WWE Friday Night Smackdown November 16, 2007 Upcoming PPV: Survivor Series (last episode before PPV)
SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS
Welcome to the twelfth 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)
Smackdown continued the tri-branded trend in the week preceding this week's PPV. Michael Cole pointed out that the general managers from all three brands decided to share the talent rosters with each show for this week only.
This was a "nuts and bolts" edition of Smackdown where, as I attempt to squeeze as many clichés into one sentence as possible, only the "meat and potatoes" of storylines were featured "at the 11th hour" before Survivor Series. It had an intense aura overall.
The only actual Smackdown-exclusive feuds that were featured this week included Batista-Undertaker and Matt Hardy-MVP. Literally all the other feuds were pushed aside to make room for the Survivor Series upper card. In fact, the following feuds were left out this week:
(1) Drew McIntyre vs. The Major Brothers
(2) Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio (no direct conflict between them this week)
(3) Big Daddy V vs. Kane
(4) Chuck Palumbo vs. Kenney Dykstra
(5) Vickie Guerrero vs. Jamie Noble
Smackdown served as WWE's final attempt to influence people that are still on the proverbial fence about purchasing the big pay-per-view on Sunday night. Other than talk about Batista, Taker, Matt Hardy, MVP, and Hell in a Cell, the show featured a few different segments. First, they held another tag team divas match where Mickie James and Torrie Wilson were defeated by an interesting twosome of Victoria and WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix.
Also on the show, a mortified Hornswoggle had to participate in a Weigh-In with his Survivor Series opponent—The Great Khali. The sheer fear on Hornswoggle's face (although moments hinted at his suppressed laughter) really pulled this segment together. What a difference between this event and the one featured on Raw Monday night. The goal was to emphasize the massive weight, height, and general size difference between these two men, and they certainly succeeded. The threatening Khali's mannerisms and expression gave credence to Hornswoggle's justified terror. It was a strong idea built on simplicity, and the acting by the participants made this work.
Now moving on to the key Smackdown feuds:
World Hvt. Champion BATISTA vs. THE UNDERTAKER (6 weeks)
This week's episode of Friday Night Smackdown was booked very strategically with an intense focus on this Sunday's main event matches. Of course, Undertaker and Batista took center stage as they set the final preparation for Survivor Series's Hell in a Cell. Clips from various Cell matches were interspersed throughout the night to give a greater context to the match's brutality. Undertaker cut a promo that was longer than usual, while The World Heavyweight Champion was set to face Mark Henry in the main event. They were smart to keep the two separated in the final week before the PPV.
Toward the beginning of the show, Taker showed up with his usual mystic, ominous presence. He took a microphone that didn't display the WWE logo and cut a short promo where he listed his credentials for his upcoming pay-per-view bout. Claiming that he's been in seven Hell in a Cell matches throughout his career (with Sunday's PPV upping that number to eight), The Deadman expressed his position of advantage over Batista.
He concluded that because he's been in so many Cell matches it would be accurate to label them "The Deadman's Playground." The promo would have been a lot stronger had Michael Cole and JBL not discussed the two points Taker made directly before he began talking. Nice to see The Phenom getting extended mic time, a rarity for his character.
Batista, on the other hand, had to deal with Mark Henry. It was The World Heavyweight Champion versus the World's Strongest Man in a No Disqualification Match as the main event. The match itself was short and predictable; Batista made quick work of Henry, knocking him out cold with the title belt before making the cover for the three count. The only memorable moment of the entire segment was when Batista was able to deliver a nice spinebuster on Henry, who may have had more airtime than he's ever had in the span of a single move.
The storyline for this feud is quite simple. Batista and Undertaker have been battling each other for months over the course of this year. In their original trilogy of matches, Taker was able to cleanly beat Batista, while two of the matches resulted in draws. Their feud was reignited not too long ago, and The Animal evened the score with a pinfall of his own against Taker at the Cyber Sunday PPV a few weeks ago. Now with two wins each, these rivals will go head-to-head once again at Survivor Series to see who the better man is.
It's a simple, but strong formula for a main event rivalry like this. With the robust history these two guys have, WWE can afford to keep the story wrapped tightly around the World Heavyweight Championship and its prestigious reputation. The strength of the rivalry might be the result of careful, simple, and direct booking principles. And look what this feud has done for Smackdown. Until just a few weeks ago, the blue brand's title had been relegated to second-most prominent. Now, with heated fighting between Undertaker and Batista, the World Heavyweight Title has become the ultimate prize in WWE.
