By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
June 6, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Night of Champions (fourth-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-ninth 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)

This week's Smackdown didn't feature certain acts that were introduced last week, which is a curious move on WWE's part. For example, WWE never took MVP-Noble anywhere. Jamie Noble was nowhere to be seen, and MVP sat in the skybox for the entirety of the show. Also, nothing was mentioned about Matt Hardy or Elijah Burke, and neither man appeared on the show in any segment. Plus, WWE brought back The Great Khali, which leaves him, Vladimir Kozlov, and MVP currently seeking some kind of opponent as they are pushed in the weeks ahead. With all of that happening, there aren't too many established storylines and feuds on WWE's two-hour Friday night show.


World Heavyweight Champion EDGE & Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO vs. BATISTA (1 week)

Vickie Guerrero kicked things off by introducing the new World Heavyweight Champion: Edge. The Rated-R Superstar shared a passionate kiss with his fiancée before cutting a promo about how he banished The Undertaker from WWE. As La Familia held their wine glasses up for a toast, the lights went out, which caused the crowd to pop. As the lights returned, the heels broke into laughter. "Gotcha," Edge told the crowd.

He then threw it to Vickie, who announced that she and Edge will be getting married in just five weeks on Smackdown. As La Familia began to celebrate, Batista crashed the party. The Animal started to congratulate Vickie and Edge, but then said that he was kidding. "I can't stand either one of you. You both make me sick. I hope you have bad, ugly little kids. I hope you two make each other miserable," Batista ranted. Vickie then told Batista that he'd get his title match against Edge only if he won an 8-Man Tag Team Match in the main event. Later in the show, Edge met backstage with Chavo and asked him if he would consider being the best man at his wedding. Chavo agreed, and Edge began to talk about how he and Vickie were going to have lots of children. Edge closed the segment by thanking Chavo with a hug, but Chavo's face emoted confusion and uncertainty.

The main event got underway at the end of the show, and that's when Batista was able to see who his partners would be. Nunzio was the first to walk out, followed by Funaki, followed by Colin Delaney. Batista wasn't amused. He mockingly clapped toward Vickie, who was joyously smiling at ringside. The match featured the WWE jobbers getting beaten up for the majority of the match. In the end, Batista managed to overcome the odds, delivering all his signature moves to La Familia and winning the match via Batista Bomb. After the match, Edge looked on from ringside with a look of complete shock, and Batista celebrated to close the show.

The transition of Edge's opponent was handled well by WWE. With such a limited amount of top-tier wrestlers on Smackdown, they basically have to alternate between Batista and Undertaker. The celebration to start the show was a nice segment, mostly because it put all the momentum back on Edge and Vickie. They are now not only elated that the World Heavyweight Title is again around Edge's waist, but they are also excited at their upcoming wedding. As for Batista, he basically needs this feud. Since even before WrestleMania he's been floating around on the blue brand with almost nothing to do. Even his rivalry with Shawn Michaels left him with no place on the Smackdown card for many weeks since their battles mainly advanced either on Raw or on PPV.

It's uncertain how the main-event landscape will fare after the WWE Draft, but this newly-created Batista-Edge feud is a great way to lead Smackdown in the next few weeks.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6

Previous Feuds
Edge: Kane, Batista
Vickie Guerrero: Undertaker, Batista
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker, MVP, Umaga, Shawn Michaels

FINLAY (w/ Hornswoggle) vs. CHUCK PALUMBO (3 weeks)

This week, Finlay went head-to-head once again with his current rival, Chuck Palumbo. However, unlike their previous contests, this week's match was a Belfast Brawl. The bout ended when Hornswoggle intervened by giving Palumbo a low blow, allowing Finlay to hurl a chain-clad fist at Palumbo's face for the 1-2-3. After the match, Finlay and his son danced around the ring in celebration for their victory.

Well, it didn't take long for Finlay to reap revenge on his current heel counterpart. Out of the three weeks that they've been feuding, Finlay and Hornswoggle have one-upped Palumbo twice. WWE seemed to be hinting that Palumbo was undergoing a new type of character—one who simply didn't care what happened as long as he made a statement. But this week's loss took a lot of steam out of that build. I'm not sure where this leaves Mr. Palumbo, but another interesting note is that WWE began to frame a new feud for the weeks ahead with a backstage segment that depicted John Morrison and The Miz picking on Hornswoggle. Could this be the end of the Finlay-Palumbo feud? Could Hornswoggle and Finlay team up and win the WWE Tag Team Championship?

