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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
May 16, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Judgment Day (last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-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 (13 weeks)

Edge, Vickie, Hawkins, Ryder, Chavo, and Bam Neely—collectively known as La Familia—made their way to the ring to kick of the show. Edge began by talking about how he miraculously healed last week at the last minute to participate, and ultimately win, the Championship Chase. He went on to say that he would beat the Undertaker at Judgment Day for the World Title because Taker is not allowed to use his signature submission hold. Suddenly, Theodore Long's music hit, and he made his way to the ring as Vickie scowled at him. She had a look that was a combination of anger and disgust.

After Vickie lectured him on his duties, Long said that he was at WWE Headquarters all day. He announced that the WWE Board of Directors found Vickie's decision to strip Undertaker of the World Title questionable. Teddy also announced that if Vickie didn't compete in a match against Undertaker later tonight, she would be relieved of her GM duties. Vickie angrily fired Long on the spot for going behind her back, but he told her that he quit. Later in the back, bitter participants in last week's Chase came to Vickie for answers; she quickly booked Finlay & Big Show vs. MVP & a partner of his choosing. Chavo remained angry about last week, but agreed on forming a plan.

Later in the show, Vickie announced that she was dismayed at the Board's decision. She said that she couldn't scratch the match, but she could change it. So she booked Undertaker versus La Familia in a 6-on-1 Handicap Match. During the entrances to the big match, Chavo and Bam Neely decided to leave at the last minute, lessening the odds for La Familia. As the main event got underway, Vickie looked petrified by the Undertaker's presence. She sat vulnerably in her wheelchair, which was placed in the corner of the ring. All the heels tried to protect her, and Undertaker managed to eventually rid the ring of Hawkins and Ryder using a double chokeslam. He then grabbed Vickie out of her chair by the neck, preparing to deliver a chokeslam. Edge, however, used the opportunity to hit his Spear on Taker as Vickie screamed in fright. Everyone then bolted from the ring and made their way up the ramp as Taker stared on angrily to close the show.

There were some intriguing questions laid out this week on Smackdown. Particularly interesting was the General Manager position and its possible shake-up. Theodore Long has been treated rather horrendously as the Assistant GM whose sole job seems to be to cater to Vickie Guerrero, mostly pulling wheelchair duty each week. He was called in to see the Board of Directors when Vickie didn't return their calls, and he took great pleasure in announcing their ultimatum to Vickie. On the other hand, Vickie played her part well and again found a way to work around the system by altering the match to include six people against Taker. In fact, everyone involved was booked and performed well. Edge was nervous the entire night for his soon-to-be bride, and even Chavo and Bam acted in their own interests by separating from La Familia after becoming "pawns" last week in the Championship Chase to Judgment Day.

So, where do we go from here? What will happen to Theodore Long now that he's quit? Could he move to another brand or eventually dethrone Vickie Guerrero as GM of Smackdown? Speaking of Vickie, is she now free and clear after participating in a match against The Undertaker or is the Board of Directors going to throw another proverbial wrench in her plans? Whatever the case, this subplot in the main event storyline of Smackdown heavily bolsters the Edge-Undertaker feud. Although Taker didn't look too defenseless even though he was pitted against four other people, there exists a lot of excitement in the idea of Taker finally getting his hands on not only Edge, but on Vickie as well.

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

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

BATISTA vs. SHAWN MICHAELS vs. CHRIS JERICHO (7 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Batista made his way to the ring to talk about events concerning Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho on Raw. He played footage showing HBK admitting that he faked the injury before Super Kicking Jericho to the mat. "Shawn, I told you: if you weren't hurt, then the next time I saw you, you would be," Batista threatened. He ended the short promo by saying that because he doesn't currently have any plans for Judgment Day, he might just show up at the PPV since Shawn Michaels will be there.

Well, this looks like the continuation we've been looking for. Batista is so lost right now on Smackdown with no legitimate challengers due to a roster shallow of heels; he's in a narrative limbo where he's simply left wandering around looking for things to do. In fact, he basically said that word-for-word this week in his promo when he threatened to go to Judgment Day because he has nothing else to do. With that said, we now know that he will indeed continue his feud with Shawn Michaels, at least for the next few weeks. He did little more than continue the threats at Judgment Day, but Raw certainly reinforced the issues between these two. As for this episode of Smackdown, it really just served as a setup for Monday's Raw.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [same as on Raw]

Previous Feuds
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker, Umaga
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy, Ric Flair
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Money in the Bank

United States Champion MVP vs. FINLAY (w/ Hornswoggle) (2 weeks)

This week, Finlay and Big Show were partners in a match against MVP and a partner of his choosing. Predictably, MVP chose Mark Henry since that's Big Show's current heel counterpart. The match ended when Finlay pulled down the top rope, causing Henry to fall to the outside. Then Big Show grabbed MVP by the neck as he was attempting a running kick and gave him a chokeslam for the win.

