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By Chris Newth, Torch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
January 25, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Royal Rumble (last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twenty-first 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 concentrated heavily on its feuds this week, but there wasn't too much change heading into the Rumble. Also, the main event segment had a few drawbacks, despite headlining with C.M. Punk. The only other part of the show that stood out was Chuck Palumbo's third heel turn in three consecutive weeks.

Starting with the non-feud segment, an energetic Batista entered the ring for a promo. He first wished Rey Mysterio luck in his World Heavyweight Title match at the Royal Rumble. Then he moved on to the Rumble match itself. "I'm putting every competitor in the Royal Rumble match this year on notice," said Batista. He went on to say that he won the 2005 Rumble, and history will repeat itself when he does it again this year. It was a short, yet solid, promo. The only downside is that the same exact message was sent just last week by The Undertaker.

Now to the feuds!

World Heavyweight Champion EDGE & Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO vs. REY MYSTERIO (4 weeks)

Rey Mysterio entered the ring prepared for his Handicap Match to kick off the show. His opponents were Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder. As the match neared a close, Rey looked to hit a 619 and score the victory, but one of the Edge Heads brought a chair into the ring, prompting the referee to immediately call for the bell. Rey dodged a chair shot and used the ropes as a springboard to kick the weapon back into the face of his opponent.

Then, in the main event, C.M. Punk was set to fight Edge one-on-one. Rey Mysterio accompanied Punk to the ring, and the reigning World Heavyweight Champion came to the ring flanked by Hawkins and Ryder. The match ended when Punk leaped over Edge to avoid his charge, but Edge suddenly came back with a forceful spear, a spear that would earn The Rated-R Superstar the victory.

The main event match served as the first time C.M. Punk competed in a singles match in Smackdown's main event. The fact that it was against World Heavyweight Champion Edge only substantiates its importance. Through a storyline perspective or even through a casual fan perspective, this was a strong match that helped to elevate Punk despite his clean loss. However, it was an odd choice for WWE considering that it almost distracted from the Rey-Edge conflict heading into the Royal Rumble. There didn't seem to be direct or immediate—and by extension, important—forward advancement between Mysterio and Edge. Instead, Rey was both literally and figuratively planted on the sideline for the closing of the show.

This feud could just be getting started. It seems like it hasn't had enough time to fully develop just yet, and we still have the No Way Out PPV before WrestleMania rolls around. Rey ended his Handicap Match segment looking strong despite not having earned a pinfall victory; it was nice to see him find a way to outsmart two bigger guys. On the other hand, Edge has been great in his role as well.

There's no question that these two can put on a great match. Furthermore, there's been enough development in their characters, particularly surrounding the Vickie angle, to work off of. So this storyline has just enough information to coast for awhile, although it would be nice to see something new transpire in the coming weeks. Perhaps Rey's 619 to Vickie at the Rumble will amount to something.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9 [down 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Edge: Kane, Batista
Vickie Guerrero: Undertaker, Batista
Rey Mysterio: Chavo Guerrero, Finlay, MVP

United States Champion MVP vs. RIC FLAIR (4 weeks)

MVP entered the ring to cut a promo against Ric Flair this week. He introduced some future predictions about how he would beat Flair, move on to win the World Heavyweight Title, and then be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as the greatest sports entertainer of all time. Flair, on the other hand, would play golf and shuffleboard before "languishing in a retirement home where his name, his face, his legacy will disappear forever." And with those words, Ric Flair felt compelled to show up and confront Porter. He responded with just a few lines about how MVP is entertaining, but that he's not ready to retire yet. The segment ended with Flair announcing that he will beat MVP at the Royal Rumble.

It hasn't yet been determined if Flair and MVP will continue their feud beyond the Rumble, although those who have read the spoilers for the Smackdown tapings probably know the answer already. The downside to Ric Flair's retirement stipulation is that it almost requires impromptu matches and short-term mini-feuds to continue successfully. WWE can't afford to establish a long-term feud between The Nature Boy and any given opponent for two reasons: 1) Flair would need to win every match against a single person throughout the feud, and 2) the WWE audience wouldn't get the opportunity to see Ric face a variety of challengers in the next two months.

