By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Mysterio Surprises Jericho: As soon as I saw three guys in Rey Mysterio masks sitting at ringside during Chris Jericho's match against Jeff Hardy, I knew that one of them was the real Mysterio and that he would attack Jericho. I barely had the words out of my mouth and was starting to say why (that Jericho vs. Hardy wasn't going to have a clean finish) when there went Mysterio hopping over the guard rail. This was a really fun moment. It played into what Jericho did to Mysterio when he dressed as a Mysterio fan a few weeks back. It was a fun twist. It was a good way to end the match. It was also a good example of how Mysterio's mask can fit into a storyline without the looming possibility of him being unmasked (which of course would come into play later in the show).

Edge vs. Morrison: After a nice verbal exchange before the match, Edge and John Morrison went on to have a very nice match. It went 16 minutes and was very fun to watch. I am enjoying seeing Morrison in the ring with some of the top talent in WWE. We saw him face Jericho not long ago, and here he was in the ring with Edge. The match went back and forth and had plenty of good wrestling action. Morrison is doing moves in the ring that we aren't seeing from anyone else. He has come a long way in his wrestling development. They did a great job with the nearfalls towards the end of the match. I bought into a few of them. The last few minutes of the match going into the ending sequence were very strong. I was disappointed in the end. This was a case where they could have given a surprise win to Morrison. Edge didn't need the win. The problem with the loss is that there isn't anything for either to do. They will probably feud with each other, but I don't understand starting off a feud with a clean win for the heel. I don't know where either goes from here.

Mysterio vs. Punk: This was also a good match as you would expect with Mysterio and CM Punk. They worked hard and put on a high energy match with several reversals. Neither wrestler had control for too long. Mysterio and Punk really worked well together. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing these two in a longer PPV match down the line. Jericho added to the quality of the match with his guest commentary. The end was interesting as Punk took advantage of Jericho's interference to pick up the win.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Opening Segment: Smackdown did not get off to a very good start with the in ring interview with Jeff Hardy and CM Punk. The segment got off on the wrong foot with the silly sequence of replays. It was fine when Josh Mathews set up his question to Hardy with a replay, but then he showed another one before asking a question, then he showed another one. It got ridiculous. Neither Hardy nor Punk were particularly inspired on the mic. I don't care if Punk is a babyface, a heel, or a Tweener, but I would prefer to see the World Champion in a position where he doesn't have to constantly defend himself. Only an idiot would contend that he somehow "stole" the Title on Raw, or that what he did in taking Hardy out of the match was wrong. I guess that fits into his tweener role, where some fans will be upset at him while others will cheer him. In general I am fine with that role, but I don't think WWE is doing it well. The whole thing was just sort of boring.

Hardy vs. Jericho: I find myself caught between thinking that this match should have been longer, as we have seen it many times before, so it is not like they should be saving it, and feeling that it made sense for it to be only about 5 minutes. As I said above, I loved the ending. Plus, we did get two longer matches later in the show, but at the time the short length was disappointing, especially considering that this was one of the huge matches announced on Raw. Forgetting about the length, I thought the match was sloppy. Jericho and Hardy have had much better showings even in 5 minutes. There just seemed to be something off like when Hardy went for a low dropkick on Jericho who was practically laying flat on his back. With the ending, I would be fine with the short match if it had been better while it lasted.

Mask on the Line: I have not been a fan of the angles revolving around Mysterio's mask in WWE the last few years (first Kane, now Jericho). As I mentioned above, WWE can build an interesting storyline that centers on the mask, but as soon as they go to this gimmick, I cringe. I don't care that much about the mask. Perhaps I am jaded by being a long time fan and there are plenty of newer fans who don't come into this with the same perspective as I do, but Mysterio wrestled in WCW without his mask. I've seen his face. I should try to overlook that and judge this angle strictly on its own merit, but even then I don't find it to be that interesting. If I am Jericho, I just find a way to attack Mysterio and pull his mask off after knocking him out. Then I don't have to put up my Intercontinental Championship.

Hardy Protests: Was I the only one who thought it was cheesy for Jeff Hardy to come out at the end of the show and protest what happened during Punk vs. Mysterio? It came across as whinny. It was not a strong night in terms of progressing Punk vs. Hardy. The opening was weak and the ending was weak. Hardy whined about Punk cashing in his Money in the Bank, then he whined about Punk stealing the win in the triple threat on Raw. Then he whined about Punk winning after Jericho interfered. Hardy is clearly the man right now in the eyes of the fans, because WWE isn't portraying him well at the moment. The fans are behind him, as I could definitely see them turning on less popular babyfaces for complaining this much.

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

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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