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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
August 22, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Unforgiven (third-to-last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the forty-eighth edition of Smackdown Storylines and Feuds.

For those wondering about the Intrigue Level system that I employ, you can refer to the numbers as follows:

10 (excellent), 9 (great), 8-6 (very good, good, pretty good), 5 (decent; has its good and bad qualities), 4-3 (needs work, poor), 2 (bad), 1 (terrible)


WWE Champion TRIPLE H vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK (w/ Ezekiel) vs. MVP vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. JEFF HARDY (1 week)

Summary Quick Shots:

-When Big Show met with Vickie to ask her about the Championship Scramble, she admitted that she forgot to include him in a qualifying match; he seemed okay, though disappointed.

-In a 10-Man Battle Royal qualifying match, Big Show stepped in and threw just about everyone out; however, Brian Kendrick was caught at ringside by Ezekiel and placed back into the ring without his feet touching the floor, officially making him the winner.

-MVP qualified for the Scramble after defeating Festus when he caused a distraction by kicking Jesse immediately before jumping into the ring; Festus was counted out and lost.

-Finlay lost to Shelton Benjamin when Mike Knox grabbed Hornswoggle at ringside; the distraction allowed Benjamin to hit his finisher for the three count.

-In the final Scramble qualifying matchup, Jeff Hardy went one-on-one with the Great Khali; the match ended when Hardy hit his Swanton Bomb for the win after Triple H took care of Ranjin Singh and swung a chair right into Khali's cranium.

-As Triple H discussed the WWE Championship Scramble and warned his four other opponents about whom they are going to be stepping into the ring with, Kenny Dykstra walked out to make a scene because he did not receive an opportunity for the Scramble. Hunter quickly ended his complaints with a Pedigree before saying, "Good to see ya Kenny."

Analysis:

This show was reminiscent of the episodes of Smackdown featuring either a number one contender's tournament or those beat the clock weeks WWE uses every now and then. The most interesting element was Kendrick's win simply because an opportunity like this could greatly improve his position on the roster as well as the perception fans have for him. Imagine what his participation in that match will do for his character. Kendrick's new gimmick is working overall, although he still doesn't look completely comfortable in the role just yet.

Expect something to happen with Big Show now that WWE is openly acknowledging his lack of place on the show in recent months. It would feel like a letdown to have Show replace Kendrick at some point in the WWE Championship Scramble; it seems like WWE would be better off using Show in a separate matchup so that Kendrick can get some credibility rub in that WWE Title Match. Along those same lines, this PPV title match has great potential for MVP and Shelton Benjamin as well. It was nice to see Benjamin use the Olympic analogy to Michael Phelps and his record-shattering performance. With the United States Title around his waist, it didn't feel too unwarranted for Shelton to brag about gold. And other than Triple H, Jeff Hardy is clearly going to be the guy to watch at Unforgiven. He's one of Smackdown's biggest babyfaces, and fans would like to see him champion one day.

Overall, the existence of a five-person feud will probably be complicated by fractured sub-feuds in the next few weeks, but it will be interesting to see how the writers on Smackdown differentiate the storyline heading into Unforgiven from the direction Raw will take. It's much more difficult to include a lot of narrative story in this type of situation, so expect the focus to be on each of these guys and how they strive for the WWE Title.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7

Previous Feuds
Triple H: King Booker, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Orton & JBL, Randy Orton, John Cena
The Brian Kendrick: n/a
MVP: Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Batista, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank, Kofi Kingston
Jeff Hardy: Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Triple H, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, MVP

EDGE vs. THE UNDERTAKER vs. Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO (8 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-The show began with video of Vickie explaining why she's acted the way she has lately, how Edge had corrupted her, and how the WWE Championship Scramble will work.

-Later in the back, Vickie and Chavo chatted about the possibility of Undertaker holding a grudge; they concluded that an apology would be a good strategy to quell any leftover tensions.

-Vickie, accompanied by Hawkins, Ryder, Chavo, and Bam, seemed unsettled as Undertaker approached the ring for her apology. She pleaded Taker to forgive her, but he simply said that he came for their souls. With that, Vickie bolted as La Familia went on the attack. Taker cleared the ring and stared at a fear-stricken Vickie to close the show.

