By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

Here is my Smackdown Roster Hitlist. My Hits and Misses are based on the caliber of the Superstars, along with the way they are booked by WWE creative. In addition to Hits and Misses, I have an On The Bubble section for wrestlers who are too new to decide, or for those who are talented, but totally misused.

ROSTER HITS

Batista: Batista has proven himself worthy of being the World Champion. He has his limitations to be sure. He is not great on the mic. He has an quiet, intense charisma that carries his mic work under the right circumstances. He is good at playing off of an opponent in a verbal spare, but not good at delivering solo promos. His in ring work leaves a lot to be desired. However, he has had some of the best WWE matches in 2007 against the Undertaker who brings out the best in him. They work well together. Despite his limitations, the fans still give him great reactions. Even though it has only been against one opponent, his match quality this year at PPVs helps him get a Hit.

Edge: Edge’s return at Survivor Series was very welcome. He has been missed. He has been the best all around heel in WWE over the past few years. His in ring work is very good. He is very good on the mic. He plays his role extremely well and does a great job of getting the fans to hate him. He is positioned to be the top Smackdown heel, which is where he should be. If he stays healthy, another run with the World Title is a strong possibility.

Finlay: Finlay is fun to watch in the ring. He does moves that nobody else does, and he comes up with different moves more often than most in WWE. He isn’t exciting, but he has a good physical style. When he does a clothesline, the fans believe that it hurts. He is solid on the mic as well. It is good to see him once again working with Hornswoggle, because their work together was great in the past.

Hornswoggle: Unfortunately, his work as of late has been hurt by his storyline. The writing has not been good for him as Mr. McMahon’s son. But, he is fun to watch. He brings a youthful energy to his character which is great. Even with the bad recent writing, he still makes me laugh a lot. And, as I said above, bringing Finlay into the story should help things out.

Jamie Noble: I was a fan of Noble’s during his first run in WWE, when he played the trailer park trash character and had a long run as Cruiserweight Champion. He came back and was saddled with poor gimmicks, partners, and nothing close to a push. But, he is getting a push now, and it has been fun to watch. He is very entertaining, and his emotional outbursts at Vickie Guerrero are wonderful. He is a good wrestler as he has shown in recent matches against Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. He has been underutilized for a long time, but that is starting to change.

Kane: The Big Red Machine has been a strong part of the WWE roster for ten years. He has had a good run. He is obviously big and impressive looking, but he can work. He isn’t a great worker, but he has much more mobility and ability than many wrestlers his size. His match quality depends heavily on his opponent. He isn’t going to have good matches against someone like Batista or Mark Henry. But, against a smaller talented worker like MVP, he can deliver. He is good on the mic and has been an interesting character over the years. His all around work, combined with his size, makes him a valuable member of the roster.

Matt Hardy: Hardy and MVP have been the best thing going on Smackdown over the last couple of months. Hardy is a good wrestler. He isn’t as exciting to watch as his brother Jeff, but he is technically more sound. He connects well with the fans. He has never been very good on the mic, but he is decent. He is another guy who works well feeding off of an opponent as opposed to delivering a solo promo. I look forward to his feud with MVP once he returns.

Montel Vontavious Porter: Starting with his feud with Chris Benoit, MVP has shown he is a Hit for Smackdown. There were a lot of skeptics last year (including myself), but he has proven us wrong. He has improved so much in the ring. His mic skills were strong to start with, but they have improved too. He played his part to perfection during his work with Matt Hardy. He has so much potential to keep getting better. He has been an MVP lately.

Rey Mysterio: The problem with Rey is his billing as the “Biggest Little Man” which is demeaning. He is one of the best, most exciting wrestlers ever. He does things that we don’t see anyone else doing. He has been hurt by being booked as too much of an underdog. His Title run last year was hurt by losses to Henry and Khali. If the Cruiserweights had been built up as a major part of the show, and as even almost as important as the Heavyweights, then he could have stayed in that division as the headliner. He is going to have better matches against guys like Jamie Noble, Chavo Guerrero, and Gregory Helms than against guys like Batista and Khali. But, feuds against MVP and Edge are definitely feuds to look forward to.

