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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
October 3, 2008
Upcoming PPV: No Mercy (last episode before PPV)

SMACKDOWN STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-fourth 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. JEFF HARDY vs. VLADIMIR KOZLOV (7 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-In a big opening contest, Batista, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, and Finlay defeated the team of MVP, JBL, The Brian Kendrick, and Kane when Hardy hit the Swanton on Porter for the victory.

-Triple H beat Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat Match when he spiked Hardy with his patented Pedigree for the win.

-After the matchup, Jericho hit a cheap shot Code Breaker on Hunter, Jericho bashed Hardy in the head with a ladder, Hardy knocked Jericho out of the ring, Jeff gave Triple H a Twist of Fate, Vladimir Kozlov felled Jeff with a headbutt to the chest, and then Kozlov used his finisher against Triple H.

Analysis:

The giant eight-person tag match, which was chock full of top-tier talent, was a smart way to deal with the debut episode of Friday Night Smackdown on MyNetwork TV, which needed some exciting conflicts. It was also successful in incorporating some older storylines in addition to the current ones. Jeff Hardy revisited his old issues with MVP this week during the tag match, and there were also a few Raw feud elements between Batista and JBL as well as between Rey Mysterio and Kane that played out nicely.

As for the main event, it's no surprise to see Smackdown's top champion celebrate the night with a victory on his brand's debut episode. And the final few frenetic minutes of the show provided a nice idea of all the tensions and problems existent between various wrestlers on both Raw and Smackdown. The big question as WWE headed into No Mercy was whether Vladmir Kozlov would play a big role (or any role) at the PPV.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9.5 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Triple H: King Booker, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Orton & JBL, Randy Orton, John Cena
Jeff Hardy: Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Triple H, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, MVP

THE UNDERTAKER vs. Smackdown GM VICKIE GUERRERO & THE BIG SHOW (14 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Big Show confronted visiting GMs from Raw and ECW and ordered them to leave "his" office. He then booked Chavo for a match, fully taking advantage of his power in Vickie's absence.

-Show entered the ring and spoke directly to Vickie through the TV; she's apparently recovering at home. He then introduced the match he booked earlier: Chavo versus Mark Henry and The Great Khali.

-Khali and Henry soundly defeated Chavo after the referee called for the bell when Chavo didn't respond during Khali's Vise Grip. After Khali hurled Chavo to the outside, Show punched Chavo straight in the temple.

-As Big Show bragged about his accomplishments and threatened Undertaker, The Phenom's gong sounded. Show left the ring, but turned around the find Undertaker staring at him from inside it.

Analysis:

Big Show played his role very well this week as a guy who's fed up with how things are going on Smackdown. His "business partner" was physically injured last week at the hands of The Undertaker, and he feels that Chavo was partially to blame. In his mind, if Chavo wasn't available to be "kidnapped," this mess would have never taken place. So, in Vickie's absence, Show decided to grab the reigns and act as the interim General Manager. He clearly sees himself as the guy at the top of the roster, at least administratively. And that's something that helps him on a perceptual basis.

His manipulative and conniving booking decisions which placed Chavo directly in harm's way this week shows how serious he's taking this. It's as if he wants to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with just himself and Vickie Guerrero at the helm of the Smackdown ship. Chavo, who belongs to the same family as Vickie and who has been a part of the stable for months is now being kicked out. It will be interesting to see how Vickie and Chavo interact this week on Smackdown. Also interesting will be how Show's focus is divided between his ongoing issues with Undertaker and his upcoming WWE Title Match against Triple H.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Vickie Guerrero: Undertaker, Batista
Undertaker: Mark Henry, Batista, Big Daddy V, Edge
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather, The Great Khali

WWE Divas' Champion MICHELLE McCOOL vs. MARYSE (6 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-In a Lumberjack Match between Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix, Maryse interfered twice, allowing Phoenix to hit the Glam Slam on McCool for the 1-2-3.