Analysis:

Clear babyface turn by Vickie this week despite her incredibly successful ability to garner heavy boos in the past few months. The blame-it-all-on-Edge excuse will work so long as she admits her own faults and doesn't make it seem like she had no part in it. Fans will quickly forgive if she makes interesting booking decisions and works against the most hated heels on the Smackdown roster. The end of the show, however, suggested a conflicted state for Vickie.

Throughout the show, she seemed vulnerable, scared, and babyface-ish. However, a few things pointed in just the opposite direction—namely her continued chumminess with heels like Chavo, Bam, Hawkins, and Ryder as well as Undertaker's unwillingness to accept her apology despite its apparent sincerity. So perhaps her position on the babyface-heel scale isn't quite as transparent as the opening of Smackdown suggested. By the end of the show, her stare-down with the ultra-popular Dead Man made it seem like she's going to have to walk a fine line in the coming weeks. Will Vickie decide to make babyface decisions despite Undertaker's hatred of her or will she side more with the heels despite her rocky relationship with Edge?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 10 [same since last week]

Previous Feuds
Edge: Kane, Batista
Vickie Guerrero: Undertaker, Batista
Undertaker: Mark Henry, Batista, Big Daddy V, Edge

MVP vs. JEFF HARDY (5 weeks)

Summary:

Both men made it into the WWE Championship Scramble, but nothing direct happened between them.

Analysis:

It isn't quite clear whether WWE plans on continuing a singles feud between these two as they head into Unforgiven. On one hand, nothing is really necessary because they had a narrative build-up with a clear conclusion at the last PPV. Now WWE can use that element in the Scramble storyline as a nice foundation without focusing on a direct Hardy-MVP rivalry.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Jeff Hardy: Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Triple H, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho
MVP: Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Batista, Matt Hardy

WWE Divas' Champion MICHELLE McCOOL & MARIA vs. NATALYA & MARYSE (21 weeks w/ 4 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Maria won her match against Natalya by DQ when Maryse made a surprise appearance to interfere.

-Maryse beat on Maria until Michelle McCool jumped into the ring to make the save.

Analysis:

This was a pretty standard continuation in the storyline. WWE hasn't seemed too eager to move on with a basic, focused McCool-Natalya rivalry, so they are throwing a couple more divas into the fray as a way to spice it up. Right now it doesn't seem likely that either Maryse or Maria are in line for a WWE Divas' Title Match, so their involvement will probably just exist as an auxiliary feud, but I'd speculate that McCool and Natalya will get one more singles match for the title before they move on to new opponents (unless the title changes hands and McCool seeks a rematch).

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Natalya Neidhart: n/a
Michelle McCool: Victoria, Chuck Palumbo

FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. MIKE KNOX (4 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Finlay lost to Shelton Benjamin when Mike Knox grabbed Hornswoggle at ringside; the distraction allowed Benjamin to hit his finisher for the three count.

-Knox then executed a post-match mauling by kicking Finlay right in the head and continuing the assault with punches, knees, and kicks while Finlay was down.

Analysis:

Mike Knox doesn't receive many chances to show up on Smackdown, but it was smart for WWE to feature a segment with him one-upping his current rival. If Finlay had been the one who beat Knox up this particular week, it would only set Knox back again. They seem set on pushing Knox, and this feud with Finlay is probably the first time in a very long time that he's being helped by the storyline. I'm keeping this short because I usually save Finlay-Knox analysis for my ECW articles.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same as on ECW]

Previous Feuds
Finlay: Kane, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali, Mr. McMahon, JBL, Miz & Morrison
Hornswoggle: Mr. McMahon, Miz & Morrison
Mike Knox: Kelly Kelly, Tommy Dreamer, Evan Bourne


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jesse & Festus


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Big Show vs. The Brian Kendrick (w/ Ezekiel)
(2) MVP vs. Jesse & Festus
(3) The Undertaker vs. La Familia
(4) Triple H vs. Kenny Dykstra


Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I greatly appreciate all the feedback that I receive, and I will respond to every email. Please insert a word in the subject line that deals with a wrestling topic or write something such as "WWE," "feud," or "Funaki" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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