Ric Flair: Flair was almost On The Bubble, but I kept him as a Hit mostly because of his legacy and because he still has value in what is likely to be the last few months of his career. He hasn’t been on lately, but with the announcement on Raw of his return next week, he is back which is good news. He is one of the best talkers in the game. He can’t wrestle like he used to. He is too old and past his prime. If WWE gets behind him and can give him one last big push going into a farewell match at WrestleMania, he will help the product over the next few months. If WrestleMania is going to be his final match, it will be interesting to see who is opponent is (best case scenario would be WWE signing Sting and letting Flair vs. Sting be his final match).

Torrie Wilson: Torrie has been a settling presence among the Divas after so many have left the company over the last few years (Stacey Kiebler, Trish Stratus, Lita). I believe she has been in WWE much longer than any other Diva. She has improved in the ring and gotten to the point where she is serviceable. She doesn’t scare me in the ring the way that many of the newer women wrestlers do. She has a ton of personality and looks great. There is a reason why she still gets great reactions from the crowd. She isn’t good enough to be in the ring that often, and could be used better, but she still contributes enough to be worthy of her spot on the roster.

Undertaker: Carrying Batista to several good to excellent PPV matches should be enough alone to give The Dead Man a Hit. He is one of the biggest stars in wrestling history. He continues to improve at his age and develop his in ring repertoire, which is amazing when you consider what most wrestlers do as their careers reach a certain level. I am not a big fan of this persona. I enjoyed the American Badass character. This character seemed played out, but he still gets great responses. Unfortunately, the chilling ring entrance which is great in person is deadly (pun intended) on t.v.

Victoria: Victoria is one of the three real women wrestlers in WWE. I don’t get why she is on Smackdown and not Raw where the Women’s Championship is. She is a very good worker, and she is good on the mic too. She has played the psycho character very well. Her relationship with Kenny Dykstra is interesting and has potential. Put her back on Raw!

ROSTER MISSES

Ashley: I have been so happy ever since she left to tape “Survivor”. She is bad at everything. She is a bad wrestler. She is bad on the mic. She isn’t interesting in any way. Please leave her off the show.

Brett & Brian Major: They are still pretty new, but I have seen enough of them to label them Misses so far. They are a bland tag team. They do some decent moves, but they are pretty boring. They haven’t shown much character or charisma. Maybe they will improve and prove me wrong, but so far they have shown me no reason to say they are a plus to the roster.

Chuck Palumbo: When I see him riding to the ring on his motor cycle, I feel like reaching for the remote control. He has never been a compelling wrestler to watch, going back to his early days in WCW. He has decent size, but is boring to watch. He builds his own motor cycles! Oh boy! I don’t care at all.

Dave Taylor: Taylor is good to have around as a veteran presence in the locker room. But, he serves little purpose since William Regal went to Raw. He is too old school in his style to impress me these days. There was value in his team with Regal, but not in being a solo star. There is potential for Taylor as a mentor to a guy like Drew McIntyre, but he is not listed on the roster. I don’t know if WWE has given up on him. But he isn’t listed, so he isn’t on this list.

Deuce & Domino: I have not been impressed with them at all since their debut early this year. Their gimmick is lame, although they do play it well. They are boring. They are bad wrestlers, especially Domino. They have done nothing to make me want them to stay around. I would be very happy if they went away.

Jesse & Festus: I would like to give newer wrestlers a chance and put them On The Bubble until they have had enough time to show what they can do. But, I have taken a strong instant disliking to this team. Their promos introducing themselves were terrible. Festus has an interesting gimmick, but is slow and sloppy in the ring. Jesse is just annoying.

Mark Henry: Henry has more going for him than some of the other monsters (Khali and Big Daddy V) in WWE. He can actually talk and is a better worker than them (which isn’t saying much). If WWE insists on keeping the killer monster heel as a character, I would rather see it be someone like Henry who can cut a promo. But, I would rather see wrestling evolve. It’s the 21st century and just because something is a convention, doesn’t mean that it is good. Henry is slow and plodding in the ring. His matches are never going to be good. The bear hug is one of the most boring finishers ever. He doesn’t have enough in ring skill to not be a Miss.

