By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Triple H - MVP: I enjoyed the two backstage scenes between Montel Vontavious Porter and Triple H. They were short, but effective. They had a good chemistry as Triple H tried to motivate MVP to end his losing streak, while MVP tried to convince Triple H (and himself?) that he doesn't need any more motivation. They were short, to the point, and worked well at hyping the big Last Man Standing match.

MVP vs. Big Show: This is a marginal Hit, as this was a good, but not great match. It was slow and lumbering, but well booked. Part of why I liked it was that it did a good job of getting the fans behind MVP as a babyface. Whether or not he goes in that direction, it was needed for this match and it worked well. I also liked how MVP started off the match by attacking the Big Show with a chair from behind. His slap, as well as Show's reaction to that slap later in the match was very memorable. There were some really cool power spots with Show throwing MVP around ring side. The ending was ok. It made sense that Triple H would interfere the way that he did. He had the out that he wasn't "ring side" which was predictable later in the show. But, it was sort of weak how MVP's losing streak came to an end. But, I guess it makes sense that after losing so many matches in a row, that he wouldn't win in an convincing manner.

McCool vs. Victoria: This was a good 6 minute women's match. Victoria will be missed as she is a very talented worker, and has shown a lot of personality over the years. Michelle McCool looked good in the ring too. They put on a good back and forth match. McCool's work on Victoria's leg worked well. It is too bad WWE hasn't done more with Victoria the last few years.

Hardy Explodes: This was a true surprise. Like when the stage blew up around Vince McMahon last year, I can't imagine too many fans expected the pyro to go off crazy like that and injure Jeff Hardy. You knew something had to be up, considering some of the earlier backstage vignettes, but you didn't know what. It was well executed too. Hardy sold the injury well. The production went silent which was a nice touch, as were the shots of the concerned fans. I also liked how various wrestlers came out to check on Hardy, including his brother Matt. It was well done and should spark more of a mystery as to who is causing these "accidents."

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Triple H - Vickie Guerrero: The dynamic between Triple H and Vickie Guerrero can be good, but it wasn't this week. Their interchange during the opening segment wasn't good. The fake apology was lame. I don't understand why Vickie can't pull Triple H out of the Royal Rumble. She put him in the Rumble, he didn't earn the spot, so why can't she pull him out? The farm animal noises over the "nude" photos was stupid. It was interesting when she announced that MVP would wrestle on Triple H's behalf, but other than that the entire opening with these two fell flat. Later, their meeting backstage was equally bad. Vickie's lack of power is laughable. The whole verbal sparring with Triple H being banned from ringside, but he wasn't at ringside was silly. It was like two little kids arguing. Then, Vickie's announcement that Triple H would have to face Vladimir Kozlov was a joke. He has a match? So what? He isn't going to be intimidated, even by Kozlov. When she made the announcement, it was like something was missing. That was it? No stipulation? Rumble slot not up for grabs? Lame.

Swagger Loses: After my praise for Jack Swagger winning the ECW Title and my hope that he would be kept off of the other shows and remain undefeated for several months, making an eventual shift to Raw or Smackdown meaningful, WWE blew it big time on their next broadcast. Showing the video of Swagger defeating Matt Hardy for the Title was enough. Giving him exposure in a rematch at the Royal Rumble is a great idea. Yet, having him wrestle on Smackdown right away makes little sense. I understand wanting to give him more of a profile on a show with higher ratings, but that argument doesn't work in this case, since he lost! I can't believe he lost. I assumed Henry or Finlay would take the loss in this match, not Swagger. This is not a good way to introduce him to a larger audience.

Undertaker's Edict: This was lame and boring. The video effects were silly. Undertaker didn't say anything special or interesting. It was a by the books type Undertaker deal, like we've seen way too many times in the past 18 + years. They announced it multiple times during the show, making it seem like it was going to be a big deal. Then, he wasn't even on live. He just did a pre-taped "edict" saying he would win the Royal Rumble. It was a lame waste of time, as were the multiple times they hyped it beforehand.

Overall Show: I know I have more individual Hits than Misses above, but the overall show wasn't good. In addition to those Misses, I have to point out some other issues with Smackdown. None of the wrestling quality was that great. I know I gave two of the matches Hits, but they were both marginal, and nothing stood out as being great. There were a lot of video packages. There was an opening video with Jeff Hardy, the ECW video, a video replay of Michelle McCool taking out other Divas, another lame video of Vladimir Kozlov training, another Umaga video, the pre-taped Undertaker video, the third Steve Austin Hall of Fame video of the week, and Edge's video on Jeff Hardy during the Cutting Edge. That is a lot of old content on one show. Victoria's retirement came out of nowhere and wasn't handled very well. Just having the announcers mention it during her match didn't seem like a great send off for a wrestler who's been in the company for a long time. I didn't expect her to get a send off like Trish Stratus or Lita a few years ago, but something better than this. Even with the good shocking ending, the show still left a bad taste in my mouth. I think it is a case where the Misses were more frustrating that the Hits were uplifting, and the moments on the show that weren't Hits or Misses added up to a negative over all effect.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and TNA Impact each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.

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