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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
February 29, 2008
Upcoming PPV: WrestleMania (fifth-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twenty-sixth 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)


World Heavyweight Champion EDGE & Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO vs. THE UNDERTAKER (2 weeks)

Vickie was admiring her engagement ring backstage. Edge suggested that for their honeymoon they travel to Canada. "I love Canada," Vickie replied lovingly, "And I love Canadians." Right when the lovebirds were about to break into another passionate kiss, Hawkins and Ryder showed up. Edge pulled them aside, playing leader by giving them a pep talk. He told them that Undertaker needed to pay, and Zach was just the guy to do it. When Zach's apprehension took over, Edge assured him that he and Curt Hawkins would have his back.

Later in the show, Big Daddy V had what looked to be an unexpected squash match against ECW's Balls Mahoney, but toward the end of the match, Undertaker's music hit. The Deadman quickly approached the ring, opting to walk out at a faster rate than usual and with some lights on. He immediately cleared the ring of Big Daddy V with a swift kick before turning his sights to Balls. "Everyone's a victim when The Undertaker's around," Cole noted. With that point clear, Taker chokeslammed Mahoney. He then grabbed a mic.

"Death waits for no man," Taker began. The Deadman then called out Edge and his "minion." After the commercial break, Edge came to the ring flanked by Ryder and Hawkins. The match between Zach Ryder and Undertaker ended when Taker applied his modified triangle choke submission hold, which resulted in an immediate tap out by Ryder. As soon as the match was complete, Hawkins and Edge stormed the ring to attack Taker. Edge soon retreated from the ring, leaving Hawkins doomed to experience a chokeslam for his troubles. Taker ended the show holding The World Heavyweight Championship in the air as Edge looked on from the stage.

WWE deserves credit for giving Edge and Vickie the attention they require for this storyline; however, the weakness lies in how the Edge-Undertaker feud is booked. At this point, the rivalry should really be heating up as one of the biggest WrestleMania matchups on the card. But currently, the structure of the show and the strategy being employed hasn't done much to emphasize this storyline's importance. Edge is playing the champion who can't seem to figure out how to overcome his latest challenge, while Taker looks to be easily garnering momentum. The problem is that Taker isn't really getting anywhere.

Despite WWE's recent attempts to elevate the careers of Hawkins and Ryder, this faction hasn't yet left the ground. They are, to the majority of WWE's audience, simply jobbers on the blue brand. Nobody thought that Ryder would ever be able to beat Taker even with Edge and Hawkin's help. And that's exactly why this run is not doing much to put some real fuel behind The Deadman. The best tactic to use now would be either a strong, impactful promo by Edge (which is certainly within his ability) or a very serious altercation directly between these two WrestleMania opponents. The current track is not accomplishing enough to make the feud appear like a worthy Mania main event, and the stakes involved in that match certainly contradict this assessment, proving that there is a disconnect there which needs to be addressed.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Edge: Kane, Batista
Vickie Guerrero: Undertaker, Batista
Undertaker: Mark Henry, Batista, Big Daddy V

BATISTA vs. United States Champion MVP (3 weeks)

Backstage, Teddy introduced Vickie Guerrero to Maryse, a Smackdown diva who has made very few in-person appearances since making the roster. Maryse told Vickie that she was a great General Manager and that she was one of the most beautiful WWE Divas. Suddenly, Batista stepped into the room to declare that he wanted to face Umaga at WrestleMania for brand supremacy. Maryse mentioned that it was a good idea, which ultimately led to Vickie granting Batista his wish.

Later in the show, Batista teamed with The Big Red Machine to face The Great Khali and MVP. The match ended when Batista hit a spinebuster and a follow-up spear on Khali for the three count. After the match ended, Michael Cole said, "Whatever MVP does, he cannot beat The Animal." That's a good angle with which WWE can work.

