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Match |
Ratings |
 |
Theodore Long Quits
WWE is finally moving forward with the Smackdown general manager storyline.
This week, Theodore Long made the announcement that he has gone to the board of directors to complain about Vickie Guerrero and Edge. The board of director has heard his complaints. Vickie Guerrero doesn't like this at all and promptly fires Theodore Long, who beats her to the punch by quitting.
Before he leaves, Theodore Long also announces that the board of directors has booked Vickie Guerrero into a match against the Undertaker for later on in the night.
Progressing storylines are always a good thing. |
8/10 |
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Match |
Ratings |
 |
CM Punk vs Chuck Palumbo
I would care a lot more about this match if there was a reason behind it. It's basically a feud that the writers barely put any effort into. All it does is keep CM Punk on television as the writers continue to neglect him.
Winner: CM Punk |
7/10 |
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Match |
Ratings |
 |
Layla El vs Michelle McCool
Not sure what the purpose of this match was except to unveil a new leg submission for Michelle McCool. Guess she's been watching some MMA matches with her boyfriend or something.
Winner: Michelle McCool |
6/10 |
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Segment |
Ratings |
 |
Batista Interview
WWE must really be trying to give Batista as much practice on the mic as possible because he's been doing a ton of interviews in 2008. He talks just as much as he wrestles nowadays. Purpose of this segment was to get fans to think that he's going to attack Shawn Michaels at Judgment Day. |
7/10 |
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Match |
Ratings |
 |
Finlay & Big Show vs MVP & Mark Henry
Finlay, MVP, and Big Show were all thrown into a match after complaining to Vickie Guerrero about being used on last week's episode of Smackdown. She tells MVP to go find a mystery partner, and he predictably grabs Mark Henry.
The setup itself was great. The match was good. Still can't shake the feeling that WWE could do a lot more with these four guys.
Winners: Finlay & Big Show |
7/10 |
| |
Match |
Ratings |
 |
Vladimir Kozlov vs Funaki
Another lame match by Vladimir Kozlov. Funaki is a notch below Colin Delaney, but a notch above the random local jobbers that WWE finds to work with Vladimir Kozlov.
The match itself was worth a 1/10 rating, but Mick Foley's commentary on here made it entertaining. The part where he makes up a theme song for Vladimir Kozlov was hilarious, especially when he started singing it himself.
If Mick Foley can manage to make a Vladimir Kozlov match entertaining, then he needs to be getting that big $300,000 salary that Mike Adamle is getting.
Winner: Vladimir Kozlov |
5/10 |
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Match |
Ratings |
 |
Maryse vs Cherry
Cherry and Jillian Hall are two of the more underrated performers in WWE. They're both capable performers who don't really get to show it off because WWE doesn't give them a chance to.
Maryse replaces Cherry as the valet for Deuce & Domino. She's obviously not as good of a fit as Cherry was. Right now, she's just expensive eye candy.
Hopefully, they're just stalling until they can put her with Edge once he turns on Vickie Guerrero.
Winner: Cherry |
6/10 |
| |
Match |
Ratings |
 |
Matt Hardy vs Shelton Benjamin
Want to know the formula for a successful title reign? Plenty of title defenses and meaningful feuds. These are two things that have been avoiding Matt Hardy since he won the US title at Backlash.
The match itself between Shelton Benjamin and Matt Hardy was really good. It would have been great if they were given 20 minutes to do a title match at Judgment Day.
Winner: Matt Hardy |
7/10 |
| |
Match |
Ratings |
 |
Edge, Vickie Guerrero, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder vs Undertaker
The opening of this match was excellent as Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely walked away from their partners out of disgust over what happened the week before. It tells a story, and it makes the match that much more interesting.
The match itself wasn't anything we hadn't seen before. The guys gang up on the Undertaker. He puts up a good fight. We've seen it before.
The big problem with the match was that the ending was horrible. It didn't do a thing to create excitement for the title match at Judgment Day.
Winner: None |
8/10 |
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Final Analysis |
Ratings |
| |
The opening segment was great. The inclusion of the Chavo Guerrero storyline was excellent. Just about everything else was solid.
However, WWE needed a lot more than this, especially with a pay per view coming up this weekend. |
7/10 |
