Here is my SMACKDOWN Insite for this week:
Edge's Royal Rumble Promo
I liked the way Edge came out and proclaimed himself to be innocent, stating he had nothing to do with the pyro "accident". Then he steered the promo towards the Rumble and his championship match beautifully. The run-in by Matt Hardy was well placed and put alot of excitement in just the opening promo.
Score: 5 out of 5
Shelton Benjamin vs The Undertaker
The matchup was decent in this one. Undertaker did well in the ring, however I have a couple of gripes about Shelton. My first gripe, he was caught sleeping when Undertaker punched him. His reaction time to the punch was bad. My second gripe, Shelton's execution of his signature spinning dragon kick was awful. His foot landed on the mat when it was supposed to swing around his body first. Despite my gripes, the match was pretty decent.
Score: 4 out of 5
Chavo Guerrero vs The Great Khali
Match Length: 1 min 50 secs
Chavo did an excellent prematch promo on Triple H and Khali in an effort to make the match more interesting. Khali can do that just by walking to the ring. The way he has changed his performance is wonderful. The match was a little one-sided, but it was still entertaining.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
The Bella Twins vs Michelle McCool and Natalya
Match Length: 46 secs
Talk about talent being wasted here. This match was only a setup to have Maria run in and jump Michelle McCool and have McCool beat her up again. I wanted to see this match longer so I could have stared at the Bella twins longer. They're gorgeous.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Jeff Hardy Interview
Unlike Edge, Jeff did a horrible job trying to sell his match for the Rumble. He didn't show enough anger and emotion over what's happened to him and who he blames for it. Maybe the match itself at the Rumble will be better than the promo.
Score: 2.5 out of 5
NO DQ MATCH
Edge vs Matt Hardy
Match Length: 6 mins 23 secs
It is always fun to watch these two go at it. This match was setup from the excellent promo at the beginning of the show. The match got even better when weapons were brought into the ring. It makes it more interesting that way. Jack Swagger does a pretty good run-in during the match. It places more interest on their match at the Rumble. I don't get Mark Henry's run-in though. However the match was still outstanding.
Score: 5 out of 5
John Morrison and The Miz vs Carlito and Primo
Match Length: 12 mins 40 secs
This match pitted RAW's tag team champions vs SMACKDOWN's tag team champions. The last time a match like this occurred is when MNM took on Big Show and Kane in November of 2005. The action was pretty fast and intense. Carlito's springboard into a back elbow on Morrison was kinda sloppy. However Miz's timing of the blind tag was perfect.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Big Show and Vladimir Kozlov vs Triple H
Match Length: 13 mins 47 secs
Before the match, they played a clip from last week when Triple H hit the Big Show with a sledgehammer which kinda hinted that Show would be involved in the match someway. Vickie placed him in the match a pretty good time. Not right at the start or before the ending of the match, but right close to the beginning. Kozlov was jumping the gun when he setup for both the powerslam and the fallaway slam. The mediocre score this match gets is also from the fact I could see Big Show coming into the match simply from the clip from last week.
Score: 3 out of 5
Total Show Rating: 32 out of 40

