Smackdown

Well I was going to give a whole lot of feedback to Friday's Smackdown - it was a passable show, continuing the push of Vladimir Kozlov (though I don't understand Triple H's interference in his match with Khali, or his continuing to buddy around with Jeff Hardy when they're wrestling in a week's time), finally giving the payoff of Undertaker chokeslamming Vicki Guerrero, giving Chavo some material to work with, the Colon bros. winning the tag titles, etc. But I must say, the story is this COMING week's Smackdown, for which we will definitely be tuning in; their debut on MyNetworkTV in the US (they're staying on The Score here in Canada, but we'll get the benefit of a hyped program next week).

Five matches have already been advertised for the debut program:

Triple Threat: Raw Champ Chris Jericho vs. SD Champ Triple H vs. ECW Champ Matt Hardy
IC Champ Santino Marella vs. US Champ Shelton Benjamin
Women's Champ Beth Phoenix vs. Diva's Champ Michelle McCool
Raw Tag Champs Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase vs. SD Tag Champs Carlito and Primo Colon
All Star 8-Man: JBL, MVP, Kane and The Brian Kendrick vs. Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio Jr., Finlay and Batista

None of these have been announced as title for title so I'm assuming there are no championships on the line, but that's still a loaded lineup, usually reserved for major Raw episodes, which shows me WWE is maybe trying to start fresh with SD on a new network; they've been giving them some added cred of late with Triple H and JR being moved over to the Blue Brand, and the trend continues. Even Santino-Shelton Benjamin, which is arguably the least intriguing match in this lineup, should be interesting given they're opposites; Mr. Charisma w/no wrestling ability vs. Mr. Wrestling Star w/little to no charisma. With JR on play-by-play, it should be a near-PPV level night and I'm definitely looking forward to it!

My only question - Priceless and the Colons - who are the heels???? I was a bit unclear on that this week even, with the Colons wrestling Ryder and Hawkins - guess I haven't been tuned in in a while. Hopefully this week delivers reason not just to tune into SD, but to STAY tuned in, after a quiet month or so sans Edge.