By Jonathan Bain, PWTorch Specialist

Welcome to Week Eight of Depth Perception! It's been an incredibly busy week in WWE as Superstars and Champions from all three brands appeared on Smackdown's MyNetwork TV debut. Also, it's No Mercy this Sunday and there are some big matches booked for the show, I'm excited to see the Championship matches and with the exception of a couple of matches, I think the show could be very, very good. The effects of No Mercy will be felt in next week's column but for now, onto this week's Championship Rankings!

World Heavyweight Champion - Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho's promo before his main event tag match was excellent. I really enjoyed his and Lance Cade's demonstration of what Jericho is going to do to Shawn Michaels at No Mercy in their Ladder match. Like last week, I enjoyed the tone Jericho set with his work on Raw, he was serious, confident and angry and that's exactly what his character should be as Champion. Walking under the ladder was a nice touch, as Jericho believes he's the best in the world and doesn’t need luck to beat HBK. I was concerned that Jericho's team would take a pinfall loss to DX in the main event but instead, they were disqualified when they refused to stop their double-team beat down on Michaels. I was quite happy with that result because none of them could afford a pinfall loss and it suited Cade and Jericho's characters. Jericho was going to attack Shawn Michaels with a ladder but Triple H made the save with his sledgehammer and hit Lance Cade with it as Jericho bailed. Cade took Sweet Chin Music and a Pedigree before being hit with a frog splash from the top of a ladder by HBK as Jericho looked on. Fine week for Jericho on Raw. The World Champion then went to Smackdown to face ECW Champion, Matt Hardy and WWE Champion, Triple H in a Triple Threat match. Matt Hardy was pinned in the match by Triple H and as The Game celebrated, Jericho hit him with the Code Breaker before grabbing a ladder from under the ring and hitting Matt Hardy with it. As Jericho attempted to continue his attack, Jeff Hardy ran out to make the save. A very entertaining week from Jericho, his mic work was outstanding and he sold his match at No Mercy very well. Not brilliant results in his matches, but he wasn't pinned and didn’t submit, so that's fine. The true test for Jericho is at No Mercy, if he can get a strong victory over HBK in the Ladder match then he could perhaps take the number one ranking on Depth Perception next week.

Challengers:

Shawn Michaels: This week on Raw, HBK had to choose a mystery partner to take on Chris Jericho and Lance Cade in the main event. Michaels cut a good interview with Todd Grisham early in the show and sounded confident in his challenge of Jericho's title at No Mercy as well as creating intrigue about who his partner would be. It turned out that HBK's partner was Triple H and they earned a DQ victory over Cade and Jericho. Triple H had the match won but Jericho hit him with the Code Breaker, then began a double-team beat down on Michaels. HBK was about to be hit with a ladder by Jericho but Triple H made the save. Michaels hit Cade with a frog splash from a ladder to end Raw. Good showing from HBK this week on Raw and I'm very excited about his match with Jericho at No Mercy.

Batista: Batista absolutely squashed Santino to open Raw this week. After the match, he was hit by JBL's Clothesline From Hell when Bradshaw ambushed him from behind. Later in the night, Batista returned the favour by spearing JBL. On Smackdown, Batista teamed with Rey Mysterio, Finlay and Jeff Hardy and defeated the team of MVP, JBL, Kane and The Brian Kendrick. Batista was booked strong in the match and even though he didn’t get the pinfall for his team, he still looked very good.

JBL: On Raw, JBL attacked Batista after The Animal's match with Santino and clotheslined him. Later in the show, JBL interrupted Randy Orton and cut a passionate promo on the way to the ring about the economy. He told Orton that next week on Raw he'll be telling the World Heavyweight Champion that he's challenging them while Orton will still be injured. JBL suggested to Mike Adamle that Orton never receive a shot at the title when JBL's the Champion. Batista's music hit and he came from behind to spear JBL. JBL was on the losing team on Smackdown but he wasn't pinned. Fine from JBL this week, I liked his promo on Raw and surprisingly, his match with Batista at No Mercy isn't the match I'm least looking forward to (Undertaker Vs. Big Show).

Randy Orton: Randy Orton interrupted GM Mike Adamle's promo on Raw and insulted him. Orton was interrupted by JBL.

