt Bentley, Matt Logan, Leroy Kincaid, Marty Garner, Colin Delaney, Phil Atlas, Funaki, Nunzio, Shannon Moore, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jamie Noble, Noble and Moore in a handicap match, Domino, Stevie Richards twice, Jesse, Festus, then Funaki and Scotty Goldman in a handicap match before running into The Great Khali and going to a no contest on the 26 September SmackDown.
Phew!
His eventual main event push flopped hard, but the squashes were tidy and well worked. That was a sneaky surprise when looking back on this era of the blue brand. Going in, this fan dreaded the thought of trudging through some miserably silent squashes that saw fans get up to visit restrooms or check out what was on offer at the merchandise stands.
Instead, some of the maulings played before a decent reaction from live crowds. They could see that Vince McMahon was right into the idea of pushing Kozlov, so they were going to give the big powerhouse a fair shake before writing him off. That said, had Twitter/X been a more popular platform in 2008, then there would've been endless hashtags about how '#Kozlovsucks'.
Things moved at a slightly slower pace in '08. It wasn't until Vlad hit the main events that WWE's fanbase made their collective minds up about him. He was nowhere near ready for that, and would in fact stink the joint up a few times in major matches. Remarkably, most of his squash wins after debuting in April worked out quite nicely.
He also stood out due to his unique, no frills presentation during an era of fake tans, great teeth and Diva-led glitz.