Opening Segment: Batista started off Smackdown with a nice promo this week. He played up the importance of defeating Undertaker at Cyber Sunday. The announcers did a good job of selling it as a career defining moment (statements like that are often huge exaggerations, but not in this case). Batista also hyped the Main Event for Smackdown, and asked whether Taker would have his back. The Dead Man made one of his patented appearances, to answer the question. His subsequent challenge to Batista for a rematch, and Batista’s acceptance of that challenge was strong. The Hell in the Cell challenge was a bit of a surprise and should make for a very good match. The problem is that Batista should have turned heel and cheated to win at Cyber Sunday (as the pressure of never beating Undertaker would finally get to him). That would have given a reason to have a rematch. After all, Undertaker lost clean so he should go to the back of the line. A heel turn would freshen up Batista and give the Hell in a Cell match more of an edge. But, it will still be a good match and this was a good way to start the show.
Jamie Noble: Jamie Noble on Smackdown has been just about as amusing as Santino Marella on Raw. He hasn’t been as funny, but he has been very funny. His attempts to deal with Vickie Guerrero have been great as of late. This week was no different as he went from berating her to thanking her for making a match against someone his own size. I laugh out loud every time she does something to upset him and he yells something like, “Oh, come on woman!” I hope he continues to get mic time, because he really is entertaining.
Mysterio vs. Noble: Of course, when he’s involved in matches like this, Noble should continue getting in ring time as well. When you see him in either very short Cruiserweight matches, or very short squash matches against giants, you have a tendency to forget that he is a good wrestler. Luckily he had a chance to showcase his skills in his match against Rey Mysterio. And yes, working with Rey does help. It is unfortunate that Noble has been played up as a joke, because with something on the line, and more of an unpredictable outcome, this could have been a great match. The only way that Noble was going to win here was if Finlay had interfered, so it was a bit unpredictable. But as it was, it was a good 9 minute match with a very strong finishing sequence. The post-match promo from Finlay was strong as well.
MVP vs. Kane: While not as good as the previous match, MVP and Kane put on a good match as well. It was slow and methodical as both wrestlers worked on each other’s ribs. There were several mat holds, but each one was different, and it was interesting to see the dynamic of how each guy went after the rips of his opponent. There was enough action in between the holds to keep in from being boring. It wasn’t great, but it was a good match marred by the presence of Big Daddy V (more later).
End of the Main Event: I can’t quite give the Main Even as a whole a Hit. It had some good action (particularly when things broke down like when Undertaker hit several running corner smashes on both The Great Khali and Mark Henry), but it was also very slow and lumbering as you would fully expect. It was also repetitive as both Undertaker and Batista were in control at one point on Henry only to have him back them into the corner and tag Khali. But the ending was very strong. The match was really picking up the pace (finally) when John Bradshaw Layfield made his surprise run-in. I honestly didn’t see that coming, and it got me excited. He post-match beat down was done as well as can be expected given the boring finishers involved, but JBL really saved the end with his run-in and subsequent promo explaining his actions. As opposed to Mike Tenay on Impact, JBL is an announcer who makes sense to have involved in a storyline or feud.
SMACKDOWN MISSES
Domino vs. Festus: A Deuce & Domino vs. Jesse & Festus feud makes sense. Other than the Tag Team Champions, they are the only other teams on Smackdown, and neither really should be facing the Champions right now. Unfortunately, neither team is very good, and they certainly aren’t good as singles wrestlers either. If there was any doubt to that, this match should prove my point. Domino is clearly the weaker in the ring for his team. And so is Festus as he is just another big, slow, lumbering guy. Jesse really annoys me, but he has at least shown some athleticism. This match was bad, and in no way made me look forward to this feud.
Bid Daddy V: As I said above, I was unhappy at the presence of Big Daddy V during Kane vs. MVP. As if it’s not bad enough to see him on ECW each week, but now he’s been on Smackdown each week recently as well. If he’s going to interfere, he could at least help MVP get the win. The match ended with MVP looking weak for losing to Kane, and Kane looking weak for getting beaten up by Daddy V. His presence did not help the show at all. Whenever he’s on I want to change the channel, which as I have said many times before is not the reaction WWE wants from a wrestler.
Polumbo vs. Dykstra: Chuck Polumbo instills that same feeling in me. I want to change the channel every time I see him on his motor cycle. We have seen him face Kenny Dykstra so many times that this match does not help him get over at this point. This hurts Kenny who has a much bigger upside, and doesn’t help Polumbo since we’ve seen it several times already. If WWE insists on keeping him around, can’t they find someone else to face him? And can’t they find something better to do with Kenny?
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hitlist Specialist, providing his point of view in the Torch's hitlist format for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.
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