Shore's WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Batista vs. Matt Hardy, John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler, CM Punk and wet cigarettes, Mickie James, and Undertaker and Kane vs. Chris Jericho and Big Show

WWE Smackdown Hits

CM Punk: Not just a hit, a two-run homer. This was the best segment of a very good show. Yes, it was the same promo from Punk. But much like Jericho, he can give the same promo every time and it works for him. Plus, the props made it a little different this time. This is the first time that Killings has caught my attention since his debut. He was the bad ass I had hoped he would be from the beginning and that’s what’s up. The trash can getting dumped on Punk was awesome and disgusting all at the same time.

The Brothers of Destruction vs. JeriShow: Solid main event that was fun to watch, but did very little in the way of hype for the PPV. It’s not enough that we see the participants in a match. We need a story behind it. Raw has no story, and Smackdown has only a whisper of one. Jericho getting the final laugh was predictable, but they did it well and I still think this three way will crush the Raw one.

John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler. As I said in my report, I set the bar too high for this one and walked away a little disappointed. After sleeping on it, I better appreciate it for what it was. The problem was with the commercial break right in the middle. Maybe two out of three falls should stay on PPV. The time just didn’t seem enough for everything that happened. I love this feud and hope it continues after the PPV. My vote: Best of 7 series leading into the next PPV.

Rey Mysterio and Batista: Batista’s match was OK, and Rey’s DQ was predictable, but necessary. The fight after the match? Money. The crowd popped so big on this it was hard not to mark out with them. I have never been high on Batista. But he will work hard for his friend, and Rey can carry people, especially big guys. This has five star potential and will probably be great or a bust.

Drew McIntyre vs. Finlay: I might be in the minority, but I liked this. McIntyre found a new way to look like a douche-badass while still getting a beat down. Good progression of the storyline. I am tired of face Finlay and want to see him turn soon and help build a new baby face. We have plenty of heels on the blue brand.

Mickie James segment: Let the hate mail begin. This gets a tentative hit this week. As I said, this is how women treat each other. They are incredibly competitive and nasty when they want to be. And calling a girl fat is the driver in the bag. Mickie managed to squeeze out one tear. One. I don’t think it was as bad on her as everyone is making this out to be. Let’s see how this plays out. If the fat jokes continue to rain down, then this becomes a big time miss.

Overall Show: A very good show with only one real downer segment. Smackdown is so inconsistent. Seven weeks of great TV, followed by seven of crap, followed by three good. Still, when Smackdown is right, it is the best wrestling show on TV and it’s not even close.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Teddy Long, Vince McMahon, and Vickie Guerrero: The Vickie celebration actually belongs in the hit section. I was laughing uncontrollably by the end. The rest of the segment was awful. Vince makes all these decisions and then puts them on Teddy and punishes him for them. Now Vickie as a consultant? I don’t get it. Nobody knows where this is going, and in this case, that’s not good.