Opening Segment: This is a marginal Hit. Both Teddy Long and Edge played their roles very well here. They had some nice verbal interchanges. I was happy to hear Edge go back to his last appearance on Smackdown before his four months off, to bring up things he said at the time like wanting to wait 30 days to defend the title before relinquishing it. His complaining about Kane was good too, and it was nice for WWE to play up his involvement with the two video packages that would follow. The segment set up the Main Event as well as reminding the audience of the antagonistic relationship between Long and Edge. The problem was that it just went on too long. There was a lot to like, but plenty that could have been cut out to get to the point quicker, and take up less time. When you have that long of a talking segment, it has to be very compelling in some way. This was good, but not quite compelling enough at the length. Also, I had another problem with it as well (more later).
Noble and McCool: I could give this a Hit just for the prospect of watching the date between these two in the future. But, I am actually giving it for their performances. I have not been impressed with Michelle McCool for the most part, but she is playing very well off of Jamie Noble’s crazy antics. Noble continues to be a highlight of Friday night. His feud with Chuck Palumbo has given him more credibility, and allowed him to continue to shine on the mic.
Hornswoggle & Finlay: My favorite moment on Smackdown this week was when Deuce & Domino were upset at Hornswoggle for touching their car, and Finlay asked him if he had damaged the car, and he shook his head “no”, so Finlay told him to go ahead and damage it. That was hilarious. They work so well together. Finlay vs. Deuce was a decent match, once again made more entertaining by Hornswoggle’s actions on the outside. The fans have really accepted Finlay as a babyface. The Great Khali’s appearance was good to put the focus back on his feud and upcoming match vs. Finlay.
Main Event: Kane vs. Edge was a solid t.v. Main Event. It wasn’t great, but it was good. Edge is good enough to help carry Kane to better matches. He matches up better with Kane than many others on the roster (like Batista). Batista was good doing guest commentary for the match as well. Obviously, the match was just a set up for Batista and Undertaker to get involved, but it worked well. I was a bit confused when it looked like Kane was going to destroy Edge with the ring side steps, but Edge got the upper hand as he should. The end with Batista and Undertaker was solid. WWE is doing a good job of building up to the triple threat at the PPV, but there needs to be some more tension between Batista and Undertaker.
SMACKDOWN MISSES
Assistant General Manager: Can someone explain to me why Teddy Long is the Assistant General Manager, and not just the General Manager? This was my other problem with the opening segment. Long was the General Manager, and Vickie Guerrero was his assistant. When he had a heart attack, Vickie was named Interim General Manager with the expectation that she was only filling in as the main person in charge of Smackdown while Long was out with his health problems. So now that Long is back, Vickie should no longer be the General Manager. So, why is she still General Manager? Obviously, WWE wants there to be tension between the baby face Long and the heel Vickie, and in order to have that, she has to be the one in power. But, they totally ignored history and logic in order to accomplish that task.
VIP Lounge: This is a marginal Miss for me. It was a clever way to advertise the World Class Championship Wrestling dvd. It was very effective in introducing that organization to a large percentage of the audience who had never heard of it. Michael Hayes and Montel Vontavious Porter were strong in their roles. But, like the opening segment, it just went on forever with fewer goals accomplished. I was very uncomfortable with Hayes’ “Just Say No” message. Yes, it is a very good message. And yes, Hayes has seen many of his colleagues die young and can speak with some authority on the topic. But, it seemed out of place here. I can’t honestly put my finger on exactly why it bothered me, but I know it did. Possibly it is the fact that WWE has been a place of partying and drug use for years and years, without this type of message or focus. I don’t know. It just seemed odd. And as I said, it went on forever. It could have been much shorter, with the same message and meaning.
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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