Can Smackdown's Midcard Become The Main Event?
Can The Young Guys Provide a Future on Friday Nights?
A few weeks removed from a 2009 WWE draft that seemed to open the door for Jeff Hardy to finally take a run as the blue brand’s top face draw, rumors are swirling that the creative team wants to ship Batista, The Big Show or Matt Hardy to Friday nights to become Smackdown’s No. 1 face, once again relegating Jeff Hardy to second banana status.
The suggested move would similarly de-push Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio and two-time “Money In The Bank” winner CM Punk, both of whom seemed poised for high-profile feuds in the summer months with Chris Jericho and current World Heavyweight Champ Edge.
So what exactly is going on with the blue brand? Would awkward face turns for Show and/or Matt Hardy, or the re-emergence of “The Animal” really serve Smackdown well? Recent history would certainly disagree.
Matt Hardy, Big Show or Batiasta returning to Smackdown?
In 2008, Matt Hardy became the face of ECW for a short time when he claimed the brand’s heavyweight championship, but he never garnered the type of pop the creative team wanted and ultimately served as cannon fodder for the young Jack Swagger. The Big Show hasn’t had much success as a face either. Most of his “good guy” runs saw him serve as a brand’s No. 2 or No. 3 option, engaging in entertaining feuds with either top heels (Triple H) or rising stars (Carlito/Matt Morgan), that the big feller almost always lost. When you also consider the fact that a storyline to turn Matt face and send him back to Smackdown right after the dramatic change in character he started at the Royal Rumble would be a hard sell to the fans, its’ apparent that neither of these moves would work too well.
As for Batista, “Big Dave” ran Smackdown for nearly two years during several long-term feuds with Edge and the Undertaker which resulted in some classic matches, but also built a glass ceiling for other emerging faces on Friday nights. Returning him to the blue brand would result in another series of re-heated feuds, since Edge looks like he will remain champ at least through SummerSlam.
Jeff vs. Edge, Mysterio vs. Jericho, could dominate Summer months
But can Smackdown survive without the star power and main-event feel of names like Batista and Big Show? The top five faces on the brand seem to be: Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, The Undertaker (who works a light schedule due to injury and age) and the recently-turned John Morrison, and if given time, it’s possible these bright youngsters and the legendary ‘Taker could generate some interesting upper mid-card and main-event feuds.
Jeff Hardy and Edge are set for another high-octane, lightning-paced battle at Judgment Day while Mysterio is slated to take on Chris Jericho in a match that, if it even slightly resembles the pair’s WCW feud in the mid-1990s, could easily steal the show. Punk and Morrison are athletic and charismatic guys who have already proven themselves on ECW and Smackdown, and anyone who has seen Punk’s heel work from Ring of Honor knows that when he flips on the “bad guy” switch he can rock a microphone in league with some of professional wrestling’s most notorious bad boys. The Undertaker is The Undertaker, not much more can be said there.
If the WWE allows the youngsters to shine from here until Summerslam, just as a trial period, they may be in for some delightful results. Remember, the company’s biggest marketing quarter comes after Survivor Series, when they begin to plant the seeds for Wrestlemania storylines. If the young guns don’t work out between now and then, they can always shuffle the deck and start anew. That’s the beauty of “sports entertainment.”
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