Thank you for joining me as we put Smackdown "Under The Microscope." For new readers, this is not a complete recap. Instead, this is a closer look at the show including some items you may have missed, recurring themes, or simply an insignificant detail which happened to catch my eye.

Excuse Me

You can judge for yourself whether or not the interaction between Triple H and Vickie Guerrero was worth the time, but I enjoyed the sudden change of plan with her match-making abilities. With last week's final match as a notable exception, The Game has proven that he usually can find a way to survive ultimatums. So, instead of allowing him to decide his fate, she trust his fate to someone far less successful. Throwing MVP in the mix was the right call for the storyline as Vickie attempted to continue to stack the deck against Triple H. Fans of The Game were treated to at least a moment of doubt about the outcome and that should be the idea with a heel General Manager.

Whoo-hoo!

As for MVP, I was happy to see his losing streak end, but I anticipated a much bigger payoff. The storyline was decent as he had to win to avoid getting the righteous end of the sledgehammer. His initial reaction was on point as he showed the relief comparable with a losing streak of this length. The problem was that after weeks of losing and the pain and frustration which came with it, we quickly switched from MVP to The Game. I'm hopeful that they'll devote some time next week to a celebration or at the very least an interview with MVP. He hadn't won since late August against Festus. We owe him that.

eBay

So, can we assume from Triple H's recap of the possession of Vickie Guerrero's pics that The Great Khali won the auction? When we checked last week, Chavo, or someone with a very similar screen name, was leading the bidding. This week, The Great Khali had them in his loving hands before Joey Styles grabbed them and put them on the Internet. If Khali had them already, he must have sent payment almost immediately, meaning The Great Khali gets good feedback as a buyer. Well done, Khali.

Congratulations, champ

New ECW Champ Jack Swagger didn't keep his momentum even until the weekend as he took the pin in his tag match with Mark Henry against Finlay and Matt Hardy. His title wasn't on the line, so he'll have many chance to build on his recent win. Many know that he was a two-sport athlete at Oklahoma, including playing Defensive Tackle for the Sooners football team. Mid-way through the match, Jim Ross referred to Finlay as "The Fighting Irishman," which makes a natural transition into the gridiron battles between Oklahoma and Notre Dame. The two schools haven't met since 1999 when The Fighting Irish won 34-30, marking the first time they played in 31 years. The 1957 game saw Notre Dame end Oklahoma's NCAA-record 47-game winning streak. In their history, Notre Dame is 8-1 against the Sooners.

Sorry J.R.

Hey, where are you going?

Apparently Victoria didn't give the WWE much notice about her retirement, so we need to forgive them for a lack of build-up for the announcement. It seems like a missed opportunity. There is no comparison between the Ric Flair retirement and Victoria's departure, but even if she would have announced last week that if she didn't get her revenge on Michelle McCool, she was going to put the boots away forever, that would have given the match some merit.

Another way to play it would have been another in the series of beatings from McCool, but this one so bad that we never see Victoria on TV again. Either way, McCool is better off for the advance notice. Just another reason why you give two weeks notice when you're leaving an employer. It's just courteous.

In all seriousness, Victoria brought an air of credibility to the divas division and she will be missed in the ring.

That's what's up

Fans across the country seem to enjoy R-Truth's entrance to the ring and they seem to feel him as they stand up and say what is occurring at that time. I'm sure his rap is quite original, but upon closer listening, I couldn't help but flash back to an older tune.

"You can get with this, or you can get with that" is featured prominently many songs, including R-Truth's opener as well as the 1992 Black Sheep song "The Choice is Yours." Black Sheep made history as the first hip-hop act to appear on The Tonight Show after Jay Leno came aboard. Their song "The Choice is Yours" was voted as #72 in the VH1 countdown of the top 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Had a bad month

If Jeff Hardy is sending thank you's, I saw Jimmy Wang Yang arrive at his side first, followed by Gregory Helms, only to be followed by Matt Hardy and R-Truth. Credit Jimmy Wang Yang for putting aside hurt feelings as we didn't hear his name mentioned as attending the party last week that proceeded the road incident.

As for the pyro, this is the latest in a long line of close calls with varying degrees of seriousness.

1984 - Michael Jackson suffered second-degree burns on his scalp after pyrotechnics ignited his hair on the set of a Pepsi commercial.

1998 - Pras, of the Fugees, pushed Ol' Dirty Bastard out of the way of explosions on stage during a performance of "Ghetto Superstar" at the MTV Video Music Awards.

2008 - 45 people are injured at Wrestlemania in Orlando after a post-event celebration goes awry.

On a lighter note:

1998 - Gillberg suffered from chronic coughing and general displeasure with his pyro. Fire extinguishers were called to the scene.

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt