By Lee Stevens, Torch specialist

Thank you for joining me as put Smackdown "Under The Microscope." As a reminder, this is not a complete recap of the show. Instead, this is a closer look at Friday's broadcast.

I think we were disconnected

As Rey Mysterio talked about his upcoming Extreme Rules match with Chris Jericho, he insisted that although others may think it "could be dangerous, I think it's going to be off the hook!"

Jericho countered by asking, "Will it be off the hook when I take a steel chair and bash it over your head? When I take your championship and embed it in the side of your face and disfigure you forever, will that be off the hook? When you finish talking on the phone but don't return the receiver to the base, will that be off the hook?"

Perhaps he didn't actually say the last one, but telephones were obviously on the mind of both men as Mysterio reminded Jericho and everyone else that he had already hit the 619 and he vowed to do it again, plus add the 213, the 323, the 310, and the 818. The 213 serves downtown Los Angeles, which is surrounded by the 323, which also covers Hollywood and Eagle Rock, among other locations. The 310 extends to Santa Monica, Malibu, and Beverly Hills and the 818 is Burbank, Sherman Oaks, and the San Fernando Valley. Of the numbers Mysterio listed, 323 is the newest, as it was rolled out in June of 1998. The 619, covering Mysterio's hometown of Chula Vista and San Diego, premiered on New Year's Day 1982.

Are you hiding something?

Jericho continued to torment Mysterio by insisting "Why do you wear a mask, Rey? Honest men don't wear masks. People with integrity and honor don't hide their faces from the world. Only criminals, cowards, people with dirty little secrets hide their faces." I'm not sure what Jericho has against welders, beekeepers, and surgeons, but he probably has a point in regards to Jason from Friday the 13th, Mike Myers (Halloween, not Saturday Night Live), and White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

What is way up?

The Great Khali and R-Truth formed an unlikely tag team and an even more unlikely rap duo as the walked to the ring and after they celebrated their victory. Khali is not the first Indian rapper. Hard Kaur is often called the first female Indian rapper, who first became famous for the song Glassy and later participated in the Bollywood movie Johnny Gaddaar. Khali may or may be the tallest rapper, depending on your definition. Shaquille O'Neal has released a rap album and recorded with Fu Shnickens. At 7'1," he matches Khali in height. As for someone who is more known for the music, I offer up Snoop, but I encourage you to share your suggestions for tallest rappers in the comment section below.

Too Short, Skee Lo, and Bushwick Bill will not be accepted as suggestions.

And down the stretch she comes

Jim Ross made an unlikely comparison when he offered that "Michelle McCool thinks she's the Rachel Alexandra of the WWE." I've never made it a habit to compare a woman to a horse, at least not without the car already running and my bags packed, but I'm assuming he was referring to the filly's recent victory in the Preakness Stakes, the first filly to win the race in 85 years. Nellie Morse accomplished the same feat in 1924.

While McCool likely would appreciate the same recognition and status, they also share another comparison. The winner of the Preakness is awarded Black-eyed Susans and McCool recently complained on WWE's website that she received a black-eye at the hands of Melina.

Requests

In a very short span, WWE went from Shirley Temple to Jim Morrison with a brief stop at The Beatles. Shelton Benjamin mocked John Morrison's unique approach to his upcoming match by referencing "Good Ship Lollipop" and "Yellow Submarine." The full title is actually "On The Good Ship Lollipop," but I'm assuming Benjamin hasn't watched his DVD copy of the 1934 movie "Bright Eyes," on which the song was performed by Temple. Khia referenced the song in her remix of the Lil' Wayne song "Lollipop." As for "Yellow Submarine," the song was released in 1966, with a movie with the same title entering the world in 1968.

As for The Doors, Todd Grisham and Jim Ross continued the John Morrison/Jim Morrison selections by remarking that "Morrison is a rider on the storm" and "Morrison's mojo is not rising." We discussed "L.A. Woman" last week in The Microscope and now we can add "Riders on the Storm" to our Smackdown Doors list. I feel slightly uncomfortable thinking about how they would incorporate "Touch Me." Let's move on. Nothing more to see here.

You never forget your first

Jeff Hardy looked ahead to his match against Edge by reminding us about their past. "Edge and I were a part of the very first ever tag team ladder match." The match was the finale of the Terri Invitational Tournament, in yet another subtle abbreviation from the minds of WWF/WWE writers. The Hardy Boyz won the managerial services of Terri Runnels with the victory.

In other news, shut up

The announcers brought out Eve's college of choice by acknowledging that she attended USC. Grisham asked Ross "Pretty good at football, J.R.?" I believe he already knew the answer by Ross's tone. "Of course they are." USC handled Ross's Oklahoma Sooners rather easily in 2005, 55-19 in the Orange Bowl.

NBA and WWE which doesn't involve the Nuggets owner

Ross and Grisham connected Eve and Layla beyond the ring by remembering that Eve danced for the Los Angeles Clippers while Layla performed for the Miami Heat. Other people who became famous for their dancing in the NBA include former Lakers Girl and current American Idol judge Paula Abdul, Shannon and Dawn from Dannity Kane, and, of course, Mark Madsen.



The video also features one of our contestants for tallest rappers from earlier. The circle of The Microscope.

Lee Stevens examines Raw and Smackdown with "Under The Microscope." You can leave comments below or e-mail him at GLStevens.Torch@gmail.com

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