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By Jonathan Bain, PWTorch Specialist

Welcome to the Week Seven of Depth Perception! Next week's MyNetwork TV debut edition of Smackdown is loaded with matches that will have big effects on the Depth Perception rankings. Not only will the three main Heavyweight Champions be facing each other in a triple threat match, but also the Diva's Champion Michelle McCool will face the Women's Champion Beth Phoenix, World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase will face WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito and Primo Colon and United States Champion Shelton Benjamin will take on Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella! It's going to be interesting to write about these matches but that's for the next week's column, as for now let's get onto this week's Championship Rankings!

World Heavyweight Champion - Chris Jericho

Raw opened with the World Heavyweight Championship hanging above the ring, in which a ladder had been set up. Chris Jericho came out and climbed the ladder to cut a promo. He said that Shawn Michaels lied when he claimed he revolutionised the ladder match and that Jericho has won more high profile ladder matches than HBK has even been in. Randy Orton interrupted him and entered the ring. Orton took credit for Jericho even being the Champion and said once he's healed, whoever is Champion will be on borrowed time. Things got heated and Jericho threatened Orton but Randy revealed that nobody can hit him or they face suspension. Jericho had heard enough and left. Later in the night, Chris Jericho was shown in GM Mike Adamle's office before the main event where he was trying to convince him to make a change to the main event match. The match was indeed changed from Shane McMahon's choice of Shawn Michaels and Batista Vs. Chris Jericho and JBL to a two on three handicap match with Lance Cade being placed on Jericho and JBL's team. Jericho used some sneaky heel tactics in the match and inadvertently distracted HBK long enough for Lance Cade to hit a sit-out powerbomb for the win. I have to admit that when I saw Lance Cade had been added to the match, I immediately thought he was there to take the job but I was pleasantly surprised to see him get the chance to shine. So much better from Jericho this week, I absolutely love his promo work against Shawn Michaels, when he speaks about Michaels something just clicks. Jericho's character is quite complex and he plays both the confident, evil heel and also the cowardly heel, it's a strange mix and I don't always like to see him walking the line between those roles but this week he took a step back into being the ruthless heel he's been in his feud with HBK. His show-opening promo is exactly the tone Jericho's character should set as Champion and it suits him much better than the scared Champion role he played last week.

Challengers:

Shawn Michaels: HBK teamed with Batista to take on Chris Jericho, JBL and Lance Cade in the main event of Raw. Michaels was too focused on hitting Jericho with Sweet Chin Music throughout the match and it cost him when he took his eyes off of Lance Cade, who hit him with a sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall. HBK's emotions got the better of him this week, I'm very interested to see what happens next week involving him, Cade and Jericho.

Batista: Batista had a pretty busy night on Raw, he was shown backstage intimidating Santino, who had been mocking him and then later, Batista saved Kelly Kelly from an attempted attack by Santino and Beth Phoenix. In the main event, Batista was on the losing side but it was actually his partner who was pinned. The Animal was booked really strong in the time he spent tagged into the match and the loss doesn't really hurt him.

JBL: JBL was on the winning team in the main event when Lance Cade pinned Shawn Michaels. At one point in the match, following a tornado DDT from Michaels, JBL looked to be legitimately hurt and spent a long time laying on the ring apron, but he seemed to shake it off. Good week for JBL as he nears his big number one contendership match against Batista at No Mercy.

Randy Orton: The Legend Killer interrupted Chris Jericho's promo and told him he wouldn't even be Champion if it wasn't for him kicking CM Punk in the head at Unforgiven. Randy revealed that Mike Adamle had decreed that if anybody puts their hands on Orton then they'll be suspended. Once Jericho had left, Orton tossed the ladder out of the ring but was then confronted by CM Punk. They went nose to nose and Punk slapped Randy twice. Adamle came out and suspended Punk, but Shane McMahon came out and overruled that decision. Orton was irate at this decision and was asked to leave by Shane. Orton did and was later shown backstage having a heated discussion with Shane. Interesting week for Randy, he's got so many potential feuds for when he's healed, he's made enemies in JBL, Batista, CM Punk, Chris Jericho and even Shane McMahon.

WWE Champion - Triple H

On this week's Friday Night Smackdown, Triple H teamed with his No Mercy opponent, Jeff Hardy to take on the team of MVP and The Brian Kendrick, who was accompanied by Ezekial. The Game took the hot tag and after dodging MVP's "Drive-by Kick", he hit the pedigree on MVP for the pinfall. Triple H was booked well in this match, the win helps both him and Jeff to continue looking strong as they head towards No Mercy. During The Great Khali Vs. Vladimir Kozlov, Triple H came out to challenge Kozlov to a fight but was overwhelmed due to Khali's involvement. Jeff Hardy came out to help The Game, who then cleared house with the help of his sledgehammer. Triple H looked good this week, he was strong in the tag match and was brave in bringing the fight to Kozlov and he even got to stand tall despite being attacked by two of the biggest athletes in WWE. He'll move up this week.