Just a very basic continuation match that squeezed four individuals with two separate feuds into a single segment of the show to further the overall storylines. Notice how the conclusion of the match involved Big Show and MVP, leaving the Show-Henry and MVP-Finlay feuds wide open with no significant results. As a whole, MVP and Finlay have a better shot at piecing together a narrative with little more needed. However, Big Show and Mark Henry may require more storyline elements in order to develop into a rivalry that people will care about.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
MVP: Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Batista
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL

CM PUNK vs. CHUCK PALUMBO (3 weeks)

After a few weeks featuring nothing between these two, CM Punk fought Chuck Palumbo in singles competition. They showed the altercation between Punk and Palumbo three weeks ago where Palumbo disqualified himself after refusing to stop punching his opponent. Their match this week ended when Punk hit the GTS on Palumbo for the clean pinfall that everyone had been waiting three weeks for. After the match, Punk held up his Money in the Bank briefcase as he celebrated his win.

This could quite possibly be the end of this short-lived feud. Punk is currently dealing with Miz and Morrison over on ECW, so Palumbo serves only as a sidetrack. Plus, now that Punk has avenged his initial beating, is there anything else needed? Many would argue that this feud should never have been started in the first place, but now that WWE has given it some type of conclusion, it would probably serve both wrestlers to move on to something else. Punk really doesn't gain anything from this rivalry, and whatever helps Palumbo here is overshadowed by the fact that Punk needs stronger heels to face in order to maintain his momentum as he ascends the proverbial totem pole of the WWE hierarchy.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
CM Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero
Chuck Palumbo: Chris Masters, Kenny Dykstra, Jamie Noble & Michelle McCool

VICTORIA & NATALYA NEIDHART vs. MICHELLE McCOOL (7 weeks)

This week, Michelle's push on Smackdown continued as she went one-on-one with Layla. The match ended somewhat quickly after Michelle worked on Layla's leg. McCool won using a leg lock submission that Foley called a heel hook. Layla eventually tapped out as Michael Cole noted that Natalya isn't the only diva who knows how to apply submission holds.

Well, if WWE wants to really push their women's division with Natalya bringing the Sharpshooter to her arsenal, they are wise to give McCool a new submission finisher. It's also nice that they are feeding Michelle with wins to slowly build her credibility as the top babyface diva on Smackdown, but it doesn't say much about Layla and Kelly, the ECW divas that fall to McCool and Natalya whenever they are in the ring. This feud has some nice potential, and it will be interesting to see where WWE takes it now that it has officially branched off from being a tag team feud.

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

Previous Feuds
Victoria: Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly
Natalya Neidhart: n/a
Michelle McCool: Victoria, Chuck Palumbo

MARYSE (w/ Deuce & Domino) vs. CHERRY (2 weeks)

Although this feud likely began many weeks ago on WWE.com, let's just make it easy and say that this is the second week considering that it aired only last week on television. Cherry made her way to the ring for a singles match against Maryse, but her cheery attitude quickly deflated when she saw that Maryse was being accompanied to the ring by her brother and former boyfriend, Domino and Deuce respectively. The match ended when Cherry hit a bulldog for the victory. Cole noted that it was Cherry's second win this week because she also won the six-diva tag team match on ECW Tuesday night. After the match, Deuce looked completely stunned at what he has just witnessed.

Okay, are you noticing a trend? It seems that WWE (and TNA) are increasingly featuring women's matches on their shows in more than one segment. Cherry used to be teaming with Michelle McCool against the team of Victoria and Natalya Neidhart, but now she is involved with her own rivalry against Maryse, who has essentially taken her place as the manager of Deuce and Domino. But Smackdown (which is not particularly known for its diva competition) isn't the only WWE brand now featuring two women's storylines. This week on Raw, Melina and Beth Phoenix are beginning a feud of their own, while WWE is also teasing Mickie James versus Katie Lea in a separate storyline. That's something to watch out for. It may lead to longer diva matches as well as more TV segments for the deserving women in wrestling.

As for this feud, it's starting fine, but WWE has to answer one small inconsistency: Why are Deuce and Domino willingly in Maryse's corner as she battles Cherry if they are so against their manager doing that kind of thing? The reason that Deuce and Domino appear to have let Cherry go revolves around the idea that Cherry went out and started wrestling herself—and, as a result, took the spotlight off of them. If they are accompanying Maryse to the ring for matches, what does that say about their argument? Why didn't they do that with Cherry in the beginning? The excuse is a little weak, but it can be overlooked since one can easily argue that they are firmly behind Maryse to seek revenge on Cherry. The problem later will be if they accompany Maryse during matches with other divas on the roster. It's not a big deal, but just a little irksome point that sticks out as questionable.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
Cherry: Victoria & Natalya
Maryse: n/a

MARK HENRY vs. BIG SHOW (3 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

As mentioned before, Henry and MVP teamed up to face Show and Finlay this week. Big Show took the win for his team when he chokeslammed MVP for the three count. After the match, Mark Henry headed up the ramp as he yelled something at Big Show.

For the most part, WWE fans are well aware of Henry's strength and power, but they also plainly see a cap on his ability to accomplish things. He can steamroll through half the Smackdown roster with little effort, but once he gets to the main event players, he's shut down without much trouble. That perception won't do him well when he goes head-to-head with one of Smackdown's top babyface stars: The Big Show. The result will be a lackluster overall feud. It's strange that WWE puts so much narrative foundation under certain individuals, yet they practically ignore others. Mark Henry has been pushed pretty well over the years, but he's not getting the storyline backing that his numerous pushes warrant.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4.5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Mark Henry: Undertaker, Kane
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather, The Great Khali


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Matt Hardy vs. MVP
(2) Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero
(3) CM Punk vs. Chuck Palumbo?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Vladimir Kozlov vs. ?
(2) Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin


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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