By Chris Newth

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
December 7, 2007
Upcoming PPV: Armageddon (second-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifteenth 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)

This week I'm going to write an unusually short article, mostly because I missed a little more than half of Smackdown due to unexpected traffic problems (and unfortunately I don't have a DVR). So, I'm going to base this analysis on Wade Keller's Smackdown Report and focus solely on what happened rather than also commenting on how specific events transpired. I can only get into so much depth having not seen it myself. So let's give this a try.

EDGE & Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO vs. World Hvt. Champion BATISTA vs. THE UNDERTAKER (3 weeks)

The show began with Teddy Long making some announcements. He booked MVP versus Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship at Armageddon. Edge showed up to complain about how Long is trying to screw him over by including Undertaker in the World Title match at the PPV. Long then set up the main event for Smackdown, which pitted The Rated-R Superstar against Kane.

Well, the question about the position of General Manager on Smackdown has ostensibly been answered. Theodore Long, after suffering from a heart attack, is no longer the GM. He's since become the official Assistant GM to Vickie Guerrero. It's refreshing to see even more acknowledgment of certain rules or decisions (whether explained completely or not). At least now we know where these people stand—their degree of authority.

Also on Smackdown, Batista had a short match against Elijah Burke from ECW. For whatever reason, Burke has dropped off of the ECW Title radar in recent months, and now he's jobbing. The only good is that the losses are against Batista, the current World Heavyweight Champion. Some could argue that this latest trend is doing more for The Silver-Tongued Pugilist than infrequent promos and rare in-ring appearances on Tuesday nights.

WWE aired footage from the night Edge was injured at that Mardi Gras party months ago. It's nice to see them acknowledge that too. He never talked about this on his first night back on Smackdown, but since he had to explain how his plan all came together, it was probably understandable.

With most of Smackdown's matchups only lasting a few minutes, the lengthier Kane-Edge main event really felt like a main event. In the end, Kane picked up a victory after the referee called for the bell when Edge entered the ring with a chair. It's interesting to note that he called for the disqualification before Edge hit Kane with the weapon, raising the question of whether WWE intends to continue doing things that way. The reason for it quickly became apparent when Kane kicked the chair, smashing it into Edge's head (which would have given Edge the victory).

The end of the show had Edge take out Kane with the ring steps before Batista entered the ring. Then Undertaker showed up to chokeslam Edge, only to be speared by The World Heavyweight Champion. It was a simple, yet effective way to handle this Triple Threat build to Armageddon. Since Undertaker chokeslammed Batista last week, Michael Cole suggested that Batista's spear was possibly an act of payback.

Overall, this feud is still holding strong. Parts of the story are continuing to unfold, and the dynamic between each of the main players is intriguing.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Edge: Batista
Undertaker: Mark Henry, Batista
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker
Vickie Guerrero: n/a

REY MYSTERIO vs. United States Champion MVP (3 weeks)

This week, MVP held his VIP Lounge segment with special guest Michael Hayes to promote the new World Class Championship Wrestling DVD. Of course, things eventually turned ugly, and Hayes was flattened by Montel Vontavious Porter's Playmaker. Rey then entered the scene to save the day and seek revenge.

As a whole, it doesn't seem like this week did too much to advance the specific rivalry between Mysterio and MVP. It did, however, accomplish a few things. First (and most importantly for WWE's intended purpose), it helped promote the new DVD. Secondly, it further solidified MVP as a heel character; he was overly confident, rude, and disrespectful. And finally, it helped to remind viewers about Matt Hardy's absence (and pending return). There are some nice storyline elements here, but the majority of people are probably most looking forward to a great one-on-one PPV matchup since both Mysterio and MVP are great in the ring.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
MVP: Ric Flair
Rey Mysterio: Chavo Guerrero, Finlay

FINLAY vs. MR. McMAHON (3 weeks)

This week, Hornswoggle was getting into more trouble. He messed with the car belonging to Deuce and Domino. Later, Finlay faced Deuce in a singles match, and the Fighting Irishman was able to steal a victory after his patented shillelagh shot. That little stick has won him the majority of his matches. After the match, The Great Khali showed up to raise some doubt in the audience. He dropped Finlay before applying the Vise Grip.

Overall, this feud is just in its inception. Remember, Khali is most likely just a speed bump in this storyline. Finlay's real problem lies with Mr. McMahon. The first step will be for Hornswoggle and Finlay to defeat the monster heel at Armageddon so that McMahon has to revert to Plan B (whatever that may be). It's a predictable subplot right now with Finlay and Khali at the moment, but it's still being executed in a manner that has proven to be effective. In that sense, this feud is moving along just fine.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [up 0.5 since Raw]

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio
Mr. McMahon: Bobby Lashley, Triple H, Hornswoggle

WWE Tag Team Champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JESSE & FESTUS (3 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

This week, these two teams clashed once again in a standard tag team match. The finish saw a distraction lead to a victory for the reigning WWE Tag Team Champions.

It's amazing how the entire tag team division seems to be crafted around only the teams that WWE decides are worthy of the titles. And when the titles are not in play, tag teams are simply utilized to set up continuations to rivalries for the main event. In this case, Miz/Morrison and Jesse/Festus are the only two teams that really get any attention. Even Deuce and Domino are being used as jobbers after a long stretch of time at the top of their division.

The only notable exception is the recent use of Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore (which I'll talk about in an upcoming article on ECW). I understand WWE's priorities, but it might be nice to see some tag teams that are lower on the tier so that the audience can get a sense of who the next team heading for the gold is gong to be.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [same as on ECW]

Previous Feuds
John Morrison: C.M. Punk
The Miz: Balls Mahoney
Jesse & Festus: n/a

BIG DADDY V (w/ Matt Striker) vs. KANE (8 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Nothing in particular was done to advance this feud. Big Daddy V never showed up, and Kane was busy fighting Edge in the main event.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3.5 [down 0.5 since ECW]

Previous Feuds
Big Daddy V: Tommy Dreamer
Kane: MVP, Finlay

CHUCK PALUMBO (w/ Michelle McCool) vs. JAMIE NOBLE (3 weeks)

Jamie Noble once again continued his quest for Michelle McCool this week by approaching her backstage. He commented on how he's beaten her man two weeks in a row. She seemed to think that this is all simply a stroke of luck on Noble's part. In fact, she agreed to Jamie's bet—if he beat Chuck Palumbo in another match, she would go on a date with him.

The match between Palumbo and Noble ended with another surprise victory for the smaller Noble. Michelle McCool partook in some distraction techniques in order to help Palumbo, but it was to no avail; in fact, it seemed to backfire on her. So I guess we can prepare to see a date between these two next week.

Overall, this story is continuing nicely. It's an interesting interplay between McCool and Noble. Will something truly stunning end up happening? Will Palumbo ever beat Noble? Will Noble ever get anything (like a title shot) for getting these wins? All of these questions are relevant. As long as WWE continues to provide an intriguing build, this one will remain entertaining television. The whole date thing could be fun as the next step. And they are really playing to Noble's strengths here, which is great.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [up 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Chuck Palumbo: Chris Masters, Kenny Dykstra
Jamie Noble: Hornswoggle, Vickie Guerrero


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Kane vs. Edge?
(2) Batista vs. Elijah Burke?
(3) Deuce 'N' Domino vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle?

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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