By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Jamie Noble: Jamie Noble is starting to replace MVP and Matt Hardy as the performer I most look forward to seeing on Smackdown. Which isn’t to say that I’m not still enjoying the Tag Team Champions, because I am. I’m just really enjoying Jamie Noble right now. His backstage encounter with Vickie Guerrero and CM Punk was very good as he tried to plug his own VHS tape. His match with Punk was good while it lasted, but too short with the interference to amount to a Hit. But, I was very intrigued by the fact that he finished the night on top after laying Punk out with his gut buster move. Is he interjecting himself into the ECW World Heavyweight Championship situation? That could be interesting.

Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio: This was easily the best match of the night, one of Rey’s best since coming off the injury. It went a good length and had very good back and forth action. Both guys looked good and their chemistry, which has been suspect in the past, was right on this time. They have a very conflicting style which can work against them, but it didn’t. The match told a nice story as Finlay worked on Rey’s back, which is much better than working on his leg. Rey kept showing his heart and fortitude in fighting back into the match several times. Going into the final sequence, I had no idea who was going to win the match, which always adds to the drama of the situation. All in all it was a very good match.

Batista Promo: This was exactly what it needed to be from Batista, and he delivered it very well. It was short, to the point, and very intense. It started out more relaxed as Batista covered the history between himself and the Undertaker. But as it continued, it got very intense as Batista laid everything out in a straight forward way, that he wants Undertaker at 100% for Hell in a Cell so that he can prove that he is the better man and keep his World Championship. Having JBL take a phone call as Batista was coming to the ring to avoid the Animal was a great touch.

Fabulous Moolah Video: As I said on Raw and ECW, this was a very classy and well done portrait of the Fabulous Moolah. I get tired so often of the repeated video packages that viewers like me see three times a week. But this is the type of video that should be played on all three shows.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Tag Team Battle Royale: I groaned at the start of the Tag Team Battle Royale, because after the Tag Team Champions, I could only think of three other teams, which is not quite enough for a Battle Royale. I then thought of Dave Taylor and his new protégé, but not Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore. In general, I am not a fan of tag team Battle Royales, because it is stupid that when one partner gets eliminated, the other has to leave too. That is weak. I can honestly say that I was not looking forward to seeing any of the five teams vs. Hardy & MVP. I couldn’t root for any of them, so I was just left to root against Deuce & Domino as I am very tired of their act, and we’ve seen them face the Champs too often. The match itself wasn’t anything memorable or special. It seemed to really drag. There was nothing to like about it.

Main Event: There wasn’t much to like about the Main Event either. I was thrilled that Undertaker takes so long to get to the ring, because that took away about 3 minutes from the match. And while the ending was strong with Undertaker getting The Great Khali to tap out to the triangle choke, a feat that will keep him strong going into Survivor Series, the rest of the match was nothing to cheer about. In fact, it was a No Holds Barred match, but that really didn’t come into play. Seriously, did I miss something? Did either guy use a weapon or do anything that would have normally resulted in a DQ? Undertaker hitting the Old School so early in the match really makes his opponent look bad. The chokeslams on Khali don’t look impressive. They just reinforce the fact that Khali is too big to be involved in credible matches. I can’t recall the last time I was less excited to see a hold get broken for the first time ever (even less excited than when Bobby Lashley broke the Masterlock).

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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