Edge did his job very well last night. His cocky little promo at the beginning got things off to a good start. The main event that Theodore Long announced with Mark Henry vs. Batista vs. Kane vs. Finlay sounded like a match that I wanted to see. I mean I did not expect Batista to lose, but I still wanted to see just how this match would turn out. SmackDown! had a good short opening segment; it didn’t drag like so many of Raw openers have as of late. This one was short, sweet and very entertaining. And speaking of entertaining that describes the first match. This one surprised me. And I’ll tell you why. I figured with London and Kendrick being such high flyers and so young that there was no way that Taylor and Regal could keep up with them. But I was SO wrong. I was thrilled to see these four really put on such a good match. And while Taylor/Regal and London and Kendrick haven’t been feuding, throwing out Deuce and Domino to watch the match tied things up very well here. Not only was this a terrific match but the ending with Domino’s interference costing Taylor and Regal the match and then leading to an all out brawl between D&D, Regal and Taylor and London and Kendrick added so much to this whole segment.

I loved the backstage segment with Hornswoggle stealing Edge’s belt and running away from Edge with it. The little guy definitely got the best of Edge, which I liked, and it also was a way to have Finlay protect Hornswoggle and interact with Edge. Okay while I was getting sick of her Sliced Bread song, Jillian won me over last night with her new hit, Jillatonic. My God with the song and her so-called moves I was hysterical. I’m telling you they could do a lot with her if they really wanted too. I guess with the Boogeyman coming out I wonder if his days tagging with Kane are over. I hope not because I really have liked seeing them together, I think being with Kane is a positive for Boogeyman. I’m sure we all know what Vickie Guerrero is going to do to naive Theodore Long. She’s going to make him regret that he ever named her his assistant.

The only match that that was just put out there was Miz vs. Matt Hardy. Don’t get me wrong the match was okay, but since I am not a fan of Miz’s, Hardy having so little offense was something I didn’t like. The first thing that hit me was; Miz is in for a big push. And that is why they had him look so strong by dominating Matt. Even JBL wasn’t as insulting about Miz as he usually is. I have to say that I’m so not ready for more Miz, but as I said the match was good just too much of you know who for me. I absolutely enjoyed MVP’s celebration. Not only because of MVP’s mic work but because he had the nerve not only to call Chris Benoit out there and demand that Benoit congratulate him for winning the U.S. title by shaking hands, which Benoit did. But he also wanted Benoit to raise his hand, and that’s when Benoit gave MVP three German suplexes. I loved how this segment came off. And whether Benoit has good mic skills or not, this man’s wrestling speaks for itself and just those suplexes alone said it all. Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Chavo Guerrero? I have one thing to say about this match. I LOVED IT. That’s it there’s nothing more I want to say. Okay I will say being the Chavo fan that I am, I would love to see this guy on each week and Jimmy Wang Yang offers so much in every match that he puts on. This was just a pleasure to watch, as was the main event. Edge again came off so well sitting with JBL and Michael Cole. I thought he was really good on the mic and I totally liked the match with Batista vs. Finlay vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry. I have to give it to each of the guys out there; they all contributed so much to this main event. And so did the Des Moines crowd, they were really into it. As I said it was no surprise to see Batista come out the winner and now we know that at One Night Stand he will be taking on Edge in a Steel Cage Match.

I guess when you don’t have Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Bobby Lashley taking over most of a show, it makes a difference. It made a major difference in last night’s show and I mean that in a very good way. Is it possible that SmackDown! is now the number one show? Well it was for me last night and with Raw on Monday I am certainly not expecting much. How can I when I know just about what’s in store for us. By that I mean the angle that dominates the show, more with Cena and Khali and really that’s about it. But I will be watching and I can only hope that I have nothing but good things to talk about in Tuesday’s column.

Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com