Friday Night Fallout: Duality

This weeks “SmackDown” as Donnie alluded to during Tha O Show this week was the best show of the week. Not only did Foley and Edge have one of the best segments, though I don’t know the ratings in a long time, Foley also got in some quips on Adamle as well as echoing the sentiment of Donnie and Dan about Adamle fitting in better in that role.

Paul Heyman stated a while back that Edge’s charisma alone could carry a show, and this week Edge’s storyline, charisma and out and out greatness did just that. Triple H is still at home with his newborn daughter and he can take his time because he wasn’t at all missed on “SmackDown” this week.

The storylines between Jeff Hardy and MVP, Kennedy and Benjamin and the ongoing Edge/Vickie/Alicia Fox deal all went deeper. Edge’s character got a lot more intriguing this week. Not only will he continue to play up the ladies man character he will bring back the devious, demented, obsessed character from years passed.

The duality of Edge will be something that if it continues into the future can go in so many directions that it will never have to lose steam, ever. Wrestling is often compared to a soap opera, or “stories” down South, but either way that’s just another angle Edge can spin off. After he’s tired of whatever girl he’s with he can steal someone else’s and he has more heat and a new angle to work with.

I honestly couldn’t tell you how many superstars’ names get a rise out of a crowd like the mention of Undertaker. While Tid may ask, "What’s a work," I ask who at this point is a better draw. People know that nine times out of ten they aren’t going to see Undertaker live, especially with it building to a comeback, but they still get hot for it.

MVP and Jeff Hardy have an interesting feud. It is predicated on the much debated blurred line of work and shoot. The heat MVP gets from mentioning Jeff Hardy’s dog, and his past troubles is unreal. It goes to show just how over Jeff Hardy is. It also shows that this feud, with no championship involved has tremendous upside.

Not only will the two of them be able to put on insane matches and keep a feud going for as long as it needs to, it’ll be one of those feuds that everyone remembers because it does draw on real emotions. I thought Hardy getting in the Twist of Fate after MVP’s match was a nice way to push the feud to the next level, and SummerSlam may be the true starting point for their series of matches, if creative is smart enough to make it a series.

Shelton Benjamin has bronchitis dammit. He shouldn’t have to compete. The mark in me has always loved that angle. Benjamin and Kennedy put on another damn good match and hopefully they too will continue into a series of matches to add more prestige to the United States Championship.

Another thing this accomplished was defining the structure to the show. Triple H is the WWE Champion, top of the card. Benjamin is the United States Champion, mid-card. Jeff Hardy and MVP will be between the two, slightly above Kennedy and Benjamin and Brian Kendrick can handle everything below that line for now until he breaks into the mid card at full speed.

Speaking of Brian Kendrick, I love it. Absolutely love it. People were worried at first that he wouldn’t be getting a true push, just a goofy ass jacket and a big ol black dude to walk out with him. The Brian Kendrick, while like The Brian Pillman is a high flyer and a good stick man can work the hell out of a match, and his mannerisms push his gimmick to let you know it may actually go somewhere. It’s the little things that matter.

Another “SmackDown” happening that drew interest was the stare down between Umaga and Big Show. Here is an instance where losing wouldn’t bury Umaga, but I do think he should get a W over the Big Show. The match or matches may not be five star classics but I think they could serve their purpose on any card at any time.

The Cutting Edge was as promised cutting Edge. We got virtually everything all rolled into one segment, and the best part was, that while the storyline between Edge and Vickie was building they didn’t intrude on this segment and thank God for that. As I said earlier, the duality the Edge character is starting to show again is something to stay tuned for.

DJB’s What to Watch:
Entire Show start to finish minus commercials
Maria vs. Victoria >>>

Tha Results…
*MVP def. Jimmy Wang Yang
*Kennedy def. US Champ Shelton Benjamin (non title)
*The Brian Kendrick def. Stevie Richards
*Khali def. Jeff Hardy
*Maria def. Victoria
*Big Show def. Domino

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