WWE Champion - Triple H

Triple H was Shawn Michaels' surprise partner on Raw in the main event against Lance Cade and Chris Jericho. The surprise one-night reunion of DX resulted in them gaining a DQ victory over Cade and Jericho, who launched a double-team assault on Michaels. Triple H made the save with his sledgehammer then hit Cade with a Pedigree. Triple H looked really strong on Raw, excellent showing from him. On Smackdown, Triple H won the Champion of Champions Triple Threat match when he pinned Matt Hardy after a Pedigree. The match was very good and all three men were booked well. After the match, Triple H was hit with the Code Breaker by Jericho, who then pulled a ladder out from under the ring and hit Matt Hardy in the face with it. Jeff Hardy ran out to save Matt and then hit Triple H with the Twist of Fate. Barely given enough time to recover from that, Triple H was then attacked by Vladimir Kozlov as well. Great week in the ring for Triple H, he won two matches and was booked very strong in them. His win in the Triple Threat match made him look great. It's a shame he got beaten so badly after the match, taking three different superstar's finishers, but he definitely did enough to be at the top end of the rankings this week.

Challengers:

Jeff Hardy: Jeff Hardy teamed with Batista, Rey Mysterio and Finlay to defeat MVP, JBL, The Brian Kendrick and Kane on Smackdown. Jeff received the hot tag and after the match had broken down into chaos, Jeff hit MVP with the Swanton Bomb for the win. Exciting showing from Jeff once he'd tagged in, it was good that out of all the stars in that match, he was the one to get the victory. After the main event, when Jericho was attacking his brother, Matt, Jeff came out to make the save. He then hit Triple H with the Twist of Fate and was about to land a move from atop a ladder on The Game but Vladimir Kozlov came out and headbutted Jeff in mid air. Pretty good from Jeff, it's unfortunate that he ended the show on his back though.

Vladimir Kozlov: Vladimir left Jeff Hardy and Triple H unconscious in the ring at the end of Smackdown when he ran out to attack them. Impressive stuff from Vladimir, he's been made to look strong over the last few weeks and he once again he got to stand tall over the WWE Champion and his challenger.

ECW Champion - Matt Hardy

After not appearing on WWE television last week, Matt Hardy appeared on two WWE shows this week. On ECW, his team lost to Mark Henry's team in a six-man tag team match. Matt Hardy, Ricky Ortiz and Evan Bourne were defeated by Mark Henry, John Morrison and The Miz when Henry pinned Evan Bourne following a World's Strongest Slam. Matt was booked really well in the time he spent in the ring and the loss is fine for giving Mark Henry a win heading in No Mercy this Sunday and adding even more heat to Hardy and Henry's rivalry. Earlier in the night, Matt and Mark Henry had a promo exchange in the ring and Matt came off as humble and a confident Champion up for a challenge. On Smackdown, Matt Hardy was in the Champion of Champions Triple Threat match in the main event. It was great to see Matt Hardy in the main event of Smackdown and he didn't look out of place in the ring with Triple H and Chris Jericho. He was pinned by Triple H following a Pedigree, but I think his profile was raised by this match, even though he lost. Matt then took a ladder to the face from Jericho but was saved from a further beating by his brother, Jeff. I'm in two minds about Matt's appearances this week, he lost two matches and was actually pinned in one, but I liked how he was booked in the Triple Threat, he was booked as on an equal level as the WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion. I also liked how he was booked in ECW's tag team match but he was on the losing end in that match too. Basically, Matt wrestled strong this week but didn't gain victories. That's fine as long as he wins on Sunday.

Challengers:

Mark Henry: An excellent week for Mark Henry, he picked up the pinfall for his team in the six-man tag team match on ECW and then on Smackdown, he teamed with The Great Khali to squash Chavo Guerrero. He was also good in his promo exchange with Matt Hardy on ECW. I like Mark Henry, he's worked hard this year to improve his game and he's provided a lot of entertainment on ECW. He's looking good going into Sunday's Pay-Per-View to face Matt Hardy and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him regain the ECW Championship, although I'd actually like Matt to retain.

Mike Knox: Mike Knox defeated Tommy Dreamer on ECW. Apologies for my bias, but I can't find anything interesting to write about Mike Knox Vs. Tommy Dreamer…I will say that Mike Knox has improved though.

