By Chris Newth, PWTorch.com Specialist Contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
October 12, 2007
Upcoming PPV: Cyber Sunday (3 episodes left before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the seventh edition of Smackdown Storylines and Feuds.

For those wondering about the Intrigue Level system that I employ, you can refer to the numbers as follows:

10 (excellent), 9 (great), 8-6 (very good, good, pretty good), 5 (decent; has its good and bad qualities), 4-3 (needs work, poor), 2 (bad), 1 (terrible)

My last Smackdown article focused on the brand's major feud transitioning phase. More than half of the show's rivalries were discontinued last week. What does that leave? Well, not much. Let's begin by listing each match on the show and labeling it according to the feud's status.

-Chuck Palumbo (w/ Michelle McCool) vs. Chris Masters (established)
-Jesse & Festus vs. Jobbers (feud with Deuce 'N' Domino hinted)
-Brett Major (w/ Brian Major) vs. Drew McIntyre (w/ Dave Taylor) (new)
-MVP & Matt Hardy vs. Undertaker & Kane (established, MVP-Hardy)
-The Great Khali vs. Jamie Noble (new)
-Deuce (w/ Cherry and Domino) vs. Jimmy Wang Yang (new)
-Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio (established)

So, out of all of these matches, only three were developing established feuds. The rest of them leave me with nothing beyond speculation. As for these multiple potential feuds, you can find a compiled list at the bottom of the article. Some of them will likely become actual feuds that can be analyzed next week.

World Hvt. Champion BATISTA vs. THE UNDERTAKER (1 week)

It appears as though The Great Khali is finally out of the World Heavyweight Title picture after losing the Punjabi Prison Match at No Mercy. This week, his demotion was in the form of representing the specter of punishment for a cruiserweight who angered Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero.

Mick Foley [artist Neal Obermeyer (c) PWTorch]

With Khali's absence, the Smackdown main event was dedicated to naming a new Number One Contender for Batista's World Heavyweight Title. It saw Rey Mysterio go one-on-one with Finlay. The winner? Well, it turned out to be neither Mysterio nor The Fighting Irishman. In fact, WWE apparently credited The Undertaker with number one contention status. The Cyber Sunday portion of WWE.com lists Batista versus The Undertaker in a match where the viewers can vote for one of three special guest referees: Mick Foley, Steve Austin, or JBL.

Having The Deadman become the Number One Contender after Smackdown went off the air Friday night presents WWE with a dual-edged sword. On the one hand, it mocks the whole process to have a man who did nothing more than motion that he wants the title get the opportunity. This is doubly true considering the fact that Michael Cole and JBL spent the entire night hyping the main event as the determinant for Batista's next opponent. After the match ended in a double disqualification, Undertaker appeared to have ostensibly laid out both Mysterio and Finlay in the dark. So no actual match finish qualified Taker for the title shot.

On the other hand, nobody is really going to argue or complain about The Undertaker getting another shot at the World Title. He's a living legend who still puts on entertaining matchups. Smackdown's roster, although somewhat solid when no one's on the injured list, doesn't present too many choices for World Title challengers at the moment. Plus, Taker and Batista proved that they could put on a decent feud in the past.

So, where do they go from here? Well, a Taker-Batista match at Cyber Sunday with a wrestling celebrity referee could be a draw. The first step, however, will be defining The Deadman as a legitimate, deserving challenger. Why was he named the Number One Contender over Mysterio and Finlay, who clearly were not given a fair shot at obtaining that position?

Not too much needs to be done. Even if Vickie Guerrero comes out to briefly explain that tensions have escalated between Finlay and Mysterio to the point where it's best to let them fight it out one-on-one at Cyber Sunday, it would be sufficient. But please give us some kind of explanation, especially after repeatedly hyping the idea that the challenger would be named based on a wrestling match.

Overall, an Undertaker-Batista rivalry for the World Heavyweight Title has some in-ring potential and is preferable over a continued Khali-Batista feud.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Undertaker: Mark Henry
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali

MATT HARDY vs. MVP (15 weeks)

For the first time since their rivalry commenced, it seemed as though both Hardy and Porter were on the same page. They shook hands prior to their match, both considering their bout with The Brothers of Destruction a real threat.

The match itself played out nicely, with Cole and JBL pointing out that The Mismatch Team actually functioned very well as a team, but they still couldn't find a way to beat Undertaker and Kane. Of course, with Undertaker now challenging Batista for the World Title at Cyber Sunday, the match really doesn't mean anything in the long-run for either team.

Last week, I talked about how it was probably time for the Hardy-MVP team to lose the titles and disband because of monotony in the storyline. Montel Vontavious Porter needs to defend his U.S. Title against Matt Hardy in a singles match to really enhance the final stages of their stellar feud. However, this week's events, despite being a tag team contest that didn’t do much for anyone, should be considered valuable in one particular aspect: novelty.

When I say "novelty," I am referring directly to Hardy's feud with The Dual Champion. For the last 14 weeks, the major developmental storyline premise was that these two characters were bickering and competing with each other constantly. I have pointed out in previous articles that there really isn't hatred between MVP and Hardy. Calling them bitter rivals is slightly disingenuous; they are simply competitors. In fact, most of the time they seem like buddies who have disagreements. This week, a new transition took place that gave each character more substance, and that transition was one of real teamwork.

