By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
November 14, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Survivor Series (second-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-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)


WWE Champion TRIPLE H vs. JEFF HARDY vs. VLADIMIR KOZLOV (13 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Vickie Guerrero introduced both Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov in an official contract signing for the WWE Title match at Survivor Series. After Kozlov placed his signature down, Triple H began to describe how he must be feeling going into a major PPV to headline in his first title match.

-Suddenly, Jeff Hardy stormed the scene by leaping off the top rope and landing on Kozlov, crashing him through the contract signing table. Hardy then ripped up the contract and threw the shredded pieces into Triple H's face before leaving.

-After defeating Undertaker in the main event, Jeff Hardy ran into Vickie backstage. She told him that he still hasn't earned a shot at the WWE Title yet because she never promised him anything. However, she did note that if Jeff beats Triple H next week, the WWE Title match at Survivor Series will become a Triple Threat Match.

Analysis:

Here we have a simple, yet effective storyline involving a WWE mainstay wrestler (Triple H), an ambitious veteran looking to make a bigger name for himself (Jeff Hardy), and an impressive newcomer who is still widely unknown (Kozlov). It's a good story with a great outside angle in Jeff Hardy's attempt to make it back into the main event spotlight. As they approach Survivor Series, Triple H and Kozlov are preparing for their match against one another. But Jeff Hardy is feverishly trying to pry his way back into the scene in order to have another chance at the WWE Championship.

The contract signing was especially useful because we got to see Triple H mentally dissect Kozlov, giving us a new way to think about his character. The fact that Triple H broke it down to personally describe how it feels to headline your first PPV was great. Kozlov never acknowledged any truth to what Triple H was saying, but it was unnecessary. And then Hardy's literal crashing of the ceremony and his subsequent contract shredding added another layer to the story and reminded fans that Hardy desperately wants to get noticed.

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

Previous Feuds
Triple H: King Booker, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Orton & JBL, Randy Orton, John Cena
Jeff Hardy: Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Triple H, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, MVP
Vladimir Kozlov: n/a

THE UNDERTAKER vs. Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO & THE BIG SHOW (20 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Undertaker lay in a coffin that sat in the middle of the ring to open the show. A voice over by Taker discussed how the casket was Big Show's fate. When he opened the coffin lid to sit up, Jeff Hardy appeared on the big video screen donning white face makeup.

-Hardy told Undertaker that his world is not black-and-white; it is gray. He also said that he lived on pure emotion, and that's what's going to help him beat Taker later.

-In Smackdown's main event, Jeff Hardy faced Undertaker in an Extreme Rules Match. Big Show eventually interrupted, tossing Hardy out of the ring before delivering a chokeslam to Taker. Hardy then helped Taker rid the ring of Big Show.

-Jeff then surprised Taker with a chair shot to the skull. He followed it up with a legdrop using a ladder to pick up the win.

Analysis:

There was an interesting new evolution of sorts for Jeff Hardy's character this week. To make the change feel more physical, he applied white face makeup on himself. Will that be his new look from now on or was that a one-time appearance change? I don't expect Jeff Hardy to continue any kind of storyline with The Undertaker beyond this week. Remember, his involvement in the Taker-Show feud was done just to pass one of Vickie's tests in order to obtain another shot at the WWE Title. His opening promo was pretty strong; it was another case of WWE using his real-life mentality and lifestyle to complement and strengthen his in-ring persona. Of course, the most important line was when he said, "And tonight this emotion, this frustration, this anger, this rage, this recklessness and insanity is exactly what will beat you." Despite all of that, however, this week's events didn't add any significant fire to the Taker-Show rivalry.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9 [same since last week]

Previous Feuds
Vickie Guerrero: Undertaker, Batista
Undertaker: Mark Henry, Batista, Big Daddy V, Edge
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather, The Great Khali

MVP vs. THE GREAT KHALI (w/ Ranjin Singh) (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-MVP fought Fung Fu Naki one-on-one. During the match, The Great Khali's entrance interrupted everything. MVP got distracted, and Kung Fu Naki was able to fell Porter with his finishing kick to score the pinfall.

