By Lee Stevens, Torch specialist

Thank you for joining me as we put Smackdown "Under The Microscope." For new readers, this is not a complete recap of the show. This is a closer look at the broadcast, from what was heard to what was seen and anything that crosses my mind during the broadcast. We could go back into wrestling history or we could go in a completely random direction which has nothing to do with the business. I will be serious when needed, but in most cases, let's just have some fun.

Mom, he's kicking me!

Just after a series of moves from C.M. Punk, Jim Ross commented that Punk was proficient in Muay Thai. That makes one of us. Muay Thai is a form of martial arts used in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. It's often referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs," as a person uses hands, shins, elbows, and knees, giving them the possibilities of eight points of contact versus two points in boxing (two fists) or four points in other forms of martial arts (two each for fists and feet).

I'm thinking of a number between 6 and 8

Although both Jeff and Matt Hardy have enjoyed various levels of solo success lately, they enjoyed their longest positive run as a tag team, referenced by the announcers reminding us about their seven title reigns.

(1) A.P.A. for their first WWF Tag Team Title (now World Tag Team Championship) in June 1999
(2) Edge & Christian in September 2000
(3) Edge & Christian in October 2000
(4) The Dudleys in March 2001
(5) Booker T & Test in November 2001
(6) John Cena & Shawn Michaels in April 2007 ending that short-lived tag team.

That would complete the list, except our numbers wouldn't match. Many forget that Matt and Jeff carried the WCW Tag belts in 2001 before the titles were unified and eventually the WCW Championship was dropped. Matt Hardy also held the WWE Tag belts with MVP in 2007.

I was born in a small town

The sign of the night belongs to someone apparently quite proud of their French heritage. In the middle of an event in London, one fan took the time to boast "Andre the Giant's Hometown Is Here" just below a picture of the French flag. Andre Roussimoff was born in Coulommiers, France on May 19, 1946.

France is also responsible for Edouard Carpentier, but many of the wrestlers who have had a decidedly French-based character were actually French-Canadian. Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon was born in Montreal. Despite being billed from Paris, "Le Resistance" also called Canada home with Sylvain Grenier hailing from Montreal and Rene Dupree from New Brunswick.

One of the more famous French-Canadian wrestlers made it clear where he was from with the name "Quebecers." Jacques Rougeau was more notably linked with his brother Ray and wrestled as "The Rougeau Brothers" and "The Fabulous Rougeaus." Jacques also enjoyed singles success as "The Mountie" and later teamed up with Carl Ouellet to form "The Quebecers." Yes, Carl was from Quebec. They teamed again in WCW as "The Amazing French Canadians."

Yes, but what does Barbara think about Khali?

If you don't like celebrities jumping into the WWE mix, then you must be scratching your head at the latest famous person to be offered a front row seat. Sherri Shepherd from the daytime talk show "The View" has been mentioned again in regards to her appreciation for MVP. This week, we even saw a clip from her show extolling the physical virtues of the U.S. Champion.

For those not aware of her career, if you take a closer look, you will see that she has appeared on the shows "30 Rock," "Everybody Loves Raymond," and "Suddenly Susan." She's also no stranger to controversy as she declared "I had more abortions than I care to count" during a magazine interview. She also denied that there was ever a B.C. in history as "Jesus came first" and wouldn't confirm that the earth was round in another discussion. When asked if the world was flat, she simply responded, "I don't know" and later "I never thought about it."

As for MVP, the ladies on "The View" asked if he was married or single. MVP is straight-up ballin' as a single man.

MVP at MSG

The announcers did a credible job of building up next week's title bout between MVP and his challenger as the match will take place at Madison Square Garden. This is not the first time MVP has wrestled at MSG, but those two abbreviations haven't spent as much time together as you might think.

The Knicks and the Rangers call Madison Square Garden their home and the last Knicks player to win MVP was Willis Reed for the 1969-70 season. As for the Rangers, Mark Messier took the title in 1991-92, but hockey fans know that he wasn't technically given an MVP award. NHL players received the Hart Memorial Trophy for their top honor. The trophy has nothing to do with Bret, Owen, Stu, or "The Dungeon." Instead, it's named for Dr. David Hart, who donated the original trophy to the NHL and was the father of Cecil Hart, who was the coach and General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

I'm still standing

The European Tour has provided several snapshots of the London skyline including shots of The London Bridge and Big Ben. On Friday, we caught a glimpse of Parliament and how it withstood the famous bombings in World War II. The Blitz went on from September of 1940 to May of 1941, beginning with the bombing of London for 57 straight nights. More than 43,000 civilians were killed, more than half of that number coming from London and millions of homes were damaged or destroyed in London.

Other Parliament's which are still standing include Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton. Although the group was more prominent in the 1970's, Clinton is working on new P-Funk songs and a 40th anniversary work featuring cover songs.

Parliament cigarettes are sold in full flavor, lights, and 100's, among other flavors.

Lee Stevens examines Smackdown and Raw with "Under The Microscope." You can leave comments below or e-mail him at GLStevens.Torch@gmail.com

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