By Chris Newth

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
December 21, 2007
Upcoming PPV: Royal Rumble (fifth-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the seventeenth 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 in general has been pretty solid as of late. Since Edge's return to the brand, many elements of the show seem more exciting than in recent months. In terms of feuds, the landscape is pretty interesting. Only three current rivalries on this brand are Smackdown-exclusive. The others tend to be mixed feuds that take place on both Smackdown and ECW or Raw. And even when you consider all the established feuds, you only get about five of them.

So WWE is stretching out two hours of TV on five feuds. This is a change of pace when you consider that a few months ago they had seven to eight feuds on the show. In segments that don't specifically focus on those five key rivalries, the show features other top acts to fill in the gaps.

One great example of this was the rare Smackdown appearance of Ric Flair where he delivered a standard promo that was more about promoting his upcoming Raw match against Triple H than it was his reasoning for being on Smackdown. He discussed how good Triple H is and how if he is forced to retire, he would want it to be because of a match with The Game. He continued by talking about their friendship over the years, further adding narrative context to this face vs. face match with huge stipulations on the New Year's Eve edition of Monday Night Raw. And he concluded by expressing a little confidence that was heavily overshadowed by doubt, which may have been an interesting way to get people to tune in but not the way to get people excited about what is to come.

The other big moment on the show was JBL's Farewell Address. Smackdown's color commentator officially gave his farewell to the blue brand, citing Chris Jericho's bumping into him at Armageddon as the reason for leaving. He said that he's coming out of retirement, but he's going to Raw for Jericho. It's a pretty weak argument. Jericho did so little to actually enrage JBL (and it was clearly not even Jericho's fault). Plus, there doesn't seem to be some other deeper reason behind it. JBL is just furious about Jericho running into him, and having Y2J lose the WWE Title match wasn't enough.

Perhaps they should have gone with an angle where JBL wanted to get back into the ring (maybe for Jericho), but Vickie Guerrero reminded him that Mysterio had him retired, and that he wasn't allowed to compete on Smackdown as an active wrestler. She then could get him to Raw, and maybe a trade could be brokered. In any event, it was JBL's last day on Smackdown.

World Heavyweight Champion EDGE & Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO vs. BATISTA vs. THE UNDERTAKER (5 weeks)

The show opened with the fallout from Armageddon as Teddy Long pushed the wheelchair-bound GM to the ring. He introduced Vickie Guerrero as the General Manager in an almost crushed tone of voice. Vickie then brought out Edge, who then brought out The Major Brothers in their new role as Edge Heads. The opening promo featured a long list of thank-you's from the new World Heavyweight Champion.

He then screened a clichéd love video between he and Vickie, which depicted the two in various love-related scenarios such as having a picnic and the always-popular ride on a playground's see-saw. The Edge Heads announced their names: Curt Hawkins and Zach Rider. Emphasis then shifted to the former World Champion, Batista. Edge assured the audience that he will retain his championship in the main event World Title match scheduled for later in the show.

The opening segment really served its purpose well. It was a good idea not to have Batista enter the picture to throw a wrench in Edge's celebratory introduction. This effectively laid the basis for what is to come—Edge's streak of unfair, unjust, calculating, and manipulative success on Smackdown. WWE needed to build up this seemingly insurmountable wall for any upcoming babyface to overcome. With Edge as champion, Vickie as General Manager, and a tag team that could have gold in the coming months, a major (no pun intended) problem has been set forth. And since eventually this all must fall apart, the babyface(s) who can sneak in there and take credit for overthrowing the evil rulers of Smackdown is going to receive a massive jolt of momentum.

The main event was set. It was Batista versus Edge for the World Heavyweight Title (or so we thought). At the last minute, Vickie Guerrero came out to wield her power as GM by altering the match. It was now Batista versus Edge & the Edge Heads in a three-on-one Handicap Match for the title. The match ended quite suddenly after Batista caught one of the Edge Heads with a spinebuster for the three count.

It looked as though The Animal had regained the title, but then Vickie told Batista that the only way he can win the title is by beating Edge specifically; that meant that the match would be restarted. Edge and his Edge Heads then resorted to using a chair so that he could retain the title by disqualification. They gave Batista a two-man lifting DDT onto the steel chair before Edge used another chair to perform a conchairto. The show ended with Edge, Vickie, and the Edge Heads celebrating.

Overall, this feud is building nicely. Will Batista be the one with whom Edge feuds after this point? He's already lost his rematch for the World Title. What about the Undertaker? When will he return? What role with the Edge Heads play in 2008? Will they continue to dress exactly like Edge or become their own unique tag team? All of these questions lead to some solid intrigue.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 10 [same since 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 (5 weeks)

As I review later in the Kane-Big Daddy V section, Mysterio and MVP were involved in a six-man tag match that ended when Rey pinned Mark Henry for the win after fifteen minutes of good in-ring wrestling.