Analysis:

This match had a really interesting feel to it. Of course, the primary reason for that was clearly the idea that the WWE Divas' Champion was facing the WWE Women's Champion for the first time. But beyond that, there was just so much going on. We got to see Beth Phoenix in a new environment as well as many other divas from Raw and Smackdown interacting with one another.

There was also a sub-story with the respective number one contenders. On one side, Candice Michelle stood at ringside rooting for the Smackdown diva to win, while on the other side, Maryse watched the match presumably rooting for Phoenix to pick up the victory. Not surprisingly, of the two number one contenders, the heel was the one to get heavily involved—more involved than a Lumberjack Match allows—by interfering and costing McCool the match. It was a good setup for both storylines as WWE headed into last Sunday's PPV and beyond.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Michelle McCool: Victoria, Chuck Palumbo
Maryse: Cherry

WWE Tag Team Champions CURT HAWKINS & ZACK RYDER vs. CARLITO & PRIMO (3 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Carlito, Primo, and CM Punk defeated Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, and Manu in tag team competition when Punk nailed his Go 2 Sleep on DiBiase for the win.

Analysis:

Hawkins and Ryder may be out of the picture here, but the real continuing story is probably between two people specifically—namely, the two involved in the match finish. Punk and DiBiase further solidified that notion Monday night when their rivalry entered Raw territory. As for this Smackdown match, it likely wasn't anything lasting; it was likely nothing more than a way for WWE to pit the World Tag Team Champions against the WWE Tag Team Champions for novelty value on Smackdown's debut episode on their new network. As Punk and DiBiase bring their storyline to Raw, I don't see much happening for Carlito and Primo. Will Hawkins and Ryder be back this week or is their feud officially over?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Hawkins & Ryder: Jesse & Festus
Carlito & Primo: n/a

United States Champion SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. R-TRUTH (3 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Shelton Benjamin fought Santino Marella one-on-one, but just as Benjamin hit his Pay Dirt finisher, R-Truth's music filled the arena. Truth's distraction allowed Santino to roll Shelton up with a schoolboy for the win.

-After the match, Benjamin glared at R-Truth as he rapped his way up the ramp. Truth then turned back to face Benjamin and simply asked, "What's up?"

Analysis:

There was some nice progress this week between these two wrestlers, and using Benjamin's anger is a good angle to work with. It felt like R-Truth was effectively getting under Shelton's skin by simply being himself. After all, that's what Shelton disliked to begin with. Benjamin finds R-Truth's singing and dancing and popularity bothersome because he's ostensibly jealous of his rival. This week WWE needed to incorporate wrestlers from other brands onto the show, so it was smart to keep R-Truth out of the ring and instead simply have his involvement be concentrated on plain distraction. It was a little odd though that Benjamin didn't just pin Santino after hitting his finisher. What could R-Truth have done within three seconds anyway even if Truth's plan was to jump into the ring and interfere?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Shelton Benjamin: Kane, CM Punk, Money in the Bank, Kofi Kingston
R-Truth: n/a

VICTORIA & NATALYA vs. BRIE BELLA & MARIA (6 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Victoria, Natalya, Brie Bella, and Maria all participated as lumberjills in the match featuring Michelle McCool vs. Beth Phoenix, but nothing pertaining to this specific feud received any focus.

Analysis:

With a big match featuring the WWE Divas' Champion against the WWE Women's Champion for the first time ever as well as the two sub-stories with each champion's respective number one contender (Maryse and Candice Michelle), it was smart to temporarily pause the Victoria-Brie Bella storyline.

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

Previous Feuds
Victoria: Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool & Cherry
Brie Bella: n/a


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Undertaker vs. Big show
(2) Carlito & Primo vs. Hawkins & Ryder


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Triple H vs. Chris Jericho
(2) Hurricane Helms vs. Santino Marella
(3) Shelton Benjamin vs. Santino Marella
(4) Chavo Guerrero vs. Mark Henry (w/ Tony Atlas)
(5) Big Show vs. Chavo Guerrero
(6) Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase


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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