Intercontinental Champion - Santino Marella

Santino had the perfect example of a mixed week, on Raw he was squashed by Batista to open the show but on Smackdown he was able to get a pinfall victory over the United States Champion, Shelton Benjamin. Santino was very entertaining on both shows, the promo he cut on Batista was funny and I liked what he said on Smackdown about Shelton only being Champion of the United States, while Santino was Champion of all of the Continents, thus the Champion of "Planet Earth". Santino's victory over Shelton was put over as opportunistic and a little lucky, as he had been hit with Pay Dirt and was saved by R-Truth's distraction. Santino rolled the distracted United States Champion up for the three-count. Despite his win on Smackdown, I can't give Santino a good ranking this week because of the way he won and because he was absolutely destroyed by Batista on Raw, he's actually lucky because without the win over Shelton, Santino would have been ranked last this week thanks to Batista. On a side note, there was a scene on Raw that hinted at Santino and Beth Phoenix being split up when Santino was caught talking on the phone flirtatiously and the two had a disagreement. I hope this pairing doesn't break up yet, I think Santino helps Beth Phoenix show off a lot of personality and they're always entertaining.

Challengers:

Honk-a-Meter: My apologies, but I've got absolutely no idea who's going to challenge Santino at the moment, so instead I'm going to use this space to talk briefly about Santino's Honk-a-Meter. The Honk-a-Meter gimmick is a lot of fun and I can see it lasting the distance, I can actually imagine Santino's desperation to keep his title as he edges close to achieving the record and I think that a year from now, it could provide a lot of funny moments. I really hope that if the plan is to have Santino reach Honkey Tonk Man's record, or at least come close, that Santino can stay healthy. My only complaint is that Santino's Intercontinental Championship reign is so hard to rank each week but so far it's worth it as he's so entertaining!

United States Champion - Shelton Benjamin

I was disappointed to see Shelton lose to Santino this week on Smackdown for a number of reasons. I was hoping that they'd be given longer because it should have been a huge deal that the Intercontinental Champion was wrestling the United States Champion but it's understandable that it was short as they're both heels. Another reason is I believe Shelton should be portrayed as a serious, strong Champion and Santino is not a serious Champion. With that said, I'm actually going to rank Shelton above Santino this week for two reasons. First of all because Santino was completely squashed by Batista on Raw and secondly because Shelton was booked to be the stronger wrestler in their match, he had Santino beat after hitting Pay Dirt and would have won if it wasn't for R-Truth's interruption.

Challengers:

R-Truth: R-Truth cost Shelton Benjamin his match against Santino Marella by performing his entrance through the crowd to distract him. R-Truth was proud of his actions, adding more heat to this rivalry. Good appearance from Truth this week, his feud with Shelton is building nicely and he was very charismatic in his brief screen time.


World Tag Team Champions - Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

Rhodes and DiBiase had a strong start to their week when they were on the winning side in the big eight-man tag team match on Raw. They teamed with Manu and Kane to defeat Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne when Kane pinned Kofi after a chokeslam. Earlier in the show, Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu attempted to strike up a friendship of sorts with Kane but he said he was only interested in massacring Rey Mysterio. Later in the week, the World Tag Team Champions appeared on Smackdown's MyNetwork TV debut and were scheduled to wrestle the WWE Tag Team Champions, Carlito and Primo. Carlito and Primo suggested that Rhodes and DiBiase team with Manu and changed the match to a six-man tag team match with CM Punk joining Carlito and Primo's team. Ted DiBiase was hit with the GTS by CM Punk and pinned. A shame that DiBiase took this pinfall loss as last week, Cody Rhodes was pinned by CM Punk too. They can recover from it and it's only a temporary set back for now. Their win on Raw was good and despite their loss, they'll move up this week due to other Champion's having worse weeks.

Challengers:

CM Punk and Kofi Kingston: Kofi was pinned by Kane in the eight-man tag team match on Raw, losing the match for his team, which included CM Punk. Punk regained some momentum when he pinned Ted DiBiase on Smackdown in a six-man tag team match. I'd like to see CM Punk and Kofi challenge Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes for the World Tag Team Championships at No Mercy but I'm not sure if we'll get to see that match just yet.

WWE Tag Team Champions - Carlito and Primo

Carlito and Primo teamed with CM Punk to defeat Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes and Manu on Smackdown. A win over Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu is great for Carlito and Primo, even if it was CM Punk who picked up the pinfall. Team Priceless have been on quite a roll lately and while I was disappointed to see them defeated on Smackdown, I was glad it was to three superstars who I believe will benefit from the win. Carlito and Primo could be strong Champions on Smackdown, they're entertaining and they continue the momentum they've built the last few weeks.

