James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (7.0)

Vince Russo probably would have been bored out of his mind watching the show, but it was good, sound, effective build-up to the Elimination Chamber PPV featuring a number of big stars in the top segments on the show. Also, Smackdown delivered what Raw didn't deliver - promos from the two first-time-only Chamber match competitors, R-Truth and John Morrison, talking about a potential title victory. Too bad WWE couldn't find one or two minutes on Raw for Ted DiBiase and/or Kofi Kingston to talk about how big of a deal it would be to be in a title match situation.

The tension among the big stars continues to be a major draw for the Smackdown brand right now. The interaction between Taker, Edge, Batista, and Jericho in the final segment was good TV to whet the appetite for viewers without actually settling anything. The message being you have to spend money to see something settled on the PPV Sunday night or in a few weeks at WrestleMania. Taker standing tall is par for the course whether he's set to win or lose on a PPV, but it seemed to point to a Chris Jericho victory at the Elimination Chamber PPV. We'll see how it plays out. Good TV.

C.M. Punk's character is such a strong second tier heel right now. However, his promos and the verbiage used to enhance his character is very heavy-handed and really pushing the envelope to uncomfortable territory, especially with the David Koresh references on commentary. You just don't go there, with many lives lost and forever scarred, even if WWE specializes in "pushing the envelope" with characters and storylines.

Jon Mezzera, PWTorch.com Contributor (4.0)

This was a mild thumbs-down show. There were some things to like, mostly involving Edge. I enjoyed the opening segment with his verbal confrontation with Chris Jericho. WWE continues to do a good job of teasing various opponents for Edge at WrestleMania (like they did with Undertaker at the end of the show). I also liked the fact that Teddy Long finally (after a week and a half!) mentioned what Shawn Michaels did to him on last week's Raw. WWE has done a ridiculously poor job following up on that angle, but at least it was mentioned on Smackdown this week. I don't understand giving away Edge vs. Batista, but it was a good match and fit in at the start with how Batista has been acting lately in how he walked away from the match. The show had a strong ending with the appearance by Undertaker and how Jericho attacked Edge.

However, there was also quite a bit to dislike on the show as well. I really hated the backstage scene between Maria and Matt Hardy. It was forced and out of left field. I am very tired after twenty years of watching Undertaker's "powers." They just don't have the impact that they once had. Having him make the lights flicker or cause pyro to randomly go off to send a message to his opponents was just pretty weak. The build to the ppv was poor all week long on WWE tv and Smackdown was no different. There are only four matches? Does anyone care about the two undercard matches? I didn't think so. The rest of the show was ok at best. I really didn't enjoy much of the wrestling action. There were some other overly silly moments (like R-Truth and John Morrison's interaction). I just didn't enjoy the show on the whole.

Greg Parks, Torch Columnist (6.0)

There was no trademark blow-away match on this week's Smackdown, but it was a newsworthy episode. Edge returned to the ring and some ECW talent were announced as being signed by Smackdown. In some of the matches, it wasn't so much about the result as it was "looking good." Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft both looked good in the ring despite the loss to Cryme Tyme. And Kane looked good against Dolph Ziggler heading into his I.C. Title match at the Chamber PPV.

We got more of the mid-card Hart Dynasty vs. Khali and Hardy feud. Michelle McCool made a good point in her backstage segment with Hardy and Maria....both of them have been portrayed as not being able to stay in a relationship, so there's little interest (at least by me) in seeing them together. Punk & Gallows vs. Morrison & Truth was a by-the-numbers tag match, but Punk is just in a groove with his character right now, and it's so fun to see him perform.

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