And the man leading the charge is fittingly, the World Champion, Jack Swagger. The champ was outstanding this week. Vignettes kept airing throughout the night where Swagger would announce himself as champion and then go on to state a random impressive fact about himself. The best was yet to come. To conclude the show, Swagger came out and continued with more of the same. "When I was a boy...when I was five...when I was nine...when I was twelve....when I was sixteen....", taking the audience on a deliciously irritating personal history. He got mega heat from the crowd, and played it up well. The great segment ended with Teddy Long coming out and announcing Big Show as the no. 1 contender. Show knocked out Swagger to huge cheers to cement his face turn. The Smackdown writers really do know how to book their wrestlers. I also like this because it probably means Swagger is keeping the belt for some time, since I don't see them putting it on Show.
Other thoughts:
- Chris Jericho still proves week in and week out why he's the best in the world. A great promo to start off, a very good match where he not only gave Kofi Kingston a lot of offense, but took (yet another) pinfall loss to him. Jericho is willing to lose to absolutely anybody, which is the only thing I wish he would change about himself. If he continues to lose, then somebody beating him is not going to be a big deal.
- It was a big mark-out moment to see the interaction between Edge and Christian. The purpose of it was to confirm Edge's heel turn, but it didn't work as well as it should because the arena audience didn't seem to have gotten the memo. When Edge's music hit, they erupted in applause, and cheered him when he expressed his disingenuous love for the fans and the show. When Christian came out and called him a liar, it seemed like the crowd didn't know how to react, and the silence hurt the segment. To add to it, there was actually a "Spear" chant and there were some boos when Christian blocked it and went for the Killswitch. Christian tried to startup a "Goodbye" chant to close, but wasn't very successful. I just hope none of this has any bearing on Christian's future. Its no secret Vince doesn't see him as a star, but he's at the top of the list of people who deserve to be elevated to the main event...
- MVP showed great charisma when he interrupted CM Punk, and good enthusiasm in the ring in the tag match that ensued. He is very popular with the crowd despite his recent lack of screen time, and I truly hope he is one of those in line for a push.
- The Mystery Man (Joey Mercury) attacked Mysterio again after the tag match. I like the fact that they're adding to the SES.
- Cody Rhodes was also very solid in the ring against John Morrison. I like Rhodes. Kudos to Matt Striker for cleverly describing him as "the uncommon son of the common man".
- Chavo Guerrero is one of the most underutilized performers in the company. The man is actually quite good in the ring. How have WWE used him? In a sixth month rivalry with Hornswoggle, getting beaten up by Santino and the guest hosts, and now on his first night on Smackdown, he gets chokeslammed by Kane...
- I was dreading a Hornswoggle run-in when Dolph Ziggler started bragging about putting the leprechaun to sleep...
- Matt Hardy did a good job of selling Drew's beating with the concussed look. Weren't they leading up to a triple threat with Kane also in the mix? Or are we not supposed to remember?
- The tag match with Beth/Kelly taking on Team Laycool was decent. I like the Smackdown divas. They're developing in the ring and showing some personality, which is good.
- I still like JTG more than Shad...and why are they on the same show?
Highlights of the Night:
Best Performers: (1) Jack Swagger (2) Chris Jericho (3) MVP
Best Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho
Best Promo: Jack Swagger
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