As for the characters, they both have enough force and diversity to make the feud work. WWE has spent years building the Undertaker. He's gone through many stages, this latest one a nostalgic homage to the undying character. Viewers know him as a mysterious and threatening force, a figure that can always be counted on when a villainous heel begins to torment the innocent. As far as in-ring work is concerned, no one will doubt his abilities; he has proven time and time again that he can not only hold his own, but also carry weaker talent. If anyone is going to have a solid match with any given poor worker, it would be Undertaker. And that feature is invaluable for WWE as a company.
Batista's character emerges from a more competitive background. We perceive him as a force to be reckoned with after several victories over the coveted World Title. Coming from an underprivileged childhood in a poor, single-parent family, Batista has worked his way up the proverbial ladder of success to reach the top tier of WWE. Although as a babyface he may seem to overvalue his fancy clothes and jewelry at times, it is understandable given his past, a past that left his family and himself without such luxuries. Psychologically, his character is focused, determined, and confident. He gets one of the biggest reactions in the company, with or without the World Title around his waist, and that huge babyface ovation can do wonders for the perception of matches and character.
Overall, this is a great feud. It's really grown significantly since Cyber Sunday, earning the top spot at Survivor Series in one of WWE's most illustriously dangerous gimmick matches. No matter the outcome of that PPV contest, it will be interesting to see what direction the company will take come next Friday night.
Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9 [up 0.5 from last week]
Previous Feuds
Undertaker: Mark Henry
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali
MATT HARDY vs. United States Champion MVP (20 weeks)
The feud between MVP and Matt Hardy took a major turn this week. Before I delve into the interesting situation, allow me to review exactly what transpired.
First they showed Hardy preparing backstage for his segment on the VIP Lounge, a segment hosted by United States Champion MVP. Apparently, he needed to tape his arms in case all the talking hurt his wrists. So Jeff Hardy is getting ready to go somewhere after having won his match against Finlay in the opening contest. It would be stupid for me to point out the good chemistry between the Hardys; they're brothers, after all.
So Matt briefly questions Jeff on where he's going, but the two seemed to understand one another without listing specifics. It would be nice to find out what Jeff was actually going to go do, even though it was probably meant to imply something personal (like a date) that wouldn't affect the storyline in any way.
The VIP Lounge saw tensions flare between Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (but mostly by Hardy, who acted like the aggressor here). After demanding a shot at the U.S. Title, the Dual Champion declined, claiming that they already have a WWE Tag Team Title defense on the docket this week. Suddenly, a mismatch team consisting of ECW's John Morrison and The Miz showed up as the challengers.
In an unlikely turn of events, the ECW tandem beat Hardy and MVP after working relentlessly on Matt's knee. MVP immediately invoked the rematch clause, and Morrison was able to make Hardy submit, cementing the ECW team as the new WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, MVP turned on Hardy, tearing his former partner's knee to shreds using the ring post and ring steps.
Alright, so were this week's events good for the storylines involved? Well, let's start with Miz and Morrison. As the new champions, this could be good for them. With ECW only offering one title, a title that C.M. Punk should retain for awhile longer, having those two win some gold is a useful step. The idea that Cole and JBL pointed out—the one in which they posited that Miz and Morrison may actually be a bigger mismatch than MVP and Hardy—was a nice way to handle the situation. The biggest storyline question is going to be about how these two egomaniacs can co-exist as a team.
Of course, the trick must be to vary the story since Hardy and Porter have already been through this for over five months. Morrison and Miz are both cocky, but they are so in different ways. The self-proclaimed Guru of Greatness seems more self-confident and stylish, someone who easily thinks he's better than everyone. The Miz, on the other hand, seems like he has more to prove, and he can be more vile than Morrison in many ways. He currently is blackmailing his manager into doing whatever he says and threatening to fire her if she refuses. So, both of them have interesting backstories with which to work, and they should give them plenty of backstage time to portray this new dynamic.
As for MVP and Matt Hardy, I think they might have made a mistake. WWE has done such a great job building MVP as an ingenious mixture of both babyface and heel that the events that transpired this week seem awkward. Matt Hardy told his tag team partner that they aren't friends, that they never were friends, and that they never will be friends. If WWE intended to portray that sentiment throughout this feud, they certainly failed miserably because MVP's relationship with Matt Hardy has been growing steadily towards friendship for months.
In other words, this week seemed like WWE was adamantly trying to show that Hardy and MVP were never friendly, something the announcers have often mentioned. Yet that directly contradicts what has been shown. The rivalry worked so well because it started with two guys who wanted to compete in order to prove who was better. As the weeks progressed, they began working as a team after an unlikely Tag Team Title victory. Were they always competing? Yes. Were they ever depicted as fierce rivals? Absolutely not.