Michelle McCool: She might be lovin’ life, but I’m not lovin’ her. She hasn’t shown much at all, from in the ring to on the mic. I am tired of hearing Michael Cole and JBL talk about how athletic she is. She might be athletic, but that doesn’t mean she can wrestle. Her only value to me as a fan is that I get a good chuckle every time JBL calls her “the next Mrs. Layfield.”

Shannon Moore: Here is a guy who has never impressed me much, going back to his days in 3 Count in WCW. He can do some great high flying moves, but he has never seemed to be able to do the other things in the ring to really put together a good match. Take away a few high spots, and what are you left with? A guy with no personality, limited mic skills and zero connections made with the audience over several years.

The Great Khali: I assume this comes as very little surprise. He is tall. That is it. He can’t wrestle, he can’t talk, and the translator he’s been given to help give promos doesn’t add anything to him. His matches are very boring. In a few gimmick matches he’s been in at PPVs, his opponent has helped deliver decent matches. But, that isn’t enough for someone who was the World Champion this summer.

Vickie Guerrero: Vickie has been bad since her debut. She is not a good performer. She has an annoying voice. She doesn’t add anything positive to Smackdown. Now that she has turned heel and joined with Edge, her character is going to be even worse.

ON THE BUBBLE

Chavo Guerrero: Chavo is a talented worker, who has been off of t.v. due to a suspension for a few months. His lack of a presence on the show is one reason that he is On The Bubble. He also has limited mic skills which holds him back. He has been a good Cruiserweight Champion in the past, and still has potential in that Division (if it still exists). He should be back soon, but time will tell how he is used and whether or not he contributes.

Cherry: Cherry hasn’t done anything to deserve a Hit or a Miss. She has been fine as a valet for Deuce & Domino. She hasn’t screwed up in her role. But, she hasn’t been given a chance to do anything to screw up.

Funaki: Funaki has also been off of t.v. for quite awhile, so it is hard to place him on the list. He is a solid worker, and serves a purpose as a jobber who the fans recognize. He has had some good gimmicks in the past. His announcing days have been long gone, but those were good days. He can wrestle and contribute, but he wasn’t being used even before his suspension.

Gregory Helms: Helms also suffers from being off t.v., this time due to an injury. If he were healthy, he would likely get a Hit. He is a talented wrestler, can talk and has charisma. But, when he was Cruiserweight Champion for a year, he wasn’t given respect by WWE. He could be a huge star if treated right, but he hadn’t been in a long time. Hopefully he will return healthy and get a push, since he could be a huge Hit for the roster.

Jimmy Wang Yang: He is the Smackdown equivalent of Raw’s London & Kendrick. He is a talented and fun wrestler. He does some very nice high flying moves. He can be a great part of a Cruiserweight Division. His character is a lot of fun as well. But, where has he been? He hasn’t been on lately, other than in a random team with Shannon Moore. He can be a big plus to the show, but right now he isn’t being used.

Kenny Dykstra: Kenny is young, athletic, talented, charismatic and has a ton of potential. He showed on ECW in his match against CM Punk that he can wrestle. But as I said in my ECW Hitlist last week, he jobs too often to be taken seriously. I love the idea that he is a young cocky heel who thinks he is a future Hall of Famer. But, we only got that character from the announcers saying it. He was never given any mic time to portray that character. There is so much potential there, that if given some back stage segments to build it, he can deliver. And, if given a push, he can deliver in the ring. But, he can’t deliver if he’s not given a chance.

Maryse: I was shocked she was listed on the roster. I forgot about her since she hasn’t been on in a long time, and she wasn’t ever on much at all.

Theodore Long: Teddy’s character had grown stale, so having him off the air for awhile was a good idea. But, with Vickie’s presence as the GM, I can’t wait for Teddy to come back. Time will tell if he comes back, and how he is used at that time. I look forward to his return, but hope his character doesn’t get stale too quickly.

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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