By Jon Mezzera, Torch Specialist

SMACKDOWN HITS

Jericho Says "Wrestling": I wasn't a huge fan of the opening segment between Chris Jericho and Edge. It was ok, but not that good. I did like that Jericho actually said the word "wrestling" which you don't often year on World Wrestling Entertainment. In fact, usually when you hear it, it is in the context of someone saying "World Wrestling Entertainment." This is a little thing of course, but it made me smile when he pointed to the World Title belt and said that he is the world wrestling champion. It should be normal enough to hear that I shouldn't have to give it a Hit.

Morrison vs. Ziggler vs. Truth: I enjoyed this match, although there were a few spots that made me cringe as they looked a little too brutal. However, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth worked hard and put on a good 11 minute match despite the few worrisome moments (like when Ziggler's face hit the ring apron on the way to the floor). They booked the match well with the triple threat format. Ziggler played his part well as the heel trying to let the two babyfaces fight it out in the ring as much as possible. His tactics ended up working as he got the win after Morrison hit Starship Pain on Truth. I would have preferred to see Morrison in Money in the Bank. I am fine with Ziggler being in the match, but Morrison deserves it more at this point (and I would love to see him winning the Title opportunity). Most years, WWE does some type of "last chance battle royale" so there is a chance Morrison will be added to MIB. He will be at WrestleMania, but I'm worried at this point that he will just be facing Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental Championship which I don't really want to see again.

Miz's Challenge: I was happy to see The Miz on Smackdown as his presence on the show was directly related to his position as one half of the Unified Tag Team Champions. When JeriShow were the Champs, Jericho appeared on Raw all the time, even though it seldom had anything to do with the Tag Titles. Here, Miz was on to challenge Teddy Long to come up with a team for ShowMiz to face at WrestleMania. Miz would be good in Money in the Bank, but I really want to see him defend one of his two Titles at Mania. After last year's disappointment with the Tag Title unification match not making the PPV, it will be nice to see a Tag Title match at this year's show. I have no idea who could possibly challenge ShowMiz. I really hope it is not Cryme Tyme or Matt Hardy & The Great Khali. The Hart Dynasty are heels. Perhaps Morrison can come up with a partner to take on his old partner Miz's new team.

Edge vs. Miz: This was a good main event. Miz has found himself in a few tv main events lately which is good. He and Edge worked well together. Miz taking the clean loss was the right way to go in this case. He got in plenty of offense to remain credible despite taking the loss, and Edge needs to remain strong heading into his World Title match at WrestleMania. I was confused why Jericho didn't make an appearance after the match, but there is no reason to rush things with plenty of time to build to the PPV.

SMACKDOWN MISSES

"Spear, Spear, Spear": Part of my problem with the opening segment was that I wasn't a fan of the "spear, spear, spear" speech from Edge or the new chant. Clearly the crowd got behind it, so I may be in the minority here. But, this is my column and my opinions and I didn't like it. I liked how it started with Edge calling Jericho the best in the world at getting speared by him. But, I didn't like how he continued by listing various Jericho accomplishments and adding "spear" after them. It was lame. It did serve a purpose of getting the crowd behind the spear and selling the fact that Jericho might have that move in his mind. But, it was still a lame speech.

James Loses Title: Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James was a decent match, but I was disappointed in the ending. After all WWE did to build up to James finally putting McCool in her place and squashing her for the Women's Title at The Royal Rumble, and she loses it back this soon? I could go my entire life without seeing an authority figure as a biased referee again. This feud has gone on long enough. Someone else has to be moved into the Title picture (probably Beth Phoenix), but shouldn't James get a rematch at this point?

Kane vs. McIntyre: This was a bad match. Kane and Drew McIntyre do not compliment each other well in the ring at all. There was no flow to the match. It was not entertaining. It was slow and boring. The ending looked very strange, as if they were not on the same page. That kick to a seated McIntyre should not have been enough to get the victory. I don't understand ending his undefeated streak so soon (although I would contend that he lost in a triple threat Elimination Chamber qualifier to Morrison a few weeks ago, so as far as I'm concerned he wasn't undefeated any more), or to lose it to Kane. I understand the idea of having him end the streak but still remain IC Champion, but this particular bit of booking was confusing. I did like the emotion that McIntyre showed after taking the loss.

Three MIB Qualifiers: Three MIB qualifying matches seemed like at least one too many for one show. Why rush things? I understand wanting to get the card set up, but there is still a month to go. Having CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin (a solid, but very predictable match) this week made sense to continue to build towards Punk vs. Rey Mysterio (which should be a great match). But, did Kane vs. McIntyre have to happen this week? It just seemed rushed.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw, Smackdown, NXT, 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.

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