WWE did a good job on Friday night's episode of Smackdown of getting heat on both the CM Punk-Rey Mysterio match at WrestleMania XXVI (which wasn't announced until last week) and the Edge-Chris Jericho bout at the pay-per-view extravaganza a week from Sunday.
Punk – who in my opinion is the most compelling character in the business right now – continued to torment Mysterio by showing still photos on the big screen of their confrontation last week that involved Mysterio's family. An incensed Mysterio wanted to go after him, but Punk said that if Mysterio lays a hand on him between now and WrestleMania, their match is off.
Mysterio suggested their match at WrestleMania be a street fight, but Punk said that would only happen if Mysterio could first beat Luke Gallows, and if he didn't beat Gallows, the stipulation for their WrestleMania match would be that Mysterio has to join the Straight Edge Society if he loses. How Punk has the power to dictate all that I'm not sure. Regardless, this was good stuff and I'm looking forward to their match, especially because Mysterio did lose to Gallows, which means there is a possibility that Mysterio will be forced to become a member of Punk's cult.
In "The Cutting Edge" segment, Edge and Jericho both did a nice job on the mic, especially Edge, who admitted that he's not really sure if he's completely recovered from the torn Achilles' tendon injury he suffered last summer. The verbal confrontation turned physical, resulting in Jericho attacking Edge's previously injured ankle. It was an effective angle, although I was surprised that Jericho didn't really do a number on the ankle. All he did was stomp on it one time. It seemed out of character that Jericho would stop there while Edge was totally defenseless.
Other thoughts on Friday's show:
The long-rumored hair vs. mask stipulation for the Punk-Mysterio match obviously isn't happening – at least not at WrestleMania. …
Punk was effectively creepy the way he just kept staring at Mysterio and shaking his head while Mysterio was beating on Gallows after their match. Punk showed no fear of being so close to Mysterio because of the stipulation that Mysterio cannot touch him. …
I really don't understand what's going on with Drew McIntyre's push. WWE had been doing a nice job of trying to gradually get him over as a star, but whatever credibility he may have gained has been erased over the past month. After McIntyre backed into the Money in the Bank ladder match following consecutive losses in qualifying matches to Kane and Matt Hardy, he got squashed by The Undertaker on this show in about three minutes. I get that it's The Undertaker and he needs to look strong going into his WrestleMania match against Shawn Michaels, but McIntyre should have gotten in more offense before doing the job. Then again, why even have McIntyre in this match in the first place? ...
I actually thought that Michaels was going to interfere behind the referee's back and cost Undertaker the match (at least by countout if not by pinfall) against McIntyre. That would have furthered the Undertaker-Michaels program and allowed McIntyre to claim a victory over The Undertaker heading into the Money in the Bank match. Instead Michaels took out The Undertaker with a superkick on the stage after the match. …
I couldn't help but roll my eyes when Edge said "you nailed me in the head with that championship" to Jericho. Seriously, is the WWE Universe going to implode if someone says the word "belt" on TV? …
Wade Barrett of WWE NXT got a nice rub by accompanying Jericho to the ring for "The Cutting Edge." I'm guessing Barrett is pretty happy that he got paired with a star such as Jericho rather than, say, Carlito. …
Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger make a good tag team. I was glad to see them get the win over Hardy and MVP. They need it more. …
Judging by the crowd reaction on this show and last week's, Beth Phoenix is on her way to becoming the top female babyface in WWE. That was a sweet-looking vertical suplex into a slingshot suplex that Phoenix delivered to Layla during the tag team match that saw Phoenix and Tiffany defeat Layla and WWE Divas champion Michelle McCool. Phoenix got the pin on McCool to set up their title program. …
Vickie Guerrero booked herself in a match with Phoenix next week. I'm sensing a Simply Flawless ambush. …
John Morrison and R-Truth needed to get an impressive win since they have a shot at WWE unified tag team champions The Miz and The Big Show at WrestleMania, so I don't have a problem with them defeating The Hart Dynasty. However, Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith deserve better than having to do a two-minute job. …
Kudos to Matt Striker. In one episode, he got in mentions of Mike Rotundo and Tully Blanchard, as well as my two favorite bands – Kiss and Rush. He also referred to a move by Phoenix as the "Glamish Hammer," an obvious nod to Ivan Putski's "Polish Hammer." …
As soon as I realized that Cryme Tyme's "Word Up" segment was in fact a not-so-subtle Slim Jims ad, I did what I always do when there's a commercial on: Fast forward, yeah yeah. Fast forward, yeah yeah.