By John Shadle, PWTorch Specialist

Hello folks and welcome to Under the Microscope: Smackdown edition. I am going to spend some time looking for the random and rare things that may show up during the broadcast that the average fan doesn't always see. This is not a show recap, but just a thorough look at WWE's Smackdown. I am geared up to watch the first Smackdown on MyNetwork. It looks like it will be a sweet show with the match set list and the star power of the show. Let's hope it lives up to the hype!

New Opening for the New Network.

Smackdown debut a new opening this week since they are debuting on MyNetwork. It had a lot of the same images that the previous opening had but with a new layout and new music. I am still searching for the new song name, but I cannot find it. Is anyone more thorough than I am? If you can find it, you can email me at slim_shadle@hotmail.com

The Rise and Fall of Commentary

Last night, I watched The Rise and Fall of ECW and found out that Tazz did a little announcing back in the old school ECW days while he was out of action with a broken neck. The Rise and Fall of ECW is a great dvd for any wrestling fan. If you haven't watched it yet, do so soon.

Four on Four Tag Match Randowm Facts

Batista, Rey Mysterio, Finlay, and Hornswoggle were all drafted from Smacdown to their specific brands back in June. Smackdown is very familiar to all of them. Speaking of familiarity, JBL was on the Smackdown brand from 2003-2007. He was initially a tag wrestler with Ron Simmons as the APA until Simmons was fired (he actually retired). He then switched to his current gimmick and became the longest reigning WWE Champion while that title was on the Smackdown brand last time. He then retired to become the color commentator when Tazz moved to ECW. He came back to action for the Raw brand back in November to wrestle Chris Jericho. Kane is another familiar face on Smackdown. He was on the Smackdown roster from 2006 when randomly showed up on the roster until 2008 when he won the ECW title and moved to ECW.

Even the Best Mess Up

JR called Batista a former WWE Champion and was looking to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Batista never wore the WWE Championship. He really hasn't been on a brand that the WWE title was on besides those few weeks back in 2005 when both he (as the World Champion) and John Cena (WWE Champion) were both on Raw. He also called MVP the longest reigning US Champion. Just for clarification purposes, he was the longest reigning champion since the title has become a WWE Title. The longest reigning US champion in history is Lex Luger for a record 523 days.

Whisper in the Wind Weekly Look

Every single week, I have noticed a trend with Jeff Hardy and his move, the Whisper in the Wind. The trend is that he really never hits anyone, but everyone goes down. Tonight, Jeff did not even touch MVP when he hit that move. Come on Jeff, you can do better.

The Luger Meter

Since Santino has the Honk-a-Meter, Benjamin should have the Luger Meter. Benjamin has been US Champion for 76 days. Lex Luger was champion for 523 days. He has 447 more days left. He has to hold on to the title for a year and 82 days to pass him.

Handicap Match Random Facts

All of these men (besides Tony Atlas) are familiar faces on Smackdown. The Great Khali and Singh are both currently on the Smackdown brand. Mark Henry was on the Smackdown brand until he was drafted by ECW in this year's supplemental draft. The weekend after he was drafted to ECW, he won the ECW title from Kane in a triple threat match that also included the Big Show. Chavo Guerrero seems to be on Smackdown more than ECW even though he is on the ECW roster. He moved officially to the ECW roster (according to wwe.com) the same day Kane was moved. While Chavo was the ECW Champion, he was still a part of the Smackdown roster. Terrible brand extension lines.

Demolition Meter

The record for the longest World Tag Team Title reign is 478 days by Demolition. Priceless has been tag champs for 54 days. They are 424 days behind Demolition. That means they have one year and 59 days until they will pass Ax and Smash.

Lendrick Meter

Paul London and Brian Kendrick are the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champs while holding the belts for 331 days. The Colons have held the belts for 7 days. They have 324 days left, which less than a year. They could be the first champions to pass the longest reigning champions. Doubtful. Also, note the matching attire that both Primo and Carlito are wearing this week.

Douglas Meter

Shane Douglas was the longest reigning ECW World Champion at 406 days. Matt has been champ for 26 days. Hardy has a year and 15 days to tie Douglas for the lead.

Sammartino Meter

Bruno Sammartino was WWE Champion for 2,803 days (almost 8 years). Triple H is currently in his longest WWE Title reign ever but has only held the belt for 160 days. Triple H has to hold the belt for 7.24 years to tie that. Yeah, that ain't going to happen. Triple H would be 46 years old by then, which he will still probably be wrestling as like a 26 time World Champion.

Batista Meter

I was surprised to see Batista at the top of this list as I thought H was a shoe in for the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He held the belt for 282 days. Jericho has held it for 27 days. 255 days left until Jericho passes Batista. Again, I don't see that happening.

Sorry for all of the random facts this episode. With all three brands on Smackdown this week, plus all of the champions, I wanted the WWE wrestling nerd to come out. Plus, I was intrigued to see who the longest reigning champions were because of Santino's Honk-a-Meter. This week was a great week for in ring action. It was a good first week on MyNetwork. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for reading this week's dorky column.

John Shadle is a life long WWE fan who keeps Excel spreadsheet rankings on the wrestlers with the most WWE World Titles. The amazing Rey Mysterio is ranked #37 on the all time list with 1 World Heavyweight Title and 4 WWE Tag Team Title reigns. If you are intrigued on where your favorite WWE wrestler is on the list or you would like to give any comments or questions, you can reach him at slim_shadle@hotmail.com.

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