By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Punk vs. Truth: I have no problem with R-Truth getting a push into a feud with CM Punk, which is what I'm assuming WWE is doing. Punk needs to be feuding with a wrestler, not a referee and Truth has done a good job of getting over with the fans (at least the younger ones). He has talent in the ring and I was glad to see this rematch after their match last week. I was also glad to see a different referee other than Scott Armstrong. When TNA did a referee vs. wrestler gimmick they inexplicably had the powers that be assign ref Shane Sewell to every single match of Sheik Abdual Bashir. It made no sense and I'm glad WWE addressed the situation with Punk talking about his formal complaint and that Armstrong won't referee Punk's matches. I liked that Truth got in his own mic time before the match. The match itself was fun and built well to the point where you thought Truth might get another win, only to have Punk cheat to win, to take advantage of poor refereeing this week.

James vs. Natalya: This is a marginal Hit as I wasn't a fan of the distraction from Michelle McCool and Layla. I'm ok with the fact that they distracted Mickie James, but the cutting of stolen clothes bit was stupid. The match itself wasn't very long, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. It was nice to see Natalya getting some ring time with a good worker like James. I also like seeing her doing submission holds, as the Smackdown announcers always make a big deal about the submission prowess of the Hart Dynasty. The Sharpshooter is a good finisher for her.

Ziggler vs. Morrison: This was a good Intercontinental Championship match between Dolph Ziggler and John Morrison. Their matches have been solid to good, and I liked this one. I really wasn't sure who was going to win. I could see WWE keeping the Title on Morrison, but I could also see them putting it on Ziggler at this point. The lack of a predictable outcome increased my enjoyment of the match. I'm not a huge fan of having a double count out on the same show as a double disqualification, but what led to the double count out with the huge fall from the top rope was very well done. Also, it was good to see the announcement of what should be the culmination of the feud in a 2 out of 3 falls match next week.

Jericho vs. Undertaker: I will talk later about my confusion over having this match in the first place. But, at the risk of being called a flip-flopper or someone who can't make up his mind, I have to give it a Hit for the quality of the match itself. I can after all praise a match for its entertainment value and the wrestlers involved for the effort that they put into it, while still questioning the motives behind booking the match in the first place. And, that is what I am doing here. Chris Jericho and Undertaker worked hard and put on a good match. It was the first time that we've seen them wrestle in a singles match (is it really? That's crazy!) and I would love to see more of it. They worked well together and are clearly capable of having a match of the year candidate together (assuming Taker is healthy) in the right circumstances. I know someone suggested here on the Torch (my apologies to whomever wrote it as I can't recall who it was) that this should be a WrestleMania match next year and I wouldn't mind seeing that.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

Lame Double DQ: I'd like to be able to give Finlay vs. Drew McIntyre a Hit, not so much for the match, but for how the feud was advanced, the physicality of their brawl, and the nice touch of going back to the ringside area instead of a commercial to show more of Finlay being helped to the back. However, the lame double disqualification finish to their match was very unsatisfying and sort of ruined it for me. I get the idea that these two were just beating the crap out of each other and not listening to the ref. However, the plan didn't seem to be well executed. The DQ seemed to come out of nowhere. I don't recall seeing the referee giving multiple warnings to the wrestlers. It was almost like he just threw out the match without proper cause.

Contract Signing: As normal readers know, I hate contract signings. I particularly hated this one. For one thing, it is cheesy to have a contract signing in the ring, but normally they are only for Title matches which this isn't. For another, the Hold Harmless contract was stupid. WWE has never had a precedent where one wrestler could sue another for an injury suffered during a match. Aren't injuries part of the sport? Aren't you trying to injure your opponent in most matches? At least you want to hurt your opponent enough to get a three count or a submission. With no past instances to build from, Batista's demand for Rey Mysterio to sign this agreement came out of nowhere. And, why would Mysterio sign? He said Batista was just trying to intimidate him into signing it, but then he signed it. So, I guess he was intimidated. I would have liked a stronger verbal statement from Mysterio saying that Batista should sign a similar waiver considering what he was planning on doing to him at Survivor Series. Even the physicality at the end didn't work. I'm fine with the idea, but it was way too cartoonish to watch Batista comically kick his legs in the air with the table on top of him. It was a bad segment.

Idea of Jericho vs. Undertaker: As I said above, I don't get having this match at all. There was some hype this week on the other WWE shows, so it could have been worse. But, I don't understand having the first ever match between Jericho and Undertaker for free on Smackdown without more hype. It wasn't even well hyped during the show. They plugged it at the beginning, but then didn't mention it again for about an hour. This should have been a much bigger deal.

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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