-Khali then entered the ring, sent MVP to the mat with a chop, and then proceeded with the weekly kiss cam segment. They invited a woman from the crowd to come in as usual, but this time they had her kiss the still-unconscious MVP. As she did, Porter awakened in shock and rolled around until he made it to ringside.

Analysis:

Uh.




Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
MVP: Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Batista, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy
The Great Khali: Batista, Finlay, Hornswoggle, Big Show

WWE Divas' Champion MICHELLE McCOOL vs. MARIA (5 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Michelle McCool defended her WWE Divas' Title against Maria. During the matchup, Jesse and Festus walked to ringside to observe.

-The match ended when McCool snapped on an ankle lock. Maria was forced to tap. After the bell had rung, Festus was sent into a rage. He got into the ring and charged at McCool, who quickly fled.

-After the match, Festus presented Maria with a stuffed teddy bear.

Analysis:

I thought WWE was going to make a bigger deal about the McCool-Maria storyline. There didn't seem to be too much narrative spillage this week as Maria soundly lost to McCool in their match and then looked fine after favoring her ankle for a bit. In fact, she looked happy and grateful despite her loss, almost as if she was just happy to get the opportunity to face Michelle McCool for the title. If they were trying to hint at a potential discovery on Maria's part of Michelle's past comments about her, it didn't show. Now the question is whether or not WWE will continue to pursue the hints of a McCool-Maria rivalry. Plus, where's this Festus crush angle going? At some point, we're going to have to expect Maria to say something about it.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same since last week]

Previous Feuds
Michelle McCool: Victoria, Chuck Palumbo
Maria: Beth Phoenix & Melina & Santino Marella

United States Champion SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. R-TRUTH (9 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Shelton Benjamin faced Matt Hardy in a Champion vs. Champion match. The bout ended when Hardy caught Benjamin in a Twist of Fate for the victory.

Analysis:

This almost doesn't feel like a feud anymore. It's faded away and has seemingly been replaced by other storylines with WWE in full hype mode for Survivor Series. However, it is important to note that these two will be part of a ten-person Traditional Survivor Series Match, so you can probably expect their feud to play into that match some how.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [down 1.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank, Kofi Kingston
R-Truth: n/a

THE BRIAN KENDRICK & EZEKIEL vs. CARLITO & PRIMO (1 week)

Summary Quick Shots:

-The Brian Kendrick defeated Carlito in singles competition after hitting The Kendrick for the 1-2-3. Ezekiel's hard shoulder tackle on Primo at ringside provided the distraction that led to Kendrick's win.

Analysis:

After about a month of fighting complete jobbers, Kendrick and Ezekiel are now in a program that could get very interesting. I pointed out in last week's column that Kendrick and Ezekiel are building a nice chemistry and that they complement each other well. I also suggested that they don't seem like a normal tag team; they're alliance feels stronger in many ways. It seems more like they have a symbiotic relationship where they can each use their unique talents to fill in where the other lacks. But this specific storyline may be indicative of a potential Kendrick/Ezekiel Tag Team Title run. The likelihood of such an event doesn't seem too farfetched when you consider how aimless the Carlito and Primo characters have been as of late. Overall, this feud with these personalities has a lot of potential.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6

Previous Feuds
The Brian Kendrick: Triple H & Hardy & Benjamin & MVP
Carlito & Primo: Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder

VICTORIA & NATALYA vs. BRIE BELLA (12 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

No sign of Victoria or the Bella twins this week.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Victoria: Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool & Cherry
Brie Bella: n/a


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Michelle McCool vs. Maria?
(2) Shelton Benjamin vs. R-Truth?
(3) Victoria vs. Brie Bella?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Jeff Hardy vs. Vickie Guerrero
(2) Jeff Hardy vs. The Undertaker
(3) MVP vs. Hurricane Helms
(4) MVP vs. Kung Fu Naki
(5) Festus vs. Michelle McCool


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 "DH Smith" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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