By John Shadle, PWTorch Specialist

Hi everyone out there in PWTorchland! My name is John Shadle, and I am the new writer for Smackdown's version of UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. I am honored to join Lee Stevens and Michael Simmons in watching WWE programming a tad bit closer than what most will. It has been a joy reading their stuff this week along with all of the rest of the new Specialists.

Before I start digging deep into tonight's episode of Smackdown, I want to share a little bit about me. I have been a wrestling fan since 1990 at the ripe old age of 5. I remember the olden days of Superstars on Saturday morning, and I remember watching the first ever episode of Raw. I was a big fan of Hulk Hogan and even started watching a little of WCW when Hogan jumped ship. I only watched WCW on a rare occasion though as I was and still am WWE through and through. I loved the New Generation and their interesting gimmicks (I was actually scared of Doink the Clown for a little bit) and was even a bigger fan during the Attitude Era. I have to admit though that I did stop watching wrestling after the appalling Katie Vick angle. I thought it was terrible, and it was a time where I felt like I had to give up my love for the WWE. Eventually the itch came back as I started paying attention to again to the WWE through their website and other insider websites. After a three year hiatus, I returned back to my love of wrestling.

I am thankful to Wade Keller for this opportunity to look deeper into Smackdown. I have been a big fan of Smackdown ever since its inception. I remember the first Smackdown special back in '99 where Triple H and Undertaker paired up to wrestle Stone Cold and The Rock. Smackdown has lost its luster over the years with me because of it being taped, and it being a second tier show to Raw. This year's draft rekindled my love for Smackdown with J.R. and Triple H moving over. Plus, the Edge and La Familia storyline has been huge especially the past few weeks. So I am definitely excited to watch Smackdown and write for this amazing show.

Now on to this week's edition of the Blue Brand!

As usual, they start off Smackdown with a video package from last week. They showed all of the La Familia that were taken out by Edge. They did not find Ryder last week. I wonder if he is dead.

Tazz is again next to J.R. in the Smackdown announce booth. There was no mention of why Foley wasn't there during the entire show. I believe that we have seen the last of Foley on Smackdown... until Foley gets a bigger payday from McMahon.

Jeff Hardy vs. Benjamin for the U.S. Title is the first match of the evening. It was a fantastic match besides the ending. I want to know how Hardy got a title match the week after beating Benjamin by DQ. That really doesn't make much sense to me. This is also Jeff Hardy's first opportunity for the United States championship ever. How come the US title is always built up by either Cole or Ross historically, but the Intercontinental title gets nothing?

Did you notice that J.R. called the Twist of Fate the Whisper in the Wind? He has done that several times before. I have never seen J.R. mess up on a continual basis on a specific move before. Tazz corrected him though. Tazz did miss J.R. mistakenly call a backbreaker a neckbreaker. This match wasn't the best for J.R. commentating skills.

I can never understand why a wrestler who is about to compete against someone in an upcoming ppv costs them a title. MVP could be wrestling Hardy for the U.S. Title this Sunday. If MVP wanted to hurt Hardy, he could have done it after the match. The writers aren't making much sense here.

Did you hear the "WOOO!" during the first Victoria and Vickie segment? Also, when did those two become friends?

I have never liked McCool's theme song. Do you know that her theme song was originally used by Torrie Wilson? It didn't really work for her either. The crowd was so dead during that match that you could easily hear some guy whistling at the girls in the ring. But it was a pretty big match as it was the first time that Natalya pinned McCool.

It seems to be that Smackdown has it's own New Talent Initiative. Both Scotty Goldman and Ryan Braddock made their "debuts" in the WWE. Both of them were trained by the same person that trained C.M. Punk. Two future world champs in the making? Eh, we will see.

Scotty Goldman won two Ring of Honor Tag titles along with C.M. Punk under the ring name of Colt Cabana. He already has caught my eye through his backstage vignette. It was quite funny.

Long time no see Kenny. This was Kenny's first Smackdown appearance since January 4, 2008. I have come to notice that Triple H likes to make comments about wrestler's old gimmicks or storylines. I like that historical plug. He referenced Kenny's "spirit" tonight in reference to him being in the Spirit Squad.

Have you looked at the wrestlers who were just released by the WWE? The majority have one thing in common. They came out of some sort of hiding and were squashed in the ring. Smells like Dykstra will be in WWE news next week.

More viewers watched Raw last Monday night than Monday night football…That's because it is preseason.

This was Festus's first single's loss since coming to Smackdown and his first time ever pinned.

When was the last time Smackdown finished with a wrestling match? It was actually July 11th when Edge vs. Big Show. Even then, Vickie came in the ring to reconcile with Edge. They have been some pretty solid promos by Edge and them the last month, but it has just been a while since Smackdown finished with a match.

Here is the end of my first column here on PW Torch. With Summerslam coming up on Sunday, I believe that Smackdown did an okay job of promoting the event. Triple H will destroy Khali on Sunday, Taker will destroy Edge, and who knows what will happen between MVP and Hardy. I believe that MVP will win because Hardy came out on top tonight, and the feud will continue for another month. We'll have to see how Summerslam turns out. I would love to hear feedback or questions for you guys. You can reach me at slim_shadle@hotmail.com

Thanks you all!

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