By Chris Shore

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WWE Smackdown Hits

Randy Orton and Mark Henry: I was asked earlier this week about my overall malaise concerning televised professional wrestling, and I freely admitted that nothing really excited me on any show from any company. But Mark Henry and Randy Orton did their absolute best last night to get me excited. My admiration of Henry has been well documented, but Orton took that feud to a new place this week. It is the only match on the PPV that would make me pay to see the story. I hope this continues for a few more months. And I really hope they put the title on Henry.

Cody Rhodes: I thought Cody had something different to work with here, and we got a chance to see how this character can work. He needs an "other" to work with to really get the most out of his character. Much like CM Punk's heel, straight-edge gimmick, Cody's character is always going to be at its best when he has a strong personality to bounce off of. I don't think Ted's that guy, but not the point. I thought Cody stood up well to Edge until the very last lines. Good showing.

R-Truth's re-mix: Yes, R-Truth's re-mix of his stupid rap entrance. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to hear this ever week. I'm not even sure I want to hear it again. But this first time, with Miz's ass acting a fool in the background as Truth's heater, was the definition of a hit. I laughed until the match ended. Which, admittedly, made me want to cry, but that's not the point. Sometimes we get so serious about the product that we forget to be entertained. This was one of those times that just worked.

AJ: I really like AJ more every time I see her. Her ability to sell is light years above most of the Divas. When you add in her unique look, her looks, and the little character they have going for her, she is quite the package. She's very awkward on the mic, which is strange because she's very funny and charming on Twitter. But she needs to beat that demon before she could break out. But if she can, I think she could be a Diva that could transcend where they are now.

Edge: More than anything he did, it was just nice to see Edge, to know that he's healthy, and to know we don't have to witness anything tragic.

WWE Smackdown Misses

Hype for Night of Champions: They didn't even run down the card for goodness sakes! No real hype for the show. Hypes for angles, in the form of video packages, were all they gave us to put the show over. Unreal. I don't understand why they aren't marketing their shows. I appreciate the time spent on angles, I really do. The stories should sell the show. But you do have to remind people about it more and make it a big deal to get me to part with $50 in today's economy. Make me care.

Use of Trish Stratus: I realize (now, thanks to Jake Barnett) that this was a call back to the Triple H, Trish, Stephanie scene back during the attitude era. I still don't care. This was Teddy Long taking it up the ass jokes. How the hell does that make it to the air? And that's really the bulk of her air time. What a waste. To be fair, her "Was that the Internet Champion?" line was the best of the night.

Sin Cara face off: I'm really kind of offended by their moves on this one. This silent face off was premised on the idea that we care enough about Sin Cara to be upset that someone is an imposter. I know some kids have bought shirts and all, but kids are early adopters. Do they really think they've done enough to make the bulk of the crowd care about this? Do they really think we are that stupid that we will just cheer whoever they tell us to? Well, I guess we have given them reasons to think that way, but still. This was poorly done and paid no dividends for this angle.

Jinder Mahal vs. Great Khali: I don't know that I have ever advocated for this before, but I think they just need to walk away from this story and pretend like it never happened. They've done it before for no good reason, they better do it this time when they have a very good reason. It serves no one any purpose to have Jinder face Khali. They have booked Khali to be dominant already, so nobody cares to see them fight. They just blew it on this one.

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