Wade Keller, Torch Editor (7.5)

Very much a theme show, with a solid focus throughout on Smackdown's four top stars (with Rey and Undertaker not on the show). Punk's character was handled with the right nuance coming out of Sunday, neither ignoring that his seizing of an opportunity was being criticized and seen as a cheap win, nor failing to acknowledge that he did what he had every legal and fair right to do by winning a grueling MITB match. Ross had the line of the night in pointing out that all WWE wrestlers should be focusing on next year's MITB match because it presents such an opportunity to seize another chance to win the title when the champ is worn out and vulnerable.

Punk was good in playing a tweener role who neither panders to fans nor antagonizes them. It's the right role now, but once he's past the Edge-Hardy situation, it's best for him to choose a solid direction as either a face or heel and go with it. The fact that they matched him against Jericho shows WWE is at the moment classifying hm as a babyface... The rest of the show was decent mid-card filler, but this was the week to focus on the World Title situation and it worked. Two good matches with ramifications and big stars made this a very good edition of Smackdown.

Jon Mezzera, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.5)

This was another good episode of Smackdown. It got off to a very good start with the opening segment featuring CM Punk, Jeff Hardy and Edge. All three were strong on the mic. It set up an interesting situation with a clear babyface, a clear heel, and a tweener. It also set up the main event for the show, Edge vs. Hardy for the #1 contendership.

The quality went down after that. I don't care to see any more of the feud between Dolph Ziggler and The Great Khali. I also don't need to see more Divas tag matches go less than three minutes. Luckily, the show picked up again with Haas & Benjamin vs. Morrison & R-Truth, which was a fun but formulaic tag match. It was good to see Truth getting more mic time before the match to do more than just rap. More mid-card wrestlers need a chance to talk to better connect with the audience. Jericho vs. Punk was a very good match. It had a great ending and it was good to see Punk win clean over Jericho to get his Title run off on the right foot.

The main event was very different than many of Edge and Hardy's matches, but it was good. It went over 20 minutes, and while it was slower than usual, I liked it and wasn't bored. It had good ring psychology and both wrestlers did nice jobs of selling their injuries. Punk added to the match with his guest commentary as well. I didn't like the tacked on ending with Teddy Long and Tiffany. It would have been better if Long had just come out and said that while Edge won the match via disqualification, Hardy proved he also deserved a Title shot.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (7.0)

This edition of Smackdown had a lot more buzz surrounding it than most, thanks in part to people wondering which direction they'd go with CM Punk's character. Punk, Jeff Hardy and Edge pulled off a nice opening mic segment, which can be awkward when there are more than two guys in there. The crowd reaction to Punk all night was interesting to listen to, as they seemed to be on the fence about him, going back and forth between cheering things he did and booing things he did.

I'm surprised they're sticking with this Khali vs. Ziggler feud. It looks like they want Ziggler to get over, but I don't know if putting him in matches with Khali is going to do it. The tag match featuring the guys who aren't a tag team anymore (though it would fool me based on the last two months of Smackdown) was good, yet it feels like WWE is relying too much on the same tag team match formula. I liked Punk getting the win over Jericho- Chris is like a teflon man at this point in that he can make up any loss with his mic work.

Hardy vs. Edge, as Jon said, was a different kind of match from these two in that they were selling their injuries from Sunday while working 20 minutes bell-to-bell. Punk on commentary was fine, but nothing more. His mic work earlier was solid though and I'm hoping they give him more time on the stick. The ending of the show built a lot of intrigue for last week, which is what these shows are supposed to do.

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