The use of Maryse in the scene where Batista requests a match against Umaga was impressive. It was a good way to handle the situation. Maryse became the catalyst in getting Batista what he wanted by commenting on the subject right after complimenting Smackdown's GM. If Vickie didn't have some type of persuasive influence on that decision, it may have looked awkward for her to grant Batista the opportunity (unless she held a match or a series of matches in the next week or two that would have awarded Smackdown representation in the brand supremacy matchup).

So Maryse may play an interesting role on the show. She appeared like a babyface who's subtly trying to subvert Vickie's GM powers. After all, this was a good first step. She got on Vickie's good side before psychologically manipulating her to let Batista face Umaga. Plus, let's remember that it was Teddy Long—a man who has basically lost his job to Vickie—who talked to Maryse and set up this latest meeting.

As for Batista and MVP, this may be the end of their feud so that the focus can be shifted to Umaga-Batista. WWE can handle it in a number of different ways, namely, to push each wrestler individually on their own show or to have either of them appear on the other show to stir trouble. The only other point about this week's match that is relevant is that it seems like WWE has been really lifting their babyfaces at the expense of the heels. The bad guys on both Raw and Smackdown with few exceptions have looked pretty terrible when compared to their babyface counterparts.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker
MVP: Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair

THE BIG SHOW vs. FLOYD MAYWEATHER (2 weeks)

Big Show kicked things off with a squash match against two unknown jobbers. He went for the pin after punching one of them in the face. That finisher is clearly only being used here for the promotion of Show-Mayweather and the theme of the storyline. After the match, Show delivered a short promo on Mayweather. He said a rumored fight between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar DeLaHoya would be squashed once he breaks Mayweather at WrestleMania. He then considered the prospects of a match between he and De La Hoya instead. He concluded the segment by saying, "…the $20 million they're paying you to face me at WrestleMania won't be worth it."

It looks as if WWE may be hyping this big celebrity-style WrestleMania match on both of their big shows. Next week's Raw will feature Mayweather in person, but Show is also showing up on Smackdown for segments to promote this fight. Having Show beat two jobbers simultaneously and with ease was a nice way to start his push for the upcoming PPV matchup.

As for the storyline, there isn't much to note considering that Mayweather cannot consistently appear each week on WWE television. Show is playing his part well, though. Obviously, both men are showing no intimidation, anxiety, or fear. So the real story is going to be what happens after the result of that PPV match.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same as on Raw]

Previous Feuds
Big Show: n/a
Floyd Mayweather: n/a

CHUCK PALUMBO vs. JAMIE NOBLE & MICHELLE McCOOL (14 weeks)

Palumbo rode to the ring to face Jamie Noble one-on-one. Both Noble and Michelle looked serious, yet cautious. Jamie showed some nice offense during the match, attempting to outmaneuver his opponent; however, Palumbo hit both a big boot and his Full Throttle finisher for the victory.

This week's events took a turn toward mediocrity. It wasn't that Palumbo beat Noble; in fact, that was probably the right decision. But WWE had spent so much time setting up this story that a generic week like this undermines their previous efforts. Palumbo ended the segment like any normal heel would have after destroying a babyface opponent. There was nothing special or different about this case, yet the previous few episodes suggested that there should have been. Why did this interesting story about a guy who broke down and exploded emotionally turn into any normal babyface-heel feud? This was a wasted opportunity unless they find a better angle to this storyline this week.

On a side note, this one actually may be over. On Tuesday night's ECW episode, Palumbo seemed to be taunting Kane for no apparent reason. WWE may be explicitly suggesting that Palumbo-Noble is over (which could make some sense) and that Kane-Palumbo is what's to come. The only issue here is that Palumbo promised to continue the psychological warfare against Michelle McCool. Now it's inexplicably over. On the bright side, however, the Noble-Palumbo feud accomplished its mission: to create a strong heel out of Chuck.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [down 1 since last week]

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


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore vs. Deuce 'N' Domino
(2) Jesse & Festus vs. John Morrison & The Miz
(3) Big Daddy V vs. Balls Mahoney


Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I greatly appreciate all the feedback that I receive, and I will respond to every email. 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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