Jeff Hardy [artist Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]

James Caldwell, Torch Assistant Editor (8.0)

I was locked into this show from start to end, as Smackdown delivered a very crisp and fast-paced two hours. What can you say about the Jeff Hardy vs. John Morrison match? Morrison is on top of his game right now and Hardy is doing some of the best in-ring work of his career, perhaps at the tail-end of it. Morrison's athleticism is off the charts and it's not like he's simply doing spots for the sake of doing spots. That is his offense and he's able to connect with so many moves to "weaken the opponent," while looking super-flashy in the process. One of the best TV matches of the year, no doubt.

Cryme Tyme is in the midst of a major push right now. WWE believes they deserve the spot and both men seem to be delivering the goods in the ring right now. I was really impressed with their match against the Hart Dynasty, especially the one-on-one exchanges between Tyson Kidd and JTG. That should be booked as a singles match on a future episode of SD. Even Shad's little Star Wars reference to Big Show's girth was pretty entertaining. CT is a hot act right now.

The mini de-push of Dolph Ziggler is concerning, but we'll have to stay tuned the next few weeks to see whether WWE allows him to "get his heat back" in the Rey Mysterio program. ... Great Khali vs. Kane...ugh.

Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor (8.0)

Hard to find anything on this show to complain about, other than the women's match. Cryme Tyme's push is a bit surprising, but I guess they want some team credible enough to challenge Jericho and Big Show. This is one of the two or three times per year WWE makes the tag belts seem like a real prize. The tag match to further the Rey-Ziggler feud was fine and it was nice that they involved mid-carders like Finlay and Mike Knox.

Khali vs. Haas was, again, a set-up to more Khali vs. Kane hype and the fact that they didn't even announce a finish bothered me a bit. What can you say about the main event? In an era where it's tough to have a TV match stand out on Smackdown because the show has so many good ones each week, this one somehow took the cake. Morrison vs. Hardy was a really tight match and both men were (and are) on top of their game.

Lee Stevens, PWTorch.com Contributor (9.0)

Dear WWE,

Thank you for combining the respective music of Chris Jericho and The Big Show to further show us that they are a team and not just two wrestlers who happen to be in the same corner. Thank you for having them come out showing nice suits and an even more appropriate attitude. Plus, thanks for Cryme Tyme showing the correct enthusiasm for a title shot. If they believe the belts matter, we will too.

John Morrison and Jeff Hardy? Well done! It's okay if you don't allow Morrison to speak before his next match if you don't want to as it appeared as if he was reading some of the words for the first time. In the ring? Wonderful.

CM Punk's official turn was well crafted too. We've been waiting for this ever since he cashed in The Money In The Bank briefcase and even though we knew it was coming, it was still enjoyable.

An excellent show from start to finish. You're almost forgiven for The Brian Kendrick.


Lee

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