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SMACKDOWN HITS

Edge’s Promo: Edge started off Smackdown nicely with a good promo. The promo was well written and explained his relationship with Vickie Guerrero, while putting him over and selling the importance of the Main Event. The promo was also well delivered by Edge. He had the right emotions at the right time. He did a good job of setting up the Main Event, and how important getting the win over Batista would be to his career. He seemed legitimately hurt at the lack of sympathy during his hiatus. He seemed genuinely angry at the Undertaker for his attack on Vickie last week. He accomplished multiple tasks in the promo.

Finlay & Hornswoggle: This is my new favorite tag team. It has been great to see WWE go back to this relationship, since it was Finlay who brought Hornswoggle in to begin with. That fact had been lost for awhile, but not any more. Finlay seems to be having fun as a performer in showing more of a light hearted character in his celebration with Hornswoggle. It is also very good that they have not changed his character much at all. He is having more fun, but he still cheats. He still loves to fight and use the shillelagh. Hornswoggle cheated as well by sneaking under the ring. Their match vs. Deuce & Domino was short and light on in ring action, but it was fun. They work well together and hopefully this use of their team will continue.

CM Punk vs. Kenny Dykstra: This was not as good as their match from ECW a few weeks ago, but it was a good short match. I would have liked to see more of it, which is part of why it gets a Hit. Once again, Kenny found a way to use a mat hold in an interesting way. In the first match he used some simple twists on a basic chin lock to make the hold seem more painful and look better than usual. This time he focused on Punk’s arm. Punk did a good job of selling the arm injury throughout the match. Kenny’s dropkick to Punk as he came off the top rope was a great looking move. Kenny also sells the Go To Sleep better than any of Punk’s opponents. So while it wasn’t as good as their first match, it was still fun to watch. Kenny still needs a better build to make him a more credible opponent for someone like Punk in the future.

Kane & Mysterio vs. Big Daddy V & MVP: I have mixed feelings about this match. On the one hand, all four guys worked hard to put on a good match which had nice back and forth action, with plenty of athleticism from Rey Mysterio to make up for the lack of athleticism from Kane and Bid Daddy V. On the other hand, why is it that Kane and Big Daddy V are featured on both ECW and Smackdown every week? I don’t get why these two get more appearances on WWE t.v. than anyone else on the roster. However, at least this match delivered. I was not expecting to give it a Hit, but it was better than I thought it was going to be. I was disappointed that Mysterio and MVP were saddled with the other feud, but it turned out o.k. in the end.

Noble’s Continued Push: I keep giving Jamie Noble Hits for his performances. He wasn’t as funny this week as he has been, and his match against Chuck Palumbo wasn’t as good as last week’s. But, I am still thrilled with the push he is getting. By picking up back to back wins against the much bigger Palumbo, Noble is getting some respect. I like the idea that others see his victories as upsets, but Noble sees them as inevitabilities. I enjoy his back stage scenes, and he is a very good wrestler. He has so much potential to be a star, and it is good to see his push continue.

Main Event: I was disappointed that the match was interrupted by two commercials, and didn’t go as long as I thought it was going to. But, what we saw of the 17 minutes was quite good. WWE did a great job of giving the match a big time feel to it. The build up during the show with the videos of previous Edge vs. Batista encounters helped set the stage. The match was a good, but not great Main Event. Edge seemed to have ring rust, but that fit into the storyline which the announcers did nice job of selling. Batista looked good here. It was great to see Edge back. It was a bit too one sided, and the commercials distracted from it, which is partly why it was good but not great. The ending with Undertaker’s interference was fine as it made sense in the storyline, and fans were likely expecting it. I don’t see too many fans upset over the lack of a finish. This was a nice way to bring back Edge and get him some ring time before Armageddon.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Singh’s Impressions: This was a pointless segment. It was meant to be funny, but it wasn’t. Having Vince McMahon force Runjin Singh to do an imitation of a stereotypical Indian was embarrassing and reinforces the notion that in real life, Vince doesn’t care who he insults. He and the rest of WWE creative are so insulated from the rest of the world in terms of what they think is funny and what they think is appropriate.

Teddy Long’s Return: I was happy to see Teddy Long back. I liked how he used the lines from Vickie Guerrero last week in order to “punish” Undertaker with a World Title match at the PPV. Edge did a great job of acting happy at first, then upset at the end. All of this points to a Hit. So, why am I giving it a Miss? Well, Teddy Long has been off of t.v. for several months after a heart attack, and he came back to no fan fare. He walked out and booked a PPV Main Event, as if he had never been gone. The announcers did not do a good job of selling his return. He didn’t explain his health status. He didn’t even say something like, “well playas, I’m back.” He didn’t address the Vickie Guerrero situation. It would not have taken much to link his return to the reason he was gone in the first place. It would not have taken much to have him comment on the state of Smackdown since he had been gone. It would have taken two or three sentences, plus a few more comments from the announcers to sell the return, and then he could have moved on to the rest of the promo which was very good.

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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