Of course, the first line of reasoning may be easy to remedy. All they have to do is have Flair lose only tag team or handicap matches throughout the feud to build up heat for the heels before having Flair come back with a legitimate win at the end. The second problem should be the primary concern. With Flair likely to retire as a full time wrestler come WrestleMania, WWE, the fans, and many of the wrestlers probably want their last chance to see Flair duke it out with multiple competitors. It is for that reason that the storyline dynamic here is different than the general feud formula.

Working against this strategy is the idea that to successfully garner enough big-time interest, WWE will be forced to heavily build the final Flair feud for WrestleMania. And that's a tough task considering how they've treated The Nature Boy's storyline thus far. Take the Royal Rumble as an example. Ric Flair's match with MVP got little promotion and little attention from announcers. What if it ended up being Flair's last match? Audiences never really bought the idea that Flair could lose because WWE isn't showing enough concern to complement the importance of the stipulation.

Ric Flair's issue seems to exist, but shouldn't it be more prominent since his career could end any day now? And how will WWE possibly make the hype for his last match effective when they've been largely downplaying the whole thing up to this point (and since they can't use the argument that the competitor is too strong since they've had Flair beat people like Orton and Umaga already)?

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

Previous Feuds
MVP: Ric Flair, Rey Mysterio
Ric Flair: n/a

HORNSWOGGLE & FINLAY vs. THE GREAT KHALI (w/ Ranjin Singh) & MR. McMAHON (9 weeks)

Finlay and Hornswoggle made their way to the ring for the Belfast Brawl that was hyped throughout the week. Khali followed with Ranjin Singh. Most of the match consisted of Finlay being decimated by Khali's power. The action then headed to ringside, where Khali attempted to slam Hornswoggle through the announce table with a double-arm chokeslam. Suddenly, Finlay came to and began a relentless assault on Khali. The Fighting Irishman struck Khali with multiple shillelagh shots, and he threw in some chair shots for good measure. The segment ended with Michael Cole describing how successful Finlay has been as Hornswoggle's protector as a bloody Khali lay on the ground writhing in pain.

After a commercial break, Finlay and Hornswoggle bumped into Mr. McMahon in the back. McMahon thanked Finlay for protecting his son. Then he told Hornswoggle privately that in the Royal Rumble he could not trust Finlay because it's every man for himself. "Your last name is not Finlay; you're last name is McMahon, and don't you ever forget that!" explained The Chairman to a depressed-looking leprechaun.

The story is slowly beginning to take shape here. It's clear that Finlay and McMahon have had some kind of agreement, and it's also clear that there's some anger hidden beneath their surface relationship. The line that McMahon used about how Hornswoggle's last name is not Finlay as well as how McMahon has booked Finlay against Khali as of late suggests that McMahon may have wanted Finlay to fail. What would be the reasoning?

Perhaps McMahon is jealous of the relationship that Finlay has with Hornswoggle. And perhaps he wanted Finlay to lose so that Hornswoggle would lose faith in The Fighting Irishman. The idea that McMahon is jealous of Finlay can also be hinted in another strategy he used here. Not only is he booking difficult matches for Finlay, but he's also trying to get Hornswoggle to lose trust in him by explaining that nobody can be trusted in the Royal Rumble.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

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

MARK HENRY & BIG DADDY V (w/ Matt Striker) vs. THE UNDERTAKER (4 weeks)

The V-Taker feud continued this week with a match between The Deadman and Big Daddy V. During the match, Undertaker was able to hit the chokeslam, but Big Daddy V found the strength to kick out. Taker eventually got the win after applying a modified Triangle Choke, which forced Big Daddy V to tap out. After Undertaker broke the hold, V rolled over as blood streamed out of his mouth. Mark Henry arrived to check on his friend as the announcers questioned the type of move they just witnessed.

