MVP vs. Festus: I enjoyed this match. Without Edge, a case can be made that Montel Vontavious Porter is the top heel on Smackdown. He played his part very well. He worked hard and put on a good match with Festus. Festus has shown more ability in the ring the last two weeks than we’ve seen from him. It is a bit hard to judge his actual skill, since his character is unrefined in the ring. His punches are wild and ugly looking, but they are supposed to be. He did show more selling ability this week. The end was good, as it kept Festus strong, but also made MVP look smart and sadistic. I also liked the post-match when MVP took advantage of Festus’ comatose state. WWE will have itself quite a moment one day when Festus snaps out of that state in a surprise on a heel.
Benjamin vs. Finlay: This was the best match of the night. Shelton Benjamin continues to shine in the ring. His intensity has been turned up, which is really elevating his game. Finlay is always intense, and Benjamin met that intensity. There was a lot of nice action and the match went a good length. There were also several nice near falls. The match was hard hitting, and told a story at the same time. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending, but Mike Knox’s distraction was a good way to continue their feud, while introducing it to Smackdown fans who don’t watch ECW. I don’t like Benjamin’s finisher, the Pay Dirt. It never looks good. Most guys don’t know how to take the move (it injured Mr. Kennedy), and it doesn’t look like it would finish anyone off. But, that is a minor complaint after such a good match.
Triple H on Commentary: Triple H added to the otherwise nothing special match of Jeff Hardy vs. The Great Khali. He did a good job of selling Khali’s size and strength, while at the same time talking up Hardy’s speed and agility. His presence on commentary made the match more enjoyable to watch, which should be the goal of guest commentary. Sometimes the guest takes away from the match, but Triple H added to it.
SMACKDOWN MISSES
Opening Segment: Starting off Smackdown with a video recap of SummerSlam was fine. But, the majority of the opening segment was Vickie Guerrero addressing the fans. It was boring. She isn’t a great talker. She has done some things very well, but simply addressing the fans isn’t one of them. Hearing her blame Edge for all of the wrongs she has done didn’t make me want to keep watching the show. Her maniacal laughter after saying Undertaker had sent Edge to Hell was forced and not good. She also made the disappointing (and once again baffling) announcement that Smackdown would have its own Championship Scramble at Unforgiving (more later). After Guerrero spoke, Maria came out for a match before the commercial break. That probably pleased some, but I am so uninterested in watching Maria wrestle that it didn’t please me.
2nd Championship Scramble: Does WWE actually think that the Championship Scramble is such a good idea that they have to do two in one PPV? Don’t they understand that this is likely going to water down the concept on its very first night? I know that I said similar things back in February when it was announced that No Way Out would have two Elimination Chamber matches, and that it turned out o.k. in the end. However, I still feel this is a mistake, especially since it is a new concept. The rules also seemed different. Vickie said something about wrestlers coming down in intervals to start the match, but Mike Ademle didn’t say that on Raw. Ademle said that the World Championship would likely change hands several times during the match (although some on PWTorch have interpreted his rules differently than I did), but Vickie said that each man to win a fall would become the “interim Champion.” What does that even mean? At least on Raw, the four challengers are all former Champions. None of the challengers on Smackdown are. That means that Hardy, or MVP, or Benjamin, or even The Brian Kendrick could become Interim WWE Champion as their first Title win. But, would it count? It is very convoluted. I like the match up on Smackdown better. I am very intrigued by the fact that Kendrick qualified. There is more athleticism and good work rate with Triple H, Hardy, Benjamin, MVP and Kendrick than on Raw with Punk, JBL, Kane, Cena and Batista. Yet, if anyone other than Triple H comes out as Champion, then their Title win will seem like a fluke, which isn’t a good thing for a first time Champ.
Little Mention of Edge: Vickie mentioned that Undertaker sent Edge to Hell in her opening address. But, that was about it in terms of talking about Edge. If he is dead or badly injured from burn wounds, it should be talked about on the show. If he disappeared, it should be talked about. What happened to him? Either they know, or they don’t. Either way, it should be talked about. What happened to him at the end of a major PPV should be a major topic of discussion on the first Smackdown after the PPV. It wasn’t. They spent more time addressing the “most controversial moment in SummerSlam history” (that’s not a direct quote, but pretty close to what Michael Cole said on Raw), by showing a long video of Chris Jericho punching Shawn Michaels’ wife. That got more of a mention than a man possibly being burned alive.
Battle Royale Participants: I liked The Big Show’s performance in acting like he was o.k. with being left out of a Championship Scramble qualifier, only to destroy everyone in the Battle Royale. However, it is totally unbelievable that even given everything that Vickie is going through, she would put any single one of these wrestlers (with the possible exception of Vladimir Kozlov) in a qualifier ahead of Show. They were jobbers. Scotty Goldman and Ryan Braddock debuted last week in losses. Funaki hasn’t won a match in years. Armando Estrada and Super Crazy are on ECW. Why give someone from ECW a chance to win Smackdown’s top Title and take it back to ECW? I could say the same about giving Finlay a chance as well. It is totally unbelievable that anyone would book this match. I like giving young guys a chance, but none of these guys have earned anything yet. And leaving out The Big Show was just stupid.
End of the Show: I didn’t enjoy the start of Smackdown, and I didn’t enjoy the end either. Part of it is that we’ve seen Undertaker come and go and make “special appearances” so many times over the years, that his first appearance back on Smackdown in a few months didn’t feel special to begin with. I am a big fan of Undertaker and have enjoyed so many great matches and moments over the years, but watching his slow ring entrance doesn’t do it for me any more. It might be cool live, but it isn’t on t.v. And, WWE did nothing to make what seemed a rather mundane return feel special. He came back and beat up La Familia. We’ve only seen that about a dozen times or so in the past. It just didn’t do anything for me. With Edge gone, I expected something to happen to set up Undertaker’s next feud. But, nothing did.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.
For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.
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