It seems as though lately the Mysterio-MVP feud needs more build. Porter is a great speaker, and they should be taking advantage of this; it's what propelled the MVP-Hardy feud to the top of Smackdown, often making it more exciting than the main event itself. In the last few weeks, we've gotten very few promos from MVP or Rey Mysterio, and that's a shame. Match after match of just seeing MVP clash with Rey is only going to get them so far; they need more background. Viewers aren't grasping a greater sense of who each person really is. WWE should note how successful the MVP-Hardy feud was and start utilizing their talent for this particular rivalry a little more productively.

The bottom line is that both MVP and Rey Mysterio have the ability to put on an outstanding match if given the time and opportunity, so the only thing missing is a strong storyline to get people involved, to get the WWE audience pumped for that upcoming match.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [same as last week]

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

FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. MR. McMAHON (5 weeks)

Well, Hornswoggle's problems continue on Smackdown as The Great Khali has not yet been flushed from the scene. This time, however, it was a tag team match pitting Finlay and Hornswoggle against The Great Khali and his manager, Ranjin Singh. The match itself can be described with two phrases—typical brevity and light, generic comedy. Again, when WWE decides to do this, it will be hit-or-miss with the audience. For those who are not as excited to watch that type of thing, it may become frustrating in that it is all starting to feel the same. Changing up the opponents might be the minimum requirement.

Overall, this feud is just there. However, things do change for the better come Monday night on Raw. As far as analysis for this Smackdown episode goes, it's hard to say. Nothing meaningful originated here, but it did serve to fill some time and get these characters on TV again. One must admit that it was pretty amazing to see the size disparity between Khali and his manager. When they dress alike, that's all you can really note—the enormous size discrepancy.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [down 0.5 from last week]

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

BIG DADDY V (w/ Matt Striker) vs. KANE (10 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

The reason neither Big Daddy V nor Kane appeared on ECW the week of this episode was because they were both involved in a big six-man tag team match on Smackdown. It was Kane, Rey Mysterio, and C.M. Punk versus Big Daddy V, MVP, and Mark Henry. If any of these players were going to take a clean loss, it was bound to be Mark Henry with his current trend. And that's exactly what happened. After a running knee lift in the corner from Punk, a 619 from Rey, and a chokeslam from Kane, Mark Henry took the pinfall loss when Mysterio performed a final splash from the ropes.

Overall, it was a nice use of the wrestlers within their current roles. After being hyped as a big deal, the match delivered with some solid in-ring work. The clean finish also helped, and Rey Mysterio needed that victory. Again, this Kane-Big Daddy V feud needs a lot of work. It would be nice if they each found new opponents because their rivalry has been dragging for weeks. Now that they've hit the two-and-a-half month mark, they should really go their separate ways.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3.5 [same as on ECW]

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

CHUCK PALUMBO (w/ Michelle McCool) vs. JAMIE NOBLE (5 weeks)

They finally aired what was labeled as footage from the date between Jamie Noble and Michelle McCool. Let me attack the strategy behind staging a scene since they seemed to have stumbled on that front (and because it is important). Okay, WWE could have made two different decisions to make the "restaurant" look more like an actual restaurant. For one, as Wade Keller mentioned, they should have toned down the lights. Lighting should be more of an issue on any set, and if WWE is attempting to depict a specific locale, it's important to incorporate that element; they need to create an authentic atmosphere.

The other change was the camera positioning in that scene. It was placed in such a way that the audience could clearly see the ceiling, which was a major distraction; quality restaurants generally don't have those typical ceiling tiles that you were able to see. It looked like one of those backrooms they always use for any other scene. And if the ceiling tiles themselves are not the issue—because I can't exactly admit that I note the type of ceiling restaurants use anyway—then it was definitely the visual of the ceiling being so low. Generally, restaurants have nice high ceilings, so showing it in the frame hurt the feel.

The rest was alright. Playing the music throughout kept encouraging my brain to buy into the restaurant setting between those times where I looked at the ceiling. If they couldn't have other people there pretending to be eating too (and if they couldn't have windows), there were a few things they could have done.

For example, if I were to write or direct that scene, I would have toned down the lights, propped up the camera in a place where you could not see those ceiling tiles, and possibly have played a soft soundtrack of mumbling voices in the background to make it seem like other people were present. And finally, I would have positioned them in a corner or near a wall. That would have eliminated a lot of the problems. How? Well, first, it would be more believable then staring at an empty room with no people. Secondly, you could have gotten closer to Noble and McCool so that you didn't show the ceiling. And thirdly, it would have corrected the no-window problem. Viewers would be unable to tell that there were no windows because they could imagine that one exists right outside the tight frame. By eliminating all that space, it would have corrected a lot of the things that interrupted the believability of the scene.

The segment itself was fine. It showed Noble looking to impress McCool in various ways, but failing to do so miserably. Michelle was good in her role as someone who looked like she wanted to leave but held up to her word. It did very little to further the storyline, but it was slightly entertaining. Not Noble's best work, but just fine for what it was. If the storyline is going the direction I mapped out a few weeks ago, this one is going to get very interesting in the coming weeks.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same as last week]

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


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Jesse & Festus vs. John Morrison & The Miz


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Deuce 'N' Domino vs. Jesse & Festus


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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