It's always nice to see an established wrestler add a new signature move to his arsenal. Also good was how the announcers talked about adaptation throughout the segment. That's how they prefaced the match, and that's how they concluded it. Big Daddy V could barely take a chokeslam, and both the Tombstone Piledriver and Last Ride were out of the question. Taker needed to find another way. It was a good theme for the segment.

This feud is great for The Deadman because it can propel him to the top once again. Wins over Big Daddy V aren't too easy to accomplish in the WWE world. There still exist, however, two problems to this feud. The first is that there's barely a feud. Why is it that Big Daddy V storylines never actually deserve a story? He just gets involved with some opponent and starts acting angry. There's never any reason given for it. He's not even in the back saying that a win over Taker could lead to a World Title match. The other problem is that now Undertaker has proved that he can beat both V and Henry. What's left for him? A Triple Threat Match for number one contention?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane
Undertaker: Mark Henry, Batista, Edge

CHUCK PALUMBO (w/ Michelle McCool) vs. JAMIE NOBLE (9 weeks)

This week Jamie Noble, Chuck Palumbo, and Michelle McCool would be teaming up to face The Miz, John Morrison, and Layla. Backstage, Palumbo and Noble argued vociferously. They highlighted the fact that if it weren't for Michelle, neither of them would be getting along at all. The match began with a decent start, but everything soon fell apart.

Jamie Noble ran into Palumbo during an Irish whip, causing The Motorcycle Enthusiast to enter the ring and toss Noble to the side. Both men began to argue, and as Michelle was walking across the ring apron, Palumbo shoved Noble toward her. McCool plummeted to ringside, and Noble went to check on her. At this point Miz, Morrison, and Layla had disappeared, and it wasn't clear whether Chuck drove Noble into Michelle intentionally.

Palumbo then exited the ring, approached Noble, and started beating the hell out of him. He hoisted Jamie up and slammed him back-first into the ring post before throwing multiple punches. When Michelle got up to stop the fighting, Chuck used the back of his elbow to knock her over. The crowd chanted "You suck" at Palumbo. The segment ended with Noble and Michelle sprawled out at ringside as medics attended to the situation. Chuck's face expressed a combination of anger and frustration. He left the arena as they wheeled Michelle up the ramp in a stretcher.

Later in the back, an apologetic Jamie Noble found McCool. "I can't believe I let this happen, Michelle," Noble remorsefully said as Michelle was carted out of the arena.

The sudden changes in direction for this feud keep it interesting each week. After Chuck verbally attacked Michelle a few weeks ago, we thought it was over. The next week she forgave him. That happened twice. Then it looked like he and Noble would have to reluctantly get along for her sake, only to have it all fall apart on the first episode that featured them teaming. Using Noble and Michelle, WWE has successfully created a heel with some real heat on the show.

Their method of handling the turn almost makes you question whether they had planned it this way all along. Could it be possible that the original turn by Palumbo—the day when he started blaming McCool for his losses—was the initial strategy? Could a lukewarm crowd reception have changed the plan at the last minute? Whether intentional or not, layering the story over a three-week span where Palumbo essentially made a new heel turn each week was clever, and it clearly paid off.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8 [up 0.5 since last week]

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

JIMMY WANG YANG & SHANNON MOORE vs. DEUCE 'N' DOMINO

This week, Jimmy Wang Yang faced Domino in one-on-one competition. The match ended when Shannon Moore took out Deuce with a hurricanrana on the outside while Yang hit his standing moonsault from the top rope for the three count.

There really isn't much here on which to comment. Deuce and Domino don't have much steam after months of being used as jobbers. Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore are on a roll, but they need opponents who will challenge them. No storyline has been set at the moment, and WWE seldom gives us more information on any of the people involved here.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore: The Miz & John Morrison
Deuce 'N' Domino: Batista, Matt Hardy & MVP


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Chuck Palumbo vs. Michelle McCool
(2) Michelle McCool vs. Layla
(3) C.M. Punk vs. Edge


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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