Challengers:

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder: With all the star power featured on Smackdown, I'm not surprised that Hawkins and Ryder didn't make it onto the show this week. That's fine, but next week they could do with some sort of appearance to keep themselves in the hunt for Carlito and Primo's titles.

John Morrison and The Miz: Morrison and Miz had a really strong week, The Miz picked up a victory on Raw over JTG and then the next night on ECW, The Miz and John Morrison teamed with Mark Henry to defeat Evan Bourne, Ricky Ortiz and Matt Hardy when Mark Henry pinned Evan Bourne. Even though they've been featured on Raw lately, I think Miz and Morrison are more likely to challenge Carlito and Primo for their titles on Smackdown, just because DiBiase and Rhodes are heels and I can't see a rivalry being booked between both the heel teams at the moment.

Women's Champion - Beth Phoenix

Beth Phoenix got a lot of airtime this week and was booked very strong, she accompanied Santino to the ring for his matches on Raw and Smackdown and she also wrestled twice herself. On Raw she picked up an impressive win in a tag team match when she hit the Glam Slam on Kelly Kelly. Beth's partner was Jillian Hall and Kelly's was Candice Michelle. Before the match, she told Santino not to accompany her to the ring due to him costing her matches in recent weeks. On Smackdown, Beth Phoenix pinned the Diva's Champion, Michelle McCool in a Diva's Lumberjack match after Michelle had been distracted. Beth showed some really impressive strength and power in her match on Smackdown and with these two victories, she'll take the number one ranking this week on Depth Perception. She really deserves this ranking, both Beth and Triple H won two matches this week but unlike Triple H, Beth didn't receive a beat down after one of her matches, which is why she's above The Game.

Challengers:

Candice Michelle: Candice teamed with Kelly Kelly on Raw to take on Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall. Candice's team lost when Kelly was pinned by Beth. Later in the week, Candice was one of the lumberjacks on Smackdown. Not an awesome week for Candice and she didn’t do much last week, she hasn’t gained as much momentum as I expected but we'll see what happens at No Mercy when she challenges Beth Phoenix for the Women's Championship.

Kelly Kelly: Kelly was finally beaten by Beth Phoenix after two wins over The Glamazon. Kelly was pinned in the tag match and will probably not be receiving a title match soon, which I think is a shame as she's worked hard to improve her in-ring work. Kelly was one of the lumberjacks on Smackdown.

Mickie James: Mickie James came out to be Jamie Noble's tag team partner in his match against Katie Lea and Paul Burchill. Mickie looked good in the match and her team won when Noble submitted Burchill with an armbar. With Kelly Kelly losing decisively to Beth Phoenix in the tag match, Mickie James could be the next in line after No Mercy. Mickie also was a lumberjack on Smackdown.

Diva's Champion - Michelle McCool

For the first time, the Diva's Champion faced the Women's Champion when Michelle McCool wrestled Beth Phoenix on Smackdown in a Diva's Lumberjack match. Michelle was distracted by Maryse, which allowed Beth Phoenix to hit her finisher on Michelle for the victory. Last week, Michelle was pinned clean by Maryse but at least this week she received some protection for her loss in the form of Maryse's repeated distractions.

Challengers:

Maryse: Maryse distracted Michelle McCool and caused her to lose to Beth Phoenix. Maryse is regaining the momentum she lost a few weeks ago and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens between her and Michelle next week.

Brie Bella: The beautiful Brie Bella was one of the lumberjacks on Smackdown and didn’t receive nearly enough airtime for my liking! Maybe next week…

Championship Rankings Week Eight

Rank 1. Women's Champion Beth Phoenix (Up 7 positions)
Rank 2. WWE Champion Triple H (Down 1 position)
Rank 3. WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito and Primo (No Change)
Rank 4. World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho (Down 2 positions)
Rank 5. World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (Up 2 positions)
Rank 6. ECW Champion Matt Hardy (Down 1 position)
Rank 7. United States Champion Shelton Benjamin (Down 2 positions)
Rank 8. Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella (Down 4 positions)
Rank 9. Diva's Champion Michelle McCool (No Change)

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