Friday’s Smackdown was really one of the best shows that I have seen in a few weeks. Jeff Hardy was the definite star of the show, but there were so many other stars and segments that I can honestly say I liked a lot. I did notice that the Manchester crowd again wasn’t as great as they usually are, but they still had their moments. Listen I am so excited to talk about Smackdown and the new Jeff Hardy.

What a cool opening we got. The show started with a casket in the ring, lights out and Taker’s voice telling Big Show that he is the punisher of darkness, and then the casket opened and the Undertaker sat up. This was a different and really nice way to get things going, but things continued to rock when all of a sudden we hear Jeff Hardy and then he appears on the screen in a very dark area with makeup on his face, which is very similar to that of the Joker’s. Now this was kind of eerie and creepy but oh so good. In a rather dark mood Hardy showed how angry and frustrated he has become and that he was tired of apologizing all of the time. And he promised Taker that their match would be extreme and that Undertaker would rest in peace. This was just a hell of a segment thanks to both Taker and Jeff Hardy, and it definitely got the show off to a very good start.

I absolutely loved the opening match with Matt Hardy taking on Shelton Benjamin. Anytime I can see these two in the ring go against each other is a thrill for me. This match was not only solid, but even with a knee injury which Hardy got during a house show in Europe he was still able to give his all. And along with one of the best in the Shelton Benjamin we got a hell of a match. This is what all three brands need to give the fans, solid matches like this one. This match is what fans tune in for; well at least most fans look for something like this. This was so entertaining, and lengthy. Plus there was no cheap finish or interference. You know I have seen ECW do this type of match I want to say more often than Raw or Smackdown as of late, but Raw and Smackdown every now and then pop with a major match that we can all sink our teeth in.

The next math was okay, but kind of short, and I’m talking about Carlito vs. The Brian Kendrick. I have always thought Carlito was a good wrestler, but I think his negative attitude with the company started to show whenever he was on TV. I really don’t know if Vince and Carlito have a better relationship now, but I think having him team up with his brother Primo is a way to get him back on track. Carlito I think could go a long way if he improves his attitude. Also while I’m on the Carlito subject I have to say I like Primo. He has personality, he can move in the ring and I think for the most part he seems very comfortable on the mic. Unfortunately even though the Colon brothers are the tag team champs, they don’t have one credible tag team to feud with. Well isn’t that typical Vince. I don’t know why he even has a tag team division. I noticed that I have kind of gone off the subject of the Kendrick/Carlito match. As I said it was a good match, and the more I see The Brian the more I just get a kick out of the cocky little bastard.

I say this all of the time, contract signings basically do nothing for me, but I didn’t mind the Kozlov/Triple H signing because of the way it ended. I did laugh when Hunter said that it was like the United Nations in the ring, with Russia and Mexico being represented and then the fat jokes started coming about Vicki. The only one that made me laugh was Hunter saying that Vickie was from Bulgegaria. Yeah that one I found funny. However I thought once Triple H did a nice job when he turned serious and mentioned how Kozlov’s nerves were boiling up inside because this guy never main evented. Hunter went on to say they he has main evented pay per views with the title on the line. Just listening to Triple H and looking at Kozlov react turned this into a decent segment, but it was when Jeff Hardy showed up on the top rope and put Kozlov through the table that this segment really shined. Hardy as I said was the star of the show and he wasn’t done yet.

MVP lost another one to Funaki thanks to Khali’s distraction. You know this thing with Kung Funaki really leaves me ice cold. All of a sudden he’s getting a push with a weak gimmick, go figure. I guess I still want to believe that MVP is going to come back from the dead and be what he was over a year ago. I expect MVP and Helms to feud once Helms returns, but yes this was one of the weak spots on Smackdown. And from there Khali and the Kiss Kam took place. There’s not much I can say about this because we have seen this week after week, but this time Khali got away without a kiss, and a laid out MVP not only got kissed by the fan, but MVP and the fan rolled around the ring as well. I guess you could say all of that had me laughing. But week after week I keep saying they need to move on with Khali. Okay the next match that I really didn’t pay attention too was Michelle McCool vs. Maria. Not only am I not in love with these two women anymore, but also the whole Festus/Jesse teddy bear thing was just crap. So add this to the list of very weak segments. But you know what? Two bad segments out of two-hours isn’t bad at all. And thankfully both segments were very short.

Finally the main event was just off the charts with Taker vs. Jeff Hardy. You know I see a pattern here. Are you ready? The Triple H/Jeff Hardy feud was very good, the Undertaker/Big show feud, was not so hot. But the Undertaker/Hardy mini feud in just one night was excellent, and the Kozlov/Triple H feud is rather lifeless. What a difference it makes when you put Hardy in there and remove the big guy. Anyway this was an awesome main event probably because Taker and Hardy work so well together. I was so envious of the live crowd that they got to see this in person. We got chairs, and ladders, plus interference from Big Show which all worked so well. After Hardy’s victory he ran backstage and Vickie said if he beats Triple H next week he will be added to the Kozlov/Triple H match at Survivor Series. Well you have to give it to Hardy, Taker, and many others for making this Smackdown so worth watching.

Tomorrow Raw is back here in the states and remember it’s the last Raw before next week’s pay per view. I would imagine that we will see the McMahon siblings, as well as more from HBK/JBL and Batista and Orton. Hey do you think we are going to get another new video about John Cena? I mean in the last several weeks we have gotten a new one. Maybe they can make a video with President elect Obama and Joe Biden singing Cena’s praises. Okay you can tell I am being very sarcastic. But the string of new videos each week about Cena has been too much for me. I might get into that more next week with my predictions. I will now leave you with a reader’s request. He would like to know of anyone who has the midnight express theme, not the movie but for the tag team from WCW? You can email him at ksong8923@msn.com.

Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com