By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
May 23, 2008
Upcoming PPV: One Night Stand (second-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-seventh 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 (14 weeks)

Vickie Guerrero kicked off Smackdown by making an announcement. "None of you know what it's like to run a huge television show like this," Vickie shouted to the fans as they booed. She said that one of her jobs is to enforce the rules, so she had to correct Charles Robinson's mistake of awarding Undertaker the World Heavyweight Title. She announced that at One Night Stand, the World Title would be on the line in the "most extreme" match: a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match. As Edge wheeled her out, she quickly inserted her usual heel addendum: if Undertaker loses, he will be "banished" from WWE. Edge nodded in agreement as the segment came to a close.

In the back, Chavo met with Vickie and Edge to straighten things out after walking out last week. Vickie said that she's glad there are no hard feelings, and she's booked Chavo in a match against The Undertaker one-on-one. Chavo wasn't pleased to hear the news, but Edge told him that he had nothing to worry about since he, Bam Neely, Curt Hawkins, and Zack Ryder would all be at ringside for him. At the end of the night, the main event took place. During the match, Undertaker eventually found himself on the outside, and Edge, Hawkins, and Ryder started beating on him. The referee then sent all the heels to the back, leaving only Chavo and Bam Neely (who had not attacked Taker earlier). The match ended when Chavo dove off the top rope; Taker caught him, delivered a Tombstone Piledriver, and scored the pinfall.

This feud continues to lead the Smackdown brand, and crowds are really reacting to Vickie's character. It is uncertain right now whether Edge will benefit more from increasing his presence on the mic or from standing behind Vickie as she absorbs this massive heat. On the one hand, if Edge basically spoke for himself this week, he probably would have garnered a nice reaction, but for whatever reason, Vickie has been the primary target of the majority of boos lately. So it may be strategically smart to just have Vickie gather all this heat as the heel GM while having Edge siphon as much as he can with simple association. It may just be a simple mathematical problem: At the moment, Vickie can arguably draw more heat than Edge in a single promo; therefore, let Vickie handle everything while Edge sits back and looks like someone being spoiled by nepotism.

As for the Edge-Taker feud, it only exists at surface level. The real story here revolves around the relationship between Edge and Vickie as well as the strength of La Familia as a heel faction. The World Heavyweight Title Match at One Night Stand is now a TLC Match, which will provide a nice culmination to a very lengthy Edge-Taker rivalry. But the stipulation regarding Undertaker being banished from WWE is a bit of a stretch.

It is pretty illogical when defining this through a storyline perspective. Why would the General Manager of a WWE brand release one of their top stars for losing a match (which would result in Edge getting the World Title anyway)? Plus, how could she possibly prevent another brand from picking Taker up if it did happen? It doesn't make sense despite their mutual hatred. Wouldn't a better stipulation be that if Taker loses, he doesn't get another shot at the title while Edge is champion? Plus, that stip wouldn't be giving away the conclusion of the matchup to most viewers who either realize that Taker isn't going anywhere or (for those truly suspending disbelief) who know that he will give it his all when his career is "on the line."

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 10 [same as 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 (8 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Montel Vontavious Porter held his MVP Lounge with special guest Teddy Long this week. He initially wanted to give Long a chance to tell his side of the story after quitting as Assistant GM last week, but Porter decided to take the opportunity to complain about how Long mistreated him while he was Smackdown GM. At one point, Long had had enough, but Porter grabbed him by the tie, telling him that he wasn't finished. Suddenly, Batista's music hit. The Animal came out, thanked Teddy Long for being a fair GM, wished Long well in his future endeavors, and threatened MVP if he ever put his hands on Long again. Porter told Batista that he couldn't disrespect him, so Batista destroyed his Lounge set. The segment ended as MVP made his way to the back, frustrated that Batista ruined his show.

Later, MVP complained about the situation to Vickie, who quickly booked him in a match against Batista. The bout saw MVP work on Batista's shoulder throughout the match. In the end, Batista hit a spear, a spinebuster, and a Batista Bomb on Porter for the victory.