In the face of this massive challenge, MVP and Hardy did their best to use their mutual competitive natures together in the hope of achieving a big win as a team. They've never had to do that before. Although there were some instances where their own problems came into play—instances that had more to do with match booking than exclusive storytelling (such as when MVP tried to pin Kane after Hardy's Twist of Fate)—they put their differences aside and worked together.

Overall, this one has been consistently entertaining. Although this episode's events were solid, it is time for MVP and Hardy to wrap this feud up. It has strengthened each of their characters, and WWE shouldn't push it to the point where it begins to have a negative effect.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 10 [up 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
MVP: Ric Flair
Matt Hardy: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch

CHUCK PALUMBO (w/ Michelle McCool) vs. CHRIS MASTERS (9 weeks w/ 5 week hiatus)

So Chuck Palumbo and Chris Masters square off in yet another match. Guess who wins? That's right, Palumbo gets the predictable pinfall. I understand the idea of Palumbo's push, but why can't he be given more credible opponents? This one's already getting repetitive again.

Masters was able to get his heat back by attacking The Motorcycle Enthusiast post-match with his Master Lock. This was the same formula used later in the show by Deuce after losing to Jimmy Wang Yang, by the way. In any event, this one is lacking many things.

It's a poorly matched pair of wrestlers, neither of whom are over at the moment. Masters has practically no credibility left, and his loss to Palumbo only solidifies that. There is no storyline or angle here; it's just two guys who can't seem to find other opponents. And although Masters's signature submission may be able to take out Palumbo, nobody cares because the babyface seems to find a way to win every one of these matches anyway.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Chuck Palumbo: Kenny Dykstra
Chris Masters: no notable feuds since being drafted from Raw

FINLAY vs. REY MYSTERIO (4 weeks)

For those who haven't seen No Mercy, this week was the first televised in-ring debut match between the two since Mysterio's return from knee surgery. It was supposedly a bout that would award number one contention; instead, it ended with a double disqualification, and neither man became Batista's Cyber Sunday challenger.

This is one of the Smackdown feuds that's hard to get into. No information regarding Finlay's motives to attack Rey Mysterio in the last few weeks has been divulged. It's unfortunate because Mysterio has the ability to make almost any feud exciting, but the circumstances here are just frustrating. I guess we're supposed to ignore reason and concentrate on nothing but the fact that it is Mysterio versus Finlay, two solid workers who will put on an entertaining contest.

During their match this week, the two began to brawl in the ring, which prompted the referee to interfere. But why? Mysterio's anger is understandable; he's been attacked for the last three weeks. During his promo, shouldn't he be asking why Finlay has been doing it? I guess it's just part of the feud that I can't get past. Let Finlay cut a short promo; that can be a very quick solution to this mess.

At Cyber Sunday, Finlay is scheduled to face Rey Mysterio in a match where the stipulation is chosen by the viewers. The choices include a Stretcher Match, a Shillelagh on a Pole Match, or a No Disqualification Match. In the next few weeks, however, WWE needs to invest some time in explanation. This rivalry seems strong—at least judging by the two competitors' fervent anger toward one another—but I don't know why, and that's a problem.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [up 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane
Rey Mysterio: Chavo Guerrero

THE GENERAL MANAGER SITUATION (4 weeks)

Last week, I mentioned that I would not be discussing the Smackdown General Manager situation unless something happens. Well, this week, something did. It involved Jamie Noble, and although it was very small, there was some relevance in their interaction.

Noble, after watching the recap video of Teddy Long's heart attack, congratulated Vickie Guerrero for slithering in to take the role of Acting GM. She, in retaliation for the comment, booked him in a match against The Great Khali. This segment's interest lies in the seemingly contradictory nature of the framework of the storyline.

Originally, Vickie seemed to be conspiring with Kristal in order to get into the GM position. After heelish scheming, Kristal hit on Teddy Long until he was smitten. Later, Kristal arranged a meeting between Vickie and Teddy and encouraged her man to hire Vickie. The storyline appeared to be a successful plot on the part of Guerrero to infiltrate the GM office and work on a way to become GM herself. But after months of playing babyface (presumably as an act), Vickie Guerrero may have actually become one in the process.

If WWE truly wanted to make a "surprise" heel turn by Vickie Guerrero sometime in the future—a move that would fall in line with the structure of the story thus far—why would they give such a blatant hint this early with that Noble scene? It now seems obvious that the plan is to keep her rolling as the signature face General Manager for WWE. From here, there will be two interesting developments regarding Vickie: the return of Kristal and Teddy Long and the partnership with heel ECW GM Armando Estrada.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Deuce 'N' Domino vs. Jimmy Wang Yang?
(2) Deuce 'N' Domino vs. Jesse and Festus?
(2) Matt Hardy & MVP vs. Undertaker & Kane?
(4) The Major Brothers vs. Dave Taylor & Drew McIntyre?
(5) The Great Khali vs. Jamie Noble?
(6) Smackdown wrestlers vs. ECW wrestlers?

CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Batista vs. The Great Khali
(2) Deuce 'N' Domino vs. Matt Hardy & MVP
(3) Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore

Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I appreciate all the feedback I receive. Please insert a word in the subject line that deals with a wrestling topic or write something such as "WWE," "feud," or "Funaki" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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