Smackdown (6/3/2009 Review): Brother vs. Brother Feud Hard(l)y Matching Up To Expectations

This week's Smackdown was a great show overall with solid performances from all involved. The only cause for bother (and it's a pretty big one at that) remains the lukewarm way in which the Matt-Jeff rivalry is playing out. As soon as it was announced that the Hardys were having separate qualifying matches for Money In The Bank (because Jeff refused to fight Matt at Mania), it was obvious that both would lose. Matt lost to MVP trapped in a quick counter as I expected, and later that night Matt walked into Jeff's qualifier against Shelton Benjamin and slapped Shelton, thus causing Jeff to lose by disqualification.

While both Matt and Jeff performed very well, I'm really disappointed with how WWE has handled this so far. I don't agree with those who say the rivalry is not hot because of the brothers' mic and acting skills, because they've both proven they can be very good in those departments. It's just that the treatment of the feud has been just like any other tag-team-splitting-up story. These are two brothers who have stood by each other for 10 years. Jeff has had his fair share of problems, while Matt has always been responsible and consistent. Yet Jeff has had the better career and is more popular with the fans. Matt is supposed to be jealous of that, and so turned on his brother. But Jeff seems a lot less heartbroken than he should be considering Matt has been the only one who was there for him all these years. All the ingredients are there, but the fire has just been lacking. Even the announcers have not played up the feud, which is shocking considering J.R. is on the Smackdown team. But WWE still has 4 weeks to save this situation. I'm hoping they'll do it.

Other thoughts on the show:

• The beatdown of Triple H by Legacy during his match against Umaga was very well done. Randy Orton's facial expressions were tremendous as usual. WWE is doing a very good job with this feud. Although I wonder if any other wrestler besides Triple H would have fought off three people for so long before finally falling prey to them....
• It seems Umaga legitimately injured his leg in a jump to the outside of the ring in the aforementioned match with Triple H. Let's hope it's not serious. It'll be a blow to the Samoan Bulldozer after having just come back from injury
• The contract signing between Edge and Big Show was very entertaining. Both men (and let's not forget Vickie Guerrero) were perfect as usual, and bickered back and forth for a while. Show again hinted at an affair with Vickie. Of course, before Edge could put pen to paper and sign the contract, Cena's music hit, and he thrashed both Edge and Show. He then whispered something in Vickie's ear, causing her to look shocked and scared. I'm guessing Cena has proof of the affair, which he will use to blackmail Vickie into making the World Heavyweight Championship match a Triple Threat. Should be fun. (Although Big Show already leaked the news about the match to VH1, and the word is that Vince McMahon is not happy with him at all. Oops)
  
• Both the MITB Qualifying Matches were very good, which is not surprising considering the talent involved. It's great to see MVP get in. Ditto for Shelton Benjamin. I could definitely see either of these guys winning this year.
• I noticed during Eve's match against Maryse that she seems a lot better in the ring than the other Diva Search girls when they started out. Not that she needs in-ring skills to earn my appreciation.
• The Undertaker's speech was a good way to open the show. The Shawn Michaels video that aired during the promo was simply phenomenal. Seriously, WWE would be worth watching for those videos alone. I can' wait for this match.

Best Performers: (1) Matt Hardy (2) Shelton Benjamin (3) Jeff Hardy
Match of the Night: Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin (MITB Qualifying Match)
Best Promo: The Undertaker