By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Mic Work: Smackdown featured quality mic work this week. None of the promos stood out as being outstanding, but they were all good. Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho were good in their verbal exchange during the opening segment. I had some problems with the content (more later), but the over all quality of the mic work was strong. I enjoyed the interview with John Morrison as well as Shelton Benjamin's interruption. They both delivered well. I like how Benjamin said they had unfinished business, and I like even more how Morrison brushed him away. His line about the world's most forgotten tag team was great. CM Punk gave a solid promo after saving Morrison from Umaga. Jeff Hardy gave a good short and to the point promo. Sometimes long promos can be really good and enjoyable, but not always. Here was a case where shorter was better. Let Hardy get some mic time, but do most of his talking in the ring. Edge and Jericho had a nice backstage encounter. Their chemistry as heels who don't like each other is great. Edge's promo before the main event was the best of the night. It probably deserves a solo Hit, it was that good. I loved how he compared Hardy's history in ladder matches (he always shines) to his own (he always wins). All in all, it was a good week for mic work on Smackdown.

Umaga vs. Morrison: This was a good 13 minute match. It wasn't great and it did drag some in the middle. I am not a fan of the nerve hold. I will give Morrison credit for fighting the hold a bit at the beginning and making it look a little better than usual. The nerve hold is boring, but the match itself got off to a good start, and finished strong. Umaga can do some cool power moves. I loved when he threw Morrison into the air and caught him with the Samoan Drop. We've seen it before, but it looked more impressive than usual (and it usually looks impressive). It is fun to watch Umaga in the ring with an athletic wrestler who can bump for him. Morrison also looked good in his own offense, keeping things interesting in his attempts at a comeback. The DQ ending made sense. It was nice to see Punk make the save and get some revenge afterwards.

Cryme Tyme vs. Haas & Benjamin: This was a good tag team match. It wasn't quite as good as the Superstars match featuring Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. Primo & Carlito, but it was nice to see the former World's Greatest Tag Team in good matches on back to back shows. With Haas & Benjamin getting the clean win over Cryme Tyme, is that the end of that feud? Will Benjamin keep feuding with Morrison? Will Morrison get a partner to counter Haas?

Jericho Ambushes Mysterio: That was a great execution of a great concept. Having Chris Jericho act like he was going to skip the main event worked to hook the fans into thinking he would actually do it. He tricked us, and he tricked Mysterio as well. The actual ambush and beating were very well done and memorable. I am enjoying the feud between Mysterio and Jericho a lot, and this was another good step. I don't like the mask stuff (more later), but I liked seeing Jericho out smart Mysterio and get the advantage for his team over Jeff Hardy.

Ladder Match Build: WWE did a nice job of hyping the Edge vs. Hardy ladder match for Extreme Rules. It started with a great video package on their history in ladder matches. It continued with the short but good promo from Hardy mentioned above. Then came the best promo of the night, Edge's promo also mentioned above. Put those together with the way Edge used the ladder as a weapon on Hardy after the main event, and you should have a lot of WWE fans wanting to pay to see the first one on one ladder match between these two great performers.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Opening Segment Issues: I didn't do a Hits & Misses for Smackdown last week, but as I mentioned in my report for Raw, I am not thrilled with the talk about Rey Mysterio's mask. I have just never been a big fan of the mask storyline. We saw it last year when Kane tried to rid WWE of Mysterio's mask, and now Jericho is doing it too. I understand the history and legacy of the mask for a luchador, but I just don't rally behind Mysterio because he might lose his mask. Perhaps seeing him wrestle without it in WCW back in the day ruined the mystique. I could have also done without the reminder of the lame Mickey Rourke storyline from the build up to WrestleMania. Let's not remind the audience about Rourke's involvement.

Eve vs. Layla: I will admit that this wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. But, that doesn't mean it was good. It wasn't. Layla has never impressed me in the ring. Eve Torres hasn't had many matches (I guess Layla hasn't either) on tv, and she has looked ok at best. Put them together, and you don't get much. I like the idea of WWE building a feud among the women that isn't about the Women's Championship. So often, WWE has had one feud at a time for the Divas. I give them credit for having two right now. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of this one. I hated the ending with the stupid roll up after a cross body. It reminds me of women's wrestling in WWF in the mid-80s. If you ask me how any match ended in that era, I would guess that ending. That's just my perception. I'm not saying they all ended that way, but that is how I think about them. It is a weak ending in general, and looked very weak in this instance.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and Superstars each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

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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