-- 9/18 WWE Smackdown Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev.: Best: Morrison vs. Knox. Worst: Kane vs. Khali. I probably should have expected as much, but there were a lot of dots on the canvas, but some of the lines connecting the dots were either broken or missing. Batista's switch to Smackdown had a plausible explanation--he became a free agent. But it's a lazy and convenient explanation. It was wise that Punk wasn't the first to welcome Batista, but not sure it was wise that Jericho did, either. Should Punk and Batista cross paths, though, what comes out of Punk's mouth could be dangerous and detrimental to Batista. "Mr. Ziggles" still doesn't look like it's catching on, but then this was Canada this week. Canada did get what they wanted from the Harts-Cryme Tyme match. It was a fair finish, but is this all the tag division Smackdown has? Doesn't help Jeri-Show one bit. Which reminds me: how did Jericho get to the locker room so fast to chew out Show for not being there for him? After seeing Michelle vs. Melina, I'm pretty convinced that if there was a knee injury, which there may still have been, it's being way exaggerated. Michelle should talk to her fellow wrestlers on how to sell an injury all the way through. And should I bet a Canadian dollar that Maria somehow never sees this episode to know that Melina was taking down the suggestive photo of Dolph and Michelle, not putting them up? It's clear Triple H doesn't watch Raw, so why should she watch the show she's on? Khali's out via injury storyline. Wish I could say he's gone for good, but I know he won't be. But I gotta say, the bent metal steps will tell the story that Khali moving his knee won't. The Drew-Truth story added another chapter, bringing Charlie Haas into the fray. Charlie's kind of like Shelton right now: so on the fringe that you probably won't know if he's heel or face next week after this.

Maybe I was expecting too much exposition for the screwjob follow-up. It has to say something when, as Teddy Long gives his explanation to the crowd, that I hear boos but don't see anything that resembles negative crowd reaction. It's been strongly fed that Teddy's back was against the wall going into Breaking Point. Now it looks like Vince is sending Teddy under the bus for what looks like Vince's masterminding. Referee Scott Armstrong talked the same talk of having job security held over his head. Long brings Punk into a conspiracy equation, which can't be completely bought as Punk wouldn't have enough influence. Would Punk have known? Oh yeah, but he's not the one directing traffic. As for Undertaker, when Vickie was GM, Undertaker faced off with her straight up. This time he kidnaps Teddy Long. Wow...such a face thing to do: kidnapping your supervisor. And Long's promo of contrition seemed genuine. If Long's turning heel, this was a lousy way to go about it. How this somehow gets us to Punk vs. Undertaker at HIAC remains to be seen, but it's going to be a very bumpy ride. The Guest Editorial earlier this week was worried about Undertaker's return snuffing out what had been a good run by Smackdown. With Batista in the mix, it looks like the worries were founded.

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