WWE Smackdown Hits

Undertaker vs. Batista: If I could go back in time one week, I'd give last week's Taker vs. Batista match a "miss" because they were clearly going through the motions. OK, so there are a few other things I'd be more concerned with such as betting the house on the Flyers and Sharks to win their respective seventh games in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Having said that, though, the second week of Taker vs. Batista was much better than the match they put together last week.

I didn't even mind the finish with Shawn Michaels interfering. That might seem hypocritical given that I was down on Scott Steiner interfering in the Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle match on Thursday night, but the difference is that HBK rarely appears on Smackdown in any type of an in-ring segment, so it was surprising to see him show up, let alone out of nowhere like the did. On the other hand, I think Impact viewers groaned the moment they saw Steiner because they knew what was coming next.

Edge vs. C.M. Punk: Another strong match. I was worried when Punk worked Edge's arm and shoulder for the first five minutes of the match, but they really turned it up down the stretch and had the live crowd popping for all the nearfalls. Of the big three matches (Taker vs. Batista, Joe vs. Angle) on Thursday and Friday, I enjoyed this match the most. It felt like the freshest match of the three and it didn't hurt that the finish seemed slightly less predictable because there was no title on the line. For that matter, the hot live crowd really gave it an edge over Angle vs. Joe. The Impact Zone fans were into the Joe vs. Angle match, but they just can't compete with a hot arena crowd.

MVP and Matt Hardy verbal exchange: It's about time these two got some time to hype their pay-per-view match. WWE did a great job of playing catchup on Friday night by reminding viewers of their past as tag partners and by blaming MVP for Hardy's absence. Matt delivered one of the best mic performances of his career. He was ho-hum while Cole interviewed him, but he shined while going back and forth with MVP. As good as Matt was, MVP was better. He was freaking awesome on the mic during that verbal exchange. He's totally on his way to becoming a huge main event player in WWE. I'll be disappointed if MVP isn't main eventing pay-per-views or carrying one of the world titles by the end of 2008.

WWE Smackdown Misses

None: This was a strong show. It's not like it was the hottest WWE show of all-time or anything, but nothing really stood out as a "Miss" to me. Sure, I could bitch about how bland Jonathan Coachman is on commentary and I guess I just did, but I could do that every week. I was really impressed with this episode and it couldn't have come at a better time given that it was the go-home show heading into Backlash.

Stop by on Sunday night for live coverage of the WWE Backlash pay-per-view.

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