By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Jericho - Edge: I didn't enjoy much of Smackdown this week, but I did like the start of the show. Edge and Chris Jericho have good chemistry together, whether its as a team or now as enemies. This was a good set up for the possible main event of WrestleMania if Jericho wins the Elimination Chamber and Edge chooses to face him. WWE continues to do a good job with these teases for possible opponents for Edge (as they did at the end of the night with the Undertaker). Their verbal exchange was very well done. They are both very good on the mic and I really liked hearing them go back and forth.

Michaels Mentioned: It came a week and a half too late, but I was glad to hear someone in WWE finally mention Shawn Michaels' actions from last week's Raw. Teddy Long told Vickie Guerrero that he was taking action against Michaels. That was all that was said, and it was about time. I still don't understand why his actions hadn't been mentioned on Raw yet. I don't understand why a future Hall of Famer claiming his career is over before walking off of the show hasn't been treated as a big deal. But, at least he was mentioned on Smackdown this week.

Batista vs. Edge: I don't understand giving away this match for free, or giving away Edge's first singles match since returning from injury against any opponent. But, it was well done and they didn't give too much away. Plus, they at least advertised it a week in advance. I liked how Batista started to walk out on the match which fit in with what he's been doing lately. We still need to get an explanation at some point pretty soon as to why he walked out on a chance to get into the Elimination Chamber. However, I like how they are keeping his motives secret for now. I was also glad to see Edge being able to actually goad him into coming back to the ring for the match. The match was simple, but good while it lasted. Undertaker's appearance at the end was very predictable. It did follow up nicely on what happened during his match against Jericho last week. I also liked how Jericho attacked Edge at the very end of the show.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Maria: Is it me, or should Maria just not date WWE wrestlers? It never goes well. Santino Marella. Dolph Ziggler. Now, she has been dating Matt Hardy for one week and they already seem to be having problems. I really hate the team of Hardy and the Great Khali. Adding Maria to the mix doesn't do anything for me. Having her be that upset about taking the loss just seemed forced and totally out of left field. I liked LayCool's role in the scene. I hated the writing for their Piggie James angle, but always enjoyed their performances. They have something as a team and are becoming WWE's version of The Beautiful People (which was great in its original inception in TNA).

Undertaker's Messages: Maybe I'm just immune to being impressed by Undertaker's "powers" after watching him for twenty years, but I just don't enjoy seeing him do these types of things any more. He made the lights flicker during the opening promo. That's spoooooky. He made pyro go off during the tag match between the Straight Edge Society and R-Truth & John Morrison. Yeah, we've never seen that before. It just didn't do anything for me. I've also seen the lights go out and have Undertaker appear in the ring so many times over the years. It is his trade mark. I'm not saying he should never do it. But, maybe he should do it less. It has less power the more often it occurs. Less is more in this case.

Overall Show: There was a lot of content on this week's show that was just sort of ok at best. Only those two things mentioned above really stood out as being individual Misses. However, the rest of the show just wasn't very good. Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler was decent, but haven't we seen this match several times recently? I can go the rest of the year without seeing it again. Also, it was only 7 minutes, but had a commercial break which is ridiculous. The build to Kane vs. Drew McIntyre has been ok, but has only stretched over two weeks and I don't think anyone really cares. Cryme Tyme vs. Croft & Baretta was a solid tag match, but I was confused why they didn't give the new Smackdown team the win in their debut. I liked the fact that R-Truth told John Morrison that he would go through him to win the World Title in the Elimination Chamber despite being partners that night. However, their little rhyme game to end the segment was overly silly (probably Miss worthy). SES vs. Truth & Morrison was fine. I didn't like the fact that Morrison didn't really sell last week's injury during the match. It worked fine to continue his injury angle, but it wasn't executed very well. I already mentioned the stupid 6 man tag. Throw in some of the video packages that we've seen already this week and other just sort of filler, and you got a Smackdown that didn't really add up to much in the end.

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.

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt