Talk was moved away from general facts and towards the Wii version specifically, as we were treated to an eyes-on with a very (and we stress very) early build of the game. The demo consisted of two players, taking the roles of Triple H and John Cena in one-on-one competition. Demonstrating a few core motion controls off the bat, players used overhand strikes, jabs, and backhands all with the Wii remote to pull off each specific motion. The amount of dead time between action and reaction was surprisingly short, as the motions translated quickly to each attack with very little error. Every once and a while Triple H would go for a backhand only to have a main jab pulled off, but as we said the game was very early in development, and exact Wii motion is something developers have been having issues with since launch.
When moving on to more precise moves, however, it became apparent that Wii wasn't just a port with lazy controls, and that there's some definite potential in THQ's latest game. Players moved on to more complex moves, charging a makeshift power-bar to perform a grapple, and then literally raising their hands into the air to lift them. The drop was user-based as well, so in a few different instances Triple H would lift Cena into a choke slam or power-bomb, hold him for an uncomfortable amount of time, and slam him down only when the player slammed his hands down.
Along those same lines, actions such as turnbuckle punching (with Cena standing a few rungs up, hammering down on Triple H with downward jabs) were also dictated by the user. A few punches were pulled off, then a short break was taken to give a hello to the crowd, and then it was straight back to pummeling Hunter to the ground. As the roles switched, however, there seemed to be some motion detection issues because the second player couldn't pull off any punches while mounted on the turnbuckle. Again, it's a pre-alpha build of the game.
Moving away from main offense, players also used motion control to deliver humiliating taunts, and it was - if nothing else - hilarious to watch. DX's classic "suck it" motion was pulled off with both hands, as Triple H mocked a downed Cena before lifting him back up with a quick Wii-mote/nunchuk motion. Later in the match Triple H used a second taunt, raising his arms in the air and screaming - again controlled with the Wii-mote/nunchuk combination.
From what we saw, the developers have a solid understanding of how to translate Wii motion into direct gameplay. Actions such as kicking, submissions, using specials, throwing a competitor into the ropes, leaving the ring, or using weapons weren't demonstrated, and it seemed that the majority of Wii control came from the Wii remote itself and not the nunchuk. The game looks to be in its initial "proof of concept" phase, so it's possible that there's no interface, character select, or actual end to the match demo even in place, so a more in-depth synopsis of the motion control will have to wait. Still, from what we saw today there's definite potential in SmackDown vs. Raw 2008.