It was nice to see two people generate so much interest with a feud that didn't involve having one of them try to decimate the other with vicious moves and weaponry. WWE did a great job evolving the feud from small competitions to having MVP use the Tag Team Titles as an excuse to avoid facing Hardy for his U.S. Championship. Brilliant. Then they had a whole bickering tag team dynamic that ran its course. It was a protracted feud that had a great build. But this week they fumbled the opportunity.
If WWE felt that it was in their best interest to turn MVP into a full-fledged heel, that's fine. His great character—a rounded mix of both heel and babyface traits—was leaning toward a somewhat obnoxious babyface character, and if WWE felt the need to use him as one of the brand's strongest heels, good. But the problem lied in the VIP Lounge segment when Hardy basically denied ever being friends with MVP. In a way, they were friends. MVP even saved him from Kennedy's chair shot Tuesday night on ECW and protected him many times in the past.
People may even get the feeling that Hardy was being insensitive at that point, having disregarded his partner's friendship the way he did. And MVP looked and sounded legitimately shocked and hurt. Instead of making it a simple heel turn, WWE muddied the waters a bit. Now one has to wonder if MVP decided to feign his knee injury during the tag team match on purpose only after learning that Hardy wasn't his friend. Was that the case, or did he have that planned all along?
Overall, this feud is still strong. One thing was handled very poorly, but the totality of the rivalry maintains its strength. It's a shame that WWE slightly tainted what could have been a brilliant plot point in this feud. The goal was to use everything that has been built up so far to enhance a newer, fresher rivalry with a clear-cut babyface and heel combination. In a sense, they have done that, but it could have been a lot stronger.
Hardy's line about their friendship cut the legs out from under the story because viewers who were under the impression that they were friends—not necessary close friends, but rather bickering, competitive ones—now felt a little confused. Why would the writers decide to take a complex story and complex characters and undermine it by explaining that it was never complex all this time? WWE basically said that the entire time, this Hardy-MVP feud was a lot more black-and-white than we thought, that Hardy was really angry at MVP the whole time, and that MVP is the bad guy who never gave him a shot at the belt. Why push to the next step of the story at the expense of the last 20 steps?
FINLAY vs. REY MYSTERIO (9 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)
Although it may have seemed like an eclectic mix of superstars on Smackdown this week, WWE simply matched two feuds from different brands together. Finlay had to face Jeff Hardy, and Rey Mysterio was pitted against Mr. Kennedy.
Thankfully Rey Mysterio and Finlay were kept separated this week. Their feud has been solid, but largely boring. Of course, you can't fault the participants, who are both great workers. Their in-ring work is what's keeping this feud afloat. The problem is that there has been no story; it's just a meaningless battle between two people who have no history with one another and who aren't in line for any type of title contention.
Overall, this feud is hopefully headed for a conclusion at Survivor Series or possibly in the next week or so on Smackdown television. Both Mysterio and Finlay can add a lot of value to a feud with an actual story behind it.
*Updated note: Finlay interfered in a match between Hornswoggle and The Great Khali at Survivor Series and later helped his Leprechaun pal again on Raw when Hornswoggle faced Carlito. It appears that Finlay may be in the middle of a face turn and an upcoming feud with Mr. McMahon.
Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same as last week]
Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane
Rey Mysterio: Chavo Guerrero
BIG DADDY V (w/ Matt Striker) vs. KANE (5 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)
Big Daddy V's absence extended from ECW to Smackdown this week. There was no mention of the feud, nor was there any appearance by either participant. Why say anything about this feud? It barely matters when the rivals do show up.
Underdeveloped characters + no story + weak startup reasoning + dull matches = a terrible combination. This one couldn't be continued this week, but they should really consider letting it go for good.
Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3 [same as on ECW]
Previous Feuds
Big Daddy V: Tommy Dreamer
Kane: Finlay
No Chuck Palumbo this week as WWE gears for a Survivor Series without the Motorcycle Enthusiast. The massive PPV hype has left many wrestlers in the dust as of late; unfortunately for Dykstra and Palumbo, their feud didn't make the cut. Victoria was in action, but McCool wasn't in the match, so there wasn't even anything to note regarding the divas tag match that relates to any Smackdown feuds.
Intrigue Level (out of 10): 2.5 [down 0.5 from last week]
Previous Feuds
Chuck Palumbo: Chris Masters
Kenny Dykstra: no notable feuds since drafted from Raw
This one surprises me because Smackdown's General Manager could have set Noble in a short match this week, or she could have placed him in some type of role for Survivor Series. If WWE didn't want to feature anyone that wasn't in a prominent PPV match this week, they could have at least had Vickie Guerrero book something for Noble that would take place next Friday on Smackdown. Instead, nothing was mentioned, and neither Vickie nor Noble had any place on TV.
Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [down 0.5 from last week]
(1) Big Daddy V vs. Kane?
(2) The Major Brothers vs. Drew McIntyre
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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