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

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL
Chuck Palumbo: Chris Masters, Kenny Dykstra, Jamie Noble & Michelle McCool

VICTORIA & NATALYA NEIDHART vs. MICHELLE McCOOL (10 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Vickie Guerrero met with the women of Smackdown and ECW to discuss her decision to crown a new Divas Champion for the blue brand. Everyone seemed excited about the news, so she booked a Golden Dreams Match, which would determine one of the two participants in the Divas Title Match at Night of Champions. Later in the show, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maryse, Cherry, Natalya, Victoria, and Michelle McCool battled it out for the Golden Star. The match ended when Natalya gave Victoria a powerbomb from the ropes while Victoria was giving McCool a superplex. That move allowed Natalya to ascend the ropes, grab the golden star, and earn a spot in the upcoming Divas Title Match at Night of Champions.

Well, this is yet another indication that women's wrestling is growing in popularity, and WWE wants to jump on it. Another women's title has great value, especially since there exists a nice array of talent on both brands. Plus, WWE took out the Cruiserweight Championship last year, so this gives Smackdown another title for their wrestlers. Before this announcement, the only way for Smackdown divas to win the gold was to either be drafted to Raw or somehow be booked in an interpromotional Women's Title Match and win it, something that had not been done. This opens up a lot of possibilities for women on both shows to really grow their characters and abilities with something very special to chase. WWE will also have the opportunity to feature matches with both the Women's Champion from Raw and the Divas' Champion from Smackdown.

As for this particular feud, it appears as though WWE is clearly heading for a McCool-Natalya matchup with the new title on the line. And they are right to do so. Those are the two divas (other than Victoria) who clearly stand out as the best in-ring talent Smackdown currently has. Plus, they already have a decent storyline backing for their upcoming title match. WWE has a few weeks to repair this rivalry after Natalya's short hiatus from TV, and they will likely pull it off as long as they name her opponent soon.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [up 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 (5 weeks)

Both Maryse and Cherry participated in the Golden Dreams Match, which named one of the two wrestlers who will battle for the newly-created Divas Title at Night of Champions. Nothing, however, was done to differentiate this particular feud from the other divas' rivalry beyond the announcers briefly noting the issues between Cherry and Maryse.

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

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

MARK HENRY vs. BIG SHOW (6 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Big Show stepped out to the ring to cut a promo about how he won the ECW Singapore Cane Match at One Night Stand to become the number one contender for the ECW Championship. He said the next challenge is to face Kane for the ECW Title. After starting to discuss The Big Red Machine, Mark Henry interrupted to continue what had ostensibly been a weak feud that died out in favor of Show-Kane for Night of Champions. Henry mocked Big Show for being hypocritical—for talking about picking on people his own size and then fighting in the Singapore Cane Match (presumably implying that he faced four people who were a lot smaller than he). Show called Henry out, attempting to goad him into a fight. Henry walked to the ring, but didn't jump inside.

It was an odd decision to reignite the issues between Mark Henry and Big Show after seemingly killing the feud a few weeks ago. Plus, Big Show didn't appear on ECW the week after One Night Stand, but he appeared on Smackdown? Why wasn't Show on ECW (not last Tuesday, but the one before that) beginning his program with Kane? I had originally thought that WWE had to fill time on ECW with the Punk-Kane match because Big Show couldn't appear, but he was on Smackdown (which tapes the same day). That's really strange. I have no clue where WWE is going with this, which is one of the few things that intrigue me about it. Will Mark Henry somehow be involved in the upcoming ECW Title Match at Night of Champions? This is a bit confusing from the perspective of narrative analysis.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

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

SANTINO MARELLA vs. RODDY PIPER (6 weeks)

There was heavy hype by WWE leading to the match between Santino Marella and Cousin Sal. The match eventually took place toward the middle of the show. Roddy Piper and Jimmy Kimmel stood ringside for the bout, while Sarah Silverman was shown cheering in the crowd. The match ended when Kimmel grabbed Santino's foot while the referee was distracted by Piper on the apron. Cousin Sal capitalized on the opportunity by rolling Santino up in a schoolboy for the win. After the match, Santino knocked Sal down and stalked Kimmel, but Roddy Piper laid Marella out with a punch to the face. Sal, Kimmel, and Piper celebrated to close the segment.

Too bad Sarah Silverman didn't play a bigger role in this storyline; if she got a few minutes on the mic, the entertainment value here would have exploded. As for the segment itself, WWE did a nice job using what they had available. The Piper-Santino feud has been brewing for weeks on Raw, and this was the culmination match that solved everybody's issues. It wasn't meant to be a strong match; it was meant to tell a different kind of story with celebrity guests and WWE's unique form of entertainment. Overall, it was effective in letting the audience see Santino get what he deserved.

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

Previous Feuds
Santino Marella: Umaga, Ron Simmons, Val Venis, Steve Austin, Maria
Roddy Piper: n/a


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) The Undertaker vs. Edge
(2) Batista vs. Shawn Michaels
(3) CM Punk vs. Big Show vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. John Morrison vs. Tommy Dreamer
(4) Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Vladimir Kozlov vs. ?
(2) The Great Khali vs. ?
(3) MVP vs. ?
(4) Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. John Morrison & The Miz


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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