I won't go so far as to say that I'm on the edge of my seat in anticipation for the triple threat match for the world heavyweight title at Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view in Washington (which I will be attending), but I will say that WWE has done a better job of building the contest than it has with the triple threat match for the WWE title.
It's funny, because I find the John Cena-Triple H-Shawn Michaels match more appealing on paper, but the nonsensical inclusion of Hornswoggle into the program and the lack of tension between the participants brings it down. Triple H and Michaels act as if they care more about Hornswoggle wearing their merchandise than they do about winning the title.
Conversely, for The Undertaker, Chris Jericho and The Big Show, the world heavyweight title is the Holy Grail. While tag partners Triple H and Michaels have said that they don't care which one of them wins the title, Jericho and Big Show have made it clear that the championship takes precedence over their partnership.That point was driven home in the main event of Friday night's episode of Smackdown. At the end of the match that pitted The Undertaker and Kane against Jericho and Big Show, Jericho delivered the Codebreaker to his tag partner, and things were contentious between them throughout the show.
As I wrote last week, it's possible that all the light-hearted stuff with DX on Raw is really just setting up a big swerve at Survivor Series, but that's a risky strategy as far as getting people to the buy the pay-per-view.
Other thoughts on Friday's show:
In regard to the somewhat controversial CM Punk/R-Truth and Mickie James/Michelle McCool segments, I will post a separate entry with my thoughts on them later. I will say that I'm glad that R-Truth is finally in a program with a top guy (if Punk is still considered a top guy by the powers that be in WWE, that is). ...
The main event was just OK, but the final few minutes were good. I didn't care for Jericho running off the belt, though. I've always thought stealing the belt from the champion was silly. ...
With Undertaker, Jericho and Big Show all in the main event at Survivor Series, Kane was the odd man out in the tag match -- he doesn't even have a match at the pay-per-view. I wonder if he will play a role in the triple threat. I just hope he doesn't turn on The Undertaker. While he and his "brother" haven't had a program together in five years, their love/hate relationship is all played out. ...
The backstage segment with Jericho freaking out because he thought The Undertaker was in the room when it was just Big Show turning out the lights would have been good if WWE hadn't done the exact same angle with Punk a couple months ago. ...
One of the Survivor Series matches I'm most looking forward to is Batista vs. Rey Mysterio. WWE has done a good job with Batista's heel turn. He really came off like a dangerous, remorseless powerhouse in his victory over Matt Hardy. I also like how Mysterio continues to rely on his elusiveness to get the better of his exchanges with Batista to this point. ...
I was disappointed with the two-out-of-three falls match for the Intercontinental title between champion John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler. They should have been given a lot more time. Three pins in approximately 11 minutes just isn't believable. Even though I enjoy watching Morrison and Ziggler wrestle, I don't see how Ziggler getting any more shots can be justified after he has failed so many times to win the title from Mysterio and Morrison. ...
I would love to see a longer match and even a program between Mysterio and Tyson Kidd at some point. ...
It's a good sign for Drew McIntyre that he one-upped Finlay once again. The veteran entered the ring all hot and seeking revenge for being laid out by McIntyre on a couple occasions, but McIntyre withstood the onslaught and went on to pin Finlay in the middle of the ring after hitting his finisher. ...
What is WWE waiting for when it comes to changing Finlay's music? With Hornswoggle no longer by his side, it doesn't fit his "I love to fight" persona at all. ...
Am I the only one who found Vickie Guerrero's celebratory dance after being named a consultant for Smackdown oddly mesmerizing? (I love that phrase). You know, with the right lighting and a few beers. ...