By John Shadle, PWTorch Specialist

Hello folks and welcome to Under the Microscope: Smackdown edition. Let's take a deeper look at the last Smackdown on the CW Network.

Bow Down to the King of Kings

I know that I have referenced this before, but it is something that keeps bugging me. Triple H's ring entrance hasn't changed really at all since he started to use "The Game" theme song back in 2000. But he has added somewhat recently the "bow down" on turnbuckle. It just seems like he is asking his fans to bow down to him. How can a face get away with that? That arrogance just bugs me. But that is easily Triple H's character. He is the King of Kings and everyone bows down to him…even his fans.

Two-Man Power Trip

J.R. was talking about whether or not Hardy and H can coincide wrestling as a tag team since they will be opponents at No Mercy. He mentioned that Triple H and Steve Austin were World Tag Champs together a few months after a bitter feud. Back in 1999, Triple H had Rikishi run down Austin in a car that took Austin out of action for nine months. Austin returned during Backlash 2000 to attack Triple H and McMahon to help The Rock win the WWE title. Austin and Triple H feuded for most of the year. Austin ended up winning the Rumble in 01 to set up a match at WM 17 against the Rock for the WWE title. Triple H and Austin's feud ended at No Mercy that year in a 3 Stages of Hell match that Triple H actually won. Austin then turned heel with help from McMahon at Mania to take the title from the Rock. Because of McMahon's relationship with both Austin and H now, they paired up and became the top heels in the business. The Two Man power Trip ended up holding all the titles (WWE, IC, World Tag) for a little bit as well. They lasted until Triple H's quad tear in a World Tag Title match against Jericho and Benoit.

Will You Be Serious

J.R. also made great reference to Gorilla Monsoon and his line "goodnight nurse" that he often said at the end of a match. Gorilla Monsoon was a wrestler during the '70s for the old WWWF and WWF. He also was an amazing play by play guy in the 80's alongside Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura, and other heel color commentators. He became WWE President in 1995 and that was his last on-air position. He passed away in 1999 due to heart failure.

Whisper in the…

In recent weeks, we have seen Jeff Hardy pretty much do a terrible job at hitting the Whisper in the Wind on his opponents. He pretty much just breezed by each opponent. I am sure it felt like wind hitting them. Well, I have to say Jeff did a better job this week. He actually did hit his opponent. But he hit Kendrick on the back (which I am sure was only Kendrick's fault). Good job Hardy as doing a better job.

Matching Husband and Wife

Did you catch the husband and wife in the front row both wearing track suits. The big fat guy was wearing a pink one and the woman was wearing a yellow one. They got some sweet tickets.

Did you notice?

I never noticed this before but the US title belt has a tiny blue and white star on the two gold plates next to the main gold plate on the belt. Something that isn't all that important, but it is deeper than what the average fan may see….or care about.

I am going to eat you!

When J.R. and Tazz were going through the lineup for No Mercy, pretty much each individual picture between opponents was about the same size. The one between Henry and Hardy was a tad bit different. Henry's pic took about half the screen. It made Henry look gigantic compared to Hardy…which is true anyways.

I like to watch myself

So Big Show has that video cued up at all times to prove that he can take out the Undertaker? Isn't that a little weird? We should all have our own videos that are cued up at any moment to prove any point that we have to make.

Last Minute Assignment

If Vickie was a real boss, she would be terrible to her workers. She let Chavo know of his match right before it was to go on air, and he didn't even know who he would be wrestling. I thought it was good to prepare for an opponent before a match for the best performance. I guess Vickie doesn't care for good matches.

So I Guess We Should Defend Them

I believe this was Ryder and Hawkins first WWE Tag Title defense since they won them in July. They have held the titles for 63 days. What ever happened to those 30 days title defenses?

Classic Tag Team Wrestling

J.R. referenced two of the all time great tag teams who did frequent tags to be a good tag team. The Hart Foundation were made up by the great Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart who were two time World Tag Team Champions. The Brain Busters were made up by Arn Anderson and Tully Branchard were also a part of the Four Horsemen in the NWA. They had one World Tag Team title reign when they defeated Demolition.

Well, that is the end of this week's Smackdown. It was okay, I guess. I am definitely excited for next week's huge episode with Jericho vs Hardy vs Triple H in the main event. Of course, that won't be a clean finish but it should be a good match. Adios!

John Shadle is a life long WWE fan who keeps Excel spreadsheet rankings on the wrestlers with the most WWE World Titles. The amazing Rey Mysterio is ranked #37 on the all time list with 1 World Heavyweight Title and 4 WWE Tag Team Title reigns. If you are intrigued on where your favorite WWE wrestler is on the list or you would like to give any comments or questions, you can reach him at slim_shadle@hotmail.com.

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