By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Opening Segment: This was a pretty good way to start Smackdown. Teddy Long effectively talked up Fatal 4 Way and announced the two big qualifying matches for later in the show. The promise of a Rey Mysterio vs. Undertaker main event was a good hook for keeping fans tuned in. Drew McIntyre's interruption was unexpected and worked well to continue his angle as being Vince McMahon's "chosen one" and his feud with Matt Hardy. I'm curious to see where they go with that feud now that Hardy has been suspended.

Punk's Mask: This was a nice twist for CM Punk to screw the fans out of the pleasure of seeing him bald. I found it pretty funny when he first revealed the mask underneath the towel he wore over his head to the ring. This is going to make the fans really want to see Punk get unmasked so that they can finally see him without hair. It also keeps the possibility of a feud with Mysterio alive (mask vs. mask?), while momentarily putting it on hold (which is a good thing as it was getting a bit stale and a break will do it some good) with Punk qualifying for Fatal 4 Way, but not Mysterio.

Undertaker vs. Mysterio: This was a good main event. It wasn't great, but Undertaker and Mysterio seem to find a way to work together in the ring to overcome the obvious size difference between them to put on a good match. This is a big match to give away for free, but it makes sense in this circumstance. For one thing, it is face vs. face, which they aren't going to do very often. For another, these two faced for the World Title at Royal Rumble in January, so it isn't that new of a match-up. They didn't really need to save it for anything down the line. WWE did a nice job of hyping Undertaker's return earlier in the week and throughout the broadcast they continued to hype this match. They did a nice job of making the fans think that Mysterio might pull off the victory. It was a good end to the show.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Punk vs. Kane: This was a bad match. It went 14 minutes and was not good from start to finish. It was boring at times. It was sloppy at times. There were good moments here and there, but they were few and far between. Undertaker has developed different finishing moves over the years, in part (particularly early on with the chokeslam) because he could not execute a Tombstone on much larger opponents (like Yokozuna). Punk should consider doing the same as the Go To Sleep is hard to do on an opponent the size of Kane and it showed here. That was an ugly ugly ugly move. With that execution, there is no way it would have finished off Kane, despite Matt Striker's attempt to cover. Punk has the Anaconda Vice. That would be one possibility. In any event, they should have called an audible and come up with a better finish. It still wouldn't have been a good match, but it would have been a bit better.

Hornswoggle: His presence just brings down the quality of any segment, angle or feud that he gets involved in. I like the potential for a Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian feud, but so far Hornswoggle has been involved in two out of three steps in the feud so it isn't off to a great start. As I said last week, I don't need to see Hornswoggle involved in any way with Chavo Guerrero. Christian looked like an idiot for tagging out to Hornswoggle in their tag match. The segment ended fine with Ziggler putting Christian to sleep after the match to Vickie Guerrero's delight (I'm not sure how I feel about a possible romance between her and Ziggler, but I'm hoping it never fully develops).

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 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...

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

9/7 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Paige vs. Banks, Rollins vs. Ryback, Orton vs. Sheamus, Cena & PTPs vs. Rollins & New Day

8/24 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Opening Segment, New Day, Dudleys return, Stewart, Sting