Challengers:

Jeff Hardy: At the start of the show, Jeff Hardy entered Vickie Guerrero's office to demand a match with Vladimir Kozlov but was denied. Then, Jeff headed out to the ring for a tag team match and after his tag team partner for the night, Triple H, had picked up the pinfall victory for himself and Hardy, over MVP and The Brian Kendrick, Jeff presented Triple H with his WWE Championship belt and the two posed on the turnbuckles. Later in the show when Triple H was being beat down by Vladimir Kozlov and The Great Khali, Jeff came out to make the save. Pretty good week for Jeff.

Vladimir Kozlov: Well, I didn't get what I said I was hoping for last week in the Vladimir Kozlov Vs. Great Khali match. I wanted to see a clean finish and would have like Kozlov to win but the match was thrown out when Triple H came out to the ring to fight Kozlov. Vladimir bailed out of the ring when Triple H grabbed his sledgehammer and refused to get back in the ring with Triple H while he had his sledgehammer with him. Vladimir was looking pretty good in his match and I think it comes across as more smart than cowardly for him leaving after seeing Triple H's sledgehammer.

ECW Champion - Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy was nowhere to be seen on ECW this week, he didn't make any kind of appearance. It's a shame because he had held onto the number one ranking on Depth Perception for two weeks running but his absence this week will result in a big drop. Because the Depth Perception Championship Rankings are based on who has the best week, I have to rank Hardy based on what he did this week and that was nothing. I won't put Matt at the very bottom of the rankings because other Champions lost matches, so they'll be the only Champions he'll be ranked above, just for the fact that he didn't lose a match this week.

Challengers:

Mark Henry: Mark Henry's only appearance this week was to cut a promo at the top of the entrance ramp. He said that Matt Hardy didn't pin him to win the ECW Championship and he'll never be able to pin him. He also said that he'd become ECW Champion again at No Mercy. What is going on with the ECW Championship rivalry? Last week Matt Hardy and Mark Henry were so strong but were cooled off this week.

Mike Knox: During Mike Knox's squash victory over Chase Stevens, Jim Ross made a strange comment about Knox. He said, "I would go as far to say, that in 2008 Mike Knox will be the ECW Champion." I found it strange because it felt so forced and out of character for J.R, who doesn't often put his credibility on the line like that. However, it felt like a hint towards who might be next in line for Matt Hardy should he beat Mark Henry.

Intercontinental Champion - Santino Marella

Santino had a busy night on Raw and I have a lot to write about it. Backstage, Santino and Beth Phoenix approached Kelly Kelly and accused her of laughing at them last week when Batista attacked them. Santino, wearing a protective face mask then mocked Batista, who appeared behind him. Beth told Batista to stay out of her match with Kelly Kelly or Santino would mess his face up. Batista squared up to Santino who was saved by his entrance music and ran away. In the ring, Santino put his Honk-a-Meter on the screen to show he'd been Champion for five weeks now but he was interrupted by Deuce for a match. Santino warned Batista that if he messed with him, he'd beat him up. Santino beat Deuce quickly with a sunset flip. Apart from looking like a coward in the backstage scene, Santino had a great start this week, he keeps finding ways to win in his matches and has yet to resort to cheating to win. Later in the show, Santino accompanied Beth Phoenix to the ring for her match against Kelly Kelly and accidentally cost her the match. Santino and Beth were going to attack Kelly but Batista came down to the ring and speared Santino. I think I'm going to have to use a different way of analysing Santino in this column because from an entertainment perspective, Santino was fantastic this week but he was also made to look weak by Batista. Then there's the fact that he won his match clean in about a minute, so it's extremely difficult trying to compare Santino to other, more serious Champions.

Challengers:

Batista: I don't think Batista will ever take on Santino for the Intercontinental Championship but the two men are currently involved in a rivalry of sorts and I can't see anyone else challenging Santino at the moment.

United States Champion - Shelton Benjamin

The Gold Standard came out to the ring on Smackdown to cut a promo about his disdain for R-Truth, especially his entrance. Of course, this led to R-Truth interrupting and coming through the crowd singing his theme song. R-Truth got in Shelton's face, so Shelton turned and left in disgust. I enjoyed this segment a lot, Shelton is never going to be Edge on the microphone, but he got his point across and his facial expressions were good when watching R-Truth dance his way to the ring. It's good to see Shelton being given so much to do since being drafted from ECW and I think this feud with R-Truth is good for him. Shelton is fortunate that there were some Champions who had bad weeks this week and he will move up from being bottom of the rankings last week.

Challengers:

R-Truth: R-Truth interrupted Shelton Benjamin's promo on Smackdown and performed his entrance song, angering the United States Champion. Shelton left the ring and stormed to the back, leaving R-Truth in the ring to continue singing his theme with the crowd. R-Truth has really gotten over with the live crowds and he's consistently getting good reactions in the arenas. I'm enjoying this rivalry he has with Shelton and while I don't think it's time for R-Truth to take the title from Shelton, I think they'll have some entertaining matches.

