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WWE Smackdown Hits

Opening segment: Excellent work. The creative team found a way to get all the Championship Scramble match contenders involved. Better yet, they showcased the act that most fans probably consider the weak link by letting Brian Kendrick and Ezekiel Jackson look strong. Hunter's comments about the routine of go-home week were very entertaining and the live crowd seemed to get a kick out of the insider reference to promos. If nothing else, those comments should force the creative team to avoid the pattern he referenced for the next few months. Too bad he didn't cut this promo a month earlier because the scenario he described was very similar to the one they used heading into his match with Great Khali at SummerSlam.

Brian Kendrick vs. Jeff Hardy: Jim Ross set the table by stating early in the match that Kendrick could win the WWE Title on Sunday because Ezekiel is the X-factor. A few minutes later, Zeke helped Kendrick win the match. Good, effective buildup for Kendrick and Zeke heading into the pay-per-view.

R-Truth: I'm still not a fan of the dancing, but the pre-match entrance through the crowd got the crowd excited. They weren't particularly responsive while he was singing the song, but they gave him a big "What's Up?" chant when he said it early in his match with Bam Neely. R-Truth will be a player if they keep the WWE machine behind him.

Vickie Guerrero: She bossed around two of the biggest wrestlers in the company and then drew massive heat from the live crowd by asking them to be quiet for her announcement. Dot Net correspondent Adam Dunn wrote me during the show and said the Vickie promo went on for nearly 10 minutes live because the live crowd booed her so heavily. She has to be the surprise success story of the year in pro wrestling.

Jeff Hardy attacks Triple H: Nice close to the show. As I mentioned in the live coverage, it established to viewers that Hunter and Hardy will not team up against the heels in the Championship Scramble on Sunday, which makes the match a lot more intriguing. I was surprised that the live crowd was so quiet. They seemed surprised by the Twist of Fate from Hardy, and I don't think they knew whether to boo or cheer. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Undertaker promo: A man talking about choking a woman to death and then setting her casket on fire is PG material? I'm not offended, but it does seem like a stretch to claim that the PG rating is justified. Furthermore, they seem to be setting up more hocus pocus with Taker and Vickie. I'm curious to see where they take the storyline, but I have a bad feeling I'm not going to enjoy whatever gimmick they use to send Vickie to hell. Here's hoping Edge comes out and saves her so that we don't have to sit through another fire or pyro display.

Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP: I had high hopes for this match, but I was disappointed by the Raw-like four minutes they were given to work with. The match accomplished its goal of making Shelton look strong heading into the pay-per-view and they're really trying to establish his finishing move, but I expected a longer match from these two.

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