It is uncertain whether this will eventually lead to an MVP-Batista feud or whether it was simply a one-time matchup to fill a not-too-eventful episode of Friday Night Smackdown, but one thing was certain: there was relatively little done to promote the problems between Batista and Shawn Michaels. MVP in many ways is like Batista in that he isn't easily finding a babyface counterpart with whom he can feud. It's odd that WWE hasn't pitted him against someone by now because he's one of the few top heels on the Smackdown brand. He's had matches with Batista before, and they usually end like this. It's hard to see where an MVP-Batista storyline can go when the heel proves (seemingly once every few months) that he can't take the babyface. With no threat to the face, it's hard to get people invested. As for Batista's feud with Michaels, it looks like WWE wants Raw to be the backdrop for any further advancement.

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

Previous Feuds
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker, MVP, 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) (3 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

It looks like this one is over. MVP fought Batista in what may be the beginning of a possible feud, while Finlay beat Chuck Palumbo in a match that may also mark the beginning of a new feud.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

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

KOFI KINGSTON vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN (5 weeks)

Just three imaginary days since ECW, Kofi Kingston teamed with Matt Hardy to face the interesting team of Shelton Benjamin and Elijah Burke. They recapped events from ECW showing Benjamin hitting his finisher on Kofi for the three count. The Smackdown tag team match ended when Burke and Hardy fell to ringside, leaving just Kofi and Benjamin in the ring. Kingston quickly surprised Shelton again with his Trouble in Paradise Kick for the decisive victory.

Well, talk about regaining momentum. Kofi Kingston didn't even need a whole week to avenge his loss Tuesday on ECW. I don't know what this says about Shelton Benjamin, but it looks like WWE is really getting behind the Kofi Kingston character. This has turned into a pretty good feud, but where do they go from here? Shelton now has proven that he can beat Kofi one out of every four times they fight (or maybe that was just a fluke), and even when he pulls off a win, Kofi comes back immediately and steals his short-lived thunder. Let's see how it progresses on ECW this week.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [same as on ECW]

Previous Feuds
Kofi Kinston: n/a
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank

CM PUNK vs. CHUCK PALUMBO (4 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Thankfully, it looks like WWE has preoccupied Palumbo with a new babyface opponent: Finlay, sparing Punk from having to continue a feud that seemed both awkward and boring.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

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 (8 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Oddly, this feud wasn't continued this week on Smackdown or ECW. Victoria, Natalya, and Michelle McCool were nowhere to be seen, while WWE clumped the Cherry-Maryse feud into a mixed tag match with Jesse, Festus, Deuce, and Domino. Strange.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [down 1 since last week]

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

MARYSE (w/ Deuce & Domino) vs. CHERRY (3 weeks)

This week, Deuce, Domino, and Maryse teamed to face Jesse, Festus, and Cherry in mixed tag team competition. As the heels made their way to the ring, Cherry had a look of disgust and confusion on her face. She seems very troubled by Maryse's new position as the manager of the Deuce & Domino tag team. During the match, Cole and Foley talked about how Deuce and Domino haven't won a match in nearly a year while Cherry was with them, perhaps suggesting that as the reason for their dumping her. The match ended when Festus accidentally kicked Deuce into Cherry, knocking her over. Then Maryse kicked Cherry in the face for the win.

This may be just the beginning, but it's nice to see WWE using the situational story that already exists as a launching pad for the rivalry between Cherry and Maryse. Cherry remains a strong babyface diva on Smackdown with her sympathetic position as the target of bullying by people like the rather rude Maryse. It's also good that Cole and Foley talked about how unsuccessful Deuce and Domino have been in the last year; it almost gives them reason for having ditched Cherry, despite them going about it the wrong way. They are angry, bitter individuals who are looking to regain the momentum they had when they first arrived on the Smackdown scene, eventually winning the WWE Tag Team Championships. Look for the abuse to continue for Cherry, but revenge should be sweet.

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

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

MARK HENRY vs. BIG SHOW (4 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

It looks like WWE axed this storyline, instead opting to put Big Show on ECW where he will battle for a shot at the ECW Title in a Singapore Cane Match at One Night Stand. But I don't think many people expected this particular feud to last long.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

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


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) CM Punk vs. Chuck Palumbo
(2) MVP vs. Finlay
(3) Victoria & Natalya vs. Michelle McCool?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Vladimir Kozlov vs. ?
(2) Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin
(3) Deuce & Domino vs. Jesse & Festus
(4) Batista vs. MVP
(5) Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo
(6) Matt Hardy vs. Elijah Burke


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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