WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Undertaker, Festus, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Big Show, Great Khali, MVP, Edge and Vickie

WWE Smackdown Hits:

Punjabi Peace Offering: Big Show is a prick. Great Khali offered him a goat, a chicken, a jar of piss, and some bong water. What more could you ask for? Please forgive me if this was a serious Indian ceremony. I mean no harm. I'm hanging out at PWTorch.com editor Wade Keller's house and we watched the show prior to watching the Minnesota Wild game on the luxurious Keller-Tron and I couldn't hear exactly what the Indian man was saying. Well, that and I was too busy laughing at the image of seeing two giant men, a chicken, and a goat inside a wrestling ring. Seriously, this was one of those moments where you just had to stop and see what the hell was going on if you happened to be channel surfing at the top of the hour.

Undertaker vs. Festus: I didn't like the way Taker cut off Festus's usual tirade by kicking him in the face to start the match. From that point on, Festus was just another wrestler. Maybe that was by design, but it was cool to see Taker give Festus as much offense as he did. Festus could definitely be a good, long-term opponent for Taker. I have a hunch that Festus being locked in Taker's submission hold is going to lead to some type of transformation that will launch a singles run. I'm all for it. Festus is a very good big man and he's more valuable to the company in a singles role.

MVP: Anyone who calls out Jonathan Coachman for making the Smackdown broadcast team lousy deserves some recognition. No response from Coach? Wow, his confidence really has taken a hit. Honestly, though, MVP is in this section for more than just the Coach comment. He was really good on commentary. I wish WWE would really get behind his character by giving him an agent and a posse. His character totally seems like the type that would surround himself with people who tell him how great he is.

Matt Hardy vs. Chuck Palumbo: A good competitive match. One negative about MVP's commentary is that he made Palumbo out to be the underdog in a way by saying he's the type of guy who could beat anyone at anytime. That's the type of pat on the head comment that announcers give good jobbers. What's with Palumbo's stalled push? I don't have a problem with him losing to Hardy in a competitive match, but it would be nice to see him elevated sooner or later.

Edge and Vickie Guerrero skits: Very funny. Edge was especially great and the whip cream skit was a riot. Teddy Long finally taking a stand was great.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Batista and Shawn Michaels: Mixed emotions on this one. Really, giving this segment a "miss" might be strong, but I couldn't give it a "hit" and I wanted to discuss it, so bear with the lack of a "neutral" zone in the Hitlist. These exchanges have been the highlights of WWE television since WrestleMania, but it felt like they were repeating their previous material. Yes, I know it probably seems strange to give the peace offering skit a hit and then give this a miss, but obviously I hold the Batista and HBK segments to a higher standard.

Natalia Neidhart: Rough promo. Awkward silence from the live crowd. A lousy first promo.