World Tag Team Champions - Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

After having been on quite a roll lately, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase took a slight step backwards this week. Cody Rhodes was booked against CM Punk and the two had an entertaining match. Cody was pinned after Punk hit him with the GTS. After the match, Ted DiBiase and Manu came out to attack CM Punk but they were fought off by Kofi Kingston. Last week these guys were ranked second on the Depth Perception rankings but they'll move down this week. They weren't made to look particularly weak, Cody held his own against Punk, more than I expected he'd would and their attack on Punk kept their sneaky, ruthless image intact, but they weren't booked as strong as in recent weeks and other Champions had better showings. Getting chased off by Kofi obviously didn't make them look awesome but it's fine for now.

Challengers:

Kofi Kingston and CM Punk: After pinning Cody Rhodes, CM Punk was attacked by Ted DiBiase and Manu. Kofi Kingston made the save and cleared the ring. Kofi's Intercontinental Championship chase seems to be over, and it doesn't seem like CM Punk will be getting a World Heavyweight Championship match in the near future. I can't see any other teams that could challenge Rhodes and DiBiase at the moment and I wouldn't be surprised to see a match between these two teams at No Mercy.

New WWE Tag Team Champions - Carlito and Primo Colon

After six weeks of the WWE Tag Team Champions being the consistently lowest ranked Champions in the Depth Perception rankings, it is on week seven that they will finally move up from rank nine! Hawkins and Ryder were bad Champions, I'm sure in future they can have a better run but it was the right choice for them to lose the titles this week on Smackdown. Carlito and Primo became the new WWE Tag Team Champions when Carlito got the blind tag and pinned Zack Ryder after hitting the "Backstabber". I have to add that Primo's missile dropkick on Ryder in this match was awesome. I think it's interesting that both sets of Tag Team Champions from Raw and Smackdown are made up of second generation superstars and next week's match on Smackdown between the two teams should be pretty exciting.

Challengers:

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder: After never being able to get themselves off the bottom of the Championship Rankings here on Depth Perception, Hawkins and Ryder finally lost their WWE Tag Team Championships in a match against Carlito and Primo. There's slight protection for them as it was put over that Ryder didn't see Carlito tag in, but that's not really good enough protection. I'm sure they'll get a rematch from Vickie Guerrero but it's going to take a lot for them to be seen as a credible threat

Women's Champion - Beth Phoenix

Beth Phoenix was first seen this week backstage with Santino, accusing Kelly Kelly of laughing at them. Later in the show, Beth lost to Kelly Kelly in a non-title match when Santino accidentally distracted her for Kelly to get the roll up victory . I'm very surprised by the booking of the last two Kelly Kelly Vs. Beth Phoenix matches, Kelly has beaten The Glamazon twice now and yet it's Candice Michelle who has the title shot at the Pay-Per-View.

Challengers:

Candice Michelle: Candice Michelle was shown backstage watching Kelly Kelly take on Beth Phoenix. That's all we saw from her and it's a shame because she should have at least had a backstage interview about her match with Phoenix at No Mercy.

Kelly Kelly: A few weeks ago, Kelly Kelly defeated Beth Phoenix and I said that it looks like she'd get a title shot. Then Candice Michelle returned and Kelly had to take a step back. Now with this week's win over Beth Phoenix, Kelly has to be in line for a title shot after No Mercy.

Diva's Champion - Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool and Maryse made a rare appearance on ECW this week where they wrestled each other in a non-title match. Michelle was pinned clean by Maryse after a DDT. A bad week for Michelle, she didn't receive any sort of protection in her loss, like outside interference or cheating. However, from a storyline point of view, the loss is a good motivator for her to want to beat Maryse with the title on the line one more time.

Challengers:

Maryse: Maryse got a really good win on ECW this week, she pinned the Diva's Champion, Michelle McCool clean after a DDT. I said last week that Maryse needed an impressive win to make up for her losses to Michelle and she got it, so I imagine she's in line for another title shot.

Brie Bella: Brie Bella and Maria teamed on Smackdown to defeat Victoria and Natalya Neidhart. After going underneath the ring, "Brie" came out of the other side almost instantaneously and hit a face buster on Victoria before tagging in Maria, who got the win. I enjoyed this tag team match, Brie showed off some good wrestling skills and the twin under the ring storyline continues.

Championship Rankings Week Seven

Rank 1. WWE Champion Triple H (Up 2 positions)
Rank 2. World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho (Up 2 positions)
Rank 3. New WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito and Primo (N/A)
Rank 4. Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella (Up 3 positions)
Rank 5. United States Champion Shelton Benjamin (Up 3 positions)
Rank 6. ECW Champion Matt Hardy (Down 5 positions)
Rank 7. World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (Down 5 positions)
Rank 8. Women's Champion Beth Phoenix (Down 2 positions)
Rank 9. Diva's Champion Michelle McCool (Down 4 positions)

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