By Lee Stevens, PWTorch Specialist

Thank you for taking the time to put Smackdown "Under The Microscope" for another week. As a reminder, this is not a recap of the entire show. Instead, we are looking for things you may have missed the first time or simply interesting notes about the show and some background related to it. This is also a good time to remind you that some of these observations are for new fans. They are not as smart as you. It's like freshman year for them. Please be nice, don't point and laugh and if they ask where the cafeteria is, please give them correct directions.

3, 2, 1 and we're on

I enjoyed the opening brawl between Triple H and Jeff Hardy and not because it was any different from previous confrontations between the two. Instead, I enjoyed it because it started the show with a slightly fresh feel. Too often the wrestler is allowed to go to the ring, say his catchphrases, and speak for several minutes before his hated rival charges the ring, unleashing his pent up rage.

Why wait?

If I were that upset at someone, I would try to tear them apart every chance I could get. Last week, it was backstage for Hardy and Triple H. This week, Hardy interrupted before The Game could get to the ring. I personally enjoy it when we actually miss a camera shot during a segment which is supposed to be live.

If someone came out of nowhere to attack someone, I don't think they took the time to get the camera crew ready, make sure the cameras were white balanced and focused and then waited for the commercial break to end before the first punch was thrown. A brief moment of realism goes a long way.

Hey--I know you!

The Microscope was happy to see Dean Malenko as one of the men trying to separate Hardy and Triple H. It wasn't hard to spot him as he was the only one not wearing a referee's uniform, but it was still a pleasant surprise to see him. I think back to when I was first watching and during a brawl, I was so proud to have recognized Tony Garea in street clothes. Again, if you're a veteran fan this isn't a big observation for you, but I can imagine a younger Malenko fan getting a charge out of a random sighting. Finlay is a rare example of a wrestler moving into a backstage role long enough to be seen as the "guy in street clothes breaking up a fight" and then transitioning back into a prominent on-air role.

Just take those old records...oh never mind

During one of the first commercial breaks, we were treated to the "Guitar Hero" parody of the famous scene in the movie Risky Business. Am I the only person who hears the opening beats to the song, looks up and if it's NOT the Heidi Klum version, I go back to whatever I was doing?

Sadly, we had to settle for Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, Kobe Bryant, and Alex Rodriguez. That means it's back to work.

Still the one

Although MVP's losing streak continues, he does still have the title of "Longest U.S. Championship Title Reign" in the WWE. Chris Benoit has the second longest reign in the WWE and if you extend the title history out to it's origins in the NWA and later the WCW, Lex Luger is the big winner. MVP had the title for a few weeks shy of a full year, while Luger had it for 523 days. Rick Rude is in second place all time with MVP taking up the third spot. It's a fun list to look at with names like Bobo Brazil, Wahoo McDaniel, and even Tim Woods alongside current names like Matt Hardy, John Cena, and Carlito.

3827262

MVP and R-Truth have more in common than their current profession. Early entries on their resume are quite similar too. MVP, or Alvin Burke if you're addressing his Christmas card, served nearly 10 years for armed robbery and kidnapping. R-Truth, then better known as Ron Killings served more than a year for drug charges. It's a credit to them that they've apparently stayed out of trouble since then.

I have references too

Speaking of resumes, I was thrilled to see people excited about their Slammy wins, with R-Truth and Khali bringing theirs to the ring and Tazz proudly announcing that Smackdown won five of the trophies. I remember Owen Hart getting solid mileage out of his win and adding it to his gimmick. If they are going to go to the trouble of having the award ceremony, including extending Raw by an hour, people should be excited about winning.

Oh, just say it

I understand that we generally don't talk about personalities who are no longer working for the WWE, but it was interesting to see how many ways we could dance around the obvious in regards to Matt Hardy's feelings for Edge. Take your pick:

"A man I share a long history with." --Edge
"Shared a lot of things together...primarily a strong, strong dislike." --Jim Ross
"The scummiest person on the planet." --Matt Hardy
"He slept with your girlfriend and then it became a storyline on TV so EVERYONE knew about it. Oh, and they fired you around that time too. Merry Christmas" --The Microscope

Most fans know the story of Edge and Lita and how it was also used for storyline purposes later in 2005. Since they used it once, I'm surprised they weren't willing to use it again to give extra intensity to the hatred between Hardy and Edge.

Professor Plum with the knife in the library

Lita was one of the few people Edge didn't mention as potential suspects in the attack on Matt's brother, Jeff Hardy. Edge gave solid cases for Triple H, Randy Orton, The Undertaker and even The Miz and John Morrison. It was refreshing to see at least a moment of doubt in the progression of the story. For storyline purposes, Edge makes the most sense, but since when is the obvious the most fun? Give us some doubt, just please give us a suitable answer. Who is driving the Hummer still haunts me.

What is your favorite unresolved storyline? Comment below or e-mail me at GLStevens.Torch@gmail.com

Lee Stevens goes "Under The Microscope" for Smackdown and Raw.

RELATED STORY at PWTorch.com: PARKS'S 12/12 WWE Smackdown Report.

[Matt Hardy photo by Wade Keller (c) PWTorch]

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