Shore's WWE Smackdown Hitlist: CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and AJ steal the show, Zack Ryder wins the GM spot for next week, Christian vs. Cody Rhodes, Alberto Del Rio beats up Sheamus

By Chris Shore

WWE Smackdown Hits

CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and AJ: Besides the fact that this feud continues to be the best thing in all of wrestling right now, these three put on another spectacular performance that left me not knowing what will happen next, and in that fun way we all want to be clueless. Michael Cole was mixed in to the mix and while he was silly--and more than just a tad bit creepy--he didn't hurt the segment in any way. Go out of your way to see a fantastic talking segment.

Zack Ryder wins Smackdown GM for next week: Battle royals are what they are. They are fun for the live crowd, but rarely do they invoke great emotion for TV watchers. The Great American Bash battle royal didn't evoke emotion by itself, but Zack Ryder getting some heat back against Kane did. Ryder celebrated like he had won a title, and the live crowd was equally happy. That's a testament to how much the crowd wants to like Ryder. WWE should take note, again, and fix his stalled push. My guess is this is a first shot a that.

Alberto Del Rio beats up Sheamus: Del Rio is in desperate need of getting heat back because WWE cooled him off with their mismanagement of him. His character also needs to evolve, but it's too late for that in this feud. Slamming Sheamus under the car hood looked weak until they came back from commercial and Sheamus had a little blood trickling down his face. I'm sure it was an accident, but it did a nice job of making Del Rio look like a bad ass again. Nice work.

Cody Rhodes vs. Christian: While far from any five star classic, this was still a good TV match. It didn't really advance the storyline between them, other than to give Cody a win over Christian. That may turn out to be a Miss ultimately, but for now it led to a Hit of a match.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Nothing: There were a number of things on the show that weren't necessarily Hits, but I can't think of a single moment that was a flat our Miss. The show flowed well for the two hours, and I enjoyed it all the way through. Even the silly backstage holiday party stuff couldn't bring me down. Happy 4th of July everyone.