I’m back with another edition of 10 thoughts. SmackDown has been on a roll of late, can it continue?
1. I wasn’t happy with the Mickey Rourke interaction. Sure, make a big deal that he’s there, but don’t waste time on him when you should be building a feud that actually matters. Other than the shameless Rourke plug, the opening segment was entertaining, and the Jericho vs. Mysterio feud is getting better every week.
2. R-Truth, The Great Khali & Ranjin Singh – the greatest comedy threesome in WWE? I smell a sitcom!
3. Dolph Ziggler continues to entertain as one of the best heels on SmackDown outside of the main event. While he may not be on the level of Edge and Chris Jericho, Ziggler is someone who has all the potential to get to that level if booked correctly.
4. I’m still unconvinced by Alicia Fox. It wasn’t an abysmal performance on SmackDown, but it certainly wasn’t great, and with the Diva’s division not exactly being massive on the amount of talent it has available, being unconvincing is not good for Alicia’s career prospects.
5. Jeff Hardy failed to impress on the microphone for the second week in a row. Jim Ross mentioned that he seemed disconnected because he was focused on his match. No, he seemed disconnected because he has no skills on the microphone.
6. One of the best matches on SmackDown was clearly the John Morrison vs. Umaga match. While we didn’t get to hear Umaga speak again (travesty) we did get a great back and forth match with a great story between the two. It helped build towards the CM Punk vs. Umaga match at Extreme Rules, and continued to build Morrison as a legitimate threat to even the heavy hitters.
7. Todd Grisham is like a ninja! He just appeared out of nowhere!
8. I’m a bit confused with what they are trying to do with Shelton Benjamin. Is he a singles star feuding with John Morrison or is he a tag team star feuding with Cryme Time? Personally, I’ve enjoyed Benjamin a lot more when he’s working with Charlie Haas, they play the ‘straight’ team routine brilliantly, and if given the chance could put on some entertaining segments.
9. The Layla vs. Eve match was terrible, probably the worst SmackDown match since the draft. In more obvious news, Eve is smoking hot!
10. The main event was made better by the absence of Rey Mysterio. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not saying Mysterio isn’t exciting to watch in the ring, because he is, but his abscence, and particularly the way he was taken out of the match, gave the main event an even bigger sense of ‘can the face get the job done?’. It helped people empathise with Jeff Hardy, something which is direly needed for a face who is constantly promoted as the underdog.
